The Medina sentinel. [volume] (Medina, Ohio) 1888-1961, 1915-06-25
CONSCIENCE AND COURAGE

Twentyfour hours before the sentence Of death otherwise
would have carried the of the State OF Georgia
against Leo Frank whom jury had convicted OF one Of the
heinous of which could be guilty Gov Saton
exercised his constitutional right and commued the death SEN
tence to Imprisonment for life Within few hours the gov
ernors surrounded by crazed mob clamong for
the life of the executive and denouncng him arch traitor
and the estimation of the mob despcabe creature
than the one whom he had saved from death In committing the
sentence of Frank Governor Saon knew full well what the
suit would be- far himself was concerned with regard TO
the people Of his state In his statement to the pubic
planning his for that which he had done ne forecasted
his reego t. obsurty by the people Of his native state But
there can be no doubt that his action will place him the
list Of the nations f1oes Governor Sa:on who viii Office
this c)uld easily have respited Frank and piae h
sponsby of the in the hands OF his successor But his
conscience and ru manhood would not permit such He
believed doubt existed to the guilt OF the accused and his
belief received added impulse from the ed voice of the
Judge who presided at the first trial and who before his death
declared that grave doubt existed to Leo Franks guilt At
the expense of his political future and the good will of the
people of the state that had sgnay honored him. Governor
Saon needed the still small voice of conscience to nothing
of the pleas of hundreds of thousands of and
throughout the land Circumstances it true pointed to Franks
guilt But Georgia mob practically convicted him before the
trial begun and is generally known that the trial
but little better than farce The chief witness against Frank
worthless negro who admitted having been accompce
after the fact and later served short term of Imprisonment for
the small part he confessed to have taken in the Frank
has denied all knowledge of the crime from the time of his
arrest and insists that he will eventually be able to prove his
innocence majority Of the people of this country inclined
to believe him. But whatever shall be the ultimate solution
the problem we believe that the action Of Governor Ston that
OF CONSCIENTIOUS and courageous man and hero.
The statements issued by Mr. Bryan since his resignation
from President Wilson's cabinet only exceptional from
literary standpoint but present principles that wholly
assabe We know of whose hopes for peace
sangne than those of the exsecetary of state And notwt
standing the very high ethical and moral plane from which he
views the possibilities for cessation of hoses in the awful
conlct now wagng across the do regard him as
sont in the full acceptaon Of that term For he quotes
where there vision the people perish The question as
appears to US not that the Bryan hatred war greater
than that OF President Wilson, practically all of the people
of this country that his hopes for peace are higher but that
ne acted msgudedy when he deserted his chief at the very
nour o greatest need and for which, the light of the
presidents note to Germany which the Bryan vas
not affixed do not appear cogent we doot ascrbe rvans
ton to personal political motive for were such the case he
coud nave done nothing else which would have so thorog
eaced hm from the political horizon Bryan is conscientious
IN everything ne does he is fearless but still he human and
i human 70 err We believe he erred in sgnng his office at
ne Time ne did, which act may result in far greater harm II
the ideals which Bryan holds SO dear than the henat M b
ms big brain and heart may have hoped $50