The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1908-02-18
VIII Do Us Harm.

w 141 |S 70 @~@sN-~As
The spectacle that Attorney-Gen-
eral Lyon made of himself on Thurs
day before the people of this State
and the United States will do us
harm. He hat.. an editor summoned
before his court as a witness and
then denounced him as an Infamous
liar and challenged him to resent
the insult, He further said he was
responsible for what he said and
would be on the street where the
insulted editor could get redress if
he wanted it in mortal combat.
When the editor arose in the court
from the witness chair with the ap-
parent intention Of resenting the in
suit then and there he was warned
by the Attorney-General not to ap-
proach him, which implied that he
was armed and would use his wea-
Don on the man that he had grossly
insulted in the very presence Of a
court of justice.
When the highest law officer in
the State acts like Attorney General
Lyon did on Thursday in the very
presence of a court of justice is it
any wonder that men carry pistols
and commit murder on the slightest
pretext? There can hardly be any
question but that the Attorney
General was armed and was ready
and willing to use his weapon in a
crowed court room or in the streets
if occasion required him to do so,
thus endangering the lives of inno-
cent people. Such unlawful con-
duct would have been an outrage on
the part of a street bully, who would
have been severely punished for it.
How much more of an outrage it is
when committed by the highest law
officer of the State? Apparently the
only thing that prevented the At
torney- General from using his weap-
on was the failure of the insulted
editor to resent the insult when CIV
en-.
Instead of insulting witness in
his own court Attorney-General
Lyon should have protected him
with his life if need be. The wit
ness was there by a summons issued
at the request of the Attorney Cen
eral himself and was entitled to the
projection, not only Of the court,
but of every court official,
and he should have had it. Instead
of that he was villified and abused
and challenged to mortal combat by
its chief prosecuting officsr; the At
torney-General Of the State. We
have not word to say in de-
fence of the attack made on the At
torney-General by the Editor
In fact, we condemn it in toto. It
was severe, and there may have
been no ground for it, but still At
torney-General Lyon was not justi-
tied in resenting it where ne did.
If he had forgotten his duties as a
citizen he should haye remembered
that he was the highest law officer
of the State, and that it was his
sworn duty to set a proper example
Of obedience to law in the face OF
the greatest provocation. The rea-
son why so many murders are COM
mitted in this and other states is be-
cause a great many men attempt to
redress their own wrongs ike the
Attorney-General did instead of ap-
pealing to the law for redress. The
same spirit exhibited by the Attor-
ney-General to redress his own
wrongs instead of appealing to the
courts to redress them is RESPONSE
BILE for nearly all the murders COM
mitted in this State and elsewhere.
How much better it would have
been for the Attorney General to
have prosecuted the editor for libel
and make him prove his charge or
retract it than to make the spectacle
of himself that he did.