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

took him from him know that that OF
ficer isn't going to defend that prison.
er; they know he Is going to connive
at 1t or wink at 1t and not going to
resist them-so, like the fellow who
wants to bring a suit against the rail-
road when the conductor wants to put
him off for not having ticket or not
paying fare. The conductor says you
must pay your fare or get off," The
fellow says Use just enough OF force
so as to give me an action; you need
MT kick me off; but use just enough
force to give me an action against the
railroad" And that Is the way when
ever you hear Of person being taken
by a mob out Of the hands Of an off,
Ger, they know that officer is In SYM
pathy with them and they know he is
not going to resist.
Now there is another thing am go
any courts under the guns Of any mil
itia. I am Jealous of the military.
came on after the war when we were
under Radical government and had
United States troops and United States
marshals under them, and they arrest
ed our people and they couldn't give
bail nor get fair trial. / like the mil
itary and think 1t Is good thing. We
have got them in South Carolina.
think 1t is a good thing to put down
anarchy; but I don't think any sherif1
who Is worth a pinch Of snuff Is going
to get hysterical and call in the mil
itia to protect him and to protect his
prisoners, and advertise to the world
that the county Is lawless and the su-
premacy Of the law being threatened.
Sheriff John p. Hunter.
| Whenever l hold a court with such
a sheriff as John P. Hunter, and he
and his deputies can't enforce law and
order and protect the court, the OFF,
GERS of the court and the prisoner on
trial, am going to adjourn the court
and 60 home and stay there until the
county gets calm enough to try the
man as the law says a man shall be
tried, give him a fair and impartial
trial. It is a perfect farce. The sheriff
gets hysterlcal, gets timid, don't want
to offend anybody; telegraphs the gov
ernor to send a militia company to the
Jail to protect the fellow from jail to
court and to protect the court while
II is in session. Is that fellow getting
fair trial? Don't the jury trying the
case see that public sentiment Is high
against him, to such an extent that the
military has to be called to prevent
him from being torn to pieces by the
mob like a wild beast? Now, zen -.
men, I have this to say. I have all
confidence in your sheriff and know
II he had got his hands on that pris-
oner that night there wouldn't have
been any lynching there or somebody
would have been hurt And know
another thing. Whenever mob finds
out that the man who has got the
prisoner In charge Is going to hurt
them they are not so keen and anxious
for 1t.
There are always one or two leading
men in a mob, one or two cool-brained
fellows directing the mob, and lot
Of hot headed people do the work, and
II you put a man like your sheriff IN
| the jail here, with one or two good
deputies, will guarantee that no mob
in Lancaster county can tai
prisoner. Why? Because they know
he is not going to give him up, and
they know that somebody Is going to
be hurt, and II he should accidentally
hit the leader Of the mob and kill him,
then there would be terrible running
and breaking Of necks to get away.
Sheriffs who are elected in South Car
olina are generally good men and pop
ular men, and the citizens Of the coun-
ty who put them in office don't want
to kill them. What Is the result of
hanging this fellow down here? He
was hung last Friday night, two weeks
ago. Court convenes today. If news
paper reports are correct he would
have been hung just as certain as he
was brought here, I take 1t, under the
testimony. 1t would have had a very
wholesome effect. 1t would have pun
ished the murderer more than taking
him out and killing him in hot blood.
II understand, he had just killed this
gentleman and they hung him while
he was still mad. He didn't care what
they did just then. They took him on
kicking, scrambling and fighting and
hung him. Well, If they had arrested
him and let him cool off and realize
what he had done, and let him know
for certain he was going to be hung,
and brought him here and tried him
and hung him legitimately, let the
Judge give him about six weeks to get
ready in, 1t would have been terrible
punishment for him to go through
| let him know he had forfeited his life
and was going to be hung by the law.
I will tell you another thing. A gen.
tleman in this state told me once that
years ago he was engaged in a lynch
ing; said they lynched a negro for
committing rape. He said he was
prominent member of the church at
that time and took a great interest In
rhurch affairs. That from that day to
this he never felt like he ought to
take any part prominently in church
affairs; that he was an humble fellow
and went to church, and tried to re-
pent and be forgiven his sins, but he
| felt that he was incapable Of directing
the Young boys and girls along Christ
ian lines. He said he had never been
the same man since; that they had
all the proof against the "darky' and
the court would have hung him, and
that he regretted extremely that he
ever took any part In 1t, and that ne
had never been the same man since.
| Well, now, think 1t a very terrible
misfortune for a man to have to Kill
any one under any circumstances, even
where he acts strictly in self defence.
We have to do a great many disagree
able things in this world, and 1t Is a
very disagreeable duty a man has to
do to take the life Of another even to
save his own. He Is marked man
after that. He Is apart, as 1t were,
from human nature and the children
point their fingers at that man every
where and say: THAT Is the man who
killed So-and-So." Yes" says some
man, "he was acquitted, and ought to
have been" WELL" says another fell
| low, II don't know so well ABOUT tnat.
I heard about the case and I am not
so sure about that"
Courts Open and Ready.
The courts are open and ready to do
the work and, as a general rule-this Is
the fifth time have been going over
the state and I have tried great
number Of cases in that time. The
Jury and judges and solicitors all
make mistakes every now and then, but
the general result is that the juries
generally give correct verdicts, and we
are heap better off than we were
years ago, but If we go on this lynch
ing and besmirching and befouling the
fair name of the state, directly we will
have anarchy; directly some fellow
| rornnart "