The Meeker herald., 1904-12-24
M litia and Mobs
BY PHINEAs FLETCHER.

that the militia Of these states are In
efficient and afraid to do their duty. The
maintained and in considering the aue.-
tlon there are many surrounding condi-
tons. that do not present themselves TOE
The situation is one that is not gen
orally Understood by persons VII, Who ,h haze
age Southern military organization. In
the first place the Impression that the
all men who live In the South is far
from correct. and there is a strong senti-
ment against the form of hasty Justice
space In the press. In some communities
a lynching law would no more be pos
heart OF Boston. but in others the wave
of crime seems TO be raging and ~
most frequent appearance Is In the COM
mites that are Isolated. that lynchings
appear to be on the Increase. These
% r.S hn f se'f few Sf
them have any Of amy kind and y y
more frequently true than otherwise that
the lynching Is done before 1t Is posi-
BILE to get troops upon the scene and the
impression must not be allowed to grow
that the militia does not prevent t, many
has been prevented by the presence OF
the militia in these two states. that are
amount of adverse. criticism. are too
numerous to be mentioned and when this
turn OF affairs takes place the space WrN-
about mentioning the fact, and the pup-
lie hears nothing OF it. lnstances IKE
the stntesboro affatr are rare. ana nors nau
Differed 1t would not have occurred.
1t is not just to charge all the offcers
10 express - mildly. that characterize"
the conduct of the officers In charge OF
the troops at statesbSro: The co ,,t,,a 1n
these states Is far different from that
which surrounds the officer OF the he. North Ssrn
m max ~ sen Of the mob Is diTerent. and
the Northern section Of the country the
crime of rape is almost unknown. There
in the virtue and purity of nations
women and the rapist Inns no apoloEiaSs
wh9 would dare lla face pn pnden amy
is usually committed in the South by a
out Of ON" one hundred cases. a white WON.
an. So common has u become that many
farmers are abandoning comlortaD.o
homes on prosperous farms in the coun-
try and removing the!- wives and dau9n-
tiers to the towns for safety and protec-
tlon.
The men who make up the militia are
Just az much opposed to the crime OF
rape as the men who seek to avenEo it
by Iynching. and the militiaman feels
that that 1t Is as mTen q, crime the mob no who
trying to wreak Its vengeance on the
criminal who is being E1ard sda MTps
lives OF negro criminals nre saved. but
then comes the laws delays and the ter
rible ordeal Of the public trial on when aa
of tho world. repeat the details that are
enough to drive any self-respecting wom-
At this hour in n country. jail in Geor-
gia there Is negro criminal awaiting
trial under an Indictment for pr rape ,ps nl ns
ence of an active and efficient militia.
The identification of the criminal was
S GIs psiit " bS. the ons Witness that il
necessary to Insure MS conviction Is the
victim herself. and since the preparation
of the crime, overcome by mortinchtlon.
terror and shock, she has become insane
and is now an inmate OF an asylum ana
may never become phys cn,,rt or to aia in
melting out Justice to her assailant This
Is Just one OF the things that help TO
The mob in the East is organized! for
different purpose It has at us hea n,
9hst eIese sRs OF Of Blood and
stinct that exists between the men OF
the mob and the men OF the militia T 1hs
North and East are brought about by
labor troubles. and there is not II great
deal OF sympathy OF any ,o K'h me men OF
the militia are rarely of the same WE
as the men in the mob and no sentim at
the men likely to become involved in
labor troubles In the East Is by the
very spirit of his organization made an
opponent of the militia ana its exist
ence-
South are the men WIG followed Lee
md n' ken nd ,n nsIa sr and hair FED
and hnif clothed. fought with deter
mination that has commnndcd me IA.
EXISTS to-day, and the same high.strung.
excitnhle natures are to be found In the
them them have not forgotten how to fight.
mob composed of men of this tyne
than a mob made up OF hall 1,,; ssarVe 20
find who has dash. determination an"
The whole South is beginning to real
ize that the question is a most serious
one and the pres. is doing all in its
power to bring about some Improvement.
will he slow to realize that lynching must
stop and when questioned as 90 whsnn
frankly tell you that they will stop lynch
ing when negroes stop committing tho
crime of rape on defenseless women
And the terrifying feature OF the s'tua.
ton is that rape Is not decreasing and
the number of calls for the militia arc
steadily on the increase the ecn nil nd VII
do their duty, but the unfortunate fea-
ture of the average iynehlng is that the
fore the militia is ordered out and its
work IL frequently hastened by tho
knowledge that the militia Is ABOUT 70 DO
called upon to defend the person OF the
accused.
The efficiency OF militia against mobs
is always an uncertain quantity and care
should be exercised by the executors OF
states in which the services of the militia
are in frequent demand to place on duty
in dangerous places commands from sec
lions remote from the scene Of the crime
and the ncighborhood In which the mob
II formed. There is little satisfaction to
be obtained by the militia officer that
fires Into a mob. II fatalities result there
IL an immediate charge of brutality and
the mob is described orderly ars
scmhlagc without serious intention and
the officer becomes the object of abuse
and IL not infrcuucntly obliged to sufYef
the indignity OF Il trial for granddaughter.
The militiamsn sent to force mob
North or South has no pleasant duty be-
fore him ard II takes "A man whose de-
termination and devotion to duty 10
stronger than tina. o! the average man
to face his duty and perform II fai,n-
fully.
The first duty of the public and the