The Rock Island daily Argus. [volume] (Rock Island, Ill.) 1872-1873, 1873-06-09
SAs SaiIg Arsns.
Monday, June 9, 1879.
An EsSlltiOn q Anger.

The article In that publication yester-
day, entitled THE Defeat Of Judge Law
renee, is throughout, the senseless vapor-
ings Of malicious Individual who is very
mad. 1t is full of lies manufactured out
of whole cloth, and so unskillfully manu-
featured as to be perfectly ridiculous on
the face of them. 1t contains, in a column
and half Of reckless assertion, hardly a
single statement that is true or capable Of
being substantiated by the facts It is @
TRADE Of angry abuse Of the farmers for
having seen proper TO exercise, according
10 the dictates Of their own Judgment, the
unalienable provocative Of independent
treemen, and Of vituperation against man.
kind generally for not looking upon all the
concerns Of this life through the discoloreC
eye-glass Of the Chicago Tribune estab
lishment. s.-.-..
Here is its one statement that is nearest
TO the truth. 1t relates to the genera
character OF the electors in the Fifth Su.
preme Court District;
Upon full survey Of the United States we can
not discern any district Of equal population and
territory, more likely to reach an Intelligent and
safe conclusion, upon given state OF facts, than
the Fifth Judicial District of Illinois II Is full o
schools, and newspapers, and pulpiis. and thrifty
breezy villages, and reasonably prosperous farms
with comparatively few persons of foreign birth
and these OF an exceptionally clear-headed and
ylrtuOus sort
This exceptionally clear headed and viz
tuous constituency, as likely to reach an
intelligent aud safe conclusion as any other
equal number of citizens to be found any
where in the United States, proceeded with
great elaboration and after many weeks
of discussion and consideration of all thu
Nunfa NM civ IAN 10 .Iu.a...
which they deemed ~ be an intelligent
and safe one And yet, says the wrathfu
censor, with all these promising mater.
ials, the Fifth Judicial District has per
petrated through the ballot-box fragrant
and inexcusable outrage The dictum OF
one very angry individual against the de.
llberate judgment Of one Of the most in.
telhgent, cultivated, exceptionally clear
headed and virtuous' constituencies in the
United States
This dlctum OF an angry man is made t.
appear as the induction Of long string
Of assertions, every one of which is in
direct conflict with the facts The state
ment Of the alleged fragrant and "bru-
tai and inexcusable' outrage itself is
the assertion of a palpable untruth. 1t is
said TO consist in the rejecting with con
tumely judge who has declared the law
10 be what it is-reiecting him for the rea.
son that he has so declared il. This lie
has not even the merit of newness Ii is
simply a restatement after the election of
the dastardly SANDER which this presump-
tuuus but unlucky Organist out of lob
uttered respecting the farmers in the Fifth
Judicial District when they vcntured to
disregard its order for the nomination Of
Judge Lawrence by the farmers couven-
ton at Princeton. The same infamous
SANDER upon the intelligence, integrity and
honesty Of the farmers has been made to
do service for Judge Lawrence throughout
the judicial contest, and is nov reasserted
in his impotent rage by its shameless in
ventOr.
The fact is that the exceptionally intel
llgent and clear-headed opponents of Judge
Lawrence were able, MS their angry Chica-
20 viliGer manifestly is not, TO recognize
an important distinction between persons
and Purposes, means and oRds Whether
Judge Lawrence decided the law to be
what it is, or TO be what il is not. was not n
question at issue at all The supporters
OF Judge Craig were not agreed in opinion
respecting the Alton railroad decision ;
though probably the great majority of them
believe that the supreme court ,Of which
Judge Lawrence was but one of seven
members) decided the law 20 be what it is
They were not even agreed in opinion res
pecting Judge Lawrence as jurist, nor as
a man; though probably the most of them
held him in high respect in both charac-
ters. But they were agreed perfectly in
this that the contest was not like the
tidal wave and bloody chasm' SQUAD
bic, in which the unlucky little mad person
OF The Chie0go Tribune shone so geor-
geouslyl mere contest between two indi-
viduals that it was not question Of per
s0nal preference, nor of personal fitness
nor personal question at all, nor any
choice Of evils y but that it was ques-
ton Of means TO an end lying far beyond
the election OF either candidate far be
yond the supreme court, and far beyond all
the functions and powers Of the state, or
the people Of the state considered by them
selves in a word, that the real contest
was tor cause in the promotion Of which
the independent nnti-monOpolists of Hi
nOis had determined TO make preliminary
fight in the judicial elections. That this
was the real attitude Of the farm.
ers in the Fifth supreme court dis
trict is evident enough from the fact that
they made the same contest in nearly ey-
cry circuit court district in this state dis
tricts in which no railroad decisions pre-
seuted themselves for consideration ut all
And anyone who went among the farmers
in the Fifth district and cOnversed with the
most intelligent and influential of them.
will need no other evidence Of the fact than
their own clear and earnest declaration of
II. They rejected Judge Lawrence, not be.
cause he declared the law 10 be what it is
not, but because, having higher purposes
than the trading political hucksters, they
would not sacrifice the new emancipation
movement 10 the personal fortunes of any
man.
The enraged Chicago slanderer of the
farmers proceeds to point out four alleged
causes for the defeat of Judge Lawrence,
every one Of which is clearly false, and so
mauiiestly absurd on the face Of il that it
~ hardly worth while 10 speak of them.
A word will dispose of each
j. The allegation that the Princeton con
ventiOn was not q farmers convention
Ia the sense Of being representative of
the farmers Of the district" is answered
by the result of the election. The fact
that the farmers of the district have elect
ed the candidate presented by that conven.
ton would seem 10 be tolerably conclusive
proof that the convention was representa-
tive Of the farmers Of the district
2. The allegation that the c., B. d Q.
railroad cdmpany's agents and servants in
the district supported Judge Craig is an
swered by the result in the city of Gales
burg and in the other towns along the line
Of that road, where the servants Of that
company constitute a large fraction Of the
voters In all the railroad towns, and
most notably in Galesburg, where the G.,
Il. X q railroad shops are situated, large
majority Of the votes were given for Judge
Lawrence u s..
3. The allegation that the county seat"
question in Knox county was cause Of
Judge Craig's election, is answered by the !
Tact that Knox county gave the largest ma
ority Of any county for Judge Lawrence.
a. The allegation that Judge Craig's
,leCtiOn was in anywise owing to the stu
pidityp Of the evening monopoly organ 10 |
his city, or 10 the malice Of the Times,
8 simply foolish, as we'll as angry asper-
ion Of the Intelligence and clear headed !
iess' Of the farmers.
The whole truth Is, that the result of the