The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-13
COLLEGE MEN ARE URGED
 TO HELP STOP LYNCHINGS

An open letter has been issued by the university commission on southern race questions to- the college men of the south on lynching. It reads as fol- lows:
 This letter is not written to con- vince you that lynching is crime, for you know 1t already Its object is to urge you to show others whenever op- portunity presents itself that lynching does more than rob it's victims of their constitutional rights and of their lives. 1t simultaneously lynches law and jus tice and civilization, and outrages all the finer human sentiments and feel ings.
 The wrong that it does to the wretched victims is almost as nothing compared to the injury it does to the 1ynchers themselves, to the community, and to society at large.
 "Lynching is 8 contagious social dis ease. and as such is of deep concern to every American citizen and to every lover of civilizations. It is especially of concern to you, and you can do much to abolish 1t. Vice and crime know that their best, though unconscious and un- willing allies, are lukewarmness and timidity on the part of edugated, ''goodf citizens. Wrong is weaker than right, and must yield whenever right is per- sistent and determined.
 Tt is, of course, no argument in fla vor of lynching, nor can we derive any legitimate satisfaction from the fact that it is not confined to any one sec tion of our country and that the vic- tims are not always black. One of the bad features of lynching is that it quickly becomes habit, and, like all bad habits, deepens and widens rapidly. Formerly lynchings were mainly in- cited by rape and murder, but the habit has spread until now such outrages are committed for much less serious crimes
 The records of lynching for 1914, com piled by three different agencies give the total number for the year as 52. 54 and A. the authority for these figures being Tuskegee institute, the Chicago Tribune and the Crisis, respectively.
 The conflicting reports cannot be har- monized. but to avoid any possibility of exaggeration we may employ the most conservative of these for analysis.
 It reveals these facts Number lynch ed-colored male 46 female 8; white male 3, female 0. Total 52.
 Grimes charged against victims: Mur- der 1S, robbery and murder 6, robbery and attempted murder 1, suspected of murder l, rape G. attempted rape l, killing an officer g. wounding officer l, murderous assault 3. alleged murderous assault l, biting off mans chin 1, accused of wounding a person l, killing person in quarrel 4, beating child to death l, try ing to force way into woman's room 1, stealing shoes 1, stealing mules 1, setting fire to barn g. assisting a man to escape who had wounded another l. being found under house 1.
 ''The three women were lynched for the following reasons: One, 1T years old, for killing man, who, it was reported. had raped her; the second was accused of beating a child to death; the third was accused of helping her husband set fire to a barn. In the last case, both husband and wife were lynched in the presence of their 4-year-old child.
 ''It should be especially noted that of the 52 persons lynched, only seven, two white and five colored. or 1s per cent. were charged with the crime against This shows clearly how far and how quickly the habit has spread beyond the bounds set by those who first resorted to lynching as a remedy.
 According to states. the lynchings were distributed as follows: Alabama ?. Arkansas 1. Florida 4. Georgia 2. Louisiana 12. Mississippi 12. Missouri 1. New Mexico l. North Dakota 1. North Carolina 1. Oklahoma 3. Oregon 1. South Carolina f. Tennessee 1. Texas 6.
 The same agency which reported 52 lynchings for 1914, makes the following report for 1915: Number lynched-col- ored male 51, female 8; white male IA, female o, Total 6S. This is an in- crease of 16 to 30 per cent over the total number for 1914.
 According to states. the lynchings