Evening star., 1919-07-27
The Evening Star Newspaper Company
.Lawlessness Should End.


A week ago last night this city was
the scene of an outbreak of lawless-
ness, taking the form of reprisals
upon negroes by groups of white men,
angered by the recurrence of crimes
against women. From that beginning
spread other riots, on successive nights,
with increasing casualties. On the
third night the negroes were in the
main the aggressors, having been vir-
tuafly assured that further attacks
would be made upon them by mobs.
As a result of extraordinary precau-
tions in the provision of police and
soldiery, and partly in consequence of
appeals made to the negroes by their
leaders to remain at home and to alb
stain from lawlessness on their part,
the fourth night passed in compara-
tive quiet, and the rioting has not
since been renewed.
It has been said by many during the
week that these troubles were certain
to arise anew as soon as the city re-
turns to normal and the special guards
are withdrawn. It would be an occa-
sion for deep despair if this were true.
The District would present most de-
plorable spectacle before the world,
already the object of the most severe
criticism in this country and abroad
because of the utter failure of lawful
process.
1t may be set down as beyond doubt
that outbreaks of this character do
not solve social problems Attacks by
one race upon another do not settle
questions at issue. If there is preju-
dice and anger against any class of
the, people, they are not allayed by
resort to mob violence. On the con-
trary, crime begets crime, and there
is no greater crime than wholesale at
tacks upon unoffending people because
they chance to belong to the same race
as individual criminals, however gross
or abominable their crimes may be.
Lynching has not cured the evils
which it is supposed to seek to eradi-
cate. Nor is lynehing the resort of
the mob solely for the single crime
of assaults upon womanhood. The
record stands clear in this respect.
More men have been lynched in the
states in which that form of reprisal
occurs chiefly for other offenses than
rape than for that abominable deed.
- The mob has set itself up in those
quarters as the court for all crimes
committed by negroes, and it fails alb
solutely of executing justice in SO
many eases that apart from the out
ragetupo society which the mob COM
nrits, when it takes the law into its
hands, it falls short as q means of
administering deserved punishment.
If these riots reeur in Washington
they will have their assured after
math. The city may recover from this
single outbreak and remain normal, if
passion cools and the law is permitted
to proceed, however slowly, to exact
penalties from those who are proved
guilty Of crime. But if in consequence
of ths animosities engendered by the
outbreaks of last week reprisals are
undertaken by either side, a vicious
circle of iendishness will be estab-
lished, to plague the capital from time
to time beyond endurance.
Let the law take its course. Every
effort will be made to secure speedier
procedure and to assure a more thor
oagh policing of the city, to appre-
hend the really guilty and to protect
the innocent. Assuredly, no gain will
he. made toward security and peace
through further crimes
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