Evening star., 1899-06-23
APPEAL For LAW AND ORDER
Booker Washington Issues Statement Re-
garding Lynohings in South,
Calls on Southern People to Put Down
the Practice and Prevent
Crimes.

Booker 7. Washington. president of the
Industrial and Normal School, has fur
nished the Associated Press an elaborate
discussion of the race question in the form
of a paper. Prof Washington begins his
paper by saying that. while 1t is true that
there are cases of lynching and outrage in
the northern and western states candor
compels him to admit that by far the most
of the cases of lynchings take place in our
southern states, and most of the persons
lynched are negroes.
With all the earnestness of my heart"
he said, 81 want to appeal, not to the Pres
ident of the United States, Mr.. Mckinley,
nor to the people of New York. nor of New
England, but to the citizens of our south
ern states. to assist in creating such pub
lie sentiment as will make human life here
just as safe and sacred as 1T is anywhere
else in the world"
The paper then offers review of the ap-
peal that has been made through the press
and prominent men that the negro problem
be left to the south. He recites that the
whole country, from the President down,
has been inclined to do this. BY the policy
of non-interference the south has been
given a sacred trust. Prof. Washington
continues:
Nearly All in the South.
Il fear but few people in the south realize
to what an extent the habit of lynching or
the taking of life without due process of
law has taken hold of us, and to what an
extent it is not only hurting us In the eyes
of the world but injuring our own moral
and material growth. Many good people
in the south, and also out of the south
have gotten the idea that lynching is re-
sorted to for one crime only. l have the
facts from an authoritative source. During
the last year l27 persons were lynched in
the United States; of this number lis were
executed in the south and nine in the north
and westi of the total number lNnched l02
were negroes, % whites ana 2 Indians OF
this number only twenty-four were charged
In any way with the crime of rlpe.
within a period of six years about 800
persons have been lynched in our southern
states. This is but few hundred short of
the total mum Der of soldiers who lost their
lives In Cuba during the war IL VIC could
realize still more fully how far this unfor-
tunate habit is leading us-note the classes
OF crime during a few months which the
local papers and the Associated Press say
that lynching has been inflicted for-they
Include murder, rioting, incendiarism, lar
ceny, self-defense insulting women alleged
poisoning, malpra ctice, alleged barn burn
ing, suspected robbery, race prejudice, at
tempted murder, horse stealing mistaken
Identity, &C.. The practice has grown
until We are now at the point where
not only blacks are lync2ed in the SOUTH
but white men as well. Within The lest six
years at least half dozen colored women
have been lynched.
Not Pleading for Negro Alone.
I am not pleading for the negro alone
LyncEing Injuries, hinders and blunts the
moral sensibilities of the young and tender
manhood of the south. Never shall I for
get the remark made by a little nine-year-
old white boy. with blue eyes and faxen
hair. The little fellow said to his mother
after he had returned from a lynching: L
have seen man hanged; now, I wish l
could see one burned
Rat ther than hear such a remark from
one of my little boys would see him dead.
There is too much crime among us. The
figures for a given period show that in the
United States 30 per cent Of the crime COM
mitted is by negroes. while We constitute only
about IL per cent of the entire popula ton.
This proportion holds good not only in the
south, but also in northern states and cities
No race that is so largely ignorant and SO
recently out of slavery could perhaps show
a better record, but We must face these
plain facts. A large amount of the crime
among us grows out of the idleness of our
young men and women. 1t is for this rea-
son that l have tried to insist upon some
industry being taught our young people in
connection with their course of literary
training
Prof. Washington concludes by appealing
to school teachers, ministers and the press
to arouse such sentiment regarding the
committing of crime against women that
such a crime will not be charged against
any member of the race. He says the negro
has among the southern whites good
friends as he has anywhere in the world,
and advises him to stay there and work out