The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1897-12-01
SHED EACH OTHERS BLOOD?
AEhe Cause Of the Prevalence of Homicide at
the South
From the Charleston Sunday Meas.

homicide In the State. There is
scarcely an issue of a paper which
does not chronicle or comment >upor
some ARRAY or difficulty" as il il
euphemistically termed, involving the
life Of some citizen. 1t is verify true
that our brothers blood cries out
from the ground against US.
Some years ago-18SO-there ap-
pearsd a work entitled "Homicide,
North and South in which Mr. Red
field, the author, in no unkindly
spirit examined and discussed this
subject. The result of his investi-
CATION was fearful.
First. He foxnd that from the re-
ports Of our own newspapers it ap-
peared thatt the number Of homicides
in our Southera States was proper.
tionately greater than in any country
on earth the population Of which is
rated as civilized.
Second. He found that the number
Of hemicides in the Southern States
in the fifteen years before he wrote
reached the enormous aggregate OF
4O. 900.
IN these Investigations Mr. Red
deld selected the States of Texas,
Kentucky and South Oarolina.for fig
nres upon which to estimates,
because in each of these States there
was published newspaper covering
lloeal affairs in the entire State with q
degree Of thoroughness that enabled
satlaast an approximate collection Of
eases of homicide for a given period.
The year 1878 was taken as an average
year. The result presented some
amazing contrasts and brought out the
differences in this respect between
Southern and Northern civilization in
fearful colors. It is painful and NOR
tifying for a Southern man-for a
South Carolinian Ito tell even to his
own people what was thus shown.
But recognition of evil must come
before any effectual effort to amend
ment. IF with shame, at least with
.frankness, let US look at the condemn
ing facts.
10 Texas during the year 1878 there
we're more homicides than in the ten
States Of Maine, New Hampshire.
Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Is
land, Connecticutt, New York, Penn
sylvania, Michigan and Minnesota,
with an aggregate population of near
II, if not quite, seventeen millions.
In Kentucky that year there were
more homicides than in the eight
:States Of Maine, New Hampshire,
Vermont, Massachusetts,. Rhode Is
land, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and
Minnesota, with an aggregate popula-
tion Of nearly ten millions.
In South Carolina that year there
we're more homicides than in the
eight States Of Maine, New Hamp-
shire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode
Island, Connections, Michigan and
Minnesota, with an aggregate popula-
tion Of about six millions.
In this old State Of South Carolina,
with civilization dating back two
centuries, there are moreithan twice
as many men killed annually than in
all the six New England States. with
more than four millions Of iuhabi-
tants. Manslaughter io-the old State
Of South Carolina was twelve or four
teen times more frequent than in the
the old State of Massachusetts,.
Dir. Red6eld's work was published
in 1880. seventeen years ago. Is it
not fact taat the crime of homicide
has rather increased than decreased
since be wrote? We1fear that it has.
Texas was long frontier State. 1t
had had but loose government, as
an independent Republic, and its i'm
mense area rendered it but sparsely
populated community. 1t still re-
taiDs much offrontier life. Kentucky,
too, had borne the same relation to
the colonies and the old thirteen
States, and the bloody impression of
those early times it seems impossible
to efface. But, as Mr.. Redfeld points
out, there is nothing in the early his
tory of our community to have given
such turn to the people Of South
Carolina. 1t is an old community,
with conservative manners end ways,
and, as between the whites, without
the friction Of varying natioualities,
and without the lower foreign popula
tiou, in which most Of the crime Of
violence in the Northern States is
found. There is no reason why homi-
eide among the whites Of South Caro-
ldna should be more frequent than