The new age. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1902-190?, 1902-06-27
LYNCH LAW DISCUSSED IN CON.
eREss.

P'' twenty-five years has
oeen tolerated by the peon,e Of En-
o"i'eu states and scandalized them
throughout the civilized world h.s
'ea'ned the federal congress at last in
form other than heretofore and
PROMISES to get a fair amount of ven.
'llatlon' pro and con. in the congress.
Sional debates and in the newspaners
senator Gallinger has introduced
resolution in the senate diract,ro .ho
oonmittee on judiciary to inquire into
.ne subject of lynching in the limited
states and report whether under tho
laws and constitution of the country
'here is any remedy for the evil Sow.
a'or Gallinger said that the whole
"retched business was a disgrace TO
american manhood; and. in the face
Oh IT, the alleged atrocities in the phil.
ippihes paled into insignificance. OF
'ourse southern senator. Mr. Bailey
OF Texas, objected to consideration Of
the resolution, as he had doubts nc 70
wnether congress had the power to 90
INTO state and take charge of it's
peace and good order. Perhans II hoe
not and the Gallinger resolution does
not aim to do anything of the sort
put rather to take charge of the con.
fusion and disorder of the state-like
IeXas, for example, where BURNING
people at the stake has become a
chronic pastime, like bullfghts in
Mexico.
But 1t has shown in the short debate
on the resolution that lynch law is not
confined to any one section. That is
true; but it was born in the Southern
states and has been and is strongest in
the states of its nativity. The other
sections OF the country have copied
from the Southern states without i'm.
proVement or establishment. and II
mas not become chronic outside the
Southern section. The resolution went
over for the day, but will come nm
again, although Senator Hoar said that
his committee had already given con.
slderation to the question and voted
to report adversely upon it. He said
however, if the resolution was referred
to his committee it would be consid.
cred as "a proper subject of constitl.
tional law and permanent policy"
Talking about the Texas burning
the New York Sun says editorially:
The burning at the stake in Texas
OF the Negro Morgan was, according
to the details that reach us through
the papers nearer the scene. one If
the most revolving atrocities to be
found in the annals of lynching.
After the victim was chained some
members of the mob took burning
fagots and burned out his eyes" They
held burning timbers to his neck. and.
after burning his clothes off. to other
/ parts of his body THE Negro
screamed in agony. lie was tortured
in a slow and painful manner with the
crowd clamoring for a slower death.
and the Negro, writhing and grooming,
begged piteously to be shot"
All this before the final burning OF
the still living man.
No crime can mitigate the fendish,
ness of this sayagery. A chill of hor-
ror goes through the entire country
and calls for stoppage of this awful
habit OF lynching.
When an evil, local in origin, has
become national in scope and scandal,
ICES the republic in the eyes of the
world and threatens the peace and
good order of the country, il is sheer
mockery to talk about the power CT
congress to go into a state and take
charge of its peace and good order, as
Senator Bailey puts it. II congress has
no power, and We think it has, then
il is high time that the constitution
should be so amended as to give 1t the
power. for the federal authority Is
higher than that OF any of its cOnstitH-
ent parts. and a citizen of the United
States is a more important parsonage
than the citizen Of any state can be,
or hope to be This aspect Of the sub
iect is brought out in forcible man
Eer by Mr. Albert f. Pillsbury in dis.
cussing a Brief Inquiry Into Fed
eral Remedy for Lynching. in the
Nav number of the Harvard Law Re
view. Mr. Pillsbury reaches the fol
lowing conclusion:
/ Without attempting an exhaustive
inquiry into this delicate subject. il
can scarcely be assumed that precon-
eeived opinions are not conclusive OF
the question. In view of the express
constitutional provision. and in the
present state of judicial decision. the
existence or uon-eXistenoe Of TINS
mower I'm the federal government can
be determined only hy submitting o
statute 10 the test Of judicial esamina
ton.
. Ir view OF The ua-r..a a'-f1d. o.. .a.
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