Desperados Of The Cities
By Emerson Hough in 1905
The burgeoning metropolises and the untamed wildernesses, seemingly disparate realms, share a common characteristic: they both serve as breeding grounds for audacious crime. While much of our historical focus on lawlessness has centered on the latter, particularly in our studies of desperados and the pervasive disregard for the law on the American Western frontier, a shift in perspective is warranted. We’ve explored the turbulence, the unwavering self-reliance, the raw vigor, and the often-unyielding self-insistence that defined the American character, traits that, at times, tragically manifested as lawlessness in the Wild West.
But times have changed. Though we still find ourselves engrossed in tales of the Wild West, the untamed spirit that once defined it has largely faded into history. Ironically, the most lawless period in American history is not a relic of the past, but rather a present-day reality. The most lawless regions are not the remote outposts of the West, but rather the most highly civilized epicenters of American society. The most dangerous elements are no longer found lurking in the mountains or traversing the plains, but instead reside within the confines of our great cities. The most egregious displays of lawlessness occur under the very shadow of the grandest halls of justice, within the innermost circles of a society that proudly proclaims itself the pinnacle of global civilization. It is important to clarify that the intention here is not to celebrate criminal behavior or glorify nefarious deeds of any kind. However, if forced to choose between the criminals of the past and those of the present, the preference would undoubtedly lean toward the desperados of the Old West, rather than the brutal murderers who haunt our cities. One embodies the spirit of a warrior, while the other is merely a cowardly assassin. One retains a semblance of humanity, while the other is utterly devoid of it.
Lawlessness, when it reaches a certain scale, is often reclassified under a different guise. Mass killings, when sanctioned by the state, are no longer considered murder, but rather acts of war. The great industrial centers of our nation reveal the true extent of human ruthlessness, often far exceeding the worst atrocities committed by the infamous fighting men of the border. The criminal records of our major cities surpass those of the most chaotic wilderness settlements by an almost unfathomable margin. The nature of these urban crimes is so depraved that even the most hardened desperado of the West would likely recoil in disgust.
One particularly disturbing aspect of urban crime is the sheer number of offenses committed against women, ranging from petty theft to outright murder. In stark contrast, the desperado, the bandit, the robber of the wildest West, generally refrained from harming women. It was rare for them to rob a woman, even when women were present amongst the victims of a stagecoach or train robbery. In the West, a man who would dare to kill a woman would find himself ostracized by his peers and swiftly brought to justice, often by a rope.
But what of the great cities, those supposed bastions of law and order? Let us set aside, for a moment, the crimes of industrialism, the exploitation of sweatshops, and the debilitating conditions of factories, which slowly erode the very foundation of a nation – the health and well-being of its women. Instead, let us focus on the overt and undeniable crimes that plague our urban centers. The city of Chicago serves as a particularly stark example.
During the final quarter of the 19th century, Chicago witnessed a staggering number of murders – nearly two thousand in total. Astonishingly, the perpetrators of two hundred of these murders remain at large, their identities shrouded in mystery. In a single year, seventeen women fell victim to murder in Chicago, some under circumstances so gruesome that they defy description. A review of fifty unsolved murders from recent years reveals a disturbing spectrum of depraved acts. The sheer volume of killings is appalling. The accounts of these murders of women are so repulsive that one is almost driven to seek solace in the bloody skirmishes of the Western frontier, thinking, "At least those were men fighting men."
The grim reality is that Chicago, when adjusted for population, fares slightly worse than New York, Boston, or other major cities. Consider the cumulative total of murders committed annually across America. Then, if one wishes to delve into the depths of criminal statistics, compare this figure to those of England, France, or Germany. The United States surpasses England by a factor of ten in the number of homicides, and these homicides are disproportionately concentrated in our urban centers. The statistics related to the desperados of the cities make for grim reading.
In the cities, the carrying of arms is prohibited, rendering self-defense against armed assailants virtually impossible. The only line of defense is the police force. However, against seasoned combatants, the average police officer would likely be outmatched. Despite their limitations, they are expected to stand as the sole bulwark against the bloodthirsty criminals who readily resort to robbery and murder. During labor riots, city streets transform into arenas of anarchy, and the weak-willed officials, paralyzed by political considerations, seem incapable of restoring order. A dozen town marshals of the old West, with their unwavering resolve, could quell any strike and fill a graveyard within a single day, ensuring lasting peace. Similarly, a competent town marshal leading a city police force comprised of genuine fighting men could restore order and fill a graveyard in any city within a month, establishing a permanent peace. If we truly desired the rule of law, we could readily achieve it.
The history of extreme lawlessness in America reveals a recurring pattern. Initially, liberty is misinterpreted as license, and this unchecked license breeds insolence. If this insolence remains unaddressed, it coalesces into organized resistance against the law, forming gangs, factions, and bandit clans.
Eventually, the spirit of law emerges, not necessarily through formal legal structures, but through the collective outrage of individuals who have been wronged by excessive license. These individuals take matters into their own hands, dispensing swift justice without waiting for the courts. The fear instilled by lynch law has, on numerous occasions, served as the foundation for the establishment of formal courts, despite their often slow and inefficient procedures. Over time, the inefficiency of the courts leads to renewed impatience and contempt. The people once again revolt against a government that fails to govern, courts that fail to deliver justice, and peace officers that fail to provide protection. Consequently, they reclaim control and demonstrate to both the courts and the criminals that the power of the people remains formidable.
The condemnation of lynch law and the insistent demand that the law be upheld and that the courts administer punishment are, fundamentally, pleas of the weak and ignorant. Those who denounce lynch law have neither studied the history of this country nor grasped the essence of the American character. Lynch law has been the salvation of America on countless occasions and may very well be its salvation once again.
One way or another, the American people will uphold the age-old vigilante principle: that a person’s life, bestowed by God, and a person’s property, earned through their own labor, are rights that they are entitled to defend or have defended. This right is never fully relinquished to any government. When the chosen servants of the people prove unfaithful or incompetent, this qualified delegation of power can be revoked, allowing the people to reclaim their fundamental human rights: the right to live freely, to own property, and to protect their homes. A just and consistently enforced law is tolerable, but an unjust and corrupt law is intolerable, and it is not wrong to defy it. If it were, then Magna Charta would be wrong, and the American Revolution would be history’s greatest example of lynch law! The desperados of the cities, in many ways, thrive because of the perceived breakdown in this social contract.
These conclusions find support in the words of Andrew D. White, former United States Minister to Germany, who, in a speech delivered at a prominent American university in 1906, stated:
"There is a well-defined criminal class in all of our cities, a class of men who make crime a profession. Deaths by violence are increasing rapidly. Our record is now larger than any other country. There are more homicides punished by lynching than are punished by due process of law. There is nothing more nonsensical or ridiculous than the goody-goody talk about lynching. Much may be said in favor of Goldwin Smith’s quotation that ‘there are communities in which lynch law is better than any other.’"
"The pendulum has swung from extreme severity in the last century to extreme laxity in this century. There has sprung up a certain sentimental sympathy. In the words of a distinguished jurist, ‘the taking of life for the highest crime after due process of law is the only taking of a life which the American people condemn.’"
"In the next year, 9,000 people will be murdered. As I stand here today, I tell you that 9,000 are doomed to death with all the cruelty of the criminal heart and with no regard for home and families, and two-thirds will be due to the maudlin sentiment sometimes called mercy."
"I have no sympathy for the criminal. My sympathy is for those who will be murdered, for their families, and for their children. This sham humanitarianism has become a stench. The cry now is for righteousness. The past generation has abolished human slavery. It is for the present to deal with the problems of the future and, among them, this problem of crime."
Only the politicians in power, those who have presided over the lax administration of a great trust, will object to this line of reasoning. Under their watch, there has emerged one of the most disheartening spectacles in human history: the erosion of the great American principles of liberty and fair play. The criminals who inhabit our cities are emboldened because they, unlike many of us, recognize this decline. They understand the weakness of the political system, a system to which we have carelessly – much like the California miners of old, driven by a reckless pursuit of wealth that rivals the gold rushes – delegated our sacred personal rights: the right to live freely, to own property, and to protect our homes. The existence of these urban desperados is a symptom of this systemic failure.
The End.
By Emerson Hough, 1907. Compiled and edited by Kathy Alexander/Legends of America, updated April 2024.
About the Author: Excerpted from the book The Story of the Outlaw; A Study of the Western Desperado, by Emerson Hough; Outing Publishing Company, New York, 1907. This story is not verbatim, as it has been edited for clerical errors and updated for the modern reader. Emerson Hough (1857–1923) was an author and journalist who wrote factional accounts and historical novels of life in the American West. His works helped establish the Western as a popular genre in literature and motion pictures. For years, Hough wrote the feature “Out-of-Doors” for the Saturday Evening Post and contributed to other major magazines.