The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1903-07-02
The FRUIT OF MOB Law
Boys and Girls Play at Lynch
ing In Belleville, Mo.
POLICEMEN PRESENT.

New Game Has Taken It's Place with
Kites ana rops-Imasinary Mayor
Gives order Not 10 Harm Imagi-
nary Mob, and an Imaginary Hang
ing FolIows-Fire Contributes REAL
istic Touch.
/ A new game has been added to the
catalogue OF sports Of the children Of
Belleville, Mo-, says the st. Louis Post
Dispatch 1t is the game Of lynch
ling" For the time being it has crowd
Ell out baseball and Jackstones. being
vastly more exciting. and, If continued
until fan, promises to deprive Of some
OF its prestige the gam4 Of football
The children Of the town, deducing
from the light aud airy manner in
which many Of their elders refer to the
| lynching OF the negro Wyatt on the
public square that the game is a proper
and credltable one and deriving from
the studied inactivity Of the authori-
/ ties the assurance that 1t is perfectly
safe, have entered into the game with
zest. and many Of them have become
adept at it.
II the game takes its place on the
years calendar Of sports and lynch
ing time recurs with the same regu-
larity as 'Site time and "top time
the children win by the time they are
grown be quite faeile as lynchers
The game starts with the intended
victim, generally a boy, crouehing in
the weeds in q make believe cell In an
| imaginary jail, The lynchers boys
and girls, gather Under The nearest
electric light and VOW with great fe-
roeity that 'the niger must die"
/ With shouts as hoarse as they can
make them the youngsters make a rush
! for the make believe Jail and dance
| about it with an imitation Of fury even
| more realistic than that Of the crowd
/ which surrounded the Belleyille Jail a
| few weeks ago.
| Make believe policemen hang about
/ but make no attempt TO dispense the
mob.
"A At4HtAE 0NAiNfE AtAAAs Ma Attt4NtV' 4
speech studded with terrible adiec
tlyes, Immediately following which a
rush is made and the make believe
front door Of the imaginary jail i
broken ia. The mob is driven back by
an imaginary force Of defenders, The
desperate mob withdraws a pace and
confers.
The consensus Of opinion is that the
bastile can't be taken because the de-
tenders have weapons filed with inju
rious bullets, and they are all agreed
that, while they are bent on killing tht
prisoner they don't want 70 run any
risk in doing SO,
Some try to convince the others thai
the authorities are their friends ant
would not harm them for the world
but still they hesitate After an imagi
nary wait Of several hours a bold spiri
) creeps close up under the walls Of th'
Jail and comes running back in grea
joy
ITS all right, fellersw he shouts
'rrhe mayor has given orders to til,
guards that they are not to hurt as
i Our revenge is at hand. Sheath"
They shout hoarsely and again rusl
upon the Jail. The guards are locked
in the imaginary Office and the bacl
door is not defended. They break it il
J with imaginary sleage hammers. an(
, in a little while the victim Is pounceC
upon and dragged down the imaginary
steps and out on the street.
Emulating the real mob, they are no
content merely to take him to q tele
graph pole and complete the imagina
ny hanging They pull and haul hin
, over the sidewalk and street, shouting
merrily the while. 1t is such fun thai
by this time they have forgotten to bt
! fierce.
Finally the victim is pronounced
dead, and a piece Of paper is set on fire
to give the proper realism to the finish.
Then they imagine it is the next day
! and the leaders so around imaginary
+ street corners telling what part they
, took Ia the make believe lynehing
] The game ends with the make be
lieye authorities reposing on a near b.
/ lawn, complaining that they cannot as
certain the names Of the lynehers ant
languidly announcing that they vii
call the attention Of the grand jury Il
) the lynching next year.