The Tupelo journal., 1904-05-20
A Mares Nest.

H
the Commercial Appeal seems to
have a strong penchant for find
ing mares nests. His location is
supposed to be the "head center"
Of all that is authoritative and
regular in the way of current items
and they are given out with an APP
pearance of authority that, with
the un,nitiated, precludes all doubt
as to their authenticity ..and COR
rectness. Last Saturday it was
sent out from this Source that the
negroes were fleeing in focks from
the state because the new vagrant
law was being vigorously enforced.
10 this enforcement of a salutary
law was added the white-capper
humbuggery that is pretended to
so '.tarrify" the negroes down in
the piney woods that the saw mills
can't get hands to run them. Many
Of them have shut up and quit bu-
siness. This mares nest we believe
| exists more in the imagination
| than it does in solid fact and we
doubt very much if there is an egg
in it that will ever hatch.
The statement that the negroes
are leaving the state because the
vagrancy law is being executed
Will not bear washing. In the rub
bling necessary to this trial it's col
or would certainly fade and its
| fabric be torn into shreds. We do
not believe that a single negro has
left the state because of the reason
assigned, except it be a vagrant
who left In order to evade the pro-
cess Of the law. Up here in Lee
county, in our towns and villages,
as we'll as in the country precincts,
there is now being made = vigor-
Gus execution of the law and we
have yet to hear of a single instance
of a negro leaving the country be-
cause Of it. Of all people who cling
to localities the negro clings clio
sest and manifests greater aver
Sion to going away. The trouble
is generally found IN getting the
vicious and law-breaking negroes
to leaye their haunts. The magis
trate courts all show that the names
of confirmed criminals of that race
appear on their dockets with reg
u~larity for year after year. Occa-
sionally one may be run out; but
it is generally the criminal who is
charged, but not yet convicted,
who absconds. The culprit who
has been punished cares nothing
for the odium which attaches and,
in nearly every case, stays about
his old haunts until he falls into
crime again.
If this correspondent is right IN
his statements about such great
numbers Of negroes leaving the
state as to cause many saw mills
to close their business it certainly
exposes a bad state of affairs down
in the piney woods. But we don't
believe that the vaqrancy law has
anything to do with it and don't
believe these bad conditions exist.
Last week we had in our city a
large number of bankers from that
region and many of them address
ed the Bankers Association, then
in session here, on the state Of af-
fairs in their various LOCALITIES. Ev-
cry one of them spoke IN glowing
terms of the prosperity which ev-
cry branch of industry down there
is enjoying now. Not one of them
uttered a word that could cast a
shadow over the brilliant rainbow
which they painted. Not a syllable
was uttered that could discolor a
single hue of the bright arch that
spans the heavens over them. Not
one Of them told of labor being so
hard to get that the saw mills
couldn't be run right along as they
have been. Not one of them refer
leu W buO WuloC odPPOiS VI o"AN I"
word about the vagrancy law
These representative men know all
about business and labor condi-
tons around them. We prefer to-
take their statements to the IN:
considered reports that the jackson
correspondent sends out.
Such stuff as is sent out on this
subject from this source is calcu,
lated to work great injury to II
state. We have no law on u stat
ute books that would run good
negro out of the state. We have
many Migrants that the state can
well afford to get rid Of. But the
vagrancy law will put them to-
work and the state will get some
thing out of them. W. don't want
such silly stuff al is always ema-
mating from Jackson to 60 unre-
buked and we take pleasure in en-
tering our protest against it. The
warrant law is a good law and will