The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-10-26

prevailed mainly among the colored popu-
/ lation, who, owing 10 their careless habits
and rowing disposition, and their inclina-
ton 10 conceal the existence of the dis
ease when 1t appears, have made IL ex-
| tremely difficult to treat and especially to
arrest the spread Of the contagion.
The extraordinary expenses thus incur
! red for which no specific appropriation has
been made has amounted TO about $500,
| which / have paid out Of the contingent
fund. which is burdened with every
| charge against the state for which no spe-
cifc appropriation has been made.
Crime and Mob Violence.
Crime has prevailed 10 an alarming ex-
tent in some portions OF the state and de-
slroyed the peace and quieiude Of many
communities. Lawless negroes have as
saulted white women and infuriated mobs
have inflicted summary. and in one case
barbarous punishment upon the offenders,
sometimes even taking them out Of the
hands Of the officers of the law to do it.
In consequence Of the frequency Of these
assaults we have been made TO tremble
for the safety Of our wives and daugh-
tiers, especially In the rural districts, and
laW-abiding negroes in the communities
In which lynchings have occurred have
lived in a state of constant apprehension
and alarm. Rohberies and burglaries and
arson and even murders have been of fire.
quent occurrence, and emboldened by the
impunity of those who have taken the law
into their own hands in the punishment of
raVlshers, the mob has sat In judgment
on the perpe traitors of other crimes and
forestaIled the officers of the law in in
tictlng punishment. AS usual, too, when
the mob usurps the prerogatives of the
courts Of law, I regret to have to say
the Innocent have sometimes, 1 fear, been
made to suffer with the guilty The un-
usual amount OF crime committed by ne
groes, and in consequence thereof ihe I'M
precedented amount OF mob violence, is
mainly due to the intermeddlng of ire
sponsible fanatics and fools who do not
know anything Of the situation at the
South, nor of the real relations of the
people of the two races. These miserable
Intermediates, hating the Southern white
man more than they do the crimes of the
most abandoned of the Southern negroes,
have, through their newspapers and by
means of incendiary and infammatory let
tiers, many of which have been sent TO
negroes In Georgia. ignoring or justifying
the crimes which have provoked the mob
advised and urged the negroes to retalia-
ton. Full of malice and hatred they for
get the cordial relations which always
prevailed between the whites and blacks
at the South before they began to sow the
seeds of discord. They forget that their
mean and despcable intermeddling only
aggravates a situation they profess to de-
plore, and that the only solution of what
they call the race problem" is to be
found, not by the people In New or Old
England, who know nothing about the
South and its problems, but by the hon
est, order-loving and law-abiding elements
OF The two races between which there was
no friction until they brought Il about by
their unholy Interference.
a Hopeful sisn.
II is hopeful sign, however. that not
outstanding the diabolical advice of these
fanatics to precipitate race conflicts. the
better and more intelligent negroes
throughout the state realize that the rela-
Tons Of the races must be regulated by
the Southern white man and the Southern
negro, and not by the over-zealous and
unwise South-haters and bigots Of other
sections. A few months ago, just after the
preparation by negro of one of the most
diaboiical crimes in the annals of crime
and the inhicton by the mob upon its per
petrator of the most barbarous punishment
ever inflicted upon a criminal in Georsia
ana EFFORT was made, through the press
and In personal interviews with leading
negroes of intelligence, TO impress them
with the fact that the good of both races
! demanded that there should be no race
| preJudices, no color line in matters of law
| and order and morality, but that all good
men of both races should align themselves
/ L.
and that they should be as dilgent in dis
couraging the crimes that provoke lynch
| ing and in aiding in bringing criminal ne
groes TO Justice, as they are In denouncing
| the mob that Furnishes the crime. am
glad TO be able to say that the advice has
been largely followed, and that many of
the best negroes in The state have arrayed
themselves on the side Of law and order.
and have been instrumental In bringing 10
/ trial in the tribunals provided by law,
many members of their own race who have
! offended against the law. A notable in
| stance is to be found in the recent riot
| or instruction in Mcintosh county, the
most formidable in the history of the state
in which an infatuated mob of hundreds OF
| negroes defied the civil officers ana in
! suited the majesty of the law and forced
me with the utmost reluctance to send a
large body of armed soldiers into the coun-
| ty at heavy expense, to protect life and
ed and after one deputy sheriff had been
! killed and another wounded by
negroes, ten leading colored men
of the county sought an interview
with the gallant officer in command of the
troops / had sent into the county, assured
him of their sympathy and undivided sup
port in his effort to protect life and prop
erty and restore the supremacy of the
law. AS further assurance they ISSUED
and had printed circular addressed &c
| their race, in which they took bold ground
in favor OF the supremacy of the law, and
were largely instrumental in restoring or.
der and in inducing members of theil
own race implicated in the riots TO sur
render themselves into the hands of the
officers of the law. These are healthy
signs and go to show that if there is any
solution of the race problem 1t must and
can be found by the intelligent Southern
white man and the intelligent Southern
negro, and not by nonresident agitators
who are in truth, the enemies of both
| races.
To Preserve the Law.
To prevent mob violence and bring of
| tenders to trial before the lawfully con-
| stituted tribunals l have brought to bear
all of the powers of the executive depart
ment. In my efforts to re-enthrone The
law and restore the supremacy of the
! civil tribunals l have been ably and faith
! fully seconded by the prosecuting officers
and judges throughout the state, and in
! a number of cases men threatened by the
mob have been rescued by the military
and brought TO trial in the tribunals es-