New-York tribune., 1903-06-29
THE LYNCHING OUTRAGE.
A Disgrace to the Fair Name Of America
Mob Spirit Threatening Nation.

To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: Every decent and intelligent American citi-
zen after reading The Tribune of this morning
giving an account of mob rule and mob demonstra-
tions in our neighbor State Of Delaware yesterday
committing rash deed, so heinous, atroclous par
harous and demonke, in lynching and burning at
the stake the negro White. almost the dictation
of white minister of Gods Gospel should feel
keen and burning sense of shame. The authorities
cannot excuse themselves for the beasty deed. for
while the lawless made forewarning demonstrations
that spoke only clearly their purpose and IN
tention and when the word given from the
pulpit no extra precautions taken to vndicate
the law And now. while they depIore and condemn
mob violence with their lips. they sanction it with
their hearts.
Mob violence is becoming popular. so wide
spread that now there is not a section of our
country that can itself from its brutal in
huence. To say the least. it is shame on the fair
name of America.
Scarcely have the voices of Americas statesmen
died away in ringing condemnation of the massacre
Of Russian Jews at Kishineff in the name of civil
lied and Christian America when deeds and prac
tees inhuman. more feroCious. are being per
petrated right at door. and in country where
every citizen stands equal before the law
No decent and fair thinking citizen would seek to
excuse a culprit. matter what his color in com
nlitting heinous and ferocious crime. for such
should be punished, and punished to the
limit the law, where there is eX-
tenuating circumstance; but let II be done
civilization and our rank among the civilized
powers of the earth. The law is sufficiently ample
in its scope TO cover by adequate punishment the
crime for which White lynched and burned at
the stake.
Why not let the law have its course and justice
be rneted out accordingly? In honest. sober judg
ment this mob spirit is threa tening the very
ton. Surely its disgrace and dshonor will but
make mockery abroad for which it
stands and lessen the honor of flag. which sym
| IN
any other quarter of the globe This abuse of the
power Of self-government, setting in defiance and
prostrating the law and every other rule of order
has gone far enough, and Ii is the duty of the
ton TO call halt on Judge Iynch. Judge Lynch
has his courts in all parts Of land stead
fastly increasing his kingdom and visiting his in
iquty upon the members of a helpless race To
lynch q man for horrible crime is bad enough in
itself but burn his body in a Christian land
where churches and schoohouses crown every hill
/ top is enough shock the conscience of Mooch
/ and make the coolest nature shudder.
The Tribune is 10 be complimented upon its able,
powerful and mastery condemnation of mob rule
in this country 1t is to such journals that We may
look for the accomplishment of the greatest good.
and II is dastardly criminal TO muzze them. as has
been attempted in the State OF Pennsylvania.
No pen can picture the wrongs inflicted upon the
negro for race hatred in America rises above re
fnement and culture religion and civilization. In
deed. in their ferocous warfare the negro they
repudate the sacred teachings of the Bible, upset
the Declaration of Independence and warp the Con-
stitution They rob him of the suffrage in the
South and in Alabama they declare he has no citi-
zenship. Such is the decree of the new olgarchy.
They chisel his rights down those of an idiot
minor, with the hard hesrtedness of a Pharaoh;
they shut the door of opportunity in his face; they
haunt and him with their prejudice. and then
out his unfitness and declare his inability
rise in the scale of civilization
In their eagerness TO bring indictments against
the negro for his alleged inability rise in the
scale of civilization independently and reach any
degree of perfection in self-government they skip
all the way Hayi and San Domingo in a wild
/ goose chase" locking for snakes, blunders. de-
bsuchery and corruption reasons why the negro
under the Stars and Stripes should be suppressed
and denied equal rights as equal sharer and par
tcipant in the affairs of the country under whose
flag he fought. bled and died nobiy. and under
whose government he lives.
The white owes much to the signal. sterling
elements Of character transmitted to him through
the long of inheritance through golden
eras. through the sunbeams and sunbursts of free
dom. What had the negro 10 inherit from damna-
bic state OF slavery except VcouSneSS degradation
and ignorance? The closer the relationship TO the
master class. in most instances. the deeper the dive
Of disgrace and he alone pear the bur
Cen and pay the penalty
FN-Presdent Grover Cleveland. evinced by his
speeches after Joining the Tilman school. declares
R1tn evident felicity the American negro very
vicious As statesman Mr. CleYelands cheek
Constitution OF mis- country is derided. over
ridden roughshod. nufed and its sovereignty set
in defiance by the vicious and INSCRIPTIONS of the
master race; mob violence alone in its brutal
and tgerlike ferceness and destructiVeness. that
ba destroyed human life than all bears
Veoives lions. Fanthers and tigers since the DAYS
guarantee his silence on the viciousness OF the
negro and the Kishinef massacre of the Russian
Jews. But while the negro Utters cry of COM