The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1883-06-06
HOMICIDE IN THE SOUTH.
Mr.. Henry Watterson breaches What
he Does not Practice.

The Hon. Henry Watterson. of Kentucky,
delivered the annual address before the liter
AIRY societies of Vanderbilt University In
subject was THE holnicidal side of Southern
life" lie spoke at considerable length. ~
said some good things. The following extract
from his address Is worth readings:
Much Of the ill-repute which is visited upon
the South Is traditional. There was a time
when what was called "the Code OF Honor
prevailed among US. 1t was the fashion for
public men, particularly, Tor Journalists 10 90
out and fight. If individuals must settle their
disputes by Il resort to arms, perhaps the pre-
arranged duel Offers the fairest mode OF adj
justlnent. But the trouble about such affairs
chivalrous regard to the equities Of personal
combat, they dcgeneratcd into the mereSt
jockeying for advantages. IT was this which,
In England, abolished duelling. Its disuse
with US may be aScrihcd in part to the same
cause, Joined to tn" absurd figure which the
professional duelliStS of the South cut in the
war between the sections. Ono ana all they
made the poorest soldiers. Thty could not
endure fatigue. they could not tolerate diScip-
line and In many cases they turned out TO be
not merely laZXHnd Idle bra"garts. but pusil-
luminous towards. To-day no Southern man
of snar a cha, nna eespM4 a MomiSS M shrink Se not S S5
much from the encounter as from the dis
grace, and less from the disgrace thar from
the contempt which has fallen upon the bel
~iigprant correspondence, the mock heroic set
Element on paper, and the reciprocal publtca-
ton of mutually satisfied honor. AS u rule,
during the reign Of the code. lis
vutarirs were either very hot-hcaded Young
men or men leading loOs" and reckless lives.
The same may be said of those who. too I'M
petuous to wait for the formalitics of the code.
seek the common Thorough fircS as 4 field OF
honor, and impr0viSe their durlS without sec.
onds or surgeons or benefit of clergy. You
and / and all us know that these affairs are In
nine cases out of ten the result OF the use Oh
stimu,ants, and that those who take part In
xlo,x .> G,, frNt, ,nin ntNrnsn1tnf - non
and ADMIRED of the multitude. are generally
men upolT the down grade of social consider
alton, or else men entirely outlawcd from de-
cent Christian brotherhood.
THE CARRYING OF THE CONCEALED wEA
Yet 1T cannot be disguised. and there Is no
need to deny, that the carrying of concealed
weapons, and the use Of them on slight provo.
cation-an offspring OF the " ar both West and
and that the public condemnation of this,
which is universal, fails to make itself adc-
quateIy felt. Here lies the real scat of the
evil. All of US admit that he who goes about
with q weapon, II not Il coward, Is Il black
guard. All of us admit that the violation of
law should be punished. Yet none OF our
Legislatures has been able to formulate M
Act substantially obliterating the practice of
carrying concealed weapons, and no commu-
nifty has worked itself to the moral courage
and specific value Of the o'd-tashioned peace
warrant. We leave our DULLES to fight 1t out,
forgetting that 1T IL a part Of our duty, as citi-
zcns, to sec thatthc public peace is not broken,
and to prevent, no less than to punish, the
violation Of law. Every age, ! suppose, has
its spirit. There are among us pioneers who
can remember when the shotgun and the rifle
were primal necessities OF everyday life. 1t
Is not surprising that the spirit of that age
was iigh'ing: Hardly had us eSiEencics
battle called them 10 arms. huS for fifty or
sixty years physical prowess was the stand.
ard Of manly measurement at the South.
Necessarily this carried with 1t certain diSid-
vantagcs and Il certain decentralization. The
country has not yet wholly emancipatcd it.
self from It's antcccdents and It's traditions.
TIE FIGHTERS WI HAD THEIR DAY.
We have not reached the millennium yet
in the South. No more have the peopleof the
North. But the fighters have had their day.
Just after our great wal there was n childish
effort made in certain quarters to revive the
tourney. 1t was Il dismal failure: The spirit
of chivalry was met by the genius of labor.
and the struggle was for an instant only.
Work won it, and so the heroes Of our time
are fast becoming tho victors In mans and
woInan's fight for human freedom and Intel
~lectual, moral and physical development. In
the popular imagination Snladin is replaced
by science; our trouhadour Is the trumpet
call Of religion; and the music of the lutte Is
hushed forever by the deeper music Of the
loom. Even among warriors II IL rot the
bloody butchers of old who are held up rs
model captains. but the Harelocks and The
Lees, the Stoncwall JackSohS and The Garnet
Wo!scleys. men who have Joined to soldier:
ship scholarship, and to both gentle manhood
and simple truth. Everywhere the world Is
seeking to rescue itself from fcudal darkness.
AZ length the man Is saying to the woman
"hclp me-" and 10. the wornan-no longer a
handmalden-is taking her place by the side
Of her comrade, not her lord. and heart to
heart, the two are hewing out Of life larger
and richer fields Of happiness and usefulness.
The spirit of the age Is movement, and
nowhere In the world Is 1t more earnest or
more active than 1t Is at this moment at the
SnIlih