The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-08-10
7HE PRESIDENT ON LYNCHING.
,ovUrNDS INDIANA GOVERNOR
rop HIS RESOLUTE STAND.
=, ,,un,,c Men, lie Says TO Gov. Durbin,
snould Dcnounce Mob Rule--"Naob
,,oIrnce Is Anarchy" and Anarchy
!. ",hc IIandmaiden of Tyranny"

snnulu DcnOunce MOD NuAe--"MOb
,,o,.pre Is Anarchy" and Anarchy
H. .thc IIandmaiden of Tyranny"
OYSTER BAY, y. Y, Aug. GA letter by
p,,.,J,ut Roosevelt to Gov. winfield T.
n,,,,,i, of Iadit ma, in which Mr.. Roosevelt
o,nds most highly the Governors
.,..',,,, stand against lynohing and which
forth at length the Presidents views
NJ, ,re Iuiliug of negroes by mob violence,
was made public tonight.
'rb, affair which suggested the Presi-
i,,,,. letter was the outbreak Of mob rule
~. ryau.,,le, Ind, early in July. Gov,
n,r,in nut the town under military rule on
rly8. When the local militia were found
:, I've irafeglate he sent an entire infantry
n.,,,,,rt ard an artillery company.
Tbrn,,,Lout the excitement and the dis
tyrb,,,rc. which had begun over the shoot
nrorapoiceman by negro, Gov. Durbin
r.aI every means in his power to stop the
violence Of the mob,
The Presidents letter follows
OYslER BAY, \. Y, Aug. 9, 1909.
My DEAR Gov. DuRBIN: Permit me
IA thank YOU as ar American citizen for
tho admirable wav in which you have
,indcated the majesty OF the law by your
recent action in reference to lynching.
col NV doar sir, that you have made
'i men your debtor who believe, as all
S1r-secinH men must, that the well-being,
inIr.d the very existence, of the Republic
denauis upon that spirit of orderly liberty
Under the law which IA as incompatible
with mob violence IA with any form OF
despori-m. OF course mob violence is
.imr.y one form Of anarchy; and anarchy
+, now. ~ il always has been, the hand
uaii,u aud forerunner OF tyranny.
feel that YOU have not only reflected
honor ruon the State which for its good
fortune has you as It's Chief Executive,
mt uron he whole nation. II is incumbent
upon every man throughout this country
rat orly 10 hold up your hands i'll the course
Won have been following, but to show his
realization that the matter Is one which
/. Of vital concern to Us all.
All thoughtful men must feel the gravest
alarm over the growth OF lynchinE in this
country, and especially over the peculiarly
lidoorl4 forms so often taken'by mob vio-
errn when Colored men are the victims
on which occasions the mob seems to lay
most weight, not on the crime, but on the
color IF the criminal In certain pro-
rorion Of these c ,ses the man lynched
has been guilty of crime horrible beyond
description; crime so horrible that, as far
A. ne himself is concerned, he has forfeited
the IIsn, 10 any kind OF sympathy what
eoevcr. The feeling Of all good citizens
TINT such a hiieoIls crime shall not be
liiaouslv punished by mob violence is
due not in the least to sympathy for the
criminal, hut to very lively sense OF the
train of dreadful consequences which fol-
low the course taken by the mob in eX-
acting inhmnan vengeance for an in
human wrong. In such cases, moreover,
il is we'll to remember that the criminal not
merely sins against humanity in incapable
and objectionable fashion, but sins par
acknowledgement his own race, and does them
a wrong far greater than any white man
ran possibly do them. Therefore, in such
cases. the coIorcd people throughout the
land should in every possible way show
their belief that they, more than all others
IN the community, are horritled at the com
mission of such crime and are peculiarly
concerned in taking every possible measure
to prevent its recurrence and to bring the
criminal to immediate Justice. The slight =
est lack OF vigor, either In denunciation Of
the crime or in bringing the criminal to
Justice, Is itself objectionable.
Moreover. every effort should be made
Under the law to expedite the proceedings
Of Justice in the case of such an awful crime
But it cannot be necessary in order to ac-
complish this to deprive any citizen OF those
fundamental rights To be heard in his own
defence which are 80 dear TO us all and which
lie at the root of our liberty. 1t certainly
ought to be possible by the proper admins
tration of the laws to secure swift vengeance
upon the criminal; and the best and i'm
mediate efforts OF all legislators, Judges
and citizens should be addressed to securing
such reforms in our legal procedure as
10 leave no vestige Of excuse for those
misguided men who undertake to reap
vengeance through violent methods.
Men who have been guilty of a crime like
rape or murder should be- visited with
swift and certain punishment and the Just
effort made by the courts TO protect them
in their rights should under no circum-
stances be perverted into permitting any
mere technicality to avert or delay their
punishment The substantial rights OF
the prisoner 10 fair trial must of course
he guaranteed, as you have SO justly in
sisted that they should be; but, subject
to this guarantee, the law must work swiftly
and surely and all the agents of the law
should realize the wrong they do when
they permit Justice TO be delayed or thwarted
for technical or insufficient reasons.
We must show that the law is adequate to
deal with crime by freeing it from every
vestige Of technicality and delay.
But tie fullest recognition OF the horror
Of the crime and the most complete lack OF
sympathy with the criminal cannot in the
least diminish our horror at the way in which
it has become customary to avenge these
crimes and al the consequences that are
already proceeding theretrom. 1t is, OF
course. inevitable that where vengeance
is taken 10y a mob il should frequently light
on innocent people; and the wrong done
in such a case to the individual is one for
which there is no remedy. But even where
the real criminal is reached, the wrong
done 10y the mob to the community Itself
is We'll nigh as great, Especially is this
true where the lynching is accompanied
with torture There are certain hideous
sights which when once seen can never be
wholly erased from the mental retina. The
mere fact of having seen them implies degra-
daion. This il thousandfold stronger
whom, nstead Of merely seeing the deed,
the man has participated in it. Whoever,
in any part Of our country, has ever taken
part in lawessly putting to death criminal
by the dreadful torture of fire must for
ever after have the awful spectacle Of his
Own haudiwork scared into his brain and
soul. He can never again be the same
man.
This matter of lynching would be a terri
bic thing, even if il stopped with the lynch
ing Of men guilty of the inhuman and
hideous crime of rape; but, as a matter of
fact, lawIessness of this type never does
stop and never can stop in such fashion,
Every violent man In the community is
encouraged by every case of lynching in
which the lynchers go unpublished to him
sell take the law into his own hands when
ever II suits his own convenience. In the