The Savannah morning news., 1904-09-30
NOT THE REAL CAUSE.

bar of Rome, Ga. and a prominent
and influential man in North Georgia,
in a letter to Judge George L. Hillyer
of Atlanta, published in the Constitu-
ton of that city. gives it as his opin-
ion that the chief reason for lynching
is the delay in furnishing criminals. In
the course of his letter he says: I'm
til our mserably constructed system
of criminal procedure is corrected there
will be no remedy for this terrible ten
dency towards anarchy. This
failure of justice and this uncertainty
of results in the courts has caused the
plain people to revolt against the
whole system, and to look upon it
with contempt"
We don't think Mr.. Neel has put his
finger on the sore spot. 1t is true
there is complaint of the laws delay,
but if that were the real cause of the
lynchings the mob would lynch white
criminals as well as black ones. But
are white criminals lynched? Seldom.
Yet there are white criminals and
some pretty bad ones.
Were not Cato and Reed, the vic
Tins of the Statesboro mob, promptly
tried, convicted and sentenced? Was
there doubt in anybody's mind that
they would be executed on the day
fixed in their sentences? As a matter
of fact the plot to lynch them was
formed before they were tried Can it
L. i
delay in bringing them to Justice? And
vet they were lynched, burned at the
stake and why? Not that justice
might be done, but that a desire for
vengeance might be gratified.
And what about the Talbotton case?
The negroes arrested in that case on
the charge of being members of
Before Day club" were released be-
cause there was no evidence whatever
against them. A hackload of the sort
of men who are leaders of lynching
mobs followed them, but, failing to
OVertake them. shot two other negroes,
inoffensive negroes, whom they met
on the high way. They wanted to hurt
somebody and so they vented their de-
sire for blood on these two negroes.
In this case there was no failure of
the courts to administer justice
promptly, but the mob spirit desired
victims and sought them.
There is just as many delays in
in which there are few, if any, lynch
ings as there is in this or any other
state in which there are many lynch
ings. but there is no element in those
states which is ready to become law
less in order to crafty desire for
vengeance. And we are sure the bet
ter element of the people of this state,
although it may think there is too
much delay in the punishment of
criminals. isn't the element that en-
those who take the law into their own
hands.
The real remedy is not greater haste
in criminal trials and the execution of
criminal sentences. but the making of
the element that is responsible for the
lylCHingS respect the law. HOW is
that to be done? Either by educating
that element to knowledge of danger
there is in it's disregard of the
law oraby holding it to an accounta-
bility for its crimes. We have no doubt
that if the lynchers in a single case
were punished as the law provides
lynchings would cease with startling
suddenness. But, in order to secure
the punishment of lynchers the people
who make public sentiment in a COM
munity must take a firm stand against
lynchings and lynchers. Why not give
this remedy a trial? The result will
determine whether or not 1t is effec-
tive. Let the men of Mr.. Neers
standing come forward and see to it
that the law is enforced against
lynchers, and there will be less cause
to complain of the laws delay as the
cause of lynchings.