The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1877-06-23
A Pennsylvania Paper Gu the iiOlly
Maguires.


The Pottsville Chronicle i'll recent
issue says:
AS day passes into night, and night
into morning, the six condemned muir
derers in their cells in the Schuykill
county prison, are slowly but surely
approaching the day of their doom. In
their cases, so impatient have the pub
lie been for their speedy vindication of
the majesty of the law, that it has some
times seemed as if justice moved on
ward with a halting pace, but her tread
has been firm from the start, and her
purpose ineXorable. Even before the
conviction of the murderers of John z.
Jones, when an intense public feeling
would have wreaked speedy vengeance
upon the murderers of Sanger and Uren
even then, unknown to all, save the
few who had the business in hand, the
emissaries of justice were weaving the
tolls about the banded assasins who had
redeemed their hands in the life-blood
of so many of our best citizens. We
all see now, how much better it is that
the law has been permitted to assert
itself in its own time and its own way.
There are men who said and believed
that Molly Mcguire could never be
convicted in Schuyllill county-and
such was the undoubted fact for many
weary years of crime and bloodshed.
But such is no longer the fact, and it
would be impossible to over-estimatet the
value to the peace and order of this
community of the certainty of the de-
lection and punishment of crime, es-
tablished as it was, beyond peradven-
ture, and for all time, by the cOnvic-
Nft Anl1iac hn {T ha N n.,1
next week. There We're others who
vict q Molly Mcguire of any crime in
Schuylkill county, for the reason that
from the power they welded in decid-
ing the political contests in Pensylva-
mia, they were always deemed fit sub
jects for executive clemency; and to
the lasting shame of this great Com
monwealth, there was only too much
truth in the charge. But the day of
obtaining pardons for Molly Maguires
has also gone by. Governor Hartranft,
no matter how great the pressure that
might be brought to bear upon him by
his political friends who expected to
use these misguided men for their own
base purposes, would not dare to COM
mute the sentence of 4 single Molly
Mcguire. He is Governor of Pensyl-
| vania, and the exercise of executive
clemency is function of his office, but
Governor though be be, that is one of
the things he dare not do. This is an
other point in favor of the impartial
administration of justice which we have
gained by making haste slowly. There
| are some faint hearted people even now
| who are reluctant to believe that the
Molly Maguires will ever pay the pen
| atty of their crimes. We are told there
will be an attempt at rescue, and the
authorities are advised by anonymous
letters to use the utmost vigilance to
prevent surprise. We hear rumors
that in certain secluded localities men
assemble at night and drill with arms.
1t yet remains to satisfy these few faint
hearted that the majesty of the law has
shaken of the dust of years, and will
move onward to the last sad act in this
drama of blood with infexible purpose.
When this has been accomplished, the
triumph of law will be complete and
lasting. Within two weeks the day
will come for which the people of the
coal region have been hoping and wait
ing for long, weary years. The blow
has been long delayed, but it will fall
with the more crushing force when it
does come. 1t will be day that will
pass into history as by far the most
memorable of any in the criminal an
mails of this state. On the 21st of June
six men will expiate their crimes upon
the gallows in Pottsville, four in: :Mauch
Chunk and one in Wilkes-Barre. Never
before in the history of the Common
wealth OF Pennsylvania have six men
paid the forfeit of their lives upon one
gallows and upon the same day, and
never within our recollection, have
there been eleven capital executions set
for the same hour. When about the
hour of noon of Thursday of next week
the fatal drop falls at Pottsville, Mauch
Chunk and Wilkes-Barre, the long reign
of terror in the coal field will have end
ed, the outraged majesty of the law will
haye been avenged, and the power OF
the people to make and enforce laws fol
the protection of their lives and theil
property, will have received another
vindication.