The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1926-02-27

VI th0 Jill III TIC ldll VI 1JAA--W hACil
The republicans were unable to avoid
the republican caucus in congress,
while pretending to be heartily in
favor of the measure has made every
effort to lose it on one pretext or an
other. The recent newspaper cam
paign against the bill is only the
climax of the long story.
The prevalence of lynching, espe-
cially in the southern states, no one
in congress attempted to dispute. The
report of the house judiciary commit
tee said:
"In the thirty years from 1889 to
1918, 1928 persons were lynehed, Of
whom 1892 were Negroes and Of
these fifty were women the south
(had) 1884, with Georgia leading
with 386 and Mississippi following
with 3d.. In the year 1919, IT
Negroes, whites and Mexieans
were lynched; ten of the Negroes
were ex-soldiers, one was woman.
During 1920 there were IS persons
lynched; 6 were white and SO were
Negroes; 81 were hanged, is shot.
8 burned, 2 drowned, I logged to
death, and 8. manner unknown"
OF course the charge that the Negro
is beast who will take advantage of
the Dyer law to commit atrocities,
that he is especially prone to crime
md must be dealt with by special
measures, is one of the lies which
he ruling class of the south land of
the whole of the United States, for
that matter) has used to poison the
minds Of white workers against black,
to keep the Negro in a state Of semi
slavery for the benefit of the rich en-
ployer.
Many of the members of lynching
parties in the south, knowing that no
state official would presume to arrest
a white man for the murder of a
Negro, have taken no trouble to con-
ceal their identity. "A Jew weeks ago
the Chicago Defender, a Negro week
ly, was able to print the picture of a
mob, taken while the mob was in the
act of burning a Negro. The members
of the mob did not attempt to prevent
the picture being taken, nor to deny
their identity when the photograph
was printed.
The Dyer anti-lynching bill provides
that any member of mob which puts
someone to death shall be imprisoned
for life, or for not less than five years,
and that state and municipal officials
who thru neglect of duty fail to pre-
vent lynchings shall be imprisoned
not more than five years or fined not
more than $4,000. Federal district
courts would have jurisdiction. A pro-
vision originally contained in the BILL
but later stricken out at the behest of
the senate, required any county in
which a person is lynched to forfeit
$4,000, which would go to the family
of the victim. The bill defines "a mob
or riotous assemblage" as IAN assemb-
ly composed of five or more persons
acting in concert for the purpose of
depriving any person of his life with
out authority of law, (This number
was later changed to three.)
The hideous Joker" in this bill is
easily seen. 1t is well understood that
such law, in the hands of a capital
list class government, would never be
used in defense Of members or groups
of the exploited classes, but if ever
applied (any more than the fourteenth
and fifteenth amendments to the con-
stitution) it would be applied only for
the framing up and hanging of such
"a mob or riotous assemblage" as the
Negro tenant-farmers OF Elaine, Ark,
or Of strikers-Negro or white-whose
ASSEMBLY composed of three or more
persons acting in concert" for resist
ance to exploitation would be quickly
.djudged to have the purpose of de-
priving any person of his life without
authority of law" If, as usual, the
agents of the ruling class succeeded