Musings of the South 153 



in honor bound to give them the protection of the 

 law; to guarantee to every one accused of crime a 

 fair trial. "If a man should foully attack your wife 

 or child, what would you do?" he asked. "I would 

 kill him, if I could get at him," I replied. "Very 

 well, then, what are you complaining about?" "I 

 am complaining that you kill men who are accused 

 of such offenses without knowing whether they are 

 guilty or not. Make your law as severe as you like, 

 but take lawful precautions that the innocent may 

 not suffer its penalties." And now came out the 

 point made by Bishop Turner: "Have you read 

 accounts of the shootings at Wilmington, and do 

 you know why those negroes were shot?" I replied, 

 "Only generally." "Well, the New York fou mat 

 says it was because the men elected by the negro 

 vote intended to legalize rape. That was true, 

 and that was why the whites rose up and lynched 

 them. " 



There it was! There was a Methodist minister 

 going about and filling the minds of the people with 

 that murderous lie — filling their minds with the only 

 motive by which civilized man justifies murder; and 

 this not against an individual, but against a race. 



I have said that the old masters, the old aristoc- 

 racy of the South, with some of whom I have con- 

 versed, have the kindliest feeling toward the colored 

 people, and the feeling was, and is, affectionately 

 reciprocated. It is true that they did, and do, 

 grant them favors and help in preference to white 



