The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-10-30
IsItn Case for the Governort

According TO our dispatch yesterday
F from screven county the situation there.
growing out Of the killing OF Sheriff
BROKER by the ZeigIer boys. is one. in the
estimation Of leading citizens Of the coun-
Is. for the governor 10 deal with. It is
practically admitted that the officers of
the law are powerless. Three weeks have
elapsed since the sheriff was shot to death,
and the Zelgler boys. who killed him, have
not been arrested. They have not fed.
They are at their home. and. it is UNI
derstood. defy the authorities to attempt
to arrest them The sheriff cannot arrest
them without assistance. and he admits
that he cannot get a posse Of citizens to
aid him. 1t is believed that if an effort
was made 10 arrest them
number OF lives would be lost. because so
large a number of the people of the coun-
ty sympathize with the Zeiglers. Many,
it is thought. would unite with them
in forcibly resisting the authorities.
Unfortunately the situation is compli-
Gated by politics. The zeiglers are popu-
lists and the populists believe the zeig-
lers would not have a fair trial if they
submitted to arrest. They also believe
that grave injustice was done when the
grand jury failed to indict Sheriff BROKER
for shooting the father of the Zeigler
boys.
We do not know why Sheriff Brooker
was not indicted. The presumption is, of
course. that the grand jury came to the
conclusion that Sheriff Brokers act was
committed in self defense. If they did
not find that the sheriff acted in self de-
Tense they are largely responsible for the
present unhappy state of affairs As to
whether the zeigler boys would have
fair trial if they should surrender we
can't speak authoritatively. We do not
know what the feeling in Screven county
is in respect to them. But if they couldn't
have fair trial in Screven county they
could in some other county, and there is
nothing easier than to get a change of
venue when there are facts which justify
a change.
But. aside from the question as to
whether Sheriff BROKER ought to have
been indicted for the killing of the father
"a tllc N4cieAcA bOg anu llit question as 10
whether the Zeigler boys could get a fair
trial in screven county, it is Of the high
est Importance to the welfare. peace and
prosperity of that county that the law
should be enforced. Let it once be I'M
derstood that the law can be violated with
impunity within the county and crimes
of violence win multiply with such rapi-
dity that residence in there would not be
regarded as desirable.
Is the situation one that calls for the
active Interference of the governor? We
do not know whether the governor has
yet taken this question under serious con-
sideration. We feel confident, however,
that if it is his duty to see that the law is
respected and enforced in Screven county
he will not hesitate to discharge that duty
at any cost. We do not believe he would
act hastily and unadvisedly. but he would
act firmly, and in a way that every good
citizen would recognize as the right one
The issue means more than the bringing
to trial of the slayers of Sheriff Brooker
1t means the vindication of the law and
the impressing upon the people that the
law must and shall be respected in every
county in the state