Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1871-11-30
The Indiana Lynching.

Indiana is earning reputation for vio-
lence equal to that which is for party
purposes given to poor South Carolina.
Within week we have had two decided
cases of mob law there-one the lynching
at Henryville of the supposed negro muir
derers of the Park family, and the other
an unsuccessful attempt to lynch an al
legged murderer at Brookville. These in
stances bring to mind the Reno case, and
lead us to suppose that there must be
some general degree OF lawlessness
throughout the State. - Taking it for
granted that the courts are what they
should be, there is no excuse for such re-
sorts to lynch law. Indiana has 10 rob-
Der State government tOrmenting her
within, and does not suffer from the des-
potic violence of the administration from
without. In her interior economy and in
her relations with the general govern
mcnt there is every guarantee of peace,
and unless the local administration OF
Justice be either actually corrupt or so
loose and inefficient as to be abo IT as bad,
there seems no apology for the lynchings
of which we hear Having this much
confidence, however, i'll the general good
ness of human natule as not to believe
that whole communities will wantcnly
take life, we are inclined to think that
TIE Indiana courts are not what they
shoa.l be. So long as punishment is
certain, even il slow, people will wait The
course of the law, and sustain rs officers
! if ncccssessry against inolestation but II
the conviction once gain ground that the
comm anity is tampercd with in its right
to protection it will not be long before
the uniaithful guardians Of the public
safety will be thrust aside and punish
ment be mcted out in summary manner
according to the popular idea OF what Is
right. Technically, of course, all this Is
wrong; but practically, it amounts tc
this: that if the courts do not punish
mobs will. This is particularly seen to
be the case South. That is almost
purely agricultural country and thus pc
culiary exposed to theft. 1t is so cas-.
for the idle negro to steal hog or Gov
that the farmer is constantly missing hi
stock. At length he lies in wait for ant
detects the thief. The proof is so clea
that even partizan judges and negro jurie
4 send the pilferer to the penitentiary- Il
G few days he is out pardoned by th
Radical Governor whose local mainsta
C he is, and back again at his cow-killin
y and hog stealing trade. The farmer mis-
/ ses mother fine porker, or prehaps til
/ finest of his mulch COWS. 1t is beyon
e question that his old despoiler has ca
5 ried off the one, or taken a quarter froI
the other and left the carcass to rot in Il
'e woods. What is the man to dos Mu
le he sell out and move off, or bring up Il
IS thid for another trial and another pardo
y or must he resort to first principles an
u defend himself? Evidently he thinl
:" the latter The thief is visited at nigl
IL and receives a tremendous floging.
~ revenge lie DuIlS bll6 AI,iuiCl o AOuoS
Id barn, and then he is hanged. 1t is $;
ie game of wrong and retaliation, but VIII
! are men without public protection to d'
IL 4
er Even in this city of New York We III
.rumors of vigilance committees at
I'd time of the Tammany frauds. 1t W
M property and not politics which W
ty mace the basis of those rumors; and
IS the same way personal safety is at
as bottom of the Indiana lynchings, Al
a. property and personal safety alone Is
IN the bottom of the so-called Southern 5
IS, Klux outrages. A defective administ
ar tion of the laws brings with it anywht
on and at any time in this country res
to what Bacon calls the wild justice OF
ux verge. Even so wise man does not
n it caprice, but justi"r and justice it
nd though irregular in It's manefestatic
vn and demoralizin, i1 ~ ultimate resul
he " r World.