The herald., 1897-06-06
SUNDAY. JUNE 6, 1907.
AND ITS LESSON

Urbana in the state of Ohio Is a town
Of 5000 inhabitants. It Is a center Of
education and is somewhat distin-
guished for its schools and college, as
well as for the reputation of its inhabit
ants for good order and general intelli-
gence. 1t is proper to notice the general
fair repute Of the town of Urbana In
connection with the terrible tragedy
that has been enacted there, through the
hasty zeal of local peace officer In
charge of a detachment Of the local
militia. The trouble had its origin in the
unspeakable degradation inflicted upon
lady Of high character and prominence
by brutal negro. AS soon as the fact
became known, the community, Of all
classes and walks of life, arose as one
man and attempted to take the GRIM
inal from the Jail in order to wreak sum-
mary vengeance upon him. The at
tempt was no sooner made than the
reckless officer commanded his detach-
ment to fire upon the crowd, with the
result that thirteen good citizens were
shot down-some killed outright and the
others more or less dangerously
wounded.
1t Is always in order, In a case Of this
kind, to indulge in little popular hy-
pocrisy about good order, and the due
course of the law, and the propriety of
killing people who disturb the even cur
rent of established methods for the en-
forcement of statutes against crime
titled to hearing occasionally. If So
ciety is lax in providing an adequate
penalty for crime, that portion OF
humanity which casually suffers the in
bellion.
1t was a community in Texas or in
Kentucky, or in Illinois, or in New Jer-
sey, last week, or last month; it was a
had been a law upon the statute books
of Ohio which would measure out to this
negro wretch a penalty in anywise COM
mensurate with his crime the presump-
been any interference by the people
The community is shown to be an en-
lightened and exceptionally orderly one
and that being the case, the further pre-
Gated, orderly community might have
done as this community did under like
pruvocation. Statistical facts show this
to be the case to a very great extent.
There is no law that can prevent a
community from going mad under suf-
flcient provocation: and when we find
community of ordinarily law abiding
citizens actually mad under the stimu-
lus of most aggravated outrage, the
higher wisdom should suggest to those
charged to conserve the public order
that the remedy must not be applied in
the form of new and greater outrage
at their hands. The slaughter of the
citizens of Urbana did not save tine
worthless neck of the negro, for the
doubly embittered populace hanged him
on the following morning in the presence
of the militia.
There are certain urwritten laws that
override all statutes They are in some.
way stamped upon the great soul of
humanity and they compel respect and
obedience whenever they are infringed.
The,' find expression in the unreason-
ing-almost utomatic-movement for
vengeance that they provoke in the
heart of the affected community The
case under consideration is a crime un-
der this code. The crime itself must be
made capital, and for obvious reasons
should be punishable in first and second
degrees, if lynching is to cease. For d
worthless, brutal negro, without pride,
DR. character, or ambition, the maximum
penalty in Ohio for the offense in this
case, Of twenty years in the peniten-
tiary. Is not punishment in any sense,
but, on the contrary. it is one long holi-