The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-08-25
Iniustics 70 TIE sou-n-


SENSATIONAL accounts # crimes c'1lu,i.te ID
in tie south are continually appearing n
the northern newspapers. and u Is very SCI
! dom stated whether the parties - the crimes
are white or black Doubtless tie average
| northern newspaper reader j. gnieT The I'M
preston that they srs white, and be Won
ders, perhaps, whether the southern people
are as civilized IS thoss ~ ether parts Of the
country The NeV York pspsrs Of last
| Saturday TO- instance, contained the SC
counts Of four murders committd in
one week in Ab9evils county, South Caro-
lima there vss nothing II these accounts 10
show Whether THE uaGTde-ers or their vic
Tins were white ~ blscS. lodeei, from
the way 10 which they were written the in
tention Of the author Of them appears 70 have
been 70 c7eA;e thu repression that they
were white Doubtless 1t was thought that
the accounts Of the murders would be
more scoeptabls to northern papers If those
who were killed. as well as those who did
the killing, were understood 70 be white.
As matter Of fact all Of the persons con-
nectet with these Abbeville county crimes,
with the exception, probably, Of one or two,
we're black. aud 1t is safe to say that three
fourths Of all the crimes In the south are
committed by blacks. The blacks commit
nearly all the crimes against property, and
by far the greater number of those against
persons. Those who have had experience
on grand Juries in the south know that this
statement is true. The time of grand iuries
in the south is almost wholly taken up with
- lob h. -
course there are white criminals, but the
number Of them in proportion to the white
population is not greater than in the north.
If it were not for the black population the
cost of administration of justice at the
southern states would not be one-fourth
what it is
The reason why crime is so much more
prevalent among the blacks than the whites
is apparent. They are ignorant, aud there
fore lacking in self-respect and self-res-
traint The restraints of a higher civiiza-
lation are almost unknown to them. They
yield readily, when under the influence of
passion, to their impulses, which, owing to
a lack OF education and early ming, are
apt to be had. The extent of immortality
amog them, particularly in loo alities in
which they are pretty closely crowded TO-
gether, is appalling. 1t is shown very con-
spicuously in their extraordinary death rate.
In this city, for instance, where their num-
Der is considerably smaller than that of the
whites, there were fifteen deaths of blacks
last week and only four of whites. Only a
few days ago the Washington D. C. Post
called attention to the extraordinary death
rate among the blacks in that city.
Of course the high death rate among the
blacks is not due altogether to i'm morality,
but immortality has great deal to do with
it. Their death rate indicates neglect of
many things which are part of the civil
zation Of those who occupy a higher moral
and intellec tual plane.
OF course the blacks are improving. They
are advancing morally and intellectually,
but 1t will be long time before they will
cease to furnish in the south the majority
of the criminals If the southern CORE
spondsnts of the northern papers were to
state in their accounts of crimes the color
of the criminals aud their victims, the i'm
preston of the southern people that pre-
walls at the north would be- somewhat diff
ferent