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ber the whites, the possibility of such outrages is a perpetual menace to every household; and, while extremely rare during the existence of slavery, these crimes appear to be on the increase in some quarters. That outrages of this description have done more than all other causes combined to retard the advancement of the black race since emancipation is unquestionably true. At the same time, the whole past history of the relations between the two races in America proves that this offense cannot be charged against the negroes as a race. In by far the greater number of cases the crime is committed by the more worthless blacks-ordinarily strange niggers," or members of that vagrant class of black proletariat that has sprung up since the great economic changes of recent years have transformed the South. For the misdeeds of these shiftless vagabonds a whole race is made to suffer. Lacking steady employment, and frequently too lazy to work even when employment is possible, these idle, vicious persons roam over the country, a prey to every brutal propensity. As a rule, their attacks upon women occur at certain seasons of the year in the rural districts, or in the outskirts of towns where there is no police protection whatever. When captured and tortured by mobs they ordinarily meet with stolid indifference whatever treatment they receive. The class to which they belong, moreover, never read the newspapers. Few of them know, indeed, what takes place fifty miles distant. Even if they do, the actions of the mob not only familiarize them with the crime which naturally arouses the indignation of men as no other crime can, but not infrequently tempts them to commit it. At the same time respectable colored persons, who are usually outspoken in their denunciation of such assaults, are made to feel that their race cannot get a fair trial in courts of justice. Thus a breach between the two elements of our population takes place, and confidence is destroyed where it ought to be cultivated.

From what has been said already it is scarcely necessary to add that, so far from extirpating the evil complained of, lynch law has actually increased the number of attacks upon

females. Judge Lynch, moreover, has meanwhile so extended his jurisdiction as to execute persons accused of all manner of crimes; for, so far from confining his executions to persons accused of crimes against women, he now puts to death those accused of all sorts of breaches of the law from murder to larceny.

Mob law having once been tolerated in certain cases, has now asserted itself in all kinds of cases, and the mob reasons that, if a negro can be lynched for ordinary offenses, "hanging is too good for him" where a woman has been assaulted. Behold, therefore, the rise of the practice of burning the accused at the stake in the presence of approving spectators, who vie with one another in devising means of torture! The quivering body of a dying wretch is frequently subjected to those indignities known among the less-developed Indian tribes, and the entire community is brutalized. Now if such deeds checked crime, elevated the criminal class, and were calculated to promote among the members of a community those sentiments of justice and mercy so essential to enlightenment, then indeed might the rest of the world tear a leaf out of the book of our jurisprudence and close the doors of their courts. But the expe

rience of the human race is entirely opposed to any such theory. By an inexorable law violence begets violence. No earthly substitute therefore can be found for the duly ordained tribunals for the trial of offenders against the law. Once connive at the overthrow of the law in a particular instance, and the reign of anarchy begins.

One purpose of the criminal law is to prevent those acts of violence on the part of worthless negroes which are so well calculated to arouse the passionate indignation of all persons. To prevent such acts, provisions are made for the trial of the accused, and if he is found guilty, the severest punishment is meted out to him throughout the South. That such a penalty is deserved no one familiar with Southern conditions can possibly gainsay. And experience is fast convincing people everywhere that the best possible substitute for mob law is a return to the courts. What is of greater importance

still is the lesson that the honor and protection of women may far more wisely be left to the various organs of government than to lawless bands of murderers.

In assaults on women an unwillingness on the part of the victim to appear in court is often assigned as an excuse for mob law, and it is easy to appreciate this reluctance of the woman when it is recalled that the trial is thrown open to the public. To the experience already encountered must, under many present arrangements, be added the further misfortune of being obliged to tell her story of wrong to the court in the presence of a gaping crowd of spectators. But there is no reason why the criminal procedure could not be so altered as to exclude from such trials all persons save the parties and the jury. Indeed, such a change is demanded in the interests of mankind.

Where persons are lynched on charges of murder, arson, robbery, larceny, and similar offenses, they are almost invariably negroes, although it is unfortunately true that the whites are themselves not wholly free from such crimes. It is urged in defense of self-help in such cases that the courts of law fail to render speedy and accurate justice. The gross abuse of the right of appeal and of the pardoning power are also urged as extenuating circumstances. All this sounds. strangely enough, however, when one remembers that throughout the South the white race and the political party to which most of its members belong are in control of all the machinery of government. Hence these and other facts ought to make the task of good citizens plain. They must at least make possible a clearer knowledge of prevailing con

ditions.

The cure for lynch law is to be sought in preventive rather than in repressive measures. This was the great lesson taught England by Sir Samuel Romilly and Sir James Macintosh, through whose influence the rude features of the English law were so materially improved. It is the great truth, moreover, experience has forced upon the medical profession. Instead of the ancient practices of bleeding and purging, physicians have made their greatest strides since

they have learned how to care for the public health by sanitation and other modes of preventing disease. In like manner experience has demonstrated that the growth of crime is to be checked, not so much by the cruelty and severity of the punishment, which was the great error of the Middle Ages, as by the swiftness and certainty of the punishment. These are not theories. They are facts demonstrated by the whole experience of mankind.

Among the preventives to crime education stands foremost, but to prove effective it must be of a far different type from that usually afforded the youth of both races by the public schools of the Southern States. The whole system of public instruction ought to be so reconstructed as to impart to both white and black children that technical and moral training of which they usually stand so much in need.

In this connection care must be taken to recognize the vast industrial changes that are taking place in the South. Entire sections which were wholly given over to agriculture a decade or two ago now feel the vitalizing influences of modern industry and witness the rise of new towns and cities. Whites and blacks have flocked to these rising municipalities to seek a more congenial atmosphere than that surrounding the moribund plantation, whilst those who have remained on the countryside suffer very often by reason of the absence of those social agencies which make life pleasant and inspiring. And it may yet be many years before one may see an efficient system of public instruction developed in such regions. Strange to say, even in the larger towns of the South, a free public library is a curiosity. Even where such an institution exists it is often the gift of an outsider. Fortunately, however, public sentiment is awaking to their importance in Southern towns, and libraries are on the way. There is no reason why something cannot be done to raise, in a similar manner, the standard of living in the backwoods; for much of the lawlessness of such communities may be directly traced to ignorance, idleness, and a natural craving for recreation, which should be properly directed. Suffering from the monotony of their existence, gangs of men and

boys frequently hail a lynching as a happy diversion from their sordid experiences. No less important is the need of a rural constabulary. A well-disciplined, mounted police force, composed, like that of Canada and South Africa, of responsible, sober men, would be a great gain to the country districts. Not only would such a force largely aid in the protection of women and children, but its members could also materially improve the country in other ways. There is no reason, for example, why they could not perform their police duties and also render services in connection with the roads and schools. In some remote portions of the South parents are naturally afraid to send their children to school, where the little ones must walk several miles, but the presence of mounted police would banish all fears. This force could also inspect the roads, arrest vagrants, and otherwise add to the convenience and security of the public. It was the old patrol of the South that did so much to preserve order.

Another point to be considered in connection with lynching has already briefly been referred to, and that is the lack of confidence some communities betray in regard to their criminal courts. This, surely, is a most disheartening sign; for in such communities men appear to feel a greater sense of security regarding the rights of property than those of the person. That there is often some show of reason for this deplorable skepticism is a fact beyond controversy. A little reflection may make the truth more obvious to those who will be surprised at this remark. In the first place, there is the very great distinction which exists not only between the laws defining crimes and property, but also between the methods of trial in the two sorts of courts. For while courts of civil jurisdiction have had their procedure greatly ameliorated through the influence of equitable principles, criminal tribunals still adhere to the technical rules of the common law. Therefore such tribunals have in many portions of the country retained the prolix and tortuous practice of the old English system, while the ease with which appeals may be made has had a tendency further to weaken popular confidence in the criminal courts. Unfortunately, moreover, the character of