Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1904-10-06
The CRIME OF LYNCHlNG.

Centenary M. Z. Church, South, at Chat
tanooga, Tenn. His subject was Lynch
ing" and bis text was from First John
ill.,, 4: whatsoever committeth sin trans
gresseth also the law; for sin is the trans
erosion of the law"
At the opening of the sermon Mr..
French referred to the fact that at the
South: "The papers have for the most
part spoken plainly, many of the judges
have not hesitated 10 express themselves
in very clear language; but the Southern
pulpit has remained silent" He says
that he had been waiting for some other
preacher to take the initiative, but as no
one had done so be decided to make the
start. He then proceeds to discuss the
causes of this great crime that has been SO
seriously affecting moral conditions in our
section and undermining it's civilization.
He asserted that:
II believe it is owing to existing condi-
tons that lynching is more common in the
South than elsewhere. 1t lie certainly not
due to any unusual amount of inherent
goodness or holiness in other sections, for,
with conditions not as propitious, it occurs
ever and anon there. We shall have to
go back of sectional prejudice, racial an
tagonsms and all such things to get at the
bottom of the cause,
"There are more negroes in the South
than elsewhere. Many of them are good
citizens and deserve great consideration
because of what they have made them=
selves. Many of them have not only suc'
ceeded financially, but are living upright,
moral lives and are proving q blessing to
their race. Taking all things into considT
Grafton, Booker Washington is one of
Americas great men. But a great num-
Der of bis race are not good citizens, nor
do they lead even moral lives.
Scattered population is another condl-
ton contributing to lynching. We are
still farming people, living for the most
part in the country and small town.
Mr.. French then refers to the laws de-
lay and the publicity Of trials for The un-
mentionable crime as contributing causes,
and then climaxes by saying;
"3ut there is another still deeper, the
bottom cause of all; the one which applies
to every community and every lyncher,
VIZ: The Aawlessness Inherent in Man. l"
The preacher then elaborated this idea
of the lawlessness inherent in man. He
said, "Here is the real cause of lynching.
Scratch a Russian and you'll find a
Tartar they say. Scratch man deep
enough and you'll find q savage. Civiliza-
ton has put veneer on us, but it hasn't
made US over 4"
Blight here Mr.. French, perhaps, struck
the primal, the real cause of this peculiar
form of lawlessness at the South. Our
civilization may probably have never been
real. The veneering was possibly refined
barbarism, to say the most. Could there
be true Christian civilization in country
where the institution of slavery existed,
and where it was upheld and defended by
the Church? We proclaimed to the world
that We had republican form of govern
ment, and in our Declaration of lndepen-
dence declared:
1--WE hold these truths to be self evil
dent: That all men are created equal,
that they are endowed by their Creator
with certain unalienable rights; that
among these are life, liberty and the pur-
suit of happiness"
In conflict with our claimed Christian
civilization and our republican form of
government, millions of human beings,
created by God, were held in the CALLING
chains of slavery. They had no Liberty"
and could make no pursuit Of happiness.
They were chatte.s, and their lives, hsppis |
ness and chastity we're absolutely as much |
at the mercy of their masters as were the
dogs and horses thei. masters owned.
During the MANY years that the traffic in
human flesh went on at the South, the
people became largely indoctrinated with
the belief that negroes were specially cree
ated for slaves, to be beasts of burden for
the white man. This gave them pecu-
mary value and to that extent their lives
were precious; but the fundamental prin-
clple Of Christian CIVILIZATION, the Drother-
hood of man, was completely subverted.
The white men of the South in the days
Of slavery were law unto themselves 30
far as the slaye was concerned, and that is
the cause of their wanting now to be law
unto themselves 40 far as the freed negro
s concerned. The life that was regarded
30 lightly then is regarded lightly now.
That the thought Of today is very largely
What the thought then was, is proved by
he fact that such men as Tillman, Varda-.
nan and jeff Davis, Of Arkansas, are rec
,gnized as leaders and directors of public
bought and action in their sections. We
1.;t 49, f,xoo IF fho confan3ion nf Mr. I