Muscatine weekly journal. [volume] (Muscatine, Iowa) 185?-1890, 1859-11-11


Who Encourage Violence and
Lawlolanesse
The people Of the Northern States,
majority Of whom ere Republicans, are told
by newspapers published on their own soil
tina: they have inssigatedand perpetrated the
recent foolish and lawless act at Harper's
Fsrry-that II is for such violence ~ this the
Republican party has been organised, and
that they are all, in short, Get Of incendiaries
and muriererx. Ia the allegation truel
Whatever rabid politicians may say, every
candid man must admit that the people Of the
North are not less loyal or honest than those
Of any other section, and that such sweeping
assertions as the Democratic press now teens
With are but evidences of the extent to which
party malevolence can influence men against
their neishbors and fellow-citizens.
Since the charge of melting and encouraging
violence and lawlessncss has been made
against the people Of the North in general,
and the Republican party in particular, let us
examine the record, and see which party and
which section of the Union is most culpable
| in this respect. Douglas, by raising his
s'ruthless hand'' and wiping out the Missouri
Compromise, opened the plains Of Kansas
| Tor the bloody strife which followed, and the
Democratic President, by backing up South
ern desperadoes with the United States
| army, and Afterwards by dispensing Offices to
the most prominent among them, not only
encouraged but rswas,ded violence and blood
shed. Now, this ia not assertion unsupported
by facts. Here they are:
First, let us give an extract from the report
of the Kansas Legislative Committees:
| "Although not within our province. we
NAV be excused for stating that, from the
| most reliable information that we have been
able to gather, by the recent warfare OF the
guerilla system, and in we'll known encounters,
the number Of lives sacrificed in Kansas,
during the period mentioned, probably
exceeded rather than fell short oftwO hundred!
MANY affairs in which life was sacrificed ION
either side) were kept secret, and the partic.
ulars are only known to the participants. The
guerilla, from motives of policy, seldom made
known tho result of their operations. hut
the number Of missing persons, and the letters
of inquiry for individuals addressed 80 fire.
ouontly from all parts Of the Union to citizens
Of Kansas, have q meaning and significance
not to be mistaken"
Orer too hundred lices sacrificed in Kansas,
according to the most authentic information
The Harper's Ferry affair resulted in the
killing Of only about dozen persons. The
insurgents themselves suffered most, and only
four persons not connected with them lost
their lives. Yet IIarper's Ferry is masnificd
to mountain, and Kansas appears as mole.
hill to the eyes Of those who are on the look
out for treason and lawlessness originating in
the North. Now, let us see what was done
with those instigating and perpetrating the
violent and bloody proceedings in Kansas
The history of that Territory is not simply
history OF outrage and wrong. tits history
ofexecutive combinations with lawless rufiians
and cold blooded murderers. ltreveals these
facts:
S.W. Clark murdered man named Barber
BY shooting him in the b OK. For this prac'
teal illustration OF modern Democracy, be
was made Purser in the Navyl
James Gardner, who co-opsrated with Clark
in the murder of Barber, was appointed Post
master Of Lawrence
One Jones headed the mob which sacked
Lawrence. He was paid eff by being given q
lucrative Office in New Aexicol
Frederick Emery, one Of the murdercrs Of
Phillips. at Leavenworth, was compensated
by the appointment Of Receiver Of the Land
Office at Ogden!
J. s. Murphy, who helped in the assassi-
nation of Phillips, and who was VIGOROUSLY
one of the gang by whom Hops was sca!ped,
was made .gentfo the Pottawottom'e Indians!
Rush Emore, who made . persevering
effort to assassinate j. H. Kagi, was elevated
to the Office of U. s. District Judge!
RnsseN i Waddell furnished teams and
provision to the Border Rufiians who invaded
Kansas, and seized the ballot-boxes in 1855.
For this they have been gwen immense con-
tracts by the Government!
Other assassins and ruffians have been the
recipients Of executive favor. Contrast with
these instances the unanimous condemnation
Of Browns mad outbreak at Harpers Ferry
by the Republicans, and say which party has
done the most to encourage violence.
We do not desire to see Brown and his
associates escape the punishment they deserve
merely because other violators Of law and
order we're rewarded by discriminating
Democratic President. All we ask is that the
executors of our laws may act consistently
with themselves as well as with justice, and
that, while they string up men by the neck,
with indecent haste, SIMPLY because, in their
blind infatuation, they have transgressed the
law while attempting to free portion of our
soil, they will not, on the other hand, reward
those who also transgress the law for the
purpose Of enslauing another portion, contrary
to the genius Of our country and the dictates
Of humanity.
HAsP1R's FERRY.-Ilarper's Ferry is one
of the first towns in Jefferson county, Vr-
ginia, and Economically situated in the coniu-
encs of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers,
under the Blue Ridge. 1t is just the spot
which Thomas jefferson deemed above all
description, unless what could be painted as
1.-THE most stupendous scene in all creation
1t was once known as the Shenandoah Falls,
and its present designation was taken from
the famous ferry which there crossed the
Potomac. The little town encircles the hill,
snd has the reputation Of being very pros
nerous Mace. The United States Armory