Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-06-13

Bishop Thompson Taken TO Task Tor
UNFOLDING Southern Lynchtngs.

Bishop Thompson Taken TO Task for
UNFOLDING Southern Lynchings-
To the Editor Of The Evening Star:
Representative southern men met at Au-
gusta, Ga, q few days ago for the purpose
OF devisins means OF Advertising the res
sources of the south and inducing emigra-
ton to that section 1t was stated by
those who spoke at that convention, some
OF the speakers being governors OF states
that the people Of the south are q law-abid-
ing people. and that life and property and
the rights OF individuals are as safe there
as elsewhere. Now. right on the heels Of
that convention. and In direct contraven-
ton Of what was there said by representa-
i've southern men, comes q statement
from the Ri. Rev. Hugh Miller Thompson.
rrotestant Episcopal bishop Of Mississippi.
bishop said: ''The people Wnch for one
thing, and for one thing only When Il
comes TO such pass that a girl six years
to another 20 s,,h from one neishbors house
leo away and torn in pieces by some ne
gro brute. what else can we dot There
nave Az been 30 many terrible cases
=, must say. that In all the wears 1 have
nvea IN the south have never known Q
oouotlul lynching. The negroes. when
caught T,n always confess or are identined.
the iawxar are SLOW. the tsiis are full and
ieat Justice as they always are"
Inc language quoted is what BishoD
,,,au, pson Is reported TO have sails I'm a SER
mon preached In Grace Church. New York
yesterday morning. II his statements be
true, the south is not what N va. renre
scented to be by the southern governors az
the augusta convention. Where ..the Ia m
are SLOW, so that negro ravishers are SET
Tree by the courts-the natural Inference
OF Bishop Thompsons language-and where
.nu la"yers are banded together to defeat
In
homeseeker ' " e's
But his statements are not true BEING an
Iplscopallan. and having respect and rev.
erence for the office of bishop IN the prot
estant Episcopal Church II rrjeves me 70
see statement so full OF MISREPRESENTATION
coming from such a source
ME ne 'yn nrst statement quoted. that the peo-
ple Hncn Tor one thing and for one hing
ons' is utterly untrue as any one who has
. 49, ene newspapers must know The one
81 re, .eierred to by him is rape or attempts
i"pe does ne ignore the fact that but n
Few days before he made the statenen, a
nnsesIo Vas Hnched on the eastern shore ~
ana.yIand Tor murder7 Does ne not know
sin,, .es .s nave been lynched In Missis-
does know IL "s' Ano" h-he
HIS second statement, that ..tbe law ar.
ailoua5 = e, put when the Law has been
| q, - ~ " lake It's course. he well kuoya
y, !. mas rarely failed to mete out Justice even
IN Mississippt Is IL becoming IN . hisho, -
Courts a. yhching, because. forsooth, the
\ I2,..
Dut are the laws always Slow Snch NE.
~. 10y iouhd TO be the case In Virginia . short
r.,,,e ago. In that state a negro committed
rape and murder on Sunday On a. $50
day ne was arrested The nov, So a 0ens
huIcted Tor the crime. In less than q ureaa
IRON the time the crime was cornrn,s,.d -
month he WIS eonvlcted, and In less than q
,.u me bishops third statement, that the
JAMS are ful is a Islander upon the neonls
On So,, n. N tnis distinguished prelate,
our southern jails TO visit the narsan. ', ~
cusSo OF crime who were confined ther.
ana 70 minister 10 their spiritual needs ~
s Mouio nave found that the jails were not
| ,uII- ne soutn Is today, Notwithstanding
her large negro population. freer fro,o
| crime, as statistics show, than any other
| section or our country Her tails are not
, Jun IN many places they are empty and
tne Jaiiors offce a sinecure. The bishon
Iurther says. the lawyers are banded 70
gether 10 defeat Justice, as they AWAY.
/ are. The law and lawyers presume eyerv
pe,son innocent an proved to be guilty.
Lawyers are not pharisees; they are imbued
with large share OF that charity that was
preached on the mount; they condemn no
man TIL he has been heard, and properly
nearo Acting In this spirit OF charity
often without remuneration, they defend
the accused In order that they shall NOT he
punished TIL their guilt IL properly estah-
nshed- They protest against the taking OF
human life without due process of law I
believe the civilized world will hold that
the lawyer who defends q negro accused Of
crime and demands in the name of law ana
susuee ana humanity that he shall not
triai, approaches nearer the standard OF
the Just and upright man. set up in the
teschinss OF Christ than does the bishop
VINO would hang him without judge or fury
The south should in some way muzxle
| such friends as Bishop Thompson She has
recently suffered more at their hands ths
from her open enemies
l<H l1v ira h.
the north also. Is a blot upon our cfviliza-
uon- True. the provocation is often great
especially In such cases as these negro OUT
f ou, no one who is correctly in
formed VIII say the criminals would not be
properly dealt with IL tried by the courts.
do not believe a single case can he CITED
where court and jury have failed in their
duties and where the lawyers were banded
together to defeat Justice Furtherrnore I
10 not believe a man can be found in the
south. or elsewhere. as prominent IN the
legal profession as Bishop Thompson is in
the church who would defend lynchfng an
| a community where the law of the land A
ment be slow
The south is not land Of lawlessness ana
crime her jsils are not full: her lawyers
are not banded together TO defeat ,us-
uce; the horrible crime mentioned bv
Bishop Thompson is too often committed
e rere as ELSEWHERE: but II Is not OF such
frequent occurrence his language would
Indicate, and the women of the south are
as safe from molestation as are their sts.
ters irire In the suburbs Of the northern
cities or among the hills Of New England
such sermons as Bishop Thompson is re-
PORTED TO have preached In New York win
| do more 10 retard the growth and deyelon
ment or the south than all her enemies can
say AGAINST her. II is to be hoped she will
repudlate such friends as Bishop Thounson
HIS intended defense Is one of the most
serious accusations made against her His
statements are not true but they have Vone
iorth, and viii doubtless do irrepara BILE in.
jury SYDNEY r MARSHATr
Washington. June IL, 1884