Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1872-07-17
nArus ANN RuLLRTs.

The New York World has the follow
ing editorial on the murder OF yonni
Murphy by the aatboatman Sturgeon II
this city: "The boy is VIGOROUSLY de
void of shame and fear. So utter is hi
depravity that he manages to impart
vicious faint even TO the virtuous act'
which he is occasionally driven or be
guiled into doing. 1t is proper, tor ex
ample, that the boy should he washed
So long as that process remains proper
in its incidents as well as in its essence
the bow recoils from it with loathing
When, however, it is complicated with
indeeency the boy exhibits peryerse
but a positive yearniBg for it, as a sal
along either Of the rivers which coast
this island in the early evening will
convince, the sceptic. The boy IN
this, as in other things, is very
hard to bear, and it is dificultto decide
how to repress him. But we cannot ap-
prove of the discipline adopted by a
Mentor in Memphis who cut the gordian
knot by shooting his Telemschus. we
would not intimate that Mr.. Sturgeon,
as in the aquatic name of the person
who resorted to this extreme measure
for the suppression of aquatic sports, is
a Bahama wrecker transferred to the
Mississippi whose practice it is to sit
upon the roof of his dwelling in the
twilight and still-hunt for boys with the
view Of making salvage of their raiment.
We do not suffer ourselves to doubt that
he shot his boy purely in the interest OF
decency. Only we are at loss to see
how the corpse of boy can possibly be
any less affecting to the finer sensibili-
ties than the living body of the same
boy equally unclothed and in his wrong
mind. 1t cannot be that Mr.. Surgeons
own susceptibility to bathing boys was
SO keen as to demand their sacri-
fee. 1t must have been solely on
account of Mrs. Sturgeon and the
young ladies that he did this thing.
We hear OF no Miss Surgeons, and of
Mrs. Sturgeon we hear that she followed
her husband on the roof with revolt
YER Obviously, if Mrs. Sturgeon had
desired TO avoid a sight so truly shock
ing she would not have gone on the roof
either with a revolver ; or with
lorgnette. Lord Dundreary, in the
play. recommends his American guest If
he insists upon smoking that beast OF a
pipe to 90 on the wool But even the
faulty of Dundreary was not equal to
recommending a man or woman to go
on the wool for the purpose OF avoiding
the sight of what was occurring outside
the premises Aetaon had theindiscre-
ton TO observe Diana under very much
the same circumstances as those under
which Mrs. Sturgeon observed the Mem
phian boy, and Diana therefore set his
dogs upon him. The modern goddess ad-
mires the mythical goddess, but does not
emulate her, for we have not heard that
the poodles of Long Branch or the set
tiers Of Cape May are dangerous But
if Diana had observed Actaan by de-
sign, and subsequently set any dogs
whatever upon him. her case would have
been that of Mrs. Sturgeon, and Acte-
on. we think, would have had a griev-
ance. Mrs. Sturgeon is blamable but
not punishable. For the law is well
settled that any woman has right tn
kill any man, and a fortori any boy. AS
for Sturgeon, who was clearly acting I'M
der duress, he is no more accountable
than Acten's dogs, and there is there
fore some chance that he may be hanged.
FALsrAFF's trite remark, Lord, how
this world is given to lying" finds sup
port in the statement of the Memphis
correspondent Of the st. Louis Demo
crat. The lying correspondent gives the
following news to the Radicals of the
North: 1.-THE Democracy will fight for
the local and State Offices, and nave no
heart or hope for anything else. They
are spending thousands Of dollars to
buy up few colored men to vote for
their candidate for Sheriff, many Of
whom will fool them in the end. The
Republican party is full Of hope and
confidence, and stronger in this region
than. ever before. The Democracy de-
moralized, Republicans united, firm and
determined to elect Grant, are the cheer
ing prospects in Tennessee. Two months
ago the Democrats we're sure Of this
State by forty or fifty thousand majority.
Now il is already doubtful, aud Greeley
is losing every day"
Our City Schools have been the pride
of the State, and have been supported
literally by the people. The chickering's
and little jealousies engendered in the
School Board are of little interest to the
people, although such proceedings have
bad effect upon the school system. The
school visitors are elected by the peo-
pie to attend particularly to the schools,
and not for the purpose Of carrying on
a kind Of semi-scholastic warfare Last
Monday evening, at a meeting of the
School Board Mr.. w. Z. Mitchell. a