The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1879-03-26
The Press on the Pistol Question.

The Press and Banner will not forget that
there have been occasions and excuses Tor car
rying wenpo In tho south that do not exist
elsewhere in the United States. and IL Is dim
cult to get rid Of the feeling Induced by mis-
rule and the impotence OF t:cJudicial system
under Scott, Moses and Chamberlain, that VI
olcnce stalks abroad, and that nobody Is safe
who Is not prepared for both defensive and
offensive action. This can and will be cured.
The south, however, has no reason. wen now
to dread comparisons with other sections OF
the Union, for this striking reason-thc woun-
king and killing In the South, by whites. Is,
almost without exception, the result o! alter
fancicd grievances while the murders In the
North and West almost without exception,
are committed with an eye to robbery, arson,
or deeds too horrible to be describe. Ohences
permanent and morbid scnsibility are not rs
hcinous as those which liavo no other object
than greed and lust. The well-beins OF socie-
ty demands, nevertheless, that every ono shall
protect himself against the temptation 10
commit In the heat OF anger, an act that can
never be undone. The abandonment OF the
practice of carrying deadly weapons VIII not
put n stop to crime. but IT. Viii diminish II,
and Will place the responsibility of deliberate
and cool action upon those who take the law
Into their own hands.-New and Courier.
The Augusta Chronicle and Constfufiondffs
says: What sensible man wants to come
community? We cannot blame the strang-
er If he turns away from such q people.
Thousands OF the people OF the South, In all
States and localities. wear no lethal weapons
and use none. But there's u minority who
would sooner think Of emitting shirt and
pantaloons than the pistol. Such men must
be compelled to obey thclaw; not only the
Divine precept which thundcrs, Thou shalt
not kill! but that human ordinance which
declares Thou shalt not conceal about thy
person the weapons TINT kill! These pistol
wearing individuals are not only u terror to
the State, but they are it's worst enemies.
They not only wreck It's happiness, but they
prevent Its progress. And 1t is safe TO say,
we think, If men carry pistols for the pur-
pose of saving their precious lives In an
emergency, they blindly do the very thing to
make security farcical. The man who dies
with his boots on Is nearly, II not quite, III
ways the man who SwaggerS about with his
shooting-iron. We call upon the young men
OF the State, then, to disarm, for their own
good and the good Of others. We call upon
the law to compel this disarmament, If not
otherwise complied with. If there be any
persons who still consider the pistol IL ncccs-
sary part of their existence and raiment let
gate-Out OH the wild frontier, to Hululand, or
any other locality where the burroom and
the graveyard are the best patronized public
And there they may have the
felicity either Of dying with their boots OH,
or helping some other walking arsenal to that
supreme condition Of mistry. But. while
they live In u civilized community, let them
the arts OF peace, niid permit the
men who love and honor their State 10 pros
in that excellent purpose"
ALL manner Of repairing done by T. G:
Seal ak prjcea In anti tha fimeB. II