The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1910-02-21

the sherlffs purpose was to be prompt
land effective in efforts to uphold the
llaw, profiting by the experience of
his predecessor who lost his Office
through the uprising OF Nov. IL last.
He started in well when he took the
/ office by appointment of the county
commissioners. to fill out Sheriff
Davis unexpired term, eliminating
1.-THE vicious practice which had dis
credited the administration of his
Predecessor; the activity Of deputies
In behalf of the defense in important
murder cases which tended to defeat
justice. lie seemed to determine TO
Imake good record In order TO get
! the endorsement Of the people at the
| November election. But his ambf.
jtion in this direction received ter.
rible jolt in the affair of last week
land there are those who believe that
the machine will drop him when the
time comes to nominate candidate
for the fall election. This presump-
tion will be strengthened If the sher-
lif's difference with the governor
shall remain unadjusted
Judge Butler also belongs to the So
icalled Republican machine; and while
he has been active In political cam.
Ipaigns In which questionable methods
lwere freely used and has been
1severely criticised for some rulings
lon the. bench which tended to dis
tcredit his court, and to serve the law
Hess element or the city, he seems
now to have falle nj with the general
demand for stricter law enforcement
and for cleaner methods all around.
At any rate his demand that the
members Of last weeks mob shall be
brought to justice at all hazards
1 woulG indicate this.
AS to the Negro.
1 Both the factions referred to haye
tplayed some very dirty politics in this
city and county, probably as dirty as
has been played anywhere in the
lcountry, and in this the negro has
Ibeen an important iactor--espeeia
1.-THE yleions element OF the race,
There are Il great many Industrious
Ilawsa6iding negroes Ia the city. but
comparatively few male members Of
the. races are able. 10 resist the se
lductiye clink Of the dollar on elnot,en
4 days and this weakness has been
made use of by the party leaders and
workers. Ellt what has been Of great
lest Injury to the city has been toe
.lplaying Of politics with the vicious
leleMent among them and here the
EfAnyor rs police ylafsartineRte has heen
strongest--or weakest would perhaps
be the better word The vicious ne.
gro has been the primary cause of all
lof Cairo's trouble. Under the pander-
ling policy of the police department he
has been permitted to pursue his law.
less habits of life and has been
leniently dealt with when he hap
| pened to break out i'll open lawless-
ness. or officially protected from
iprosecution when action was brought
| by citizens. He has found Cairo d
pheasant place to live, and has grown
lbold under this guardianship given to
him by the city authorities, with the
levident understanding that he must
make himself felt in the right way on
election days Crap shooting, petty
larceny. burglary, street brawling, ae-
ltual murder, and insults to white
women have been his diversion and
Though the city Jail has been nearly
ALWAYS crowded and more than ninety
Iper cent of the prisoners in the eoun-
ty jail are always OF this class OF ne
groes, his number and activity has
mot lessened materially This class of
negro was the cause of the uprising
Of last November, and he was pri-
marily the cause of the affair OF last
week, only in lesser degree.
The People Not 10 Blame.
The people of Cairo have protested
against this condition and practice
many times and in many ways, always
Intellectually. Their protests and
their pleadings alike have been ig-
nored or contemptuously spurned !;
and when election day came ara
lthey have been wheedled into tenn B.
rary submission by promises of bet
lterment, and considerations of great
| Improvement in the physical condi-
1 tion of the city. But that they have
mot approved nor been satisfied with
1.-The moral conditions may be judged
from the fact that they have, as a last
Iresort, organized Pure Ballot
League, Citizens League, Social
Purity League, joined by their Board
Iof Trade and Commercial Club rep,
PRESENTING the business element Of the
city--all demanding that the law
i shall be upheld, and that If their prop.
.Iefly constituted authorities do not
| obey, they, the citizens, will them.
selves execute the law, substituting
government by leagues for the form
Of government provided for by the
.llaw. It is an easy step from Citi
zens Law and Order League to a
L. 49,. 4- ~