The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1894-04-24
LAwLKs>NEsA
II The Cenyss p9assAed Crime There
woaid ne Fewer lynrhfu9s.


~ The cesrss psassA.d Crine There
woaid Re Fewer Iynrhirgs.
SEATTLE. Apr:l =. fsEss
To rEx EnETox- Yoar e9i.oYsag CT this
morning. easss.ed -Las.essn@ss," is er-
cesssnt ard worthy of confederation BY
every good citszea in the Uaised States
Bat 10 i not sx parss-oue-ssisd only
We must admit sas fundamental s-n.h
that provoeation is utterly irrelevant
either justification or a. inssigasicn IN
. case Of iynrhiag-
Bat tais is owing TO she fact tia: the
. faw has made provision by which crime IS
followed by peaas,ies- II the law becomes
isnpotsnt. OF rendered so By tschnfcalifses,
whst shsng No doubt If oar laws were
enforced without delays there would be
iewe. cases Of lynchirS Bot here l. the
rgb'
This city has had striking illustrations
pro snd con- Not long ago citizens were
shos down near their own dwellings far
NOS holding up their hands when hidden
By rorzhs. David Syres. On police duty,
trying 20 arrest . burglar At night was
shot down when no one was In the stree.
10 see the deed. Three men we're arrested
on eircumstsntial evideace-she want
King county thousands Of dollars i'm
prosecuting. with the certainty Of
the guilty parties escaping conviction.
Oar best citizens found the law impotent
and life shamsfuIiy unprotected. Then
came the max;ms, so old the memory Of
man runnesh not TO the contrary. self
preservation is tie first Law Of nature"
Necessity knows no law" and on the
af <En ko ssy44e
peaied 10 lynch Law. They improvised 8
court. jury and examined witnesses: they
discarded fechnicaiities. and they found
sufficient facts pointed to these accused
men 20 pronounce them guilty. and they
were hung in James street tg here the Pho
neer building now ssands) notwiths:and-
ing the iauiab.e effort OF our chief Justice
TO cut them down. There were no more
such murders in this city for 4 long. long
time, and while all the citizens depiored
the necessity, few If any regretted this
lynching.
On the other hand. take . case at Law.
Yesry ago, on the Grant street bridge, q
nottingham vas assaiied by his compsn-
ion. who had AWAY appeared 10 he friendly
TO the assaiied, who not only robbed him
of small sum OF money but beat him
vived and was taken to Providence hos
pital and before his death, knowing be
could not long survive his wounds, sol
EMMY stated who had perpetrated
the crime and circumstances At
tending 1t. This was years ago.
How stands this case? The murderer has
had two trials-was convicted each time
appealed each time TO the higher court
on techuicalities. and got another trial.
Ills case has cost King county thousands
OF dollars and he is still alive asking for
another trial. He has been found guilty
two times. but the question of guilt has
to give way to technical question and
murder trials become q farce. This point
has not been touched in your editorial.
There is time when patience ceases to
be virtue; something has TO be done.
When the Southern states claimed that
the constitution of the United States did
not grant congress power to Join the states
together by bayonets, then Mr.. Lincoln
and that great commoner of Pennsylvania,
Thad Stevens, acknowledged that they
were acting outside the constitution,
nevertheless they intended to whip the
calcitrants into the Union. The North
approved, yet this was lynch law pure and
| simple.
VIII some jurist favor US with light !?
What shall We do when the law is i'm.
potent3 FIAT JUsTITfA.