The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1894-09-02
vin probably be acted upon early next

pioneer of the abolition movement, was
seen by reporter He had not read tne
is only continuation of the persecution of
the past" he said at first, very bitterly:
What can say about this affair that 1
views are well known. For a moment he
was silent and he continued, apparently
9re ss In nas soFrow m rnan m he
said. 1T belongs TO the spirit of lawiess-
ness which prevails all over the country.
that it is only resorted to in revenge for q
single crime. But that Is not true. 1t Is
reSorted to after almost All ofenses, or. aI
alleged offenses. They Kill man, tell how
he looked when he was accused, how he
confessed, how he was strung up. but wnen
the coroners jury is called they all swear
that they don't know who did It. They
never know who the man confessed TO- 1
do not believe their accusations. 1t Is SIM
ply. reign OF terror in the South for poltt-
icaI purposes and to defeat the constitu-
tional amendments. One effect of this per-
sistent lawless violence In the South will
be undoubtedly TO produce retaliation on
the part of the negroes. Persecution VIII
beget persecution and secret revenge. An.
the North and immigration from the North
and from abroad away from one part OF
our common country; 1t is a deplorablte
mately defeat themselves. The thirst for
blood will be satiated and reaction will take
place.
Hon. Blanche X. Bruce, ex-United States
Senator from Mississippi and ex-Register
of the Treasury, took a conservative view
Of the work Of the lynchers in Tennessee.
though he expressed astonishment at the
brutality of the action and deplored its
damaging effects to the South. He at first
declined to discuss the affair, but finally
said: 1T is certainly an appalling affair,
and earnestly hope that the good citizens
| OF the county in which it occurred will not
u pedn ae o nstce OF eees
| of the lamentable occurrence will be,
among other things, to neutralize to some
extent the good that is being done by the
| Southern Development Association, which
| has just closed its sessions here. This will
be accomplished by preventing capitalists
| fre-n Investing their means in the State"
Mr.. Bruce refused to say whether an up
| rising of the negroes was to be expected.
| though it was intimated that the outcome
would not be of that serious character.
| Hon. John r. Lynch, of Mississippi, who
| served three terms in Congress and who
| was Fourth Auditor of the Treasury dur
ing Harrison's administration, denounced
| the lynchers and deprecated the effect of
the occurrence In impeding the growth of
| the South. He said: These lynchings have
| become so prevalent in the South that 1t is
no longer a matter of surprise to
read of them. Naturally I was horri-
fled to read of the Tennessee lynch
ing, which was based merely on the
| suspicion that the six men were
| guilty of arson. Those who have justified,
defended and excused frequent lynchings
| in the South. from the pupit, through the
/ press and on the stump, have done SO on
| the ground that lynching was resorted to
| only Tor the crime or rape. Inc truth Is
| that the lynchngs the result of NOR
| bid and depraved public sentiment which
| has tolerated any and all criminal meth
| DDS 10 stamp out and effectually prevent
| the successful opposition to the ruling oil
| garchy which bears the name of Democ-
| racy in the South. Lynching is only one
| species of the lawlessness which damns
| that section of the country in the estma-
| tor of peaceful and law-abiding citizens
| everywhere. Hence, it is bound to be detri-
mental to the industrial and commercial
i interests of the South. 1t is
matter, however. and there will be no re-
| taliation from a race standpoint. The law
| lessness is not the result of antipathy be-
| tween the white and black races But
| wherever local sentiment toerates crimes
| and lawlesSness, as is true in certain Sec
| tions of the South, it causes people gener-
| ally to become accustomed to such things
| by force of habit. Consequently, we find
| white men as well colored men muir
dering one another and frequently whites
and blacks numbering those of the opposite
race. 1t won't result. as some might i'm
agine, in any general emigration Of ne
groes from the South. They will stay there
as IT is a country for the black man as
much as for anybody else. They will live
there peaceably If they can and die there
tify lawlessness There will be no uprising
of negroes, and they must depend upon the
sense of justice of the people of the coun-
try to remedy these evils, and the remedy
will ultimately come"