Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1899-08-10
THE SITUATION IN THE SOUTH.
PRESIDENT e. A. SMYTH, OF PELzER,
HAS A TALK WITH A NEWSPAPER MAN
ABOUT LYNCHINGS AND LABOR.
At First TSoTe HeT6 Ordinary tyachlnys 10
Prevent Assaults.


Smyth, chairman Of tho ub-commis-
sion of tho United States industrial
commission, recently held in this
city, feels compelled to support, says
the Boston Herald.
Continuing, the Herald says: Mr..
Smyth is president of the Polzer
Manufacturing Company, of Pelzer,
S. G. This concern operates four
cotton mills, consuming $4,000 bales
of cotton per year, and it literally
owns the town of Pelzer, which has
a population of 5000, and is situated
sixteen miles from the city of Green
vile. The Pelzer mills are the larg-
est in the South.
TO Herald reporter, Mr.. Smyth,
on request, expressed himself on the
subject of lynchings. lie said that,
while he personally abhorred lynch
ing, yet, in the case of assaults upon
helpless women, it seemed to be the
only remedy-a speedy vengeance,
precluding the necessity on the part
of the victims to appear in court to
testify.
"The matter of lynching in the
South is not fully understood by
many people in Boston," continued
Mr.. Smyth. "Tho people here hardly
realize the conditions existing in
many e, of the county districts in
several Southern States. l know of
cases where white men have felt
compelled TO remove their families
from farms to neighboring towns, as
they were afraid to leave them alone
on the farms, even during the day.
1t is an unusual thing in the South
to find white women riding or driv-
ing alone through the country roads,
and this fear, as we'll as the bitter
ness, is increasing.
cat first there were ordinary
lyncbngs, in order to prevent, if
possible, a repetition Of these terri
bic assaults. Then, in some sections,
great brutality was shown in burn
ing and tortnring the criminals
caught in these acts. But nothing
seems to prevent them, and what
will be the final remedy, or what
will be the result, it is very hard to
tell. One cannot judge of the situa-
tion unless one goes South, talks
with tho people there and becomes
familiar with the conditions sur
rounding them. During the war the
white men of the South were in the
army, and the white families, con-
sisting OF women and children, were
protected by the colorcd slaves.
"Thosc old negroes are held in
great respect and affection by the
Southern white man, but since the
war a generation has grown up,
under no restraint and with an i'm
mense idea of its own Importance,
politically and otherwise. The ne
gro is not now SO much Of a local
habitat as formerly. A largo class,
particularly young men from 18 to
80 years of age, are constantly NOV
ing, working here and there, and it
is from these people that our crimi-
nal class is recruited"
Mr.. Smyth was asked if he had
over known Of a case where a white
man suffered lynching for this crime,
and he replied that three years ago,
within fifteen miles of where he
lived, n worthless white man as
saulted colored girl, and was
lynched in broad daylight by colored
men, without opposition on the part
of the white community. 1t had
been known that there was move
ment in this direction, and the plan
could have been frustrated by the
white population if it had simply
been question of color. But tho
man was taken from tho hqnds of
the State constable and lynchcd
along the road.
"I do not claim" said Mr.. Smyth,
"to be an apologist or defender of
the crimo of lynching, because,
apart from any other consideration,
the reaction on those who partici-
pate in it is degrading and injurious,
and lowers public tone in every way.
But in our sparscly settled country
| do not see how it is to be stoned,
or what will be the outcome. The
exhibitions Of brutality tend to de-
grade the white men who take part
in these tortrrings and burnings,
but the crime must cease before the
3 punishment will stop, and the remedy
must be applied thore--to teach
these people to have more respect
for womanhood, whether white or
colOred."