The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1902-09-04
NO VALUE ON HUMAN LIFE
CAUSES "PISTOL TOTING"

"Cassius' IN the Memphis Scimetar.
There Is a great deal Of righteous In
dignation voiced In the press against the
evil SO prevalent in this part of the world
Of carrying concealed weapons, and NUM-
erous appeals are made to the authori-
ties to suppress the evil by a rigid en-
forcement of the law against the prac-
tice. Whenever a particularly sensational
shooting affair occurs there Is a fresh
outbreak of exhortations along this line.
Now the evil alluded to is as black as
it is painted. and fraught with the very
worst social consequences, but "plstol
toting' Is merely the fruit of an evil
tree, just as In the commercial world the
trusts are the fruit of another evil tree,
to-wit, the policy of high protection.
Laws directed to the suppression of the
one or the other are equally futile and
energy expended in this way is misdi-
rected and wasted. 1t is manifestly use
less to attempt to destroy the evil fruit
Of an evil tree while the latter Is per-
mitted to flourish and continually produce
new crops of the same kind.
In this case the evil tree that ought to
be attacked. and one that has polluted
our whole social fabric has its roots deep
down in the subsoil Of our social econ
omy-roots that ramify so widely that
only time and unwearying effort can offer
any hape of Graduating, since public sem
timent Is thoroughly saturated with the
virus.
Briefly stated, the idea intended to be
ness of human life in our southern COM
nlunities.
An English gentIeman who had Just
completed a tour OF the south gave the
result of his observations approvingly
Of the country and its people. but when
asked about the security of life In the
south, his reply was: "Oh, as to that,
man lives down there only because no
body wishes to kill him"
Is not that true picture of southern
society as it exists today?
So long as a man can walk up to an
other on the public streets. In broad day.
light. and shoot him down on any sort of
pretext, with confident assurance that
he will not be adequately punished for
the deed, Just so long will the pistol tot
ing" habit prevail. And whenever our
public sentiment on this subject so
changes that human life will be as secure
In the south as 1t is In England, for in
stance. as the result of certain punish
ment for the crime of man-killing, then
there will no longer be any incentive for
carrying concealed weapons, and the
practice will cease.
Be 1t understood here that no particu-
lar allusion is intended to the recent
killing on Beal street This writer knows
nothing about that affair, nor about the
parties involved, except what has been
printed in the newspapers, The slayer
may have had justifiable reason for his
act. which may appear on the trial of the
case.
But 1t is not necessary to point to
any particular killing as text for a SER
mon. Such occurrences are as plenty as
blackberries, and the business of these re-
Elections cannot be gainsaid.
The punishment of two murderers in
Greenville. Miss, not long ago excited
widespread interest, and a general feel
ing of graduation. as demonstrating that
1t was possible to hang a white criminal
of social influence, in Mississippi. The
very rarity of the event gave rise to this