The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1894-07-19
THE NEGRESS MISSIONARY TO
ENGLAND.

A missionary to England, negro
woman, designated as Ida Wells, Is
making an educational tour OF that
little island arousing prejudice espeS
cially against the South on account OF
the negro lynching at that much
abused section. No one in their cool
moments approves of lynchlng any
more than Ida Wells and her sympa-
thetic audiences, but it would speak
better for the honesty of her purpose
il she would conGne herself more than
she does to the truth.
In an interview with her by the
Westminster Gazette, she says -four
fifths of the lynchlngs are done on the
blacks That may be true for blacks
are almost exclusively the class who
are guilty of the crime which is gen.
orally punished by Judge Lynch, but
when she adds, many of the victims
are innocent of the crimes for which
they are lynched" it takes bubble OF
the law to attest the truth OF the as
sertion Under the law any man Is
innocent until he is convicted of the
charge against him. In that sense,
and in that sense alone, are many
victims" innocent. We venture the
assertion that a negro has rarely, ii
ever, been lynched in the South who
was not clearly and palpably guilty OF
the crime for which he was lynched.
The crime for which lynching is fire.
quently the penalty administered in
the South can nearly alv avs be prove
by Identification unless the woman
upon whom it was perpetrated was
also murdered, but even then in
nearly every case the guilty negro has
either confessed or the circumstances
are so strong going to prove his guilt
that not a doubt of it exists in the
public mind.
But that is not the question to
which we desire to call attention, We
want to inquire what good Ida Wells
proposes to do by going abroad and
slanderilg the whole southern people
of this country England's feelings
upon this subject will have very little
influence upon father whose
daughter has been outraged, or upon
his neighbors who sympathize with
him If Ida Wells desires to educate
the world mp to a point that it will
disapprove lynchiDgs she is doing a
work of supererrogation, the world is
already educated up to that point
and all the education mar
may have on this subject will no
influence him one iota wheI
his home is Invaded and outraged b!
these brutes of passion and foul lust.
IfIda Wells, whose photograph show
that she is pure African, sympa'
thises with that part of her race il
the South who suffer lynching for tn
foulest and most damnable crime il
the annals of crime, and desires t.
snatch them from the grasp of tn
mob. her mission would have beer
much more appropriate and nigh
have done more good if it had beer
directly to that class OF negroes in tn
South Inramed with resentmeu
against the enormity of the Grim
against her sex she might have beer
sufficiently eloquent TO Undue
the males OF ler race to r,
strain their passions and become SAT
and reputable citizens. But no, Id
Wells seems 20 feel no sympathy 70
the daughters Of the South. He
whole sympathy is for the brutal an
lusttul negro guilty of such heinou
crimes, aud her sympathy is so grea
that she goes abroad, and without on
word for the victims of this lust sh
attempts to befou the country tina
gave her birth, home, education an
freedom, in aIousirg sympathy for
class that DO not deserve any consid
Grafton. For these miserable wretche