The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1903-02-11

degree hir ;cr him from the discharge
Of hisduty.
Every man of ordinary Intelligence
is familiar with the adagc that ''Thc
law is no respcctcr Of PERSONS but in
this State, at least, the expression has
no meaning, for it has been demon
strated time and again that it, the
law, is q very great respcctcr Of per-
sons; that is, when they have social or
financial standing.
But some one may say that, grant
all this to be true, why should we
advertise it to the world? Unfor.
tunatcly it needs no advertisement,
for it has already advertised itself
very much to the detrimcnt Of the
good name Of the State. Sc far from
being an cxtcnuation or an excuse for
crime, the fact that it is committed
by a man of intelligence or high social
position should only aggravatc the
offence, and if there is any difference
made ne should be more severely pun
ishcd than the ignorant man who had
committed the same crime.
What is really needed is not the
enactment Of more laws, but the en-
forccmcnt OF tho one already in exist
cncc; but, above all, there must be a
change for tho better in public scnti-
ment; o sentiment which will demand
that severe punishment be mctcd out
to the man who stains his hands with
blood.
We have reached a point, q real
crisis, it might more properly be said,
when we must chose between law and
order on n hand and border rufian-
ism on the other, for it is high time
we should resolve that this reproach
shall be no longer charged against us.
We have it in our power to say to
the world that while We cannot abso-
lutely prevent the crime of murder,
We will see to it that tho murderer
meets with speedy and certain punish
ment.
If the Governor of the State, a
United States Senator, member of
Congress or q Judge Of the Supreme
Court takes the life, without cause,
Of the humblest negro, he should just
as surely BIO hung for it as were tho
case reversed and the negro the muir
derer.
The law should not only be Just
enough to protect the humblest citi-
zen, but also strong enough to punish
the most prominent individual who
violates its mandates.
The hanging Of q few murderers, at
the very commencement of what has
really been q carnival of crime, would
have checked the crimo Of murder in
IFS incipiency and we would not have
this bloody record that has left an in
delible blot upon the fair name of the
State.
It's useless to say that juries are
responsible for this failure to enforce
the law, for o jury is no better nor
worse than the community from which
1T is drawn, and they would not dream
Of p%erjuring themselves unless they
were sure that they could do 80 with
impunity-if they knew beforehand
that o failure to do their duty would
bring upon them the severe condem-
nation Of their fellow citizens and q
social ostracism under which they
could not live with any degree Of COM
fort, and which they would never put
themselves in the way Of feeling.
Another very imminent danger in
connection with this failure to punish
the man who commits murder lies in
the fact that the time will come when
the friends of the victim, seeing that
the law will not avenge his death, will
take the law into their W hands.
A contingency of this kind is, to say
the least, hard to contemplate.
Every mar who signs q petition for
the pardon of o murderer, whether he
means it. in this way or not, is an
alder and abettor of violence, for he
is simply using his influence to shield
q very dangerous member of society
from the consequences Of his own act.
Sympathy for the family and friends
OF the criminal is absolutely no excuse
for :his attempt to defeat the ends of
Justice, for the very simple reason that
the murderer himself was the one to
have considered the trouble and dis
grace he would bring upon those who
are dear to him, and tho very fact that
this did not deter him from the oom-
mission furnishes an additional reason
why he should be punished for his act