The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1915-08-30


to the Supreme Court, which was
merely a manifestation of this spirit
of protest, because the certain guilt on
the part of the negroes, of the hesn
Gus crime, made the appeal merely a
Formally The Supreme Court affirm
ed the death sentence and fixed Au-
gust s, 1915, for the execution, it hav-
ing no authority to say whether the
execution should be public or private.
Every white minister of the gospel
in our community who was at home,
held religious services with the ne
eroes, in the interval before the exc
cution, in their cells. reading the Bible
to them, praying with them, and ad
monishing them to repentance for sin
and preparation for death. The Of
ficers of the law showed them every
possible kindness and sympathetic
consideration. An overwhelming ma
iority fthe business men and citizens
Of this community were opposed to 4
public execution.
AS to the incidents Of the hanging
narrated in the public press, our old
friend, Baron Munchausen, evidently
wrote these reports. No lemonade
or other soft drinks were free" No
| speeches or announcements were
made from the gallows by numerous
candidates, or by a single candidate.
There was no singing at the close by
five thousand people" or by five PEG
pie, or by one person, of the old song
There is a Land of Pure Delight, -
or any other song. Services had been
quietly and privately conducted at the
county jail on the morning of the
hanging, of the condemned negroes.
by two worthy preachers of their own
Trace. Upon the gall0ws, one Of these
spiritual advisers read a brief passage
from the scripture and the other pray
ed an earnest, sincere and spiritual
prayer for the condemned men. Ii
[ was a serious, impressive, and solemn
scene, without lively or vicious cir
/ cumstances of any kind.
The statement appearing in some
, papers that the execution took place
} on the campus of the Mississippi A.
N. College is an example of the pre-
= nicious Misrepresentation of these
= isensation-mongers. The scene of tn,
execution was over two miles from
: the college, and in an entirely differ
a ent direction from the city of Stark
r vile, and was selected purely becaus
it was convenient to the jail and wa
the place where another man had beer
. legally hung many years ago. The al
70 legation that five thousand picnicker
e after the hanging, enjoyed thei
j. lunches beneath the gallows, is equal
o ly false Neither five thousand per
! sons nor one person did any sucl
t thing The statement in some paper
: that a great number of white Wv0Tael
/ with their children attended the hang
y ing as a public festivity, is q foul libe
d upon WOmanhOod. This was not writ
IL ten by Munchausen-it was written b.
Il Ananias In the opinion of this con
L mittee, and Of our community, TIL
: public execution was a grave mistak
e upon the part Of the authorities.
was witnessed by a great throng 0
n negroes, probably 1000 or $500, an
S by a small proportion of white mer
q probably three Of four hundred, yer
S few of whom were from this commun
/ ty. Starkyille is a college town, it
/ people known through the state an
J. the South for their education, cultur
y and refinement.
J. The allegation that this execution
/ was made the occasion of a local hol
t day or festivity for profit or pleasures
Il is merely a gratuitous fabrication.
/ Please inform the Editor Of the Dc
y troit Times that the Tuskegee Inst
S tute, under the guidance of its prest
e dent, Booker Washington, is in tn
/ state of Alabama, not in Mississippi
n If he knows no more of moral ethic
+ than he does of geography, his opin
Il ions or structures have scant value
Il Possibly a short course in both 0
5 these subjects at that institution
: might be of benefit to him.
I Yours truly,
w. w. Magruder,
y Julian J. Gill,