The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-03-18
Bishop Turner's Advice.

bishop Turner of the African Methodist
church is doubtless conscious of a feeling
of relief now that he has freed his
mind Of a burden which, he says, 1t
carried for seven long years What was
this burden? He tells what it was in a
paragraph, taken from his church paper.
published in Atlanta The paragraph is
as follows: Let every negro in this coun-
try who has a spark of manhood in
him, supply his house with one, two or
three guns or a seven or six-shooter. and
we advise him to keep them loaded and
prepared for immediate use. and when his
domicile is invaded by the bloody lynchers
or any mob, day or night, Sabbath or
work day, turn loose your missiles of
death and blow the fiendish wretches into
thousand giblets."
This is very dangerous advice to give to
the colored people. If it should be gener-
ally accepted by them and acted upon, it
would be productive of far worse evils
from which the negroes would suffer than
those of which the bishop complains.
Many of the negroes would not distinguish
between officers of the law and a mob,
and if they were TO shoot to death a few
officers such a feeling would be aroused
against negroes that they would hasten to
follow other advice given to them by the
bishop, namely to emigrate to Liberia.
They would find it hotter here than in
Africa.
We are as much against lynching as
the bishop is, and can well understand the
feeling OF Indignation which he and other
intelligent men of his race have at the
numerous instances of mob law in which
negroes are the victims. We have no SYM
pathy, of course, with the brutes who COM
NIT the crime for which lynching is most
frequent, but we think they ought to be
punished as the law directs.
But there is a better way to prevent
lynchings than by meeting mobs with guns
and pistols. That way is to prevent the
crimes which are the occasion of the lynch
ngs The bishop should instruct the
preachers who recognize him as their lead
er to preach constantly and persistently
against the commission of crimes. and es-
pecially that crime which provokes mob
violence.
The future of the negro is largely in the
keeping Of the negro preachers. If they
were to devote more of their time to teach
ing the people of their race to lead moral
lives they would help greatly to put a
stop to lynchings In proportion as the
cause of the lynchings was removed the
number of lynchings would decrease.
The negro needs no encouragement 10
use a gun. He is altogether
too handy with it now. and,
besides. the disposition of
guilty man is to run, not to shoot It is
probable that now and then an innocent
man is lynched, but it is pretty safe to
say that about all who are lynched de-
serve the punishment they receive.
The bishop ought to find some conso-
lation in the fact that he cannot point
out single instance in which an honest,
industrious. law respecting and law abid-
ing negro has been lynched We do not
say that such a negro has not been lynch
ed. but we do say that such a negro is
just as safe from mob violence as the
most highly respected white citizen is
only the loafers, vagabonds and criminals
the negroes who have no character, and
who commit the most heinous of offenses
have reason to fear lynching. Before
trying to bring other and more serious
evils upon his race in order to shield
such creatures, Bishop Turner ought to
be sure that he is not influenced by pas
sion rather than reason.