The Silver Messenger

Another victim of a rowdy's ever ready revolver sleeps in DeLamar's hillside graveyard.

Another innocent and peaceable man, against whom not a soul could bring a complaint, a man whom the little children in town knew and loved, has died from a cruel wound unintentionally inflicted by one whom the world could have well spared. James H. Riley, a war veteran, who had heard the cannon's roar, and had faced the enemy in battle, met his death on Tuesday night last by happening to be present when a bad man turned loose his gun to beat another of his sort.

It is time the indignation of the community became sufficiently aroused to put a stop to this awful business. It can, and it must be checked. There are only a few hobos in our town, and it is only tolerance or indifference on the part of our better citizens which permits a single one of them to remain here a day. Another class of citizens not only tolerates them, but when a suggestion is made that they be gotten rid of, directly shields them or deprecates any attempt to ship them away. Catch and search any tinhorn or hobo in town and you will find a gun on him. When an officer 'pulls' one of them a pressure is brought to bear against him and at once for doing his plain duty. The officers themselves then become indifferent and thereafter let petty crimes and misdemeanors go unnoticed. The hobos know this and take advantage of it to flock here. Hobos led out of other towns consider DeLamar and Silver City, 'cities of refuge' for them. Then the taxpayers of the county foot the bills for trying them for felonies committed. But this is only a tithe of their cost to the people of the country. We are inviting good people to come here to live, to invest capital and to build up our industries. Will they come while such a condition of affairs exist? -DeLamar Nugget.