Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1874-09-04
Justice In the South.

When a negro kills white man in the
South the negro is promptly arrested,
and either tried and executed or hanged
without trial by Il vindictive mob. When
white man kills n negro the offender is
carefully guarded from violence, fur
nished with excellent counsel, and gen
orally escapes with no further punish
ment than the loss of his time and the
inconvenience of an arrest. We make
the following assertions with the conf
dent belief that they cannot be truth
fully gainsaid:
1. That since the war no negro in the
South, convicted of numbering q white
man, has escaped hanging.
2. That during the same time no white
man guilty of numbering a negro has
been hung for the offense.
If we are wrong in these assertions,
will some of the newspapers which are
prating of the degradation of the whites
please to name an instance where we are
in errorY Let us illustrate the mode of
doing these things down there: At
Austin, Miss, a white man killed negro
boy. The colored people were intensely
excited. The man was arrested, but was
admitted to bail, contrary to all prece-
dent, and appeared again on the streets,
ready for another exploit of the same
character He was again arrested and
lodged in Jail, but the officer refused to
turn the key upon him, and he once
more walked forth. This act excited
the indignation of the colored men,
and they demanded that the muir
derer be imprisoned and tried for
his crime. The demand led to the
serious troubles which we chronicled last
week, the suppression of which necessi-
tated call for troops. We have not yet
heard that the murderer has been re-
turned, or that arrangements have been
SY, SS .k&ot&SggyeE, & that nTs m4ks the .RrqgPhG'
instance: The other day, according to
report from white sources a negro killed
white boy in ChicOt County, Ark. The
murderer was pursued by party OF
white men and captured, but while being
taken to Jail escaped, or at least this was
the story. A few days afterward his
body was found in the canebrake, riddled
with bullets. We do not know whether
the colored man deserved death or not
The circumstances and provocation for
the killing of the white boy are not given,
but the prompt and speedy manner in
which he paid the penalty of his otfensc
| illustrates the difference between deal
ing with white murderer and black
one in the South. AS in these cases, so
in every case which has come to our
knowledge. The negro has pointed to
| the law and has asked its impartial exc
cution, regardless of color. The whites
have disregarded it and taken the pun
ishment of criminals into their own
hands, making it severe to the extent OF
cruelty in the case of the blacks, and
mild to the extent of absurdity where
one of their own color was concerned
More than this: we have not heard OF
one case-and if there has been one We
should be glad to have it pointed out
| where Jury of white men have convict
ed one of their own color for serious
CRIME against black man. On the con
.trary, the instances are numerous where
colored iuries have tried those of thei
race for offenses against white persons
and have dealt with them to the utmos
rigor of the law.
These are facts They cannot be truth
fully denied in the face of these, tn
people of the North are asked to belieV
, that self-protection demands the organ
cation of white leagues in the South
and authorizes the bold avowal that here
after the colored men shall cease I
claim their rights or cease to exls
There can be but one termination to thes
. troubles. They must end in the abaI
donment and dispersion of these impr
, dent and wicked organizations. Ho'
long it will last depends entirely upo
the nature of the atrocities committed
But when the reign of terror, cruelty an
; inhumanity, as foreshadowed by tn
5 utterances of the organs of the leagu
shall be fairly begun, prompt and speed
/ means will be found to put it down as II
+ twin enormity, the Ku-Klux Klan, VIZ
t estroyed.-Inter-O Ocean, Aug. 21.