Evening star., 1926-10-18

South Declared in Need of Aid
to Curb "Bloodthirsty Brutes.
To the Editor of The Star:

To the Editor of The Star:
It seems that some Of our dailies
(notably an editorial in the New York
World of October 81 are trying to
minimize the awful significance of the
fact that two colored boys and girl
were lynched in South Carolina after
one of the boys had been declared not
guilty of murder and when it was rea-
sonable to expect that the other boy
and girl would also be freed OF the
charge. The World rings the changes
on the idea that the authorities ana
the better people are altogether biame-
less of this mob murder, that the
courts had done all they could uo'
and that there was mo mobbing or a
colored man. by the authorities
and that all the trouble is due to the
mere little insignificant fact that
"bloodthirsty brutes merely took mat
ters in their own hands,
But just that is the gravest pnase
of the whole matter: the society of the
South has so conditioned the life or
its negro people that even the power Oh
the State. the authority of the courts
and all the goodness of its good
people cannot protect an innocent ne
gro child from being lynched by
"bloodthirsty brutes." What does that
mean? 1t means that the South, the
better South, needs the cooperate
and help Of the rest of the Republic TO
save civilization in the South. But
this Is the one necessary conclusion
which the New York World and some
other apologetic sources seem reiuc-
tant to reach. If the situation is as
4 u n 0nti-lVnCn-
ing law of the Congress and the power
of the National Government are soreiy
needed in every community like Soutti
Carolina.
The writer Of this letter Is 40 years
old and has lived at least tWo-thlros
of all his life in the heart OF the South
and he is not SO sure, as is the New
York World, OF the absolute incur
pableness Of the better South for the
action of these "bloodthirsty brutes.
Tho I.egislature of South Carolina, FOR
example. has passed scores or laws
discriminating against colored cltlzens
and excluding" them from equahty
in almost everything except the equal
ri,~ht to nav taxes. These discriminate
ing laws give the impression to the
lesser minds of the white majority
that the negro is little less than hu-
man. and the simpler minds are SO
logical that they conclude that II a
negro should not have the same
chance as q white man in a puoilc
D3rIz, on the public vehicles and IN the
voting booths he also should not nave
the same rights as a white person III
court Of justice.
And we are forced to acKnoWleoST
th9t in this conclusion the lesser
minds show themselves to be more
LOGICAL than the Legislature. Inc ac-
tion of these "blCodthirsty brutes IS
terribly consistent with the action OF
those Southern Senators WHO salo
on the floor of Congress that lFnchlnS
was for rape and that they were op-
nosed to a national law against iynch-
ire A lynching is the most lo@lcai
conclusion Of dirty jim crow car. Inc
h7,man mind is too simple a thing,
esnnc;allv the mind of the unsopfllsti-
Gated mob, to be able TO c0mpfFheno
that a negro is at ore ana the same
time like other human beings and dt-
feren+ from all other human beings
t and that negro people are To be treat
cd with Injustice. contempt and ter
roriem everywhere else except III
courts of law and in jalls.
| If the political and social ph1losop,h;y' y
ana practices of the letter Soorn
have made it powerless before ITS
| "bloodthirsty brutes,' the South
needs some outside help.
VIM. PICKENS,
Field Secretary of the National
Association for Advancement OF
COiCred People.