The Bellefontaine Republican. [volume] (Bellefontaine, Logan County, Ohio) 1855-1905, 1901-12-13
WHY NEGROES
ARE LYNCHED.
Extract from a Sermon in St
James Episcopal Church at
Greenville, Miss on Ad-
gust II. by the Rev.
Quincy Adams.

say Of Mississippi might be said with equal
Justice of several other southern States L
speak of Mississippi. because live in Missis-
sIppi, and am more Intimately concerned with
the affairs OF Mississippi than with thJse OF
My text is Ihe Sermon on the Mount of Jesus
Christ, and the Constitution of the State OF
Mississippi. Ny subject, suggested by the
text is the Lynching OF Negroes In MissiS-
sippi.
subject today. 1t is very decidedly pai.fnl to
me, Southern man. sired and grandsired.
mothered and grandmothered by SouLhern
people; born and reared further south than
the latitude of This town: it Is very decidedly
pal ful TO me to have to deal with this ub-
ject. and. in dealing with il, to sly what the
no pleasure to need to speak out In denunica-
Iion OF crime, la~lessness. brutality any
whq e on the earth; but perhaps it IS par
douabe trinity of human Ia ure for q to
feel more pain in acknowledging and de-
| nouncins the 81 of ones own land ones own
people, nan in holding up the standard OF
moral protest against the crimes OF people
| separated from Que by an ocean. or a Mason
and Dixons line. confess 70 >ucn an ind rIn-
| ity. But sh uld be unit to stand in this
| pace, IL / allowed that intrmity 10 blind my
eyes 10 one OF the dism.lest crimes uf the
ages because 1t Is being perp- trat~d In this
southern land by Southern men; or to seal my
| Ips from denunciaJiun of that crime, and the
moral tone Of the south. "a Is ecialiy of
| this state, today: the moral tone which
ermi's IL aud in certain quarters makes a
virtue of 1t.
~ 1, uuI denuncia .ion. understand m. to say
4, thatevery lyncher is a murderer just as surely
/ a murderer as anyone who ever dangie from
| a gallowS. That Is not denunciation: IL Is but
| a statement of fact In thorough accord with
| the law of the State of Mississippi. And the
fact is not altered by whst the iyncher may
think of himself. or what his friends may
law of the State OF Mississippi has no Other
God Almighty and God"Almiguty's Justice.
| or think he does but he cannot. living In
Mississippi. repudiate the state of Missis-
sippi; he cannot outlaw the States law, how
ever he may violate IL and trample IL under
foo because tn State. Ia spite of Its law,
lut of cowaroiy or criminal officials, without
| th nerve or Inclination to protect prisoner
from a coxardly and criminal mob. or TO
bring murderers to justice. swift or tardy'
/ after their u.urder Is done!
4 Let me pass u another fact. which suppose
Il nobody Will dispute; this, namely. that white
men do not ly nch white iceu in he State OF
4 Mississippi. or so rarely a. to create no pro,
olem for US to consider Our moral and leg q
i problem Is created for US by the spectacle OF
/ white men ngaRed again and agaln IN the
/ lsn hing of Negroes. it is safe TO say that
the lynching OF bite Men by white men
i would not long be loleraI,d N this state;
> me way .ould SPEEDILY oe found u put a
| stop To II; the unh ppy people who are LOUD
loud IN -nndemnatk1 fit, IL iynchingS or
| white men by white men weee at all frequent.
l What u sickeniug triJh was suggested, even
| II the suggestion was somewhat In the form OF
| exaggeraJion by the statement TO the deputy
1 sherif, ny that dago. recently senteuced 10
death IN Greenwood for numbering >egro
womani ME no i'll her in Tenn'ser; me Kill
nfs nis In In MisssiPpI" Nj SIP "s "0AN - A - ~
Now why. let me ask are there so many
4 iynchings OF Negroes in this State Of Missis-
sippi. and why are these lynchings appauded
by so many people who have no hand in themf
What Is the explanation of this fact? Is it
that we don't want the Negroes here. that
sTe IN our %s Te sS t
that we don't want them here, in order 10
make IL so hot for the Ii that they will get out
OF the State, and give us more room; more
III Hack Onr boots. 10 nurse our DdDleS,
and cook our dinners, and clean up our
h use>, and sweep out our stores, and drive
our wagons. and labor in our mills ana
tsawmills, and congresses, and pile dirt on our
levees In July sun. and plough our fields. and
our cotton? Is 1t that we want more room to do
| these things ourselves or want to replace the
Negro by some other r.ce OF people better
tquslified than he 10 do tn Sc thingsf
| Nay, this -xpl ination could not explain We
are not trying to get rio of the Negro; we are
ouf 1ot own boSts. or bile dirt on our own levees
| We dnn'r want him TO leave us; we are not
anxious toreplace him with any other race OF
people. We want the Nexro TO stay with US;
his virtues appeal TO the Intelligence OF oui
pockets, IL moi to the humanity OF our hearts
0 Irom tns GSe UrSnS the Negroes &c
; leave there and here anu you will be likely to
get warmer entertainment from the white
citizens OF that county than you desire You
might get a coat OF tar and feathers. or be
ridden on 4 rail or get stray buliet-so deeply
would your effort to rid them of the Negru bt
appreci tfed by the Aforesaid white citizens
The dull est OF us knows that the great DUH
of raw material OF the States wealth Is pro
duced from year 10 year by Negro labor. Iht
bread we eat. the Summer trips We take, the
houses we live in, tn tailor-made suits anC
silk dresses we wear. the money we put lnIs
missionary boxes to ChristianiZe yellow peo
I pie In China and Japan. point all, or near y
all, directly or indirectly, 10 Negro LABOR; u
l Negro men and women. to Negro grandfather
l aud granomothers end little children, p.ck
4 ing our cotton. or gathering our corn. Wh'i'
we work or sit under cover. and ran ourselves
-salx fan
/ com pl sin of the heatl
III No. we don't want to get rid of the Negro
H. tried TO get rid OF Us, have been toio SOM
1 wears ago, by getting away from US in thi
1 county; and steamboats, were not allowed Y
land in front of this town TO take him away
I have been told that shotguns in the hands
1 white men forbade him TO leave Washington
County TO seek more congenial environment
We don't want to get rid of the Negro. he 1
i o. wealth producer, yet we lynch MIN. muir
der him with as little sense OF the law OF OF
| Tended majesty would possess US I'VE wer
| kill ng a rattleSnake nr a rabid dog!
% we lynch him because We are trying Z
Il get even with him for coming here In the hrs
Il Instances; for coming here and thriving here
i and getting us so accustomed to him that "
SaInS nST hi@f nD NSy for % we ali Know. hi
L coming here in the first instance was no
through any choice Of his our ancestor
i wanted him TO come. and he thought OF com
L ing only when the coming was forced npo
l him; only when he was In the power or whit
| men whose business IL was 10 buy him or stea
4. him in Africa. and see that he did cone her
Il In salable condition! / doubt II you or eve
L saw a single Negro whose ancestors came .
/ this country OF their own will. and not rathe
| by the will of some of our ancestors
| Do we lynch the negro because he has lnven
| ted some new. stupendous crime thst Whlt
] men have no taste for; or because he Is prom
J TO indulge In many crimes that civilized " III
| men have quite outgrownf Nay the Negro ha
| not invented any new CRIME; he = not ~ nci
/ cd for any one crime only; he iS lynched, agar
4 aud again for or Ines that y hlte men nave H'
- nyl- grown. and do frequently commit. We al
lileis TO pic; up 2 paper auy day uud rta'
= without any emotion or great surprise, that
errn has been lynched In Mississippi Il
assault md battery, or some ohense less ina
assault and battery.
Look at that affair In the county of tarro
that affair with its mob that couldn be T.
strain ed in its ad thirst for blood Oy u
Governor OF the State. the District Atturne
the Circuit Judge and the leading citizens
,r A white man suspects Negro boy OF puttli
rough-on-rats in his drinking Wa er tie ge
tn up party of his friends. and goes with the
"a to he house of that boy, and murders hif
,s There Is no mob to avenge the murder. We
,e not r, ad that the murderers were ever trie
or indicted, or arrested, or bothered IN al
way. The dsgo's idea seems here 10 nave pei
borne out very vividly and impressiyeiy-
no think IL harm to kill mig in Miss'sip!
murderers OF the Negro boy knew-as well
they knew anything on earth-that II the
was producible the very thinneSt reasonab
K. | evidence that he had poisoned the water ju
he could Ge indicted. tried, convicted, al