The Washington bee., 1911-05-06


the dead man, is indeed beyond ali
human civilization. 1t is worse than
any time preceding the Christian era.
1t IS shocking. Barbarism pales into
ns1gnlhcance and the civilized world
stands aghast with such a crime.
The killing or lynching OF the Ne
gro Potter IS the most brutal, the most
dastardly, the most hendiSh act that
could be perpetrated upon any human
being, least of all upon the body of
dead man, who was lynched by a set
OF white marauders, who constitute
judges, jurors, wherever there IS an al
legged crime committed by Negroes.
But this time the poor Negro did not
commit that namelesS crime, which
has always suspended him in the air,
whether he is guilty or not guilty, and
which IS always used as sign for
wholesale butchery of Negroes.
The crime, of course, is an abOmln
able one when perpetrated, and tends
to anger both white and blach peo-
pie, and no man abominates that
crime more than the man who now
writes this article; but it proves con-
Clusively this time that that is not
to, to pay a death penalty.
To talk of the Dark Continent; to
talk of sending missionaries to foreign
lands for the purpose of CiviliZing and
Christianizing others is such a mock
cry on Christianity that | fail to un-
derstand why such farce is not stop
ped.
Now, where is civilization? Where
is religion? Where is law? Where is
justice? Where is right? Where is
humanity? Is the grand old Common
wealth OF Kentucky, of which l am a
citizen, retrOgrading. with its splendid
schools, with its magnificent colleges
and universities, with its accomplished
and learned professors; is the old
commonwealth verging towards bar
barism, savagery, sans-culottism?
Where in the world is the common
wealth? Where are its laws? Where
are the COnservatOrS of the peace?
Where is Christianity? Is justice fled
from the bosom of the white people
in Kentucky? l hope not
This atrocious deed, which is a blot
on the fair State, was perpetrated
upon the defenseless Negro, not be-
cause he was charged with having
committed rape, for, indeed, when such
a cry is made, it not only stirs the
white people of the country, but the
Negroes, too, feel it as keenly as
much as any other human being, and
there are instances where Negroes
have given slcir aId III hunting down
reckless and abOminable men who
have robbed women of their virtue
But it happened that this is the mere
killing of white man, who no doubt
had brought 1t upon himself by his
overbearirg manner, as is usually the
case when a Negro kills a white man
This question of revenge and cruel
ty Is not one of sentiment nor one for
mawkish OratOry, but Is a question
shat goes to the very foundation OF
the well-being of human society and
concerns the humanizing social NOR.
al, and civil salvation, elevation and
evolution OF the best gifts, graces, ac-
cOmplishments Of that portion OF the
human family VINO for centuries have
been denuded of all human rights,
civil and political privileges by their
cousins and half-brothers and sisters
of the sons of Shem and Japhet, who
for centuries arrogated to themselves
all the rights and privileges of the
highest forms of modern civilization
based upon Christianity
Again, those Negro haters, such
men as Vardaman, Dixon, Tillman
and others of their ilk, who Castigatc
the Negro for his shortcomings, have
forgotten that they have had thou
4 q Il
and yet there are thousands of facts
patent to the most unIntelligent and
unobservant to stultify the broad as
sertions of the blatant caricaturists in
all parts of the world outside of the
United States, not to mention the un-
counted number within Uncle Sans
dominions-in relation to the Ne
grOes, Notwithstanding their authors
Thomas Jefferson, DR. Field, and
others, with respect to the degeneraCy
of the Negro
1t is now too late for any sane man,
be he who he may, to stIgmatIZe the
Negro for shortcomings, deficiencies,
ignOminiOuS habits and abominable
degeneraCies, for the existence of
which the men like Vardaman and
Ills SA'DAAltlO uNNOllApllNNo NNiN IL
sponsible, as they had it in their pow
er for hundreds of years to have rails
ed the Negro to a higher plane of civ.
;lizatiOn and Christianity, which they
guiltily and knowingly omitted TO do,
and then turn round and accuse the
Negro of every conceivable and incon-
ceivable literary, artistic and scientific
deficiency.
But, after ali, their boasted civiliza-
tiOn does not make them better citi-
zens than the poor Negro who has
had no civilization, according to the
white mans idea of civilization.
Many Negroes have been II bnched
without the least provocation, al
though it is said that we are living N
Christian land In conclusion. let
re say that the white man has not
done his duty in way of protecting the
Negroes in this country.
Yours for the race,
w. D. JOHNSON,
Former editor Kentucky Standard
DriEehard