The Semi-weekly leader. (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1905-1941, 1906-10-27
PETITIONS FOR PARDON.

y AoNo Je'oo 1OSA
completed IN The Leader, and one
Tor the pardon of Sam Posey is
now running in the Lincoln Coun.
ty Times. The INK had not long
been dry on the court docket re-
cording the sentence of the Smith
brothers, convicted at the same
time the Poseys were, when pc
tltlon was put in circulation for
their pardon and published, and
subsequently a petition was circu-
lated and published calling on the
Governor to pardon the two
Franklin brothers, also sentenced
at the same term of court as the
Smiths and Poseys. All of these
petitions contain statements which
are either untrue or misleading as
to important facts.
| However, it is not our object
to discuss, In detail, this feature
of the subject. What we wish to
call special attention to and en-
phaslze Is, that all these men we're
Of the most violent and lawless class
Of white caps in this county, every
one of them except Sam Posey,
really guilty of murder, and all
were lucky in getting off with the
sentences they received; and that
notwithstanding these facts, there
are plenty of people who call and
think themselves good citizens
and claim they believe in enforc-
ing the laws of the State and hay
ing them properly espected, have
placed their signatures to these
petitions to have set aside the SEN
tence of the court. The Leader
has no condemnation or criticism
/ for the families or relatives of any
OF the convicts named for seeking
or working for his pardon; but
people who have no such ties or
Justification, should be very care
full how they lend their names and
influence to petitions for the de-
feat of justice.
The Leader regrets to say, that
there are some of the signers to
these petitions who have such a
low conception of good citizen
fship and Of the personahchsraeter
and official integrity of Gov. Var
daman, that they actually be-
lleVe he would enter into a dicker
and exercise the pardonlng power
in these and other cases in ex-
change for political support in his
race for the Senate. In other
words, such people seem to regard
the solemn and important respon-
sibility of the pardoning power,
lodged by the Constitution IN the
Governor to be exercised spar
ingly and cautiously, as political
asset of that high office, to be used
in advancing his own political
fortunes whenever favorable op-
portunity is presented. They do
not seem to know that Gov. Var
daman would spurn the very sug-
gestion of such a thing, and that
every true friend of his who
knows the man, will resent it for
him likewise.
Lincoln county has had three
distinct and hurtful experiences
with organized lawIessness, ex-
tending in all over a period of
nearly 80 years-the buII-dozers
of 70, the white caps of 'S3, and
the white caps of 1902 -'O3- '04. 1t
would be folly, as a matter of
public policy, to release the
Smiths, Franklins and Poseys
from the penitentiary, Oh account
of its evil exemplary effect and
influence. They are all turbulent
and dangerous characters. Since
their incarceration in the Peniten-
tiary, the county has been COM
pafativeIy free from grave crimes
among its white population, and
bids fair to continue that way.
Ii the preachers and the school
teachers, and the newspapers and
all good citizens will use their in
fluence in educating the people to
a higher and better standard Of
citizenship for ten or fifteen years
longer and these men are kept in
the penitentiary as hostages for
the future, the improvement will
continue and Lincoln county per-
manently out grow white capism
and its evil effects.
TO make farce of law enforce
ment, as is proposed IN these and
other criminal cases by running
to the Governor with petitions for
pardon, is but in invite fresh
trouble and ruin other young men
Of the county, possibly some Of