The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-01-15

Polytechnic and the losses thus sustain.
 ed you will be called upon to care for in another way. , Lynching.
 The excuse urged for lynching for
 crimes which are common in the South. finally assaults a woman in this State if
 allowed to be tried, will certainly get his
 just deserts at the hands of the law. No negro, I daresay, has come out of the courts when his guilt. appeared certain without the death penalty. Other classes
 of citizens for other crimes escape the just penalty for the violation of the law but the negro. and for the gravest of all the offense, the mob spirit expresses It's objection to the presence In the court room of innocent women made there to tell their trouble before a crowd of nor
 bidly curious or even sympathetic and in- terested persons. But the new, Constitu- ton robs them of even this excuse. Un- der 1t, the judge may clear the court room 'of all persons except such as may be necessary in the conduct of the trial" There have been quite number of lynchings since you met here. In the last year and a half, or during my official in cumbency of this office, recall i've such
 crimes. One of these lynchings was for
 the crime of criminal assault. So easy
 was 1t for the mob spirit to get away from the original cause for provoking that spirit that three of the latest of these
 crimes were for other offenses and two for no offense at all In one County near the Capital City. lot Of self-constiLuteo guardians of the peace ana honor or their homes in an attempt to mob negro who had committed an ofYense. which. under the law, could not have called for a sen- tence of more than two years, took hls
 brother. innocent of any onense at all, and hanged him. l am glad to be able
 to say to you that there was a just judge and a sufficient number of laW-abiding citizens to give these men. or some of them. term in the penitentiary. l be- lieve these are the first like offenders to serve the State since the great war. No man had heretofore gone to the peniten- tiarY for lynching negro. 1t ia our act. let law-abidlng citizens and just Judges sec to 1t that other murderers go not unwhipped, of justice hereafter,
 Following this case. a mob in Pike County took negro away from con- stable-I know not with what difiiculty- and iynched him. His offsu-, gas proba- hly swearing contrary to one of his white nelghbors in a justice trial on a proof of character. This wa a cold-blooded mur- der and without excuse at all. human life for . whim of the poor old mans neighbor. The mob spirit will say he did not know he was not guilty of a se- rious offense. We believed this person and hence took his life" Several persons accused of this crime were arrested by a vigilant officer and some court allowed them to go forth on bond. They may come before a court again. Their victim --innocent-i5 dead. The murderers go about. None ot them will be hanged as they should he.
 Another case grew out of an assault to murder and still another in hunt for rapist, the mrrdernus mob found the wrong man. The man the outlaws killed in this last case had never seen the rap ist's victim or heard of her.
 Human life is about as cheap in Ala hama as 1t is anywhere. One or two Southern State vie with us and may over reach us in the low price we put upon It. hut we are shamCfully near the bad eminence And Sherifts can prevent this lAwlessness in most eases. A determined Sheriff can have friends in every beat who win give him notice of the possibil- ity of the assembling of crowd, and he can, if he is known 10 be brave and de- termIned rescue the innocent or the guilty from the clutches of an angry crew, thirsty aud crying for blood. This office has had. several times. to order out the military to protect prisoners. always placing 1t under the orders of the Sherin of the County 1t becomes necessary to do this some times, but 1t Is reflection on the citizenship of any community. There ought to be q sufficient number of brave men in every locality to aid the Sheriff and themselves keep the peace. Every civil community ought itsAlf to take care of the iawleEs Of its own local- ity.