The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1899-05-24

/ III WutCV'I0S IOO dfS ~
groes at Palmetto And the Col
umbia, S. c., State, of the 4,h inst,
attributes the crimes of negroes
against white women to resentment
at political and social repression and
yearnipg for revenge. social or
personal y .sThe cause of his crime"
saws the State. sis in most cases not
animal passion simply-it is complex,
and, judged by the circumstances
attending it and the class who
commit it, Is to be found in the un
ion of brutality with revenge, and,
most of all in the desire to accom-
plish by force the one thing denied
by caste"
Lawlessness breeds lawlessness,
hatred, begets hatred, revenge incites
to revenge. If we SOW the wind we
may expect to reap the whirlwind.
II we SOW !awlessness, hatred, re.
yepge, cruelty, and brutality, we
should not expect tc reap the fruits
of civilization We rather should
expect to relapse into barbarism.
The words of Judge Brawley, him
self South Caroliniaa, in dismissing
the jury after the disagreement in the
trial of the Lake City case. deserve
most serious consideration.
"Who ever heard of a lynching 40
years ago or mob violence to redress
grievances, or the execution of
people without trial''? he said
who ever heard of the humble
home of man being burned and his
children butchered ALI these things
indicated that the law is no longer
respected by communities and people,
and what does that mean? 1t means
anarchy; it means the disintergra
tion of society; it means barbarism.
This court can do little, but aIl of Us
can do something, and remember
that the white race in South Carolina
cannot escape its responsibility. We
can have no real civilization or
prosperity until we turn our faces TO
the light"
For years the southern people gen
orally justified lynching for rape in
the belief that only by this swift
method of punishment could negroes
be deferred from the terrible crime
and the civilization of the south be
preserved Bat the mob does not
reason; it draws no line or just dis
tinctions; the innocent suffer with
the guilty. and as we have already
seen from statistics, more than four
ffths of the lynchings in the United
States last year were for crimes other
than rape. Is it not time to pause
and to ask ourselves, what is to be
the harvest ? What is to be the
effect on the character of our people !
How will all this effect the material
development and progress OF the
south viii not capital grow timid.
immigration still further decrease aad
| property depreciate? Was Judge
BrawIey only Juggling with words
when he said, eve can have no real
civilization or prosperity until we
turn our faces to the light Z"
There are some hopeful sigus Many
ef the Influential papers. like the
Richmond Times, the Charleston News
and Coarier. the Columbia IS. c }
State, the Atlanta Constitution. the
Atlanta Journal, and other leading
daiIies. condemn lypching for any cause,
aud advocate the punishment of all
crimes, however brutal, by due process
of law. Many prominent meu OF the
south have condemned lyochipg 10 the
stroogest possible language, In toe
Atlanta Constitution. of the God inst ,
appears letter from Mrs P. n. Neil,
Of Auburn, Ala, native Of Georgia
| aud Daughter Of the Coufederacy, Z"
| Who expresses her utter horror and
desessa,iou of .he awful crime commit
ted BY those parties who mu.ila'ed.
tortured, aud burned alive Sam Hose :"
She makes this earnest appeal "ln
the uame of humanity. of civilization,
of Cbrissiaoisy. aud of southern woman.
tood, ia whose honor these deeds are
said to be done. implore the Georgia
women to utter 3 solemn, powerful
protest, aud le. the world know that We
abhor such unparalleled brutality. such
horrible cruelty I" Such cheering signs
and the belief ;has many thoughtful
persons who are silent, as have
hitherto been, deprecase the present
state of things. have encouraged me to
write this letter. have written from
sense Of duty ard With the earnest
desire to do good fer the cause of
humanity. l appreciate the many
Doble qualities of the southern people,
and my heart is sick because some men
10 their madoess have brought reprosch
on our civilization Let US hope that