The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-10-27


Humanity compels a touch of pity
for the poor, misguided creature who
sits in Auburn prison with only grim
chair at the end of his mental vista,
notwithstanding he deserves neither
pity nor consideration. He sought
cheap glory; he has found only obloquy
and ignominious death. There is not
much glory to be extracted from the
four walls of a narrow cell and the
anticipation of a death-dealing light
ming bolt at the expiration of a few
days. His deed of crime was commit
ted in the name of anarchy, but in
view of what the very near future
holds for him, and what the great and
unknowable beyond may hold for him,
he has repudiated that doctrine of err
ror and blood. He reviled the Chris
tian religion and denied its power to
comfort and save, or even to mitigate
the conditions of men in this life. But
in his extremity he has turned to that
religion for whatever comfort ii may
offer him. He has had the ministra-
tons of a priest, and the good man
has announced that he thinks Czolgosz
has become a Christian. What a mag
nificent religion it is that Will stretch
forth it's hand to so despised a crea-
ture! Its charity is broad enough to
cover a multitude of SINS" even the
sins of ingratitude and murder COM
bined.
Czolgosz may be called a typical an
archist. He dealt death to his victim
by stealth, but when he felt the weight
of the hands of those who arrested
him he begged and whined for mercy.
He believed himself to be the heroic
exponent of deeds of violence, but when
there was danger to his own person
he was cringing coward. In this he
was a true disciple of John Most, who
preached death to the police and to all
rulers, and then crawled under a bed
TO hide when he heard the police COM
ing. And Czolgosz has proved himself
no less moral than a physical cow
ard. In the air of freedom his an
archistic enthusiasm was strong
enough to induce him to commit MUIR
der, but in his confinement it was not
strong enough to sustain him facing
death. Had he gone to the chair an
anarchist it might at least have been
said of him that he died in the cour-
age of his convictions. But not even
that will remain to be lauded by Gold
man and Most and their following. He
will die wit he
archists and despised by the rest of
humanity.
There is a lesson in Czolgosz. He
was an idle fellow, and consorted with
dissolute company His father could
not make him work, nor would he work
of his own volition. He spent his time
grumbling about the ills of the poor
and the arrogance of the rich. He
fancied himself badly used because he
also was not rich, Notwithstanding he
made no effort to improve his condi-
ton. The harangues of the Goldman
woman finally induced in him the be-
lief that government was wrong and
that all heads of governments should
be removed" The underlying idea in
it all, of course, was that in a possible
upheaval brought about by the death
of the head of government there
might something accrue to the advan-
tage of the nom workers, they having
all to gain and nothing to lose. Cool
gosz was morbid, but not insane. Be-
fore shooting the President he under
stood very well the nature of the crime
he contemplated and what the conse-
quences of it would be, but his NOR
bidity and the hope of becoming a hero
in the eyes of Emma Goldman and
others of her class was sufficient to
carry him through. 1t was a case OF
a weak, idle young ne'er-do- we'll pur-
suing his folly to the last extremity.
Tuesday morning Czolgosz will die.
There will be no regrets. His own
father has declared him worthy of
death, and will take steps to throw
off the name the son has disgraced. The
good priest thinks he will die "a Chris
tian,' but the world will remember him
only as an anarchist and an enemy of
law and order and mankind.
-------s-e-~-----