The Brunswick news., 1922-10-26

ment in forur hundred and thirty
seven lynchings in Georgia For the
year 1922 there have been eight lynch
ings; there have been indictmnts re
turned in four OF these eight cases.
/ a total Of twenty-five persons have
| been indicted in these four cases
i four of these persons have been sent
4 TO the penitentiary with fifteen person
| yet awaiting trial."
| The report continues to show that
these indictments were for murder
| whereas the former efforts of courts
have been only to convict persons fol-
riotous assembladges. A further sig
nidcant paragraph calls attention to
the fact that in several instances there
have been unsuccessful efforts ON the
| part of mobs in two of the instances
damage suits have. been Instituted
against members of the mob and eight
men have been indicted.
That looks like real progres. 1t is
along the right line.
One thing is true: The people
OF Georgia are opposed to lynching.
We dc not believe that this statement
has been made frequently enough.
howver. There has not been as mucl
encouragement to stand against m
rule as there should have been. Con
sequently, it has been easy for out
siders to make out rather humiliatin
cases against our people 1t did ce
tainly look like there must be
sort OF consent on the part of TIL
u.tizenry of the commonwea!t
lynching could continue at su
lul strides as the past thirty or fort
,ears indicated.
But the voice OF the great mass of
our people is being heard today as
never zefore. 1t is being being heard
in the charges of judges and III the
definite prosecution of the pant Of
solicitors and in the seriousness OF
jurors. The preachers are not failing
20 stand for the majesty OF the law,
the press is net vioce in declaring
against self-constituted authority. in
deed, one is led to believe that there
is gradually arising the c'earest note
of contempt for any who dare to mGr-
der the law and take The lives of
persons who have not been duly tried
in the courts of our state
This is an old problem. All of us
living now have heard it all our
lives. 1t was in 1892 that Governor
Northen brought the state to its feet
with his ringing words in his message
the General Assembly when he
said:
"These self-constituted judges
and executors are more than muir
derers. They have not only TAX
en- huiaan life without authority
or excuse, but they have put be
fore their fellow citizens an ex-
ample, which, if followed to any
extent. would speedily result in
the dissolution of society itself
Surely, your coming together
were worse than idle. and the ma
chinery of justice a hollow and
| expensive mockery. if your will
! after being crystallized into
solemn statutes, to be read Of all
men, can be condemned and
| trampted apon.''
| The re tort suggests three reasons
| Why lynching has continued in Geor
| sia and in other communities. First.
hat there are some pe3ple we think
a small per cent certainly, who feel
| that it is a benefaction to a commun;-
ty to get rid of the criminal by some
overnight destruction of his body.
They argue that by killing him al
once the crime lessened in the minds
Of the suffering victim and the friends
Of the victim. And the lynchers fur
Their justify action by declaring that
| The courts may make a mistake
| They do not stop to reason-reason
| is not present in mobs ever-that
they are more likely to make mis-
takes by ten to one than the intelli
gent courts. Second, the report sug
-Assts 'thfj oartain-. terd nsf justift
'ynching On he ground that it belongs
to an ancient idea of chivltry to pro
tect the innocent victim of undue pub
Lefty and by quickly putting thf
criminal to death, the public neve.
knows of the suffering of the one at
tackled or the relatives The trouble
here lies in the fact that less thar
one-fourth Of the lynchings in the
United States are for rape. Third
it is suggested that lynching has con
tinued in the this state at the fearfn
rate already indicated because publ,
opinion has never openly condemned
it. And here we have the most ter
rible responsibility as Christian peo
pie.
n r,4,a 49, l.