The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-11-14
CAUSE OF WILMINGTON RIOTS
OFFENSIVE EDITORIAL Elk
planned BY THE EDITOR.
Had No Intention of Questioning the
Virtue of White Women As a
Class-It Was MisQuoted. D

New York, Nov. IA dispatch to
the World from Asbury Park, N. j.,
says: A. L. Manly, editor of the Will
mington On. CD Record, whose office
was destroyed by white citizens on
Thursday, is now in Asbury Park with
his brother-in-law, Representative
Giles. He sailed from Wilmington to
escape probable lynching at the hands
of the mob. which had sworn to have
his life. 1t was through an editorial in
the Record that the recent rioting in
Wilmington and the attendant loss of
life came about.
When seen, Manly said that, while he
was perfectly willing to tell the story
of his troubles as far as he himself was
concerned, there were some features OF
the case which he could not tnake pub
lie at present, as the safety of others
might be affected
Manly said that the trouble all grew
out of the fact that the much-talked-of
editorial in the Record had been mis-
quoted by the press of North Carolina
and only parts of it had been reprinted,
with editorials tending to intlame the
whites of the south. This, he said, had
been done to try to scare the white
voters for political effect. He did not
seem to think that the editors of the
papers which started the blaze of riot
realized the harm which would follow
the articles printed in their papers.
The editorial which appeared in the
Record, Manly said, was called forth
by a speech made by Mrs. FELTON, be-
fore the Agricultural society of Tybee
Island, Ca, early in August. During
her speech, Mrs. FELTON, said that money
which was collected for foreign mis-
sions could be spent to a better advan-
tage at home in educating young white
girls. She said that owing to the care
lessneSs Of poor white men of the south,
their girls are left victims of colored
men Then she spoke, according to
Manly's statement, of the low moral
standing Of the colored race. He saws
she advocated lynching as the only
means OF eradicating these evils.
Manly's editorial in the record was a
reply to Mrs. Felton's speech. This
editorial infiamed a large portion of North
Carolina. Manly says he did not intend
to attack any class or race but simply
wrote as he did, to defend the DETAINED
colored man. In this editorial, Manly
said:
Poor white men are careless in the
matter of protecting their women, es-
pecially on the farms. They are careless
OF their conduct toward them and our ex-
perience among poor white people in the
country teaches US that women of that
race are not more particular in the matter
of clandeStine meetings with colored men
than are the white men with the colored
women. Meetings of this kind 90 on for
some time until the woman's infatuation
or the mans holiness brings attention to
them, and then the man is lynched.'
The very long editorial from which the
above is taken was published on Aug. 49,
Manly says that for nearly a week after
it was printed nothing was said to him
about it by the residents of Wilmington
or vicinity, and his relations with them
were of the usual friendly nature until
the white press took up the matter nearly
a week later. From that time until now
they have attacked him and his paper in
! every conceivable way until at last he
was compelled to flee for his life.
When asked as to the present situation
in Wilmington, Manly said that as he
had been absent for several days he would
rather not be quoted as expressing an
| opinion on that subject.
When asked if he intended to return
to North Carolina he replied that that
was another question which he could not
answer at present. There were facts con-
! nected with that part of the story which
might affect others and he thought it
would be better not to say anything as
| to his future prospects.
! Manly would not tell how much his
losses were at the hands of the mob
| All he would say was that he had lost
/ everything he owned in the world He
| had carried an insurance on his property
! but he said that there was no clause in
! the policy which insured against the fury
/ of a mob.