Many commentators offer a pro forma condemnation…
March 1891 CE
Massachusetts representative Henry Cabot Lodge, for example, claims to deplore the mob's behavior, and then proceeds to justify it while proposing new restrictions on Italian immigration.
Even the London Times expresses approval.
Not all editors are convinced of the mob's innocence.
The Charleston News and Courier argues that murder by vigilantes is no more acceptable than any other kind.
The St. Louis Republic writes that the men were killed "on proof of being 'dagoes' and on the merest suspicion of being guilty of any other crime."
Some Northern newspapers also condemn the lynchings.
Many others, however, implicitly or explicitly condone them.
A Boston Globe front-page headline reads, "STILETTO RULE: New Orleans Arose to Meet the Curse."
Boston is another industrial city that had been receiving many immigrants from southern Italy.
Following strong protests by the Italian government and the Italian-American community, the press will eventually become less supportive of the lynchers.
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