Evening journal., 1913-10-07
HIGGINS Ann THE POLICE.

FROM Wilmington woman who is the mother of
both boys and girls and who has been reader
Of THE EVENING JOURNAL for almost twenty-six
years. have received the following letter with
spect to the Virgins and the Battle of Baxters
Corner which its eliminating feature
do not think brave" policemen In this city
are deserving Of any special credit in the Virgins
case. Had he not lived here. visited back and forth
and travelled right under the OF said brave"
policemen, right in his home town? Seemingly they
afraid to take him II they had taken him man
for man, he would have made local force look
small AS it they could not take him alive, al
though It was case Of thirty policemen against one
man. No doubt Virgins was bad man and as such
should have been punished His one redeemng fea-
ture, however, his love for his mother. She has
my sympathy. ! also think our citizen, Cornelius
Mnnay deserves great credit for the good favor he
did Virgins mother. The money that found in
the sacks on the Virgins premises. doubt. belong
ed TO the Wilmington and Philadelphia Traction Com
pany and should be returned to It, think, however,
the money found on his person should be given to
his mother. Neither Mr. Johnny Jones nor any other
person robbed Identify IL his property unless
Il has private marks upon IT, How does Mr.. Jones
know that Virgins robbed hin? And do not lose
sight of the fact that there another robbery right
at the home of one of policemen. Had Virgins
been 81 III boy playing ball or committing some
other small onense in the street. or had he been
quickly the police would have arrested him hone
You will publish this, I have talked with several
mothers OF boys and they seem to feel as do about
It.
We think there are in Wilmington hundreds, II not
thousands, Of persons who believe this woman
writer does, that the police deserve no special credit
for the way in which they handled the Virgins case.
and particularly that eliminating part Of It known
as the Battle of Baxter's Corner.
Virgins unquestionaby bad man. but many
men than he have been captured alive and un-
der Infinitely less favorable conditions than those
| which surrounded Virgins Even Chief of Police
Black admits that the Battle Of Baxters Corner was
unnecessary says It is is opinion that If the case
had been handled right the cug I've might have been
taken alive and returned 10 the Eastern Penientiary
The trouble was that Chief Black not summoned
from home when it first became known that the man
supposed to be Virgins in his room in the
Baxter building The probability is that If he had
been summoned the Battle of Baxters Corner never
would have been fought and there is possibility he
might have induced Wggns TO surrender AT least
be thinks he could have done IT, failing in that
captured him alive
We also think the people OF this city sympa-
thize with the mother Of Virgins. II is human
ture to sympathize with mother whose son has been
killed or who kills himself, though that son be
bad But, with il all It would be a crime
against society for anyone to attempt to make afhero
Of Virgins. He man-kler and a bandta and a
menace to the community. It is ~urfortunRte. how
ever that he not recaptured and retured to the
Pennsylvania penitentiary from which he had es.
capped. .-c ,-sF