Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1882-12-02


Well Kept for Many Years-A Story Wei
Told. Even Though 1t May be Lacking il
Truth.
Some days ago the telegraph gave wha
purported to be synopsis of ThurIov
Weeds dying declaration, relative to thu
abduction and alleged murder of Capt
William Morgan by the Free Masons. Ths
account was so meagre and badly compiled
as to be practically worthless, and we give
below the statement in full:
The unwilling of a monument to Captain
VIM. Morgan recalls an event of startling
interest, arousing deep popular feeling
first at Batavia, LIE Roy, Canandaigua and
Rochester, then pervading our own and
other states. After reading the proceed.
ings of meeting at Batavia,with the Hon
David E. Evans as presiding officer wrote
six-line paragraph for the Rochester Tel
egraph, in which stated that citizen of
Batavia had been spirited away from his
home and family, and that, after mystic
rious absence Of several days, a village
meeting had been held and committee of
citizens appointed to investigate the mat
ter; adding that. as it was known that
ton, it behooved the fraternity whose good
name was suffering. to take the labOring
oar in restoring the lost man to his liberty.
That paragraph brought dozens of our most
influential citizens, greatly excited, to the
office, stopping the paper and ordering the
discontinuance of their advertisements.
inquired of my partner, Robert Martin,
what had done to exasperate so many of
our friends. He brought me book. and
objected my attention to an obligation in
vokirg severe punishment for disclosing
the secrets of Masons, inquiring what I
thought of q man. who, after taking such
an obligation. violated it? I replied that
l did not know any punishment too severe
for such q perjurer. The discontinuance
of the paper embraced so large number
of its patrons, I saw that my brief and, as
I supposed, very harmless paragraph would
ruin the establishment. Unwilling that
my partner should suffer, promptly with
drew, leaving the establishment in the
hands of Mr.. Martin. The paper was do
ing we'll, and until that paragraph ap-
peared my business future was all that
could desire.
At that time an editor was wanted at
Utica, where 1 had formerly worked and
where had many friends; but my offer to
go there was declined. 1 was equally un-
fortunate in my application for editorial
employment at Troy. The objection in
both cases was that had been too busy in
getting up an excitement about Morgan.
HEIGHTENED MYSTERY.
Meantime the mystery deepened and
public meetings were held in several vii
lagos. Rochester included In the meeting
at Rochester it was assumed that all good.
citizens would unite IN an effort to vindi-
cate the law. A committee was appointed
consisting Of seven, three of whom were
Masons. 1t was soon discovered that the
three Masons went from the committee to
the lodge room. 1t was subsequently as
>certained that two of these gentlemen were
concerned in the abduction, and that Nor
gan had been committed to the Jail at
Canandalgua on false charge
of larceny, and that he had been
carried from thence secretly by night to
Fort Niagara. The committee encountered
an obstacle in obtaining indictments in
five or six counties where indictments
were needed. The sheriffs who summoned
the grand juries were Free Maso1s. In four
counties no indictments could be obtained
In Ontario, however, the district attorney,
Bowen Whiting. and the sheriff. Joseph
Clearinghouse, though Masons, regarded
their obligations to the laws of the state
paramount. Sheriff Clearinghouse and
District Attorney Whiting discharged their
duties independently and honestly. AS the
Investigations proceeded the evidence in
creased that Morgan had been unlawfully
confined in the Canandaigua Jail, and Sc
cretly conveyed to Fort Niagara, where he
was confined in the magazine. There
was every reason to believe that he
was taken from the magazine and
drowned in Lake Ontario. This
however, was boldly and persistantly de-
nied-denials accompanied by solemn as
surances that Morgan had been seen alive
in several places divided the public senti-
ment. At town meetings, several months
oA'oi -"oiSdn oiSdPPedIduce. Inc QUeS-
ton was carried into politics. A large
number of Jealous nti-Masons determined
to make it a political issue. Solomon
Southw1ck was nominated at LIE Roy for
governor. Our committee firmly resisted
all such efforts, urging all who were con-
nected with US in an effort to vindicate the
law. to vote for the candidates of the party
with which they had been previously con-
nected. We endeavored to induce the
Wing state convention to nominate Francis
Granger, but. failing in that, we gave our
support to Judge Smith Thompson. At
terward, at village election in Rochester,
DR.. F. F. Backus. who had been treasurer,
by unanimous vote of the electors, from
the time the village charter had been OBJ
tained was again the candidate of both
parties. No whisper of opposition was
heard before the election or at the polls,
but when the votes were canvassed, a ma
jority appeared in favor of DR.. John R..
Elwood. DR.. Backus was an influential
member of the Morgan investigating COM
mlttee. That astounding result produced
an instantaneous change.
POLITICS AND MASONRY.
Political anti-Ma5enry from tn at mo-