The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-03-28
POLITICAL MURDER.

Inc pouUlcal crimes OIL the OOutn Will YET
return to plague the men who perpetrate them
and the localities that tolerate and tacitly in
dorse them. The numerous murders by the
notorious Cash family are but an outgrowth of
the reign of violence in South Carolina since
the war 1t is but narrow divide between
the murder of men for political reasons and
their violent taking off for minor offenses.
Unrebuked crime eonceives and breeds crime
the world over. Give license to a man to kill
men because they are not Democrats, and you
put it into his mind and heart to kill any man
who presumes to or is unfortunate enough to
incur his imperious displeasure. 1t is useless
for Northern papers that have stu
diously maintained silence during
these years of bloodshed and terrorism to cry
out now because man or men may be killed
for other reasons than politics. They are
particips criminis with the men who shoot
and stab; they have abetted and encouraged
these fellows in their murderous work. and
have given them to understand that they
were superior to the law and could not be
held amenable to its restrictions. Among
others, the New York Graphic of late has
sneered when the political crimes of the
South were criticised, and with the canaille
of Democracy has cried Glands Off and let
them alone. Now, however, when the in
evitable follows, and others than Republic
ans are killed, desire is manifested
to have justice administered. Speaking of
the latest Cash tragedies, the Graphic has to
say:
young Cash, the South Carolina murderer,
has gone further into the swamp on his estate
and is protected according to dispatch. by
the ignorant adherents of his family, who pro-
vide him with food and act as a guard against
the detectives. The State will make no effort
to arrest him, and since his father was released
from Jail the newspapers of the State have
dropped the discussion of the affair 'as sudden
ly as II they had been struck by lightning
Yet the young man killed two inoffensive citi-
zens in the most cold blooded and cowardly
manner What kind of material are the chiv-
airy of South Carolina made OFF,
The killing of two inofensive citizens is no
new story from the South Year after year
such crimes have been of only too frequent
occurrence there. The Chisolms were quiet
and inofensive. They were murdered, and
nobody was held responsible. The people
murdered at Ellenton were orderly and at
peace, until Democratic rufians hustled them
out of their homes and slaughtered them. w.
P. Matthews, of Hazlehurst, had given no Of
tense beyond daring to vote and be Repub-
lican. He was assassinated for his temerity.
A score of people were shot down at Danville,
Va, and the State was held to its allegiance
to the Democratic party. In each and every
instance here mentioned the victims have
been other than Democrats and their execu-
TONERS have without exception belonged to
that party. For this reason, and for no other,
the Democratic party of the North has been
silent. Northern Democrats knew and still
know that their Southern allies have done all
these things and numberless others equally
bloody and indefensible. But realizing that
the only hope of the Democratic party lay in
to paralyze and terrorize Southern Republic
ans and Independents they have consented
not only to remain silent in contemplation of
their enormities, but have conspired to cry
down all who dared to reprove them.
The Graphic and its coadjutors know what
inspired the Cash family to set themselves up
as judges and executioners of their fellow
men. The 'chivalry of South Carolina" is
humbug. The citizens of that State are
afraid to seriously attempt to enforce justice
against its chivalric murderers The bigotry
of the South, emboldened by the attitude Of
Democratic partisans of the North, who con-
| fdently expected to reap the benefit of their
criminal apathy in the shape of offices, has
made human life so cheap in that section of
the country that it is hardly worth while to
call the attention of courts to such things
But it will not always be thus. The
advocates of murder and violence will surely
fall into the pit they have prepared for others.
The Democratic party of the South bulldozed
themselves out of the public confidence in
1860 and, with a blindness that cannot be I'M
derstOOd, they have persisted in mourning the
fear and distrust of the public ever since
Political murder never did succeed in over
turning popular government in the republic
and probably never will 1t came just near
enough i'll 1876 to awaken such q feeling of
alarm that the people will not soon forget it,
and the frequency with which political murder
is repeated seems to indicate that the South,
abetted by Northern Democrats, is bent on
keeping that alarm alive.