New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1870-06-05
THE ALLEGED KIDNAPPING AT SHR6VE-
PORT, LOUISIANA"

Il
one 7. 81. Ballowe, Of that place, was sur
rounded by four men, who with draw
revolvers informed him that he was unde
arrest: and who then escorted him to tn
Barracks, at Military Headquarters, from
whence he was taken, at about midnigh
of the same day, under military guard, OF
board the steamer ''La Belle" bound fol
New Orleans, and then placed in irons; thu
parties making such arrest refusing mean
while to give the prisoner any information
as to the cause of his arrest. The state
ment was followed by the usual stereo'
typed denunciatons, of arbitrary arrests
in general, and the one referred to in par
ticular. We have briefly alluded to the
article before, but are now in possession
of all the facts in the case, which are sub
stantially as follows:
On the first of April last, Hon. S.
j. Conklin, Supervisor of Internal Rev.
enue, for this State, received infor-
nation tending to show that there
were parties in Shreveport engaged
in removing revenue stamps from
empty tobacco caddies and whisky bar
rels, and selling them, at discount, to be
used again. Measures were Immediately
adopted which, it was believed, would lead
to the detection of the guilty parties.
Everything worked charmingly, ard upon
the arrival of the Supervisor in Shreve-
port, on the twenty-seventh day of April
last, he received information which made
the chain of evidence against Ballowe
80 complete that reasonable doubt could
be no longer entertained of his completely
with the fraudulent use and sale of in
ternal revenue stamps for whisky and to-
bacco. While awaiting the arrival of a
warrant issued by Commissioner Urban,
of this city, for the arrest of Ballowe, the
Supervisor received information from par
ties who were Swallowing" Ballowe that
he was preparing to leave the city, upon
which the Supervisor requested the cap
tain commanding the company of United
States troops stationed there to arrest Bal
lowe and hold him until the warrant,
thea hourly expected, should arrive. Bal
lowe was arrested about dark on the eve
ming of April 20, and taken to the barracks,
but no revolvers were drawn upon him,
or even exhibited, nor was he treated with
violence or rudeness, in any particular.
The steamer ''La Belle" was lying at the
wharf, and would leave for New Orleans
about midnight, and no other boat was
expected to leave under two or three days.
Between the time of the arrest of BalIowe
and eleven o'clock of the same evening,
the Supervisor received such information,
and saw such demonstrations, as satisfied
him that if he remained there until the
next day with the prisoner, an attempt
would be made to rescue him, and, though
it could not probably be done in the face
Of the military there, arrangements could
easily be made to accomplish that pur-
pose at some of the landings down the
river.
In the emergency, the Supervisor did
just what any prompt and thorough
officer should and would have done. He
took the prisoner from the barracks and
put him on board of the steamer, as she
was ready to leave, taking with him such
assistants as were necessary for the safe
keeping of the prisoner.
The story of the Southwest ern that |
3allowe was tied, or put in irons when
,ut on the boat, or at any other time, is
Untrue in every particular, as was also the
litigation that the prisoner was left unin-
ormed of the cause of his arrest. Ballowe
himself states unhesitatingly to all with
whom he has conversed on the subject
hat from first to last he was treated by
be Supervisor and his assistants with all
he kindness and courtesy that was con-
istent with the relations in which he was
laced, and that the Supervisor improved
be first opportunity after they met to ex-
lain to him the cause of his arrest.
Notwithstanding the lateness of the
our when Ballowe was placed on board
be boat, information of his removal was
oised about and squad of armed men
'as raised and sent across to the land
1g below the bend to rescue him, but
'rtunately reached it too late to accom-
lish their purpose. They then tele-
raphed to Baton Rouge to have the pris-
ner taken from the officers when the boat
Mould land at that place, but the boat did
OF land there, and thus they were again
,iled.
The course pursued By Supervisor
onklin in this matter, will receive the
earty commentator of all persons who
esire thorough enforcement of the
evenue laws. Had he done otherwise, the
Probabilities are that the prisoner would
ave been rescued, and another scene of
lood would have been added to those
hich have so recently occurred in the
orthwestern part of this State.
A spirit of barbarous lawlessness is
eing manifested in Shreveport, that good
1en Of all classes can but deprecate, and
7hich will, if persisted in, result disas-
rously to those who participate in it, or
Tho, by their silence, encourage it. A
Nv days subsequent to the arrest of
allOwe, Assistant Assessor Flood. of
hreveport, was notified, bv a Ku-Klux