The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1899-05-21

/ lne SOuthSr.or REGARDS MS action as q ter
1 rible necessity. II is not quite TINT In
reality, and ne Is even now half admitting
1t and searching for a more effective way
TO administer Justice
I That Is the key to the situation.
In the meantime you will sec why no Sc
\ rious attempt Is made to arrest the lyncl-
! ers who have done what everybody admits
ought not to have been done. but have
/ done II from a mistaken idea that 1t is the
only way to suppress crime and prove 1t a
recurrence OF thebc awful tragedies.
~
I Lynchrgs are not sanctioned by sound
/ POLITICAL economy. That knd of law ia
rot safe basis for orderlJ society. Bar
I barism and civilization cah not exist In
/ ne same community, anu no man on earth
| can be savage at times aud az times
I good citizen. III. Jekyl and Mr.. Hyde are
/ characters of fiction. The South and the
North too, for that matter, mast find
something better than justice by vio-
I lence," or IL will soon abolish Justice IL
1 together In saying this. ! echo tho son
! vlction OF the large majority in all bee
/ lions of the country.
! There are just as many fair minded and
! clear headed men In Georgia as IN any
! other State in the Union, and they can be
I trusted to handle with prudence and wis
( dom the desperate condition in which they
at present find themselves. They have
! talked VITA me frankly ami dsplsslouate-
/ ly. We have thrashed the subject In a
/ generous and sood-natured discussion, ana
/ have round them as ready TO listen to Inc
/ as | was eager to listen to them.
! have spent twenty four hours in New
nan, enc OF the prettest aud most enter
I prisng towns on the continent. went.
I from the jail whore Ex-Governor Atklns on
! and Judge Freeman tried in vain to check
! the passion of tile populace and followed
fia Al l,r In hon fhaAy
I marched Sam Hose to his awful doom,
/ hearing on the way every possible detail
/ OF the tragedy. | spent half an hour with
Mrs Crawford In the home of her father
and mother, and a more pitisul and pa
/ thetic spectacle than she presents my eyes
I never beheld. looked on the stump. all
( that was left. Of the pine Tree to which
/ the monstrosity was bond, an1 OF tle
/ black circle Of dead grass and Lindels
/ where he was burned I saw in ny MIND
| eye the army OF two thousand wh1 walk cd
I with the criminal that mile ami half
| to the place of execution, and who uttered
! no word, except In whisper, along the
whole route, who were calm. determine
and relentless. and who were 20 quiet in
their demeanor on that Sunday GttArno.
that the residents two blocks away did not
know what was going on. but who lost all
command Of themselves when the Victim
Of their vengeance was wrthlng in the
flames.
Lynching in It's ordinary form is not
very uncommon, but an execution attend
ed by the horrid events which marked
/ this one. has never before occurred In this
State. thank heaven. The excuse for IT,
II excuse there be--and | am forced to
believe that there is no EXCUSES to be
found in the fact that there is the most
Intense neighborly feeling In the country
/ districts Of tho state, and that the nature
OF the crime, IT'S appalling circumstances,
projected an epidemic of insanity into the
community,
was on the hotel piazza in the midst of
a group OF twenty OF the best citizens
Of Newman. and they represented business,
law, medicine and the clerical profession.
( I'm my opinion'--in this way began the
discussion--''you must stop this lynching
or you viii create u dangerous element
among tina whites. The word must is not
mine, | added at ID the Imperative mood
OF progress, OF civilization, OF Chris
tan community as | have studied those
subjects"
What would you have done" asked one
Of them, III your wife or sister had been
assaulted"
What | should have done" | replied
''iS one thing. | have as much human ma
ture In me as you have. But what ought
to have done Is very different thing
What near relative of the murdered man
might do under the impulse OF frenzy could
easily be excused, but we have t1Sllly
different standard to judge the action Of a
populace who have no real right to losa
their heads"
And | spoke the historic truth. OF which
examples may be found In every country
More than that. most OF my audience
agreed with me. The people have as little
liking for lynch law as we, but In the rurat
districts 1t is regarded as a necessity. There
are some crimes for which the courts al
ford no adequate redress. The criminal
must be dealt with at once, and since tho
1 laws delays ara an incentive to deeds OF
! violence the people must organize them
selves into vigilance committee and mete
out swift and ineXorable Justice That
is the argument.
But | think 1t is faulty. Whom the legal
authorities constituted for that purpose
/ can not protect society then orderly socl-
city is at an end, and we have chaos. II
the courts fall to meet the case, it can't be
met by an enraged mob, for that is an
archy. II seems to be that this Is a sim
pie plain truth. beyond the reach OF dis
cussion.
I | don't believe that the courts OF the
South are Inefficient. There Is abundant
evidence to the contrary The people
therefore. can not take the law out of the
hands OF the Judges with impunity. To do
so Is revolution The whole system Of legal
procedure may be changed In order to
mako It more efficient but courts can not
he practically abolished without serious
Injury.
/ II was curious scene and one wnicn
will long live in my memory. | FASTENED
to say that I was not present as a fault
finder or a hostile critic, but It was
needless remark. for they perfectly uh.
derstood my purpose and were not eager
for any suggestions | might make, but
were glad to hear what a dlspasslonat-
man from a Northern section of the coun-
Try had 90 say.
( Don't apologize" remarked a town Of
I fetal who sat In front OF me. I'VE want
TO talk thie matter over In judicial way
You need not be afraid to speak freely
we Sutherners are just as rcgretful for
some things as you can be, and Just as
anxious to find remedy for existing evils
as any man on the planet All we ask is
I that you shall understand the motives
which led TO our action and not credit MS
with hostility to the negro because he
Is a negro. for that Is not true And
think | speak the sentiments of every
gentleman present when ! declare in the
most emphatic way, that II white man
had committed the same offense under the
same circumstances, he would have suf-
fered az the hands OF the mob the same