The Indiana State sentinel., 1874-02-17
THE INDIANA OUTLAWS.

: KU-KLUX oUTRAGEs IN sALEh.-AN Afro
CIoUs REVIVAL OF THE LATE DEPREDA-
TIoNs-A HINT FOR THE AUTHORITIES
RUNNING CITIZENS FROM THEIR HOMES.
From Occasional Correspondent OF the Sentinel.
SALEM INDIANA, Feb. 10th. .lS24.-It seems
from the following events that our town is
to be subject to constant outbursts of outlaw
~. On Sunday night the house of the depot
agent, a Mr.. Samuel Day, was entered by
means of boring out the fastening to a back
door with bit-by some unknown parties
and some seven or eight hundred dollars
taken in a vslise in which it was placed un-
der a bed. The robbers made good their
escape with the spoil.
On last night atiabout half past min e o CLOCK
a party whose name for the present is with
held entered the bar-room of the McGindly
House on south main street. Mr.. Williams
the proprietor and James Hamilton young
blacksmith being in the room, the party ap-
preached Hamilton and asked him to show
him the way to one Nixon's. shoemaker
Hamilton at the time standing at the bar
desk writing a letter. He abandoned his
writing and went out to show the party the
way. They went down main street
short distance and turned into an ally
leading to water street. Just as they were
merging from the ally they were con-
fronted by a crowd of about fifteen persons,
who at once attacked Hamilton and threw
him to the ground on his face, considerably
brusinghis forehead. They at once proceeded
to blindtold him, and placed a rope about
his neck, at the same time accusing him OF
having stolen Days money, and threatened
to hang him at once, marching him off to
81, x~,.1 II
was hung last summer. They took of his
boots and socks, as If searching for money.
Hamilton told them that they could hang
him, but that he did not know anything of
the robbery, nor never stole cent of fmoney
in his life; and that OH Sunday night he was
at his hotel near where he worked, the Nc
Gindley House, and could prove it by the
landlord. He asked the mob, and obtained
permission from them, to make this state
ment, when they told him he had to tell
who had that money or leave Salem to-day
and that they would leave him there on top
of the bridge, and if he attempted to remove
the blindfold from his eyes before they go
away they would
SHOOT HIM ON THE SPOT.
He remained quiet until they got away
and then returned to his hotel The parry
who decOyed him from the hotel is we'll
known. and lives here. There is no disguis-
ing the fact that large proportion of
the citizens here regard it dangerous, and
are afraid to express themselves against the
mob for fear of visitation of violence from
them. This brings us toquestion the propri-
ETY. of compromising with the mob prose-
cution for the violation of the law, even
where their actions were confined to the ex-
ecution of great criminal-and upon their
promise to at once dsband. 1 might add
that we might pro6tably consider whether
or not it isn't disgrace to any town, coun-
ty or state to longer permit this species
of lawlessness to continue. If the mob
are to be left as the sole judges of who is
guilty of crime = and as to the
amount and manner of inflcting tho PEN
alty-how often and in how many places
may we not reasonably expect to find the
the corpses of victims dangling in the air
who have been tried, convicted, sentenced
and executed in single night without the
Intervention of court, judge or the benefit
clergy.
In the present case it is no excuse to say
that Hamilton is a dissipatedor wild young
man; hitherto he has never been charged
with stealing. His father and his family
live in our midst, respected by all who
know them. SALEM.