New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1874-06-21
LYNCHED ON SUSPICION.

The Picaytne introduces a characters
tic Texas horror in this heartless style:
"Texas Fashions of the Nations
Wards is made to Dance on Nothing"
Then follows the account Of lynching
colored man at Bryan, Texas, on suspicion
of having stolen some silverware and sum
dry articles of value.
The victim of this cold-blooded murder,
that pleases our respectable family pa
per- so hugely, was colored man known
as Tom Summerville. There are two
evidences given to sustain the suspicious
of the rowdies of Bryan that he was
thief One is that he offered to sell some
pieces Of silverware at less than their
value. The other that a white man Of the
place, one Mr.. J. T. Burt, recognized Tom
as the same individual who broke into his
house some days previous, and proved his
surmise to be correct to the satisfaction
of the lynchers by pointing out some
marks of shot which he alleged he had
fred into him on that occasion. These
circumstances were deemed quite conclu-
sive by this self-constituted jury. They
found him guilty instanter, and hanged
him as soon as night threw the protection
of security around the inhuman deed.
If Summerville was truly thief he
should have received the punishment pre-
scribed by law, but no more. In murder
ing him under the circumstances the men
of Bryan committed the double error Of
proceeding upon uncertain grounds and
inficting punishment much greater
than the crime of which he was accused
called for It was clear case Of invasion
of private liberty which, having met the
approval of heartless or thoughtless reo-
pie, who have no charity for their species,
no mercy for the unfortunate poor, may
be repeated at any time. The next victim
may be friend of the Picaymaes cores
pondent, or the man himself. The muir
derers may then be negroes, since they
are very apt to construe as right anything
and everything which is SO heartily and
exultingly approved by the white people
as the murder Of poor Summerville has
been by the reporter Of ''Texas Fashions. "
Let us suppose for moment the present
case reversed. Suppose Mr.. Burt, who is
no doubt very worthy citizen of Bryan,
were to undertake, for reasons best known
to himself, to dispose Of few pieces Of
old silverware, and by SO doing arouse
the suspicious of number of colored
people. Among others, Summerville
steps up and finding marks of bird shot
in the trembling victims back, triumph
antly turns the scale against him by de-
claring that he is the same white man he
had once attempted to kill. The shot
marks were in our judgment simply evil
dences that Summeryille has been in
Texas for some days, and nothing more
Had these scars been absent, it might
have established his claims to being a
stranger. The approval, in cold blood, of
a murderous deed committed under a
certain degree of excitement is most
shocking exhibition of human deprayity,
for which the severest censure is due.
Such sentiments when published as Or
thodox threaten the peace Of society. They
lead rowdies to believe they may outrage
the weak, while the latter, feeling they
have no legal means of defense, will ship
shotguns to the parishes.