Smyrna times., 1873-06-04
BeardleSS Boys With Loaded Pistols.

The entire hardness of having a loaded
pistol in your pocket was illustrated again
last Sunday morning, in Brooklyn, by young
gentleman of twenty, who shot and instantly
killed his mother. The young man intended
to kill some one else, to wit, person of about
the same ago, who was intoxicated and also
armed with the always handy revolver. Two
young men of the mature age of twenty, one
OF them intoxicated and Quarrelsome, both
armed with revolvers which they had drawn
upon each other with murderous intentions,
the mother of one of them while attempting to
separate the combatants was shot dead by the
pistol OF her own son-plcture at once graphic
and ghastly of condition of society In which
youthful precocity is so rapidly developed in
the direction of brutality and sensual indul-
gence, that the beardless boy lays aside his
top for revolver and is graduated from the
play ground to the groggery and brothel. It's
such manly thing to carry a revolver; it
adds SO much to ones intellectual stature, to
ones personal dignity, reputation for courage,
and to ones pride of behavior and sense of
self Prospect. Doubtless this young man Rode
rick, twenty years old, thought when he dressed
himself on Sunday morning and completed his
personal adOrnments with the loaded revolver
that he was much more a man with that than
ii be went unarmed that that intangible and
incomprehensible thing he called his personal
honor was safer from the possible disgrace of
an insult; that he was better entitled to be
looked up to and respected by his fellow men
while he had in his breast pocket so. sure
means OF avenging discourtesy or slight. And
the other budding murderer no doubt plumed
himself on his manliness as he armed himself
for his Sundays recreation, rum and riot Not
to have pistol was, in the consideration of
both these young men, evidence of the callow-
ness and ineXperience of youth. By this token
they were men.
So when they met the days dissipation had
prepared young CorcOran for any exhibition
of brutality, and both had fixed themselves
deliberately for the taking OF life. A few
moments violent alteration, an assault by the
drunken young fellow Corcoran, both draw
their pistols, and Roderick's mother endeavor-
ing to separate them, is killed. By accident,
of course; that is, it was an accident as to
the person killed, but not as to the killing
Ii these two boys had any purpose in arming
themselves with loaded revolvers, as they did
deliberately on Sunday morning, it was to take
life-somebody' life. Possibly they deluded
themselves with the idea that it would be in
self-jefense; but that the intent was to kill
somebody under some circumstances is plain
enough. Indeed, it may as well be taken for
granted that when any man or boy arms
himself with a loaded pistol to 60 out into
human, he means murder. This boy meant
to kill somebody, and he killed his mother
OF course he feels badly about it. He would
have telt badly, though not perhaps as badly,
if he had shot and killed some one else. 1t
was the logic of events that he should feel
badly. II follows the killing just as naturally
as the killing followed the loading of the pistol
There's NO need of saying, aud there's no
sense in whining, that this young man bears a
good reputation, and that he is overwhelmed
with grief because he killed his mother. Let
US stop all this business of personal aud private
sympathy and see whether upon the whole,
society has not some rights in the matter.
Here is great staring fact, not of accidental
killing, but of deliberate preparation to do
murder. Ii is not isolated or sporadic; il
illustrates fashion-the fashion of carrying
deadly weapons, and of using them upon
whatever occasion offers We hold human
life pretty cheap at the best in this country !;
but if it has como to this that beardless boys
''of good reputation" travel our streets habit
uslly armed and waiting only provocation to
take life, it is quito time that we do something
besides waste sympathy on them when they
happen to kill the wrong person.-Ne0 York
| Tribune.