The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1898-01-15
substantial grounds. At least there

substantial grounds At least there
are some osYenses for which capital pun
tshrnent is inflicted unknown 10 the law.
Race prejudice IS not capital of1ense.
nor elopement. nor robbery, nor insult,
nor even being victim OF mistaken
identity. The somewhat startling fact
remains out that OF 14z lynchings, 1ls
were for other offenses than that
against women Perhaps better ex-
PLANTATION is 10 be found in the
statistics which show that OF the los
victims. I42 lived IN the Southern
states. and l2a Of them were negroes.
IT liz not very Hattering TO our claims
as q law-abfding people that. while
there were 1ss Iynchings during the
year, there were only Us legal hang
ings. OF which 1T were for murder,
10 for rape and for burglary. There
were So hanged In the South and As In
the North. OF whom r. were whites, 81
negroes, 5 Indians ana Chinese.
Texas heads the bloody record with
g lynchinss. and Alabama comes next
with 10. Mississippi had ls. while both
Louisiana and Georgia had IL each.
Florida had IL, Arkansas II. South Caro-
lima 8, Tennessee 4. Virginia 5. Kentucky
: and Missouri 4. Indiana heads tha
Northern states with lynchings. And
Of the Southern states, North Carolina
had only /, Maryland only and Okla
homa territory 2. Arizona, Nevada.
South Dakota and Washington had
each North Dakota had 3. Alaska 3.
and California. Illinois and Ohio
each.
Georgia heads the list OF legal execu-
tons with Is, and no other state has
more than Missouri. which had s: New
York had Z, Virginia 6, and all the others
less. Texas had only 5. as compared
with Is lynchings.
Alabama had and Louisiana had {.
The legal executions were out OF all
proportions In most states to the lynch
ings: and perhaps this is one reason
why summary punishment Is 30 often in
hicted. OF course. il must be remem-
bered that murder Is very frequently
punished by imprisonment for life or
for long term. and the more civilized
the community the greater the proper
ton of those who are not sentenced to
hang.
These figures show conclusively that
the sentiment which has dealt very
lightly with lynchings In the South and
nearer home has been entirely estray.
There is no doubt that the crime
against women Is more frequent In the
South than in the North, but IL is SO
far from being the excuse for lynching
that public opinion should experience q
change Of heart. Where under ordinary
circumstances the officers of the law
can be depended upon to do their duty,
there Is no excuse for the savagery of
private individuals. 1t Is exceedingly
rare for the reputable element to break
into Jail. and to hang. shoot or burn
accused criminals. There Is no more
sacred right than that of trial by jury.
The man who deprives another Of that
right Is guilty of fully as grave a wrong
to social institutions as he is to the I'M
fortunate victims of his reckless wrath.
This occasion may be awaited of, as
every opportunity will be. to urge the
necessity for such a change in our
criminal law as shall insure punish
| ment 10 every man who unlawfuliy
uses a weapon upon another or destroys
his life. Murder is a crime with sew
eral degrees of culpa bility. but no man
| known to have killed another should
| be permitted to go off scot free because
| the information laid against him stated
| an offense which was not technically
| borne out by the proof.