Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1912-03-22
THE WORK OF AN INcENDIARY."
Conditions In Union About the Same
As Elsewhere.

Conditions In union ABOUT the Same
As Elsewhere.
Last week we referred to the des-
truction Of the building Of The Union
Times by fire. 1t is now thought that
the fire was the work Of an incen-
diary. Editor Rice has waged a war
for righteousness and this is the ans
wer which Is made. The Yorkville
ENQUIRER says: There Is reason to
believe that the fire which destroyed
the handsome new home Of the Union
Times the other day was incendiary.
That is the talk in Union, and the pro-
prietor of the Times, az we'll as the
people of the town generally, are
morally certain as to the identity OF
the guilty parties. They think the
crime was committed by Illicit liquor
dealers that the Times has been fight
ing. There is no proof, no legal proof,
and there will probably be none. In
cendiaries don't generally leave a trail
that can be followed by the law; but
the fact remains, that horrible crime
has been committed. and such stigma
as there is rests not upon the Times
so much as upon the city Of Union.'
People do not realize what Is meant
by such a fire as that which destroyed
the Times building. The public has
suffered more in 1t than In an ordina-
ry incendiary act. The man who
burns the house Of another usually
does 1t in revenge for some fancied or
real personal injury; and there was
doubtless revenge in this instance, but
II was revenge because Mr.. Rice had
been standing between the lawless
and the welfare Of his community.
Had he been silent and allowed those
evil men unmolested to prey upon his
people he himself would not have in
CURED their malice. Such men also
have design as we'll as revenge In their
acts. They propose to make 1t dan
gerous to any man who would lift his
voice to prevent them from despoil-
ing the sons of the city of Union. They
shoot the picket simply to get at the
sleeping army. They kill the watch
dog that they might attack the flock.
That torch which burned the Times
building was really set to every house
and home in Union.
A fire like this comes because OFF,
cials have been lax in the discharge Of
their duty. We do not have first
hand information as to the state OF
law enforcement in Union. But evil
IDENTIFY vice has become profitable
there. We judge this because 1t Is
only profitable vice that seeks to in
timidate communities And vice could
not possibly have become profitable
in Union except by the virtual consent
and connivance Of law officers. Had
those officers done their duty against
blind tigers" and such like. there
would have been no occasion for this
fire. Every policeman and officer in
Union who have winked at crime
helped to light the torch which des-
troyed the Times building.
Almost everyone condemns the act
of such an incendiary; but what is
needed is a condemnation of those
acts of lawlessness which are the real
causes of such fire. A citizen Is very
inconsistent. who Is now outraged by
the crime, but who has done nothing
heretofore to put himself, heart and
soul, against the lawless elements Of
his city. By his fear Of evil men or by
his indifference to the conditions Of his
town, he has contributed powerfully
to the boldness of this revenge. Many
man is Mortified at what he himself
has helped to make possible. If such
fire as this would produce repent
ance for Indifference to civic righte-
business 1t would do a world Of good
But If we allow lawlessness to fatten
under our very eyes We need not be
over much surprised at the fruits OF
our own criminal tolerance.
Union is not worse than other South
Carolina towns. 1t has as good peo-
pie as you can find in the state. This
fire is perhaps not due so much to the
presence in Union of worse element
than can be found in her sister cities
as to the fact that Union has man
who has spoken with unflinching
faithfulness Evil here flared into
crime because it was hit and hit hard.
In many other of our cities 1t is not
heard from solely because 1t is un-
modest Baptist Courier.