The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1891-06-05
The Mass Meeting.


OF the law abiding citizens of the
| town and county, to express their
| disapproval of mob violence and
vindicate the good name Of our town
and county. Let every lover of law
and order Gomez
Iu response to this call, at the hour
designated the Circuit Court room
was pretty we'll filled. DIR. II. Hold
ing was called to the chair to preside
over the meeting, and Mr.. Sam Hold
ing was appointed to act as Secretary.
Following these preliminaries G.. Il.
Hughes, Esq, read the following
resolutions:
Resolved that we, az law-abiding
citizens of the County of Maury, be-
lieving that the prosperity and happi-
ness of the community depends al
ways upon the absolute supremacy of
the laws of the land, and that it is the
duty OF eN cry good citizen TO give both
his moral aud active influence to Its
enforcement; Therefore,
Be IL further resolved that we as
law-abiding citizens of Maury County
in mass meeting assembled, do here
by deplore and condemn all crimes
against the laws OF our country, and
especially mob-violence, which Is
fraught with so much danger to the
peace and welfare of every cOmmuni-
Jy, and hereby tender to the Sheriff
and other peace officers, in the
future, our active aid and services,
whenever that aid is needed to sup
pres mob violence or other crime,
and in unfolding the majesty of
the law"
No sooner were the resolutions read
than it was evident the meeting
would be a stormy one; and ii was
|olo an nj al NUhfnh
greeted the first remarks of the Hon.
w. J. Whitthorne, that the resolu-
tiOns, pacific as they were, would be-
showed under when the final ballot
came. When the resolutions were
first read, Mr.. Whitthorne very quick
ly ella med the attention of the chair
and made few remarks and moved
that the resolutions be tabled. He
afterwards, however, withdrew both
his remarks and his motion, and said
he would wait and hear the other
side.
Following this there were several
spe eches made in favor of the resolu-
tions. The speakers on this side Of
the case were, w. j. Webster, G.. II.
Hughes, p. II. Southall and y. d
Lander. The line of argument WAS
much the same with all the gentle
men. They said they were not there
to refer to any recent case of mob
violep ce, or to reflect upon any officer
neither were they present to argue
that there was more Iawlessness in
this immediate neighbCrhood than
else where; but they were there, as
law-aOIdiug citizens, to call the at
tention of the people to the great a
amount of lawlessness over the land,
and the dangerous growth OF mob law.
The only hope we have for the perpet-
uation of our government, the gentle
men said, was indthe maintenance OF
law; the only safety we have in our
ZONES, the only protection for our
property, was in the law. Mob law
and anarchy are one and the same;
IA the north ii il called by one name,
IA the south by the other; in either
case it is the wild passions of mad
men, who undertake to redress their
real or imaginary private wrongs, and
whose acts are as dangerous at times
to the lives and property OF the inno-
cent as the guilty, They were there,
said the speakers, with honest pur-
pose, good intent and sober thought,
TO ak their fellow citizens to declare
themselves law-abidiDg citizens, In
favor of the law of the land punish
ing criminals, and ready to uphold
the officers i'm their efforts to enforce
the law. They thought the time had
com TO call halt to this spirit of law
lessness.
Messrs. James Dooley and w. J.
Whitthorne were the speakers on the
otner side of the case, opposed to the
passage of the resolutions.
Mr.. DOOley said that the law had
not protected Mr.. Fly; when in his
field at work he had been shot down
and foully murdered, and he endorsed
the hanging Of his murderer just as II
was done. Mr.. Southall reminded
Mr.. Dooley that the resolutions had
nothing TO say about that deplorhble
case or any other case in particular;
that mob violence had become all too
frequent, and these resolutions were
simply TO call halt and remind the
people of their duty to society in
maintaining the supremacy of the
law. But Mr.. Dooley could not see 1t
in that light and continued his argu-
ment on the other line until the
Chair ruled him o 1t OF order.
w. J. WhitthOTne WAS the only
other speaker against the resolutions.
After reminding the people of his
great services to them during the
dark and bloody four years OF the re-
bellion, and of his exceeding liberalitY
in donating one thousand dollars 70
the Arsenal fund, le proceeded to
argue IN favor OF the inherent rights
of the people, who were all powerful
and from whom all law sprung, TO
take the law into their own hands
when attempts at rape were made
aud such murders rs the murder OF
John Fly were committed. He re-
furred to the absence of the Attorney
General aud the Circuit Judge and
the right of appeal aud the delays OF
the law, and said the people were not
willing TO wait on such tedious pro-
ceedings when such heinous crimes
had been committed. AT such times
as these, (referring to attempts atrape
and tue Fly murderl he was with the
people and IL necessary would take d
| hand. He said that il the negro Green
| Wells had been brought before Judge
! Patterson for trial, and had asked for
continuance Oh the grounds OF
prejudice, that under the law ne
would have been entitled to il and
Judge Patterson could not have done
otherwise than have granted IL. In
| such cases as this he did not believe
in these delays, and endorsed the
action of the mob.
| Finally a vote was called for, and
| the house being full OF people and not
| very we'll lighted il WAS impossible to
decide the question by rising vote
or lifting of hands, aud OH motion OF
| Mr. Webster it was determined to de-
eide it by each man signing a paper
''for" or "again-." the resolutions.
The resolutions were defeated by
vote of AZ to "a We had intended
giving IA full list OF the names, but
some OF them we were unable to read.
The list therefore is not complete, but
so far as could beread, is rs follows:
For the Resoiu- Against the Resolu-
lions. lions.
1 Geo. II. Hughes, Il. ID. Walker,
| Otey j. Porter, Il Il Westmoreland,
! II S Thompson w Jackson, Jr.
John Moore, Jr. Kin Cherry,
| VIM. Webster, Jas. l.. Dooiey,
| w. &. Grant, w. u. Thompson,
| e. Is. Delk, Sam Walker,
| Horace Rainey II. j. Clark,
Frank Goodwin, II. Il. Dixon,
| T.. Yoest, A. Baughn,
J. A. Smiser, w. r. Chaflin,
John Latta, j. IL. Chaflin,
| A. II. Lamar, j. i. Prose,
w. @. Taylor, Al. Timmons.
A. X. Johnson, j. Ii. Gaines.
Sam Holding, A. q. Brown,
+. ID. Lander, ED Clark,
+. II. Southall, Jr. Billy Walters,
| y. Il. Cheairs, s. ID. Herndon,
| Albert Cross, VIM. Colliss,
Knox Fleming, WA. Jackson
Il. T.. Turner, Jerry Troupe,
Geo. Kerr,
j. i. West, Jr.