The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-02-02
DEIAWARE's BLUE LAWS.
Seventy Per Cent. of Criminals Are
Negroes.
Theodore Dresser in Ainslee's.

Theodore Dresser in Ainslee's.
cat Dover. The capital of Delaware, as
we'll as the county seat of Kent county,
the list of criminals convicted and pun
ished in that county is complete and read
lily accessible. This discqoses that dozeps
Of men have been punished with periods
of imprisonment and lashes not exceeding
forty-five for stealing or attempting TO
steal sums of money ranging anywhere
from s. to $50. Thus, on Oct. q, 1897 one
Albert Gibbs was convicted of stealing
81 and was sentenced to six months inn
prisonment, given fifteen lashes and or
dered to restore the stolen money before
entering abe world again. AT the same
time George Dennis received exactly the
same Imprisonment for stealing $50 A
petty burglar, who stole 81 from store
at night received two years in prison.
twenty ashes at the whipping post and
one hour in the pillory Also ne was com
PEELED to return the money and pay all
costs.
For the next year very similar list
is seen. Criminals stealing ST. IS and 81
were all whipped with many lashes, and
some were exposed in the ptllory. For the
current year the record is quite the same,
and yet the whipping post is kept busy
and a certain public is entertained. If an
important crime should be committed, no
greater punishment could be administered.
for the lashes are limited to forty-five
and the pillory to few hours.
There seems to be no public concep-
ton of this incongruity although the
stranger is quickly astonished by it, Any
one convicted of any of these offenses, in
petty or great degree, and either public
ly pilloried or whipped is forever disfran-
chised and can no longer exercise the
privileges of a citizen. Thus a youth
caught in some early and thoughtiess Of
Tense Is permanently ruined in reputation
and practically driven from the state Ii
is generally declared by those in author
ity throughout the state that the law is
justifiable because 1t reaches and controls
the negro.
Ninety per cent. of the cases so dis
posed Of said the sheriff of one county
are those involving negroes. 1t is the
only way we have of reaching them
Upon examination, this statement turn
ed out to be only partially true, for ne
groes form less than 70 per cent. of the
total number of cases so punished. There
had been several instances in which white
men, standing fairly well in the .commun-
ity, have been caught In the tolls OF the
law, and finding themselves doomed to
be whipped, have offered all their pos
sessions, together with a promise to leave
the state, If they could but be saved from
this wretched indignty. When ignored
they seem to have considered their life
blasted and have departed. never to re
turn. Such men have paid a thousand
times the penalty primarily supposed to
exist in fifteen or forty public lashes. The
case hardened negro, or habitual orimi-
nal of any color, knows no such torment
and, comparatively may be said 40 have
received no punishment at all. IL is the
man with conscience and feeling upon
whom the relic of an older order of civ.
ilization weighs unjustly. The hardened
criminal whom it is supposed to reach
does not suffer at all, and is not correct.
ed thereby