Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1922-01-14
ADOP7 :ANT|.LYNCHLA LAW
. IN REPUBLICAN, HOUSE:

Chairman Fcss Reports 1921 Deaths
by Mob Violence in 80 Years
of Which 21O in North.
| Washington, Dec.-By an over
whelming vote the Republican major.
ity in the House has gone on recor,l
| against the crime Of Iynching.
| 1t is provided in, the bill just passed
| tlElt whenever Il person, white or
black, believes he will not receive in
his State. the equal justice under the
Constitution to which he is entitled
| he shall have recourse to the protec.
ton Of the federal government as repre-
| scented by the United States marshal,
and that any person or persons attemD
! ting to take him from the custody of
the marshal shall be fined $4,000 or
imprisoned 70 ten years; that an.
person participating in an actual lynch
ing shall be guilty Of murder and shall
| be punished accordingly.
! Chairman Simeon d. Tess. Of tn.
| National Republican Congressional
Committee in urging the measure said.
| 1.-THE interest involved in the legis-
lation Is so paramount, it strikes me,
that the House of Representatives
| should not hesitate to take q position.
| The report that has been made upcn
the bill by the committee reporting It
gives some very startling facts about
the subject Of lynchiiig. 1t Is a SAD
comment upon the high standard Of
our civilization, when compared with
! other countries. The report states tina,
in The 30 years from 1899 to 1918. b.
224 persons were lynched OF whom g.
622 were Negroes and Of these 80 were
| women. The North had 219, the West
1N6, Alaska and unknown locolitics.
10 and tire South had 1854 with Gcos
gia leading with 3GS, Mississippi fol
lowing with 372. The report goes Oh,
| to State that in the State OF Georgi.
| where 363 lynchings occurred the Ne
| groes paid taxes OH 1,664, 1868 acres Of
property assessed at 100000. These
startling figures demand the attention
| OF this Congress. The report which
| Will be Of interest to all Members
who are concerned with 1.-THE good name
| of the Nation specifics the number OF
lynchings in the various States rec
! ognize that there is feeling in he
| minds OF some that the bill is especial
] iy designed for the protection Of acAr
tain people with little concern for 9th
ers and is to be applied to a certain
section Of the country. That IS really
not entirely true; it may be largely so
| since in certain sections are found the
| great number and affects one race
| more than another. The truth about
| the matter is that the law is just is
| applicable to Ohio as to The South. Jf
| it affects the latter more it is because
| its crimes are greater. However, one
| OF the most indescribable lynchings Of
| all the country, indescribable because
| OF Its lawlessness and brutality, took
place in my own State of Ohio. I,
was. the lynching Of a representative
citizen who had been very active in
| The agitation Of the promotion OF tenn
! perance sentiment for the prohibition
| OF the liquor traffic. He had become
very active, and had SO wrought up y
portion Of the population that he was
| pursued by mob which took the law
| into their own hands in defiance of the
] authority Of the town. He was taken
| by an angry mob, made up it was satt
by residents Of one Of the most respec
! table cities Of Ohio, and inhumanly
| treated beyond description. It was so
| amazing and so shocked the bette,
| sense Of the people, not only OF the city
\
| tire country, that one Of the best writ
| erS In America was sent to the city to
make a study Of the general morale or
the town which had permitted such all
outrage, especially in view Of the fact
that such an inhuman performance
could take place in what was looked
| upon as one Of the best cities Of the
State. The upshot OF this sort Of law
| fnh Ia
name Of any State was a legislative act
| in the State OF Ohio on the basis Of
this bill, which We now propose for the
| Nation.
If we have law in Ohio furnishing
| lynching and a law in the Federal
Government for the same purpose
there is concurrent jurisdiction both
by State and Nation over the cases TO
be dealt with by the State, if it will
do Its duty and by the Nation If the
State refuses to do it's duty. This bill
| is no interference whatever in the en-
forcement Of the law in Ohio. In ad-
dition it supplements the law Of Ohio
and better still; it supplies authority
for protection in the States which do
| not afford protection. meant to state
that the law put upon tho statute
books by my own State was similar to
this law. I think that every man who
is acquainted with the situation in my
own State recognizes the salutary ef-
feet Of that law. No one desires it re
pea1ed. 1t is written upon tho princi-
pie that IL an outlawry Of any city;
such as have in mind would pemit
such an inhuman thing as this; then
the city itself ought to suffer the penal
ty Of tho outlawry. That is in sub.
stance what this bill proposes to 10
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