Will No One Rid Us of "The Manhater"?

Editorial Page 20 October Edition
by Henry Wilkins, Editor in Chief

The City of Manchester, is under siege. Our enemy is unseen, strikes down our best and brightest young professionals in the prime of their lives, and escapes like a theif into the night. This enemy leaves a trail mutilated corpses in its wake and shows no remorse for a string of killings 26 long, which have left bodies discarded in dumpsters from Connecticut to Maine.

What has the response from the police been? Nothing useful. They have cautioned and cajoled the general public and the press to be calm, not to fan the flames. For 14 years we have done as we were asked. Now, the question becomes, a mere few weeks following the grizzly discovery in a dumpster behind a local apartment complex, should we continue?

If the best that police and federal agents can do is urge caution, while doing nothing credible in the way of prevention or apprehension of this monster, then where does that leave us? The common man of this city cannot be certain that he will not be the next target of this cretin.

Clearly, the time has come for the administration of this city to wake itself up to the very real fears of the residents and show leadership in this time of crisis. If Mayor Broussard and the Chief of Police cannot find it within themselves to take the lead and assuage the real fears of the residents, then there is little they can expect in return. Chaos will consume the streets, if many more of our young men fall to predation.