The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1894-09-02
IT'S EFFECT AT THE CAPITAL.
Frederick Douglass and Others Be-
lieve That the Negroes of the
South VIII Wreak Vengeance on
Whites

1feve That the Negroes of TIL,
South VIII Wreak Vengeance OF
the Whites.
Washington, Sept. 1.-The announce
ment of the lynching of six coloreC
men in Tennessee was much talked Of
in Washington today and renewed in
terest in the resolution introduced b!
Representative Blair, of New Hamp
shire. for an investigation of such
forms Of lawlessness, which will prob
ably be acted upon early next session
Hon. Frederick Douglass, the vener-
able pioneer of the abolition movement
was seen by an Associated Press re.
porter. He had not read the report OF
the affair. nor did he care to.
ut is only continuation of the
persecution of the past" he said, al
first. very bitterly. What can 1 say
about this affair that L have not al
ready said of similar ones? My views
are well known"
For a moment he was silent, and
then he continued, apparently speaking
more in sorrow than in anger:
Il regard this case as symptomatic,'
he said. 1T belongs to that spirit OF
Ilawlessness which prevails all over the
country. 1t is usually said in defense
of lynch law that it is only resorted tC
in revenge for a single crime. But
that is not true. 1t is resorted to after
almost all offenses, or all alleged of.
fences. They kill a man, tell how he
looked when he was accused, how he
confessed. how he was strung up, but
when the coroner's jury is called they
swear they do not know who did it
They never know who the man con-
fessed to.
Il do not believe their accusations
1t is simply a reign of terror in the
south for political purposes, and to
defeat the constitutional amendments
One effect of this persistent lawless
violence in the south will be undoubt-
ledly to produce retaliation on the part
of the negroes. Persecution will beget
persecution and secret revenge. An
other effect will be to keep the capital
of the north and immigration from the
north and abroad from the common
country. 1t is a deplorable state OF
affairs. but these things will ultimate
" defeat themselves. The thirst fol
blood will be satisfied and reaction
will take place"
An Appalling Affair.
Hon. Blanche K Bruce, ex-United
States senator from Mississippi, and ex-
registrar of the treasury, took a con-
sentative view of the work of the
lynchers in Tennessee.
1T is certainly an appalling affair, -
he said. and [ earnestly hope that the
good citizens Of the country in which
1t occurred will not rest until the per-
petrators of this murder have been
brought to justice. The effect of the
lamentable occurrence will be, among
other things, to neutralize to some eX-
tent the good that is being done. by the
Southern Development association
rrrlaf 11, al Il,
This will be accomplished by prevent
ing capitalists from investing their
money in the state
Mr.. Bruce refused to say whether
any uprising of the negroes was to be
expected, though it was intimated that
the outcome would not be OF that
serious character.
Impedes the Progress of the south
Hon. J. B. Lynch, of Mississippi,
who served three terms in Congress,
and who was fourth auditor of the
treasury during Harrison's administra-
ton, denounced the lynchers and de-
precated the effect of the occurrence in
impeding the growth of the south. He
said:
These lynches have become so pre-
valent in the south that it is no longer
matter of surprise to read of them.
Naturally l was mortified to read of
the Tennessee lynching, which was
based merely on the suspicion that the
six men were guilty of arson. Those
who have justified. defended and ex-
cused frequent lynchings in the south,
from the pulpit, through the press and
on the stump, have done so on the
ground that lynching was resorted to
only for the crime of rape. The truth
is that the lynchings are the result of
a morbid and depraved public senti-
ment, which has tolerated any and all
criminal methods to stamp out and
effecutally prevent the successful OPP
position to the ruling oligarchy which
bears the name of Democracy in the
south. Lynching is only one species of
the lawlessness which damns that sec
ton of the country, in the estimation
of peaceful and law-abiding citizens
everywhere. Hence it is bound to be
detrimental to the industrial and COM
mercial interests Of the south. 1t is not
a race matter, however, and there will
be no retaliation from race stand
point"