The Kanzas news., 1858-09-11
The Three Erss of Kansas History
- The Present Danger.

The Three Erss Of Kansas History
-. The Present Danger.
That Kansas was doomed and predestin-
ed TO be made Slave State, by those who
thought they Welded the control of her
destiuies. is too plain for argument. For
this reason alone two Territories were organ
lied instead of one; for this reason alone the
northernmost boundary of Kansas was FIX
ed so far south that it could not even cor
aer upon the Free State of Iowa. For this
reason alone was the Missouri Restriction
repealed. We say this was the reason, but
there were other pretenees-plenty as black
berries, and empty as soap bubbles. No
sooner was the Territory opened for settle
ment, in May, 1854. than the most COM
plete system of measures was adopted to Sc
cure the predominance of slavery. The
keynote of the whole system was force
The Blue Lodges organized along the entire
frontier were pledged 10 use force to pre-
vent Northern men from settling in Kan
sas.. Their "Settler Associations" were
pledged to exclude Northern men from the
land, and in Nov, "a, and March, '55,
their armed bands entered the Territory to
carry our elections at the point of the bay
onet and revolver. From that time on
ward, FORCE, open and ayowed FORCE,
was the sole reliance of the Slavery Prop
aganda- approved and aided TO the utmost
by the Administration at Washington. To
this dark era belong the scalping of Hupps,
the murder of Brown, Hoyt and Cantrell--
the burning of Osawatomie and the sack of
Lawrence the closing of the national high
ways to Northern Emigrants. We need
not dwell upon it. 1t was the era of FORCE,
when the strong hand of violence was re-
relied on as the all-suficient means of plant
ing the curse of Human Slavery upon these
fertile plains. That era terminated with
the grand rush of Northern immigration in
the spring of 1887. From that time the
overwhelming preponderance of Free State
men necessiated change. The change
was made. 1t was simply the substitution
of fraud in place of force. The election of
the members to the Lecompton Constitu
tional Convention marked the. beginning of
this era, as the late crushing. out verdict of
the people upon their work did the end of it.
The frauds at Oxford, Kickapoo, and in
MCGEE county. in October; at Oxford,
Shawnee, Kiekapoo and Delaware Cross
ing. in. January, with the Candle-box game
and the countless perjuries served to fill up
the era of fraud. But the time for frauds
has passed for the present, and the lead
ers of the Pro-Slavery Democracy are
we'll aware of it; hence another change of
tactics. The dream of perpetuating slave
ry in Kansas, though perhaps still indulg-
ed by some few of the more sanguine
and persistent, no longer furnishes the
chief inspiration or incentive to effort.
Henceforth Democracy not ''Stauery'
is to be the watch-word and the sign, and
Flattery is to be the staff of accomplish
ment instead of Force and Fraud. Every
discontented politician whose claims to Of
have been slighted by his neighbors, is
to be taken under the protecting wing of
the Territorial Executive, and by fattery
and Establishments induced to lend aid and
comfort TO the Pro-slavery Democracy who.
with a complete organization and the power
full patronage of the General Government,
would still, acitltout such aid, be as helpless
as cat without claws in purgatory; but
achh the cooperation of the factious, the
discomfort ted, and the treacherous elements
of the Free State party. may hope in turn to
muster a respectable party in point of num-
bers, even in Kansas.
Let the people be on the watch. ''Eter
nal vigilance is the price of Liberty" Let
them see to it that the laurels won BY the
labors and struggles of our heroes, and the
blood of our martyrs be not ,tarnished by
the base ambition of few self-seekers in
our ranks. Let no genuine Free State man
be deceived. The struggle in Kansas is not
vet over. 1t viii never be over until the
glorious banner of Republicanism of LIB
erty and Union, now and forever, one and
inseperable," or the Slavery extending, fill
clustering ensign of Black Democracy shall
float in undisputed supremacy over all our
land. We have broken the green withes of
the Philistines-let us not yield to the blan-
dishments of Delilab. i
q