Milford chronicle., 1903-09-25
EVERY LYNCHER 20
b IS A MURDERER"
Delaware Chief Justice Scores Mob
That Burned White.
ASKS FOR THEIR PUNISHMENT
. ssa.4'-.1ss.. - -.r..2.r- y


Wilmington, Del. Sept. 21. - The
iynching of George White, the negro
murderer of Miss Helen Bishop. on
June 20 last. formed the text Of a spe-
cial charge to the grand jury OF the
Newcastle county general sessions
court by Chief Justice Lore. After
detailing the facts of the lYnching, the
chief justice said:
mo good citizen, we are persuaded.
can regard the lynching OF George
White in any other light than as bru-
tai crime. and as a fragrant violation
of law. The immediate effect of the
lynching was deplorable. 1t involved
not only the death of White. but also
that of the little Italian boy, who was
another victim of the lawless act. For
q time the authority of the law was
defed, and at one time it looked as if
there would be a war of races. The mi
litia were placed under arms.
Gentlemen, in this country we make
the laws; they are our will formally
expressed. 1t is the duty of every good
man to obey the law himself and to
see that it is obeyed by others as far as
he may. Lynching is a crime against
the law of both God and man. Every
Wilful participant in such an act is a
murderer No man has a right to COM
NIT that crime because he believes or
fears that some other person who is
entrusted with the execution of the law
will fail. or has failed in the perform
Rnce of his duty. can conceive of no
more dangerous social or civic condi-
tion than mob rule The mob in its mad
ness makes no distinction in the sub
5ect of its wrath. It's excuse may be
a brutal crime, or it may be difference |
in religious or political sentiment or
any other fancy or whim that the
caprice, humOr or passion of the mo-
ment may suggest. Recklessly human /
life Is taken, property is destroyed and I
law and order overthrown. In such |
scenes the innocent suffers alike with .
the guilty; ruin and devastation mark .
the track of the mob. There is no rule I
or reason in the onsweep of the mad
dened masses. There is no gauge by
which the ravages of a mob may be
measured.
"Once admit that the law may be de-
fed with impunity, there is an end of
civil government. There is no room for
both mob law and tribunals Of justice
IN self-governing communities. The
domination of one involves the extinc-
tion Of the other. Either the mob must
submit to the law or the law must sub
NIT to the will of the mob
There must be government or no
government. The line of cleavage is
clear. On the one hand We have lib
eTty regulated by law, with fixed rules
and established tribunals for the pres
eTYation of life, liberty and property;
on the other hand we have anarchy and
social chaos with no rule or guide, save
the tickle will of enraged men, who in
lawless wrath recklessly and indiscrim-
inately sweep away every barrier Of
safety in civic. social and political life.
On the one hand is law, order and Sc
eurity; on the other is lawlessness.
disorder and ruin, in which no interest
Is safe and in which no one can pre-
dict what day may bring forth.
hSA%AUhSAt you are every one OF
you conservators of the peace. 1t is not
Only your duty to act fearlessly and
honestly upon all such matters as may s
be laid before you on the part of the
state, but it is your duty to lmpart to /
The attorney general and to your fell {
ow-members all such knowledge as q
nay have come to you touching the S
Of the law within your juris- I
iiction. 7
"In obedience to your oath and to +
'our duty to your state, we ask you to F
10 act that the crime Of lynching may 7
'e suppressed in this state, so far as
" your action mat end may be at O
aimed, and that the perpetrators of t
his crime and the authors Of the dis n
race that has come upon us through l,
heir crime will be dealt with accord h
ng to their just merits" fl
No indictments in the lynching case n
ave yet been returned. r,
RARnTMAV HInBnMa BE-H1ate a.