1. "The Shady Side Of Life, 1892"
Posted by charlie on Jul-21st-03 at 11:29 PM
http://members.aol.com/chescrowel/1892murders.jpg
This is a really neat article (actually it was an editorial) about the shady side of life in 1892. The Borden case accounted for a couple of the murders mentioned. Great reading for the morbidly inclined.
(Message last edited Jul-21st-03 11:29 PM.)
Thanks, Charlie. Interesting reading. I guess the Borden murders were classified under the "Unknown" murders?
I think that's 2,937 murders due to quarrels. By far the majority. I suppose that makes sense in a relatively young country with many different cultures thrown together.
I'm guessing the Borden case was 2 of the 769 "Unknown".
Well, anyway, one of the points I got out of this old article is that with 6792 murders in 1892, isn't it remarkable that the only murders people talk about are the Borden's? Certainly there were many other brutal murders, many with axes, hatchets and just about any other weapon of opportunity. There were, no doubt, other wealthy people murdered, other parents by their children, certainly plenty of other unsolved cases, yet the Borden case reins supreme.
Consider also that in Boston alone, there were over 500 missing people in 1892. Some ran away, some were probably kidnapped but surely many were murdered but the bodies were never found. If that is a representation of the rest of the country then the 6792 figure is just a fraction of the real number of murders.
Still, they are all forgotten.
(Message last edited Jul-23rd-03 2:23 PM.)
I didn't see the newspaper logo, but I think the number was for the whole country, all 45? states. Was there any mention of "industrial deaths" there?
Doesn't today's murder rates vary from 1.5 to 7 deaths per 100,000?
...
Doesn't crime increase during recessions or depressions? I read back in the late 1970s that you can tell there is a recession by the increased number of cars that have one headlight burned out. Still true?
(Message last edited Jul-23rd-03 1:57 PM.)