Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1897-07-17
SATURDAY JULY II, 1897.
mTuE USUAL CRIME"

The greatest problem in the South to-
day is not political financial industrial
or economical, but how to suppress tine
usual crime"
When white women are not safe from
assault i'm the heart Of a great city
nor whilst walking in broad daylight
from the city TO a nearby suburb. what
must be the condition Of our kinswomen
who live I'm the country? If this sort
OF thing is not checked. Countrywide VIII
become intolerablc to most of our wo-
men. To-day, in Virginia, ana in every
other Southern State. there are hundreds
Of women who live I'm dread Of the sud
den appearance of brutes i'm human
shape. who would not only ravish them,
but murder them, if necessary.
In the days of slavery. the crime I'm
question was scarcely known. Planters
would put their wives or daughters into
q carriage, mount negro upon the box,
and send them off on long journeys.
Day and night such equipagcs might be
met with upon our country roads. Now.
what father or husband would dare to
make such a venture? During the war
thousands of southern plantations We're
left wholly i'm charge of our women and
children. while our men were I'm the
army. 1t rarely. or never occurred to
the absent soldier to think that his wo-
men-folk would be unsafe in the hands
OF the family servants. But cmancipa-
ton has changed all this and year by
year. we believe the crime increases.
The younger generation OF negro men
have not profited 10y their opportunities
for education, and. morally speaking.
they are far inferior TO the preceding
generation.
IL they chose to do so. and there was
q public sentiment among their people
10 sustain them. they could make such
n fierce ana relentless war upon those
of their race who cast lustful eyes upon
white women as to stamp out "the
usual crime" in quick time. But we see
no real vigorous efforts made by them;
on the contrary. they read and applaud
the utterances of vile little sheets
which lead their readers to believe that
most Of these criminals are unjustly ac-
cused.
We tell the colored people that IT is
their duty and their interest to frown
down the men who bring their race into
this trouble Every case Of assault I'M
censes the white population to a degre,
that increases the breach between the
two races Already there is a wide
spread sentiment in this state I'm favo,
of dividing the school-fund pro-rata
among the negroes and whites upon the
basis of tax payments made by eacl
race. because the money that the white.
spend upon the blacks seems to do littl,
or no good. our word for 1.-THE white,
would not "kick' against the present
method OF division II they believed IN,
money was well invested. ana was do
ing good. and was making the negro .
better citizen and man. But. alas! $,
lons as "the usual crime" continues I,
he of daily occurrence, il wiz be din
cult TO make our people believe that IN,
money spent upon negro schools is no
utterly wasted.
Again. when in country localities II T.
found that the two races cannot liv
in peace there will have TO be a separa
,Ion-and the whites will not be thos
who will have 10 go.
What We should like to see is activ
exertion upon the part Of the negroes L
discourage this crime. Let them pra.
and preach against 1t, and teach agains
It. Let them show some zeal in helpiml
10 arrest those who perpetrate thes
outrages. Let them look upon the crimi
nails as enemies equally Of the white an
black races. Then. and not until then
will their race as a race, be held ex
empt from responsibility for the mos
exasperating crime that is possible I
be committed.