Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1883-02-10


If the sacredness Of human life is the real test
OF civilization, the American people in general,
and those OF Texas in particular, are not quite
as civilized as they fondly imagine they are.
Human life was never before quoted as low In
be so cheap that any man Of moderate means
can take it. We suppose that similar
causes produce similar effects the world
over. The cause, or at least the prin-
cipal cause, of the daily hOmlcides In Texas
is to be found in the fact that murder
be. In no other civilized country is the petty
criminal punished as cruelty and as remorse-
lessiy. or is the great criminal punished as
lightly as In Texas. For the theft Of q mser-
able little pony the lowest term for which
a man has to serve at hard labor In the peniten-
tiary is five years. and that institution is
swarming with that class of criminals: but it is
next to impossible to convict and punish the
murderer who has money and friends. The col
nmns OF the daily papers are reekiug with
blood. The state specials of the daily Galveston
Nears show from two to five murders. or at
tempts at murders, daily. until the heart grows
sick over the daily record of blood.
1t is not surprising that there should be q
great deal Of violence in Texas. 1t Is frontier
state, and is still place of refuge for lawless
men from other states. but the growing evil
might be mitigated. II the courts and iuries did
their duty. which they do not BY any manner of
means We do not hesitate to aver that when
an assassin has money or influence. in nine cases
out OF ten. the trial, from beginning to end is
purely farce. and it is so regarded AMI spoken
OF by the general public. the popular belief
which is fully justified by the results. is that
there is no law in Texas to punish the wealthy
homicide.
We have not space in this issue to explain at
length how it comes that judicial hanging is
such rarc occurrence in Texas and WHY when
one does take place. the doomed man is always
without exception. poor devil without money
or friends. but will endcavor to do 50 in our
next issue. There are several reasons for this
ghastty mOckery at Justice. which has we'll
nigh destroyed all reverence for the law in the
minds of the people The ease and facility with
which our mOneyed assassins can obtain con-
tinuances and changes of venue has much to do
with the immunity granted this class. Oar jury
system seems to have been devised for the spe-
cial purpose of defeating the ends of Justice.
Again. the fact that when a jury does lind a
verdict of guilty. it is tempered with or re-
versed by either the higher courts or bv the
governor himself. which frequently means turn
ing over the jurymen to be slaughtered by the
professional assassin. To this cause teudS and
lynching may be attributed.
We are aware that the thorough ventilation
we propose to give this most important of all
questions will procure us some very cordial enc
mics, but prefer to do without the money or the
goodwill of criminals and their apOlogists We
know very we'll that we will have the moral sup
port of all those whose good opinion is really
worth having. Now is the time for the leglsla-
ture to do what it can to rescue our criminal
jurisprudence from the deserved contempt into
which it has fallen. 1t would almost appear
that, sooner or later. the assassin would be-
come sacred animal. like a certain breed of
monkeys in India that are permitted to do what
ever they please. 1t being a crime. punishable
Dy death, to any way eXasperate or modest. much
less destroy them. The American assassin is
already worshiped in his cell by silly women,
and it would almost seem as if. eventually. muir
der might become sacred calling and the muir
derer receive the hOnors of deity