Virginian-pilot. (Norfolk, Va.) 1898-1911, 1900-12-02
NORFOLK AS A WICKED TOWN.

NORFOLK AS A WICKED TOWN.
The double tragedy in which Thomas
Fogarty was killed. and Church Lewis
probably fatally wounded, was Il per-
fectly legitimate product of conditions
that obtain in this town, and the real
wonder is that this sort of thing is not
more frequent. Vile liquor and too
much OF it--that tells the whole story.
In no city of its size in the country,
perhaps. are there more liquor saloons
where mean whiskey and meaner whis-
key can he bought. The city has sown
dives, and is reaping crime, as was to
be expected.
Not as a matter of piety. but OF cold
business, brakes should be put upon
this all-night dispensing of liquor that
would take the hair off a dogs back.
II is being carried too far. and it is
doing the city harm. The city is get
ting bad name and the reputation
that life and any kind of property that
is portable are insecure here. II the
statistics as compiled by Joseph NJ
Dewel for Town Topics be correct, Nor
folk has greater volume OF crime rel
atively for its size than any city in
the United states, and with only two
Others even close competitors. The
percentage of crimes in this city. as
compared with one hundred others in
the United States, is 1856; in other
words the percentage of crime in this
city is 5S56 greater than in the average
city of the country. Savannah, Ga,
and Lexington. Ky, come next. Every
citizen of Norfolk is taxed S1.17 an
nually by its crimes.
The Virginian-Pilot has no purpose
to go into the moral aspects OF the
case. 1t is not necessary; everybody is
familiar with them. 1t. has no inten-
ton to preach n crusade against the
rum tiend and no desire to see Nor
folk have virtuous hysteria for
month and make up for lost time when
it is over. The point the Virginian-Pi-
lot would make is that town can
really be too bad for healthy CONNER
cial growth. and that Norfolk is at
tanning unto that condition.
a man need not be either n sot or
milllsop. Between the two extremes
there is abundant opportunity for
healthy. wholesome. red bloodcd life
Just so a city ought TO be able to steer
between puritanism and delirum
tremens. without running afoul of the
one or the other.
Norfolk is being run too wide open.
Alcoholism is injuring the town indus
trially. The very driver of the dray
and the coal cart is being victimized
by the "five-cen short" that is for sale
every few yards. for blocks. in some
sections of the city. and one of which
is enough TO endanger the ten COM
mandments and all the penal statutes.
There are too many dives. too many
places where DRINKS may be had
cheaply. The result is heavy demands
on charity and the police department
not to mention the want and cruelty
in many families. OF which nobody out
side those families ever knows any
thing.
We are not talking prohibition, or
the dciuSi0n that men can be made
moral or pious by statute; we are
merely saying that the liquor saloon
business can be overdone to the injury
of all other business in town. and that
it is being overdore to the injury of
Norfolk at the present time. Some of
these saloons. where murderous jags
are handed out in exchange for
nickel, should be shut up. and the
others compelled to take an occasional
vacation, as a sort of formal respect for
the general interest and the best public
policy. The town would feel better and
do better. and the police would have
time to grease the patrol wagon oc-
casionally; maybe by the end of next
year we should be able TO crawl be-
hind Savannah, Georgia, or Lexington.
Kentucky, in the procession to the
Criminal Court.
ANOTHER BOND STEAL is DUE.