The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-07-16
south Carolina Idea.
From the Nation, july l.


Ile o. Dawson, although very shock
ing OF up ,,,oral sense of the country, ought
hg " ~ considered surprising. Due proc
no- u I - in South Carolina, and III the
ess OF Ialaoraily would require that some
soulu 5.-ive Of Capt. Dawson should XII
rear re4' :, ,yhich case he would he acqult-
hcD s1o,',sa he had a strong feel G against
ied; Then. if a near relative Of mellow
NcD,D.I.ill the near relative OF Dawson, he,
snou'L I,onld be acquitted on the same
TOO ,,Js There are no asslgnaoie
gl;r- 70 vendetta on tnls kihu
H--t If the extinction OF Ine Ia'hl I:s
y = a drawback 10 the que exec II Sio1i
IL - tie present case, that the DaW-
Of ID" - English, have been bred TO
sols, Las regardi the processes OF law.
otnel I1r n eret Yourself up TO the state OF
IL u - E5fling on sight, or shooting your
lnlIL ~ the hack. il is necessary that you
enemy 80 ~ breathed the right atmosphere
SnouI1 .. 49,, we're Young, and have had the
wren ~ lain in your blood. If Mellow
GENUINE m a S nth Carolinian what he did
haa 4On pootnralized Elglishman, he would
% Ln'' been acquitted just the same
nav South Carolina jury, but
y. chances are ten 10 Que tRaC
10 ,conld bite the dust before Ihe emu oi
Dc TUorNooth. And if the girl whom he tried
.lf7pl
10 seuu Gad been a native of South Caro-
IohJ lad had brothers, McDow'S life
ma az ba risk that no insurance company
"o uiG i1ot at. 1t is not unlikely that he
WI -a a, of both these circumstances,
vg l.Io' when he did the shooting and the
ny - when he gave his testimony. A per-
oIn0- w. could shoot another in the back,
SUI IL "a woman whose affections he uad
"li- n cain, would calculate the chances
~ tSSrivete Vengeance to nicely. The pros
d+ If nuishnent In pursuance OF the
sstotnre law he must have known was next
TO nothing. . -. .,.:-,
Rapul i've as is the case IN It's judicial
- that is MT the worst part of IL.
Mn " was elected surgeon of military
aiT+nanv while he was still on trial. Mill
to~y comranies in South Carolina rep ~esent
cistv as they did before the war. Public
Il o,;uiin in South Carolina, therefore, seems
~ rsouire that courts aud jurles should be
eJyi.aj nliltnde not to deal hardly with
~ wno shoots his fellow-man
IN the back, and makes jest pub
Tcv concerning the virtue of
woman whom he pretended TO love, and
d 70 whom be had confided the secret that he
S,ted his own wife and had married her
for money. So much baseness has perhaps
Fl Soidor been assembled in one character in
Fl he
WcDow with other villains, we must re
& member that he is an educated One-no low
& hrowed product of the boys of Ireland, or
E tbe hills of Calabria, or the cutters of New
81 York He is a southern gentleman, the
B member of a learned profession, the
F scion of a respectable family The
manbers of this military company
have distinctly advertised themselves
sayages. They have put the same hall
mark on the city and state in which they
live There might be some excuse for a
iury perplexed by the cunning of lawyers,
B INIT there can be none for these $50 dlerS"
8 If any body of men in a really civilized
r state had so sought to influence jury sit
II sing on a case of life and death the judge
would have issued an attachment against
them, and sent them to jail as fast as the
& sheriff could gather them In.
One popularity of this trial was that half
of the Jury were colored men, but this
really signifies little. The blacks of Charles
ton had some prejudice against Capt Da"-
81 son, but it is idle to suppose that they
81 had any. even the smallest, influence on the
81 white men of the jury. The decision rested
81 with the whites as the social superlors. The
81 negroes as well as the whites have
been taught that killing is not murder
unless it is accompanied by robbery. They
have had some experience that killing for
purposes of lust is punishable with death
81 If the murderer is one of their own color
and the victim one of the opposite color,
but not that the penalty should be
q inflicted by jury. Due process of law in
such cases is lynching, and it is doubtful
& whether they have any idea of law except
as superior force They generally desire to
3 stand well with the whites, and will always
s. do what they think will tend that way, pro
vided the rights and privileges of their race
are not in question. If South Carolina
White men thu tat you have a right to
8 kill neighbors who make themselves disa-
81 greeable to you. South Carolina black men
n will think the same
81 Capt. Dawson was man of noble quail
ues, and the act for which he was put to
death was one which challenges the admira-
ion OF all right-minded men. He made
himself disagreeable to Mellow by inteifer-
Ing with his helish designs upon q young
woman In Dawson's employ. South Caro-
nAans are as fully alive to the high qualities
LOT winch Dawson was distinguished as any
people can be- They have as much regard
ior the virtue Of women If they are white)
as any people; indeed, they may perhaps be
regarded as more sensitive on this point than
nost communities. Blu the cow ction that
councillors venial offense, if not committed
lOr purposes OF gain, is the ruling senti-
ment; IL found abundant expression on
tIe LORDS day, when Mellow went to
cuurcn, where, the dispatches say. che was
quite overwhelmed with congratulations
rom his friends aud patients, among whom
we're many ladies TIE whole affair shows
Sa community only half emerged from
yaioarlSm. 1t is part of the barbarism of
asaVefy surviving after lapse of a quarter
century the Institution that nursed
IeSe shocking ideas of the relations and
uu'ies OF human beings toward each other.
AN ANSWER TO THE FOREGOING.
70 me EDITOR Of the Eueninq Post.
E1 niF n four edit rial on Tine South Caro-
a aua !uea Is as surprising in its conclusions
- .i ~ Is III ltS statement of facts. Simmer
s.ounGS never exis ed upon which to found
We indictment of whole state. and the in
n 'ouceS winch you have drawn as to the
p pr?aalelO leell and condition of public
3plilloh In the south would never have been
in ~ IN AGAINST the people of northern state
the anne circumstances.
Du0 nrSt as o the facts: You assurna tho
Saistehee OF the blood vendetta princinIa in
svi u.u Narollna. l say "you assumen IFS
ISL 1b1ie.eSnce' because there are no facts unon
nsto you base your assertion. What
snT 1u Ives can you cite as occurring within
wbicbP + L JAlIiaUe period, say ten wears. in
st Tron GoodShed in that state has been so
five ceuo. 10 you know of two, three or
NM cases OF vendetta? And if in that
casa, you could cite the occurrence of five
tbinI ~ u a population of 1,0O0. 900, do Won
n a'nA That you are thereby autborizod
lie v 5.ale to the intelligent pub-
process no read your paper that Due
tbe sos,S u law il South Carolina md in
some naol generally, would require that
hi W iaTat relation TO Capt. Dawson sbould
q -uNDOMlI Permit T.. -