The Commoner. 3 lA ' ; 18s'. B rJ' s-' I 5- ' r. L . ' J '1 ; A-5 U-', fe " a 'V' . ttt iv If' from arrest under requisitions from Kentucky authorities in the event of your election as governor. This information has been con firmed by your conduct and by the complete dense of protection iinder which these two men seem to have rested since your incumbency of the office. ,,. ' You are at least entitled to the credit of having faithfully carried out your reputed agreement with them. However, in doing so you have violated your oath of office and brought discredit upon the high position you hold. But even with this understanding of your embarrassing position, confronted, as you were, on the one side by the law and justice, and on the other by a miserable political bar gain, I could not believe that you would so far forego the dignity and obligations of your office and the courteous relations that exist among the chief executives of the various states, as to go out of your way to offer a gratuitous insult to the people of Kentucky and to cast a reflection upon the courts and public officials of the state. If these slanderous charges had come from you as one individual, then they would be treated with the silent con tempt they so justly deserve, but as they come from you as the governor of a great state, I' shall 'not hesitate to hold you up to public scorn, and show how unjust and unfounded, are the willful and inexcusable misrepresentations, in your letter. Passing on from showing how you have disregarded the constitution and law of your country, I will proceed to show how you have perverted the record in the recent trial of Caleb Powers and sought by such action to . bring discredit upon an honorable and up fight judge, whose life of public service has been unstained by a single dishonorable act, and whose character as a man and as a jurist stands unimpeachable among the good people of this state. -' You criticise the recent trial of Powers and denounce Judge Cantrill for his Instructions to . the jury. You say in your letter he instructed . it "that it might convict "on the testimony of one alleged accomplice if that testimony was corroborated by that of another alleged ac complice; that it might convict the defendant fc the act of another man to whom the de- . fendant had never agreed, etc." To show how untrue the statement' is, I produce from the record the exact instruction ' oPth'e' jtidge iii that case on this point: .t"Eighth-s-The jury cannot convict the de fondant .upon the testimony of an accomplice or of accomplices unless the testimony be corroborated by other evidence tending to con nect the defendant witi the commission of the offense, and the corroboration is not sufficient If it merely shows that the offense was com mitted and the circumstances thereof." "" Is 'this a manly way to attack any one? Is it right and proper to manufacture evi dence to blacken, if possible, character? You insinuate, too, that the judge has been influ enced in his trials of these cases by hio aspira tions as a" candidate for the United States senate. If rumor speaks true you are not above suspicion in that respect yourself, and the rancorous spirit of your, letter shows that you are making a bid for the support of tho implacables and radicals in your own party with a view to that end. Pdoubt the wisdom of your policy to secure such an honor. . There is no doubt now that the assassina " tion of William Goebel on the state capitol grounds was the result of a deliberate and carefully planned conspiracy; that he was, shot from a window in the office of the secre tary of state, not over forty feet from the governor's office, where W. S. Taylor was when the shot was fired; that Taylor immediately had all entrances to the building guarded and forbade the admission of the peace officers who sought to enter and search for the assassin; that he threw eyery obstacle in his power in the way of preventing the arrest and convic tion, of any one suspected of the crime; that he issued his pardons to some of those under suspicion even before their arrest and indict ment; that he was presumably the beneficiary in the death of William Goebel, who was con testing with him the title to the governorship of, Kentucky; that he refused to recognize the writ of habeas corpus, filled the state capitol with over a thousand armed desperadoes and threatened the entire state with revolution and anarchy, and that today ho is a cringing sup plicant at your feet, begging that he be not given over to trial on an indictment charging him with being a conspirator in the murder of his successful rival. It would be no satisfac tion to any one to punish an innocent man for this crime. The mind of any civilized man re volts at such an idea. The brothers and friends of the murdered governor simply demand the punishment of those who conspired to kill him. No political advantage could bo gained by any one or any party in conviction of the two self-confessed criminals now oasiung in the smiles of your protecting care. You ask again what was the object in appropriating $100,000 for the conviction of the suspected murderers of William Goebel? The same ob ject which prompted the government to pay secret service men and other detectives to discover if possible whether the miserable wretch Czolgosz had any confederates In his dastardly crime. Only $7,000 has been spent of the Goebel reward fund, all in the legitimate expense of the trials, and it is safe to assert that at least that much has already been spent in the laudable purpose of trying to discover the anarchist plot to murder our lamented president. The honored name of Kentucky needs no defense at my hands. Her history is one of which wo are justly proud. Over a hundred years ago she became a commonwealth in the American union and her pioneer citizens cleared the forests, built her homes, schools, churches, established civil government and quickly placed her among the first states of the union. Her people are brave, generous, hos pitable and obedient to the law. Life, liberty and property are as safe within her borders as anywhere on earth. Only one time in her his tory were these blessings threatened, and that was brought about by these two fugitives whom you harbor and some of their associates. It was thon, too, that the great body of Ken tuckians showed their splendid character, their forbearance and their profound respect for the law and the constituted authorities, and it was their patient courage at such a critical time that brought order out of chaos; government out of anarchy. Such a people as those could neither be helped by your praise nor harmed by your scurrilous abuse, and such a people would never knowingly permit any one to be unjustly deprived of his life or liberty. JJJ The Chinese Exclusion Act. The republican positiononcern4ngthp Chinese, exclusion act is well illustrated by-an (editorial appearing in the Lincoln (Neb.) Journal of Novem ber 17. The Journal anticipates that the presl- ,. dent sis about to recommend the re-enactment of the Chinese exclusion act, and lest it might bo out of the republican line, it hastens to commend the president's conclusion on this point. And yet, having anticipated the president's, position, the Journal expresses this opinion: Still it is doubtful if a "referendum" was taken under the Australian ballot system, the question of exclusion coming up independently of politics, if the exclusion act would be sus- , tained. The coolie is an exceedingly useful person to have around when laborers afe scarce and their terms exorbitant or unreasonable. The domestic service problem Is getting to be a pressing one and the coolie offers 'a sort of solution. Then this thoroughly representative newspa per says: But if the labor problem becomes in the course of time more difficult, as it promises to become if the extreme theories of the unions are carried out, and it is a square contest be tween the labor unions and the rest of the pop ulation, the act will one day be repealed as a matter of necessity. This, then, may be said to be the republican position concerning the Chinese exclusion act. The exclusion act should not be re-enacted, ac-r cording to the republican idea, but political ex pediency may require its re-enactment. It is also instructive to be told by the republican organs that "if the labor problem becomes in the course of time more difficult, as it promises to become If the extreme theories of the unions are carried out, and it is a square contest between the labor unions and the rest of the population, the act -will one day be repealed as-a matter of necessity." Why as a matter of necessity? The necessity would only exist where the trust magnates, weary of the constant controversy and contest with men who merely demand the right to live as a recompense for their toll, found it advisable h crush out the men who made this demand. Those republican newspapers have considera ble to say about "the extreme theories of unions," but they havo llttlo complaint to mako concerning the extreme theories of monopolists. This partic ular newspaper speaks about the contest between labor unions "and tho rest of the population," closing Its eyes willingly and cheerfully to the fact that every. reasonable demand made by the lobor unions is a demand in bohalf of and In tho interests of the very largo number of citizens. Many things havo happened in recent days which furnish evidence that tho republican disposition has been in favor of tho destruction of tho Chinese , exclusion act. It need not bo doubted today that if tho powers that bo among tho republican party dared destroy this wholesome law, the bars would be thrown down completely to any Chinaman who sought admittance to this country. Tho "extreme theories of tho labor unions" are that reasonable hours shall be accorded and fair wages paid to the roon who toil. This republican nowspapor holds up as a warning and a threat to tho men who labor that if these "extreme theories" are carried out, the Chinese exclusion act will one day bo repealed "as a matter of necessity." Did any one over hear, of a republican organ over threatening tho trust unions? Did any one evorhcar of a repub lican organ serving notice upon the trust mag nates that unless' thcy change their course and abandon the process of bearing down upon tho people some law would be enacted requiring them to do justice or pome law would bo repealed under which they were privileged to do Injustice? What Is there about tho Intelligence of tho American people, what is there about tho intelli gence of the American workingmen that they can not seV that the republican party is the party of class, fthaV the republican party is tho instrument for eyili'tliat the republican party is tho persistent antagonist ofv, everything that contributes to the gretestrgopof to the greatest number?'.; . 'f Prentiss on Anarchy. Judge William Prentiss, of Chicago, one of tho best democrats of Illinois, writing for the Chicago American thus discusses anarchy and its cure: "No human intelligence can analyze the ele ments that compose a being like that who slew thd 'president, or can trace tho processes of his formation. Only the infinite can do that. "It Is said that his parents came from Russian Poland. And what of Poland? Patriots in every land have wept over her sad history. Crushed by superior force "and thrice partitioned between a trio of despots, her people for generations havo been the helpless victims of oppression. "There is no knowingwhat sorrow and hate and hopeless despair pent up and suppressed in human - hearts long since returned to dust may have found vent in this crime against eighty millions of peo ple at Buffalo. Sad but true, in human affairs, the innocent must suffer for the sins of the guilty. We are suffering today for tho sins and mistakes of former ages In other lands. The mistakes of or ganized society, bad government, for ages back, must bear a heavy load of blame for the modern anarchist. "But organized society must protect itself, even from the results of its own mistakes and sins. If harsh measures be necessary, they must be ap pliednot in anger or in revenge, but coolly and with deliberation. Reason must be kept firmly in her seat. Stern justice should preside; the highest gopd the only purpose of all wo do. ' ''Above all we must not forget whence anarch ists first came to our shores, and must remember that like causes produce like effects in all ages and in all lands. "We feel surg that there is no excuse for an archy in this government of tho people now; we must see to it that there never shall be. Unjust government has made anarchists. Just govern ment alone can prevent their increase and in time will surely bring about their final extermination. A