Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1875-01-01
The Last Dos Moines Murder.

EDITOR BULLETIN:-T The last of the
Des Moines series of murders-that
of Charles Howard by $50 disguised
men"--is the most deplorablc Of the
whole list In the BULLETIN of the
18th, you treated it in the able man
ner the magnitude of the case de-
manded, and leave nothing for me to
add in condemnation of the terrible
crime; but in reference to another
view of the subject, l desire to say a
few words.
The few newspapers that l have
seen which mention this case, treat
the lynching of Howard mainly as
connected with the repeal of the
death penalty in Iowa; as growing
out of it, and as evidence that the
people are determined to secure to
themselves all the benefit, whether
real or imaginary, that the gallows
ever afforded them, whatever the law
upon the statute book may be. If
this were really the controlling mo-
tive of the murderers, still it would
be no less murder. 1t would in
deed be a pitiful plea for man who
! 1,.l
say he did it because he was not sat
istied with the enactment of the leg
islaturc. But the murderers in this
ease have not even that poor Plea
Charles Howard was not convicted
of a crime that was euer punishable
with death in this State, or that is
punishable with death in any civil
lied country, so far as know. He
WAS not convicted Of Il premeditated
murder, but of II killing, resulting
from Il sudden passion excited by
provocation; and the jury, aware that
Imprisonment for life was the maxi
mum punishment known to our laws,
showed conspicuously by their ver-
dict of murder in the second degree,
that they thought he should have
less penalty than that. But the
Judge thought otherwise, and gave
him life sentence, and the mob i'm
proved upon that and sentenced him
to death, and Immediately proceeded
to murder him.
The utmost stretch of charity can
not attribute this coId-blooded muir
der to incfficicncy of the laws, or to a
desire Of the actors to protect them
selves or the community from the as
sassin. The law was fully indicated.
1t had secured Howard, had tried
him and sentenced him to the highest
punishment ever melted out to such
criminals, even where the death pen
atty is in force. They did not think
the public safety demanded his death,
for he was not an assassin. He did
not visit people at their homes and
kill them. 1t was only people who
had business at brothels who could
have a chance to provoke him into
killing them, and, besides all this, he
was prisoner in the Sheritf's strong
hands and sentenced to spend his
life in prison
Now, if this $3.50 disguised men"
really wished to do something to di-
minish murder and redeem the char
acter of their town, they would dis
fellowship all who patronize brothels
and other dens Of iniquity in their
midst, and would expend their sur
plus energies in wiping out all the
nurseries and hot-beds of crime
Then they would receive the thanks
of the whole State, and their children
would rise up and call them blessed.
But if their fingers itched to throt-
tie some poor fellow, why not hunt
up their own subject? There have
been two or three most atrocious
murders in the vicinity of Des Moines
recently, where the victim was muir
dercd without warning, and in cold
blood. Why did not the $50 brave
men hunt up some of these murder
ers and hang them to lamp post?
Would it strike too near homer
They would then have done the State
some service, tholfs h the act itself
were lawless. Instead of this, though
thirsting for blood, they were too in
dolcnt, or mean, to hunt their own
game, but stole man from the
Sheriff, one who had done nothing
meriting death by any civilized law,
and who was already sufficiently
cared for by the State. 1t was like
the man who, too lazy to earn his
own dinner, waylays a little school
boy and steals his dinner basket
These men claim to be brave! Let
it be admitted that the securing of
their victim was quite courageous, in
one way at least. 1t was very much
like one of Falstaff's battles, and
forcibly illustrates that Generals IA
vorite maxim, that "discretion is the
better part of valor," for it was unde-
niably more discreet to take man
who had been disarmed by the Sher-
if and weakened by confinement,
than to hunt an outlaw for the mselves
who might have some shooting-irons
about his clothes and be rather hard