Cleveland daily leader. [volume] ([Cleveland, Ohio]) 1865-1873, 1865-12-04

Aenlucky WHO udu piSseHteu " NM a
bowie-knife as a tribute to bis ugliness,
with a request if he w came across
a homelier man than himself to transfer
that weapon to him, as one who would be
best entitled to it. In somewhat the same
sense the cognomen of " Bully" which has
by unanimous consent of the civilized
world been accorded to the late Preston
Brooks for his cowardly assault on Senator
Sumner, should be transferred to an Indi-
ana coward by the name of Sol. Meredith,
as one who has eminently earned that
title, and whose claim to it is far greater
than that of Brooks IAN possibly be.
When Brooks attacked Sumner, he
showed some courage and manliness
by committing that outrage solitary and
alone, while the "tBully" Meredith had
to surround himself with a body guard of
brother bullies, equally cowardly with
himself, 70 protect him from the interfer-
ence of the ~bystanders.
This Indiana bully, having thus shown
his proper claim to the title which has at
tached itselfto the name of the South Car
olina %rufian, let him wear i'll He has con-
ferred an ~incalculable benefit upon the
hitherto infamous memory of Brooks. He
has, to some extent, redeemed it from the
great odium which it has labored under,
and he now stands out pre-eminently not
only as "FHE bully" but as 1.-THE eoaoardly
bully" The only principal difference be-
tween the South Carolinian and the Indi-
anian is this, that while the former had
como claim to intellect and position, the
latter was utterly unknown outside of his
immediate brutal associations, till his at
tempt on the life of Mr.. Julian had given
him an unenviable ~notoriety.
The cause that impelled 'the bully' and
his confederates to waylay Mr.. Julian, as
far as we can ascertain from the cores
pondence of the Cincinnati Commercial.
(which paper sympathHed as far it dared
to with the bully, Judging by the manner,
it %endeavored to blame Mr.. Julian is the
alleged charge made by Mr.. Julian that
Meredith, when in command at Ba-
ducah during the war, where he wore
the single star of a Brigadier General,
land how that star got on the shoulder of
such a contemplate coward is a mystery
to u.s. showed such rank sympathy for
the rebellion, that he was removed,
and that Mr.. Julian caused a dispatch
to that effect to be sent to the Associated
press. This, when questioned by the
bully, Mr.. Julian denied. Instead of
proving the charge against Mr.. J., or ac-
cepting his denial, the bully made the as
sault, the sickening description of which
we copy from the Commercial:
Mr.. Julian was on his way to Washing
ton, and, while waiting in the Richmond
depot for a train, was accosted by General
Meredith, who, in the first place, saluted
him in a manner thatdid not seem unfriend-
ly, then produced a strip of newspaper and
read from it a dispatch, the substance of
which was an accusation that the General
had been an active sympathizer with trail
tors when in command at Paducah, de-
manded of Julian whether he was respon-
sible for it, and asked, as if addressing a
culprit, equity or not guilty Julian
was standing with his shawl about his
shoulders, and with his arms folded. His
reply was that he was not responsible for
that dispatch. Meredith called him a liar,
struck him, knocked him down, seized
him by the hair, and banged his head furi-
ously upon the floor. On rising, Meredith
threw aside such q quantity of hair he had
torn from Julian's head, that a spectator
thought it was a wig, and then Meredith
taking his victim, who was PROSTATE on
his face and bleeding, by the back of the
neck, and drawing a cowhide, applied it
with violence, striking with it, some say
fifty and others one hundred blows, when
he desisted.
During this performance several persons
attempted to interfere, but were roughly
handled by party who had entered with
Meredith and were standing by. One
man was choked and told that the thing
must go on until it was finished. A cor
respondent of the Gazette says Meredith
struck Julian with a piece ofiron, but this
is disputed, and no one saw any weapon
beside the cow-hide in Meredith's hand.
The effect of the first blow upon Julian
was so severe, that it was coniectured his
assailant had brass or iron "knuckles,n
but Meredith is a man nearly six feet and
a half high, and of powerful frame, and
it is not impossible that he could have in
hicted the damage with his naked fist.
The facts seem TO warrant the conclu-
sion that Meredith prepared himself to
make an assault on Julian, and, taking a
body-guard, attacked him without warn
ing, and beat him WITHOUT mercy. Ger
tainly there is no flavor of chivalry or
manliness, nothing that resembles right
retribution, no fair play, in this.
1t Is suggested by those familiar with the
that Meredith and his c~onfederated
had formed a conspiracy for the pur-
pose of manning and perhaps numbering
Julian, and thus preventing him from
his seat in Congress. Meredith, we
would here say, was a candidate for nomi-
for Congress in the Convention that
dominated Mr.. Julian, and his defeat pro-
accounts for his rufianly course.
A meeting wa held on Friday evening
asst, at Richmond, Ind, the scene of the
outrage, for the purpose of d~enouncing it.
.orcible speeches were madeby many lead
.ng citizens, and the following resolutions
we're unanimously adopted
WHEREAS, Gen. Sol. Meredith, with a
band of Confederate ruffians, like himself. |
lid, on the night of the 27thultimo, at the
depot of this city, b~rutally and
,owardly assault, with apparent intention
murder, Hon. George w. Julian, men,
Der of Congress from this district; and
WHEREAS, By the act the moral senseo of
he community, and the majesty of the
aw, were alike outraged; and,
WHEREAS, Unless ~disavowed by us, the
lct involves and degrades the fair fame of
community, and, whereas, if mob law
md violence are to go unrebuked, no one is
from the assault of ruffians there
ore,
ReSoLced, That we condemn the coward
y act, and denounce its author and those
associated with him as instigators or abet-
ors, whether here or elsewhere, as unwor-
by the association or countenance of all
honorable men.
RESOLVED. That Sol. Meredith, in way
and assaulting Julian, has manifest
d the cut-throat spirit and eowardice of
which he has often been accused, and by
he act has vindicated his accusers.
ResOLUed, That that the thanks of the
neetino are hereby rendered tO Messrs Y