Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1889-03-15
PLAIN TALK TO ARKANSAS DEM
0CRATS.
JUDGE CUNNINGHAM TO THE CON
WAY COUNTY GRAND JURY
ON ASSASSINATION


LITTLE Rock, March 9.-The
charge Of Judge George s. Gun.
ningham to the Conway County
Grand Jury, now sitting at Morrill,
ton, is exciting much comment. He
said in tho course OF his remarks:
"The recent assassination 10 this
county was instigated by others
who ought to be banged with the
man who fred the gun that killed
Clayton. These parties ought not
to be exempt from punishment be
cause of any position or influence
they might have in the community.
| do not know who they are. |
wish | did. would tell you. But,
mind you, political assassinations
do not originate from men in the
humber walks OF life, but from
some fne.haired gentlemen who
pretend to be respectable, and they
are the men We are after, and who
ought to be hung. They tell you It
is politics-DemOcratIc politics. |
have been flattering myself | was
a Democrat, but | must have been
mistaken. | would just as lief pun.
ish a Democratic murderer as any
other. l want to appeal to you az
Democrats to punish crime wheth.
er the criminal be a Democrat or
not and you always do that the
Democracy will rule the country.
There is no man who does not know
that murder aud assassination are
the result, and will continue to be
the result, of tho methods that have
been employed in Conway County.
You must stop this ballot box steal
ing and force and fraud, or your
property will not be worth the pa
per the title is written on. The
meanest man in the county is the
professional politician. They try
to scare you with the idea OF negro
domination. What does the law
say 1t says that they may vote.
Where have you heard any such
tbingi Where have they DONNA.
teds | want to talk to you as Dem
ocrats. The rights of citizens must
be protected. would have at
every little precinct in the country
a free ballot and a fair count. The
law guarantees to every American
protection. The question is not is
he a Democrat or Republican, a
black man or a white man, but is
he an American citizen 7 and his
rights must be protected on election
day as on every other day.
"Something occurred right here
in this town, and the parties who
participated in this disgraceful
affair ought to be indicted. An
American citizen, Judge NJ. w.
Benjamin, recently deceased, was
met at the depot, and kicked AMI
cuffed from the depot to the hotel,
and his hair was pulled, and he
was shot with a bean shooter, and
the rights of American citizenship
we're violated. He did not come
here to bulldose anybody. One
man could not have done that but,
professedly to see that there was
fair election. If that was his OBJ
ject, 1t would not have hurt you at
all, if you had an honest and fair
election. IL would have been
compliment to have had a political
enemy present to winess and testi'
fy to the fact; This Government Is
won by the ballot, and every body
who opposes a fair and free cleo.
ton is revolutionary and an enemy
TO his country. Don't 60 out III the
country and indict some poor man
for killing a deer, or failing to work
the road, and let these other fell
lows escape, and then come in here
with bypocritlcaI look and say:
'We find nothing against them.
Don't fool away your time after
mlnnows when there are whales in
sight. II you must make a dis
elimination, get after these prom
inent men and let the other fellows
60. Democracy means that the
people shall rule but, if this in
timidation and fraud aud murder
constitute Democracy, may the an
gels of mercy protect me from
Democracy. Yet the parties who
committed these acts are Demo
Gratis. The assassination of Clay
ton is the natural result of the ill.,
dlgnlties perpetra ted on Benja.
min. One is the natural sequence
of the other.r