The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1882-10-30
INcoETRovERTIBLE FAcrs.
Rock ISLAND. Oct. 80 1882

/ Rock ISLAND. Oct. 80 1882.
To the Editors of the AReUs
In addressing letter of inquiry to the
UasSOp on Tuesday of last week. I had
hoped to see in public print a prompt and
decisive denial of the charge that Wm. G..
Morris had been convicted and fined in
our circuit court for selling whisky with
out a license, but since you published the
indictment and record in the case in FRI
days ARGUS there can be no question but
| that the charge although q criminal one, is
nevertheless true Had known the facts
there would have been no occasion or
necessity for my going around to the editor
! of the Union for the. purpose of having
him whisper the answerin my ear, which
he seems to think would have been the
! proper way After reading the ARGUS
answer / could not believe that this crime
would be excused or Endorsed by the tenn
perance people of this county, and they
must excuse or indorse this act if they
support Morris and after reading the article
in Saturdays Union, in which the offense
| with the Observation-Disclosures were made
to appear so much worse. it don't seem
| possible that any temperance man could be
induced to vote for Morris. The Union
says. In 1S71-Moline was nominally a
temperance village, that is, no licenses or
whisky and beer are holding high carnival
under pretended license regulation, tenn
perance men are often cowed down. as it
were, and silenced for q time, but who
ever heard of a truely temperance man, in
village where, and at time
when, temperance principles are pre-
dominating, that was not foremost in
upholding the authorities, in assisting to
enforce the laws, in proclaiming his allegi-
ance and in endeavoring to continue the
supremacy of the cause! But it was at just
such time, and in such place as this,
according to the Union where VIM. G.
Morris, professedly temperance man, I'm
der the guise of drug store was running
a "Tppling house. This is what the
court record called it, and the record is
based upon his confessions. What assist
ance can such traitor to their cause ex-
pect from the temperance people,? Has he
cheek enough to presume that his treachery,
fsaying nothing of his crime against the
laws of nlinois) that such treachery is to
be encouraged, Endorsed, or overlooked by
them? Nor was it the evidence of Henry
Huntoon that Morris feared, for there was
also the evidence of six other witnesses be-
fore the grand jury whose names appear
in the record, men who are known to be
mostly if not all of them entirely reliable,
and who, it seems convinced the members
of the grand jury that Morris was guilty of
having run Tipping house twenty-six
separate and distinct times, instead of the
twice which he confessed, nor is the offense
made any less because SO easy, slow going,
and lenient prosecutor as Col. Mock
should have let him off on such easy
terms But this has bad look, it looks as
though it was the work probably of those
friends of Morris which the Union talks
rfo fxayu af& A. II.
prosecute such indictments as may be pre-
sented by the grand jury, and not zto,net
prosecute (nol pros; if he isto MOI zpusesate,
what would be the use of the grand jury
presenting any indictments. There
seems to have been bar
gain in this case of which
win speak further on, but in which twenty
four crimes were whitewashed and two
confessed, such practice, if established,
would be stencil in the nestrils of all law
abiding citizens. The Union says that
Morris first decided to fight the matter in
the courts" why this is the usual course of
criminals. They usually decide at first to
fight the matter as far as they can find
courts to fight in, and condemn their &C
cusers with all the airs of injured inno-
cence and finally upon some pretext or
another, try to get around the states at
torney to see what kind of a ftget off" can
be obtained Morris conduct in this re-
spect was surely more like. that of an old
campaigner in crime than otherwise
But the Union says that all the drug
stores were selling whisky in the same
way. Can the Union bring particle of
evidence that Messrs. g. Piper, j. w. Mo-
rey, Richards & Schrobeck, and Clenden
in & Martin, who were In the drug bust
ness, were all or any of them running a
''tippling house?" If not it is unfair to try
to unload on to them and blacken their
characters. But what is the use of trying
to excuse or palliate the crime of VIM. G..
Morris? Why does he not and why should
he not stand In the same category with
convicted criminals everywhere2 His OF.
tense was evidently committed for the pur-
pose of gain, the same incentive that
leads men to steal. and gamble and sell
their neighbors poisoned drink, and one
can readily see that at a time when no
whisky was permitted to be sold in Moline
that the sale then of that article there
would be bonanza, and that there would
be opportunities and great inducements for
person to overreach himself in his anxi