The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-02-26
The Celebration of Crime.

Two of the most sought after persons
in the city of Cincinnati are Scott Jack
son and Alonzo Walling. They are in
jail The charge against them is murder.
They are suspected of having killed a
young woman, cut her head from her
body and thrown the body where it was
found, some weeks ago, on public coun-
try highway Notwithstanding the helm
BUSINESS of the crime with which the men
stand charged. they are daily visited by
hundreds of persons. The number on
Friday last amounted to 1900. of whom it
is said more than two-thirds were women,
the majority of them being under % years
of age. So great has become the daily
throng at the jail that it has been found
impossible to permit visitors to see the
prisoners in their cells. The visitors are,
therefore, lined up in two lines down the
corridor of the prison. and the young men
are marched up and down between the
lines for inspection. As they pass, many
of the younger women express sentiments
of compassion and pity for them. and
hand them flowers. 1t frequently occurs
that in the line will be a mother with
one or more children to see the muir
derers
Such a state of public mind is abnor-
NAL, and is dangerous. 1t is approval of
crime. The attention that is being paid
to the prisoners tends to make heroes of
them 1t impresses weak-minded persons
with the fact that the murderers have
done something to give them notoriety;
something to put their names in every
body's mouth; something great And
there are great many weak minded per-
sons who would not hesitate to duplicate
thecrime with which Jackson and Walling
are charged for the sake of winning as
much notoriety as they have acquired.
/ AS to the effect of visits to the murderers
on young girls, it can only be bad. They
see two wel-favored and we'll dressed
young men. The peril of the position ex-
4 cites their girlish sympathy. They can
not conceive how two such nice looking
| fellows could be so wicked; they do not
believe the young mon did it; they are
sure the poor fellows are innocent. and
murmur pity for and sympathy with
them. The result is that afterwards they
have something of sympathy for men OF
| the stamp of the criminals
There can be no doubt that some of the
newspapers of Cincinnati are largely re-
spohsible for the state of the public mind
with regard to the murderers. They are
VIGOROUSLY sensational papers. Ever
since the occurrence of the Pearl Bryan
murder they have exerted themselves tc
paint the horrors of the case, in type and
| pictures. in its most blood curdlins
| phases They have devoted, not columns
but pages, to the exploiting of all the de
tails-the most minute and disgusting de
tails-of the crime. They have exhibited
remarkable enterprise in the matter
and probably have been repaid for it in ar
increase of the sales of the copies. Such
newspapers are a dishonor to Journalism
Savannahians remember the Horsa. tn,
innocent looking little Danish fruit steam
er that came up to this city last year ant
sailed away to Africa with "a cargo o.
black emigrants for Liberia. The Horss
is soon to loose her identity. and become ;
fierce rover of the seas. That sounds i'm
probable. but It is true The republic O.
Colombia has purchased the steamer. anC
viii change her into war vessel; one Of
the most formidable in the Colombian
navy.