Washington sentinel. [volume] (City of Washington [D.C.]) 1853-1856, 1855-08-14
From the Louisville Democrat Of August s.
ELECTION RIOTS.


We refer readers to the details Of the
shocking occurrences on Monday There can be
but one opinion of their character All good
men regard them with shame and sorrow. Louis
vile has signalized herself in lawlessness above
her neighbors. We do not intend Just now TO
indulge in extended comments. Our main pur-
pose is, TO get the facts before the people of Ken
lucky and the public generally. We arc deeply
mortified for louisville, but it is idle to disguise
facts A few remarks we shall make however
The attempt to lay the blame upon our foreign
population will be failure The fact is known
to all, that they were alarmed at the demonstra-
tons made against them at the previous elections
Instead OF being excited to violence they were
apprehensye of attacks upon them, and very few
could be induced to go near the polls. Weleave
the public to Judge If men in this condition would
be likely TO provoke dominant organized party,
who evidently had the physical force at command,
and We're believed to be determined to use 1T. Ii
Will be found, beyond question, that foreigners
made no resistance unless first assaled, and hav
ing reason to believe that their lives were in
danger OF the truth of this the reader can
Judge by reading the details elsewhere. We be-
lieve they are accurate generally at least
much SO e they can be made. We leave it to
any one to judge whether feeble and terrified
minority were at all likely to commence riot and
disorder We know that rumors of the sort pre-
vailed. Early in the afternoon we were standing
on Jefferson, and saw mob rushing madly down
the street. As they approached, the word passed
along that the Dutch had taken the polls with a
hundred guns, and the Americans were rushing
to the arsenal for muskets and cannon Men
and boys, in hot haste, rushed by with a few
muskets, and presently the cannon followed--by
whose orders we are not informed.
The, rumor was all lie. There was not the
least disturbance at the pols--no arms there.
These reports are but the common machinery of
mobs Men must be stimulated to such deeds as
he d..h ta
All men of sense ought to recollect that lies are
part, and necessary part, of mob law. Indeed,
the scenes OF yesterday were prepared for by in
cendary appeals, founded on rumors utterly
false.
We know it is insisted upon, in spite of the
knowledge of hundreds who made the expert
ment, that all had an opportunity to vote II is
well known, however, that system Of terror
was established at the polls, or in their vicinity
we .lad an opportunity to it at the Sixth
ward polls. We were in a crowd at the entrance
door to the polls, Of Democrats and Know
ings crowding in to vote. There was not the
least disorder or i'll humor, when bully with a
club, followed by several of the same class,
rushed into the room, shouting ''Hurrah for
Marshall, clear these polls, and hourishng his
bludgeon. The crowd behind gave way, and the
bully passed on, having made this preliminary
demonstration. Shortly after the attack upon
foreigners began about the courthouse yard
terror was completely established early in the
afternoon. The selfstyled Americans had a sat
isiactory number polled-at least all they could
get, and the violence that commenced on a large
scale diverted all attention from the polls. In
deed naturalzed citizens were too apprehensive
for the safety of themselves and families, to ven
ture upon the hazardous experiment of going to
the polls. The meagre vote shows what a farce
the so-called election was. The Know-nothings
have polled all they had, and we presume no
one will deny that if quiet election had been
held, we should have poled, in the present ex-
cited state of the public mind, at least six thou
sand votes.
The causes which led to this dsgraceful bust
ness we shall discuss hereafter Some NAV
chuckle at party triumph by such means, but
good men can read it only with disgust and hor-
ror. Taking into the account the comparative
sizes of Paris, in France, and Louisville, Monday
rivaled the bloody days of the French revolution
We certainly can claim the guilty laurcls over
any American city.