The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-06-27
SOME NoRrHERN coMMENTs.

Pittsburg (Pa.) Post:
 The lynching of a negro in Wilmington, DsL, by burning him at the, stake and riddline his corpse with bullets for the self-confessed most heinous assault upon an unprotected girl. which resulted in her death had more of provocaton than the hanging of the negro murderer of a school principal in Belleville. H.. but the closeness of the parallel with the punish ment and crimes in Southern States can not escape notice Essays on the domi- nance of civil authority as the indispensa- ble element of civilized government need only under great provocation do. the American people forget their own laws and their spirit. It will not do to incor- some fantastic cataloguing preserved from war times nor is it quite weighty to ascrihe the lawless act to the influence of Addicksism, for in Illinois such a state of perverted morals does not exist It was spasmodic fury meting out the an cient code and. wrong as 1t was. it should deter the assailants of woman's honor and also lessen the fanatical tirades upon the Southern whites.
 We agree with The Post that respect for the lay is basic idea with the American people, but there are occasions and circumstances when that idea is for gotten or held In abeysnce, and it is the same in widely separated sections of the Union. The Milwaukee Free Press, ip its account of the affair uses these head lines: Terrible Vengeance Wrecked on Negro in Delaware proves human nature to be the same whether it be manifested in the North or the South" and in the course of its account it declares that Mason and Dixon's line is wiped cut" and adds:
 In the presence of the quite unspeak- able crime, human nature North and human nature South Is seen to be the same sort of thing-terrible, furious, re- morseless.
 Both these papers speak facts. Under great provocation" the spirit of the white man acts in like manner North or South. Sermons may be preached and essays may be written in condemnation of lynch ing. but just as surely as effect, follows cause in the operations of nature just so surely will white men, North and South, avengs such brutal crimes as this in Del aware. Whether we refer to 1t as 'the | ancient code or by any other term the fact remains that the same results will follow, whether in the warm South or tho more frigid North.
 To find the remedy is of much greater importance than Is speculating on the cause or in reasoning from cause to eff feet. Certainly all law-abiding people, all good people, all who hold the honor of our women as a jewel above all price, will unite in the wish that this horrible and unpardonable crime may be sup pressed ,or prevented, but how? We can not solace ourselves with The Posts in timation that such swift and horrible ven- geance as was meted out to George White will deter the assailants on woman's honor" That these events, occurring in the North may lessen the fanatlcai ti- rades upon the Southern whites we hope is true, but that does not answer the ever present. question of preventing outrages like that of White. We note in this con nection that The Minneapolis Journal, discussing this affair credits a Mississippi Congressman with the statement that there has not been a single outrage of this nature committed in his State since the negroes were virtually disfranchised, and The Journal learns that the same is said of Alabama, and adds that If this IS true 1t will be a credit for the new l system" etc.
 Whether The Post or The Journal Is cor rect can only be determined by future ] results. In the meanwhile we repeat what we have more than once said-that the one remedy which promises good re- suits Is that a negro accused of this crime shall have a speedy trial. The fact that the judge before whom White would have been tried postponed the case till September afforded the people the excuse they wanted. We may not take 1t as a defence of their act but certainly the fear that the negro would not be convicted and punished was the one spark needed to start an irresistible conflagration. The Judge may have been conscientious and may have acted for the best, but it can hardly be denied that his action precipi- tated the lynching.
 Outrages compitted on white women ] by negroes is one crime the white people of this country will punishvlegally, if it can be done. but the punishment is sure | 10 come. Nothing will prevent lynchngs but justice, prompt and inexorable Those | NiiNp HIOSS iAihOS ioS pSCh COlhilltltu lllc duty of punishing and preventing crime have grave responsibility resting on them. It will be. well if they execute jus tice so promptly and so impartially that there will no longer be excuse or defence for mob law in the minds Or hearts of l the American people. And in line with these comments The Chicago Daily News has an editorial headed When Justice Lags" showing how the people werc wrought up by the postponement of the | trial adding:
 Until the court anpoanced its decision to postpone the trial the people of Will mington seem to have been contents to | abide by the law and conduct themselves suppose that il an early trial had been ordered they would have let the.law take its course. Their laWless action demands the sternest condemnation, but the re- sponsibility of the judge should not be overlooked.
 The Indianapolis Sentinel Is candid, to say the least of it. Referring to the re- peated adAice from Southern people that the North let the South alone. The Senti uel says:
 We are quite willing to do so, so far as the Souths part of the problem is con- cened, but v6e beg to remind MT. Howell that the North has contracted something of C negro problem of it's owp There are d number of points Tn the North al which the people are discussing What iS the nl fF do NNFifh