The Morristown gazette. [volume] (Morristown, Tenn.) 1867-1920, 1878-06-05
What are We Coming To?

TO the Editor of the MOrristown Gazette: zas+a
On Friday. the 24th of May. on Joe
Davis farm, on Chucky river, in this
county, (Hamblin,) George Tally ma
liciously shot Bill Stiles-both ne
groes, and working at the time for
James Inman-with pistol taken to
the field purposely to shoot Stiles.
because, last winter, he had said
that Tally had stolen some money
from him. Tally's ball lodged in
Stiles thigh bone, just above the
knee; he then made his escape, leav-
ing his children (his wife being dead)
to be cared for by charity. suppose
he thought it was getting too hot to
work, and did not care if he was
caught and put in Jail to be fed by
the county, at 40 cents per day.
I, for one, am opposed to arresting
any more of the worthless wretches
and keeping them at the county's
expense, for there are so few con-
victions in proportion to arrests and
trials, that it has got to be a desira-
BILE thing for them to be arrested,
have their names called in the Court
House, and to be so earnestly de-
Tended. and held up as paragons of
honesty and uprightness, by some
one of your little lawyers, who ap-
pear to be so wonderfully pressed
for business to do. and who seem to
think if they can get case into
court, their reputation and fortune
are made. Why, some of them are so
anxious to get into court, that I
knew one who lost his case before
justice of the peace, and he hired ::
man and paid him to so to the lower
end of the county (paid him out of
his own pocket,) to bring his more
than worthless client to town, and
oSGuotiJ hoNtO uiuA F~NPOAiAO Mo az
peal to the County Court, when he,
and every man of any sense knew
he would, and he did loose it there.
Now. when any State case is tried,
the Court House is full of these
rogues and murderers to hear, and
they know, the law against petty
and grand larceny, felony, arson,
&C.. as well as almost any of your
lawyers, and just how to evade the
law. and yet one of them on trial for
stealing &C., some that never had
an honest impulse in their lives still
their lawyers make them out saints.
prosecuted, and see them
look so innocent to the jury for Glenn
ency, and to give them " the benefit
of the reasonable doubt" And how
hard is it for many of our jurors to
get over '' that reasonable doubt"
when they look to themselves and
know that if they themselves had jus.
tice they would be in the penitentiary
for similar conduct. Now there have
been murder cases tried in this conn-
" recently all come clear; two of
hem as cold -blooded. if not three.
md as atrocious, as ever knew of.
Now, what is the cause of this in
crease of crime and failure to con-
7ict? Not our worthy Judge and
Attorney General--for L doubt if
We will be able longer to retain so
efficient executors of the law, be-
cause this vicious class is in the as
,endant, and they don't want good
aw officers, and will fear vote them
nut. Then, conceive the cause to
,e. first. vitiated public sentiment;
hen the readings of these little one
lorse lawyers, to defend the guilty
ulprits. Then / think the elective
ndiciary has a good deal to do with
!, for men to enforce the law so rig
lily as to put stop to these bad
len, they aud their friends being
oters. they coald not be elected to
e dog-pelters on muster ground.
md there is another bad feature in
I. The class Of to-day that is MUIR
ering. stealing aud being constant
: in the criminal courts, will be. 20 |
r 40 years hence, themselves or
leir friends for them, in the county
ourts, asking /" allowances" that is
g on the county as paupers. There /
where the pauper class comes Il
ON. Then those of to-day, who
ay the Jail fees aud court charges.
ley and their children will have to
ed them as paupers. | propose to
.op this letter right here. and finish
next week, my hands being SO stiff
ON hard toll that lean scarcely
rite q legible hand my ink won't
t down either. 4 purpose in my h
ext to notice breaky stock il the
ounty and the cute way that heap
{ our county men get coffee for
ieir wiyess by being. or getting,