Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-02-08

Mr.. SchurZ on Southern Homlclues'
On the 18th Of January the MORNING
NEWS, upon receipt Of marked cop! VI
the New York EueniHg Post contaihins
an editorial entitled More About SOUTH
ern Homicide" replied TO the CRITICISMS
of the editor Of the Post. Hon. Carr Schurz'
The NEWS endeavOred 10 90 MI SchuI%
;ustica in it, remarks. but left that gentle
man under the impression that his mo-
tfves were not fairly appreciated and that
the nth Of his argument had not been
presented to the readers of this journal.
Accordingly. in a letter dated January 30,
addressed 10 the editor Of the News, Mr..
Schurz discusses the question of homicide
at the South in an able and exhaustive
manner and with q candOr one cannot but
admire. After perusing Mr.. Schurz's
letter. which we present in this
issue. one cannot doubt his hon
estv of purpose in inaugurating
the discussion, but it is apparent that his
zeal leads him to give the evil proportions
that il does not possess, and 10 eXaggerate
its effects upon the growth of the South.
Unquestionably, the pistol and shotgun
are used with a lamentable frequency
throughout the country; but it is a singu-
lar fact that the State of Texas,
credited a. the banner state for homl-
cides of the description complained
OF. exhibits the most surprising results
in the matter Of growth presented TO the
student of progress. The South Is
destined to grow wealthy and powerful.
pistols and shOtguns to the contrary not
withstanding. immigration is setting IN
here. and the tide will swell as the re-
sources of this section become the better
known.
But waving this question of growth, we
| prefer TO view the matter from moral
standpoint. and we can assure Mr.. Schurz,
that in common with our brethren of the
| press in Georgia. we are more cOgnizant
/ Of the real magnitude Of the evil than he
/ l.. and that the press of the State Is doing
/ good work for its suppression. We have
never sought 10 palliate il. and would
! gladly see every good citizen en-
\ listed for its eXtirpatiOn. We agree
with Mr.. Schurz that if the hip
/ pocket were tenanted by some
| thing less harmful than the pistol. or if
shOtguns We're employed only when legiti-
mately required, the criminal annals Of
the country would be stained with far
| less hOmicides. But so long as the right
Of the American citizen to bear arms
remains unquestiOned, something more
I powerful than penal statutes will be re-
quired to combat the evil. There are
/ thousands of men at the South that never
! carry weapons, and have never felt the
need of them, and there are thousands Of
men at the North who do carry firearms.
and do so upon the suppOsitiOn or cOnvic-
ton that they may have use for them.
What we object to is that Mr.. ochurZ
should, in common with his cO-workers,
hold up this section to the gaze Of the
world as specially SHINING, when the fault
! complained of is common to all but the
/ most settled communities in the land.
He expects the State of Georgia that has
but recently emerged from political
chaos to present the same condition as a
State whose political existence has been
I undisturbed. save by the wOnted Varia-
tions that quiet communities are subject
to. He loses sight of all that has been
done and is being done here to inculcate
! regard for the mandates Of the law and
mete out justice. Give las time, Dir.
Schurz, and from your own estimate Of
the Southern people you must admit that
we will yet measure up to the standard
| you set for us.
We think that MIR. sehurL's ascriptiOn
of much of the evil to what he terms an
impression that it is cavalier-like 10 right
in person ones real or fancied wrong,
| miscOnceptiOn. That sentiment was
never extensively lodged in the breasts
! of GeOrgians. As class, GeOrgi-
ans are plain, Woodworking. money
| getting people. who, though ac=
/ quainted with their States proud
past and promising future, are fully
| aware that there are other communities
their peers in all that is manly and hon
Orable. When the Georgian shoots a man
he does so from proyOoatisR, fancied or
| real. or from motives that impel Enen 10
murder wherever they are found. The
! cavaliers proper are Nirginians or the
descendants of Yirginians, and whatever
! criticism they may merit, they need no
eulOgy at our hands, and are abuRdantly
able to plead their own cause.
We would ask Dir. schurz in conclusion
to strive to enlist the press Of the country
! in the good work he would have done
mainly at the South. The work is needed
pretty much everywhere in this free land.
In this work We pledge him our hearty
| cooperation, and can. we believe. promise
him that of our brethren of the Georgia
| press, seconded by the efforts Of our
divines and good citizens in general,
/ Meanwhile, if he will make point Of of
setting OF contrasting Southern hOmicides
i'm his daily issues with some Northern
! specimens. we may, perhaps, be better
able to judge 0f our progress in the re-
| quired direction.
We trust that everyone OF our readers
/ will give Mr.. SchurZ's letter a careful
I perusal. and accept his sincerity while
( allowing for his misconceptions. We trust,
[ too, that our Southern contemporaries
/ will give the letter circulation, and fall in
line with those Southern journals that
are already enlisted for the work of COM
batting the evil Mr.. Schurz so earnestly
| complains of.
] a a.