The Daily empire. (Dayton, Ohio) 1865-1867, 1866-06-20
THE DAILY EMPIRE.
From the Cincinnati Enquirer. June 10
The BOllmcyer Monument Affair nj
Dayton.
III. III. ROBINSON.
PUBLIsHER AND Proprietor

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Dayton.
Little places have their little troubles.
their little bigotries and little fanaticisms,
rs large places have their large cones. A
stone thrown into duck-pond creates Icl-
atively as much disturbance as "a storm nm
on the ocean,while there is a dignity which
magnitude conters In the latter ense which
u wanting In the former. There Is no sub
Unity In the convuson into which The
loyal population. or, az we sincerely hope,
a few of the loyal population of the city of
Dayton have been thrown, by the planting
ofa monument at the grave of the late j.
f. Bollmeyer Of the Dayton EMPIRE, noI I'm
thrOes that have occasioned It's removal.
and our sense of entering into the regions
of the despicably minute Is so vivid that we
should refrain from touching upon the sub
ject altogether but for the Injustice which
has been done to the family of the de-
ceased.
The inscription upon the displaced montl-
ment stated that the deceased "fell by the
hand of an assassin, martyr TO the freedom
of fspeech and the press" This the Trustees
of Woodland Cemetery determined to be
improper and offensive, and under the rule
which empowers them to remove monu-
mcnts containing whatever sis indecent, of
fensive or improper" they ordered IL 10 be
removed. That 1t might be offensive TO the
individual by whose hand Mr.. Bollmeycr
fell, and to his abettors, is probable; but
how 1t could be to any other, passes our
understanding. He who is offended by it
must be so because he feels himself impli-
Gated in one of the ioulest crimes and-in
respect to the subsequent impunty of the
murderer-One of the most disgraceiul
transactions upon record; and 1t Is difficult
to look upon the action of the Trustees in
any other light than as vicarious confess
sion. by "A large portion the lot owners"
that they were so implicated.
Mr.. Bollmeyer, IL will be remembered,
was assassinated by person who claimed
TO have had a private grudge of trifling
character against him, which prompted the
act. If this was all there was of the affair,
the inscription might be pronounced incor-
rect-though, that of itself would be no Just
cause for the removal of the monument
which the intensely loyal felt against him
for his consistent opposition to the war;
which put his life In jeopardy; and the
cheapness at which his life was held by
that class appears In the fact that the per-
petrator of IA homicide In broad daylight
was found not guilty, after the form OF a
trial; and admitted again into the bosom OF
society. 1t was intended to justify the MUIR
der and II was justified and here is the
cause of the difficulty. This makes the in
scriptiOn true, and its truth causes the dis
turbance. No wonder it Is offensive But
this does not make it improper; for it is
proper, on all occasions, TO tell the truth.
Mr.. Bollmeyer was martyr to the freedom
of speech and of the press. Though Il
Thousand monuments to hismemory should
be removed. the fact will in no wise be in
validated. If the Trustees of Woodland
Cemetery, and the Others who were offend
eG. could wipe out the facts as easily as they
could obliterate the inscription, their act
might be -excusable; but until they can do
In rasnp t.nRI.