Editorial in Denton Record Chronicle that asserts Denton County has never lynched or used mob violence

Editorial in Denton Record Chronicle that asserts Denton County has never lynched or used mob violence

1922-12-14

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NewspaperARCHIVE.com

Those who have argued that lynchings and burnings and other expressions of mob violence are not a deterrent for those contemplating crimes similar to those so punished will find considerable support for their contentions in two Texas communities. Waco is one and Freestone County is another. A negro was dragged thru the streets of the McLennan County capital last year; it wasn't the first lynching that city has had. A few weeks ago a crime almost identical with that for which one negro was punished occurred-_a white man being murdered and his girl companion brutally mistreated. Several months ago, in a Freestone County community, three negroes were burned to death after a particularly revolting crime. A couple of weeks ago a negro trusty in the county jail attempted a similar offense.
He escaped, although posses that probably were potential lynchers scoured the country for him. A few days ago a third similar crime was committed within a few miles of the other two and ensued another lynching, the seventh in that county in six months. Investigation very probably would show there are other communities in which the same results have occurred, while on the other hand there are dozens of counties in the State -- Denton is one of them -- in which there has never been a case of mob violence and in which it also will be found that crimes of the type responsible for such outbreaks in other counties have been extremely few or none at all.