Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1921-05-19


Dorsey Wednesday issued his reply
to criticisms of him by Judge w.
H. Searcy. of Griffin, and Sam Oh
i've, of Augusta, president of the
Georgia senate, whose letters were
printed early this week. His reply
this time is addressed to "the people
of Georgia" His statement in full,
with sub-heads as furnished by the
governor, follows:
To the People of Georgia:
Honorable Samuel L. Olive, presi-
dent of the senate, is correct IN say
ing: "The governor states that the
negro has been lynched and cites
five cases.
Nothing could better illustrate
tie moderation of the statement
made by me with reference to the
treatment of the negro in Georgia.
While I mentioned only five cases,
fiace 1885 mobs in Georgia have
shot, hanged, burned or drowned 415
negroes, some of them women. Since
those figures were compiled, in the
last sixty days, mob has ta'tc7 a
helpless old negro woman from her
home and drowned her by night.
The senator is mistaken in sayin"
that the case No. 5, the burning Or
a negro by slow fire while mob
Of 5000 looked on occurred in Ogle.
thorpe county. That was another
negro burned, not mentioned by me.
but called to the attention of the
public by the senator.
IN neuhnr Of these cases. men
burning human beings nor in any one
Of the Alb other cases, has mem,
Der of tho lynching mob been pun
ished in Georgia.
Judge Adams Speaks
Hen. Samuel B. Adams, Of Savan-
NAH a former member of our Su-
nreme court, in speaking before the
Georgia Bar Association in 1916,
said:
"Lawlessness Is the crime Of
crimes. the evil Of evils. Lawless-
ness, in 70 full fruition is anarchy
and anarchy is the elimination Of al
woe9 the last possibility Of tire pow
ere of darkness.
'"rhere is one form of lawlessness
j., which ,1anryia haA 'hod emf
nencn.' | refer to lynching We may
pet along in some fashion. rotwith
etanding the frequent infractinnS o?
the nenal law. hut as long as lvnch-
in0 is common. and is condone' hV
the public conscience and the nnh-
lie sentiment. we are dangerously
near anarchy. Ivnchino is inherent
w vicious. 1t strikes ut tie FONDA
+ious of law. government and So
cietv: it 'puts the lew tn omen
ghame' it is defiant of all law and
all authority. Lynchere commit n
greater crime than their victim, no
matter how GREAT III r."
Women Lv-~L~1
"The rrhlished statistics. accent
cd generally as reliable. sho" th"f
last wear there were 80 fvnchlngs IN
the United States. Of thne" lynch
ines, SIS were negroes and IA were
white people. This is six more ne
groes and II more whites than We're
Put to death by mobs in 1914. In
cluded in the record are three wo
men.
"In not less than four cases, il
was demonstrated after the lynch
ing, that the persons put to deatf
were innocent of the offenses charg
ed. Eighteen of the lynchings OF
1915 or more than one-fourth of
the total number occurred in the
state of Georgia. The bulk of those
unlawfully put to death were ne
groes: / believe all except one. On
" Is per cent of the total number
lynched in the United States were
charged with the unspeakable crime
A number of the cases involved only
charges of misdemeanor, or offense!
which at most would be trifling.
SURPRISING Facts Mistake.
"All good citizens deplore our dis
graceful record.
The question as to what is thu
remedy is noE easily answered. l
certainly does not lie in the denia
or suppression, or ignoring of tn
facts.
Il insist that it is the part no
only of honesty, but of wisdom, t,
look the facts squarely in the fa1e
impress all people with their eX
IRENE gravity and the great ev
to the state, not only as to its high
er interests, but also as to its ma
terial and business interests, and
II