Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1903-08-13
Evansville Riot.

sins particularly against his own race
and does them wrong far greater
than any white man can possibly do
them. Therefore. in such 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 commission of such crime and
are particularly concerned in taking
every possible measure to prevent it's
recurrence and to bring the criminal
to immediate justice. The slightest
lack of vigor either in denunciation of
the crime or in bringing the criminal
to justice is itself objectionable.
Moreover, every effort shuld 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 accomplish this
to deprive any citizen of those funda-
mental rights to be heard in his own
defense, which are SO dear to us all,
and which lie at the root of our liberty.
Reforms in Laws Needed.
st certainly ought to be possible by
the proper administration of the laws
to secure swift vengeance upon the
criminat; and the best and immediate
| efforts of all legislators, judges and
| citizens should be addressed to Sc
curing such reforms in our legal pro.
cedure as to leave no vestige of excuse
| for those misguided men who under
| take to reap vengeance through violent
methods.
Men who have been guilty of a
crime like rape or murder shuld be
visited with swift and certain punish
ment and the just effort made by the
courts to protect them in their rights
should under no circumstances be
perverted into permitting any tech
nicality to avert or delay their punish
ment.
THE substantial rights of the pris
oner to fair trial must of course BIZ
guaranteed, as you have SO justly in
sisted that they should be; but, sub
ject to this guarantee, the law mus
work swiftly and surely, and all the
agents of the law should realize thu
wrong they do when they permit jus
| tice to be delayed or thwarted TO
! technical of insufficient reasons. w,
must show that the law is adequate tt
deal with crime by freeing it from ev
cry vestige of technicality and delay
But the fullest recognition of tn,
horror of the crime and the most com
plete lack of sympathy with the Grim
inal cannot in the least diminish ou
horror at the way in which it has be
come customary to avenge these crime
and at the consequences that are al
ready proceeding therefrom. 1t is, O
course inevitable that where vengeanc
is taken by mob it should frequently
light on innocent people and the wron
done in such case to the individua
is one for which there is no remedy
But even where the real criminal i
reached the wrong done by the mo
to the community itself is well nigl
as great.
Especially is this true where tn
: lynching is accompanied with torture
There are certain hideous sights whicl
when once seen, can never be who'll,
erased from the mental retina TIL
mere fact of having seen them i'm
plies degradation. This is a thousand
fold stronger when, instead of merel
seeing the deed, the man has partic
pated in it, Whoever in any part Q
: our country has ever taken part il
lawlessly putting to death a crimina