Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1903-08-18
CONDEMNS MOB LAW.
President Roosevelt Writes to Gov.
Durham of Indiana on Lynching.

Durham of Indiana on Lynching.
A letter written by President Roose-
welt to Gov Durbin of Indiana COM
mending the action of the Indiana execu-
tive in regard to lynehing and severely
condemning mob law has been made pub
lie. The President says lynching is only
one form of anarchy and anarchy is the
handmaiden and forerunner of tyranny
He says when atrocious crimes have been
committed justice should be swift and
sure, thus taking away any excuse for
mob violence.
President Roosevelt says the growth of
lynching in this country is alarming. He
declares that atrocious crimes of colored
men are crimes against their own race
most of all and should be condemned by
their own race. He continues:
Men who have been guilty of crime
like rape or murder should be visited
with swift and certain punishment and
the just effort made BY the courts to pro-
tect them in their rights should under no
circumstances be perverted into permit
ting any mere technicality to avert or
delay their punishment. The substantial
of course, be guaranteed, as you have so
justly insisted that they should be. but
subject TO this guaranty, the Law must
work swiftly and surely and all the
agents of the law should realize the
wrong they do when they permit justice
to be delayed or thwarted for technical
or insufficient reasons. We must show
that the law is adequate to deal with
h. - loo
of technicality and delay.
''This matter of lynching would be a
terrible thing even if it stopped with the
lynching of men guilty of the inhuman
and hideous crime of rape. but as mat
ter of fact lawlessness of this type never
does stop mad never can stop in such
fashion. Every violent man in the com
munity is encouraged by every case of
lynching in which the lynchers go I'M
punished to himself take the law into his
own hands whenever it suits his own con-
venience In the same way the use of
torture by the mob in certain cases is
sure to spread until it is applied more
or less indiscriminately in other cases.
The spirit of lawlessness grows with
what it feeds on and when mobs with
impunity lynch criminals for one cause
they are certain to begin to lynch real
or alleged criminals for other causes,
Surely no patriot can fail to see the
fearful EQUALIZATION and debasement
which the indulgence of such a spirit and
such practices inevitably portends. Sure
~ all public men, all writers for the daily
press, all clergymen, all teachers, all who
In any way have a right to address the
public, should with every energy unite
TO support those engaged in putting them
down. As a people we claim the right
to sneak with peculiar emphasis for free
dom and for fair treatment of all men
without regard TO differences of race, for
tune, creed or color We forfeit the right
to speak when we commit OF condone
such crimes as these of which i speak.
The nation. like the individual. can
not commit crime with impunity. If
we are guilty of lawlessness and brutal
violence, whether our guilt consists in
active participation therein or in mere
conniyance and encourag ement, we shall
assuredly suffer later on because of what
we have done. The corner stone of this
republic. as of all free governments, is
respect for and obedience to the law.
Where we permit the law to be defed
or evaded. whether by rich man or poor
man, by black mau or white we are by
just so much weakening the bonds of
our civilization and increasing the
chances of its overthrow and of the sub
stitution therefor of a system in which
there shall be violent alterations of an
archy and tyranny"