The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1892-05-25
An Era of Murder.

The Chicago Tribune has for severa
years kept a record of the murders, le
gal executions and lynchings reported
in the newspapers of the United
States, and its report for the pas! veal
has excited general attention and
comment.
The murders numbered $500, an i'm.
crease of 1,Gl6 over 1890, aud of 2,333%9
over 1889.
.'The list of murders during the last
ten years" it is noted, "shows Il
steady increase" The cause OF the
murders of last year are not satisIac-
torily classified, 2,S2O being attributed
to "quarrclS." S77 to "liquor," 449 to
Jealousy" and ~ to "self-defence," "
while it is pretty certain that these
cases, or one-seventh of the whole
number, are reported rs of unknown
cause. Highwaymen are credited with
having committed 24l murders during
the year, while II highwaymen were
killed, presumably in the puruult OF
their vocation.
Compared with this list of nearly
6,O00 murders the list Of legal eNecu-
tions appears very small.
The humber for the whole country
during the year was l23, as compared
with lO2 in 1890. and was larger than
i'm any Of the previous years.
Strange TO say, 96 are credited TO the
South and only - to the North. or
the total number 81 were whites, 10
negroes, Mexican, 4 Indians and l
japanese. The distribution by States
and Territories was as follows:
Connecticut and West Virginia l
each California, Illinois, Kentucky,
MARYLAND, Minnesota, North Carolina,
Ohio and Arizona , each. Alabama,
Arkansas, Colorado and Tennessee 3
each. Delaware, Nebraska and New
York each. Indian Territory, 3.
PENNSYLVANIA, 7. Mississippi, Mis-
souri,, South Carolina and Virginia S
each. Louisiana, 8. Texas II. Geo
rgia, l6. "Jersey justice" it is seen,
did not reach the gallows last year /;
and it is noteworthy that only one
criminal was executed in all the New
England States, and not one in Indi-
ana, Michigan, Kansas, Wisconsin,
iowa or any of The new States.
The lynchers. of course, made a
larger score. as they put to death l95
people-2S9 men and 6 womeD-an
increase of IS over 1890, and the lar
gest number ever lynched in one year
i'm this country, The South, unfor-
tunately, leads again with u record of
1859, against % for the North. OF the
victims III were negroes. 69 whites.
Indians, , Chinese and | Mexican.
The distribution by States and Terri
tories was as follws:
California. Maryland, Ohio, Oregon,
South Carolina, Wisconsin and WyO-
ming l each. Colorado, Michigan,
Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina,
West Virginia and ludian Territory >
each.
South Dakota and Washington 3
each. Montana and Virginia . each.
Florida 10. Kentucky II, Georgia and
Arkansas II each, Tennessee. %, Texas
IL. Mississippi %, Alabama 26, Louisl-
ana %. 1t is pleasant to find South
Carolina in good company last year,
aud it is noteworthy again that not
single case of the crime under consld-
GRAFTON occurred in the section north
of Maryland and east Of Ohio. 1.-The
"South" makes bad showing un-
doubtedly, but it should be noted, per-
haps, that Of the l69 lynchings that
occurred in that section ID were OF he
groes for assaults on women, and that
loo of the whole number occurred in
the five Gulf States. :.
Taking the legal executions and
lynchinSs together, about two hun
dred and fifty people were put to death
for murder last year. There were
nearly six thousand murders dur
ing the year. Manifestly, as the Lou
isville Courier-Journal forcibly re-
marks, after study of the figures we
have given, lit is ''safer to commit
murder than any other 'crime in
america The new year Is barely
tniee weeks old, and no one who has
watched the newspapers can have
failed to mark tine large numDer or
crimes repolt ted in that time. There
have been, we believe, a dozen or
more homicides in South Carolina
alone since Christmas, and the record
for some of the other States is as bad or
worse. There is u fair prospect that
the evil record Of last year will be
eaualled this year. The increase year
by wear for the past ten years, it is
said, has been very steady. That is
the natural consequence OF crime 60
ing unpunished Tie number of vic
Tins i'm 1891 nearly doubled those in
1855, and the number in the past three
wears alone equals one-fUurth the pop
ulation of a city of the size of Charles
ton. 1t is a horrible chapter in each
years history that is recorded by the
Chicago paper, but it cannot be stud
led too carefully. The remedy for the
evil exists somewhere, aud il can be
found and applied when the public
eouscience is awakened To look for 1t.
The time to begin to search in earn.
= st appears to have fully arrived.
News and Courier.