The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1904-08-22

mob We're not our best citizens" but
were irresponsible boys and young
men, many from other counties, who,
under the excitement, were drawn in
TO the current and joined the crowd
without taking time for a deliberate
thought.
That many Of our best men urged
the agitators to desist and to allow the
law to proceed in its course, is a fact.
This was true from the very day when
the cOroneT's investigation was begun
until the final hour when the mob was
surging around the Court House. A
meeting of the citizens was held in the
Court House on Saturday following
Thursday night when the crime was
committed, and many of us made con-
ciliatory speeches, urging that the law
be permitted to deal with the case,
and pleaded for our county to be spar
ed the humiliation of a lynching. In
that meeting the entire bar of States
boro went on record in no uncertain
terms as being opposed to lawlessness,
and believe that every member of the
bar has acted in good faith. Merchants
spoke at the meeting, as did a number
of other citizens, and two or three
leading negroes were permitted to ex-
press their views of the situation,
and everyone pledged himself to do all
in his power to bring the guilty par
ties to justice and al the same time
uphold the majesty of the law.
For two hours. on the day of the
burning while the mob was clamoring
for the prisoners, many of US moved
from one portion of the mob to another
begging, urging, pleading with the men
to desist from their course. Among the
men who thus made a personal plea to
the members of the mob in behalf of
order and law. were the Judge of the
court, the mayor of the town, various
members of the bar and military the
judge of our city court, a number of
our merchants, and other business men,
and a large number of cool-headed,
conservative farmers, and all urged and
begged that the law be permitted to
take its course. Rev. H A. Hodges, a
brother of the murdered man. was pres
ent, and did all in his power to avert
the lynching
Bulloch county is known as one Of the
best counties in Georgia. Statesboro is
noted for it's good schools, its churches,
its business enterprises and the moral
ity of its citizens. Along these lines, /
daresay no town of its size, North or
South, surpasses 1t, and but few equal
1t. In the face of this fact, it is hardly
reasonable to suppose that even a ma
1ority-much less the whole, as is re-
ported in the North-of the substantial
citizens, the bone and fiber of the COM
munity participated in or sympathized
with the lynching of these negroes
whom the law had already condemned
Now, in conclusion. will say that l
have just been reading the infamma-
tory utterances of the Northern press
concerning this deplorable act. They
do not simply condemn the act.
would have no quarrel with them if
they would stop there. Nor do they
simply condemn those who participated
in the act. l would sanction their CEN
sure Of the lynchers. those who did the
deed. But they do not stop here. They
censure the entire people, good and
bad, the whole community. the whole
South. They use this occurrence as
text to give us a lecture on the negro
question. In my Judgment, such utter
ances as / have seen from the North
ern press are unwise and many of them
untrue. They tend to injure rather
than help conditions in the South.
We people of the South make our
mistakes, and sometimes, we confess,
they are grievous. But our brethren
at the North, before lecturing us. must
wash their hands of the blood of those
innocent negroes, whom their own SOL
diers not so long ago wantonly shot
down in cold blood for no offense save
a desire to do honest work
We are willing to be lectured, and.
If needs be, once In q while abused
by people who themselves bear a clean
record. But so long as lynchings and
lawlessness, riotings and strikes hold
sway with such frequency at the
North, we ask in fairness and jus
tice that these vile epithets and un-
warranted denunciations of an entire
people for the shortcomings of a few
be abandoned I for one regret more
than I can tell the recent lamentable
occurrence in our county, but our
people as a whole do not need, nor
do we deserve the wholesale abuse
that is floating down from the North.
Let the wise help and counsel us,
we need it; let the Christians pray
for us we need IT, let the loving sym
pathize with us, we need It; but as for
those who would stir up strife, make
divisions, infiame passions and preju-
dices, and incite to further violence.
we beg. nay, we command that all
such be silent.