San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1897-09-05
COMPARISONS.

AlOlAlIiAG 10 NOnlAnANANQ htAN III
America in order to obtain substantial
justice for actually committed rude
and detestable crimes. On the other
side of the duck pond a different
method is observed. A person there,
feeling offended, challeges his often
der to duel with pistols, sabers or
swords and the chances of being kill
ed are in the scale of probability. If
one of the contestants is killed il
does not constitute murder, but simp-
ly satisfaction of honor With us it
is the common people. One of his
number is injured in his highest mot
Imaginary honor. The whole neigh
borhood is alarmed in consequence OF
this abominable crime. The culprit is
caught and in the excitement of the
moment private punishment is meted
out to him, without awaiting the slow
grinding action Of the courts. Euro
prot that America must certainly be
port that America must certainly be
in a detestably lawless condition that
such denominations are within the
scope of possibility.
IL the European persons accidental
ly engaged in quarrel, cards are ex-
changed as prescribed by etiquette.
The next day the carriers Of challeng-
es call upon the offenders for the pur-
pose Of arranging a duel "in defense
Of honor if the latter's social position
warrants his giving satisfaction. The
duel usually takes place in the early
morning at a scheduled spot and blood
must flow or if possible, one of the
cense-cocks remains dead upon the
field. Consequently a murder results
and as a rule, occasioned by the most
trivial of causes. The result is not
that the connections of the murdered
man engaged in further fued with
the opposing party, but the victor has
tens TO America and is employed as a
hotel waiter, or he is apprehended and
confined at fortress for brief per-
iod, whereby full settlement is effect
ed.
Retribution for such vile, debased
and abominable crimes as are daily
reported in our American papers can
only be had through the speedy action
of the authorities, but since long eX-
perience has demonstrated that the
mills of justice are far too slow to
IAN W Slihl, thC DtOpiC lhC
rights of Judge and eXecutioner as in
the case alluded to, and the evil doer
lis disposed of in the most summary
manner.
These crimes against the families
of the common people are of mean
and more immoral character than
those perpetrated against persons pre-
tending to the upper class of human
society. Honor, term, having the
most expansive meaning, is precisely
the same in the lower classes of the
people as in the more favored and es-
pecially the honor of woman above all
honors, more particularly above the
imaginary honor claimed by certain
classes in the European states.
Therefore If European papers are
ready to cast stone upon us when
we seek to defend and protect that
honor, the noblest possession of a
woman, they may well consider that
they are living in very sensitive
glass houses. The "honor" which we
defend is indeed ''the honor" But
the article defended in Europe, man
slaughter and murder, in so-called
duels, is extremely imaginary. This
we can demonstrate by the duel of
Henri of Orleans with the Count of
Turin. The insult consisted in the
duke publishing in a paper that the
Italians had behaved as cowardly pol
troons in Africa. The Count of Tur-
in, participant in the African cam
paign felt himself aggrieved, challeng-
ed the Duke of Orleans and inflicted
upon the latter a probably fatal
wound, consequently committed MUIR
der.
Here in America insults of that
character are settled in a different
manner. 1t is left to the court to de-
eide who is right or who is wrong,
but we don't engage like cense-cocks
in a row till one becomes disabled or
is left dead upon the field Of honor.
In this respect we certainly are in
spite of our crude conditions far above
thp nractice of EurODe