The Morning Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Okla.) 1919-1927, 1921-07-15
barometer of Public OpiniOn
A story With an Application


Eitor world Sometime in the winter uf
S','', ! do not recall exact dates now, Rich
enc tnow Southoru) railway. married "A young
a,ny y I'nE In an east Mississippi town, repro
puiIhE himHnlf Hs divorced from his former
NJ, WIN "h"m he had previously lived att
birmingham. Ala. From this flrn marriage
thrt" Wcr" thtc" children.
Shortly before his second marriage HaycaI
i''d placed one. a small boy. with relatives and
ms I'ai WiIr dnd the other two children had
dI'ipp"1rcd in manner sufficiently mysterious
TO luWify police inquiry
. Wmlc on ms way to Mississippi to be mar
req the dead body Of his wifc and one of the
children were found by the police in a small
Inke near Birmingham and that OF another
child In another lake several milo. away
IheSo discoveries were made while lIawes
was on route to and from his wedding or rather
nbout tho time ne had boarded II train to
turn TO Birmingham, and ne was arrested upon
nIighting from tn" train thorc-hts new wife
returning to her home in Mississippi on the
- - run. raves was at once placed In the
Az ven as / recaI the time, within % hours
raging mob black and white. had formed
and were advancing on the Jail for the purpose
OF NnChIng the triple murderer.
IN the meantime the sheriff. Joseph Smith,
had sworn in ana armed with rifles enough
deputies to form company OF national guards
ana lald out dead line announcing that IL
to KIN"
The warning wero not needed and the result
was awful. At this late day / do not rcmen-
h'r tn" number Of dead and the number Of
wounded was never known definitely. one dis
! Of several prominent men who. it developed
! later were trying to persuade the mob to dis
! pcisr ana 20 home. one of these was Maurice
| H. Thtuckmortuu, postmaster of Birmingham.
IN" militia came Later but they had nothing
| to do. although IL was feared for a time that
! further mob violence might he directed against
I the sheriff and his dcputics, however there was
no further demonstration. There was consid-
mad 10 stand a trial but was acquitted. This
latter incident was possibly one reason, tor
! by police and shcriffI. for no officer cares to
undergo murder trial for doing his duty
tn" other incident occurred ten years later
| ~ "a smaller city IN Georgia where negro had
| committed the crime that down south means
death either by lynch law, or moro rarely
This negro was placed in the city prison, the
! county jail being temporarily out Of commits
sion and the city authorities assumed the re
I spuUrihility
A. that time the mayor waa a jew Of foreign
| birth who had done army service before com.
! ing to- America and when ho was approached by
| the county and stat" authorities regarding ass
| sia,aucc from the militia he declined IT, stating
| that he needed no outside help.
Ills announcement which ho carried out to
! mo letter w1' that unth the prisoner was
removed to Atlanta there would be enough poo
| Hccmcn, regular and special. to take care OF
! amy sized mob and that instead OF clubs they
/ would ha armed with rifles and royUlycrs and
| ordered To shoot to kin anything ON two foot
/ that came near the city Jail There is re-
! mote possibility that it wac partly "hlutf" but
| lynchlug. within IS hours tho prisoner was
! and within a few weeks was tried, sentenced
/, VIII hc noted tina, in the last named case
/ thrrc was no hostility whatever displayed
! towards the negro population because OF tho
/ crimc Of ono and this has always been the gem
/ rlaI rule in the old south. ON one occasion there
! was such a demonstration At Atlanta. but that
/ city is southern only In location and inVestiga-
+ tiuu would prove that tn" larger part of its
/ population come from north of the ohio river
. and east ot the Mississippi At an earlier date
/ have known OF negroes assisting generally
/ indirectly, sometimes actively IN executing "a
"nJ kn,y ~ On" case IN M,s4is,,nni VIM. a
BAL tAA Afs