The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1913-07-08

Since the recent unfortunate and
unpleasant to think of occurrence in
the capital of a neighboring county a
few days ago much has been said Pre-
and con. Some regret the event
purely through the interest they have
in the reputation of the community;
others have regrets rooted deeper
than these; while small minority
seem not to be any too seriously con-
cerned over the matter.
The special grand jury, summoned
expressly for the purpose of investi-
eating the matter, has adjourned
without returning single indict-
ment. Possibly it would be better
that no more be said in connection
with this specific instance of might
makes right" law, yet few words
| in general concerning our present
state of affairs would possibly not be
totally amiss.
Hon. w. G. Brantley, one of Geor-
gia's distinguished congressman, in
an address in Boston, Mass, on Feb
ruary 9th, of last year, used as his
} subject, "A Governoment of Law
He traced the development of our
government and showed that its dis
! tinguishing characteristic is a gov
! eminent of law and that its dis
tinguishing feature is it's judiciary.
He said upon that occasion:
Danger to OR government of law
approaches from both ends of the
| line. One end demands to strike
down the law and substitute a man,
or a set of men, whose will shall be
law as to what commerce or business
can do. The other end demands to
strike down the law and substitute
the will of d majority. 1t is assert
ed the minority can do no wrong.
THE demand of the one is bu-
reaucracy; the demand of the other
is for a mobocracy Either would
destroy our government of law"
Mr.. Brantley was very clear and
concise in his statements concerning
"mobocracy," as he terms it, and he
called attention to the fact (Which,
by the way, is the point sought after
here) that the preamble to our great
constitution, the greatest of all doc
uments in the mind of an American,
does not read, we the majority of
the people,, but reads, we the peo-
pie "
In this intensely commercial age
and in their haste the American
people are placing less and less value
upon human life. They are thinking
less and less about the fundamental
principles upon which the govern
ment is based. They seem to forget
that in order to have law they must
submit to the law. They lose sight
of the fact that in this country as in
no other in the history of the world
there lives two separate and distinct
people whose interests are largely
antagonstics; which fact alone offers
a problem to the stronger of the two,
vastly too important TO be treated
lightly. Our nation seems not to-
have time to think as it should. We
are becoming too spasmodic, ii we
may term it such.
We like to think of America as
being the garden spot of the whole
world, and of Georgia as being the
very richest spot in that garden. But
how many have stopped to consider!
that other nations are actually look
ing upon the United States as need
ing to be civilized instead of being
the veritable land of promise? How
does it sound to say that America
has more lynchings than any other
country in the world, and that Geor-
gia has more lynchings than any 9TH
er state in the union? No matter
how disagreeable or how harsh it
sounds it is true.
According to actual statistics the
United States has now something
over 5000 homicides besides $4,000
injured through lawlessness every
year; record which, according toI
surpasses any other civil
lied nation in the world, excepting
only Mexico and Russia.
The Chicago Tribune reports one
hundred ana thfrty-two thousand
homicides in the United States fof'l
The twenty years previous to 1901
There were during that time tW0I
thousand two hundred and eighty
six executions, while the Iynchings
actually outnumbered our legal exc
sutfons, they running as high as tw0l
hundred and forty-two in a single
year. And Georgia leads all the oth-I
pr states in the number OF lyHchlngs~
Compare now this record with that
Of England Ireland, Scotland and all
the British possessions, where they
have not had a lynclfing in seventy /
five years. j
What now OF our government of
law" Some WIFI Immediately |
contend that England hasn't AL
diversified citizenship as has thei
United States. This may De true, |
burt a good percentage of the lynch |
Ings are whites. Then our laws are
blamed. But why? We have laws
a ga1nst such and have officers TO elzt