The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1903-08-13
RULE OF LYNCHEES
DepIored by President Roose-
veItin Letter to Durbin,
A REMEDY is SUGGESTED
SPEEDY Trial and Punishment TOR
Heinous Crimes Would Stay Mob
Justice-Growth of Lynchins
Cause of Great Alarm.

was authorized Sunday, President
Roosevelt commends Governor Durb!n,
of Indiana, for the attitude he assum-
ed recently respecting lynching. The
president also embraces the opportun-
ity to express his own views in refer
ence to lynching and mob violence,
generally, pointing out that mob vlo-
lence is merely one form Of anarchy
and that anarchy is the forerunner OF
tyranny. The president vigorously
urges that the penalty for crimes that
induce a resort to lynching shall be
applied swiftly and surely, but by due
process of the courts, so that 1T may
be demonstrated that the law Is ade-
cuate to deal with crime by freeing t
from every vestige Of lechnicality and
delay"
President Roosevelt's letter in part
to Governor Durbin follows:
"Oyster Bay, N. Y, August 6, 1903,
Mr.. Dear Governor Durbin: Permit
me to thank you as an American citl-
zen for the admirable way In which
you have vindicated the majesty OF the
law by your recent acuon in reference
to lynching. feel, my dear sir, that
you have made all men your debtors
who believe, as all far-seeing men
must, that the well-being, indeed the
very existence, of the republic de-
pends upon that spirit Of orderly lib
erty under the law which is as incoln-
patible with mob violence as with any
form of despotism. OF course mob
violence is simply one form ct an,
archy; and anarchy is now, as it al
ways has been, the handmaiden and
forerunner of tyranny. .
"All thoughtful men must feel the
gravest alarm over the growth VI
lynching in this country, and especlal-
ly over the peculiarly hideous forms
so often taken by mob violence wnen
colored men are the victims; on which
occasions the mob seems to lay most
weight, not on the crime, but on tie
color of the criminal. In a certain
proportion of these cases the man
lynched has been guilty of a crime
horrible beyond description; a crime
so horrible that as far as he himself
is concerned, he has forfeited the right
to any kind of sympathy whatsoever.
No Sympathy for Criminal.
"The feeling of all good citizens
that such hideous crime shall not be
hideously punished by mob violence is
due not in the least to sympathy Tor
the criminal, but to a very lively
sense of the train Of dreadful conSe-
uuences which follow the course taken
by the mob in exacting inhuman ven
geance for an inhuman wrong. IN
such cases, moreover, it IS well to re-
member that the criminal not mere
ly sins against humanity in incapable
and unpardonable fashion, but si1s
particularly against his own race, and
does them wrong far greater than
any white man can possibly do them.
Therefore, in sucn cases the colored
people throughout the land should in
every possible way show their belief
that they, more than all others in the
community, are Mortified at the COM
mission of such q crime and are De-
culiarly concerned in taking every pos
sible. measure to prevent its rec'r-
renee and to bring the criminal to i'm.
mediate justice. The slightest lack of
vigor, either in denunciation of the
crime, or in pringing the criminal 10
justice is itself objectionable.
Moreover, every effore should lie
made under the law to expedite The
proceedings Of Justice in the case of
such an awful crime. But 1t cannot be
necessary in order to accomplish this
to deprive any citizen OF those funda-
mental rights to be heard In his own
defense, which are SD dear to us all
and which lie at the root Of our lib
erty. 1t certainly ought to be possible
by the proper administration of the
laws to secure swift vengeance upon
the criminal; and the best and imme-
diate efforts of all legislators, judges
and citizens should be addressed to se-
curing such reforms, in our legal pro-
cedure a to leave no vestige of excuse
for those who undertake to wreak ven
geance through violent methods. 8
"The nation, like the individual,
cannot commit crime with impunity.
If we are guilty of lawlessness and
brutal violence, whether our guilt con-
sists in active participation therein ':r
in mere conniyance and encourage
ment, we shall assuredly suffer later
on because of what we have done.
Sincerely yours,
THEODORE ROOSEVELT"