The Arkansaw traveler., 1882-12-10
THE DEATH OF MORGAN. Thuriow Weeds Dying Revelation
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 Thuriow Weeds Dying Revelation.
 Ncss Nork Sun.
 The unseilIng of a monument ,o Capt. William Morgan recalls an event of start ling interest. arousing deep popular feel ing, first at Batavia. tc Roy. anAnda,- qua. and Rochester. then pervading our own and other states. After reading the proceedings of meeting al Batavia. with the Hon. David E. Evans as presid- ing officer. wrote six-llne paragraph for the Rochester 7efegrath. Tn which stated that oia1en of Batavia had been spirited away from his home and family, and that. after a mysterious absence of several days. a village meeting had been held and committee of citizens appointed to investigate the matter adding that, as II was known that freemasons were concerned In this abduction. !; behooNcd the fraternity whose good name Nas suf fering to take the laboring oar in resior- ing the lost man 10 his liberty. That paragraph brough, dozens of our most influential citizens. greatly excited. to the office stopping the paper and ordering
 
 ments. inquired of my partner. Robert Martin. wha; had done to eAasperatc SO many of our friends. lie brought me book. and directed my attention to an obligation invoking severe penalties as a punishment tor disclosing the secrets of Masons, inquinng wha; though, of a man who. after taking such an obligation violated IL replied that did not know any punishment too severe for such a peilurer. The dise continuance al the paper embraced so large d number of i,s patrons. saw tha, my brief and ss 1 supposed. very harmless paragraph would ruin the establishment. Unwilling that my partner should suffer. prompt, withdrew. leaving the establishment, m the hands of Mir. Martin. The paper was dolng well. and until that paragraph ap- peared my business future was ail that l could desire
 4, that time an editor Wa wanted al Utica, where l had formerly worked. and where had many friends bu; my offer to go there was deo lined. l was equally unfortunate m my application for edIto- rial employment at Troy. The objection in both cases was that I had been too busy in getting up an excitement, about Morgan.
 Meantime the mystery deepened, and public meetings Mcre held m several vil- lages. Rochester included. In the meet ing at Rochester II was assumed that all good citizens would unite in an effort 10 vindica,e the law. A committee was app pointed. consisting of seven. three of stz H. 4 covered that the three Mason vent from ihe committee 10 the lodge room. l; was subsequently di covered that t~o of these gentlemen wele concerned in the abdus ton. and that Morgan had been com mitied to the jall ID 1anandaigua on d false charge of larceny. and that he had been earned from thence secretly by nightIto Port Niagara. The committee encountered an obstacle m obtaining in dictments n i've of the s2 oouniles where indie tmentS were needed. The sheriffs who summoned the grand lunes were treemasons. in four cDunties no indictments could be obtz,ned. In On ;ario. however. the district attorney. Bow : en Whiting. and the sheriff, Joseph Gar linghouse though Masons. regarded ,he,r obligations to the laws of the state para mount. Shenff Clearinghouse and Dis- tric, Attorney Whiting discharged their duties independently and honestly. A the investigations proceeded the evidence increased that Morgan had been unlaw- fully confined. in the Canandaigua Iail. and sec re;ly conveyed to For Niagara. where he was confined in the magazine. There vas every reason to believe that he was taken from the magazine and drowned in Lake Ontario. This, how ever. was boldly and persissenty denied -denials accompanied by solemn assur- ances that Morgan had been seen alive in several places divided the public sen timent. At town meetings. several months after Morgan's disappearance the ques- ton was carried into politics. 4 large number of jealous znti-Masons de4e1- mined b make t a political issue. Solo mon South~ick was nominated as Le Roy for governor. Our committee firmly resisted all such efforts urging all xho were connected with Us in an effort ,o ,indicaie the law to vote for the czndi- dates of the party with which they had been previously connected. We endeay- ored to induce the whig state convention to nominate Francis Granger, but. falling in that, we gave our suppor, to Judge Smith Thompson. Afterxzrd. zf a yil- lage election in Rochester, Dr. F. F. Bzckus, who had been treasurer by a unanimous vote Of the electors from he tune the village charter had been ob- tained, vas again the candidate of both parties. No whisper of opposition was heard before the election or al the polls, but when the votes were eanvzssed ma jorisy appeared in favor of Dr. John B. Elwood- Dr. Backus was an active and influential member Of the Morgan invest igating committee That astounding re- suit produced an instantaneous change.
 Political anti Masonry from that mo- ment and for thAt reason became an eie- ment in our elections. 1t was altered and extensively believed that the sMor- gan Commisase," to gzzfi1y pezsoaal aspi- ra6sa4 veat voaulassily inso politics. These allegations veEe as untsutAfn as eney weTe unjust. Y wss not until we