The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1906-08-22

Zoo
unable to supply themselves with the
necessary comfort and convenience.
Assertions vs.. Facts.
lit does not speak well for law and.
order in old Virginia that Two a out ~
the three daily papers published ut the
State capital should be open and avowed
advocates Of lynch law The Evening
Journal lis moro radical even han the.
News Lender. 55f III IA I'll n
Tin the last thirty years ' "a says the
Journal, 1--WE can recall no instance Of
a negro brute having perpetrated this
crime escaping death, either BY the de-
corous administration of the law by the
courts. or the prompt adlnli,istrat Ion OF
Justice by the mob. I. n i85
81 lie the last was6the universally ac-
cepted method Of dealing with this crime
Its preparation was co rparatlvely ra re-
Vengeance was, swift, certain, secret and
terrible, and few. communities needed
more than one example Of this kind to
make tlier women comparatively sal
Thanks. Il however, y to the persistent
preaching OF Tho " Times Dispatch aS and
OIH6T$ Chilly 80 y. =,
tenching racial equality, that feel an abb.
normal reverence for laws that utterly
foil IN the purpose for which they are
supposed 4 to exist, lynuhing for criminal
|2assault has become comparatively rare.
| In nine tenths OF those cases tho negro
lis hanged under the forms OF law 55si
This Is the first time In the history
of Southern journalism that ncwspa pers
like The Times Dispatch, the Raleigh
News and Observer, the Charlotte OBJ
server, the Whining ton Star, the VIII
mington Messenger, the Atlanta Journal
the Charesto ton News and Courier, the
Columbia State, the birmingham Age
Herald and News, the Mobile Register,
the Montgomery Advertiser, y the Vicks-
burg Herald, the New Orleans Times
Democrat Plcayune and State hive been
denounced for teaching reverence for law
and accused of promoting crime by dis
countennncing lynching This Is noted In
passing as an interesting departure from
Journalistic ethics; but let us see how
our contemporaries rank assertions tally
| with tho facts: rs 5S
According to the New York World, In
sixteen years from 1884 to 1890, the mum.
Der OF lynchings IN tho United States
was 261Q. OF these 1850 were In the
Southern States. In spite OF the teach
Ing OF Southern newspapers, ana 436 in
the North. The proportion between
blacks and whites was as two to one.
1900 being negroes and SOL white men.
The proportion OF black men In the last
five years has been larger. '"This Is ac-
counted for" says the World, "by the
fact that lynchings for horse and cut tle-
stealing by white men OF the West were
more common than they are to-day" That
means that the decrease In lynching has
been largely In the North and West,
and not in the South. In 1904. according
to this same authority. there were Ss
lynchings in the United States, So Of
which were in the south-in the States It
Kentucky. Louisiana. Mississippi, North
Carolina. South Carolina Tennessee,
Texas and Virginia. In these States. dur
| Ing tho same year, the number Of legal
executions for all crimes was 49, In Arkan-
sas there were legal executions and II
lynchingssin Georgia there were legal
4 executions and II lynchlugs; In Florida
4 there was legal execution md 3 lynch
+ ings; IN mississippi there We're 3 legal
4 executions and IS lynchings; in South
Carolina there were legal executions anc
a lynchings.
In the light of these statistics. what be
& comes OF the JournaI's claim that lynch
ings for criminal assault hive becom,
exceedingly rare, and that I'm nineteenth!
OF these cases the negro Ia hanged undel
the form OF law2' Out of SO lynohing!
, in 1904, were only eight Of them for Grim
+ inal ASSAULT Did Southern white moi
. lynch negroes for horse stealing and sens
! 10 tho courts those accused OF criminu
: assault? Does the Journal allege that
out Of 2,oSD yHeh:nss during fourteen
k years 1872 OF them were for crime.
: other than criminal assault?
:, Take either horn OF the dilemma, and
y in any event, the Agures will make a,
d instructive study for the News Ieade
. az well as for the Journal.
vi -----=-------Tz-------=-: ira ~
y The Passing of Crusoe's Island
n The name of the island cf Juan Ecl
9 nandez conveys nothing to the minds {
!. most persons, rRoblnson Crusoe' 8
Il island, however, is another matter, an
d an Interesting landmark was destroye
u