The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1855-09-15
The Jail Martyrs---A Public Meeting, &C.

from the German Reform of yesterday, for the
benefit of our readers. We wish the native
born citizens of Evansville to understand the
influences at work against law and order !.
among some of the lower class Germans. They
know the facts of this case. All the VIOLA
tons Of the Liquor Law in this city, have
with but one exception, or two at the utmost +
been by men of foreign birth. Not satisfied /
with violating a law placed on our statute
books by native American citizens elected by
the people, these men have sought by every
means to avoid the penalty of outraged law.
A number Of citizens were brought up before
our court to testify under the following oath,
the oath being declared by the Court legal, and
its legality almost, if not quite unanimously
admitted by the bar of this city. 1t reads
thus:
"You do swear that the evidence you shall
give touching the commission Of any misde
meanor, in Vanderburgh county, as TO e0hfcb
gou may beinte1rogated, shall be the truth, the
whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so
help you God"
Under this oath, the leading question speci
fed the time, the place and the person, about
which testimony was desired. Every native
born citizen brought up, including many of
our most prominent men, took the oath like
good citizens, no matter how disagreeable it
might be to their feelings to give evidence
against their neighbors, and yielded to the
requirements of the Court. But it WAS left to
two Germans to refuse to take this oath, and
JoE =, h. IS 4ho
Court. They were very properly committed
to jail for contempt" One of these was our
County Clerk elected by the people to his Of
flee, sworn to sustain the laws and Constit1i-
ton of the State and then engaged in active
duty in the Court by virtue of his Office He
chose to make martyr of himself, doubtless
thinking it was pretty sure game to secure
the whisky vote when he should run for Office
again. We believe he will find himself mis-
taken even in that calculation. He has done
qorong and he will yet feelit.
Read the first paragraph Of the Reform;
article. 1t appears these men were torn away
from their families &c, because 'they would
not silently bow to the openly arbitrary pro
ceedings of the Temperance pachas." w
had supposed they were'put in Jail becaus
they showed open contempt" Of Court becaus
they refused to takea legal oath. If they ha
not been put in Jail, the Court would hav
been a mockery and the Judge a deserve
object for the contempt Of the whole commu
nity They voluntarily chose to suffer i'm
prisonment rather than take an oath whic
ba.4ta aIx-ac bo1 tolya on
who in taking it exhibited law abiding spiri
which these men have just as plainly show
they do not possess. What business has til
Reform then to complain that this voluntar
imprisonment of Lunkenheimer and Ellis
becoming prolonged, the costs heavier, an
their fate hourly becoming more painful
They have no persons to blame but thenselve:
If they do not like their condition, and al
tired of being martyrs, they know how the
can get out, and there is but the one way q
present
The Reform makes strong appeal for
public meeting Of ''Anti- Temperance men,
to consider the condition of these sufferin
martyrs of American law, and the best mean
of releasing them from their sufferings
IS really shame that men so recently frol
beneath the iron hand of Austrian despotisn
as are many of our German fellow-citizen
should be called upon to bear the chaiI
american tyranny. 1t might be supposed tn
as free born americans have managed to liz
quietly and happily under the laws of tn
country, and have learned that entire submit
l.. i,,fa
pref them, is the only true guaranty of OF
hberty-that foreigners coming here fresh fro
the crush and clash of despotic tyrann
would be quite as able as us to bear tt
weight of American laws. But recently mar
of these foreigners have been disgusting eve
the more intelligent of their own number !
crying out against tyrannical despotism he
in this land, where they as well as the natl,
born drew their first breath Of freedom. Sue
men do not deserve the blessings of hbert
They are traitors in heart to the very gifts
freedom, or they would not so abuse them.
Andnow meeting is called of these foreig
born citizens, and of all opponents of the gre
moral principle of Temperance, to extend syI
pathy to men, who to screen yiolators of Of
law have openly Knocked and defied our Coul
And they expect americans who sympathi
with the objects of this meeting to be preser
Well there are native born citizens who syr
pathize more with foreigner in the aetu
violation of law or commission of crime, TIL
they do with their own countrymen in t
strict path of virtue Such men aciu be thel
and no others of our na+;1ra horn c;t;zaps