Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1904-10-25
THR Law and
THE LYNCHBRS.
Judge Watts Talks Plainly to
Lancaster Grand Jury.
LYNCHERS ARE ONLY MURDERERS.

Mobs Always Quail Before sheriffs
Who Have Manhood-Some Actual
Occurrences Are Cited to Prove This
Faet-Tribute to Sheriff Hunter
Governor Hayward Stands For
Duty.
In his charge to the Lancaster
grand jury on Monday Of last week,
Judge Watts devoted himself princi-
pally to the subject of the recent Ker-
shaw lynching, and the full text Of the
charge was printed in the News and
Courier of Thursday. 1t Is we'll worth
reading and we take pleasure in repro
ducing 1t as follows:
Now, gentlemen, / come to the most
serious part Of my charge to you and
that is in reference to this lynching
down here at Kershaw. 1t seems, as
gather from the report the solicitor
made to the governor when he went
to investigate the lynching, and also
from the newspaper reports, that there
was a lynching down there and man
was put to death by a mob. Well, that
Is besmirching and befouling the fair
name of your county. I have not the
slightest doubt but what there are a
great number Of law abiding citizens
in Lancaster county, as great as in any
other county, who deeply deplore and
regret that occurrence; but unluckily,
and unfortunately for the administra-
ton of justice in South Carolina, 1t is
the aggressive mob that runs things
for a certain length Of time. When
ever you get the law abiding citizens
stirred up and whenever they come to
sense Of their citizenship then the
tough and the rough, and mob law and
those who advocate 1t have got to dis
appear, because this Is a civilized
state and has been for over a hundred
years, and whenever the law abiding
citizens take an idea in their heads
that they are tired Of lawlessness and
get aroused, then they enforce the law
and then they convict all violators
and breakers Of the law. But, as
said before, until they are aroused then
the aggressive and lawless run over
them and they have to submit to 1t.
Now that is a very disgraceful thing.
Foul, inhuman Murder.
There Is not a single man actively
engaged in that mob that took Nor
rison's life that is not guilty Of foul,
inhuman murder. They have got blood
on their hands and they cannot get II
off. Now, see by the newspapers that
this man Morrison, who was lynched
there, Is said to have been a bad man;
that he was a social outlaw; that he
had killed other people. Well, now,
gentlemen, I see by the newspapers
that he was tried and acquitted at the
summer term Of the court In Kershaw
county. Then I began to scratch my
head to recall the case. / tried that
case. I had presided at that court and
tried him for the killing and he was
acquitted. The testimony in that case
developed the fact that he was In the
employment Of the Southern Railway
company. Well, as a general rule they
do not employ lawless men. They have
got friction enough in South Carolina
without stirring up the people unne-
cessarily by employing lawless men; so
knowing that, as l do, the presumption
is that when they employ a man T.
think he Is law abiding citizen. The
testimony, as I recollect It, was this:
A lot of negroes swore that they were
going along the railroad making some
noise and that they met Morrison out
on the railroad track and he killed one.
They were States witnesses. Morrl-
son went on the stand and testified,
and his wife corroborated him in 1t
I am not attempting to give all the
testimony, but simply the substance
of it-he testified a lot Of negroes
came along in a boisterous manner,
using vulgar, profane and indecent
language, and he begged them to stop
and they fired into his house and COW
cred it with shot, and. they lodged
against the door and on the wall, ano
that he returned the fire, and killed
one. Well, now, he did not impress
me in court as being an outlaw. II
was an ordinary case Of white man
killing a negro in court, and II the
people in Kershaw had gone and FUR
nished the able and fearless solicitor
of the Fifth circuit, Mr. Thurmond,
with testimony going to show that this
man was an outlaw and lawless man
and helped the law to put him up.
then the young gentleman he killed
would have been alive today and the
people who lynched him would have
been stainless and free from blood on
their hands. ;.
Now there isn't any doubt about 1t
that this lynching business in South
Carolina Is bringing about anarchy
and lawlessness, and I tell you right
now I have got common sense and SO
have you, and I make this statement
and nobody can contradict 1t success
fully. There would be no lynching In
South Carolina when the prisoner got
into the hands Of an officer OF the law
unless he connived at 1t or Winked al