Carolina watchman. [volume] (Salisbury, N.C.) 1871-1937, 1907-11-20
LEXINGTON AND DAVIDSON COUNTY.
A Knock-Down and Dragout Affair. The
Proper Treatment Of M0bs.
Lexington Dispatch, Nov. 18th.

PROPER treatment OF MODS.
Lexington Dispatch, Nov. 18th.
In the following The Dispatc]
has no criticism for anybody. W
aim to deal solely with a con
dition. It has come to pass il
the heart of North Carolina, IL
| this twentieth century, that of
ficials dare not imprison a perso1
In the local jails when any serious
crime is charged. The prisoner
must be hurried off, out of the
reach of local anger. The ma
jesty of the law becomes o Joke
and the officers whose work is tc
uphold the law become mere
guards to carry 9 prisoner to a
jail somewhere else. We submit
that this is, in the forceful Ian.
guage of the street, perfectly rot
ten. We are tired of seeing this
sorry spectacle. This most need
ed man in North Caroliu is man
in authority who will stand his
ground, and instead of putt1ng
the law Oh the defensive, as if it
we're the guilty party, will make
It a heavy-dsted aggressor that
will deal summary with any set
of so-called good citizens who turn
themselves into court to exc
cute any prisoner however helm
GUS his crime. We do mot speak
for the prisoner, especially, al
though every man should have
fair trial, like you yourself would
want, but we have in mind the
good of all our people. Every
lynching degrades community,
and every time a sheriff is forced
to flee the cause of law and order
is weakened. 1t does seem to us
that it is high time a stop was
put to these incidents. We would
applaud vociferously any official
who would gather to himself o
trusted array of men to defend a
jail, and serve out to them cart
ridges that were not blanks.
Friday afternoon Bob Black,
who lives five miles from Thomas
vile, severely cut one of his sons,
John L. Black, a young man aged
about 25, and also injured him
badly on the head with q rock.
The ueighbors say there was
general row over money. It is
stated that a breach of promise
case had been settled here last
week, in which Dave Grubb paid
to Miss Black the sum of 1885.
Grubb left the county early in the
year and has just returned. The
money was taken home and locked
up by the head of the household.
Later, it is alleged, some of the
women of the house took the
money from its resting place, and
the trouble began. Word was
sent over to John L. Blacks that
his father was beating Mrs. Black,
and he and a. younger brother
Immediately went to their fathers s
place. It is said that when they
reached the house, one of the
boys carried a rock in each hand
and the other, seeing his mother
on the floor, she having been
knocked down by her husband,
seized his sire by the throat and
shut, off his wind. Whereupon the
old man reached for shoe knife
and started just .under the nose,
ripped his face and throat open,
severing veins that caused him to
loose lot of bloodb efore the ply
sician came. Once out of the house
the boys ran, and one rocked the
old man, who returned the COM
pliment. He hit the son he had
cut with a rock and almost strip
ped an ear from his head. Neigh
bors of Black here yesterday said
he was at home, and had not left
the country. It is said that a
warrant had been issued for him.
but his neighbors thought nothing
would be done about it, as it was
a family affair. Black is black
smith, and is a hig man, weighing
24O pounds. John L. Black will
get we'll. He complains of the
lick on the head more than he
does of the cut. DR.. Peacock, of
Thomasville, by answering quick
ly and by neat work, saved him
from bleeding to death.
J. J. Hedrick, assistant post