The Forrest City times., 1906-11-16
The PistoI-Carrying Evil.

Little River county reports three kill i0gs within one week, in each case the quarrel and the ready revolver afford ing the explanation. Not every county can equal this record, and none wants to, but every county suffers from the too frequent pop of the pistol. some times by accident, oftener by design hastily formed and as hastily executed, sometimes a belligerant catches the bullet, sometimes the peacemaker, and occasionally the ubiquitous innocent by stander, who, like the poor, is always with us when we go to target practice, human or otherwise. Never a Circuit Court convenes in any county but there is the usual number of pistol-carrying cases. Sometimes the guilty pay a fine; frequently they are pardoned. In any event, the law is not sufficiently string ent in itself, nor is it sufficiently en- forced to have any appreciable deterr- ing influence. The baneful habit of pistol carrying shows no symptom of falling into disrepute and the mortality list incident thereto keeps up the yearly average. The Crossett Observer, in animadverting on the practice in rela- tion to sundry cases in it's town and county, and in hoping the next legisla- ture will pass stringent law to check this growing evil, says: ''In commu- nity like Crossett it (the carrying of pistols) IS wholly uncalled for" Why limit the uncalled- for-ness of it to a community like Crossett! Is there community in the state where con- cealed deadly weapon is a necessity? Is there city, town or village in Ar kansas so rife with the spirit of evil that life is not safe unless one takes along pocket howitzer for purposes of defense? If one lived on the from tier in the old days with lurking sava- ges and desparadoes at every turn, one might find an excuse for carrying a pistol, but in civilized state where we are in no danger of encountering pred atory bands, and are likely to meet none more ferocious than our neigh bors, the pistol-earrying habit is wholly inexcusable and unjustifiable
 A good bill was introduced into the last session of the legislature, which would probably have been effective, but it failed to pass. There was no sound argument against it. There could not be in view of the lamentable results in evidence every day and on every hand. The most potent reason given against the passage of the bill was that it would work hardship on lot of the country boys who don t think it's any harm to carry pistol '' If the prohibition of gun carrying works hardship on the country boy or the city boy either. he had better en- dure the hardship for the good of the community. It's not half so hard as to be killed or to have the blood of one 8 fellow man on ones hands-and 0ne of the two is always likely to be the fate of the known pistol 'totter" If an armed man quarrels with another who is known to carry pistol, the most in- significant movement of the hand to- ward the pistol pocket will promptly produce hail of lead from the other fellow and in most cases jury will hold the slayer guiltess. On the other hand the man with pistol is extremely likely to force quarrel to the shooting point, when he knows he is prepared for the final emergency. And again, the ready pistol in the hands of man carried away by momemtary passion turns an ordinary wrangle, which at the worst might end in blows, into murder. It is to be hoped that if the next legislature fails to provide more stringent legislation on this evil which affects so closely the welfare of the state, it will at least be able to give better reason for such failure than weak and misplaced sentiment tality. Gazette.