Daily State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1865-02-06
The indianapolis Journal and the
Sons Of Liberty

The Indspolis Journal labors hard to convince
its readers-lt is not convinced OF the fact itself
that The Ledger has been defending the order
of the Sons of Liberty. OF course our readers
know we have done nothing of the kind We
braved the cispleasure OF the Sons of Liberty
when they were supposed TO be power in the
land and in the democratic party, and we are not
now going TO take up the cause of an order
which is broken down and helpless and. by the
acts of some of its leaders, is covered with
odum But these facts shall not cause us to do
injust 10 worthy men, or to stand listlessy BY
and see others wrong them. 10 some counties
OF the state a very considerable portion of the
democratic party went into this order In others
Floyd among them = scarcely a c0rporal's
guard belonged to It. We think those who join
ell the order did wrong. We thought So AT the
time, and said Sc; and. without vanity, We think
we NAV say that kept some of our friends
out of the order
Undoubtedly there were men in the order a.
patriotic as any out Of it, Ii there were those in
il plotting treason. the class 10 whom we refer
did not know il. OF this We ieel confident To
exclude every man, therefore, who at some time
may have belonged TO this prescribed order from
the benefits OF the Morgan raid bill. as Mr Shuey
proposes 10 do, would, We think be an act of
gross wrong and injustice. If it can be shown
that any sufferer by the raid gave aid and COM
,
after the raid. let him be excluded from the ben
efits of the bill But the mere fact that sufferer
WAS a Son OF Liberty is no evidence of treason OF
| reasonable proclivities
The Journal refers to the visit of Mr. Kerr 70
| Indianapolis for the purpose of frustrating the
| plot of Dodd and company Undoubtedly Mr.
| h. did his whole duty as citizen and patriot on
| that occasion. We believe he has been compli-
mented by the highest authority in the republican
a. IA -,
| that the masses of the Sons of Liberty so far as
he knew their views, approved of the plot of the
reyoutionisis He said there was excitement
and alarm among the people in his part of the
state. who were selling of their produce But il
| these people approved OF the revolutionary plot
| they would not have been excited or alarmed or
sold of their property TO get money to leave the
country because of "some indefnable dread OF
approaching revolution " If they had favored
the revolution. they would not have dreaded it,
coming. tried To leave the country To avoid il
The Journal undertakes defense of the de
! tectyes" who gained admittance TO the order
took its osths and obligations, and then betray ed
| il to its enemies. The Journal saws these men
| could not have committed perjury, because the
| Osths were illegal and extra judicial. Well. We
will leave tina; question to be decided by those
who are better schooed in casuistry than we pro-
! Tess TO be But il The Journals reasoning be
| correct, no man II morally obnoxious to the
charge OF perjury for violating the obligation:
imposed upon him in joining Masonic. or al
Odd Fellows. or Temperance Lodge AL
oaths not administered by an officer of the law
and in official capacity. extra judicial. anc
the obligations OF these orders are all OF thai
character.
The Journal. however, awhile back. lay'grea
stress upon these oalhs of the Sons If Liberty
| liz pictured them most horrible, aud nculcarec
| The idea that all who took them were bound &c
obey them. come what might Now. it seems
| they were of no binding force Well, 10 a man
who took them under misapprehension-to one
who took them supposing them to mean one
thing while they really meant another - the,
were certainly not binding in morals But what
are to think of those persons Who took these
Osths with the deliberate purpose Of revealing
them hat does The Journal think of them
N. A Ledger.