The sea coast echo. [volume] (Bay Saint Louis, Miss.) 1892-current, 1899-03-04
.LYNCHING CONDEMNED.
JUDGE POWELL'S ABLE CHARGE
AT YAZOO COUNTY.
If The Mob rlay Violate the Law An
Individual rIay Do So Also Win
Equal Rights: The Law stili Lives
in Yazoo County.

ties of the State in area, in wealth
and population; you have a sol
which rivals in fertility the far.
, famed delta of the Nile and upon
, the banks of the Yazoo, your cap
ital city, has beneath the magic
, touch of twin genii, industry and
: enterprise, become one of the
: fairest and queenliest cities in the
State; you have a population
which in the main is educated,
broad-ninded and broad-guaged /;
and yet, strange to say, there are
now the State penitentiary three
prisoners who had to be run away
Abv your sheriff at dead of night in
order to prevent three separate
mobs of your citizens from COM
mitting murder in the shape of
lynch law. Did you ever stop to
think, gentlemen, what this state
t of affairs, if continued, will lead
to? 1t means the wiping out of
5000 years of civilization and re-
verting to the savage methods of
a barbarous age; it means, gentle
men, the rule of anarchy; the set
ting aside of all law and order and
a proclamation to the world that
organized murder is the only law
in the county of Yazoo. If the
mob be the only tribunal to set
iupOn mems lives, why then would
it not be the proper tribunal to
try rights to property? IT 100
men can justify to take human
life without the forms of law, then
why not ten men, and if ten then
why not each separate man be a
law unto himself, with the power
of life and death over his fellows?
Did you ever think, gentlemen,
what peerless thing to any peo-
pie the right of trial by jury was?
| 1t cost to our race the blood of
many martyrs. 1t was the clown-
ing gem of the charter of English
liberty, and yet the mob treats it
as trifie, light as air. Gentle
men, the effects of mob rule are
far-reachlng.
As Pope has said that
..vice is monster of so frightful mien,
AS to be hated needs but to be seen.
Yet seen too oft, familiar with her face,
We first endure, then pity, then embrace"
And so it is with the mob. At.
first some of your good citizens,
filled with Indignation at what
they know to be a heinous crime,
in thoughtless moment, join
mob in taking human life. The
next time they may wish to draw
back, but the die has been cast.
The example has been set and
others have no scruples, and so
the thing goes on until the worst
element of society is in the sad
die. When the time comes capl-
tai will seek investment elsewhere
and immigration will give your
borders wide berth. The peo-
pie Of this city saw some of the
effects of a reign of terror, [ am
told, last Christmas, when trade
| fed from her limits. | am told,
gentlemen, that the demoralizing
effect of mob violence has gone so
far that your own sheriff, elected
bv yourselves and sworn to do his
duty, has made himself u2popu-
lar because he dared to observe
his oath and vindicate the law by
protecting his prisoners. Now, if
this is the case, | want to say that
this court should come in for
some share of the blame, because
stand by the sheriff in uhpold-
| ing the law and take this opportu-
nity to commend him for his
faithful discharge of official duty.
Now, gentlemen of the grand ju-
ry, it is to you, clothed as YOU are
with the might and the majesty of
the law, that the people look to
vindicate the law and bring it
to Justice. Let US show to the
world that the law still lives in
YaZoo county.
THAT there are no men, or set
of men so strong that the long
arm of the law cannot reach them,
or so lowly that the broad shield
of the law cannot protect them.
! [ have been told that it would be
prudent to call on the Governor
| to protect some of the prisoners
who will be tried at this court
from the mob, but, gentlemen, [
repudiate this suggestion, and l
shall rely solely upon the chivalry
and MANHOOD and law-ablding
citizens of va ZOO county to pro-
tect it's court in the lawful dis
charge of its dlhty.
Gentlemen. we must blot from
the fair pages OF Mississippi's his
tory this foul thing of mob law
and place her whefe she ought to
| be, in the front RAM, of progress
sive States. / have 9seen Missis-
sippi in other days Sdecked with
wealth and beauty, crowned
| queen among her sister States; |
have seen her when the earth
quake jar of contenuing hosts
| shook her hills and valIess and her
plains ran red with hea2lood of
| her slaughtered sons; | haNe seen
| her like the Niobe of nas,ops
childless and crownless In her
yoiceless woe; | have seen 4 or
pinned down by Federal bayonets
| like Prometheus chained to thls
rocks, while carpet bag vulturek
fed upon her vitals; | have seeH
| her freed from her oppressorsl
| lift her smiling face to the risina
sun of better days. God grant
that I may yet see her with teena-'
! ing population of prosperous, Law
| ~? ?l;,n ord hauny gnnania. hc7<