Arizona republican., 1920-12-17
The Passing of the Duel
BY FREDERIc,I uAeKIN


 IL seems strange to Americans that | mh m France men still formally fight to l rue ueath, as they do also in other european countries and in most of Latlh-America- 1t has been more than half century since @ duel of any importance was fought in the united States, and almost a century SiuSe ne the duel here was in it's heyday. we might claim from this that we
 more civilized country than ance, but that would be a hard vlaAm to substantiate by any other eVldence. It would also be hard to clalm much credit for not duelling when we will have our little lynching parues and race riots, and in view of the record we have made in Haiti. A malicious critic might say that we nave given up the fair fight for the unfair one.
 As a matter of fact duels have un- ? doubtedly held a high and recognized place in countries which were by every other standard highly civilized. ard 2 strdy of tho subject leaves one mot St all sure that combat between man an man, strictly regulated, is a wholly barbarous proceeding. The duel seems to be condemned more and more, not because it is essentially un- civilized, but because it is wasteful of human life, and because it tends, especially in a democracy, to degen- crate into a means of legitimizing murder.
 Why Duel Declined
 This seems to be the real cause of US decadence in this country. Duell- ing IS an aristocratic practice. In theory it is a combat between two peers, regulated by the strictest re- gard for fairness. But in this country everyone is a peer One man is as good g hat fv, nd all hnn until a few years ago, the right to bear arms. Hence the duel became means by which a rascal skilled with could kin a useful man and go Eong and interesting is the history of the duel in America, and it makes us realize keenly how much we have changed. A book on duelling written in 1868 by an Englishman who had travelled extensively in this country says that America is the land where life is held cheaper than anywhere else. There duels are off-hand di- versions.
 and furniture of Washington hotels were scared by the bullets which ex- cited legislators and politicians had fired at one another.
 In a word. 90 years ago we were the most cantankerous. truculent and self-assertive people on earth All men went armed and were always ready to lay down their lives in de- fense of their honor, their property and their dignity. In those days you did not even jostle a man on the street without making elaborate apol- ogy or else fighting for your life.
 Now we are as completely disarmed as medieval peasants. We are driven about like sheep in great herds. We aN,4TI oh r,fh in the subways. while consideration for the stranger is a rare virtue in our midst There would seem to be just a mite of truth in the statement of an old writer on the subject that 'the duel is 9 sharp but salutary remedy for rude and offensive con- duct" He also points out that there still goes to war to pride itself on the abolition of duelling. When indi- viduals and nations have learned to treat each other with respect he thinks both duelling and war may be unnecessary, but he does not think that the one is either any worse or any less necessary than the other.
 Loss of Personal Prowess
 Certainly no good brief can be made out in defense of duelling. Yet it does seem undeniable that when a man renounces all personal prowess and entrusts his safety and honor tc policemen, he loses something. The typical good citizen of todayS seden- tary, short winded, physically unfi for any kind of encounter, and ner- vously unable to face disaster is sure ly not altogether an admirable figure We harl back with pleasure to tale of men who wielded a wicked sword shot straight and faced death calmly
 This is not an argument in favor o ff~rI,f frc T,raf fn that civilization has robbed the indi vidual of something valuable. Thi was what William James had in min when he said that war might be abol ished if we could substitute somethin else strenuous and dangerous for i He suggested that our young men enlisted in armies to go out and con auer the wilderness-to reclair deserts explore rivers and forests That might be a substitute for duell ing too.
 The trouble seems to be that tn heroic impulse the will to dare an suffer-is decadcnt among us. W are too comfortable to fight each oth CT or the wilderness The man wh craves battle and adventure is a much out of place among us as a ho 'h in a barn yard.
 old Laws On Dueiing
 Public opinion on duelling was al ways QlNlueQ III EnlS country, even 5colonial times. There was a feelin thAt men had a right to settle the differences by combat, but it was als recognized that valuable lives wei lost in that way, and much erin committed in the name of honor. IT killing of Hamilton by Burr probab gave the duel it's first serious se back. Various laws were passed
 prevent duelling, and some of the were strange. Tn New Orleans, court of honor" was established f the arbitration of individual diffe ences. This apparently was to do f individuals about what the Hagl tribunal tries to do for nations, aI it apparently succeeded about as we A Massachusetts law forbade duel ing and provided that the body of man killed in a duel should be ust for dissection. A Mississippi Ia dealt a body blow to the practice providing that a man who killed al other in a duel must pay his victim debtsl
 The famous Ciuey-Graves duel.
 which one congressman killed anot CT, also resulted in a great popul rovulsion against duelling A cor mittee of congress investigated Il fight and recommended the expulsi n of Graves from the house. Cilley W sl challenged, shot and killed for T marks which he made on the floor J the house, and which were perfect I ina order This was in violation