The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1920-03-23

subdivisions, and this system is re-
peated everywhere in some shape in
every civilized nation.
Georgia has more counties in pro-
portion t6 population than any other
state, but let it be remembered that
at the close Of the civil war Georgia
haG only about million people and
a few over hundred counties, most
of which. as we have said, grew up
around pioneer settlements. Accord
ing to Mr. Wimpy Georgia now has
154 counties. but Georgia in 1910 had
100000 people, and now probably
has 100000, showing the increase in
counties has hardly been 25 per cent
of the increase in population. From
all we know on the subject, the in
crease in counties has been mostly for
convenience in government. The same
increase in counties is going on all
over the United States, and the reason
is that the county is the most work
manlike unit of government, and peo-
pie in county of forty or fifty thou
sand people will take more personal
interest in their county affairs than
those in county of 100000 or more.
If you will take a statistical table
Of the United States you will find
there is not much difference in the
size of counties in the various states
They strike an average the nation
thru. But the political subdivisions
of Europe, the parishes of England,
the communes of France and Switzer-
land, are much smaller than American
counties. Yet in those three nations
lynching is almost unknown, which
does away with one side of Mr.. VIM
py's argument that small units of
government breed crime-that is. I'M
less Mr.. Wimpy thinks lynching is
the only crime.
In the United States last year sew
| enty-fve negroes were lynched, most
of them being in the South. and near
~ all for "the usual crime" The
| South covers more territory-more
than a million square miles-than
| Great Britain and Ireland, France,
Germany. Austria. Spain and Italy
all put together. There was less than
one lynching for every fifteen thou
sand square miles. The South has
over 100000 people, and of these
| a little over two in a million were
lynched. Yet Mr.. Wimpy and good
many other people say that lynching
is the greatest threat to our civiliza-
ton, and give you the idea that in the
South there is at least one lynching a
week in every precinct, when the truth
is that millions of people have lived
sol L.
ing anything about lynching except
what they have read in the papers.
There is-and Mr.. Wimpy and eve
ry other American should know it
but one cause for lynchings in the
South, and that is the worst of crimes
committed on women, and when one
of these crimes is committed the
wronged woman's relatives will run
down and kill the perpetrator if they
can possibly do so. Southern men are
no different from others in this re-
spect. All over the world men, white
black, yellow and brown, will defend
their women or avenge their wrongs
A man who won't do so isn't fit for &
real man to associate with. Most OF
the men who criticise the South would
act like Southern men if they lived il
the South. They have not had the
redhot iron of such an outrage driver
into their souls, and they don't know
, what they are talking about.
Lynching, if it be a crime, is no
the only crime. In the southern state!
! life and property are safer than il
: many other parts of the world. W.
/ have been in big cities and we have
: been in the thinly settled country. w,
, would feel safer at night in the middl,
CT Florida forest than in some of tn,
! most thickly populated portions of tn,
: towns. The truth is that we think {;
! careful analysis will show that womel
r are safer in the South than elsewhere
? Once in a while, brutal negro will
. commit an outrage on a white woman
, and be visited with summary ven
:. geance. But these negroes are excep
D tions. AS a general thing. a whit
D woman is safe from anything like in
1 suit from negroes. A southern WON
4 an can generally walk safe and re
= spected thru a crowd of negro men
but judging by all we have heard an,
l Tcdu, dIIu SOIue IHlIlSS we nave seen
if a white woman in a northern tow
r passes by crowd of white loafers o
< toughs on the street. she is lucky i
D she doesn't hear an insulting remarl
e about her if not directly at her. Rap
f is the southern white mans most un
] usual crime. But read thru the dali
,, dispatches and mark how many WON
r en- and girls in northern states ar
< outraged and murdered every year b.
white men, large number of whom
e escape punishment. Why? In tn
: South, woman outraged has a com
a munity to summarily avenge her
n even if she is a stranger. In tn
s North, if she is without Influential
! relatives, if she is working woman
( or girl, maybe at distance from he
t friends, she is any mans prey. If sh
= is disgraced or outraged the tard
n officials of the law may put the Grim
lnal in nriSOn hut the rest of RI