The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1897-08-12


and execution. The laws delay has
nothing to do with it. It is the spon-
taneous outburst of emotions long felt
and long smothered, and those emo
tions are based upon love-love for
home and wife and children, love and
respect for the wives and daughters Of
! the neighbors. Lynching negroes for
this crime is no evidence of lawless-
ness among our people. The crime
stands out by itself as an atroc-
ity for which no law is adequate and
no remedy has yet been found. Why
it should be on the increase in def
ance of lynchings we cannot tell. Il
may be that since the war northern
philanthropy, supplemented by south
ern office-seekers, have 50 exalted his
consequence and his desire for social
equality that his fear of punishment
has been allayed. But certain it is
that the race has not yet been greatly
intimidated by lynchings, and they
are considered martyrs by most of their
preachers and teachers and editors.
How many more outrages there would
be if lynchings should stop we can
only conjecture. Bishop Turner pro-
posed day of fasting and prayer for
the deliverance of his people from
these horrible lynchings. but not
word about the outrages that provoke,
them.
But it is curious and somewhat
amusing to read the different counts In
this general bill of Indictment against
the people who resort to violence.
Some assert vehemently that there is
defect in the laws machinery, and
some say not. One preacher says that
SO per cent of those indited escape.
One more would come square up to
Judge Dooly's estimate when he said:
Gentlemen of the jury, I charge you
that the ninety-nine guilty ones have
already escaped" One learned lawyer
says that Ryder would certainly have
been tried and convicted in Septem-
ber, and doubtless been speedily ex-
ecuted. Another says he would have
been sent to the asylum as lunatic.
Judge Bleckley says the law needs no (
reforming-that it is right now. The
Bar association have resolved that it
does need reforming. One preacher
quotes scripture that says ssPhe
land must not be defiled with blood,
but does not give the context that
says innocent blood" and the frr-
ther context that says "Deliver him
unto the hand of the avenger of blood
that he may die, and thine eyes shall
not pity him." Life for life, hand for
hand, etc. 'Let them stone him with
stones," etc. It seems like burlesqus
for any preacher to 60 to the old Mosiac
law for text against summary pun
ishment of heinous crimes. The
avenger of blood was on the warpath
all the time and even the man who un-
Willingly killed his neighbor, not hat
ing him before hand, had to fly for his
life to the city of refuge lest the aven-
ger of blood overtake him, and being
hot shall slay him. Yes, being hot
shall slay him. Those avengers of blood
must have been blood-thirsty fellows
indeed. It was an awful code of law,
but the children of Israel were an aw-
fult race to deal with. Iwonder what
the boys of this generation would
say to law like this: IF
man have q stubborn and re-
bellious son who will not obey the
voice of his father or his mother, then
shall his father lay hold on him and
bring him to the elders and say, this,
our son, will not obey our voice. And
all the men of the city shall stone him
with stones that he die. And Israel
shall hear and fesr?" What horrible
death was that! And yet it was COM
mon and frequent punishment. If
I was preacher wouldn't go to the
Old Testament for text against lynch- (
ing. I wouldn't even quote Cain,
whom the Lord marked, for it seems
very certain that if the Lord had not
interfered the people would have
lynched him. Josephus says that the
Lord protected him because of his
offering and because he entreated and
said: "Is my sin too great to be for
glvenT"
To my mind the sum of the whole
matter is that neither the laws delay
nor its uncertainty has anything to do
with the impulses and emotions that
control men when they pursue and
overtake and identify and execute
negro for his crime against helpless
innocence. Every parent and hus-
band and brother in the neighborhood
Immediately becomes an avenger ofa
blood. If the brute has already been
caught by the officers of the law and
securely placed in prison, then let him
stay there and meet his doom accord
ing to lav. I would not take any
prisoner d away from an honest and
faithful sherif-unless, perhaps, the
victim was one of my family, nor even
then unless it could be done without
shedding the blood of officers or (
friends.
For all other crimes the laws we
have are good enough for all good citi-
zens, and feel no great concern for
the bad. suppose that at least half