The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1897-12-22
WHY KILL EACH 00THERt
TaE PREVALENCE oe HOMICIDE IN
ESC4r3.


siES1tE1S ~ IL IhS ''a--~! o.
B!oody Cus,orn
Every lar abiding ci;:z:a rus. stand
a90all, d al he frequency q Ao:n;cids
in the Sta:e. There IS scarcely a. is
sue Of { paper 1&,ch does not chroni
Gle OF. co cnment. .u2an. some affray or
.diliicul lY." as il IS eupAeu.istically
teTmet, involving TIE lie Of sCUe cit
IN. Ii IS verify tue that our broth
ers blood cries gu. FROM the gToun3
agaiCS: Us.
Some years aco, 1880, there arpear-
I'd ~oclr entitled Homicide. North
and Sou.h," il which Mr. RsdfeId,
the author, il no unkindjy spirit *
amiGed aud discussed tits sQ}jsct.
The result OF his Investigation was
fearful
First. Eo found that from the re,
ports OF our own newspapers il ap
psar5d that the number OF homicides
N our Southern States were prcpor
tionately greater thau in any country
on earth the population OF which S
rated as cigij;z91.
Second. H fcand taat tie number
O. hcnic:Ges II tie Southern STATES IN
the fifteen years before he wrote
reac ed the enormous aggregate o.
10000.
In these investigations Mr. Rsdfeld
SCI, cted he States Of Texas, kentucky
and South Carolina for figures upon
whicn 10 base his estimates. because
n eaca cf these States there wss pub
iisaed newspaper covering lccal al
fairs in tha entire State with degree
OF thcrcu2GEess that enabled at less
/ an approximate collection Of cases CT
hoa!eidss for : given period The
; year 1873 waS taken as an average
vear. Tne result presented soGla amsz.
irs co2tr&stS AID brought cut the dif
teranceS N :liS respect between South
eru ard NorIadrn civilization in fear
! ful coIois ItiS painful and Gortify
ing for SouJkIra man-for South
| C2roiiuiau--.o tell even TO his own
/ people what was thus shown. But 3
reccs ai!ion Of evil must come before
any eGactual effort 10 sneudmert. II
with shame, al Ie2s; with frank1ess,
! let Us lock at tbs cordenpiag facts.
IN Tzxas during the year there were
more homie das than II the tan States
OF Maine, Nv Hampshire, Vermont,
Mass2chuset S. Rhode Island, Connsc-
rcus, New York, Pennsylvania, Mich.
igan aud Minnesota, with an aggre
! gate population Of nearly, il not q1te
! seventeen millions
! In Kentucky that year there were
more homicidss tha1 in the eight
States OF Maize, New Hampshire, Yer
uont, Massachusetts,, Raode Island.
Connecticut. Pennsylvania and Min
nesota, with an aggregate population
cf nearly ten millions.
/ IN South Carolina that year thsre
we're n ore homicides than in the eight
States of Maine, New Ham pshire, Yer
mont, Massachusetts,, Rhode Island,
Connecticut, Michigan and Minnesota,
with an aggregate population Of about
SIX millions.
In this old State Of Scush Carolina,
with civilization da:ing back two
centuries, there are more than twice
SIS many men killed annually than in
all the SIX New England States, with
more than four millions Of inhabitants.
Manslaugbter in the old State of South
Carolina was twelve or fourteen times
more frequent than IN the cid State OF
Massachusetts,.
Mr.. Redie.d'S work wss published
in 1880, seventeen years ago. Is it not
a fact that the crimes Of homicide has
rather increased than decreased since
he wro,e? We fear tbat it has.
Texas was lorg frontier State. It
had had tus loose Government, as
an independent Republic, and its
immense area rendered it but a
sparsely populated community. It
still retains much of frontier lite.
Kentucky, 100, had borne the same
relation to the colonies and the old
thirteen States, and the bloody i'm
preston Of those early times il seems
Impossible to eface. But, as Mr. Red
field points out, there is nothing in
the early history CT our community to
have given such q turn to the people
| of South Carolina. 1t is en- old COM
| munitY, with conservative manners
and ways, and, as between the whites,
wi;hcu! the friction OF varying nation
al;ties, and without the lower foreign
population, in wien most Ct the crime
Of vioIerce IN the Northern States is
found. There is no reason wh . homi-
eide among the whites OF South Caro-
Ina should be more frequent than
among the American born citizens OF
New England Ard get, measured by
r lative population, Mr.. Redfeld finds
msnslauchter among the white people
Of South Carolina to be more than ten
times more frequent than among
American born cit;zans OF New Eng
lard. It is true, believe, that this
terrible proportion is confined to homi,
eide, and does not include murder.
Our people do not Kill from malice or
for pgunder, hut in no: b!ood for fan
cie3 wrongs Murder IS every where,
but tie fact thai hcmicides are SO muck
mere freq"e2t IN the Southern States
than elsewhere shou'd 4 put the South
ern people UPON ilQliry as to the cause
aad TIE remedy.
Nov what IS tAa cause Of this?
T2sSa figures show that we are q
oloc3e0ilty people Are we a biooa
:hirSty peop!, DO not te!i ve tbs,
pe are
Oae cause @bica IS commonly a.
Iestd Atr R RsGfeld demonstrates 10 Re
uriouaded. w tia: TIE whites 0
South Caroliza carry pistols because of
apprehension OF danger from 1ezroos.
For il this wsre true re would sursly
f. Z that Ice whites use .neir pistols
moe frequently aeaicsL blacks thau
against 40. e Of their oEn coIor Tee
reverse IS the csse. Nr & died
'cu4d IL South Carolina 100 CASES of
hom:ti!e durjag the year 1871 II
~hich tie cc;or cf tie pfrrelratocs
was ascertai ed. o. tlese IS .bitss
tell by lie hal6S OF whi1es ard %
o:acEs by tae nauds Il Whites, making
IS hoGli4iGeS committed bg whites out