The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1906-09-04
Says MODS Rely on Pop
uIar SufferanCe.
USE OF THE MILITARY
Used.

In opening the court at Salisbury
Judge Ferguson delivered to the grand
jury q charge directed at the recent
I|ynching which. while temperate. was
fearless and left the blame Of the
outrage either upon the sheriff for
failing to suppress the mob, or upon
the people for failing to upport him
if he attempted TO suppress it. The
judge touches upon the fundamental
facts when he says that crime, indi-
ViduaI or collective, largely depends
and relies upon either active or pas
siVc sympathy, and makes Il thought
fuI and stirring appeal for the apprc-
hcnsiOn and punishment Of the Sails
bury lyncherS. In part Judge Fer
glI+on said:
Now desire to call your attention
to Section II Of the bill Of rights. ~
well regulated militia being necessary
to the security of Il free State, the
right of the people to keep and bear
arms shall not be infringed, and as
standing armies in time Of peace are
dangerous to liberty,-they ought not
to be kept uD,-and the military
should be kept under strict SubOrdina-
ton to, and governed by the civil
power"
Mr.. Foreman and Gentlemen, when
VIC view conditions in North Carolina.
there is some cause for anxiety, on
the part of the patriotic citizens. The
election of the sheriff of the county
is provided fer in the fourth article of
the Constitution. Title, Judicial De
partmcnt. his duties are assigned by
law. he is amenable to the courts for
misfeaSanCe or lualfCaeanCc in office,
for the omission of duty, and for a
Willful omission of the duties of his
office, he may be removed from office
by Judgment of the court. RevisaI
1892.
In lain and delivery proceedings,
the sheriff has the power to break
open doors. if necessary to take the
property, and may call to his aid the
power of the county,. Section 79S of
the RevisaI. Every person summoned
by a judge, justice of the peace, ago
i~ntendent, chief officer of any inc6r-
porated town, sheriff, corone or con-
table, to aid in SURPRISING any riot,
rout. unlawful assembly, affray, or
other breach of the peace, or to arrest
the persons 50 engaged in the com
mission of such offences, or to pre-
vent the commission Of any felony
or larceny which may be threatened
or begun, shall do SO. ReVisal Section
1881.
If it becomes necessary for the Sher-
if to remOve trespassers from public
lands. he may ummOn the power Of
the county If any person, after hay
ing been lawfully commanded to aid
an officer in arresting any person or
in re-taking any person who has es-
capped from legal CUSTODY. or in eXecut-
ing any legal process, WillfulIy neg
leCts or refuses to aid such officers, he
shall be guilty of a misdemeanOr.
Now the sheriff's duty under the
law is to execute processes, to suppress
riots, and arrest the rioters, and to
prevent q breach of the peace, to pre-
cent the commission of a felony, to
prevent rescue or escape; and with
this command of the law upon him., he
has the power to call TO his aid the
power of the county. and every per
son who Willfully refuses, is guilty of
a misdemeanor. And the sheriff is
helpless only because he has not the
moral II physical courage to exc
cute the duties of his office. or be-
cause the citizenship neglects or re
fuses to aid him. May we not we'll
ask if the moral and physical cour-
age of the citizen has not gone INTO
decay, whether the citizen be passive
or wholly Indifferent to the m
OF the law, wholly regardless Of social
duty, and though not. himself, fatally
bent on mischief. yet Indifferent to
whore mischief falls. provided it does
not fall on him or his. Is it not time
Tor anxiety if not alarm? 1t is when
the citizen ecOmes passive, or indif-
fercnt to the laws, that in order to
suppress violence, the military arm
of the government is called upon. The
military is under the command of the
Governor, who is cOmmander-in-chief
OF the military forces of the State.
Such force, when in active service,
Is like an army of soldiers whose law
is the order Of their superiors: they
are the intelligent machinery through
which their commander yields his
power and executes his will. History
teaches that this power is not at first
arbitrarily welded, but just i'll pro-
portion to the extent the people be
come accustomed to relying on it;
just in that proportion. it becomes ar
bitrarN and dangerous to civil liberty.
me question now is. have we reached
the stage in the history of the State.
yea of the general government, when
the people are turning their eye to
the military force for protection to
person and property? If so. there is
serious cause for alarm, lest, between
the laWlesS and violent on the one
hand and arbitrary military forces on
the other. we lose our civil. political
and religious liberties. x 8 4
In case of a ri0tOuS assembly to rob
steal or kill, or to do any other act
OF unlawful violence, the act of one
IS the act of all, and if an unlawful
Killing be done in pursuance of the
purpose Of the assembly. it is murder
IN all who are present, aiding and as
SlStlnE in the killing. And anv Who
may nave encouraged the unlawful
Killing, and are absent at the time, are
accessories before the fact, and guilty
Of a felony. Every person who DELHI
eTately commits an offence against the
criminal law, calculates beforehand
his chance of escape from punishment
Trims he man of ilTIranoo ~, ,-o,I.I.
calculates on his ability to terrOrize
or bride witnesses, corrupt the july.
or the court, and should he
fail in these, on the influence of him.
self and friends he calculates to pro-
cure a pardon from the Governor. The
thief takes property when the owner
is not looking, and the bank officers
falsify accounts with the hopes they
will not be detected. The Illicit whis-
key seller relies on the immoral in