The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1913-08-07

y
at once, half of them jumping
to their feet and making a per
feet hullabaloo Of explanations
you couldn't get no sense out or. In
the midst Of which the colonel takes
a chair and sets down and crosses one
leg over the other. swinging the loose
foot and smiling very patient. Which
Will remembers he is chairman of that
meeting and pounds fur order
Thank you. WILL" says the colonel.
like getting order was personal favor
to him. Then Billy Harden gets the
floor and squares away fur long
| winded speech telling why. But Buck
IIightower jumps up impatient and
| says:
We've been through all that. Billy.
| That man there has been tried and
found guilty. colonel. and there's only
one thing to do-string him up.
Buck. wouldn't says the colo
mel very mild.
But that there man Grimes gets up
very sober and steady and says:
Colonel you don't understand
And he tells him the hull thing as he
believed it to be-why they has voted
! the doctor must die. the room warm
ing up agin as be talks and the colo
mel listening very interested. But you
could see by the looks OF him that
colonel wouldn't never be interested
so much in anything but himself and
his own way Of doing things
Grimes" he says when the peck
marked man finishes. II wouldn't. |
really wouldn't"
Colonel" says Grimes. showing his
knowledge that they are all standing
solid behind him. I'VE WILL"
"Ah!" says the colonel, his eyebrow
going up and his face lighting up like
he is really beginning to enjoy him
( self and is glad he come. Indeed"
"Yes." says Grimes, I'VE will"'
But not" says the colonel, "betore
we have talked the thing over bit,
hope"
There's been too much talk here
now" yells Buck Hightower, talk
talk, till I'm sick of it! Where's that
roper
But listen to him-listen to the
colonelv' some one else sings out. Inc
then they was another hullabaloo
some yelling Yes" that be was tt
speak and some yelling mo" Ane
the colonel. very patient, rolls himsel
smoke. But finally they Quiets
down enough so Will can put it to :
vote. which vote goes fur the colone
to speak.
Boys" he begins very qniet, -
wouldn't lynch this man. In the frs
place, it will look bad in the uewspa
pers. and
1.-THE newspapers be DID, say
7 some one.
And in the second place." goes o.
the colonel, 1T would be against tn
| law. and
1.-THE law be dr. says Buck High
tower.
There's higher law" says Grimes
Against the law" says the colonel
rising up and throwing away his Gig
arctic and getting interested.
II know how you feel about all thi
negro business. And feel the sam
way. We all know that we must b.
the negroes masters.
Boys, this thing of lynching gets t.
be habit There's been negro lynch
ed today He's the third in this count,
in five years. They all needed killing
If the thing stopped there | wouldn'
care so much. But the habit of ilega
killing grows when it gets started.
Its grown on you. You're fixing
to lynch your first white man now
If you do you'll lynch another easier
You'll lynch one for murder and tn
next for stealing hogs and the mex
because he's unpopular and the mex
because he happens to dun you for ;
debt And in five years life will be a
cheap in Watson county as it is in
New York slum where they feed i'm
migrants to the factories You'll al
be totng guns and grudges and tryin:
to lynch each other
1.-The place to stop the thing is where
it starts You can't have it both way!
you've got to stand pat on the law O
else see the law spit on right and lief
in the end and nobody safe. It's eithe
law orr
But" says Grimes. there's highe
law than that on the statute books
There's"-
'Theres lot Of 1ub-dub." says the
colonel. "about higher laws and un
written laws. But we've got high
enough law written if we live up to it
There's"-
Colonel Tom Buckner." says Buck
Hightower, what kind Of law was II
when you shot Ed Howard fifteen
years ago? WHAT
you're out Of order" says the chair
man. Colonel Buckner has the floor
And I'll remind you, Buck Hightower,
that, on the occasion you drag in, Colo
mel Buckner didn't do any talking
about higher laws or unwritten laws.
} He sent word to the sheriff to come
and get him if he dared"