The morning call., 1892-09-10
A mURDEKEK ACQUITTED.

The acquittal Of the Marquis de Mores
for killing Captain Mayer Of the French
army in duel establishes the principle
that, while the French code brands uueling
as a crime, the successful duelist cannot be
punished in France. 1t hardly lies In our
mouth so soon after the New Orleans prize
fight to twit the French with making a
mockery of their own laws.
Still, the Mores case was peculiarly Ia
grant a scurrilous French newspaper had
been trying to gain notoriety by personal
attacks on the Jews, and especially on
Jewish officers of the army, whom it &C
cused Of cowardice. A Jewish captain in
the army, named Mayer, took up the case
on behalf Of bis co-religionists and sought
an antagonist to meet him on the field Of
honor. II appears that the editor was not
thrsting for gore; he preferred the pen to
the pistol: but the Marquis de Mores, who
was not connected with the paper and had
no concern in the controversy, thrust him
self into the fray, and offered Captain
Mayer the satisfaction he sought duel
was fought, and MOres, who is extra
ordinarily skillful In the use Of weapons,
killed his man. He was arrested, tried and
acquitted on the ground that the duel bad
been fair-"as fair duel, sir, as / ever saw
in my life."
Looking at the case across continent
and an ocean. people in this part of the
country regard Mores' performance as
neither more nor less than a murder. he
had no personal wrong to avenge. He had
probably no acquaintance with his antago-
MIST No act had been done. no word had
been spoken which called upon him to in
-, in Ia
was simply impelled by race prejudice TO
attack the captain because he belonged to
sect which has supplied France with some
of its wisest statesmen; and his impatience
was such that he could not wait i'll he had
a quarrel of his own. but must intFude
into another mans dispute to kill Jew.
lust to show how superior Christians are TO
Jews. That is an act which al American
jury would brand as murder in the first de-
gree; and no American Judge would palter
with his duty by delaying the sentence OF
the criminal to death. That the French
take a different view merely shows how
nations vary in their estimate of right and
wrong.
In this State memorable example of the
cost Of the dueling mania led, at an early
day, to the adoption Of laws which have
commanded the hearty acquiescence of the
people. Whatever may be done elsewhere.
men NAV not fight duels in California, nor
even leave this State for the purpose of
fighting duels outside its border. We have
not found that our prohibition of the duel
has led to Inconvenience. Our experience
has refuted the old Southern doctrine that
the duel was the only reliable restraint
upon the unruly tongue and the passionate
hand. 1t has not been found In this State
that men are less respectful in their inter-
course with each other because they run
little risk Of being invited to a meeting"
When the Sumner Brooks imbrogli0 con-
vulsed Washington thirty years ago. Sena-
tor Mason of Virginia said that if the
Northern men would not fight dBels they
must expect street fights, in which victory
would rest with him who was quickest with
the trigger. We have not found that to be
the case. Men are sometimes shot in this
State; when that happens we try to hang
the murderer, if we catch him and attor-
neys do not succeed in defeating the ends Of
justice. But the homicides which occur DO
not proceed from the class of controversies
which used in the old days TO provoke duels.
II seems that the mercurial temperament
of the French requires a succession Of ex-
elements 10 keep their bodies and minds in
sound health. When there is no CHASTITY MUIR
der on the taps and no coniugsl cataclysm
feeds the public appetite for sensation the
Frenchman falls into a condition of torpor
which threatens collapse. The public safety
requires the discovery of stimulant. A
year or so since. Paris, being in this condi-
ton of paralysis, was reused by the shrieks
of an editor who said that all would be
lost If the Jews were not sat upon. AS the
Jews are minority in Paris the idea spread
like wildfre, and the Jews, who are gener-
ally well-to-do people. experienced some
thing Of the paDgs which used to rack their
ancestors in olden times. A few of them
who ara in the army proposed to resent the
SANDERS that were current about the people
of their faith. The first who did so ran
against De Mores and got killed for his
pains. When the historian comes to sum
up the case he may not take the same view
as the jury which has acquitted the
Marquis.