Murder But No Lynching

From a small town in southern Illinois came a press story to this effect:

Two Negroes entered a store asking for provisions. One of them drew a revolver; they tried to hold up the storekeeper. He struggled. His daughter ran to his aid. She was shot through the head. The two Ne- groes dashed away, leaving the storekeeper severely beaten. A neighbor rushed in, and died of excitement on the spot.

The Sheriff later apprehended two Negroes suspected of causing the double death. They were conveyed to jail in the adjoining town of Mound City. Slowly a grumbling mob assembled. A storm-cloud of violence hovered over the scene. Then a man came forward from the crowd. He pleaded with them not to resort to violence. He prayed with them. There was no lynching that day.

The man who prevented the lynching was H. F. Moreland, a Ku Klux Klan organizer.