The Anderson daily intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson, S.C.) 1914-1915, 1914-06-20
o o o 90 0 0 o o
"Paying Ont Ny Niger"
o o 5000 10000 oooo o q
(Augusta l'hrOnicle.


a small dealer in Augusta. not SO
long ago in telling Of d store robbery
entered the complaint that store
thieves were not sufficiently punished
III the courts that about the same
band Of thieves did all the small rob-
b"Iies. NetOrt was made to this
Kick. and al Il result OF the argument
that came on II was disclosed that
the small dealer. Il short while be-
fore. In tho case OF negro thief con-
Victed and sentenced. had pleaded to
the court for the negro: had endeav-
ored to have the cOnvict's punishment
reduced to q fine or the imposed fine
reduced. and had finally paid the
convicts fine, occurring his release.
1t was explained as case OF pay
ing out my niger" And there Is
much OF it--tOo much Of it some say
II is stated that in Edgefield county.
$. C.. the voice Of a negro preacher
has been raised In protest against
the practice of many white employers
Oh paying their negro employees and
other negroes out of trouble in the
courts. The complaint is made that
very often bad" negroes are saved
from the chaingang service and are
turned loose on the community tc
commit other crimes. when they
should be kept for time under guard
as punishment for their misdeeds.
The Charleston News and Courier
Guotes from letter the preacher, the
hev. Frank Weaver. wrote to the
Edgefield Advertiser. about a homicide
that occurred at church recently.
He wrote that II had been his ex-
perience that nearly all of the crimes
committed at negro churches were
Inc work nf ,,y,n In.
bought out OF crimes" and he pre-
dicted that ''as long as these bad
boys are paid out of bad crimes and
sent back on Our good people, we
cannot hope for much better times"
Discussing this, the Savannah News
takes the correct position. The in
terence tis that the negroes who sell
their labor to white employers in ex-
change for fines paid the courts for
their freedom think they can commit
crimes right and left and escape the
chaingang terms because their labor
ie in demand or course, they prefer
to work out their fines in freedom
than on the chaingang. but the
preacher protests that they are free.
while they are working out their
fines to commit other cri-, es'and thar
they do not fail to commit them.
Conditions in South Carolina and
In Georgia in this particular" says
The News are pretty much the same.
The question arises as to whether II
is not better to give real puishment to
negroes convicted OF minor crimes.
than to add their numbers to the labor
supply by paying their fines and so
encouraging them in their criminal
tendencies. 1t seems evident that II
the bad negroes get the idea thet they
can break laws and cause uisturban-
ces with comparative immunity from
punishment. they, will continue to
cause trouble. and the other negroes
Will follow, their example. The, prob
lem suggested blythe preacher is not
confined to ths rural districts but .fs
OF more Importance in the cities"
The News adds,
Anything that tends to increase
criminal tendencies among the re-
groes OF the South cannot fail to |
work to the disadvantage OF the
South. Crime statistics OF the sec
tion are seldom divided into those that
concern white persons and those that
concern negroes. They are Jumped |
together and the white people suffer |
In the worlds Estimation for the
crimes the negroes commit. The |
question the Edgeield county preach
er causes to be asked is one . that
should be studied by everybody who |
is interested in decreasing the num- |
Der OF crimes committed in the
South" 80