New-York tribune., 1873-03-15
THE SALISBURY MURDER

THE SALISBURY MURDER
One day last week. in Salisbury, Nd, A .a
belonging to a respectable family waylad
little girl of fourteen, on her way from schooI
and shot her through the heart. Cause =,
the local papers gravcly inform us, "dSaD.
"pointed affections" :" and they proceed to draw
one pitiful picture of the fair child lying dead
in the road. he. ilair dabbled in blood. and
another of the boy murderer "a lad Of erea,
courage and spirit, who is supposed to be u.
"persOn who on the day following ran On,
"from the woods near Chrisfeld and thre,
"hmself under a passing train, by which h
"was instantly killed. The story is terriLla
enough but the worst pity of it all lies in
the fact that nobody is surprised by it no
body seems to see any reason why this lad.
fresh from his school books and play, should
not act like any adult man mad from pas
sion; and the little girl becomes an Object
of curiosity and envy to otler children "a
having been able to inspire such an uncOn.
trollable affection. Our grandfathers would
say that in their days George and Amelia
would have been reared on different diet
physical and mental. ANY such indications Of
precocty as the "love-letters, despairing appeals
"a and threats to kill" with which this boy,
we are told, prefaCed the murder, would in all
probability have been held in check by sound
whipping at the hands of his father and
further course of fasting and double allow
ance of Greek verbs to crack have repressed
4" his noble rage and chilled the genial current
of his SOUL" When boys studied the PHI
grim's Progress and Robinson Crusoe in lieu
of newspapers. these graybeards tell US, and
girls worked samplers instead of pOring over,
at the best, religious novels in Sunday y-schOols
there was no talk of passion in pinafores, or
child-murderers and suicides.
Now, we have no wish to 90 back to the
old horsewhip and bread-and-water discipline;
and we believe, furthermore, that the narrower
education, which then limited boys range Of
research to the often impure classics, aud a
girls to music, dancing, and the use OF the
globes" was far more apt to engender idle
ness of mind and abnormal passions than tho
present system, by which the earth and air.
the very food they eat, are made vocal TO
them with live facts. The difference lies here:
that then George would have submissiyely
taken whip or discipline from his father as an
exercise of rightful authority; now, from the
age of ten he meets him as man to man. Once
out of his long clothes, he becomes an Amer
can citizen. The old treatment of children had
this aim-to impress on them the fact of Their
childishness their inferior, insignificant place In
society. Now such thing as little wholesome
neglect is unattainable for any of them. The
very care with which we plan and carry out
their education, the numberless theories and
systems for their behoof, cOmmendable as they
are. exaggerate child's Importance to himself.
Besides this, in our home training, In their
religious teaching, in the books and magazines
for their use, the fact of their chlldlshness Is
absolutely ignored. There is or ought to bc
an ignorance, an incOmpleteness, lack If you
will, in a child's nature which we ought TO
keep untouched and sacred, but which we put
totally out of sight, talking, writing, and
preaching to them as to miniature men and
women. The loves of babies just out OF their
cradle fill the illustrated nursery papers; IN
stead of turning girls of nine or ten out to
Jump the rope and romp by daylight for
amusement, we trick them in ball
dresses and set them TO Waiting and
flirting in hot room at the hour
when they should be going to bed. No won
der that at fourteen pistols and death end tue
miserable play. Every faculty of their brains
or power of their animal nature is over-stim'
ulated, over-heated, urged to undue growth
and development in the whole course OF ther
training, from birth and during homage.
What may have been the case in this par
ticular instance we do not know; bu'that the
fault we complain of is universal is proyedby
the apathy with which such tales are received
by the public ear. The infant Hercules, do
he live nova a-days, might strangle serpents 70
his hearts content in his cradle and would %
regarded as no prodigy among the legion OK
adult babies with which the land is plagued.