The Wisconsin weekly blade. [volume] (Madison, Wis.) 1916-1925, 1917-06-21
SCISSORED THOUGHTS.

milwaukee, Leader *. A.
Dague)-Will any of those men
who burned persons and muir
dered the deaf and dumb negro
be punished by the courts? Will
they be denounced by the Demo-
cratic press and clergy? Oh, no.
not seriously. They never have
been in the past for like offenses.
! have no doubt the great MAORI
ty of that mob are both very re-
ligious and very loyal. They 90
to church regularly and vote the
Democratic ticket without a
scratch, and they hate Socialists
and do not have any consuming
love for the damned Yankees. >
But now let me say. | have no
in feeling toward those white
Democrats of the south. They
are the victims of a government
and religion which, for two or
three centuries, enslaved the AT
rican and whose courts decided
that negro had no rights that
a white man was bound to re-
spect. For generations negroes
were bought and and sold like
ANIMALS; their testimony against
white people was not permitted
IN the courts; negro girls and
women were outraged by white
men and the poor victims had no
redress. Ida Crouch Hazlett,
who recently spent some time in
the southern states, studying the
political and industrial condi-
tons, in a published article said
in part:
"In hundred years they have
never attempted to enforce law
III the south; but have abandoned
that benighted section to the
powers of illiteracy, rape and
murder. Rape is no less rape be-
cause it is perpetrated upon
black women; and the practice is
universal, by the 'chiyalrous
gentlemen Of the south, who are
sadly in need Of the cloak of
chlvalry to cover their dark
deeds-and darker progeny"
Milwaukee Free Press - The
Milwaukee Journal on Wednesday
printed a Memorial day cartoon
entitled a Memory and a Dedi-
cation. "
In the center a veteran of 81
was displayed in the act of hand
ing over the American flag to a
volunteer Of 1917.
In the upper left hand cor
ner one beheld a negro suspended
by his wrists while convention
allied Simon Legrec dashed him
with a whip of thongs.
This picture was labelled fThe
Slavery which caused the war of
81. -"
In the other corner a woman
with arms appraised in supplica-
ton was shown kneeling beside
the dead body of a maiden and
within the shadow of ruined
home. The word, Belgium. fixed
the scene and, in the background,
German soldiers were marching
the evident authors of the
crime.
This picture was labelled:
The worse than slavery which
challenges us to arms today, "
though in reality it was a chal
lenge to justice and to reason.
At the very time that ii was
published black citizens under
the constitution, and living under
the guarantees of state and fed
eral laws, were being bounded
from their homes. shot in the
public streets and diSpoSsesSed of
their personal and property
rights as if they were SO much
cattle.
These crimes were not commit
ted in Russia under a ear but in
free America under republican
form Of government.
They were committed against
a background of lynch law. of
men and women burned at stakes
and torn TO bits by frenzied mobS
with a deviltry that no Simon lie
gree of fiction dared to equal.
And for whato Because one
negro stole a horse; because an
other refused to hitch his mother
to u pillow; because another killed
a white man who took liberties
with the black SiSter-becauSe
of these reasons, and only in n
minority of eases for the crime
which the white shares equally
with the black, were these human