Oxford eagle. (Oxford, Lafayette Co., Miss.) 1876-current, 1922-03-30
THE ANTILYNCHING BILL.
Speech of Hon. B. G. Lowrey, of
Mississippi, In the House of Rep
resentatives, Jan. 25. 1922.

"
Mississippi, In the House of Rep
resentatives, Jan. 25. 1922.
Mr.. LOWREY. Mr.. Chairman, it
is to be lamented that in debate on
so serious question as this the ever
present and ever deplorable partisan
spirit should be aroused or appealed
to, and more to be lamented that To-
cal OF sectional prejudices should
come in. Yet | Congratulate the
House and the country that this par
ticular debate has been rather un-
usually free from these features.
Every thoughtful man, be he nor
thern or southern, Republican or
Democrat, must realize that the mob
and the mob spirit as a fact can not
be otherwise than hurtful and dan
gerous, and that the safety of our
civilization depends on our getting
away from it and attaining stage
in organized society where we can
and will punish all crimes, settle all
public disturbances, and administer
all justice by the strong, hand of the
law. This principle obtains whether
we contemplate the management of
an industrial strike, North or South,
or the punishment of a Negro for as
sault on a white, North or South.
And these troubles occur in both
sections and have been dealt with
by the mob in both.
And just here let me say that | am
a friend to the Negro, as every true
southern white man is. We prefer
for him to be a black Negro. If he
has the misfortune to be a mulatto,
it is not his fault. 1t shows that his
parnets, or some of his ancestors,
have been guilty of the foulest crime
that stains the record of the two
races.
There are few questions on which
there has been so broad misunder-
standing as on the real spirit that
prevails between the southern white
man and the southern Negro. Note,
please, that l say Negro. and not
colored man. | beg no mans par
don for adopting the Technology Of
B. K. Bruce and Booker Washington,
and the ablest and best men general
ly of the race. You do the race an
injustice when you teach them to be
insulted at their correct and historic
name and the most honorable name
by which they can be called.
But back to my thought. | borrow
an illustrations: The pessimist reads
in the morning paper that Bloody
Bones got up at 6 a. m. and took the
hatchet and split his wife's head
open. Whereupon the pessimist be-
gins to moralize, "Wilat is the world
coming to? We have fallen upon
evil times, when nobody's life is safe.
Any man or woman may be murder
ed any hour, and by the nearest and
seemingly the dearest friend or rela-
tive" But the pessimist forgets
that on that very morning a hundred
thousand loyal and loving husbands
each got up and split kindling with
the hatchet, made the fire, and help
ed the cheerful and patient wife
through the morning work, and sat
down and reveled in her love and
smiles as she served the wholesome
breakfast, and then hurried away to
his days work singing in his bound
ing heart, "For my bonnie Annie
Laurie would lay me doom and dee"
But none of the hundred thousand
cases got into the newspapers.
So some people form their whole
idea of the race situation in the
South from few horrible things
that are paraded under big head
lines in the papers. "Pity, it's, it's
true" that these people know moth
ing of the hundred thousand and
more cases that do not get into the
papers where white men of financial
ability bestow all kinds of patience
and consideration upon needy Ne
groes and maintain between labor
and capital the finest spirit to be
found anywhere on earth.
AS a southern man who has spent
more than a half century in State
where the population is less than
half white, l say to you. | like the
Negro. His spirit, in the country
where | live, is generally kindly; his
wit and humor are often rich and
startling, and his philosophy unique.
Take, for instance, the case of Henry,
who was just out from serving
three months sentence in jail. Ed
asked him, "Well, Henry, how did
you injoy stayin' in jail?" "Oh,
purity go0d, replied Henry, IL ain
much hard, but its mighty constant. !"
Or the life philosophy Of the aged
the Rev. Tommy Giles,
"Now, if man will consider the
latitude of life and not agrieve his
sef' bout bein' pore, his poreness
amt gwin' to hurt him." Or the
awe of Foster when
he protested against being sent on
an errand that took him by the
church and graveyard at night. mo,
sub, / dom 'zactly spec anything to
hirt me, I'm jest kinder sceered
somp'n might sort o. jump up in dat
graveyard and make me hirt mysef."
And, finally, the reasonable conclu-
sion of Arkansas Bill, in his argu-
ment with Susan about the elephant.
"Dat thing eat hay wild his tail"
'Why, you fool niger, dat amt no
tail" "Well, if it amt tail, ! don