Daily American organ. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1856, 1855-08-11
From the Louisville Journal Of Wednesday
The Riots ON Monday.

/ Ibe HIOts ON MONDAY.
We have taken pains to ascertain the correct
version Of the origin Of the riots on Monday. We
have conversed with number Of persons who we, o
Witnesses Of the beginning of the affrays In boil,
the First and Eighth Wards. We have been well
| assured that those scenes OF violence were alto
gether disconnected with the election, aud that all
this bloodshed and destruction of life and property
were occasioned in every instance by unprovoked
and murderous assaults Of foreigners upon native
| born citizens. In every instance where death has
occurred or blood has been split Americans were
| first fired upon and cut stabbed, or beaten by fer
eigners.
There Is very strong ground for belief that these
attacks were not occasioned by anything that hap
pened on Monday, but that all the arrangements
were made for them several days before hand
that they were premeditated and preconcerted.
| From several sources we have been informed that
the Catholic Irish in the neighborhood Of Quinn's
houses, on Main street. had arranged for and con
templated an attack upon the American procession
| on Saturday night, and were induced to defer the
execution OF their murderous designs only by their
| fears, excited by the immense and unexpected
| number and character Of those who composed tho
procession.
Two of the Irish women living In that neighbor.
hood have admitted that they were cognizant Of
this design. gentleman informs US that on Mon
day he was warned by German friend, q gun
smith, not TO approach the portion Of Main street.
between Tenth and Twelfth streets, during thu,
day. as he had within the previous ten days clean.
| ed and put in order quite two hundred guns for
the lrishmen living in that neighborhood, w"
have been told that there were several Irishmen
engaged in the riot who did not belong to the city
but had been summoned here for ths, especial pur-
pose OF aiding their countrymen in the outrnges
contemplated by them on Saturday night and ac-
tualy perpetrated on Monday afternoon Il has
also been ascertained beyond any doubt, that there
was large quantity of arms and ammunition con.
tanned in the houses Of Quinn which were destroy.
ed. We have also been informed that threats
had been made by Catholic Germans In the First
Ward that they would kill any German who should
Care to vote the American ticket on Monday, and
we learn from the statement of one of the men
who were wounded upon Shelby street, that this
tareat, in one instance at least was actually cat
ried iuto effect on Monday afternoon.
We also know that, in consequence of these
threats, and Of information that those who had ut
tered them were assembled together, fully armed
and bent upon the execution OF their bloody pur.
pose, number Of respectable, orderly Germans
who voted the American tcketwere actually afraid
to 60 to their homes, and did not go there unit
yesterday For more than week past we have
received intimations from different sources that
there was in the First Ward an organized force OF
Sag Nichts and that every effort was intended to
be made by the leaders of the ant.-American party
to induce the foreigners in this city to effect b.
force what they might not be able to do by peace.
ably and quietly deposting their votes For weeks
before the day Of election, most outrageous, in
hammatory, and incendlary appeals had been made
to them in the speeches Of their party demagogue.
and through their party press. They had been In.
duced to believe, what is not true that the Amer.
ican party sought to take away to interfere Will,
some of their vested rights.
They we're thus wrought upon, and their most
violent and basest passions infamed almost to
madness, until murder ana crime were the consc.
quences Even II II were not true that las many
believe, and not unreasonably,) these foreigners
were nstigated to and abeos~I in these acts Of yio
lenee ~ others who are not now KNOWN,
ought to hasv had more sense und patriotism, stiil
enough has been said and done by the leaders and
demagogues Of the Sag Nichts party to attach TO
them great part of the blame for these lamenta
BILE and disgraceful riots. We hope the invest.
cations Of the coroner may bring to Fight all the
facts and the causes and the antecedents OF these
occurrences in order that the terrible responsible
ty Of having melted these acts OF violence may rest
where it properly belongs, and that public con.
demnation may fall upon the heads OF the really
guilty. f4a s.
1t is certainly true that the election was passing
off without more violence or disturbance than al.
most invariably attended the elections in which the
old political parties were contestants. The elec.
ton had proceeded thus quietly until between three
and four o'clock In the First Ward and until nearly
six o'clock In the Eighth Ward The voting had
slackened. There at that time no difficulty for
any one to gain admission TO the polls. The for.
| eigners who commenced tho firing from the win.
dows and behind gateways and fences were fully
armed and acted in concert, while the Americans
| were unprepared and unsuspicious of any attack.
| They were unarmed, and were obliged to 70 to
their homes to arm themselves, In order 70 defend
themselves from this indiscriminate slaughter.
There is indeed not shadow OF doubt that there
would not have been any boodshed or murders,
or house .burnngs or riots IL It had not been for
the wholesale and unprovoked killing and wound
ing of unofiendng native-bon American citizens
by the boody-ininded foreigners who commenced
| this hellish work.
Since writing the above, we have received the
| following names b. j. Figg, Mr.. HigdoD, II.
Wood, Mr. Gregory, r. II. Snyder, and Toney, y
| German, tlo names of respectable citizens who
are ready TO prove that in the scenes Of violence
which happened In the First Ward on Monday, for.
eigners alone were the aggressors.
Notwithstanding all the reports to the contrary,
we are certain that AZ no poll In this city, and at
no time during the day Of the election, were TO-.
| eign-born citizens prevented IRON voting any more
than the native-born IL has been asserted, that,
at the Seventh ward polls, for the first three hours
in the morning, foreigners were prevented from
casting their votes and yet We informed by
gentlemen, who were present, that, as eariy ~
seven o'clock, some twenty lrishmen voted at that
| poll, and that Americans who there at sew
o'clock were by the presence Of foreigners, prc.
vented from voting until after nine AT the Fourth
| ward we ourselves saw early in the morning,
American citizens thrust aside, and pushed aud
crowded out by a body Of Germans, who were
pressing toward the entrance 10 the voting-placc
At different times during the day NO were ut SCI.
eral Of the polls, and, after the crowd Of thosc
who came early TO vote had cast their ballots
there were number Of times during the day NhGn
scarcely any one but the officers OF the election
was present at or about the polls, and no obstruc'
| ton whatever was offered TO the entrance of an,
ono entitled to vote. For the first three hour
Of the morning, all the polls were crowded with
voters seeking 10 deposite their baots before min"
o'clock In this pressure, foreign-born as well a.
native citizens partook. or this tho former have
no more right 70 complain than the latter. IL Is a
4 part Of the plan of operations Of the anti-Amer
can party to seek some shadow Of excuse for their
complete defeat, by falsely asserting that foreign
ers who would have voted the Sag Nicht ticket
were prevented from voting.