The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-08-01

The question. what can De- done 90 put
o stop % assaults upon white women bv
black men has become % vcry serious
one. II deserves and should receive tho
most thoughtful consideration from those
4 who influence public sentiment
The number Of the assaults Of the kind
referred 20 is steadily increasing, not
withstanding that very large per
centage of those guilty of such
assaults are lynchcd. The assaults
are not confined 10 the south,
although great majority Of them occur
in the southern states because the bulk
/ Of the black population is in those states.
| 1t is stated that over three hundred Of
these assaults have occurred since January
/ 1, last, and that a very large proportion Of
those guilty Of them were promptly
/ lynched This is a fearful showing of
crime and lawlessness.
| But what is to be done to check crimes
! of this sort2 The MORNING NEWS OPP
/ poses lynching for two reasons First,
! because it does not lessen the number of
| crimes, and second, because il
weakens the respect for the law,
! In measure it satisfies those who are
/ directly and indirectly the sufferers from
the crimes, but it is productive of bad
feeling and holds back the better class
of the blacks from aiding the whites in
| creating a sentiment among theirown PEG
! pie against the commission of such crimes.
II it produced good results the argument
against it would be less strong.
1t is difficult 10 say what the most eff
fective method of dealing with the per
p rators of the outrages is. They are be-
! coming so numerous and bold that ac-
| counts of one or more Of their crimes APP
pear in the newspapers almost every
| day. White men living in the country
and distant from neigh bors are afraid to
leave their wives and daughters unpro-
tected in their homes. Such experiences
as that of Mrs. Seightler, at CASTOR, S. c.,
the victim of the three blacks who were
lynched Sunday, are well calculated to
keep white women, living where aid can
not be promptly procured, in a perpetual
state Of alarm.
The MORNING News has all along
commended that the prompt punish
ment of the perpetrators of these crimes
by the courts would be far more
effective for good than lynching.
This view is held by other southern
papers. Some time ago the Charleston
News and Courier suggested that the
laws be so amended that there could be
no unnecessary delay in furnishing as
saults upon white women.
There are, Of course, those who insist
Iot ,,.I,
not put a stop to the assaults. It's found
that lynchings do not stop them; why not,
then, give the legal methods fair trial.
BY bringing the offenders promptly to
trial a sentiment might be create among
the blacks that would help wonderfully
to lessen the number of the outrages 1t
is evident that there exists a condition of
affairs that calls for action and the exer-
else of good judgment.
The blacks who commit these outrages
do not belong to the better class. They
are not thrifty and selfrespecting They
are worthless fellows, who wander about
the country getting a living as best they
can, or youths who have been subjected
to very bad influences. Most of them
have either been Convicts or are on the
road to the penitentiary. And there are
great many of them. What to do with
them and how to secure protection against
them are questions which have not yet
been answered.
Gov. Chamberlain said in a published
letter recently, that the better class of
blacks, instead Of protesting against the
lynching of men of their color for heinous
offenses, should unite in condemning the
offenders. If they would do this, instead
of making the lynching a race question,
there would soon be such a strong senti-
ment among them against assaults by
blacks upon white women that such
assaults would become less frequent
The whites lynch white men who
are guilty of assaulting women, as quickly
as they do black men guilty of the same
crime. Why, therefore, should the blacks
endeavor to shield black offenders? They
must be taught by their leaders that it is
to their interest to uphold good morals
and stand on the side of law and order
that they cannot afford to be influenced
in so important matter by race pretu-
dice
Lynchings must be discouraged. The
effect of them is not to check offenses.
One legal hanging does more good than
half a dozen lynchings, Make pun
ishment by the courts prompt and sure
and there will be a rapid decrease in the
kind of crimes for which there are now
so many lynchings.