The Greeneville daily sun. (Greeneville, Tenn.) 1918-1920, 1918-07-26
r resident Wilson
Denounces The
Mob Spirit :

iIulfy announcing MI apparent @AWWts
of "mob spirit as emulating th'
''iawIess passion" Of Germany, whs
has adisregarded sacred obligations
of law and made Iynchers of her ar
mics, President Wilson today ap
pealed to the country to make Al
end Of this disgraceful evil
Lynchings, hs said constitute y
blow at the hearts Of law and humane
Justice" and contribute ITO German
lies about the United States what hel
most gifted liars cannot improve upor
by the way of calumny"
The text of the presidents proc
lamation follows:
my Fellow Countrymen: take
the liberty Of addressing you upon
a subject which 50 vitality affects tbs
honor Of the nation and the very
character and integrity Of our insti-
buttons that | trust you win think
me justified in speaking very plainly
about it.
II alIude to the mob spirit which
has recently here and there very FIRE.
quantly shown its head amongst us,
not in any single region, but in many
and widely separated parts Of the
country. There have been many
lynchings, and every one Of them has
been blow at the heart of ordered
law and humane justice. No man
who loves America, no man who real
" cares for her fame and honor and
character, or who is truly loyal to
her institutions, can justify mob ac-
ton while the courts Of justice are
open and the governments Of the
states and the nation are ready and
able to do their duty. We are at this
very moment fighting lawless passion.
Germany has outlawed herself among
the nations because she has disre-
garded the sacred obligations of law
and has made lynchers Of her armies.
Lynchers emulate her disgraceful ex-
ample. |, for my part, am anxious
to see every community in America
rise above that level, with pride and
a fixed resolution which no man or
set Of men can afford to despise.
I'VE proudly claim to be the cham
piOns III democracy. Ii We W really
are, in deed and II truth, let Us see to
it that We do not discredit our own.
say plainly that every American
who takes part III the action III 1 mob
or gives It any sort Of couhtena ace
is no true son Of this great democ-
eacy, but its betrayer, and does more
to discredit her by that single dis
loyalty to her standards of law and
Of right than the words of her states
men or the sacrifices Of her heroic
boys in the trenches can do to make
suffering peoples believe her to be in
their saviour. How shall we COM
mend democracy to the acceptance
Of other peoples, if we disgrace our
own by proving that it is, after all,
no protection to the weak? Every
mob contributes to German lies about
The United States what her most gift
ed liars cannot improve upon by the
way Of calumny. They can at least
say that such things cannot happen
in Germany except in times of revo-
luton, when law is swept away.
II, therefore, very earnestly and
solemnly beg that the governors Of all
the states, the law officers of every
community, and, above all, the men
and women Of every community in
the United States, all who revere
America and wish to keep her name
without stain or reproach, win CO.
cperate-not passively merely, but ac-
lively and watchfully--to make an
end of this disgraceful evil. 1t can
not live where the community does
not countenance it.
Il have called upon the nation to
put its great energy into this war and
it has responded responded with a
spirit and a genius for action that
has thrilled the world. now call
upon it. upon its men and women
everywhere, to see to it that its laws
are kept inviolate, its fame untar-
nished. Let US show our utter con-
tempt for the things that have made
this war hideous among the wars Of
history by showing how those who
love liberty and right and justice are
willing to lay down their lives for
them upon foreign fields stand ready
also to illustrate to all mankind their
loyalty TO the things at home which