The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1882-03-24
STATE CELEBRITIES.
FRANKLIN b. GowEN, PRESIDENT
OF THE READING RAILROAD
COMPANY.
I PHILADELPHIA Press.

PHILADELpnIA Press.
"A splendid type of the American law
yer; Il noble example for young men to
emulate" This WAS the remark of gen.
tleman who had Travelled far to hear the
speeches of the jury which rendered the
first verdict against a hollie Mcguire for
murder And as he spoke he looked at
Franklin b. Gowen, who stood in the
crowded court room at Pottsvillc facing the
| jury which was to decide the fate of the
man whose obedience to the commands of
an oath-bound society made him AIRED
handed murderer denied him absolution in
the church, and struck down the heads Of
| two families II was memorable day
! in the anthracite coal region. For many
years millions of capital and thousands Of
! honest, laboring men had been terrorized by
the same secret foe. Property was not
| worth the price of the premium paid to in
sure it. No mans life was safe, not even
that of the "butty" who worked at the
breast with miners who had orders to kill
| and make II clean job of it. The delivcrancc
had come, and Mr.. Gowen announced it
with dramatic effect in these words;
"The time has gone by when the muir
derer, the incendiary, and the assassin can
20 home rcekng from the commission of
crimes, confident in the fact that he can ap-
pear before II jury and have an alibi proved
for him to allow him to escape punishment.
There will be no more false alibis in this
sp La, m fn has
No more false alibis. No more confident
| reliance upon the perjury of relatives and
friends to prove an alib for him who was
| seen in the commission of the act No more
dust thrown in the eyes of juries to blind
them from looking directly at the facts of "A
case; and do say, that if there was any
thing to be proud Of to be glad of, after the
fact that we are enfranchised and olsen
thraled from this despotism and this
tyranny that has been hanging over u.s. II is
that the administration of justice will no
longer be polluted, and disgraced by perjury
and false swearing for the purpose of res
cuing Il criminal from the just vengeance of
| the law"
The scene produced by this statement will
| never be forgotten. AS the words were
uttered the speaker glanced back at two
hundred Mollie Maguires who polluted the
temple of justice with their presence, and
the shadow made by his index finger pro-
duced dark line on the nose of the king of
the Molles, Jack Kehoe, who nervously
watched every movement of the lawyer and
drank in his words as though he WAS re-
ceiving his death sentcnce-as il really
proved to be.
| MR. GowEN's ANCESTRY.
In the year 1871 James Gowen, the father
of the subject of this sketch, arrived in
America from Ireland. For many years he
was engaged in me rcantile pursuits in this
city, and after accumulating snug forum,
retired as IL merchant and devoted the re
mainder Of his life to agriculture, becoming
State celebrity as II breeder Of short-horI
Durhams. He was one of the founders o
the State Agricultural Society and served a
its President for several terms. Though dc
voted to farming and cattle raising, tn
elder GOwen found little time to recreat
in politics, and ON two occasions was pei
suaded to beoo me the candidate of the anti
Jackson party for Congress. No speeche
l of his are recorded in the Congressional Recoro