The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1876-08-30
Organized Murder.
The Pennsylvania Molly Maguires as
Political Machine.

Political Machine.
AssAssiNs IN COUNCIL WITH STATE
OFFICIALS.
! 4 GREAT SOCIAL CRUSADE NOBLY LED
The following startlingly vivid pic
tare Of the Molly Maguires IN thu
coal regions Of Pennsylvania, nov
for the first time confronted ant
broken down chiefly by the coura
geous determination of Franklin B
Goweu, is taken from the report o.
that gentleman's brave and over
whelming argument before a jury
impanelled to try one of these con
spirators for his share in the bruta
murder of an Industrious and homes,
Ginning boss at Raven Run ir
Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania
"These coal fields for twenty years
Imay say, have been the theatre Of
the commission Of crimes such az
nature revolts at. This very organi.
cation that we are now, for the first
time, exposing to the light of day,
has hung like a pail over the people
of this county. Before it fear and
terror fled covering to homes which
afforded no sanctuary against the
vengeance of their pursuers. Behind
it stalked darkness and despair,
brooding like grim shadows over the
desolated hearth ard the ruined
home, and throughout the length
and breadth of this fair land there
was heard the voice Of wailing and
lamentation, of :'Racnael weeping for
her children and refusing to be COM
forted because they were not Nor
is it alone those whose names have
mentioned mot alone the prominent,
the upright and the good Citizen
whose remains have been inferred
with pious care in the tombs of his
fathers; but it is the hundreds of
unknown victims whose bones now
lie Wondering over the face of this
county. In hidden places and by
silent paths, in the dark ravines of
the mountains and in secret lodges
Of the rocks, who shall say how
many bodies Of the victims of this
order now await the final trump of
God2 And from those lonely sepul
chres there will 60 up to the God
who gave them the spirits of these
murdered victims to take their place
among the innumerable throng of
witnesses at the last day, and to
confront with their presence the
members of this ghastly tribunal
when their solemn accusation is
read from the plain command Of the
Decalogue, ''Thou shalt not kill"
How this association came into
this country we do not know. We
had suspected for many years, and
we know now, that it Is criminal in
it's character. That is proved be-
yond peradventure. It will not do
now to say that it was only in par
ticular localities in this county that
it was criminal organization, be-
cause the highest Officer In the society
in this county, the county delegate,
Jack Kehoe, the man who attended
the State Convention, and was the
representative of the whole order in
this county, is to-day as you hear
from the testimony, in prison await.
ing his trial for murder. Whether
this society, known as the Ancient
Order Of Hibernians, is, beyond the
limits of this county, good society
or not I cannot tell; but have be
lieved at some times that it was, ani
l am willing to be satisfied of thai
fact now, if there is any evidence o
it. But there has been an attach
made on this organization, and up tt
this time we have not had furnished
to US any evidence that in any place
it's objects were laudable or commen
dable. Criminal in its character
criminal in its purposes, it had fire
quently a political object. You vii
find the leaders Of this society tn
prominent men in the townships
Through the fundamentally of thei
order, and by its power, they wer
able to secure offices for themselves
You see here, and now know tina
one of the Commissioners of thi
county is a member of this order
You know that a previous Commits
sioner of this county was membe
of this order, convicted Of a high OIL
Tense and pardoned by the Governor