Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1897-09-24


s"
THE INDIANA LYNCHlNGs.
Indiana was disgraced on Tuesday
night by the lynching of five prisoners
at Versailles. The victims were charged
with burglary, and were taken violently
from the custody of the sheriff. The
lynching which followed was marked
by certain atrocious incidents which
belong to state of savagery. Two of
the men had been indicted by the grand
Jury and the ordinary preteXt for the
lynching partys violence, failure of
justice, was wanting in this case. The
courts were not permitted to try the
prisoners. One of the men was at most
only chargeable with an attempt to COM
nit burglary. One was mere youth
Two of them had already been severely
wounded by the sheriff and his deputies
in the act of breaking into store The
local officers of the law seem to have
been vigilant courageous and efficient
in frustrating the burglary and captur-
ing all who were concerned in it or had
aided and allotted it in any way. The
neighbOrhood had been harried for
some years by lawless depredations, but
that they were committed by the lynched
men has not been ascertaned by any
competent tribunal, so far as present
information goes. The dispatches say
that these older crimes had not been
fastened upon them; that at most it was
case of suspicion as to these unpunish-
ed crimes. But whatever the public
suspicion may be or whatever the fact
may be. lynching atrocity with its
barbaric Accomplishments fixes an indeli-
BILE stain upon the jurisdiction in which
it takes place, and Governor Mount
properly characterizes the lynchers at
Versailles as participants in murder,
and is quite right in pledging all the
power of the state to bring about if pos
sble the arrest and punishment OF the
lynchers.
Every incident of this character is a
relapse into savagery and brutality
which preceded civilization; to the era
when men ruled by violence and recog-
nized only one form CT punishment and
reveDge-death. These civil institutions
of ours have come out of great trlbula-
ton and many hard struggle And
however defective they may be, they
will nor be abandoned.
The courts are human institutions. aud
are subject TO human misiudgments and
infirmlties, but the most poorly equipped
judicial tribunal is an infinitely better
protection for any community than the
irresponsible impulse of an infatuated
mob. Communities in which the lynch
Ing bee is a popular institution and is
frequently in evidence are not inviting
places of residence. and outside capital
shuns them. 1t is declared that none of
the citizens of Versailles regrets the
scenes of Tuesday night, and that further
lynchings are not improbable there. If
this be true, the Indiana town is suffer-
ing from paralysis of morality. 1t is
more than probable that many residents
of the vcinage deplore the occurrence,
but have been appalled, and terrorized
into silence. For some reason occur
rences of this nature are very rarely re-
ported from Europe. Lynchings occur
usually in this country with much more
frequency in rural neighborhoods than
in the cities and large towns, owing,
doubtless, to the better police protection
found in populous municipalities. 1t is
said that the rural side is much better
polced in most European countries than
in the United States. If there be any
thing in the administration and eXecu-
ton of the laws in European judicial
tribunals which are adaptable here, and
which would be likely to discourage
crime, it would be proper matter for
legislative inquiry. The number of
lynchings here is not increasing. The
passage of laws by several states en-
aiding the families of the victims of
lynching parties to recover damages
against counties, making officers from
whose custody prisoners are violently
taken subject to removal from Office
under certain circumstances, indicates
disposition to check this monstrous prac-
tice, so far as it can be checked by legis-
lation.--Philadelph Ledger
If you have ever seen a little child in a
paroXysm of whoOping cough, or il you