Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1864-11-21
The SONS oELiberty-The Treason
TriaIs-The Democratic Party
I'm No WAY Implicated.

DIONIttS UtiUiO q 4tAhipoty
Indianapolis Six weeks before the cleo
tiou were spent In hearing the evidence
aoaiist the parties implicated; now that the
election is over this impartial commission
has concluded to. hear the defense of the
alleged traitors. Before the election the
Abolition papers of Cincinnati and other
cities published column or two of the
evidence against the prisoners every day
now they have no room to publish testimo-
INV In defense. The interest Of these patri-
otic Journals in the case-and especially in
the eyidence-against the prisoners before
the election. and their Indifference to the
subject, particularly the testimony for the
prisoners. after the election, might give rise
to the suspicion that these journals were
interested in misrepresenting for partisan
purposes, but for the fact that they advocate
''God and humanity and high moral IDEAS
AS TO the mode of conducting these trials,
the statement that a military Commission"
is the judge, jury, and executioner, is
scarcely sufficient to convey correct idea
of its novelty. If the attorneys for the
prisoners make motion in behalf of their
clients, the Judge Advocate objects, and the
motion is overruled. If a witness testifies
trife in favor of the prisoners, he is i'm
mediately suppressed. If the prisoners
attorneys object to leading questions, or
any questions clearly contrary to the rules
of courts, the Judge Advocate demands the
right to put any question he pleases. be-
cause ''it is a conspiracy case" and because
all rules are void before Military Commis-
sions. The evidence elected at these inter-
minable sessions ofthe Commission, has been
elected from Government detectives who
Joined the Society in order to make money
by exposing it; or from repentant members,
who discovered the error of their ways and
seeded from the Order. The testimony of
the detectives, as was expected by their
employers, is given so as to implicate as
many members of the Democratic party as
possible, and every word of it is at once
adopted as truth; but when the testimony
of repentant members conflicts with the
evidence of the detectives, or when it would
relieve or extenuate the faults of Demo-
Gratis, then the testimony is pronounced
prevarication, and the witness is denounced
as a perjurer, who having sworn in the Or
der to protect his brethren, is unworthy of
belief and deserving of death. With this
mode of conducting the trials, with such
rulings by the Court, and such arguments
by the Judge Advocate, it is really aston
ishing that more treason has not been dis
covered!
The whole scope, aim, and object of these
conspiracy trials were transparent from the
first. They were intended to be the means |
Of attaining respectable Democratic citi-
zens with treason, and duplicating the |
Democratic party, as an organization, in |
reasonable transactions. The Order was |
doubtless originated and encouraged by |
Government detectives and Abolition politi- |
clans, whose only object was to involve the
Democratic party in something reasonable |
and revolutionary. Thus they made la
bored, far-fetched and absurd efforts to |
make it appearthat the Sons of Liberty con-
trolled the Chicago Convention, or rice rerSa
efforts so transparently ridiculous as to
fail to deceive any but those in the last
stages of political idiocy or blindness. IN
der the unscrupulous manipulation and in
trigue of CARRINGToN ana his dark and dir
ty detectives, the Society was organized,
with mysterious rituals, absurd signals, ri
diculous insignia, and stupendous grand
commanders, grand councils, and grand eve
rything else; but there were very fewpeople
In 1t, other than the mischievous and wicked
leaders, some of whom are enemies of the
Democratic party in disguise, and all of
whom have been determined to r,tnif they
could not rule the Democracy. The Society
was SO extremely reticcnt and mysterious,
that one grand leader did not know what
another grand leader was about, and one
grand council was totally ignorant of the
action of another grand council. Some
honest well-meaning Democrats were en-
ticed into the Order under the plea that 1t
was necessary to counteract the Loyal
League conspiracy. These are not response
BILE for the folly and wickedness of the men
whose names figure SO conspicuously in the
testimony before the Military Commission
that is trying the cases, even thoagh they
did make fools of themselves by going into
Secret Political Society! The masses of
the Democratic party and the Democratic
party itselfknew nothing about this Order.
1t was a long time before we ourselves be-
lieyed that such thing was in existence
and when we became satisfied that it was
ii being, we advised Democrats to keep out
of it. Wefought w-Nothingism in its
day; we have been battling against the
Leagues of Abolitionism that have been
cursing the country for the last few years;
we are opposed to all Secret Political So
cieties, and so is the Democratic party.
Let us not be misunderstood In this arti-
Gle. Whatever we may believe to be the
sins Of commission and omission Of the ABB
clifton papers in connection with the Sons |
Of Liberty Treason Trials; whatever we
may regard rs fiiults and shortcomings of
the Courts, which assume Jurisdiction that
does not belong to them, and introduce
modes Of procedure unknown to criminal
Jurisprudence, anywhere-we desire to say
distinctly, that In our judgment, it is clear
hat the Order of the Sons OF Liberty was
instituted for wicked and unlawful purpo-