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Show Vhy Lynch Law Exists in America. Statistics of the lynchings perpetrated in the United States during the past twenty years have been collected by a Yale.post-graduatewbp.is making mak-ing a scientific study of this unpleasant subject The showing is not one of which any Airierican who boasts of his Nation's civilization can well be proud. During the two decades . ending January 1, 1903, ' there w ere 3233 lynchings in this country. Of these Tictiras of mob law 1872 were blacks and 1256 were whites, the color of the remaining 103 not being stated. The average yearly lynchings of blacks was, then 89 1-2, and of whites 59: Sixty -one women were' lynched," 38 of them being colored and 21 white. Not more than 35 percent of the blacks were lynched for criminal assault and about 16 per cent of the whites were lynched for. the tame crime. Only about one-half, or 1684, of these lynchings occurred oc-curred in the South, most of the remainder happening happen-ing in the Western States. It is also shown that there has been a steady decrease in lynchings in the South during the past ten years, owing to the formation of anti-lynching societies and the spread of educational agencies. It is gratifying to learn - that this murderous record, for lynching is a willful taking of life not fox the purpose of self-defense, .is growing smaller with' the hew century's advance. Yet summary sacrifice of the lives of real or sus- pected criminals is stiU prevalent enough to con-' con-' stitute a dark blot upon our boasted sense of fairness fair-ness and justice to all. A philosophic explanation of why certain of the American people continue to practice and countenance this relic of barbarism, is given by the Yale student, Mho says: "The 'American people are not less law-abiding than thosef of other countries, but they have a different attitude toward the law. In the older countries the law is regarded as a sacred authority from a superior source. Hwe the law lacks long practice and the growth of tradition. In a democracy the people are a law unto themselves. In a monarchy the officials rho enforce the law are in no way responsible to the people npon whom they enforce it. Lynching has been generally resorted to in order to terrorize - the lawless instead of to wreak vengeance. The plea of the lynchers is, 'let a past crime be met with a present crime to prevent' a future crime." But the one great solution of the lynching problem is embraced in four words: 'Respect for the law." |