The Commoner.
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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.
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