The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-09-07
I'm Invasion OF
Guaranteed Rights
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.

Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.
1t seems to us that II is of vital mpor-
tance that all respectable ad thinking per-
sons in the United States should he unan-
imous as to this matter of lynching. IL
also seems to us that the only reason why
all respectable and thinking persons are
not unanimous is the fact that the really
important matter, lynching per se,' is
continually being forgotten and neglected
for the comparatively unimportdns acct
dents of some single lynching, or class OF
lynchings, that, for the time being, hap
pen to be especially occupying the public
mind and furnishing the texts for the dis
cussions of lyrching. People fancy that
they are thinking and talking about
lynching when they are, in reality, think
ing and talking about the accidents OF a
single lymchng or a. single Glass OF
lynchings. Thus race prejudice, sectional
prejudice, natural detestation of the
abominable crime OF some guilty man who
has been lynched, natural sympathy for
some innocent man who has been lynched
and countless other coloring matters, all
of which are, in reality, quite irrelevant
to the discussion, creep into 1t, take pos
session Of 1t and make 1t futile.
%
Men of every color, black, white, red
and yellow, and OF every race and nation,
are subject to lynching and have been
cry section OF the United States, north,
south, east and west, are subject to lynch
ing and have been lynched. Innocent
men and guilty men are subject to lynch
ing and have been lynched In the United
States. Offenses of every grade, from
rape down to umpiring a ball game in a
manner unsatisfactory to the spectators,
are subject to punishment by lynchings
and have been punished by lynching in
the United States. So to fairly and use
fully consider lynching in the United
States we must thoroughly understand
that the term "lynching' Is so general
that 1T covers every case of lynching and
must elimr ate from the consideration
every thought of accidents (such as color,
race, nationality, guilt, innocence, etc)
of any lynched individual, every thought
of the accidents (such as the place, di-
rect and immediate occasion, etc.) of
any special or special class of lynchings.
20
Furthermore, it should be clearly and
fully understood that we are, for the
present, looking at this subject from a
point of view common to every human
being resident in the United States; that
We are regarding only the aspect Of 1t
that Is of equal and vital interest and i'm
portance to every living soul in this
country; that we are considering 1t only
as 1t equally threatens the sacred, COM
mon right to be fully protected by the law,
in life, liberty, person and property
against everything except the law itself,
that Is equally held by every man, woman
and child. white, black, red or yellow, ma
tive or foreign, virtuous or vile, prisoner
or free, high or low, rich or poor, unac-
cused or convict on the gallows, within
the limits of the usurped Jurisdiction of
Judge Lynch, which are no less wide than
the geographical limits of the United
bn of 70
lynched is thus out of the consideration
altogether He enters it solely in his
quality of denizen of the United States
and representative of a common right
equally possessed by every denizen of the
United States. The accidents of any sin
gle lynching or class of lynchings are out
of the consideration altogether. Lynch
ing is in the discussion only as an illegal
invasion Of a sacred, common, vitally
important right.
Having now before your eyes the real,
naked, lynching question, stripped of all
its distracting non-essentials, what, over
which any two sane deniZens of the
United States can argue, can you find in
1t? Whenever a dCnizen of the United
States is lynched a right common to every
deniZen OF the United States is invaded
and every deniZen of the United States
suffers. Whenever a mob, anywhere in
this country, lynches any man, that mob
lynches you, whosoever, wheresoever lin
the United States) you may be. The plain
fact plainly stated is that the very bad
and terribly dangerous habit of killing
out of hand anybody against whom anger
Is, for any reason or no reason, temporar-
lily aroused, is rapidly growing on the peo-
pile of this country. If the habit isn't
checked it will, sooner or later become
the fixed and universal custom of the peo-
pie of this country. Which is to say that
If this habit isn't checked, this nations
relapse into savagery is only matter OF
time.