The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1899-05-24
THE ByNCHING QUESTION.
why the People of the south Are
Forced to Protect Their Homes,


To the Editor of The Post.
Crockett, Texas. May 22.--May an old
lawyer, one whose every interest Is in
Texas, and whose every affection is pointed
TO the South, place before your readers
few thoughts which seem pertinent today
on the all-peryading subject Of lynching?
My mind has been directly led to this mat
ter by the recently published letter Of
George Hepworth in your columns.
think the treatment of the subject by
Mr.. Hepworih eminently fair. but ! fur
Their think that he has mistaken the char
acter a the negro and that out OF that
mistake arises, not only the error into
which he has fallen, but the mIscancept!on
Of the entire question by our Northern
friends
In the first place the Southern people
wrong these Northern people In ascribng
to them an intention to hurt the South, in
stead Of an honest desire to better the
condition Of The country. Among some,
CT course, stll fingers the hates that were
engendered i'm the mighty strfes OF the
sos, but a new generation has sprung into
being since the COS and almost a new
people are dealing with the live questions
of today. The people Of the North have
equally wrcnged the Southern. because
they have traced the cause of these lynch
ings to the source that the lynched was a
negro and the lyncher was a white man.
BON I believe TO be wrong, and today, az
ter an honest and dispassionate eXamlna-
ton Of all the environments surrounding
the question, I say the South Is right in
lynchng the rapiEt, and that the North
under the same conditions, would also
lynch,
Is seine law abiding reader ready to
throw up his hands in horror and say:
why. you encourage lawlessness?" No!
| discourage II. l believe that the surest
and most certain road to the end OF this
rape business is death--cert81n, quick and
horrible DEATH Death without hope Of
reprieve; death without hope of the law S
delay: death without any surroundings eN-
/ ccpt these Of terrible sternness except
those speaking from an outraged people
saying Death for a deadly deed"
Too often have / seen the fend con-
demnod by judicial process to death, stand
On tho scaffold. deny his guilt to the very
( last. when there could be no earthly doubt
a. H. declare that he died Sin the hope
OF the Lord. and leave the scaffold with
lie on his lips, for a trip straight 10
"Abraham's boEom." How much effect do
ven suppose that sort OF a death has IN
J 0etETI4uE tIllllNhlo iA~N AiAeh iapN W
YOU suppose that sort Of a death Will pre-
vent2 The brute becomes a hero; his
class declare he has been judicially muir
dered: that the white man has unjustly
condemned HIM TO death, and instead oil
exciting an adherence for the crime such
an execution dwarfs the crime into sym
pathy. nay. admiration for the criminal
Such scenes but lead TO a recurrence OF
tho same crime and the tendish brute be-
GENES dead hero.
These are facts which every honest mar
living In the South will substsntlate. TAKE
the files OF The Post, take the files OF ans
paDer In the South, read Of these rape
executions for the last ten years and ther
say, on your conscience am ] not right?
II is urged that the whole negro race Il
net responsible for this crime. Granted
But do we lynch the whole negro race
But following this idea out. how many
prominent negroes have come out In con
domination OF the crime per Sc? Lyuchnl
has been condemned by them and in
cidentally rape, but lynching has alwsyl
been The first object Of attack, and thu
|, fsot OF rape has simply been leveled II
order 40 get fairly 70 attack lynching.
I why. sir. do you not remember the fac
OF that oolored woman's lecturing ON thil
matter? | have forgotten her name; shi
claimed 10 be English, leotured severa
, yearg ago ia America What was TN
burden Of her song? That raplng ough
10 be put down? That rapists ought TO b
punished? oh. no. Nothing like this