Carolina watchman. [volume] (Salisbury, N.C.) 1871-1937, 1908-10-28
SHALL THE HAIR
VEST BE?"

That story of the lynchlng OF
two prominent lawyers near
Union City, Tenn, is almost in
credible, and one bushes with
shame to think that such a deed
could be committed in a civilized
and christian country. One
might say, "All murders past do
stand excused in this" 1t is not
tho first horrible crime committed
in Tennessee or its sister states,
but it is probably the first
one of it's kind which has YER &C.
CURED within the borders OF
these United States. We con-
graduate Gov. Patterson upon
offering such all unusually large
reward for the apprehension of the
cowardly murderers and hope
Tennessee will run down the per
petrators of this foul act, which
will be a blot upon the reputation
of the State until it is fully and
completely avenged. The scoun-
drels who committed this deed
should be brought to justice, if
it takes every able-bodied man. in
tie State. outside of themselves,
to do it. And if our sister States
can arrest and convict, even some
of the perpetrators of this dark
crime, it will serve as a sort of
''scotch" to the lynching fever In
| Tennessee and the moral effect of
it will be felt in other States.
What are we coming to, anyway,
when a lot of men can take two
citizens from a hotel and lynch
them, because, forsooth, they
were merely instrumental in Sc,
curing the passage of a law the
lynchers did not like? They had
committed no crime, there was no
charge against them, the victims
of the mob we're men of character
and standing. Suppose this thing
goes a trlf1e further. Bill Smith
incurs the enmity of Tom Jones
why shouldn't Jones gather a few
friends, hunt up Smith and hang,
or shoot him to death, at his
pleasure. This is no fanciful
statement, it is no extreme view
and it is just such a condition as
we may expect unless this mob
spirit is crushed out good and
strong, There is nothing needed
in our land today more than q
proper regard for the sacredness of
human life, aud the man who
assists at a lynching. Or eve tao
IDLY endorses one, 1s a murderer,
in g moral sense. Get the right
sort of public sentiment to work
III communities. Insted of sym
pathizing with and shielding the
members of a lynching party, let
good citizens everywhere aid in
turning over such people to the
mercies of the law. and let no
feeling of maduiin sentiment pre-
vent a jury from doing it's duty
when the cases come to trial.
Men of standing and iufunce in
most communities where lynch
ings occur could furnish evidence
which might convict in these
cases. But from business, politi-
cal or other motives, they remain
silent and the scaffold or peniten-
italy is cheated out of it's just due.
Let us get out of this. Let us
remember that we must have
either a condition of law or of
anarchy. Let us stand as good
citizens for the observance and
the enforcement of the law, no
matter whether we like or dislike
the law in question. Above all
things let us remember, and may
the truth sink dep into our
minds, "Thou shalt do 10 muir.
DER" comes to us today with the
same power, force and authority
back Of it, as it had when it
was delivered to Moses amid the
thunders of Mount Sinai.
COLO HILL.