St. Louis Post-Dispatch
August 22, 1915
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ST Lou's POST-OISPATCH _ (THE! MIRRO The Frank Lynching Condemned | ‘VIEING WITH MEXICO.” reurswick (Ga.) News: Is the proud com- monwealth of Georgia vieing with bloody Mexico in the outlawry business? Have we reached that stage of brutality where every man becomes a law unto himself and banding with its infuriated neighbor stalks through the land to assassinate law and order and bring ignomy upon the head of cur once proud old State? Does not the spectacle of lynching Leo Frank offer to the sober-minded people of Georgia the most serious food for reflec- tion that had been brought to them in a half- century ? It was wrong for the spirit of the mob to have appeared when Frank was tried. It was wrong when this same spirit pursued the trial Judge to the very brink of his grave, threatened the life of the Governor and drove him from the State. LYNCHZRS AS ‘AVENGING ANGELS’ Macon (Ga.) Daily Telegraph: The shocking ease with which a score of men raped the State Penitentiary, the Warden ‘of which has boasted that “only Von Kluck and his 42-centimeters could ever take that bastile,” demands instant and vig- crous attention. It is said every effort will be made to apprehend these men. Doubtless they can be ere doubtful they will. Four publications in particular, several Gover- nors, not a few Northern delegations invading Georgia, many editorials in prominent publica- tions outside the State by editors who were not informed initiated the feeling of resentment in Georgia. Thomas E. Watson, through the medium of bis monthly and weekly publications, widely read in Georgia, vigorously contended that the jury was right and that Frank was guilty—that he should hang. He made out an infinitely more im- pressive case for the State than Dorsey ever did. Attacks were made on him by the outside press, .¢notably by Puck, and because the New York Times and the New York World also made such a tre- mendous fight for Frank, aided by Collier’s Week- ly, attacking the State and declaring Frank was convicted because of anti-Semetic feeling rather than the evidence, Watson accepted the challenge NO LACK OF COAST DEFENSES HERE. thus thrown down and in a very few weeks the —Stinson in Dayton News. State was seething. : s That Frank’s commutation was secured by the Cotton Made Contraband of War |}! > et ccorsis’baiiere "SS she ty eT ee ee eS ie eg MES yet tae =. i RM 4S ene i were ot a wee. " 4 r ea" ¥ xe —) - Ne Re Ry 1 Seer aa Ee ot eee 2 ae _ MM x pe are Ages id eae : niet, ant tae w ae Sek ot 5 ee ~ ret a é Bia \ oh + ¥, BP ix em Se Georgian who would not countenance the crime that was contemplated. When the case and the prisoner passed from his hands it behooved his successor to afford sufficient protection to a man committed to prison for life upon evidence which in an ordinary case would not have resulted in eonviction. No explanation of the State’s negli- gence in allowing the lynching to occur will be heard patiently outside of Georgia. The State must now convict the murderers or confess the crime. GEORGIA’S DUTY. Baltimore Frening Sun: The criminals who have lynched Frank are murderers in morals as well as law, and the authorities must hunt them down relentlessly and punish them mercilessly if they are not to lay themselves open to the sus- picion of virtual complicity in the crime, , or sym- pathy with the criminals. “Not a few Georgians have made themselves accomplices before the act by becoming parties to the mob passion which demanded Frank’s life, without regard to law or evidence. It remains to be seen whether the present Governor and those associated with him in.the administration of public affairs in Georgia will make themselves accomplices after the fact by a feeble and per- functory performance of their duty, and whether at last decent public sentiment, shocked into a realization of responsibility, will assert itself with the vigor that the occasion demands. MORAL REVOLUTION NEEDED. Cincinnati Commercial Tribune: An analysis of the case leads to the conclusion that from the beginning there was a calm, passionless, cruel de- termination to destroy Frank, and the men re- svonsible for it have violated every law of God and man, have debauched the press, stifled the voice of free speech, murdered every feeling of courage and chivalry to carry out their relentless plan. The result is a stain upon the name of Georgia vhich nothing short of complete atonement and a moral revolution can wipe out. LHE STATE SOUND AT HEART. Cincinnati Enquirer: Georgia needs to be purged,’ perhaps even by fire. The seeds of an- archy have been planted deep, and a harvest of wrath awaits her unless the work of the mob is quickly and completely undone by the sane, sober, responsible members of the commonwealth and the sewers of discord and destruction adequately vie jetim * Matt ye). > = —~«" weet) Bh ys * + ' ‘ES ce) teat ae Si | a. HS My a as : HLS Tit TUS ya oe. STS O17 ae the people of Georgia believe. WHAT ENGLAND SHOULD DO. Louisville Courier-Journal: If the blockade ie to be allowed to continue in operation, and is to be supplemented by a further damaging and unwarranted invasion of neutral rights, it is dif- ficult to regard the situation hopefully. Great Britain cannot eat her cake and have it, too. Either she must bring her blockade into con- formity with international law and abide by the results, or she must abandon it and rely upon other instruments for accomplishing her purpose * with Germany. This is what her best advisers— in press and in public meetings—have told her. This is the word that the State Department gave out when the orders in council were issued. It is the — from which this Government connot re- cede. OUR RIGHT TO SELL. Philadelphia Press: Germany declared cotton contraband at the very beginning and is ready to torpedo any ship ‘carrying cotton to Great Bri- taim. Both these belligerent Powers want our cot- ton very much for themselves, and want very mueh to exclude it from each other. Besides the demand for it by the cotton mills of both coun- tries, cotton is the basis of guncotton and smoke- less powder. Though inocuous in itself, it. is easily converted into most potent munitions of war. Much more innocent products have been _ declared contraband. We cannot object to that designation, but we do declare we have a right to send our cotton to neutral nations, and neither Great Britain nor Germany has any right to inter- _ “fere with that trade. ‘This is the basis of our contention with both these countries. We want them to conduct their fight with each other without distributing some of their blows upon innocent bystanders. There no reason why neutral nations should inter- rupt. their trade and suspend business because nations are at war. Holland, Denmark, _ Norway and Sweden are at peace with the United States. ‘and have a right to buy and import our cotton an@ conduct all other trade with us with- out molestation or interference by the nations at we with each other. - IN VOLVES LA W-BREAKIN G. _ Philadelphia Record: The asertion that cot- ton is a necessary ingredient of ammunition and, ’ therefore, contrabandable is not correct. Cellu- lose, the basis of guncotton, may be obtained from other fibrous material, and it is credibly reported .that German chemists have found a substitute in wood pulp. The basic element of most varieties of smokeless powder now employed is benzol, o V scgsadines’ product. At any rate, the fact that cot- ton was useful in the manufacture of explosives Was. ‘well known to the delegates to the London 1h _ conference when they agreed to make cotton ab- rd ‘Robert well says that the problem of giving rican growers their market in neutral coun- ‘adjacent to Germany, and yet preventing eC 2 dity agp gosto Great Britain's en- ds difficu of solution. Indeed, it is in- f course, it. would make very little srence whether cotton shipments were P ad icles 3 ea ENE USS POR SSS Migice 3s SEO) eg Ta Br gees Be ea ei@ikgn Al’ et Sah , ce wort ee ot I es from neutral vessels trading between neutral countries, even though some of the shipments migh reach enemy territory overland. The prom- ises of Great Britain to ameliorate the hardships suffered by neutrals by all means in her power may be likened to the promise of a thug that he will crack the head of an innocent wayfarer with his bludgeon as painlessly as possible. GREAT BRITAIN’S RIGHT. Philadelphia Ledger: Great pressure is being brought to bear upon the British Government to declare cotton contraband. Lord Robert Cecil, under Secretary for Foreign Affairs, who has hitherto thrown cold water on the proposal, now admits that it may have to be accepted. The right of the Government to take this step could not be disputed by the United States, nor in view of the agitation fostered by German sympathizers could it be blamed for doing so. That would be at any rate the quickest way of cutting the Gordian knot. It is plain that half-way measures, though conceived with the idea of favoring Amer- ican interests, have not been successful. The administration has insisted upon law and prece- dent, properly enough, perhaps, but so strenuously that the British Government is under no com- pulsion to persist in efforts to come to a working agreement which may or may not be strictly legal. SITUATION BAD ALREADY. Philadelphia Evening Telegraph: At present and for some months past all cotton cargoes in the North Sea which Great Britain suspected were destined ultimately for Germany have been seized and taken into English ports. Will the situation be’ much worse if England formally declares cotton contraband of war? Ger- man and Austrian ports are not open to commerce as it is, and all the American cotton those empires get at present must cross néutra! soil. It would be convenient for Great Britain if she could determine how much cotton Scandinavia and Holland require for their own needs, and then bar all above that amount from entering their ports. But those neutal kingdoms will not con- sent to any such arrangement. English harbors are full of American cotton addressed to other countries. If those shipments are not to be released there are no extra terrors for us in Lord Cecil’s talk about making cotton contraband. ENGLAND'S .POSSIBLE OBJECT. Atlanta Constitution: We do not think there is any occasion further to argue the question of alleged military necessity upon which England bases her course of action against cotton. As a matter of fact, when the bottom of the matter is reached, it is more reasonable to believe that it is really an industrial question that is involved. By keeping cotton out of Germany, England can interfere with a big German industry, and she can likewise so depress the. price of the staple that her own manufacturers can buy it for con- siderably less than its actual worth In open world markets. There seems to be the real meat in the cocoanut. What else did the action of the English master spinners mean the other day in not only protesting against any relieving of the blockade, but urging that cotton be placed forthwith on the list of contraband? We have effectually given England to under- stand on two former occasions that our rights on the seas must be respected, and we should see to it that she is left in no sort of doubt upon the same subject as it affects our present eltuation, : : - > hott. ge. |. : ; ; ba a * Se Bid ad 3 are ae ‘ ~ time 5 a ee . : These things in their minds, the 35 Cobb County men who lynched Leo Frank went ahead with their work with clear consciences. They really believed they were avenging angels. STATE’S MAJESTY OUTRAGED. T'chmond News-Leader: It does not matter whether Leo M. Frank was innocent or guilty; if he were innocent the mob made worse the law’s in- justice; if he were guilty, the mob rebelled against the government of its own creation to impose a penalty the executive thought too severe. In either case the majesty of a Southern State has been cutraged, justice has been defiled and the good name of Georgia has been besmirched. e¢ “HANG THE MURDERERS!” Louisville Courier-Journal: If, in this case of more than coutnry-wide interest, the Govern- ment of Georgia fails to round up and hang the murderers, no amount of the rhetoric of righteous indignation uttered by the Governor or by any- one else will atone for the murder or relieve of moral responsibility the State which, by negli- gence, permitted it te take place, and by additional negligence permitted the perpetrators of a ghast- ly outrage to go unpunished. *The Frank case was, from beginning to end, an example of.Jew baiting. The crime with which he was charged was horrible, the victim pitiful, but the circumstances of the trial were not those of an orginary trial for criminal assault. The mob in its madness sought to “get the damned Jew” rather than to determine the guilt or in- nocence of the accused. Gov. Slaton, who declined to yield to sentiment of the Jew baiters, stands now in a position of isolated eminence as a punished. This isnot a time for soft platitudes, for trivial excuses, for the plea of impotence, but a time for stern, certain inexorable action. Constituted authority still lives in Georgia, and even though the servants of the State may have been peurile, venal or cowardly, the citizenship is sound and right at heart. It can be trusted to crush the viper of anarchy and to raise up to official station those men who will uphold and sustain the honor of the State. AN ATROCIOUS HORROR. Kansas City Star: The lynching of Leo Frank is an atrocious horror. The whole treatment of Frank, culminating in his savage murder, is a lasting shame to the laws of Georgia and to the government of Georgia. The' whole nation is humiliated by this sicken- ing tragedy. The whole nation expresses its hor- ror and condemnation. That the United States, standing in protest against the brutalities done in the hot blood of wai, should have this brutal stain cast on its peaceful civilization is horrible. Reparation? Georgia should make such rep- aration as can be made by the punishment for murder of every brutal member of the mob. It should punish to the limit of conscience the crim- inals of the law who connived at the murder or whose criminal, negligence permitted it. But full reparation, that wipes out fully the stain on Georgia’s name and Georgia’s honor, there cannot be. It will take years for that State to redeem itself for the terrible night of crime which « followed Frank’s terrible days in the Georgia courts. tt te er ce ne ee ee oan hha emo ee et ee Young Master U. 5. A.: John Bull: great masterpiece? Oh, do what you like, only don’t come. bothering. te ee ee rete a a ee a a = a > “Ne z a - » Ware y - . “4 . > . as - 6? ~~ ~ a ee , / ‘ / . >> WA > Cr , . ‘ ‘ n : e “ > F.- i > a Z , « s . ~. ’ eo * “ A! * . “ 7. “ , - - , Jute” bd ’ . » . ‘ ~ ko 4 =~ Se, cae i % ae j %, . - a eg nw ~ j r ™“ ‘ ™, rng Uw tin © bass “P : ~ , . Ms =~) “ye we . . ; ‘> of " , a a a . ‘ L-) ; - Sate. x y~. * ‘ ba > y ~ a" - ve . . - ot \- ee. ee . . * ~ . > . “a » = 5 “. : ee ee 4 = . r : « 7 { . haw Lil On Ome => ys ee . > -—s.. = : ae | e ‘ee : “ . 63 . So Sa ot Va a a 77 , +.~- : 4 Oy he a J + ' ’ a oe t Z a& C4. +s Ff ‘ . ~ - - r , . " _« ~ eps Se ©. we Fon : 4 p s ll —" . «ve Feo! *s > oy sj ie . rm. I " , ed , ' . & > SN ory ~ * - ‘ = 4 ; fs a " . y ~ > | ” - ; + ull _——~ ." - . . . -> > ~ - — b 7 — . et . . . \ . ¥ ae : 22 oe 7 . ‘ >| — ae e® fb - ». . - 5. 4 bs . = “& ew é ‘ eS } ats fe . : ' or - y . a - ‘ — tn, Ot 8 , re . - " y 7 e * ne . - ms, . “sn Ge : e ‘a e ‘ a = “ » - onl ~ 1. | r; . ; « - th .“ “* ° . . ’ a » @ “ ~! ~ s a 7 - - “>t ’ a m ‘ o " . . ~ es, 7. ~— \ _ ae ~ - j . x ’ a) > ee at Ma - AS Se e a rory P A ’ She el . ‘ Fre a = . ; : - a A . pn: : © > J 2 ae - - . . ; : ‘ . r ; \ te. Pl $3 +... 77% oe >. : ° . . a .* _ * 4 “— ‘ = . .* » | ‘ sta : - } 7 é . F ; * yt . d 4 : . * ; ' . . ’ ~ ~ P . é 7 . > sae = , " ‘ * . ‘ . , ~ . ~e ; ad " ~ hy . ~ » e . , ” a OR OR PR Oe DIR — ee ee -~ ?. ee ee Re eee Please Mr. Bull. may I let Wilhelm get some cotton to blow you up? i Can’t you see I’m busy on 4..; —Bert Thomas in London Opinion. Osborne and the New Penology Jj + VAGUE AND ANONYMOUS. The Survey: The attack on Warden Osborne is vague and for the most part anonymous, It would merit little attention were there not in- dication of a.syStematic effort to “poison the minds’’ of the Governor and the public, to use the words of the Warden's friends. , The latter allege that employes in the office of the State Superin- tendent of Prisons John B. Riley conspired to “frame up” evidence to discredit Mr. Osborne, though they do not connect Mr. Riley’s name with the plot. ‘The “old poison ring” of politicians in- terested in contracts is credited with instigating it. The conspiracy collapsed, apparently, when the story leaked out that an orgy was to be staged in a nearby saloon, at which convicts were to be shown abusing their “freedom.” This: plot, it is asserted, will be revealed at the trial of an employe from the office of the State Superintendent of Prisons, charged with assault- ing Warden Osborn when the latter prevented him from running off with the records from the prison. THE MAN AND THE METHOD. Washington Herald: It cannot be denied, however, that there have been some good results from Mr. Osborne’s methods. The trouble seems te be that he has gone to extremes, has been too indulgent and not sufficiently discriminating. His administration would seem to vindicate the old theory that ideal prison conditions depend more upon the man in charge,than any fixed methods, It looks very much like still another case of pro- gressive efficiency moving in a circle until the starting point is reached again. OSBORNE AND HIS CRITICS, Louisville Courier-Journal: Interest fm Sing Sing prison and its Warden, Thomas Mott Os- borne, is wider than New York State. It is na- tiondl in scope; any development affecting the conduct of the institutiofi or the reform methods of Warden Osborne carries more than local sig- nificance. The charges that were made recently against Mr. Osborne and his administration met an unsympathetic response at the hands of the public. The Warden's efforts in the way of prison reform at Sing Sing, whether always wise in themselves or not, have been directed toward an obvious and clamant need. This has created a public sentiment in his favor. that could not be easily overturned. | PRISON REFORM AND POLITICS. Philadelphia Ledger: Warden Osborne. of Sing Sing has undoubtedly opened himself to criticism by some excesses of humanitarian zeal, and there is some ground for the fear that in his effort to banish graft from the penitentiary and eliminate most of the inhumanities in. the ditional methods of prison management he run the risk of obliterating too completely punitive purposes of the institution the ment of which has been intrusted to him. ab open question whether the meré depriy ' r (cag foe “i x on ok & ' : bs ee | of liberty ‘is sufficient punishment for the mar. jority of the criminals committed to Sing Sing; m but every humane person will agree with Mr. Os-_ borne’s contention that a State prison ought not, » to be made a breeding place for criminals, an in->” strument for .the conversion of the merely un?*" fortunate into hardened degenerates. And, more . than that, the good citizenship of New York ought to insist that whatever his mistakes, Mr. Osborne « shall not be disturbed in the work he had under-’”’ taken until his experiment shall have been fairly” tested, and, above all, that he shall not be made... the victim ‘of a base political intrigue bent upon * the undoing of the wholesome reform at Sing” Sing and the restoration of the grafters to con= trol. af & TRADES FOR CONVICTS. ., Fees Indianapolis News: The decision of Presic 4 at dent Samuel Gompers and other officials of thes« American Federation of Labor to withdraw their objection to teaching trades to convicts at Sing” Sing prison is altogether commendable. Credit. for the reform, however, belongs principally te. the National Committee on Prisons and Prison” Labor. It was this organization which devised the plan and ascertained that it would meet with .. the approval of the American Federation of La-«: bor, and then took the steps necessary to bring” about an inspection of the prison by the labor’ officials. Mr. Gompers was also impressed with” the reforms in the conduct of prison affairs lately» introduced by Warden Osborne. Thus it appears: that everyone concerned deserves much credit. “A*’’ new spirit of co-operation has been introduced. as a substitute for the antagonism and working a. cross purposes which have retarded the prog” ress of many prison reforms, and ff this spirit cam’ be maintained, not only Sing Sing, but other prisons will benefit. The situation at Sing Sing _ ie therefore, likely to be much changed withim', the next year. And this is as & should be. There” is an extreme which prison reforms should not — approach, but there is also a middle ground be- ttween the hardening influence of the prisons of a ecntury ago and the extremes of Iberty and un- restrained sympathy with which some perso>* — seek to surround the felon. If a prisoner can be returned to the world a better man, then, ana _ , then only,’is the state doing its best for him. LET MR. OSBORNE TRY: ah New York World: The report that Gov Bai. man has decided to retain Mr. Osborne as W the { above It is jor
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