The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1875-09-23

by comparison WIN III. Nhrlyio hoISo
Ribbeting of the monsters of the French
Revolution must turn to panegyric by the
side of it. Buckley's savage scourging OF
the priestcraft and bigotry and intoler-
ance of the centuries preceding the eman-
cipation of thought will be found a weak
and insufficient model for 1t. As for the
men who have figured in these things, l
sometimes like to contemplate the fact
HISTORY HAS IN STORE
For them. Many of them, indeed, will
sink into oblivion which is their only ref
uge from iniamy. have seen these men
in their cxutation Of unchecked power,
and have behed them in their widest
riots of plumber. | have stood powerless
to prevent. or even to stay, and seen the
funds of the nation used to debauCh its
people with; have seen the powers of the
nation employed to crush ll.9 liberties
and annihfate the rights of its c.ist's,
To have wished for Titanic power To iu
sist would have been useless. And 30,
like others of my countrymen who saw
Us saw and who felt as felt, l have sue
cumbed, hoping always for better day,
for political sky less Clouded with pre-
iudice and passion, and for O clearer sun
light of nationality and commen sense to
make plain the way of deliverance. And
then, feeling the impotency Of my own
resentment against the despoilers of the
country, and realizing how powerless was
my vengefulness for the moment, have
yet found grim solace in the reflection
that the historian was waiting for them
yonder, sullenly. Men may come and
men may go upon the surface of the time.
They may run their brief riot of Corrup-
ton, and hold their short revel in ill-get-
ton luxury. They may parade in the
frail pomp ofill-used power, and make o.
tentation ofthe fruits of trusts betrayed,
but by and by, when the riot is run, when
the Ievel is hushed, when the frail pomp
has faded, the historian stamps upon
their tombs that posthumous brand of
deathless infamy than which the brand
of Cain upon the living forehead had been
far kindlier.
By and by an historian will come along
with ink of gall and pen of wormwC cd,
and his vengeance will be the retaliation
of all the stricken, the plundered and the
betrayed. We can afford to wait for his
coming, for when he does come he will
leave nothing undone behind him.
THE GAG LAW.
Passing now from the general record of
the Republican party, let us devote a lit
tie time to an examination of its latest
exploit of craftsmanship generally known
as the Poland Gag Law. My reason for
selecting this one out of the infnitude Of
Republican outrages is two fold; first, be-
cause it sustains peculiar and intimate
relation to the other crimes of the party
in that it was q ssrt of logical sequel to
them all. Sometimes burglar, inter-
cepted by the officers of the law, or by
the inmates of the household, adds mur-
der to house breaking. Well, 30 the Re-
publican party's Representatives in Con-
gress and IN the Departments at Wash
ington, hunted too closely by the news
paper ress, hunted so closely that jobs,
once easy, became difficult, and steals,
erstwhile safe, became perilous, supple
mented their reign of plunder with an
attempt to restrict the freedom of the
press and to abridge the liberty of dis
Cussion. Secondly, my reason for select.
ing this particular subject for amplitiCa-
ton is, that am more intimately conver-
SAINT with it than with any other. Ipre-
sumo I shall be acquitted Of the charge Of
undue egotism if say that what do not
know about the Gag Law is not worth
knowing. In fact, claim to know more
about it than any other man in the United
States, with, perhaps, one exception. l
refer, of course, to the Hon. Zachariah
Chandler, now private citizen of the
State of Michigan, but formerly Senator
of the United States. / think I may say
that this gentleman-ifI may be allowed
the term-has spent time, money and
anxiety enough in the study of the Gag
Law to make his knowledge Of the sub
iect exhaustive.
The Poland Gag Law was very small
and apparently innocent contrivaace,
but it was designed
TO EEFEOr LARGE RESULTS.
Technically it was briefly worded act Of
Congress comforting new powers upon
the Criminal Court of the District of Co
lumbia and enlarging its jurisdiction. 1t
did not contain any internal evidence Of
the designs OF its authors, but. external
evidences were not long wanting, for,
within week afterits passage, it's pro-
visions had been applied to the press by
the indictment ofa New York editor, Mr..
Whitelaw Reid; and Western CORES
pondent, your, humble servant, for
alleged libels upon Republican states
men.
This Gag Law was the fruition of long
considered and well matured plans. 1t
was the carefully and deliberately framed
production of consultation and Conclave.
1t has been stated in newspaper discus
sions of the case of Senator Chandler
against myself, that this law was enacted
at the instance of Chandler to enable
him to get me into the clutches of the
District of Columbia Courts and into the
power off Washington jury. But these
statements were incorrect. The enact
ment of some law which would make the
offense oflibel crime against the United
States had become disderatum with the
Republican leaders in Washington long
before the Chandler case existed. That
case may have expedited, but it did not
cause the enactment ofthe Gag Law The
grand desideratum with the Republicans
in Washington, was to make libela crime
against the United States, as | just now
remarked, so that those moments of
the freedom of the press which exist in
the liberal and enlightened laws Of the
several States on the subject Of libel
might be swept away, And they desired
to frame their law so as to give the Grim
inal Court of the District of Columbia
jurisdiction over cases of libel, no matter
where the publication occurred, because
they knew that in the District of Colum-
bia the courts could be manipulated, and
juries packed with greater facility than
elsewhere.
THIS CONSPIRACY
Of our Republican statesmen to throttle
the newspaper press was only part of |
general programme to perpetuate their |
own term Of power, and it stands in the |