New-York tribune., 1905-04-26
LYNCHgG AND THE FEDERAL C6rR7s

y.
The Alabama Iynching case now pending in
the United States Supreme Court raises in a
new form the old question of the limits of Statq
and federal authority. The pendulum of inter
probation has swung back and forth in a way
which makes it impossible to say what atti.
tuGe the court will take in any case toward
the Fourteenth Amendment Shortly after the
Civil War the court had conservative reac-
ton and in the effort 10 avoid using the amend
ments as instruments of Capitalization gave
a decision which TO the minds Of some persons
seemed almost TO be throwing away the re-
suits Of the war in establishing nationality.
A majority Of the justices distinctly refused
10 take under their protection the rights Of citl
Zens IN general as against the power of a State
and in the Slaughter House cases Justice Mil
Ter in the prevailing opinion declared: We
doubt very much whether any action Of a
state not directed by way of discrimination
against the negroes as class or on account
of their race will ever be held to come with
IN the purvieW Of this provision" Since that
time n great change has occurred. and the Four
teenth Amendment has been made much more
what Thaddeus Stevens and his associates who
ingrafted it on the Constitution meant il TO be
with respect to State rights doctrine Stevens
himself explained TO the House of Representa-
uYes that it would allow Congress to correct
the unjust legislation of the States so far as
the law which operates on one man shall on
'erate equally upon ALL and Senator Howard
in reporting it 10 the Senate for the Recon
struction Committee, explained that, while the
federal bill Of rights had before only restrained
the general government in dealing with citi-
zens. the amendment would RESTRAIN the power
"oi the States and compel them at all times to
respect these great fundamental guarantees"
Forsaking the prediction Of the Slaughter
House cases, the Supreme Court has made the
Fourteenth Amendment more often the pro-
tector OF corporations than of cOlored men from
oppression. 1t is the shield Of him who cries
out against unequal taxation or arbitrary Iegis
lation. Only few days ago it served 10 over
throw the ten hour bakery law On the other
hand, the negro has more and more found that
he had no special privileges under it, II did not
serve TO put him on polling list where he be-
longed according to State law when the whole
machinery OF the State was employed unofi-
cially to keep him of Neither did II restrain
q State from disfranching him by laws frankly
intended to evade his constitutional guarantees
Now The question arises: Is It able TO project
his life or punish his murderers when their
crime is not an ordinary offence OF one man
against another from personal motives, but is
actuated by race feelings? We are glad that
the question is not raised 10y Northern Judge
Judge Thomas g. Jones, Of the United States
District Court in Alabama is a Southerner. a
Democrat former Governor OF the State Yet
he in charging the federal grand jury, laid
down the rule that race prosecutions were vio-
lations of the federal Constitution. and as such
punishable by the federal courts. An obvious
difficulty Of applying this theory is 10 secure
proof Of motive. The lyncher can usually say
that he acted not because his victim was
negro, but because he was bad man. that he
would have so treated a white man who did
the same things. Nevertheless. il might serve TO
punish general demonstrations against negroes
Any such extension OF federal authority would
undoubtedly be distasteful 10 the South. and
certainly conservative students of the Consti-
| tuition in the North VIII not wish 10 see this
authority pushed faster than necessary The
way for the South 10 preserve its cherished
state rights" is 20 use State authority 10 main
tain law and protect all citizens OF the United
States from oppression. The federal courts will
be slow TO extend their Jurisdiction by inter
Dretation where there is not n manifest neces.
sity' but there can be little doubt that il that