The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1893-04-25
SLAVERY DAYS.
Attorney lehman's View of the
Law Authorizing the Sale
of Migrants.

The habeas corpus case of Joe
Thompson, the vagrant negro, who
was recently sold under the hammer
at Mexico, No. will he argued before
the Supreme court at Jefferson City in
a few days by Frederick w. Leh-
mann of St. Louis, conselor for the
petitioner. The case was to have
come up to-day but was postponed.
1t is one that has brought down upon
Missouri's devoted head a great deal
IF adverse criticism from outside
writers not familiar with the circum-
stances which made such a proceeding
possible in State which is As free
from the customs of the past as any
commonwealth in the Union. Mr..
Lehman has prepared his brief. MIR.
Lehman was asked what ground he
would take in his case before the Su-
preme Court and in reply he said:
THoMpsoNs CONVICTION.
Joe Thompson, negro, was con-
victed of vagrancy under a Missouri
law which instead of sending persons
found guilty of that otiense to Jail,
directs that they I've sold for six months
at public auction at the court house
door, to the highest bidder for cash in
hand. The same law provides that
children found without means OF sup
port be turned over by a justice of the
peace, to the sheriff, to he bound out
by that officer until they become of
age. 1t also decreed that if there
was no purchaser or anyone who
would take the prisoner for his keep
he should receive twenty-five lashes
on the back. The latter clause has
been repealed The law is very old
one, relic of the institution of slav-
cry. 1t was passed as far back as
1915, when Missouri was a Territory,
but though slavery has been abolished
it remains upon the statutes. For
many years and until 1879 it was the
only law in Missouri dealing with
cases of vagrancy, but in that year a
law was passed which would seem to
have made an end of the enactment
of ante-bellum days.
THE RECENT ENACTMENT.
The new law provides for the
punishment of Migrants by fine and
Imprisonment. 1t does not appear
that there are many prosecutions I'M
der the original law, and while it was
a law of the territory and of the state
at the beginning it was never brought
before the supreme court for construc-
ton or consideration, and ONLY re-
Gently does anything seem to have
been done under it. About three
months ago a negro was sold in La
favette county, and that appears to
have inspired constable at Mexico
with the idea that he could distinguish
himself in new role. He instituted
a number of prosecutions under the
old law, and in his first case against a
black man he was successful and the
man was actually sold. The con-
stable regarded his performance as
very creditable He dressed himself i'll
his store clothes, donned his
brightest red necktie, studied the pro
per attitude and had photographer
ready to preserve the scene The
day was unpropitious, however, and
the cloudy weather prevented the ko'
dac performance. After that the law
was put in operation against a white
man, a confirmed vagrantif there evei
was one. He had been in the Poor
house, but objected to the discipline
had thrashed the keeper and continu
ed to loaf about town doing nothing
This man was tried before jury and
found not guilty for the simple reason
which the jurors themselves confessed
that they didn't propose that 8
white man should be sold into slavery
INDIGNATION AROUSED.
The third case was that of the maj
Joe Thompson, and here an objection
was raisied because it seemed to thu
people of Mexico that the energetic
constable had gone into the auction
business for the purpose of increasing
his fees. Thompson was convicted an'
brought up for sale. BY this tim'
public sentiment had taken shape ant
there was a general protest agains
the law, which was declared Il survives
of the slavery conditions of the past
At the instance of many citizens MIR
George Robertson, in order to test thu
validity of the law, applied for a wri
OF habcas corpus, it being argued tina
the enactment had been rendered null
and void by the constitutions of thu