The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1903-07-14
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On Friday Of last week a negro was
Iynched in Union county, in this state,
for having attempted a criminal assault
on a white woman a few days before.
The negro was captured and was, al
the time of his execution, being carVey-
ed to the county Jail by two officers.
They were stopped by a party of men
who took the negro from them and
hanged him to the limb OF a tree on the
roadside. There was no riotlnS. TO
fuss or unnecessary excitement. The
men simply took the law into their
own hands. and the execution was as
orderly and quiet as if il had been
performed by the sheriff Of the county
in Of a judgment OF the su-
perior court. There was no barbarfc
treatment no wild excitement. no gath
ering of a frenZied mob. All was done
quietly and orderly. and when the fear
full crime had been avenged the people
participating dispersed and Wen- to
their homes Every thing was done in
as orderly a manner as il under the
mandates of the law.
w hat a. tillFItLLtt btlFFfCIl lHS -
ton Of these men and those in the two
northern states which have IF late
given the country exhibitions of the
hatred Of the white people toward the
negro. The crime Of the negro ut Vii
mingtCn. Del. was u horrible one. but
still his punishment was more horrible.
Had 4 southern mob acted as lid that
"
pers would not yet be done with de-
nounCing the barbarCuS treatment of the
negro by the southern whites. Were
the white people Of Il southern city TO
show such animosity toward the negro
as those of Evansville. Ind. we would
not hear the last of it in the rortheAl
press for a long time. As it is the con-
duct Of the men who executed the Ne
gro in Union county was in such con-
trast with that of the people of Indiana
and Delaware hat the northern press
mas failed to do more than note the
bare fact of the I~ynching. The absence
of the usual TRADE on such occasions
has been 50 marked that the Charlotte
Observer feels agrieved and Civ forth
the following:
The Iynching Of the negro Osborne.
in Union county last week has attract
ed less public attention ard fewer edi-
tOrial references than any occurrence
OF Il similar character that The Obser-
Yer has knowledge of. The simple
StTinging up of 4 wretch who richly de-
served his fate. with nc perfordtiOn Of
his body by bullets and no bonfire &C
compartment, just simply a PLAIN bus!-
nesS-ike hanging. was 50 far removed
from the Delaware way IS to MAKE il
scarcely worthy of notice. The news Of
OSbOrue's hanging was sent out by the
Associated Press. yet not a single pa
per that came to The Observer office
honored the occurrence with a horse
head The hes. It got was a double
head, with position the run Of the pa
per. Some Of the exchanges Jingle
headed II. others put il mOnS tn tel
grdphIc pIeEiteS or flashes b. Wire.
while in others it appeared t. have
been crowded out altogether. W. in
sist that this is not fair treatment.
True, the Delaware affair and the
Evansville demonstrates far ~urpaSa
this little Side-ShOW down south. hur We
have lynChed a niger and TO fuss at
all is being raised about it. Man, of
the northern papers have lately shown
a disposition to treat the south fairly
but they are not doing US right IN the
matter Of this Union county lynching.
We do not lose sight of the fact that
Delaware and Indiana nave lately
given them a diversion from which Z
is difficult to distract their attention,
bu we insist that the little Iynching
Dee which we got up last week IS
worthy OF a small share Of their edito-