The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1907-02-14
Human Lifes'Lighdy Re.
garded.
More Dangerous to Sell Liquor or
to Steal Than to Commit Muir
der.
Statesville Landmark.

Statesville Landmark
"Not only in Texas, says the Houston
Post, but throughout the country, il is
safer for man TO murder than it il for
him to steal. There are thousands OF
communities where q man would be
speedily punished il he should self his
neighbor a drink of liquor; but if the
same man should kill the same neighbor
he would go scot-free" Disgraeeful, but
true. The root of the evil is that the
average citizen doesn't regard murder,
unless OF woman or by a negro, rs avery
serious offense, and. in fact, entertains q
sentiment OF special indulgence toward
Iit.-Charlotte Observer.
When one -contemplates it in cold
blood, this an awful state of affairs
in a civilized country, but it will re-
quire little argument to prove that
the foregoing is not a extreme state
ment. The fault is with the people;
they can remedy it if they will. But
when evil conditions exist they will
not be remedied until somebody who
can make and mould public senti-
ment takes the matter in hand.
Therefore the preachers, the teachers,
public men of whatever degree in all
walks of life-any individual of in.
| finence in his town or neighbOrhood-
and last ofall the newspapers, should
cry aloud and spare not. Leaders
and mOulders of public opinion
should not only teach that human
| life is sacred and that it is an awful
thing to have human blood on ones
| hands or conscience, but If the reck-
less taking of human life is to be
checked the law against murder must
be enforced. Men everywhere who
would check the slaughter of human
kind must demand the enforcement
of the divine law: "He that sheddeth
mans blood, by man shall his blood
he she'd"
In North Carolina, for instance,
capital punishment has been almost
| abolished by the esentimentalists who
prate about the taking of human
life-that is, the life of the murderer
They waste no tears on his victim
often innocent victim-it is the mur.
derer they want to save from the
consequences of his crime. These are
aided by other sentimentalists who
mean well, but whoon occasions gust
over criminals and make fine speech.
es about mercy. This sort of talk
has led lawyers who appear for Grim.
inals, ,and who in too many instances
also make the laws, to modify the
laws against homicide until it is now
almost impossible to convict OF mur.
der in the first degree. One wicked
enough to take human life has, as a
rule, no concern except to save his
own. Ii he can escape the gallows he
will take chances as to other punish
ment, for Notwithstanding he may
be sentenced to q long term of i'm
prisOnment there are always so
many loopholes that he knows the
chances favor his escape with com
paratively light punishment; and he
sees SO many Others commit the
crime and escape with little or no
punishment, that he is encouraged,
if he has the homicidal mania, to in
dulge his propensity for slaughter.
We could write columns on this sub,
iect, but the whole matter is simply
this: Take the lives of those who
slay, and do it promptly. That and
only that will check the epidemic oil
murder. The Landmark has fol
years urged this matter; it has warn
ed against the very thing the Oh
server now mentions. The increase
in hOmicides in the State and coun
try at large is fearful. The blood O
the slain is on us and our children i
we raise not our voices, or do moi
use our efforts to check the crime
The way is plain.