Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1882-07-06
CHICAGO tErTxR
Correspondence Public Ledger.
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Deeu hdngeu, anu JUSTICE dU last pee
appeased. The murder Of the Prssi
dent, so far as the killing was con
cerned, had no particular feature
outside the fact that the victim of tn
assassin was the head of great nation
But the circumstances censequen
upon the terrible crime have no par
allel in history. No other people unde
Gods sun would have shown such un
looked-for forbearance as was showI
to the caught-in. the-act slayer O
President Garfield; and during thu
assassin S trial for his crime, no othel
court would have tolerated such out
rageous conduct upon the part of the
accused as was allowed to be practiced
by the tribunal before the assassin was
convicted of the crime of murder. Now
that the terribly tragic drama is over
and the facts relegated to history, and
people have become cooler of opinion
it appears that the course adopted by
the nation, through its officials, was
best, as fully displaying to the world
that this country would not coun-
tenance in its officials, or in body OF
its citizens, what it abhorred in
Guiteau. That is, that the law,
through its forms, should deal with
the culprit, and visit upon him pun
ishment for his cowardly crime, and
that he should die by the hangman's
hand-not at the hands of outraged
citizens, sitting as a court of Judge
Lynch. OF course, as Guiteau was
caught in the act of murder, and
boasted of his frightful act, if Judge
Lynch's court had been Immediately
appealed to, an immense sum Of
money and a great deal of trouble
would have been saved the country,
and this should have been the course
pursued; but the sober second thought
of the officials was best. The forms
Of law have been gone through, and
the murderer has suffered for his
hideous act; and, better still, the
world has been convinced that no &C.
complete aided the actual murderer,
and especially no one in power. This
being the case, no further or greater
disgrace attaches to the country. If
Guiteau had been instantly killed
after numbering the President, and
making the rejecting declarations that
he did, it would have been very hard
to convince the most conservative peo-
pie of the world that he did not have
accomplices high in power" In this
respect it is a most glorious thing that
the lengthy trial has cast away all this
dark cloud, and that the sun of right.
eousness beams brighter over our
land. THE mills of the gods grind
slow, but exceedingly 6ne."
The Republicans of Illinois are in a
quandary as what stand to take in re-
gard to prohibition in the coming con-
test. They fear the prohibition anger
much, but that of the liquor men
more. They would like to bow to the
prohibition element if it could be done
without offending the liquor manufac-
turers, and as there is no middle
ground, the outcome will be that sides
will be taken with neither or both, as
circumstances warrant. The whisky
men are great power in numbers,
influence and money; while the other
women" are only strong in morals,
reforms and talk. This being the case,
it is more than likely that the Repub-
licans will fight the battle as "Repub-
licaus and the great saviors of the
country" party. As an evidence
OF this,it is only necessary to mention
that the initial oratorical gun of the
programme has been fired, and the
sound gone forth which proclaims that
the Republican party, aside from its
great national cure~all virtues, re-
deemed the State of Illinois from a
heavy debt and placed it in a substan-
tial and solvent condition. Bill Nye,
of the Boomerang, would call this a
ID lie; but as such condemnation
is too western" for the LEDGER's
columns, | will state that the assertion
is simply devoid Of truth, and in ac-
cordance with the usual tactics of the
Republican party in turning facts into
such shapes as will suit its own venal
purpose. The Democrats are entitled
to any honor that may exist in the
premises. In 1851 the Democrats
had control of the Legislature. That
body proposed a constitutional amend.
ment, which was adopted by the State,
to levy tax of two mills upon taxable
property to be used to pay off the debt,
which was then about sl8,0O0,000. In
1856, when the Republicans came into
power, this Democratic plan was
bearing splendid fruit; aud by means
Of the seed thus sown, Illinois is now
entirely free from debt. Then, how
can tie Republican party claim to have
been the doctors in the case? 1t may
be answered that in the haste, or igno.
rance of its orators, such facts have
been overlooked; or, possibly, like the
gambler raising "cold deck" desper-
ate cases requiring desperate measures,
they take the chances of being caught
in the act they having much to gain
and nothing to lose, by handling the
truth recklessly. II they win BY such
rascality the party will not be benfted
in the estimation of the public. As
in the Malley boys and Blanche
Douglass" case, the party may win,
but the public will always believe
that the verdict should have been in
accordance with the general facts" II
may be argued that lying is only wrong
when it is proftless, whether in poli,
tics or law; or in making virtue out
of the Malley per6dy or the Republi-
cans determination to keep in office.
A goodly number of the government
employees in Chicago, because Of the
two per cent tax levied by the Repub-
lican party managers, are beginning 10
inquire, Who constitute this govern .
ment, the Republican party or the
people at larger" They forget that
the party in power runs the machine
and that the whole people" have
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