Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1884-10-25

btflCV peIioimhuce vi All uutitdt puonC
and private the sheriff Of this county
has never, in any official or private i'm
stance, been known 10 deviate from
the line OF duty the county attorney
and city marshal have always
faithfully performed the duties
devolving upon them. None
Of these civil officials of
Texas were consulted by the governor
with reference TO any possible resist
ance on the part Of any one in Fort
Worth to the execution of the warrant
for Courtrlght's arrest. If the war
rant was entrusted to Richmond has
he, New Mexico officer, more claim
on the confidence of the governor of
Texas than the sheriff and prosecuting
attorney of Tarrant county, or the
mayor and marshal of Fort Worth?
rangers has it come to pass in Texas,
under Democratic administration,
that military forces are to be substi-
tuted for civil means in the execution
of civil processes?
Before the demonstration on Satur-
day night and the escape of COPYRIGHT
on Sunday are urged as a
justification of the governors
disregard of the civil officers
of Tarrant county, it will be we'll
to consider the course of those to whom
he did trust the execution of his war
rants and see what share in the respon-
sibility for the disgrace put on Fort
Worth and Texas lies outside of this
city.
Whether Richmond or the rangers
were entrusted with the governors
warrant, it was Richmond who as
sumed the control of its execution, the
rangers acting throughout as mere
guards An officer of New Mexico,
seeking to arrest man in Texas for
whom, it now appears, there is re.
ward offered, directing the execution
of warrant for that mans arrest,
Richmond applied to no Tarrant
county or Fort Worth city OIL
Ger for help. He captured Court
right by strategy and, with the aid of
state military, held him in secrecy
until-strangely enough-the news of
the arrest leaked out about O'clock.
The rumor flew that a body of strange
men held COPYRIGHT in custody at the
depot for the purpose of taking him of
on the west bound train. No man
knew by what authority-no one knew
for what. No one could know, be-
cause no one had been taken into the
confidence of Richmond. All was
conjecture. All that any one
knew was that COPYRIGHT was
in the hands of an officer from
New Mexico, aided by state troops.
The friends Of the prisoner, as well as
all the people, at the time believed the
arrest to have been made on charge
of killing Mexicans who were trying
; TO steal silver ore which Courtright
was employed TO guard. How coulC
anyone know the truth? IL was inn
=. possible to learn from any source why
viz etAANob WAC lAARdN1 t<NNNBb III NhAo
and so prevalent was this belief tina
even Richmond, ON Sunday morning
: solicited an interview in TIL
: GAZETTE to correct the pre-
vailing belief. The friends of tn,
= prisoner hurried to the depot, and tn,
!, mystery which surrounded the affai
pricked the curiosity of every one tina
:, heard of it, until multitude of anX
a ious people thronged around the depo
to ascertain what was the manner ant
cause of the arrest. The demonstra
ton at the depot ended in the procure
= ment Of a writ of habeas corpus issue
by Judge Hood, who, fortunately
came upon the ground. THE GAzErT
y has denounced and does denOuace rC
sistance to law from whatever sourc,
- but no man can wonder at the desir
- of Courtrlghts friends to saw
: him from the vengeance q
= Mexican mob, to whic
- fate they believed him being taken; al
- the more that such mystery ATTENDED
:, his capture and that foreign Officials
a and state military were chosen as I'll
- instruments, and no man who fairl
y seeks for all the responsibility wi
: deny that the means and the metho
- Of the capture tended to provoke-th
= demonstration. THE GAZETTE a
% firms that had the warrant bee
- placed in the hands of Sheriff Mac
~ dox II would have been executed an
- that no demonstration would ma,
~ followed.
n The conduct of Ric hmond in guar
Mt ing his prisoner was in keeping wit
H. the method of arrest. Sheriff MaddC
OF offered to guard COPYRIGHT and Ike,
II him until Monday for the trial of Il
co writ, but Richmond declined. He wi
yVarnad Inv Sharifr ATadcoN fuvI