The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1901-11-15

K The average citizen may not appre-
sciate the fact that a lynching has ia
Sken place within the last 20 years with
in every one of our states except five,
8and this unfortunate disposition to dis
sregard the law. and infiict violent and
Summary punishment, has grown to an
E extent that is difficult to check. In or
Nder that the whole country may get
back upon sure and safe ground, it will
require the wisest and brayest efforts
of our Christian men and women. The
sSHabit of lynching was begun in some
sfdf our states q few years ago as a pun
kishment for one crime; but so true is
sah that lawlessness breeds lawlessness
8That 1t has now grown until statlstlcs
ssdhoW that more people have been
lknched for other crimes, such as muir
%der, stealing, etc, than for the single
5drime of assault. 1t is proper that
sState in the beginning that | have no
Wind of sympathy with any race or
With any individual who is guilty of
&committing any kind of an assault, and
THE united effort of our best people IN
@every community should be in the d.
Erection of getting rid of worthless ana
siClle people from whose ranks most OF
kthe criminals come. But crime OF some
&nature has been committed since the
Efoundation Of the world even IN the
eanost highly civilized communities; and
1.-The facts show that, wherever the law
sis most fully observed in the punish
s1nent of crime, there crime is less like
ssly to be committed. In my judgment,
!. there is but one way for us in TINS
country to get rid of the habit OF
#lynching, and that is for all to unite in
"a strong and earnest effort to see that
the law is complied with.
i During the exciting days following
1.-THE shooting of the late President NC
Il Kinley, it was my privilege to mingle
a good deal with the people in one of
+ our Western states, and almost every
other man who referred to the crime
expressed himself as being IN FAVOR OF
! burning or the execution without trial
of Czolgosz. AS l listened to these ex-
pressions day after day, 1t convinced
me, as never before, that spirit OF
1awlessness had gotten a hold upon
the whole country that few of us real
ize.
l fear we have not yet realized that
every open and fragrant defiance of law
is anarchy 1t is easy enough to de-
cry the aVowed anarchist who belongs
to organizations that are anarchistlc
in their character but it is not easy
to put in the same class the people
who set at defiance law by an illegal
hanging or burning.
Perhaps the most demoraliZing ana
hurtful result of mob violence Is the
hardening effect which it has upon our
youth. think it is safe to say that on
an average 90 persons witnessed the
execution by lynching of every man or
woman that has taken place in this
country. According to this, it is safe
to say that, within the last 15 years.
ont han
lynchings took place. In each case
large proportion of those who had been
drawn to witness the unlawful execu-
ton have been children, or those Of
tender age. One of the saddest remarks
that l ever heard come from the lips
of a child was when he said, in my
presence, that he wished he could see
a man burned. I do not think the i'm
preston made upon a youth by reason
of the fact that he has witnessed the
unlawful execution of an individual
ever wholly disappears. In some in
stances, the executions by mobs nave
not only been witnessed by boys OF
tender age, but by women.
1t is also a notable fact, that in the
communities where every crime, no
matter how heinous, is taken hold of
by the strong arm of the law, the
crimes which provoke lynching very
seldom occur.
The time would seem to have come
when the subject of the majesty of the
law should be taken up by the min
listers in our pulpits throughout the
country, and by our Sunday school
teachers, in a way that has never been
done before. If Christianity is to mean
anything in shaping the lives of our
people, it must not only deal with mat
tiers pertaining to the future world, but
must most effectually deal with matters
growing out of the relation of man
to man in this world. In too many
communities l very much fear the pull
pit and the Sunday school teacher have
been silent on this subject.
l am not, in this article, pleading for
the man who has been guilty of crime,
but l am pleading most for those who
are so unfortunate as to be led into
the temptation of degrading themselves
and disregarding the law, disrespecting
the authority of governors, judges and
sheriffs. 1t is impossible for youth
to be so influenced that he can be
made to feel that he can break the
law in one case and keep it in other
cases without being permanently
harmed.
A great many citizens who have
thought seriously upon the subject feel
that perhaps the shooting of our late
President was an outgrowth of the
spirit of lawlessness which has been
so prevalent in our country of late
years. If this is true, how great a
price have we paid for our error! l
am glad to note that, since the Presi-
dents death, a new spirit seems to have
taken possession of the people, and that
very few Iynchings have occurred in
any part Of the country. 1t is also
praiseworthy fact that the daily and
religious press, especially in the South,
is speaking out fearlessly and strongly
against lynching. 1t is also equally
encouraging to note the brave words,
and. what is more than brave words,
equally brave acts, on the part of
many of our Southern governors. Now
az the words and acts of these officers
can be re-enforced in the pulpit and in
the Sunday school, 1 feel that the time
is not far when lynchings will be
thing of the past.
And since the greater proportions OF
these Iynchings involve members of my
own race, think it my duty to say
that the negro minister and teacher
has an equal and special responsibility.
The negro leader should see to 1t that
his people are constantly reminded
about the Importance of keeping the
law. and that our idle and unworthy
classes should be made to deport them
selves in such a manner that they Will
not bring disgrace upon the race. For
a number of years 1 have advocated
Industrial education largely with the
idea that, in proportion as our people
learn to love labor for its own sake,
they would not yield to the temptation
to grow up in idleness. The members
of my race who are charged, in most
cases. with committing crimes. are not
those who. have received careful mem
tai. religious and industrial education,
but those who have been permitted, as
a rule. to grow up in idleness and ig-
norance. Every effort put forth on the