[Released September 23, 1930. Dated August 13, 1930]
Dear Sir:
I have your letter of August 9th.
The question you raise is hardly appropriate for the governors' conference which is dealing with a special subject. Every decent citizen must condemn the lynching evil as an undermining of the very essence of justice and democracy.
Yours faithfully,
HERBERT HOOVER
[Mr. Sam H. Reading, 24 N. 59th Street, Philadelphia, Pa.]
Note: The President referred to the White House Conference on Drought Relief, attended by Governors of the drought States.
The message was made public in connection with a National Association for the Advancement of Colored People campaign for Federal anti-lynching legislation.
Herbert Hoover, Message Condemning Lynching. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/211763