The Morning herald., 1876-06-15
A GLIMPSE OF DAHBABIeA.
From the New York Times

:, Now Jersey. last Sunday morning.,
.hrae burglars forced their way intoa house
w. .n' tbe horIer line between Bloomfield and
Wevark, Their object was plunder, the
d'Iitsrv inmate of the house, one lnderwe1s,
bavin: been reputed the owner OF the enor-
nous sum of thirty dollars. He refused to
.oll where his money was, but the burglars
u;.ooverea mn A portion of It. When they had
o'I oo1lected all they could find, Inderweis told
.hom tha. there was NO more in the house;
i,' "" had aren't the rest. The rascals refused
~ believe this tale, and failing to extort
trom the man any other, they proceeded to
,orture him, A fire was built and lnder-
'u ma;s was held over 1t until he howled with
nain He persisted in his story, declaring
pat !%at he had no more money. The burglars
nnt him again and again to the torture,
though he steadily adhered to his original
statement: and finally he swooned with
nsn ard anguish. While he was insensible
lio torturers left. In consequence OF his
ft.iahtrul burns this man will probably be
,r;nnle for life. The details of his suffer
,ngs are narrowing. They are too shocking
10 be dwelt upon by way of amplifying the
story.
h,rbsrism but that striking example
Snrjnys up, every once in while, to re-
mind MS of the lingering savagery In the
midst of us. Isolated instances of murder
nms intent. like those of young Piper, and
.he pomeroy boy are reckoDed as abnormal
,ayrlonmepts. In the New Jersey case, as
in eeveral similar cases, the cooperation OF
several persons shows that there is STRAIT
nm Of barbarity underlying society. The
Nsw Jersey burglars tortured their helpless
ylctim precisely as North American Indians
would have done, when In their lowest
Jantbs of savagery. And they did this for
the sake of sum of money-so small that
the amount seems almost grotesque when
we consider what they did to get it.
In old times men established themselves
in strong castles and swooped down upon
noacerul merchants whose pack-trains they
icscried creeping through the valleys. Now
a.days the robber baron gets franchlse
from legislature and levies his tax. Or
he sets up toll-gate, and collects his Toll,
instead Of putting pistol at the head OF
the wayfarer, with the demand OF your
money or your life." We have the same
tripps, but under different names. Some.
,hin9 must be conceded to the demands OF
modern civilization. The other day, In this
Cty, woman was arrested for the brutal
treatment of little child, not her own.
The evidence shows that this abominable
creature was actually trying to torture to
death by slow degrees child whose main
tenance was a burden to her. In state OF
utter barbarism, the child would have been
tossed into the streaR like superhuous
kitten. Modern society has invented stat
utes against this form of barbarity. Ihe
slow torture is still possible. In the New
Jersey case, it wss resorted to by a company
of men. and for the sake OF contemplate
sum of money. People VINO think well OF
society. and whose hearts are sometlmes
moved with pity as they see convlcts shut
up in the iron seclusion of jais, shudder
when some such revelation Of brutality as
this is made before them. To the ruflians
in search of plunder, or to the decent wo-
man" who is bothered with child VINO is
burden, deliberate torture of human pe'
ing seems to come entirely natural. "A man
NAV commit murder in a moment OF pas
sion or alarm, or he may nurse his fancied
wrongs until they take the shape In ms
mind of reason why he should kill. But
there ia another element in human c1vlllzeu
society to which all manner of ferocity Is
familiar.
It is not pleasant to uncover such phase
of life as this. But it is necessary thaJ we
should know how superficial, after al, If
modern r,aral culture. We have high au
thorty for the statement that the human
heart is desperately wicked;" and we kno"
chat centuries of refining influences nave
failed to impair the weight of that dictum
It is also clear that, with all our machinery
for the elevation of the race, we have no.
gone far below the surface.