The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1903-07-10
CURRENT

The fact begins to appear that Till
man is in a close place and has ceased
his confident assertions of asduita.
and abandoned his defiant attitude.
The people Of South Carolina. divert
ed from all political aspects of the case
are now calmly considering the act 81
the accused a as they would if he
were an ordinary murderer, and the
result, there now appears to be reason
TO hope, will be hat justice will De
done and the laws of the state vindi-
Gated. 1t matters little what the decis-
ion of the court may be on the question
of a charge of venue, provided the
case be not removed 10 a locality OF
the murderer's own selection. We be-
lieve the temper of the people of the
state is now unqualifiedly for equal and
a justice ever though the accused
be a Tillman.-Chattanooga Times.
Amid all the foolish utterances of
sensational preachers with reference
to the recent Delaware I~ynching, the
OF the Rev. DR.. Geo. G. Lori
me, of New York, stands cut promi-
nently because of its calmness and
sanity 1t does not become "a minister
of the Gospel to get up in his pulpit and
incite men to %lynching. No more does
it become such a mar to pour 4 TRADE
of abuse upon a community which
takes e~xtra-legal methods Of punish
ing a crime which is beyond human
endurance. DR.. Lorimer hits. he nail
on the head when he says that, howev-
er, much he may be opposed to lynch
ing, he appreciates the fact that the
white man will not stand thase as
sauls.' In other words, the thing to
do is to remove the cause of such lynch
ings as the one at Wilmington if such
lynchings are TO ease. Lynchings Cor
any other crime are quite different. DR..
Lorimer's utterance shows that in his
remarks as a preacher he does not for-
get that he is a man, and that IN his
remarks as a man he does not fogec
that he is a preacher.-Norfolk Land
mark.
Ex-Postmaster General Smiths sec
ond attempt to explain away the TUl-
lOch charges does not seem to us more
successful than his first. No one ever
accused him of personal dishonesty.
What he was charged with was wink
ing at irregularities" (polite for. viola
tions of law, n with having a dull
sense of official propriety. This, last
letter of his is alone enough to convict
on either count. He has his formal
Exhibit A." Exhibit B." and SO forth,
but the really glazing exhibit is his in
nocent statement that he had an estim-
able friend, whom he would have been
"a brute' not TO help, and that he pro-
nan1n1 tn do - h- r,rttinu bn- 49,
government payroll. That is to say, he
used public Office as a means CT dis
charging private obligations. To have
done that, and then to be capable OF
boasting of it, gives US the measure OF
Mr.. Smiths official ~scruplousness. He
was, il this respect, in the same boat
with Beaver and Machen. They, too.
regarded appointments to office as their
personal perquisites.-NeW York Post
William J. Bryan is sending personal
letters TO his friends throughout the
country announcing his intention Of re-
sisting any attempt to reorganize the
democratic party on lines which involve
the reputation of the Kansas City plat
form. h Nebraska colonel makes it
plain that whatever action may. be TAX
en- by democrats in state conventions, as
in Iowa, he is still welded to his. idols,
and sees. processes to see, in the plans
for party reorganization IAN effort to
prevent the democratic party from. rep
resenting the people in their fight
against greed" He appeals to demo
Gratis to aid him in thwarting the plans
of the reorganizers and to toin with
1.-The true friends of reform in carrying
democratic principles to success" How
/ thoroughly BryanesQue that all is
Refusing to profit by two %drubbings al
the hands If the people, Mr.. Bryan still
assumes b guardianship Of the party
conscience, and proposes to- make. an
other dash on the rocks that caused dis
| astrOus wrecks. Almost alone in the
| championship of his faulty politica.
doctrines, he is protesting, to believe
! that all the other thinkers and leaders
| in his party are wrong. and that it is
hits duty to correct them. He has al
ready become a common political NUS
ance- In his letter. Mr.. Bryan. calls 70,
a rally of the friends of. the kanSa!
City platform, and declares that tn
next twelve months VIII. {
struggle, for the control Of the demo
cratic organization. He promises to o.
all in his power to prayent the "reor
ganizers" from securing, control Of tn,
party. The declaration Of Mr.. Bryan
makes the issue plain, and his chaIleng
to a fight for control o. the organize
ton will be promptly ACCEPTED by tn
democrats who are anxious to place tn
party upon a strong. recognized. fight
ing basis for the campaign OF 1904
There is no longer = hope OF a com
promise.-Washington Post.