The Montgomery advertiser. [volume] (Montgomery, Ala.) 1885-1982, 1902-07-13
JUDGE THoMAs's CHARGE.
Highly Commended for its Splendid
Recommendations.

| Birmingham Age-Herald.
/ Probably 1t is of no general interes.
| that the Grand Jury OF the Montgomery
City Court. which has Jurisdiction over
crime throughout the capital county. is
now in session, but there is concern for
every Albanian in the exhaustive ana
remarkably able charge of Judge Thomas
to the jury" said former Montgom-
erian.
II cannot imagine any method whereby
a man of money could do so great ser
vice to the people than to cause a copy of
Judge Thomas charge to be placed an
the hands of every. white man in Ala
bama. The judges plea and general pre-
sentation of the lawiessness of crime In
alrits varying forms and the law against
crime are so complete and so clearly and
logically stated that any enan able to
read print could understand them.
Judge Thomass statistics as to the TAX
ing of human life. which we generally
refer to by the plain title of murder, make
mournfully disgracefpl showing for
Alabama According to these figures ls7
persons are tried each year in Alabama
for staying fellowmen, and an equal num-
Der Tor attempting murder. In the per-
oentage Of this worst of all human crimes,
murder. Alabama is shown to be the
fourth State in the Union, which Is a
condition very nearly as low in morals
as the State is high in illiteracy. The
three States which surpass our State in
the murder percentage are Texas. South
Carolina and Georgia, In the order named.
" The figures speaking for themselves
indicate that human life Is regarded too
lightly in our state, and that their full
force is only seen when considered COM
paratively,' declares the Montgomery
judge, and he proceeds to draw some
Comparisons that are to say the least as
tonishing,
.In. Alabama. with population of l,s2s,-
967. there are 1917 murders a year. while
in Canada with a round five millions of
people, there are but fifteen murders a
year In England and Wales, with 81
764, IA Inhabitants, or sixteen times the
number of people who dwell in Alabama,
there are 322 murders, or lbs more than
in Alabama. If the murder rate Of Eng
land and Wales equalled that of Ala
bama, these countries would lose 3.423 per-
sons by murder every year, and you may
rest assured there would be 3.49s hang
ings for in England the taking of human
life Is murder, and every murderer is
hanged. There is no stay of proceedings,
no appeal to Supreme Court no par
don board, and not communication Of
sentence once in ten years.
Roughly calculated, one Albanian in
every 10000 is murdered and one English
man In every 100000. Human life " 100
times safer In England than in Alabama.
and Ii Alabama was as law-abiding as
England we would have but two murders
In the State each year, instead of within
three of 200.
These are facts brought out by the fig
ures in Judge Thomas charge to the
Montgomery jury. Even in heather In
dia the murder rate is les than ONE
fourth that of Alabama, and for every
none man who commits murder in heather
Japan seven .Alabamians commit murder
here in our own Christian Stste If Ala
every week for three or four years, life
might bee0ma rRa S0uahlV safe +"