Evening journal., 1889-08-14
NOT CONVICTED, BUT GUILTY


The case of Yeldell, or Flemon, the
negro who was taken from Pennsylvania
10 South Carolina to be tried for murder
presents several phases One is that trial
by Jury is a farce and travesty on JUS
tice
The jury was formerly the palladium
Of our civil rights" against the aggres
sions of the sovereign Now it is tine
palladium Of the rogue, the scoundrel
and the murderer against justice It is
directly under the influence Of the mob,
the newspapers and the political bosses.
The iurymen are often the victims Of
their own ignorance and prejudice.
The Mellow verdict in Charleston was
an outrage and the Yeldell Flemon YER
dict in Edgefeld is crime. A hue and
cry was made in Yeldell's behalf because
he was a useful Republican ward poll
tician. II was alleged that he could not
obtain Justice in South Carolina The
result proves that he did not ebtaIn JUS
tice It was justice that he and the
Pennsylvania Republicans did not want.
The attorney for the defence notified the
Jury that the North challenged the South
not to convict this man as a murderer.
In answer to this clamor the jury decided
to acquit him and they did acquit him,
without regard to, and in defiance Of,
the evidence. The shooting was clearly
proved and there was practically no de-
fence. At the very best, the man was
clearly guilty Of murder in some degree
or, at least, of manslaughter. But the
jurymen were anxious to show the world
that they had no prejudice against a
negro, and they accordingly found YER
diet as little in accordance with the facts
as that in the recent Charleston case.
It was really Yeldell's black skin that
saved him.
This is not the fault Of the people Of
/ South Carolina alone II is the fault OF
false and mawkish womanliness which
prev ails over the whole country. Every
where there is sickly sentimentalism
which is shocked whenever miserable
criminal is brought to justice. The more
offensive the criminal and the more
heineous the crime, the more pathetic and
pungent is the sympathy he excitss in
the breasts which are filed with woman
ish weakness to the exclusion Of the true
womanly sympathy. Such men are more
vehement than virile, more voluminous
than virtuous,
OF the women who take up and defend
the cause Of these vile criminals, tn,
least said the better. Criticisms on then
would be proper only before court o.
inquiry as to sanity.
Another cause for the acquittal of thil
criminal was the clamor of the degener
ate Republican press, which pretends t.
defend the colored man. 1t is perfect,
proper to defend the colored man, but no
the criminal II is vicious politics to de
mand that the colored criminal shall b.
turned loose to prey upon the commun
ity. The Republican party cannot hol
its sway over the negro by that means
It is foolish and unstatesmanlike t
attempt It.
The laws against these crimes are righ
or they are wrong. If they are right, the
should be executed for the peace an,
safety Of the community, If wrong the
) should be repealed Until they shal
have been repealed they should be mad
more effective. This verdict Of acqui
e tai is travesty on justice, stigma o
g the Republican press and general di
Q grace on the country.