The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-07-09

I
/, I recall an Instance in my own prac-
! tice, about 1873 or 1874 when a negro
| committed three capital Offences In
an hour. burglary. ,rson and outrage
tim being an old lady OF high charac-
d e Of Is guilt upon him. and
brought to Raleigh over twenty miles
| panied by the son OF his victim. pro-
| secuted him before Jury composed OF
| twelve negroes, and he was convicted
! and hanged. know of no community
| in tho South or West whore such an
occurrence would be possible today.
| We are naturally sensitive in regard
| to the charge against the South aris-
| ing out OF instances of mob violence.
and we have sometimes rested the de-
Facts we are Obliged to Admit.
We cannot truthfully deny certain
yscsne have nos all
! eolored. but the great majority have
| been. This Is true in Northern as
| well as In Southern States. and race
| antagonism called forth generally Sby
crimes Of negroes is a powerful factor
| in arousing the passion of the popu-
lace both In North and South. 1t is
| only in the extreme Western and
| Northwestern States that a majority Of
| the victims are white or Chinese.
| While instances of lynching are by no
| means confined to the South by far the
| larger number of cases have occurred
t thste the negroes aa are chisny found in
! the South, and possibly partly to the
| temperament which more vigorously
resents wrong.
| tain to follow a cherge that the ac-
| cused is guilty of criminal assault or
| attempted assault, yet each year there
| have always been many more cases Tor
ot nnn 9ease the a9Fument in it's ea
cuse Is generally based.
| I have Just given the figures for
last year, twenty-one for assault and
/ attempted assault out OF 104. one-nfth
of the whole number.
we are also compelled to admit that
/ lynchings have sometimes been accom-
| panied by acts OF torture, negroes have
has been prolonged and there have
| been savage mutilations. both before
| and after death. These fortunes have
sometimes been inflicted upon women
| and in the Nesence of a mixed CROWD
including yoang persons.
On Tuesday, June 2Sth the Associat-
ed Press dispatches report that
negro was arrested charged WIN y as.
tim, a girl Of 16 adjusted the moose
about his neck and led the horse from
beneath the wretch: thus acting i ~
his executi eai., The horror of this
| Is DeyOn0 WOrQSl
| Laws ADEQUATE and Punishment Sure
We cannot honestly claim that oui
laws are Inadequate to deal with crime
| nor that the courts are partial TOWARDS
| negroes accused of crime. NO reHa-
| BILE instance can be given for many
| years in which negro accused OF the
| murder of q white man, or assault upon
a white woman and proven by legi,i-
| mate and sufficient evidence to DC
guilty, has been acquitted =
Nor are there very serious delays III
the administration of justice except
| the usual appeal to the Supreme Court
nor frequent pardons or other excuses
sometimes given as justification foi
Only Excuse for Lynching.
In the history of States occasions
| sometimes arise when the safety OF
the community seems to demand heroic
measures. "Salus populi suprema lex
One cannot wholly condemn the worh
of the Vigilance Committee In Sar
Francisco, soon after the discovery 0,
gold in California The city was prac
tically under the control of the crimi'
nal classes and murderers and gam
blers rode rough-shod over the inefii'
| Client coures, and debauched the ad
ministration of justice. When tht
evil became unbearable ana tne Vers
| foundations of society seemed TO b'
threatened. determined men formed ;
Vigilance Committee, arrested the evi
doors, gave them as fair trial as wa
possible under the excitement, and ;
short shrift with the rope. TIL
remedy was a severe one. but the ruiz
Of the criminal and gambler was at al
end. The committee did not long con
tinue to act from high motives. III
members fell under suspicion and II
reign ceased.
In more recent days, when the fail
ure of justice in New Orleans demon
strated that the juries were eithe
terrorized or bribed, and the drea'
power of the Malta was exhibited ever
| In the halls of justice. when verde
was rendered which apparently showe'
| that the law as administered wa
| powerless to protect society. citizens
usually law-abiding. courageous mel
| who were not afraid of the power o
an imported criminal secret society, ant
who were determined to crush con
4 spiracy which set at defiance all law
deliberately put to death men wh'
ought Justly to have been convicted o
murder, but who has been acquitted
As perilous as this expedient was. IT,
effects were Statutory and New Orleans
| escaped peril Any justihcation OF
excuse OF this is not strictly logical
admit. but we must take into con
sideration the character and motives
of the participants.
We cannot be inadvertent to the seri
Gus danger incurred by such Violation
of the law and usurpation of the pow
ers of a court but sometimes an oc
L
safety seems to lie only in that direc
ton.
Courts Do Not Fail to Punish.
No excuse of this kind can be truth
fully given for the exercise of mol
| law In any section of the South. Their
is today no county In any Southern
, State in which there Is the slightes
danger that a colored criminal will b.
acquitted by jury for any offence TO
which a lynching Is possible, IL tn
evidence shall warrant conviction
| Far greater Is the danger, here as else
where. that an influential or wealth,
citizen charged with homicide, shall b
improperly acquitted. Criminals o
this kind need never fear the fury o
the mob.
Tc repeat, after any unprejudice'
Investigation ! think 1t will be foun
that these facts remain beyond cavi
on contradiction: Lynching Is still pre-
, violent IN the South, less so than 1t ha
been. but still much more so than II
, Northern and Western States; 1t is de
, cidedly less in Alabama than in TIL
, nelghboriug States. In the South TIL
victims are usually. but not always
colored, and race prejudice or racia
antagontsm enters strongly as facto
, in all States. The crime charged 1
frequently criminal assault upon wo
: men, but much more frequently HON
! icide. In quite a number OF Instance
the offense charged is a minor crime
! assault. robbery. sometimes threats o
insolence. Each year there are case
.. OF mistaken identity. Sometimes tn
Executions are attended with torture