Superior Puts End to Ghoulish Trade.

Type of event: Lynchings

Location: Duluth; St. Louis County; Minnesota; United States

Document date:

Document type: Newspaper(s)

Documents: Superior Puts End to Ghoulish Trade.

Citation:

The Duluth Rip-Saw, June 26,1920, page 4.
“Superior Puts End to Ghoulish Trade”

Image text

PUTS END TO GHOULISH TRADE


Mercenary Photographer Fined
for Displaying Prints of
Lynched Negroes.


It cost Ralph Greenfield, a Superior photographer, a fine of $25 and costs for displaying in his window pictures of the negroes lynched in Duluth last week. Judge French, who hoard the case, imposed the penalty.

Greenfield refused to remove the gruesome objects when requested by Capt. Osborn, therefore he was arrested on a charge of offering for sale “indiscrete and obscene pictures of the naked bodies of three negroes lynched in Duluth," contrary to law in Superior.

Greenfield fought the case, being represented in court by R. M. Rieser. T. L. McIntosh, corporation attorney, prosecuted. A very large crowd attended the trial, many of those present being young people.

The jury of six embraced H. L. Loyd, K. S. Buckman, J. C. Crowley A. Grant, W. R. Smith and J. W. Gallant. A verdict of guilty was returned turned in about fifteen minutes. Photographer Greenfield declared that he will appeal the case to the superior court.

Certain ones connected with the Duluth News Tribune took photographs of the lynched negroes and were responsible for them being peddled up and down the streets of Duluth and then over in Superior. It was considered a ghoulish act, sordidly done, solely for money, and aggregating thousands of dollars in receipts. A large photograph sold for $1.00, while postal card sizes went as low as 30 cents. There was much indignation in Duluth over the public vending of the debasing photographs. Little boys offered them for sale up and down the streets. But anything to get the coin seems to go in Duluth.

Over in Superior, Mayor Baxter resented Greenfield [illegible] of the photographs of [illegible] bodies, hanging by ropes to an electric light pole. He took quick steps to stop the display and traffic and, when the ghoulish seekers after easy money did not accord with the Baxterian ideas of decency and propriety, he promptly directed the municipal agents of justice to take action.

Moral uplift is steadily advancing in Superior, while it is slumping so heavily and rapidly in Duluth that many disciples of high moral endeavor fear it will be wiped entirely oft the board.