Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1909-06-20
JUNE 20, 1909.
End of Dueling
CONTINUED from Page Twelve)

arrest of the supposed duellst. IL there
were a challenge and an acceptance
the writer has no doubt that the cow
ard who is supposed to have made the
challenge knew in advance that the law
would step in and save him from what
he dare not face-the bullets of an ad-
versary on an open field, where chances
would be even. The parties were ar
rested and put under bond to keep the
neace in the state of Florida, one of
forty-four in the Union. Then TINS TEL
low. devoid of the faintest instinct OF
gentleman, inserts in his paper an ac-
count of the affair telegraphed by
literary tramp from Georgia galneu
through his side, intending TO magnify
himself in the eyes of his friends, mas an
editorial of an abusive nature, ana also
comics an article from an obscure coun-
trv sheet reviling his supposed ahtaSo.
mist and at the same time laudatory OIL
himself. If baseness, instictive Vlllalny
and innate and Astounding coWafdlce
could go further, this writer, VIZ 10
the supposed other party, cannot rain
ON that depth of degradation even III
imagination. To sneak behind a peace
hond in his dastardly manner proves
him to be all that this or any otneI
article in this paper has ever charseo
him with being s+o+a
and where the code duello was held as
sacred as the Bible for more than three
hundred years. And yet there occuriei
nothing more serious than the cdliiiS
of names. Indeed, the pen was nlgnt-
Ter than the sword; or, II not HlgnClel,
it was savager even if nast1er' mere
was no exchange of shots except OF
a Ri1Iingsgate pattern. Possibly the
advice of a Georgia paper was heeded
which concluded it's paragraph on the
affair as follows:
"These gentlemen should bear IN
mind that the code is out of date, ana
also forbidden by law. AT It's pest, the
so-called means of honorable ADJUST
nent often gave some rascally bully an
onnortunitv TO take a shot at a gentle
man merely to crafty his brutal or
revengeful instincts, while the Vlctlm
had no recourse short of losing caste;
Nothing more absurd can be imagined
than holding up the duello as con-
servator of personal honor. If an ag-
grieved person is not content TO aploe
nv legal modes for redress or fears
fiat the law may fail him, and resorts
TO the pistol let him frankly admit
that he seeks a murderous revenge
for an insult put upon him, but COM
mon sense and decency should debar
him from pleading the necessity or
indicating his honor by any such
means. There is an utter inconsequehce
in that resort"
Hon. John S. Wise of Virginia, not
only one of the bravest of his name but
a descendant of men noted Tor their
chiyalry and fearlessness of action I'M
der all circumstances. set notable eX-
ample as early as 1884. when he pub
lished a card in the Richmond wing
declaring "never again to recognize the
nractice of dueling." He was at That
time a member of congress from the
Richmond district, and was being hit
nretty hard by Page McCarty in pa
per called the Campaign, to whom he
refers in his card" thus:
HE may play Sir Lucius O'Trigger
to his hearts content, boasting of his
ancestry (every one of whom has Killed
his nam, his family portraits and
honor but he must find somebody else
than me to kill him. With sweet
home, filled with merry children, with
enough to live comfortably, with a
paying profession, I am happy and
want to live. In Gods name, what
would a man like Page McCarty put
in stake against this when we stood
at ten PAGES with pistols? His abuse
of me has no more effect than dog
barking at the moon. His invitation
comes too late Time has been when
might have been fool enough to have
INDUCED in such folly. but with age
and a broader view of life and its he
sponsbilities and duties | have bid
den farewell forever to the McCarty
type of manhood"
In April 1891, Mr.. Wise was put to
even harder test as the challenge he
received from Colonel Skinner carried
with it an insult to Mrs. Wise. 1t Is