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Rev. John J. Bunting, Methodist minister of Crisfield, in his sermon Sunday night, deplored the lynching, but placed the blame directly upon the shoulders of the Baltimore city press, and the International Labor Defense League, of which Bernard Ades is counsel. Mr. Bunting asserted that the people of the Eastern Shore are just as law-abiding as the people of Baltimore City, or any other section of the country, and declared that the Eastern Shore does not need the advice of the Baltimore press or of the International Labor Defense League, or any other Communistic or Red organization, to direct its affairs. But for the activities of these organizations, and the distorted statements appearing in Baltimore papers, Mr. Bunting asserted, the unfortunate affair at Salisbury would not have occurred.
The general impression, in all sections of the Eastern Shore, is that but for the interminable delay in the Lee case, Williams would not have shot Mr. Elliott, and even if he had, the Courts would have been permitted to take care of the case in the usual manner.
The Rev. R. B. Mathews, All Hallows Protestant Episcopal Church, Snow Hill:
"I am asked if I spoke of the Salisbury matter in my sermon this morning. I did not. My feelings concerning this whole situation are not of the character to find utterance in the chancel. I have seen the Eastern Shore, that is very dear to me, lampooned, abused, satirized, until indignation and disgust strive together in my mind and sentiments. No one in authority in Baltimore, or elsewhere, is trying honestly to unravel this matter and find the reason why loyal and God-fearing people are white hot with resentment at this moment; all that has transpired is an outgrowth of the amazing attitude of the court and its officers. Had Yuel Lee been tried and sentenced for his monstrous crime as he deserved, the Shore would have been absolutely tranquil. The evasions, the delays, the ready attention given to the suggestion of Ades, the air of timidity that has characterized nearly all official action in the Lee case has aroused the feeling in Worcester County that no one not resident here can understand. More harm has been done to race relations, more ill-feeling has been engendered by the mixing in of the Communists than ten years can efface. If Governor Ritchie would either visit the Sb»re in person, or summon really representative men to him to get the mind of our people he might view the whole situation from a different angle. We are not a lawless or disobedient part of the State of Maryland, but a much maligned part. It should not be nec-
tne most tragic iunerai m me nistory of Salisbury. Prominent men and women of the city moved closer to the edge of the grave as the minister repeated the burial services of Mr. Elliott's church. On the outskirts of the crowd, men less responsible in the community shook their heads and muttered to each other.
The funeral was at three o'clock, but it was nearly 4.30 when the last witness to the burial and the last automobile left the cemetery. The main street leading past the cemetery was block to traffic during the ceremony and it was not until nearly 5 o'clock that it was fully open.
The services at the grave were eon-ducted by the Masonic Lodge, of which Mr. Elliott was a member.
THIS IS SANE AND SOUND
The Wilmington, Del., Every Evening contained the following editorial last Saturday, which is fair and expresses our sentiments in the matter:
"The lynching at Salisbury, Md., last night, when the negro slayer of a white man was hanged and burned by a crowd of infuriated residents of the community, undoubtedly was influenced by delays in bringing to trial two other Eastern Shore negroes who had committed heinous crimes against white persons. The community was first stirred several weeks ago when a family of four was murdered near Berlin. The slayer was soon caught and confessed. A speedy trial was warranted and expected. Outside influences got to work. Technicalities in the law were resorted to, and the trial has not yet started.
"Since then another negro in another Eastern Shore community made a vicious assault upon a white woman. This fiend was caught by the Wilmington police a few days later. He also is said to have confessed. Both he and the slayer of the Berlin family are now understood to be confined in a Baltimore jail.
"It is not surprising, therefore, that when Matthew Williams, a Salisbury negro, yesterday shot down, in cold blood, Daniel J. Elliott, a local business man, and who had been Williams' employer for ten years, there should come a determination for speedy retribution and a quick decision to mete out punishment even though it meant murder on the part of what had heretofore been law abiding citizens.
"The lynching is regretted exceedingly. Perhaps most of the participants share this view. Yet they doubtless felt, last night, that the time had come when the lawless element should be given a stern lesson.
"There are too many loopholes in our criminal laws. This is true in most of the States. They offer too many opportunities for annoying delays and sometimes for defeating the ends of justice.
"Lynching is never justified. Furthermore, it is the duty of all good citizens to uphold the law. If laws are defective or weak they can, and ought to be, corrected. Public sentiment and legislatures can bring this about. Ours is a nation of laws and we must respect them if we want to avoid chaos."
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