The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1905-06-16
Friday, June Is, 1905
HEAVY CRIMINAL DOCKETS.

H. SIbINIANstL -.
Whenever there is q crime commit
ted in the city of Wilmington Or one
of our papers makes reference to a
pretty full docket in the mayors court
some editor of a paper published in the
interior, in connection with reference
10 the item, comments on the fact that
Wilmington has so many bar rooms or
lectures our people for having refused
to adopt the ~dispensary last year when
the question was submitted to them.
Editors of that class try to make it ap-
pes + that Wilmington i the most law
less city in the state and that such con-
ditiOn is due to the fact that we have
here neither prohibition Or dispensary.
They forget, OF at least fail to note
the fact, that we have a larger negro
population in proportion to whites than
any other city in the state, also that
ours is the states largest seaport and
that therefore we have many sailors
coming and going all the time. No
other town or city in the state is SINH
Iarly situated as to its population.
None Of these things are taken into
consideration by those papers which
seem to take delight in every oppOrtun-
ity afforded to chronicle a homicide, a
burglary or some other crime commit
ted here. You do not see anything in
these papers about unusually heavy
criminal dockets for the superior courts
or frequency of crime in the towns
where the prohibition law is in force.
The local papers, though, often give
the public an insight into what is Oc-
curing in the prohibition towns. Their
is an instance of this kind before us
at the present. We clip the following
day. Had the anne item of news APP
peared in one of the Wilmington pa
pers what a howl and a groaning would
have gone up in certain quarters! How
the Wilmington people would have
been pointed at as the most sinful and
least law-abiding class Of citizens in
the state! We publish this to show
that the people of Wilmington are no
worse than those in some other towns
and that prohibition is not the only
thing needed to mend the morals and
check the lawless disposition of the
people. The Durham Herald says:
The police court Yesterday was a
large one. 1t required the MAYOR
III ee hours to dispose Of the docket.
There were 4 tota; of seventeen cases
tried. OF these five of the defendants
were charged With selling whiskey.
In addition to these there were sever
al other interesting cases On the
docket.
Gus Austin was before the court On
two charges of assault with deadly
WEAPON. One Of these assaults was
made OIL Castor Bynnm and the other
o n Ills (Austin's) wife. He went
over to the Superior court under two
bonds which aggregated $500. Ite is
in iail.
Minnie COble. a white m was
before the court on the charee Of
shooting inside the city limits. She
did not denv the a In her own
defense she said that three negro
women scared her and she fired the
pistol to scare them away. She was
ned SO and cost. a total OF $3.50.
Thomas milford. run On SUNDAY
fined SO and cost. a total of $12.30.
Otis Leigh ard Fred Sutherland.
PLAYING dice on Sunday. fined 81 each
and cost
Otis Leigh. assault and battery. fn-
ed 81 and cost.
r. B. B~rockwell. drunkenness. fined
SIS and cost.
Ned Chav:s. assault and battery. fin
ed IS and cost.
Gas Latta. drunkenness. fined SIS
and cost.
Ira Jones. drunk on SUNDAY. fined
$40 and cost.
Nelson Dixon. drunk eli Sunday fin
ed $12.G0.