The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-08-21
THE STATES DISGRACE.

Another murder and another lynching IN
the State Of Indiana, the second within little
more than forty-eight hours. How many of
these crimes are to be committed before the
authorities are stirred to realization of the
fact that the State is suffering in her good
name by reason of the disgrace. This State
through the failure of those in charge of the
means of maintaining her honor, is becoming
a by-word all over the country and is being
pointed at in derision by the residents of 9TH
er States. How long are the people OF Indi-
ana going to quietly sit still and let the au-
thorities permit the States fair name to be
dragged in the mire9 There is not the slight
est excuse or apology for the two crimes COM
mitted in this State this week by the people
in the shape of a mob. Failure to enforce the
law and to properly denounce this crime has
been an incentive to the people Of Huron and
Aurora OF portion of them, to disgrace not
only themselves, but those of all parts of the
State Law-abiding men everywhere are made
to suffer for the acts Of fellows who have
little respect for the law, and who are quick
to take on the nature of the brute and to de-
mand the blood of an offender with all the
ferceness and unreasoning brutality Of the
wild beast. It will not be long, at the pres
emit rate of progress till the Indiana mob will
not be satisfied with the life of an offender,
but will demand that he be tortured to DEATH
soon, unless those to -whom the enforcement
of the law is intrusted take some decided
action. The rule now is that as soon as a
crime is committed of nature thought to be
deserving of death, there is no idea of appeal
ing to the courts in an ordinary and civilized
way but there are men mean enough to take
upon themselves the Office of haugman and
do the work that every honest man must
shrink from in horror. And then the deed is
exploited all over the country, as though it
were something to be proud of. A murder
by drunken or ignorant criminal is supple
mented by another committed by the people,
or in their name, and the shame of it falls on
all the people,
That stop could be put to it cannot be de-
MED. If, as is sometimes claimed, the local
authorities are not able to restrain the mob,
let some higher power be called into requisi
ton. And if this be not enough, let the
perpetrators of these cowardly murders, for
they are generally more dastardly than the
original offense, be arrested and punished,
like any other murderers Let the leader of
one of these mobs be sent to the penitentiary,
and there will not be so many willing to I'M
dertake the work. Let one of them be hanged,
and there will not be another lynching in the
State fer fifty years. They should be taught
that murder is murder. The people Of the
country have just seen what it has cost the
people of Chicago to defend themselves from
lawlessness. While they did not encourage it,
they did not repress it, so that in. the end it
had gained such hold that it cost seven
lives, and probably not less than a hundred
thousand dollars to enforce the law against
handful of scoundrels assuming to speak for the
people, and to say that there should be no law
any more. Let the lynching scoundrels of this
State be taught the same salutary lesson, or
the time will come when Indiana will be
called upon to pay the bill piled up in conse-
o,,ence Of encouraging lawlessness and organ
lied and dastardly murder The mobs That
did the hanging at Huron and at Aurora did
the State vastly more harm than did the mis-
creants they hanged. But for the lynchings it
could not have been said that any Indianian
had offended against the law. Will the Gov
ernor longer delay in using all the power of
his Office to see that the law is enforced
against the lynchers9 He will receive the
support of all honest men in any effort to put
an end to this infamous business of choking
the life out Of wretches that the law should
be allowed to deal with, so that the people be
spared the shame of having the law set at
naught. How much deeper in this shame does
he intend the State shall sink before he makes
the strongest effort to save its honorg
EzAMsznzz~z<zs@mz
Mr.. GRAY, the Boston defaulter and suicide
built for himself magnificent stone mansion,
fitted up expensive Conservatives. emnloved