The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-12-31
A Statement That Stains.

Atlanta Georgian.
 It does ring monstrous upon the con science of Atlanta to hear from a rep utable committee after careful inves- tigation, that not one of the victims of our September riot was remotely con nected with any of the offenses charg- ed against the race, and that there was not a warrant in the entire list of the twelve killed and seventy wounded. This strong statement Is damaging thing to send abroad for the great pup ! lie who have already abused Atlanta so | much but it is a wholesome and CT | fectiVe warning to din into the ears or l every riotous and disorderly lndlVlduaI | in the city of Atlanta.
 It does not seem likely that the ma | 1ority of men who were most guilty l in this affair will ever be reached by the strong and avenglng naha ,t+ ot o tha mighty engine of public opinion 10 bring to bear in condemnation of their cr1n1es' The press of Atlanta must perhaps risk the further damage which Will be entailed upon the reputation or the city in this publicity in order that the 1 shall represent the spirit of the city and of the community, and may pos l sibly reach the ears of at least ma | jority of those who were engaged Tn | Tiot whose results upon the innocent | have perhaps never been equaled III the annals of crime
 d spired by revenge for monstrous out l rages real or attempted, that the bllnd majority of rioters should have round no single culprit on whom to Wnet us | Vengeance, but in a spirit Of wanton l and reckless generalization should nave destroyed twelve and wounded seventy entirely innocent and inoffending pal | ties.
 1t is not possible to disguise the fact 1 that there were many people engaged in the mob who ought by all their tra- | IFn entered it thoughtlessly on the angry and frenzied impulse of the moment. 1 These participants will carry With pro l found and long-continued regret the results of their conduct. They wers swept away by the events or the pre- ceding weeks and probably followed | spirits who were not so careful of hu- man life or conScienti0us as to the guilt | or Innocence of the assailed.
 We feel sure that these men are all ready suffering sorrow and the bangs of remorse. because they are built or the stock and come from. the blood Of such a fault even of its own without an aftermath of horror and regret.
 To those of this class who are reach ed by the appeals Of the b puoI,c piTess. should be a warning as long as they live, against nasty and Incorporate ex- pressions of either private or public Never again should any young man or old participant who reads this start ling statement, be tempted to forget this episode, which, whether designed or thougthless. has made Of him a criminal in a greater or lesser degree. Never ag.in should any man who touched the outskirts of this violent demonstration fail to remember the im- perative duty which devolves upon ev- cry citizen in crisis to keep his tenn per and retain his head and not to for" get the sanctity of human life or the ma testv of the law:
 There are doubtless some sad and shadowed hearts that are beating to- day in the bosoms of some men who were impulsive members of this mob. The law may find them out and phys icaI punishment may be added to their keen regrets, but if 1t does not we are confident that every advancing year of their lives and of their reflective ca pacity will add to the shadow and to
 the suffering whicu the memory of their connection with this deplorable tragedy must enrail
 For whether they are punished by
 the law or whether they are unappre-
 hended and go unwhirt of justice they must undoubtedly suffer under the lash
 of that conscience which is the herit-
 age of every man born of good parents and under a Christian civilization.