The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-02-21
THE DEMOCRATIC BLOODY CORPSE.

VINO telt the humane impulse TO go TO Jne
help of the African slave No man dared
say aught against slavery and the inhuman
cruelties practiced against the blacks without
being denounced as an Abolitionist and ANAL
gamationist Thousands of timid citizens
who valued peace and quiet above justice were
kept back by such insults The very same
men and the same political party who cried
then are now crying ''bloody shirt" against
any and all who feel impelled to denounce the
murderous political methods so shamelessly
pursued in many portions of the South.
What is to be doneY Shall we in
sist upon justice and protection
to all men, North, South, East
and West, or shall we cover down and leave
them to their fate who dare be other than Dem
ocrats in strong Democratic localitiesG The
cry is peace, peace; but there is no peace. To
be peaceable and submissive in Southern
States means to have no political freedom, OF
to be murdered. Could all the Republicans
and Union men who have been shot, out
ragged and whipped in the South since the war
be ranged in line it would aggregate an army
of thousands. 1t cannot be possible that the
widows and orphans of murdered men are all
liars; neither is it reasonable to suppose
that the men whose bodies are beaten
bloody do not know how and
why it was done The Chisolm family testified
| that the men were Democrats who assassinated
the husband and father because he was not a
Democrat and shot a daughter because she
was horoic enough to throw her own body be-
| tween her father and his murderers. Nobody
denies that he was assassinated while in Gus
tody; neither does anybody pretend that he
was not murdered because he was an active
adversary of the Democratic party. The
widow and orphans of Print Matthews, of
Hazlehurst, Miss, shot at the ballot-box in
| November last, because he dared to vote an in
dependent ticket solemnly testify to the fact
that organized bands of Democrats had
warned that brave man not to vote, on penalty
of death. He did vote and was shot before
he could utter word after he had dropped
his ballot into the box Lest any mistake
should arise as to the reason for his assassina-
ton, the Democrats of Copiah county met in
convention and passed resolutions indorsing
the murder, and warning the relatives of
Matthews not to participate in politics. These
resolutions were published in the local Dem
ocratic papers, and copy of the same was
taken to the stricken family to show the des-
perate earnestness of the men who had passed
them.
The Republican party has dared to ask how
such things can be, and the only answer
vouchsafed by Democrats is: 'Why do you
persist in waving the bloody Shirt" This is
no answer at ALL 1t is simply adding insult
what are you going to do about it, of Boss
Tweed What is to be done is a serious ques-
ton. If the principle of political murder is
right in Mississippi, it is equally sound in In
diana and if criminal in Indiana equally
| criminal in the solid South. 1t is CHASTITY
thing to be compelled to argue against assas-
sination, to plead that the shotgun
is not good argument in politics.
| It speaks of a condition of affairs
that cannot continue without killing the
spirit of popular government. If partisan ma
iorities are to be secured and kept by the help
of mwderings and whippings, what use is
there Of conventions and debatesY What use
of appealing to the intelligence and conscience
of the people? And if these are not to be the
factors in the government of this country
how long may we reasonably hope to see the
American republic endured The men who
have done the numbering and whipping and
| those who apologize for, or rather indorse
these outrages, ''wave the bloody shirt" to
keep off investigation. To dare even to in
quire into these things is denounced as an
outrage. 1t makes a difference whose OK is
ecutive committee Of Copiah county, Mis-
sissipp was warned not to vote He did
vote, and was killed for his temerity as he
turned to make room for the next voter The
Democrats of Copiah county, in convention
assembled, Endorsed the murder and warned
the relatives of Matthews not to take part in
politics. Suppose the chairman of the Demo
cratic central committee of Marion county, In
diana, should be warned by Republicans not to
vote, and should be killed for daring to do So
Suppose, further, that the Republicans Of this
county should then meet at the Courthouse,
and pass resolutions indorsing the killing and
warning the relatives of the murdered Demo,