The Rock Island daily Argus. [volume] (Rock Island, Ill.) 1872-1873, 1873-04-05
The LIE Nard Letters.

Indignation in washington at Grants Ten
dsrness to Observation-Disclosures Condition
Of Affairs in Washington---Murders by Ne
gro Roughs---Talk Of Vigilance Committee
in our National Capital
WASHINGTON, D. c., March 81 1878
Any one who enjoys hearing some loud
and powerful censuring done, is respect
fully invited to come, hear, and be happy,
Such a chorus of growls, in all imaginable
KEYS and of all degrees Of feryor, as
Washington INDUCES in lust now, it has
never before been my privilege to hear
And the cause Of this universal scolding,
bestowed as a free gift upon our tender
hearted President, is simply this, he com
muted the death sentence passed upon the
murderer q Brien, to Imprisonment for
life > which, translated into plain English,
means that O'Brien is to have free board
and lodging at Albany, until he can safely
be pardoned out Well for him he WASH t
in Dir-ies land
remember mentioning the affair at the
time it occurred; but as many, no doubt
have forgotten the facts, | will briefly re
view them. O'Brien was private IN our
police force, and, ON the day IN question
was stationed at the grounds OF a grand
picnic to preserve order. Atrlend OF has,
/ Cunningham. was out of work, and q Brien
had promised to assist him in procuring
some He OBrien) told Cunningham
wife. then and there, upon what conditions
he would procure place for her husband,
and as those conditions were not consistent
with her ideas Of honor, she told her hus
| baud of the insult received who thereupon
reproached O'Brien for his behavior. In
reply he received a knock down argument
with the policeman's baton over his head,
and was left senseless on the ground,
/ Complaint being made to the Lieutenant
( in charge, he took o Brien's baton and
badge of office, who thereupon, meeting
| Cunningham and his wife, on their way
home, shot him down, and not being salts
. fed. added another shot after {. was dead
/ For cold booded brutality none Of those
who swing into eternity had been his
equal and public opinion agreed upon the
point that the world would be the better
without him No one, except the murder
ers immediate friends, thought Of such a
/ thing as a change of sentence, when 10
the vaunted gigantic intellect discover
cd that Q Brien had been soldier, was
consequently used to the killing business.
and must not he punished Ike any other
/ poor, ignorant wretch would be. You see
7 he-O B.-used to be a good little boy at
. Sunday School and that counted Many
Of the faultfuders are thoroughly opposed
to capital punishment yet insist that a,
long as the law prescribes hanging in such
eases hanged OBren should have beer
by all means,
Now | a gree with Eugene Sue he ad
yocates binding in such eases, as then the
power Of injuring would be taken from tn,
criminal time be given him for reforma
ton, and he become an object Of pity in
stead Of hatred and dread and such
punishment would probably be more effec
/, tive in preventing crime than the presen
system Of sending brutal, blood-staine,
creatures to Heaven, from the gallows, o.
a through ticket
; The objections to the President actor
have received additional color from tn
! horrible murder Of a Virginia cattle deal
Z er. who on the night between the 2sth an
/ 10Th, was killed and robbed in Armor
d Square almost the centre Of the city
by colorcd rough One Of to-day pa
f. pers contains a card from citizen, in whic
he declares that the men Of that sectio
will form vigilance committees, if the la
is not strong enough 10 protect life and pr,
pcrty there \ beautiful state Of affair
truly, when citizens Of the nations capt.
.e are obliged To think of resortinc to tt
: primitive modes Of justice administerc
H. in the newest, rawest countries Yet I
one can deny that there are places in til
(. city where hannah life Is considered Of
little value as that of an animal Tai
" such names as Murder Bay, Lou
i. Alley, etc and if. after hearing theI
H. and seeing the inhabitants, you still "a
ut what in d name We nothing more
rs say.
he 1t does seem as if where so many wi
ce men lat So - per hour sit III counc
some plan might be matured which won
diminish crime and elevate the low b
ne alas where railroad bonds are concern
ne how can degraded humanity be thong
r Of?
eN By the appearance Of this letter q
't- might think that / took particular pleasr
81 III writing up sucn terrible themes;
Eli the truth is that these occurrences foi
u the staple Of conversation just now, a
OF that the very atmosphere seems TIL
ed with it.
10 But no, I'm wrong after all there
''T streak of light-the opera with Lucca a
ca Kellogg and last, not least, the circus,
Us it. While the former elates lovers
en- music, the latter affects the little peopI
NJ and bad little boys are already dreami
IDS Of the glories Of the saw-dust, to be pr
nc chased at the expense Of somebody els
y" cat while cat-dom seems aware Of {
y, I, trouble to come, holds nightly indignat
"' meetings, and wauls dirges innumera
for the doomed ones who are to be c
verified into Lion or Tiger, to crafty Yot
-. America love Of pleasure. LIE NARD