The daily palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1904-1905, 1904-10-14
Lynchers and Federal Law.
Chicago Record Herald.)

1t is within the power Of the fed
eral courts to punish lynchers and
suppress mob violence? It has been
generally assumed that the preven-
ton and punishment of lynchers is
essentially and necessarily a state
matter, except where the lawlessness
occurs in a territory or dependency.
To lynch a man is to murder him,
and what has the federal government
to do with murder committed in a
state in violation Of the laws thereof?
Judge Jones of the United States
District Court for the northern Ala
bama district, in charge to the fed
eral grand jury at Huntsville, has adj
vanced a novel and interesting view.
which, whether sound Or unsound, is
certain to provoke much valuable
discussion. Answering the question
just formulated, Judge Jones draws
a distinction between lynching or
other mob lawlessness inspired by a
mere felonious purpose to avenge an
alleged crime and a lynching attri-
buted to race prejudice and race ha-
tired.
The case was that of Naples, the
colored citizen who was taken from
the Huntsville Jail, and lynched, des-
pite the resistance of the state au-
thorities. The crime was that Of an
irresponsible mob and is not covered
by the civil rights act of 1878, which
as repeatedly construed by the SUI
preme Court, is "addressed to the
states.' not to individual citizens
thereof. True bills are sought against
members Of the mob, and the ques-
ton presented is two fold: Does the
Constitution of the United States
empower Congress to deal with often
ders inspired by race hatred, and, if
so. has Congress exercised such pow
er and given the federal courts ur-
isdiction to punish the crimes?
Judge Jones holds, in the first place
that Congress has power under the
fourteenth amendment-which guar
antees "due process Of laws to
every citizen-to legislate against
lawless resistance to state author
tiles in affording the proper protec-
ton to citizens. He holds in the next
place that Congress has exercised
this power and that there is vitality
and virtue enough in some Of its stat
utes designed to give effect to the
civil war amendments to permit fed
eral action in the Naples case.
But how are jurors to determine
whether a given lynching is merely a
crime against the laws Of the State
or also crime against the laws of
the United States? Judge Jones sug-
9ests the following test: "Consider-
ing what was said. as we'll as what
was done by the mob would a white
man, under the same circumstances.
have been attacked or murdered bv
the mob?' If Mr.. Naples was
lynched because he was a negro, and
If a white man accused of the same
crime would not have been murdered
by mob. the lynching was an of
Tense against the laws enacted to
carry into effect the thirteenth and
fourteenth amendments.
Judge Jones. whose vigorous hand
ling of the peonage outrages will be
readily recalled. is southerner and
a Democrat. This lends peculiar sig-
nificance to the noteworthy charge in
question and the curious doctrine en-
bodied therein. 1t is to be hoped that
the Supreme Court will have an op-
portunity to pass upon it. II is high
time the issue receive the profound
consideration it demands from this
new point of view.