Richmond planet., 1908-02-22
What We Think When Christians APP
plaud Murder, Treason and
Blasphemy.

plaud Murder. Treason and
Blasphemy.
Everybody knows all about Sena-
tor Tillman. He is the apotheosis
of race hatred and whenever he
speaks upon the question. he is sure
TO give vent 10 his hatred, in Ian
guage that is quite Characteristic
Now, The Herald has no fault to
find with Senator Tillman beyond
this-it does not believe in his at
titude toward the colored race. and
il does not approve of the man in
great mary ways. He represents
nothing that is refined. nothing that
is lovable. nothing that is intellect
ual.
He is Ben Tillman. the uncle OF the
cur who shot down. in cold blood
the unarmed editor OF the Columbia
State. because he did not agree with
him politically. ,Tillman lent the
benediction of his presence to the
trial, sitting beside the murderer 20
make it appear that he approved OF
what the man had done.
Tillman told the Chautauqua aud
fence at the Centenary Church, Mon
day evening. that he had himself
been indicted for the crime OF muir
der I'm his own state, and glorihed the
killing OF men he simply did not like
because they are black.
Now you may perhaps understand
in some measure why The Herald
does not approve of Ben Tillman.
But here is what we are getting at.
Tillman came here 10 speak upon
the race question at the ChautauQua
and he did speak TO an audience OF
probably fifteen hundred people
Now. as we understand 70. the peO-
pie who compose The Chautauqua
audiences are mostly professed Chris
tians.
Wen. here Is what took place
when Tillman spoke. In an address.
lasting more than two and one half
hours. he touched upon sChe race
problem. in truly TillmanesQue style.
while his whole discourse was pune
tuated by profanity-and his aud
fence applauded. IL sounded like
sacrilegc I'm the church where IL Is
taught every Sunday. that IL Is "A sin
TO take the name OF the Christians
God In vain. And yet the audience
applauded.
lie told about being one OF n mob
that started out deliberately TO kill
some Negroes, one a judge of
court. His exact words were: Il
don't mind telling you that we in
tended TO Kill some niggers." At
this. tho audience applauded. al
though IL must be admitted that
there were Misses.
He told how ne and his kind had
nullihed the 14th and 18th a
mendments 10 the Constitution I'm
his state. He did IL with bitterness
and said 1--WE defy the Nawth 20 com
pei us TO live up to the amendments.
At this reasonable utterance his
audience OF Christian people applaud
ed and laughed.
He sneered at the fatherhood OF
God and the brotherhood OF man.
His audience Of Christians applaud
ed. He called the Negro only one
shade better than n baboon. His
audience applauded. He glorified
murder and told how he had been
indicted for murder. and gave the
impression that the indictment was
legally justified. His audience laugh
ed as IL IL were something funny TO
hear a man boast OF murder-wan-
ton murder.
He threw IL in the teeth Of every
Northern man. that he was a fool
and said the South dehed the North
even yet. His audience applauded
audience, men who had worn the
blue in the days OF the Civil War.
There were present those who had
lost friends In that struggle where
the South strove to prevent the abo-
lition OF slavery.
He sneered at the mission work
the North does among the Negroes
and told palpable untruth when he
said that the North did nothing for
the poor whites OF the South. Again
that audience of Christian people ap
plauded. From first to last the re-
ception to Tillman. the vulgar-pro-
fane-coarse-mur r-glorifying-
treason wling-vicious
and uncultured Tillman-was such
as one might. in reason, expect an
audience Of Christian people to ex-
tend only TO a gentleman OF refine
ment speaking upon a topic along the
lines dictated by good breeding and
fear OF God.
Mind you, we have no criticism to
make upon Tillman for his speech
II was what he had said he would
deliver-but what could people, If
they are really and truly Christians,
fird in his speech to applaud and
laugh at? How does good Chris
tian-a truly sincere Christian-jus-
tify his approval OF what Benjamin
Tiilman uttered in Centenary Church
Monday night?
Nothing justifies cold-blooded
murder-nothing justifes profanity
nothing justihes such reasonable ut
terances as he made-nothing in the
Christians book OF faith justifies APP
plause when a man denies the father
hood of God and the brotherhood OF
man. There Is no question OF race
feud in the proposition as we put 1t.
We have not touched upon the ques-
tion OF Tillman's hate OF the colored
man. We strip his speech OF all
that and ask: Do Christian people
really believe that murder Is notn-
ing?-that treason is thing to laugh