The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1898-03-13

probable that the local courts will be
able to find out who Bakers murderers
were, nor that the United States courts
Will do any better, for n community in
which such a thing could happen is the
kind Of community in which the traces
could be successfully covered up.
There are other things which, in the
long run, are far greater wrongs to the
negro race than the occasional murder
of one of their number under circum-
stances which arouse the pity and in
dignation of the whole country. Be
fore peaceable man, with his wife
and children, can be driven out of his
house at midnight into a rain of bull
lets, simply on account of his color, q
great many other things have a chance
to happen-things which never get
into the papers. The possibility OF
such an occurrence indicates a very
slight regard for human rights as such,
especially for the rights of the negro.
In the same State, within six months.
a negro was killed for having cheated
a white man in a horse trade, but he
was not a United States official and
no editorials were written about him.
OF course, this intolerance does not
strongly prevail among the intelligent
and cultured people of South Carolina
or any other Southern State. But un-
fortunately they seem not to control
the practice of the other inhabitants,
and if a man is shot dead by another
man for some more or less tritiins
cause, it does not make any difference
whether the best people of the COM
munity violently disapprove of the
proceeding or not; the man is just as
dead in one case as in the other. And
while disappearing of a negro post
master, confine their disapproval to
words while a substratum of less in
telligent population, which disapproves
also, expresses it's feelings in pistol
/ shots and incendiarsm, the postmaster
/ is just about as well off as if the best
people came out and did the job them
. selves. And leaving race prejudice out
( of the question altogether, if an ordi-
nary man wants TO live in such a COM
munity. and cannot live there without
protecting his life with gun, he is in
/ about the same danger of dying,
whether he has to, fight the best people
or only the second best.
The conclusion at which the thought
full mind finally arrives, therefore. is
this: The most intelligent and refined
people in any community must see tC
il that they think in a civilized way
and that they actively, as well as
passively. seek to impress their idea:
on the people at large. They cannot
leave any class in the community K
grow up vicious, and degraded, ana
illiterate. without suffering from the
way in which that class will behave
and so surely as these best people have
in them any remnant Of barbara
thought, any prejudice, any reckless
ness in morals. so surely will that ig
norant substratum pander to the eVi
element and carry out, in its own per
yerted way, the half-expressed wish 0,
the more intelligent. Let the king bu
say, Il would / were rid of this priest,
and whether the king intends it or not
there viii be an irresponsible moi
ready to invade any sort of sanctuar.
and do any sort of deed. No com
munity can afford to harbor this semi
barbaric notion that murder. for
gentleman, is not wrong There vii
be too many murders done by peopl
who are not gentlemen, but who wisl
TO appear as such.