The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1900-04-11

ItuIlc tlic crying evil OF the '!iTN!NI
Of concealed weapons. ltwa- acharsc
that should be read from oir ul Of
the State to thc other aud >hou!d Le
needed BY all. 1t wa a powerful
sermon from the p,nch and was
given the closest attention through
out. The judge spoke fcclinrly and
fully, being moved to do 50 by the
fact that he found on his docket no
less than nine homicide cases, each
occurring since the last term Of court
in this County.
After charging the jury on its gen
cral and specific duties, Judge Bcnct
said: There certainly is need for
some legislation looking to the reduc-
tion Of the number Of homicidcs that
annually occur in the borders Of South
Carolina. MIR. Foreman and gentle
men Of the jury, the annual report Of
the attorney general made to the Ger
cral Assembly for the fiscal year 1899
shows to the world that during the
previous II months 2l3 Of our fellow
citizens were put to death by the hand
Of our own fellow citizens; 2l3 homi-
cidcs in the small State of South
Carolina in one year, and last year
was not an exceptional year This is
Just about the annual quota. II is
appalling /" lrok back and think that
50 many of our fellow citizens who
were alive one year ago now sleep in
bloody graves. 1t is perhaps still
more appalling to look forward and
know by this time next year an equal
number Of bloody graves This may
startlc the ordinary citizen, but this
is fact which cannot be denied.
ought also to add that this State is
not alone in that blooty record The
statistics show that in the United
States some ~ 900 or 13 900 homcidcs
are committed every year. True, the
proportion is greater in the Western
and Northern States than the North
eastern States, and il it is any COM
fort to us it is also true that our pro-
portion iu South Carolina is not great
cr than that Of our sister States Of the
South and the West. But, gentle
men, in comparison with the number
of homicides in other civilized, Chris
tian countrics-for instance, Germany,
Great Britain and France-thc num-
Der of homicides in South Carolina
should not exceed 25 or 30 annually.
Compared with some countries, should
not exceed 10, and yet Richland
County at this term of court displays
tic bloody record OF nine honicidcs
committed since the last term &C court
since last November. Should not
these facts, gentlemen, give us pause
and induce us to see il something can
not be done to stop or check to some
extent this fearful calendar Of muir
der and manslaughtcr. | am aware,
Mr.. Foreman and gentlemen, while
homicidcs are far too numerous, they
include few eases Of hcinous murder.
fcry few cases Of murder for robbery's y
sake, for instance, or for revenge, and
very few of these cold blooded eases
OF poisoning and such murders which
constitute almost the entire number
of homicide in the Northeastern
States. The honicidcs in the South
crn States and South Carolina are in a
large measure utterly unnecessary and
spring from false notions of manhood |
and bravery, and from mistaken views
OF self defense. They are the result
OF angry encounters in which both
men are armed-frcquently in which
one is armed and supposcs the other
to be armed. l say that they are
ncedlcssly numerous. We arc not
more hot tempered than .other people,
nor more sudden or quick in quar-.
rel than our forefathcrs. The records
Of tho courts of so years ago show that
the crime of homicide was much rarcr
in this State than it now is. Your
forcfathcrs were men Of like passions
with yourselves. The Englishman,
the German or the Frcnchman is neith-
cr midcr hammered nor less pugna
cious than the American.
"What is the cause, gentlemen, of |
this extraordinary number of homi
cides? am sure each one Of you can
assign certainly as one cause the de-
plorable custom Of carrying pistols,
custom carried to such an extent that
our State may be regarded an armorcd
camp in times of peace. Our young
men and hoys, black and white, rich
and poor, seem to think that their
outfit is not complete without pistol;
some Of our older men show a bad ex-