National Press Association. He secured the pardon of Thomas Hewlett, and the reprieve of Simon Walker, who was sentenced to be hung. At this writing he is working for a commutation of his sentence.
As a writer, "Men of Mark" says: "Mr. Mitchell is a bold and fearless writer, carrying out to the letter all he says he will." The Afro-American Presbyterian, published at Wilmington, N. C., says the following of The Planet: "Some of our secular exchanges, as The Freeman of Indianapolis, and The Planet of Richmond, are doing some splendid work, in the interest of the negro race. Their urgent advocacy of the right is bound to create a stronger sentiment against the oppressor." At the National Press Convention in Washington, March 5, 1888, Editor Mitchell addressed the convention upon "Southern Outrages." "Iola," the great lady writer and secretary of the convention, writes to The Detroit Plaindealer the following complimentary remarks of our subject:
"Any one listening to the burning words and earnest delivery of John Mitchell, Jr., the man who has devoted himself to this particular phase of the "Negro Question," must feel some throes of indignation and bitter feeling rise within him. My eyes filled with tears and my heart with unspeakable pity, as I thought of The Richmond Planet's list of unfortunates who had met such a fearful fate. No requiem, save the night wind, had been sung over their dead bodies; no memorial service to bemoan their sad and horrible fate had before been held in their memory, and no record of the time and place of their taking off, save this, is extant; and like many a brave Union soldier their bodies lie in many an unknown and unhonored spot."
"All honor, then, to John Mitchell for his memorial service—for his record, if only to the few! May his life be spared to continue the great work he has set for himself. May his personal bravery and courage be an incentive to others!"
