The Columbus weekly dispatch., 1908-02-20
Oardan1an on the BrookhaBea Lynch11g

FROM THE ISSUE.

~~~e4 80 .se>s~~@~ e~e~~~s >~s
Back into fearful silence.
And, facing her,
The while, the beast leans forward,
huge and black,
It's simiam arms crossed on the
Whispering. at times, in the attor-
ney's ears
suggestions as 70 questions 70 be
asked
And tho, the fear Of death and hell
agape
Be in its belly, still unable quite
To hide a grin of reminiscent lust
Behind a sweating palm.
This is the picture
Do I hear you say
J Again: The law should take its
course?''
AS an officer of the law I would
sav. Let the law take its course, =
but as the man whose home had been
despoiled, whose loving daughter S
life had been blighted, I should say
exterminate the beasts. But regard
+ less of what you may think or l may
say-the beast will be exterminated
1t is hardly second-class nonsense
to talk about the grand jury indicting
the mob that got there on Eli at
! Brookhaven last Monday. 1t was a
+ lamentable affair, but it was an oc-
cufrence that is liable to take place in
the best regulated communities any
where in America. AS long as ne
groes continue to outrage white wo-
men, mobs will hang negroes. They
will try to take them from the mill
I tia. from the officers of the law, out
of the hands of the court or anybody
else. 1t is one OF the horrible Incl
dents TO the race problem in the
South, and it is needless to fret OF
worry about it. After it occurs, il
is better to face the breeze with q
closed jaw.
wish it could have been avoided
II wish that something could be
done to render impossible its recur-
renee, but so long as every white man
in Lincoln county feels in his heart
of hearts, that the brute got what he
deserved, it is silly to talk about in
dieting the members of the mob. The
only possible way to avoid the repe-
tition of the Brookhaven incident Is
to enlarge. the national guard, or
ganize it properly and when such
trouble is looked for to have a SUI
/ ficient number of the guard on hand
to hold back the mob. If the sol
diers could have been properly form
ed square with fixed bayonets ano
loaded guns, the mob might have
been forced back and the prisoner
protected. But in a hand to hand
contest. sixty soldiers were no match
to a thousand infuriated men
AS il occurred at Brookhaven, it /:
likely to occur again anywhere unde1
the same circumstances. regret th'
disappointment which the governor
naturally feels; regret the humilla
ton of the acknowledgement and th'
mem D6rS OF Inc UdliOHdl SudA u a
gret beyond expression the fndignlt!
upon the court and the outrage upoI
the law. Possibly the example VII
be worth something in the future
The authorities will know bette
what to do and how to do it. / tea
that this occurrence will make it nee
, essary, however, for the guard In tn
future. in the performance OF II
duty, to take human life / wouI'
not give one good white man for ev
cry negro on earth, yet | realize tina
: if the guard is not going to be per
United to protect the prisoner, II WI
be better to abolish the guard l
will not do to make a farce OF $
serious a matter. The situation l
trving-the problem complex and dlf
r ficult. hope it can be worked out
There is one thing certain, the ma1es
ty of the law must be maintained
t the dignity of the court preserved
and the honor of the state upheld
To do that. heroic action rather ina
talk will be necessary.
100 Reward S10O-