The vidette. (Iuka, Tishomingo County, Miss.) 1912-1967, 1922-03-09
Hon. J. {. Rankin Speaks

1o'NSH W 1'oii' u. II. hd1klD mas
been very favorably commented or
oy democrats of the House and
senate and Others who have read il:
Mr.. Rankin. Mr.. Chairman, this
so-called antilynching bill is one of the
most drastic and most vicious meas
ures that ever came before this BODY.
Yet, if thought it would stop lynch
lngs, and at the same time prevent
the awful causes of lynchings, with
out infringing on the rights of the
states, doing violence to the consti-
tuition, destroying the rights of our
citizens, or unjustly penalizing ihno-
cent persons for the offenses of other
people, | would consider giving it my
support.
But l know it will not do that; it
was not intended for that purpose. 1t
Is but a play to the negro agitator for
political effect, and it will not only
fall to decrease the number of lynch
lngs, or remedy the causes therefor,
but it will encourage the negro brutes
IN their attacks on the det-nseless
white woman of the country. Gap
plause.)
AS thu gentleman from Tennessee
(Mr. Garrett) said, it ought to be
called "a bill to encourage rape"
That will be the result if it becomes
law. 1t will cost the lives of inno-
cent white women and children, thru
out the South, if not thruout the en-
tire country. You men from the North
nave never known what it means to
live in state of constant dread for
the safety of yo1r loved ones. Here
lotore you have had little or no race
question. But in the South it is diff
ferent. The shadow of the negro
criminal constantly hangs, as Mr.. Gar
rett says, like the sword of Damocles
over the head of every white woman in
the South and no one knows just when
OF where it is going to fall.
lnsuring the Life of the Criminal
The vicious negroes will understand
from this bill that they are protected
in their crimes. They will see that
by its terms they are assured Of the
protection of the Federal Government.
and that if their crimes are so re-
voting as to invoke the wrath of an
outraged community to such an extent
that they rise up and take the life of
the offender then that community or
county is to be fined in the sum of
$4,000 to be paid to his family, no
matter how atrocious his crime may
have been. In other words it insures
the life of the negro rapist for $10,-
600, to be paid to his family by the
family and the neighbors of mis- vic
tim.
Already this bill is producing re-
suits. Four assaults were committed
on white women by negro brures our
ing the first week of its consideration
by this house. One of them took place
in an apartment house in the city of
Washington, i,gEs a tie very shadow
OF the dome of this Capitol, another
occurred in the state of Maryland,
less than so miles away. one occur
led in Pittsburg, Pa, and another in
Hattiesburg, Miss, and how many
others happened in other sections of
the country, God only knows.
| am not in favor of lynching, and
never have been. l wish it were in my
power to forever stamp it out. But
there is only one way in which that
can be done, and that is to remove the
cause, to stop the awful crimes for
which men are thus put to death. For
no matter what the law is, so long as
those outrages continue society will
be occasionally shocked by outbreaks
of mob violence. But this bill is not
designed to prevent the cause of lyn-
ching, nor have its supporters uttered I
a single word against the commission
of those horrible crimes Of which
lynchings are the logical results.
Typical Negro Outrages.
Several years ago negro brute en-
tered home, not very far from
where live. in which there were only
two persons at the time, mother and
her daughter. The mother knew the
moment she looked upon Ills savage
countenance what his hellish designs
were.
She rushed between him and his in
tended victim, met him at the door
of her daughters room, when he seiz-
ed her, drew razor, and cut her
throat from ear to ear. She held the
gaping wound with her hands and
shrieked loud enough to warn her
daughter to flee, and thereby saved
her from a more terrible fate. When
the men of that community gathered
nd looked upon that dead mother who
had laid down her life to save her
daughter from this demon in human
form. do you suppose they remained
cool and collected and conducted them
selves as rational men,
There has been something said in
tie course of this debate about the
negro that was put to death in Mem
phisa Tennessee, two years ago. | do
not know OF any place where the ne
l,,,,a baen treated with more