The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-08-01
SOUTHERN WOMAN on
LYNCHINGS.

A southern woman writes to the New
York Evening Post to protest against
the lynchings that disgrace the south.
She takes a broad and liberal view of
the question.
She first refers to the lynching CT
the II Italians in New Orleans some
years ago, saying she was not only
shocked by the absolute sava gerry and
want of realization by the mob of
leading citizens" CT the enormity of
their offense. but amazed and disguised
by the apparent approval of the COM
munity at large, and the lukewarm crit
icism or openly expressed commenda-
ton in pulpit and press all over the
country. She says she could not COM
prehend how any reasoning being could
fail to foresee the consequences of al
lowing such lawbreakers to go unpun-
ished. She says now that lynching has
become most popular form of enter
tainment in the south, and bids fair
to gain some foothold in the north.
none need be surprised. She then en-
tiers this protest against lynching:
As we have seen and lately realized
again in Georgia, any cause will do to
rouse the outraged manhood of this
latest type of 'gentlemanly sport but
when they go forth to burn and kill in
the name of the honor of their woman
kind, it is time that we should repu-
diate such champions. Too long have
the women of the south kept silence
and allowed their men freedom for the
full play of their passions-and the
brutal, dangerous negro is one of the
results. But when the sacred names of
home and honor are made a shield for
lust of murder, it is time to strike il
down and call the world to witness we
will approve no cowardly lawbreakers
in guise of chivalrous protectors"
If there were more such protests from
women against lynching. there would
not be so many of them. AS this
southern woman says, '1ynching has
become a most popular form of enter
tainment in the south" And the enter
tainment is INDUCED in on the slightest
pretext. 1t is very true that the great
majority of them are the result of as
But the laws of the state where these
lynchings occur visit, usually, the same
punishment upon the perpetrators of
these crimes that the lynchers do Then
they do not have any deterrent effect:
if they did. there would be some little
excuse, but no justification. for the
lynchings. On the contrary. it is more
than probable that these lynchings in
cite to the very crimes they are in
tended to suppress. They arouse just
as much race hatred in the breast of
the black man as the crimes Of the
black man arouse in the breast of the
white man. Every black man in the
south feels that if suspicion falls upon
him he is doomed. He sees nothing but
a state of lawlessness. This must make
him lawless in turn. The whole bust
ness is as bad as bad can be.
This southern woman enters a timely
and proper protest against the ''justi-
fcations" put forth in behalf of lynch
ings, and if more of her sisters would
do the same, it would have a tendency |
to diminish lynchings. Protection to
wife, home and fireside is the cry of
those who indulge in iynchings. but all
the time these sacred names are made !
a shield for lust of murder This |
woman has begun to tear the
mask off, 1t is TO be hoped others viii |
follow her example.