Salt Lake Telegram | 1938-01-05 | Page 6 | The Lynching Record

The Lynching Record s record for mob lynching in the HIS year years year's THIS United States stands at eight the same as asfor for fox last year In e each ch case the victim was a hands of the negro and in each case he was in the law Three were taken from jails and five were taken outside of on jails jails' when they were in custody of law officers Five southern states contributed to this shameful shameful shameful shame shame- ful record Alabama Georgia and Tennessee account for one each In Mississippi two lynch- lynch ings occurred while Florida tops the list with three Two of the victims were tortured with blow torches before they died Then one was shot to death and the other burned to death In 1935 in the south numbered 20 and in the year preceding there were fifteen The figures fail to show progressive decreases in successive years It should be evident that the southern states are unequal for whatever cause to deal with this hideous form of lawlessness lawlessness lawlessness law law- and inhumanity It continues to be a reproach to the nation far beyond defense as a manifestation of southern chivalry and in spite of the rhetorical f fulminations of southern editors a vestige of savagery for which the old slave states should hang their heads in shame Lynching has no place in civilized states Not in one of these cases cases cafes was there here ground to fear the escape of a single negro All were in custody and due to be dealt with in lawful and orderly proceedings No matter how heinous the offenses charged against these eight men under the law long honored in the United States each was entitled to a fair trial before a jury and to be confronted by his accuser These five southern states have not one single word of valid defense to present in their behalf The only gratifying fact shown in statistics compiler by the Tuskegee institute which we have consulted is that there were 56 instances in which officers of the law prevented lynch lynch- ings involving five white men and 72 negroes of whom two were women and 70 were men The five white men were threatened in the northern states and the negroes in the south