REFLECTIONS ON THE FOREGOING, AND ON THE CONSEQUENCES OF INABILITY TO REPRESS SUCH FLAGRANT AND WELL KNOWN CRIMES.
The masterly description of the terrible clans as they have heretofore existed, and as given by the natural as well as artistical pen of the Jackson county correspondent, cannot be overestimated. It will well pay for perusal and re-perusal again and again. Let the following quotations never be forgotten:
“The worst of human crimes had been reduced to a system, and it was rare that anybody was brought to justice. If any party was arrested some of the clan was always on hand to prove an alibi. Suspicions often pointed to an individual, but people were afraid to hint their suspicions lest they might draw down upon them some secret vengeance—the burning of their dwellings or assassination. Thus crime was committed with impunity. A peddler, known to have considerable money, was found murdered in Hancock, and though there was but one opinion as to who committed the deed, no one was arrested. McArthur, though personally known to be an abject coward, became, through desperate men which he commanded, an object of terror to the timid; and even respectable men were weak enough to court his favor. The late Colonel Glenn would often say, after his attendance on the Hancock Circuit Courts, that he was shocked to see decent men jesting and drinking with such a wretch! The secret was that these men dreaded him and his gang.”
The above is a whole volume for contemplation. Decent, respectable, and distinguished persons jesting and drinking with renowned and scientific criminals through fear of conflagration and assassination. No efforts made to bring to justice—crime passing with respectable impunity.
Honor crime, and numbers will soon increase prodigiously. Make escape easy and almost certain, and the law will carry no terrors with it. Grievances, real or imaginary, and opportunities will be sought to bring in play the bowie-knife and revolver. Let life’s warm stream flow freely, the sight common, and human life will soon be worth no more than the dog’s. Let a callous indifference pervade the community when the tidings of outrage, robbery and murder are brought, and soon will the great arteries of a State’s wealth and prosperity begin to languish and decay. Under such a system, can civilization progress? Will capital invest to set the springs of industry at work? Can wealth and intelligence thrive under such blighting influences of desolation? Is not government strong enough to protect its subjects? If not it should be, and the sooner it can be accomplished, the better it will be for all classes of society. Even affluent railroad companies have to bend to such men as Jim McArthur. To produce wide-spread fear and social insecurity, it is not necessary for crime and murder to be of an every-day occurrence; it is the hopelessness of getting redress from the courts as they are at present constituted that is so pernicious in consequences.