The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-07-13
An Unfair Critic

HdrpeT's Weekly, in its Issue Of this week,
comments on the verdict in the Dawson
Mellow case in 3 way that is very unjust TO
South Carolina. After exercising amaze
ment that Mellow us still honored as a
hero acknowledged a. gentleman" it
5 Us: Undoubtedly the crime which Nc
Dow confessed, one If the basest Of which
hu nan nature is capable, is unhappily not
confined to any part Of the country. Such
wrO IS are known everywhere. But no
where else in the country is it a title to
honor TO plan the dis onor Of young and
defenseless woman in a dependent station,
and to shoot a man who, with
the instinct Of an honest man and a gentle
man, pr tests. This is a state Of sentiment
which degrades the entire community in
viii it exists, wherever it NAV be, and
which should certainly startle every gener-
Gus and true-hea ted gentleman in it. y
There is no evidences any where to justify
the statement that Mellow lis still honored
as hero" in South Carolina, or that it is
considered "a title OF honor" there to plan
the dishonor of a defenseless woman in a
de endent station and to shoot a man who
attempts TO protect her. It is true that there
was great deal Of rejoicing over McDow's
acquittel, but the rejoicing was done
mainly by those whom Hdrper's Weekly
helped to make citizens. Ii IL ID not been
for that influential periodical and other
publications in the north holding similar
views relative to the rights Of colored
people, it is probable that public sentiment
10, i I l. l. Al
colored men should do jury duty before
they we prepared for it.
1t is true that there were white men on
the Mellow jury, but they were in the mi
norty. 1t is pretty safe to say that if the
jury had been composed wholly Of white
men the verdict would have been different,
or at least the defendant would not have
been acquitted.
II the five white men had favored diff
ferent verdict it is pretty certain that the
colored msn would not have agreed with
them, because the blacks are dispose to
differ with the whites upon all questions
relating to the making aud administering
Of the laws. For this hostile feeling on the
part of the blacks toward the white
HGrper's Weekly and other northern publi-
cations are, TO a great extent, responsible.
T e blacks have the idea pretty firmly
fixed in their minds that they must OPP ose
the whites and this idea makes it almost
impossible to obtain verdicts in the courts
in accordance with the law and the facts.
White juriss convict white men as
promptly as they do black men, and white
grand juries are disposed to be lenient to
black men in cases in which it is shown
that the offenses with which they are
charged were committed in ignorance of
the law, but jury Of colored men will not
convict a colored man of an offense against
a white man. There are instances in South
Carolina where colored jurors have openly
asserted tha they would not convict col
ored man of any crime under any circum-
stances. With such jurors is it to be won
dered at that there are many miscarriages
of justicel
Hdrper'S Weekly does South Carolina a
great injustic when it holds all the people
of that state responsible for the Mellow
verdict There are evidences cropping out
in Charleston that the prevailing sentiment
among the white people of that city con-
dennis the verdict Those who have made
a hero Of Mellow are the blacks, and they
have done so not because they approve his
acts, but because he killed a man against
whom they had grudge