Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1904-10-25

He stood trial and was acquitted and
was entitled to fair, impartial trial
again.
Now, held court down here at
Florence and there were two parties
charged with rape, who had been
transferred to the state penitentiary.
for safe-keeping, and the grand jury
returned a true bill for attempt to
commit rape, and they had to be
sent for Mr.. Burch, the sheriff Of the
county, told him I was going to have
those parties brought back for trial
and safe-keeping, and I was not go
ing to have any military; you have
got to take care Of them, and / will
give you an order for all the deputies
you want, and he said IL would give
him an order for ten he would guar
antee there would be no lynching.
did so. He played bold game,
but 1t worked. He knew the leaders
Of the mob who were going to lynch
these fellows. Then he goes and
has them sworn in as peace officers
and had them in court, and brought
the prisoners into court under guard
Of the men who had threatened to
lynch them. The men were tried and
convicted and I gave them the ex-
lTeU'e peIldlty VI TIE ld" dilu tucy
were back in the penitentiary that
night.
A Hampton Incident.
I was down at Hampton and two
men were charged with arson, and
they had been sent to the penitenti-
ary for safe-keeping, and the juny
returned a true bill. sent for
Sheriff Roof and told him the same
thing I told Mr.. Birch at Florence.
He said there would be no lynching.
He wanted an order for ten men,
and he would select them. I gave
prisoners into court; they were tried
and the case turned out entirely diff
ferent from what people thought 1t
was. The jury made mistrial and
at the next term of the court they
were tried and turned loose.
Down at Winnsboro I was trying
a negro and he was convicted and
sentenced to be hung, and was after
ward convicted and sent up for life.
A gentleman on the grand jury told
me that threats Of lynching were
being made. I sent for Sheriff Eli
son and he appointed fifteen consta-
bles and scattered them over the court
house, and shortly after dinner, when
we went back Mr.. Mcdonald, who
was defending the prisoner, was
speaking. A great big fellow got up
and interrupted him. He didn't get
the words out of his mouth until four
men nailed him and carried him of
to Jail, and that ended that.
"Better be Dead"
Now, a man had better be dead than
afraid to do his duty, and he had bet
ter resign when he gets so that he Is
too cowardly to perform the duties Of
his Office. AS long as you have a
sheriff like the man you have got here
I will guarantee If he ever gets his
hands on a prisoner there isn't going
be any lynching, and IL there is
there Is going to be somebody hurt, and
they have got to go over his dead body.
Then his friends are going to have
something to say about II, so you are
going to have civil war right then and
there, and you will inaugurate
bloody feud that will last for a hum
dred years.
Now, gentlemen, have given you
my views on this matter. My con-
science Is clear and clean on that. I
cannot enforce the law. The only
thing a Judge can do Is to tell the
grand jury and petit jury what the
law is. I can't tell you what the facts
are. We have eight fearless solicitors
in this state They all do their duty.
They will hew to the line, let the chips
fall where they will, and, as a general
rule, the juries in this state do their
duty fairly. Now and then they make
a mistake now and then the solicitor
makes a mistake; the Judge makes
mistakes sometimes, but, as a rule,
justice is properly administered. 1t
has already been intimated that moth
ing has come out Of this case; 1t will
lust die natural death. They say,
IF there ever was case Of tustifiable
lynching this is one" There isn't any
lynching justiflable, and men who en-
gage in a lynching are guilty of muir
der, and the man who had them In
charge, although he may not have ac-
tually participated in 1t, is guilty as
the men who did 1t.
"SauI of Tarsus."
According to my recollection Of the
Bible in the stoning Of Stephen there
Is no evidence to show that Saul OF
Tarsus took any active part In 1t, but
when they got through with the job
they cast his clothes at his feet and
he, standing there, consented. There
q
a man gets in the hands Of an officer
Of the court and a mob gets him that
the officer did not connive and wink at
it. He is as guilty as the people who
aid the work The governor Is doing
the best he can to put the lynching
down. They telegraphed him for mi
litia. He sent them and they hung
he fellow before the militia got there.
The sheriff can't be everywhere and
the governor couldn't get the militia
there in time. The sheriff Is not to
blame in this matter because he did
his level best, hired an engine and
took an expensive ride.
The governors conscience Is clear,
he did his duty and sent a military
company there. Who Is responsible?
Where was Moses when the light
went out?" I see by the papers they
that light Off? Now. gentlemen, the
law Of the state is this: This is the
only case in which the solicitor Is
bound by law to inaugurate the pro-
secution, and the solicitor can't do
anything unless the grand jury help
him. They are the right arm OF the
court They have as much power IN
this court as I have. Whenever they
come into court and make a present.
ment I take charge. When you take
the bills and go into your room you
are a coordinate branch OF the court.
I have no authority over you when
you get in YOUR grand jury room. You
are law to yourselves there. NOW
this is the only case where the law
requires the solicitor to inaugurate the
prosecution. It does not make 1t In
cumbent on him to go down there and
swear out warrants though. II the
people in a county where I live or
where you live want to live among
murderers and violators of law and
not bring them to justice I am not go
ing to wear crepe on my hat.
The Law.
Now here is the statute: I'm the
case of any prisoner lawfully In the
charge. custody or control Of any off,
Ger, state, county or municipal, being
seized and taken from said officer