The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1866-08-06
HOW WROlNlANS TREAT FREEDMEN.
TO the EditorsQ Qr The Euening Te,egrap -

10 me EdftOTsQ Tie EUening Teiegrdp -
SPoTTsYLvANIA COURT HOUSE, August1.
] enclose you clipping taken from the
Fredericksburg Eel0s of date July 81, ultmo, the
object being to give your readers some idea of
the garbled statements made use of to suit the
.Vindictive preiudces Of the people. ! enclose
you an authentic statement of the case:-
This man Keen threw quld of tobacco out
Of his shop window, hitting colored man by
the name of Madison, who was, with another
eolored man, guilty of walking along the street.
The colored man, In an angry manner, told
Keen not TO thro his tobacco at him. Angry
words we're given by both parties, and the col
ored man passed up the street. Keen concealed
q hammer IN his coatsleeye, came out of his
shop, and rapidly followed Madi,on some two
hundred yards up the street, overlook him. and
asked him what he had said to him. Madison
told him that he did not want him to throw
his tobacco upon him. Some words followed.
whereupou Keen struck Madison upon the back
part of the head, causing a wound from which
the blood flowed, saturating his clothes.
Madison applied to Mayor Slaughter for a
warrant to have Keen arrested. The Mayor
refused him; hence the arrest by General Terry.
Keen lately came to this place from Baltimore is
aRebel, and like many renegades that have come
from the North Ian editor of certain paper, for
example), who, fool-like, suppose they must per
form some act OF cruelty towards the negroes, in
order to convince the people that they are with
them in their preludices against the blacks
ready and willing to persecute the blacks, or do
any other foolish act to ingratiate themselves
into the good eraces of the f. f. VS..
The editor of the Nelos Gays that the bitter is
bit. j wonder If he does not consider 1t a case
of bitter bH when a certain editJr obligated
htmself-about the time OF the breaking out of
the late war-to cheo up, s,oaho1, and digest
every "YankeeR that would step his foot in
Fredericksburg. JUSTICE TO ALL.
From The Freaer;cksbarg NeVS of fJuiy3 81.
KEBN's CAsE.-We fear Keen has got the
military in "a bad boX'-even If they have
got HIM in prison. Doubtless they would be
glad 10 release bin il they could do so gracefully.
Our advice TO them is to apologize to Mr.. Keen,
their Northern brother, for his illegal arrest pay
him liberal compensation for the time he has
been their unwilling guest, and send HIM home
free Of expense, with iull permission to kick the
darkey on whose lying testsmony they wrong.
fully arrested hun. Then he can have his photo.
graph sent to HdTpers, or some other tOedhy
radicals, 10 show how Northern men are treated
by Federal soldiers in the South for Furnishing
msOlent negroes less severely than they deserve.
There is not man who has been concerned in
Keen's arrest who, with the same provocat1on,
would not have seized the drst thing in reach of
him, and punished the negro. With this con-
sClousness they must feel deicio Isly comfort
able In medtatlng on his arrest and imprison
ment,
Now, IL Keen had only been a Confederate
las they doubtless supposed), his arrest would
have suited them exactly, aud they could have
photographed" the atrocious Rebel, with
uphtted hammer, numbering an unotiending
freedman. This beautiful illustration for the
Journal of CaUuizdtaOn is unfortunately spoiled
by Keen's beng no Confederate. Alas alas
Let Northern preachers beat three-year-old
children to death for not saying their prayers,
and let Boston clearinghouse keepers starve
nne small children, but ii they come South
and crack a negrO's head (the hardest part of
bim), they are forthwith arrested and imprisoned
indefinitely.
How and when is Keens Imprisonment to
terminate No magistrate here NiVh particle
OF self.re pPct, or an atom of true appreciation
of the dignity of mis- Office and the sanctty OF
his oath, can now issue warrant Tor his arrest.
He has been substantially tried and discharged.
The negros complaint was heard, witnesses eX-
amined, and decision given against the com
planant. What more can any other magistrate
do?
For every day Keen is imprisoned he can
claim heavy damages. General Grants order
did not require his arrest, and is no legal de-
tense. AltoGeJher it is an intere'tng case of
''the bitter Bit" The military have "got an
elephant" and no civil magistrate will help to
get blm out OF their cage.