Pioche daily record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1872-1876, 1873-11-16
..PooD FOR REFLECTION. IS


Under the above caption, We published
some days ago an article calling atten-
ton TO the many cases of death by
violence in Phoebe within the last eigh-
teen months. The Carson Appeal copies
our article, and discusses at considerable
length and in all its bearings the oft-re-
curing man.killings. We do not fully
agree with our friend of the Appeal, yet
there is SO much in his article to COM
mend it to popular favor that We gladly
give it place in our columns. We eau
not deprive our readers of so much, the
perusal of which cannot fail to be bene-
fit, merely because We disagree with the
editor of the Appeal in only one thing.
But of this, more anon. After copying
our article of November 18th, on Food for
reflection" and abiding to the subject
OF oft-repeated man-killings, the Appeal
says:
But of course il can be treated OF in q
superficial fashion. only, through such
small opportunities as daily paper
may reasonably attempt to take hold of.
Phoebe is no worse than any other place
within our State limits, excepting as at-
fording more materials upon which the
homicidal spirit exhibits itself. The pre-
vailing fallacy of notion, the wrong educa-
ton which leads to the killing of men for
trivial causes, is a part of our perverted
code OF morals. From an unnatural as
ISOLATION with the idea of extreme per-
sonal dignity as exemplitied amongst du-
elists and persons who are morbidly te-
nacious of the term gentleman, and
from whole mass OF kindred false ideas
of "honor, every man who is unwil-
ling to be thought anything short of a
chevallier harbors the conviction, more
or less defined, that an indignity to his
sacred person must bs wiped out with
the blood of his assailant. OF course
this is preposterous, but it leads to the
greater part of these fatal encounters,
nevertheless. Mix false and excessive
notion of personal sacredness and some
borrowed ideas of honor with modicum
of the kind of potables that get served
up in the commoner sort OF saloons late
at night and you have ready made
Don Quixote in every camp in the
State. We doubt the efficacy Of
law penalties to correct the evils
growing out of this absurd state Of
things. Hanging never did any good
except, perhaps, here and there, under
the ministrations of vengeful vigilance
committee. Border life breeds border
habits; and men will go armed; and be
ing armed, there are temptations, wher
the wits are out and wine is in, to use
those weapons, and 80 murders multiply
Doubtless the majority of these crimes
are traceable to whisky, and the hare
passions engendered at the gaming table
Probably the present generation of no
madic fighters and nignt-prowlers anC
bar-room frequenters will have to b
killed off before these sad habits ar,
sfectually mended; but, in the mean
time, it strikes us that somewhat eff
cient corrective is at hand, if correctly
is what is popularity desired. But tn
love for peace and full cessation OF tn
acts of extreme and bloody violence mus
manifest itself; people must show les
eager propensity TO witness trials o
game" before the corrective will be az
piled. We mean, in speaking OF poss
bic corrective, different habit among IL
peace officers policemen and night pi
trolls. The killing of AL. Waterman is
case in point. II he had been arreste
and sternly held in custody, disarme
and punished for disturbing the peac,
there would have been no need of h
being killed. If he did enough to justif
his killing he did enough to be arreste
and locked up until sober. The time
prevent bloodshed is when the cause
which lead to homicide begin to be al
parent. Words are as bad as blows; an
it is a stupid folly of the law to deny TIL
such is the case. When il shall have b.
come the custom of sheriffs and polio
men to take hold of men and part the
the moment they are detected in IL
act of quarreling- or showing bad bloc,
something of practical corrective VI
have been adopted. But oil this Will
if the conservators of public morals ne
lect to provide something to invite sing
men to come out of the grog shop AZ
gambling room and brothel and spel
their leisure nights and days in the col
pany of good books and good teachin
Of all sorts-in short, until the fal
ethics of the pot-house are abandoned
the better ideas Of home and sober ma
hood, these frequent man killings W
occur.