The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1907-04-05
A MURDEROUS
COUNTRY.
Proportion of Homicides Larger Here
Than in Any other Land.
Worlds Work.

Worlds Work.
Judge Thomas, of Alabama, make
the startling statement that in tn,
year 1906 there were 11S homicide
in the United States for every million
of population In Germany there wer,
but 4.6 to the million; in Canada, 1874
In Britain, S.4. The proportion in the
United States is larger than in any
other advanced country Why Is this
| so?
There will be many answers, but
they will gradually sift down to one
namely, that the people of theUnited
States have not been properly taught
| respect for law. either human or di
vine The law against murder is pri
| marily a divine law, but it is also a
human law in every civilized country
in the world. As such it depends for
its enforcement upon human agencies,
and upon the cooperation of the peo-
pie whom it protects. So long as the
consequences of the breaking of the
law are not certain, swift and terrible,
so long will the breaking of the law
continue.
Here, in the United States, the
chances of conviction are probably
less than in any other civilized coun-
try. In the first place, the police or.
CARNATIONS in our larger cities leave
much to be desired. The machinery
of detection is less nearly perfect than
it is in either London or Paris. OF
the 20 or more murders that happen
every day in this country it is proba-
bly, quite safe to say that five are not
followed by the arrest of the slayer.
OF the other IS, 10 are not followed by
conviction OF the last five, perhaps
not more than half bring men to the
gallows or the electric chair.
It is easy to adduce other causes,
the negro population the mixture of
races in the great cities, the ignorance
and illiteracy prevalent not only in
the lower orders of the cities but also
in large rural communities, but these
are very small contrlbutory causes.
The quick temper of the Italian i'm
migrant might be adduced but for the
fact that even Italy has had, this last {
year, smaller percentage of murders
than the United States The real
cause must be faced squarely. II is i
our national disregard of law, perhaps
one might even say our national con-
,empt Of law.
The voice OF the law is not suffi-
GENTLY terrible. Too many extrane-
,us considerations enter into the ad.
of this terrible law which
demands a life for a life. Maudlin
sentiment. the plea of a child. the
PRESSURE of a political machine, the
unwritten law" if you will the ac-
ual expenditure of money in large
the agitation of the press /,
all these and many other similar
gencies have sufficed, at times, to
urn aside the merited punishment of
he murderer.
The murder rate" is advancing in
his country. 1t is time to face the
ruth, to put aside forever our half
'ay measures In the enforcement Of
he stern hard law that is our only {
against the slayer. If there
e not in the United States a stead.
lstness, a certainty a sternness in
le enforcement Of this law, such as n
lere is, for instance, in Germany or
Canada, then the United States can v
Dt hope to stay this terrible retro n
-ession. How many years will IT be Il
sfore we sink to the level of Mexico. S
here nearly las men are slain each v
,ar out of every million inhabitants? il