The Pascagoula democrat-star. (Pascagoula, Miss.) 1878-1920, 1891-04-10
THE NLW ORLEANS TRAGEDY.
Rev. J. b. GambreIl Gives His Views In
Vigorous Language.
Southern Baptist Record.

by our senior Tor The Meridian
Neps. Ii may serve a good pur-
pose 10 give II a wider circulation
Unless the good people can be in
duced TO bring morality. common
sense and active patriotism into
play when dealing with public
affairs what has he future in store
for onr children.
To the Editor of the News.
You have made your readers ac-
quainied with the dreadful lrage-
dy enacted IN New Orleans last
Saturday, in which eleven souls
were buried into eternity al The
muzzIes OF smoking Winchesters
and shotgunS. 1t Was a most
dreadful deed. That such Il thing
could occur in one of our largest
cities, in broad daylight, by repu-
table citizens backed up by The
press and business organizations
of the city, argues desperate state
Of affairs. | am on record all along
the line as opposed TO mobs. They
must of necessity detract from The
majesty of law and 60 to the very
foundations Of organized society.
But in this case, il must be con.
ceded there was much to pallate
resort to mob violence; yet, who
knows but in that awful slaughter
OF prisoners some innocent persons
perished, victims Of the peoples
sins!
| do not wish to discuss the kill
ing, but as all eyes are now on
New Orleans, would 1t not be we'll
TO study the causes leading up to
This shocking ending OF a series OF
crimes.
A volcano is not cause, but an
effect. The causes of an eruption
Of Vesuvius are hidden deep in the
bowels Of the earth. The genera
ton of The gases which finally ex-
plode with a shock that makes the
earth reel goes on for many years.
Just so social convulsions are the
results Of causes usually overlook
ed by the ma, ses.
Let us take New Orleans. II is
what some other great cities are.
on y, perhaps, rather more so. 1t
is lhe cess. pool of The ff-scouring.
Of the earth. 1t is The habitat of
The lottery, of innumerable saloons,
aud OF every evil thing.
All these evils coelesce, and the
government falls into The hands OF
the bad. "Tbe wicked conspire,"
but the good do not combine"
The city government of New
Orleans has long been weak and
without moral force. Besides, the
The city invites prize fights, and il
is the stamping ground for all
roughs and loughs who delight in
brutality. Wickedness knows no
bounds. In this limilless con-
glomeraliOn of The lawless ele.
ments, the Crescent City has and |
diligently fosters all the forces
necessary for repeated assassina-
tions and mob violence. This time
ii is the Dagoes. But you remem-
ber only few years ago it was the
Fords and the Murphys who plan
ned and eXecu ed an assassination,
one Of the Fords being Judge on
the bench at the Time. Ihe gen.
tlemen who, in spasm OF just in.
dignaiion, marched down 10 the
parish prison Saturday and done
to death eleven human wreIches,
at the most have only cut off The
top crop of the noxious product of
their slums.
Slum rule will go on in New Or
leans, aud many of those very men
will help it TO go on.
Wise craftsmanship would sug-
gest reform in the primal condi-
lions OF society. Down with The
saloon, The lottery, The ga milling
hell, the houses of prostitution. and
up with decency aud honor, home
and humanity.
The complaint made is that the
courts are insufficient 10 protect
human life. That is undoubtedly
a just complaint. When there is a
by criminals, for Grim
inals, 1t is reasonable 10 expect
criminals to be punished, unless
they happen 10 fall out among
themselves. The slums elect Off
GERS Of their kind-not 10 protect
The people. but 10 project them
selves in crime. That il the way
it Is done in the cities. and good
men help to do it because their
party interest is involved.
What Is wanted in New Orleans
and in Mississippi. too, is law fairly
Everybody saws
this, bnt a majority of the citizens
DO nothing toward 1t until some
shocking outrage is perpeirated
and then comes The blind mob,
drunken with rage, 10 rectiiy in an
hour the mistakes of years.
We want 10 begin a substantial
reform To drain off the slums Of
our cities. An engineer knows he
cannot build a safe railroad in
bog, but our statesmen % think
they can erect the social fabric on
the slums. 1t is a fallacy. A
moral element is needed IN pracii-
cal politics. No man whose afilia-
lions are with the criminal classes
ought ever to receive the votes of
good citizens for any Office.