Indiana State sentinel. (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1862-10-27


city seventeen persons are confined for alleged
political offenses. They were arrested upon aft
davits made in some. if not all the cases, by par
tisan and personal enemies, upon which they are
deprived of their liberty without any means of
redress; without the opportunity of disprcving the
charges made against them through the judicial
tribunals of the country, right guaranteed by
the Constitution and which should be held sacred.
If guilty of any crime against the Government
these persons should be punished. If they have
violated law they should suffer the penalty there
for But it is papably unjust that citizens should
be taken from their homes and business and
incarcerated in prison for weeks and months for
alleged political offenses, and denied the privi-
leges granted the meanest criminals in the land.
Three of the prisoners have very comfortable
quarters, but fourteen are confined in cells built
for criminals. In one CELL small room, nine
are confined, and in still smaller one are FIVE
Neither of them have side windows, but light
and air comes through skylight in the roof.
Here they eat sleep and live. shut out from the
world, and only permitted to see the light of
Under no circumstances they permitted to
leave their cells, and before the iron grated door
of their prison house, securely fastened, armed
senrries, day and night, watch them. One pris-
oner, who came here sound in body and mind,
for some days was insane through the effects of
his confinement. Who two years ago would
have anticipated that such arrests would have
been made? Who would have thought one year
ago that the President would have brought all
the people of the United States under martial
law, to be administered at his own discretion,
and that in our magnificent Postoffice building,
in State loyal to the Government and in which
the administration of the civil law has never
been INSTRUCTED, seventeen of its citizens would
be confined deprived of all their civil rightsl
And what is their offense?
One of the prisoners is DR. THEODORE HORROR,
of Wells County. He was arrested and brought
here upon the charge of discouraging enlistments.
Dr. IL is good citizen. He has represented his
county in the Legislature. His most intimate
friends upon oath say they have never heard him
express a sentiment dsloyal to the Government,
would freely give all he was worth, even his life,
if those sacrifices would put down the rebellion.
And the direct charge made against him, as is
shown it, the affidavit we publish with this, is
disproved by some of the most trustworthy citi-
zens of his county. Yet these evidences of his
innocence do not release him. He can not get
his liberty even upon bail In confinement he
must remain with his fellow prisoners until
the authorities at Washington dispose of
them. The President mar think that the public
safety requires these extreme measures, but il
gives power to bad men which may be exer-
cised, and which has been exercised, to injure the
best citizens Wherever civil law can not be ad-
ministered, martial law may be necessary, but in
Indiana no one can doubt that all offenses known
to the laws be punished through judicial tri-
bunals.
We publish the following affidavit in the case
of DR.. Horror, to illustrate the workings of mar
tia law and as in his case, the arrest of all the
prisoners may have been made under similar cir
cumstances and with equal Injustice:
STATE OF INDIANA, 9.
WELLS COUNTY.
We, Jerome Ruff. John NJ Powers, Rannal:
Walser, George j. Gottschalk. John Gottschalk
George Dunskv, William Dulinsky, Mathew
Long, Cyrus Marsh. Bennville SAWYER and John
A Sawyer, Amos Gehrett, and L. A. Horton, Of
lawful age. residents of the county and State
aforesaid, upon our oaths depOse and say;-that
on the % day OF October, 1862 we attended q
political meeting in Nottingham township, Well:
county, Indiana, which said meeting was appoint
ed for the purpose of discussing the political is
sues before the country, by one A. b. JetmOre
candidate for State Representative for the coun-
ties of Blackio and Wells; that one John
Phipps of Company "a, Gath regiment Indiana
volunteers, infantry, was present at said meeting
for the purpose of procuring volunteers; thai
Theodore Horton, (now under arrest upon a
charge of then and there discouragng enlist
ment>, which said charge, said Phipps, on the
9th of October, 1862, made affidavit 10 before one
Dwight Klinch notary public in and for said
county and State.) was also present at said meet
ing; that said Horton, after said Jetmore and said
Phipps had concluded their efforts on the occa-
sion, was called for by large number present TO
address them; that said Horton distinctly required
before he responded to that call, if said Jetmore
and said Phipps had concluded their labors for
the evening, and not until he had received from
those gentlemen an affirmative response to bis
said inquiry. did said Horton proceed to address
said meeting. Aud deponents say that their un-
Outstanding of the purpose OF said Horton being
so called TO address said meeting and of his re-
spending to said call To answer said Jet
more's political speech and for such purpose
only.
Deponents further say they were present during
the entire remarks of Horton then and there
made; that they paid strict and close attention to
those remarks; that ii the language imputed to
said Horton by said Phipps in his said afidavid to-
wit: 81 always knew this an abolition
Wharf.-The Presidents proclamation tops the Abo-
lition climax-y0u have been asked to night To
volunteer-lid you do itg No, you are not
going 10 volunteer The speaker called for
vounteers-how many did he getl None. You
are not going to volunteer under such policy
no. not one. The persons in power are all Abo-
litionists. and all who uphold the Administra-
ton in its policy are Abolitionists. We will put
the Democrats in power aud then we will shoot
down the Aboitionists," had been used by said
Horton then and there deponents would remem-
Der it; that said Horton did not use said language
nor any language calculated to discourage en-
stments, but on the contrary said Horton then
and there spoke in substance as follows. to wit:
THAT the country had been forced into this war
by the disunion Abolitonists OF the North and
the fire eating secessonists of the South; that
there was left US but one course namely, 20
shoulder our muskets 4and destroy the rebels of
the South with bullets, and to meet the Abo-
ltionsts Mt the ballot box, and by the mighty
power of those little paper ballots, which drop as
the silent snowflake, to sweep from power the
Abolition element in the Government; aud restore
It to the glory and power In which our fathers be-
queathed it to u.s." that said Horton then and
there uttered no language expressing hostility to
the Government or calculated to discourage en-
listments unless the foregoing be so regarded
And deponents further say that, in answer 20