The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1906-12-05

affect the courage of a judge, but only
spurs him on to search his conscience
and to reach the result which approves
itself to his inmost heart, such COM
ment serves = useful purpose. There !
are few men, whether they are judges |
for life or for a shorter term, who do |
not prefer to earn and hold the respect |
of all, and who can not be reached and |
made to pause and deliberate by hos
tile public criticism. In the case Of
judges having a life tenure, indeed
their very independence makes the
right freely to comment on their deci-
sions of greater Importance, because it
is the only practical and available in
strument in the hands of free people
TO keep such judges alive to the reason
able demands of those they serve.
"On the other hand the danger of
destroying the proper Influence of judi
cial decisions by creating unfounded
prejudioes against the courts justiies
and requires that unjust attacks shall
be met and answered. Courts must I'LL
timately rest their defense upon the in
herent strength of the opinions they
deliver as the ground for their conclu-
siors and must trust to the calm and
deliberate judgment of all the people as
their best vindication.
There is one consideration which
should be taken into account by the
good people who carry q sound propo-
sition to an excess in obiecting to any
criticism Of judges decision The in
stinct Of the American people as a
whole is sound in this matter They
will not subscribe to the doctrine that
any public servant is to be above all
criticism. If the best citizens those
most competent to express their judg-
ment in such matters. and above all
those belonging to the great and hon
orabe profession of the bar, so pro-
| foundly influential in American life,
take the position thar there shall be no
critisism of a Judge under any circum-
stances, their view will not be accepted
| by the American people as a whole. In
such event the people will turn to, and
tend TO accept as justifable, the intern
perate and improper criticism uttered
by unworthy agitators Surely it is a
misfortune to leave to such critics a
function, right in itself, which they are
certain to abuse. Just and temperate
criticism, when necessary, is a safe
guard against the acceptance by the
people as a whole Of that intemperaGt
antagonism towards the judiciary
which must be combated by every
right-thinking man, and which, if it be-
came widespread among the people al
large, would constitute a dire menace
to the republic.
Lynching.
In connection with the delays Of thu
\ law, / call YOUR attention and the at
tention Of the Nation to the prevalence
of crime among us, and above al to TN
epidemic of lynching and moo violence
that springs up, now in one part Of oui
country, now in another Each sec
tion, north, SOUTH east or west, has it!
own faul5s; no section can with wis
dom spend its time jeering at the faults
Of another section: It should be busy
trying to amend its own shortcomings
To deal with the crime Of corruption j
is necessary to have an awakened pub.
lie conscience, and to supplement thi
by whatever legislation will add speed
and certainty in the execution Of the
law When we deal with lynching ever
more is necessary. A great many whit
men are lynched, but the crime is pc
culiarly frequent in respect to blacl
men. The greatest existing cause o
lynchlng is the preparation, especially
by black men, of the hideous crime o
rape-the most abominabe in all TIN
category of crimes, even worse thar
murder. Mobs frequently avenge tn
commission Of this crime by themselve
torturing to death the man committing
IT, thus ayenging in bestlal fashion
bestial deed, and reducing themselve
to a level with the criminal.
Lawlessness grows by what 1t feed
upon: and when mobs begin to lyme
for rape they speedily extend tn
4 sphere of their operations and lynch TO
many other kinds of crimes, so tina
two thirds Of the lynchings are not TO
rape at ALL While a considerable pre-
portion of the individuals lynched ar
innocent of all crime. Governor Can
dler. of Georgia. stated on one occasion
some years ago: Il can say of a VERT
that L have, within the last month
saved the lives of half dozen limo
cent negroes who were pursued by th
mob. and brought them to trial in
court of law in which they We're ac
/ quilted" AS Bishop Galloway of Mis-
slssippi, has finely said; when tn
rule of a mob obtains, that which dis
, tinguishes a high civilization Is sur
rendered. The mob which lynches
negro charged with rape will in a littl
while lynch a white man suspected O
, crime. Every Christian patriot i
America needs to lift up his voice i
loud and eternal protest against tn
mob spirit that is threatening the in
tegrity of this republic" Governo
: jerks, Of Alabama, has recently spoke
as follows: 1.-The lynehing of any per
son for whatever crime is inexcusabl
! anywhere-it is defiance of orderl
l government; but the killing of innocen
people under any prOvocation is inf
nltely more horrible, and vet innocen
people are likely to die when a mob
' terrible lust is once aroused. The les
son is this: No good citizen can affor
to countenance a defiance of the stat
utes, no matter what the provocatior
The innocent frequently suffer, and. i
y is my observation, more lsullly suffe
: than the guilty. The white people o
= the south indict the whole colored rae
= on the ground that even the better ele
f ments lend no assistance whatever i
| ferreting out criminals of their owl