Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1889-02-09
TRUE FRIENDS.
Those ara the True Friends of the south Who
Do Not Close Their Eyes to the Truth


troubles. They discuss it coolly, wisely
and practically. They have too much
good sense not to see how an affair of this
kind stands in the way of state bidding
for capital, immigration and new indus
tries; they have too much patriotism to
believe that justice can be secured
in Louisiana only by means of
lynch law and that its administra-
ton should be taken from the
officers and turned over to the regulators;
and they are free from hypocrisy and
denogogism in discussing this matter.
Much emphasis has been laid on the fact
that the negroes are in majority Of q
few hundred in iberia parish, and it has
been as much as said that whenever the
negroes are in a majority-as they are in
many of the Louisiana parishes-regula-
tors and lynch law are admirable institu-
tions. We would call attention to the
fact that the Plaquemines South aud
Natchitoches Review published IN parishes
where the negro majorities are MANIFOLD
greater than in iberia, are outspoken in
denunciation of this system of upholding
the law by means of lawlessness. They
manage in Iberville and Natchitoohes TO
have peace and order without lynching,
and there is no reason why they should
not do so in Iberia.
We notice a singular disposition on the
part of the friends of lynch law to lug
ingalls, and Foraker and other bloody
shirt orators into the affair. Neither the
Kansas senator nor the Ohio. gov
ernor have anything to do with
it. 1t is matter for Louisiana
and Louisiana alone TO determine. As
the parish authorities seemed unwilling
or unable to act we appealed to the gov
ernor, with the result that the state has
interviewed in the affair, as it was its
duty to do, and the matter is now being
investigated by the attorney general.
The state OF Louisiana is well able to
enforce the law within its limits; and we
insist that it is its duty to do so.
The Times Democrat refuses to be sec
tional in this matter, as the Chicago In
ter Ocean, the Cincinnati Commercial
Gazette, and some of our own papers
down here are. We refuse TO see that
the latitude or longitude of a crime makes
it greater or less. The South is the full
equal of the rest of the Union, and the
day when every crime here was to be
magnifed into n national affair
has passed. A murder South is no
more than murder North, and there is
no more criminality in regulating on this
side of the line than in Whitecapism on
the other. If crowd of white men whip
an old negro in Louisiana for some sup
posed wrong the Chicago Inter- Ocean
breaks into frenzied rage over it, al
are committed the same day in
the neighboring state of Indiana. This
is rank sectionalism aud bloody shirt
ism, but it is no worse than the Louisiana
paper which, after denouncing lynch
law in Indiana as barbarous and uncivil-
lied, can see no harm IN it in Louisiana.
a murder or lynching in the South is no
worse than one in the North, but no
more eXcusable.
When the White Cap outrages were
first reported in Indiana the Times DEM
ocrat denounced them as indeed did all
the New Orleans papers. 1t is true that
the White Caps insisted, as regulators of
this kind always do, that they were
simply getting rid of Objectionable char
acters, who were injurious to the whole
but, as we have al
ready several times said, it is
matter to appeal to lawlessness
TO purify and uphold the law, and these
Indiana regulators soon terrorized the
whole community. But when an appeal
is made to lynch law in Iberia to get rid
of Objectionable characters it is discov-
cred that it is all right, and that the only
way to keep peace is by lynching people,
and to preserve order is by mob violence.
The Times-Democrat refuses to play
the part Of hypocr1te, demagogue or
sectlonalist. 1t is opposed to lynch law,
regulators and mob rule, whether in
Louisiana or Indiana. 1t does not de-
plaud them in another. 1t has not two
codes of ethics, one for the North and
one for the South. 1t believes
people are those who deal honestly and
truthfully by them, tell them the truth,
support the law, advocate justice, and
try to bring about peace, order and pros
perity, and not those who apologize for
crime and cOndone lawlessness.
As for the remarkable proposition that
we must not note outTages or crimes,
must shut our eyes to them and permit
the regulators to lynch any person they
see fit, lest if we attempt to punish vio-
ators of the law it may give Ingalls, or
Foraker an excuse for assaulting Louis
ANA, we do not believe that
those who have suggested the ar
gumeut really appreciate the char
lcter of the proposition they make. They
propose that we should suspend
justice in Louisiana through fear of In
gals; that we should allow the regula-
tors to keep on lynching, because if we
loticed them Ingalls, would assaiI us. No
with the slightest self-respeet
will accept the proposition that the vim
lictive Kansas senator should be at all
considered i'll the administration of
Justice in this state. Our courts should
lct without the slightest consideration of
him, doing justice because it is justice,
md not because Mr.. ingalls, may like or
dislike it. The Iberia trouble is Louisi- /
ma affair, to be settled by Louisiana /
courts, and to drag into it what Mr. In /
gals or Mr.. Foraker or any other person |
may say or think OF it is to drag in a |
natter which should not have the slight |
sst weight in deciding our action
As the true friend of Louisiana the |
Times Democrat insists that lynch law |
md regulating must go. We do this be- |
cause it is right, because the honor of the |
tate demands it, because lawlessness |
,annot be encouraged without breeding |
anarchy and q score of other evils. /
Wherever it prevails there is certain de- !