Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-03-27
Wednesdnr Morning,s Crime.

Whisky was the indirect cause of the
death Of the young German, Emil Phuger,
who was shot to death in a drunken row
near a saloon on West Broad street on
Wednesday morning. Without the whis-
Ky there would have been no row, and
without the row there would have been 10
shooting.
We might as well look the facts square
Is in the face and admit the truth. We
cannot deceive ourselves, and what use
is there, therefore, to attempt to deceive
others. If Wednesday mornings crime
were the first crime Of the kind in this
city that could be traced directly to
whisky, there would be some reason per-
haps II charging it to some other
cause. But it was not the first.
1t was only one Of many. If the record
OF the crimes Of violence committed in
this community in the last dozen years
and traceable to whisky could be pre-
scented in all its hideOus nakedness, it
would be startling.
There is hardly day that there is not
reported from some part Of the State a
deed Of blood that was caused by whisky.
Assaults and murders make up large
percentage Of the crimes Of the State, and
whisky is responsible for nine-tenths of
them.
The Pfuger murder is a strong argu-
ment in favor OF the temperance move
ment that is now making so much pro-
gress in this and other States. There
can hardly be a stronger. A young
man, strong, in good health, and full OF
/ hope, without a moments warning, was
sent to meet his Maker. And the men
/ who are charged with destroying this
/ young life, what Of them: Is it possible
to conceive the depth of their wretched-
| ness, the terri bleness of their remOrse!
What would they not give if they could
| rid themselves of the crimson stains,
if they are guilty, that will fill all the
balance of their lives with despair!
What supreme happiness would be theirs
if they could once more stand before their
fellow men as pure and clean-handed as
they were an hour before the fatal shot
! was fired,
! They were not assassins who laid in
wait for a victim. They did not want to
take human life. Had there been a mo-
ment for cool, deliberate thought it is
probable that Emil P1uger would now
be among the living. But, craZed by
/ whisky, TO the point Of irrespOnsibility
perhaps, he who is guilty of taking the
\ young Germans life handled the death
/ dealing weapon with deadly effect.
It is folly to say that the ruin that wills
| KEY causes does not reach beyond those
who drink it, and that it is nObOdy's busl-
ness if they choose TO wreck their lives.
| How many hearts will ache because OF
/ " hisky's work on Wednesday morning
Who can picture the grief Of the victims
! aged parents and his brothers and sisters
/ when they hear Of his violent death in
| their far off home in Berlin! Who would
undertake to fathOm the depth Of woe OF
/ the wife. who, with her little ones, anX-
/ iOusly waited through the night of the
/ tragedy for the coming Of the husband
wno did not come! How terrible must
have been her suffering when she learned
/ that the one most dear to her in the world
was charged with the greatest of all
| crimes. and was prisoner in the hands
Of the officers of the law. Is the ruin ard
/ suffering caused by whisky confined to
/ those who drink il:
Two hundred and thirty-siX saloons
I supply the wants of the whisky drinkers
I in this city. 1t has been estimated that
nearly 81, GOO 600 Is spent annually within
the city's limits to satisfy the appetite for
whisky. Much Of this is contributed by
! those who cannot afford such contribu-
tons, because their families need all they
earn. How much comfort and happiness
would be realized from this vast sum if it
was spent for the necessaries of life!
] The saloon keepers are not to blame for
the misery. suffering and crime that flows
| from whisky. They are engaged in a
I legitimate business. The State says that
/ it is right to sell whisky and sells the
/ right. II the whisky business is wrong
/ the State is to blame for its continuance.
/ And the State, is not the State the peo-
-