The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1894-06-06
"I WOULD LEAD A MOB"
Gov. Tillman ReiterateE His Views On
Lynchipg-How the South Is Being
Slandered
THE State, 2nd. |

| 1De newspaper dCCpoutS iuOlGdLe
that a colored woman, Ida B. Wells, is
raising quite furor in her denuncia-
ton of the Southern people and has
made much ado 'out the lynchings.
The woman has taken Governo, Till
mans declaration that he would lead
lyncbing mob' as her text and has
with it tried to create the impression
that there was no peace or safety for
her people in this country. No, doubt
she made Ike Peterson one Of her
heroes. Any way, her campaign has
given Governor Tillman the .opportu-
nifty of reiterating the statement that
be would lead mob to lynch a raw
isher. The declaration was recalled by
the following polite request from the
Rev. DR.. Hall, of Norfolk, who writes:
NORFOLK, Va, May %, 1894.
To his Excellency, the Governor Of
South Carolina: ~
Dear Governor Tillman: There ap-
peared in the Christian World, paper
published in London, England, an ac-
count of an interview between the re-
porter of said paper and a certain Ida
B. Wells, colored, correspondent of the
Inter- Ocean, in which fierce attack
is made upon the good people of the
South, charging them with lynching
negroes for almost any crime; and in
answer to the question, "What are the
Governors and State authorities about
while all this is going on?' she says:
"They let the mob have their own
way" and she went on to say: "Gover-
nor Ti!lman, of South Carolina, when
first elected, condemned lynching and
declared he would protect the negro.
At bis second candidature two years
ago, standing under atree where eight
negroes had b. en- lynched. he declared
he would himself lead mob to lynch
negro who assaulted a white wo-
man."
have been requested by the Baptist
| ministers of Norfolk and Portsmouth,
Va, to address the English people
through the Christian World, upon the
subject and to make some reply to the
malicious charges made against the
South by this woman, who is having
the right Of way in the churches, halls
and other places of public assamblage.
May I ask if she correctly. quoted
your statements and what may be your
attitude in respect to mob violence.
She is doing no little injury to our
land aud I am anxious to make the
reply as thorough as possible and TO
show that the Governors and the peo-
pie of the South respect and enforce
law and order, notwithstanding the in
stances where the people are driven to
desperation against those who outraged
their wives and daughters; which
desperation is not restricted to the
Southern States. Allow me to extend
YOU nv best wishes, with the hope that
great prosperity may be enjoyed by all
your people.
Very truly yours,
Rev. J. J. HALL, D. D.,
Pastor Park Avenue Baptist Church,
| Norfolk, Va.
DIR. Hall will very probably be sur
prised, from the character of his letter.
when he receives the following reply
from Governor Tillman:
CoLUM BIA, S. c., June lst, 1894.
Rev. J. J. Hall, D. D., Norfolk, Va:
Dear Sir: In reply to your letter of
May q, beg to say that I AN cor
rectly reported to this extent; said in
my canvass two years ago, and | say
| now, that Governor IS I am, I would
lead mob to lynch any man, white or
black, who had ravish, d any woman,
white or black. L.send you copy OF
my inaugural address, in WHICH my
views as to the sacred obligations the
white people of the South are under in
dealing with the negro, are set forth IN
full. am on record as having asked
the Legislature to give me power to
remove any sheriff who allowed a
prisoner to be lynched while under his
protection or in his custody.
I have promptly ordered out the
militia to promptly protect prisoners,
whenever called on by the sheriHs.
am opposed to lynch law for anything
else but rape. This is a crime, which
in my opinion, places any man beyond
the pale of the law and below the
brutes.
The Southern people are not blame
less in dealing with the question Of
lynchipg, but ali our lynching are not
of negroes, and but for the fact that
every outbreak of the kind is used as a
. text by Republican newspapers to SLAM
der our people they would excite no
more comment here than elsewhere 10
the .Uuited States. think that statis-
tics will show that they occur as often
in the Northern and Western States,
as they do in tpe South.
Very respectfully,
B. r. T1LLNAN, Governor.
While Governor Tillman was pre-
pairing his reply one Of his sherifs was
in the Office.
| Children who are puny, pale, weak,
or scrofulous, ought to take Dr.. Pierce's
Golden Medical Discovery. That
builds up both their flesh and their
strength. For this, and for purifying
the blood, there's nothing n ali nedi-
cine that can equal the "piscovery.".