The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-08-18
An Amazing Record.

An Appalling Record.
The Providence Or. L. Journal makes the
startling statement that there were 10000
homieides in this country last year. That
is an appalling record. and when IL Is
considered that there we're only 800 homi-
cides in the whole Of the United Kingdom
during the same period the question arises
whether there is not something wrong in
this country in the ADMINISTRATION Of jus
tee. Surely. if the laws were promptly
and vigorously enforced there would be
fewer crimes OF violence. II punishment
we're certain 10 follow crime there would
be a much greater regard for human life.
With respect to the cause for so many
homicides, the Journal says: Probably
the chief reason for the number of muir
ders-intentional and other-is the bar
barous practice of carrying concealed
weapons. which the law in many parts
Of the country does not deal with severely
enough; while a contributory cause may
be the decreasing respect for all law as
an instrument of punishment. seeing how
easily it may be evaded. and how, by IN
geniOus legal methods, punishment when
it is awarded may be postponed or avert
ed"
1t is but reasonable that there should
be more homicides in this country in pro-
portion to the population than in Eng
land. because it is the dumping ground
of the surplus population of every Eu-
ropean country. and also because very
large part of it is yet under the infiu-
ence Of frontier sentiment, but leaving
out the homicides that are due to these
causes there are stin a great many more
crimes of violence than there should be.
While 1t is true that the pernicious
practice of carrying concealed weapons
is responsible for large percentage of
the crimes of violence we cannot help
thinging that the ease with which pun
ishment for such crimes is evaded is the
chief factor in making our record of
homicides what It is. 1t is astonishing
how general the belief is that the man
who kills another in a quarrel, or for
some real or fancied wrong, will es-
cape punishment, and it is regrettable
that there is ground for this belief.
Weak judges grant continuances until
all the testimony against the accused is
out of the reach of the court, prosecuting
attorneys fail to prepare far trial or are
overmatched and juries having no strong
public sentiment to support them in
doing their duty. render verdicts in ac-
cordance with their sympathies rather
than with their judgments.
And even after convictions are secured
the gallows is a long way Off, and may
never be reached. Notice this case of
Mrs. Mobiles and the negro Gus Families
of Tyiggs county! They were to have
been executed last Friday. The COVER
nor respited them, and now extraordinary
the gallows. There is no question that
they committedithe crime of which they
were convicted, and the people of Twiggs
county are indignant that the sentence of
the court has not been carried out. A
few women of another county thought a
woman should not be hung, and they
set about having Mrs. Mobiles sentence
committed. Then the idea was thrown
out that the woman is insane, though no
such plea was made during the trial. The
whole matter will probably end by both
the woman and the negro being sent to
the insane asylum. from which they will
be released in a few years. probably.
when the indignation caused by their
crime has died out and nobody cares
whether they are released or not.
We mention this Mobiles case not for
the purpose of criticising the governor or
those who have interested themselves in
her behalf. but simply to show how ex-
tremely difficult it is to have the law
against crimes of violence executed. And
still. any thinking man cannot help know
ing that the failure to promptly punish
those who commit those crimes is the
chief reason. why there are SO many crimes
of that kind.