The Forrest City times., 1889-11-02
SLEEPING ON A vol cAno.
The Grand Jury Of St. Francis Dare Not In. d,ct tho Murderers-lettess that Talk.
 gouv~u~ f,rv Av~ r.s Sa


 roRRHsr Cfrv, Awx., Oct. a. To the Editor of the Register;
 Tho grand jury is doing nothing. Some whisky and pokcr cases hnvc come up hcforc it. but the charge of the tudgc. which has been landed to inc skics hasl lsrn cntiYriy dts rcenr ci. Not day hns passed since tho grand 1nry has hccn cmpannclcd hut wit ncsscs wcrc in town who know all about who committed tho murders. hut nonc of them have been summoned to aptcar, nor Is it nt ali likely they will hc. Ntnc days tho grand jury has spent on frivolous matters Only ono wit ness has hcca brought 'cforc the Jury who knew who killed Wilson. md hc sworc hc was afraid to tell, on account of personal danger to himself
 the truth agninst the assassins would bc safe Tho witnesses. and others who should be made witnesses. know from the for.ra'ion of tho iury that no convictions will he had. and that their evidence would hc made known to the men who kiilcd Wilson. Parham and Ncclcv. and that they would bc murdered for testify irv tp such facts.
 Th's icp,ornhlc stn,c of aiyairs Is no sccrct It is known and regretted not only amonr the EcpGl,l cans and Union Labor men. but also regretted hy the better clnss of Dcmocrnts. and it will havc It's effect nt the next election
 4 wrong idea prevails in ,rrsnrd to tho cit- zcns of this eounyt. which hope the Rcgistcr will corrcct The better class of ALL men favor thr vigorous prosecution of tho mur- dcrcrs. but the bad element ONLY will not per init this to be done. A CITIZEN.
 Another Account
 Below will hc found extracts from n letter written bv q member of the ncmocrntic party of St. Francis county to mcrSbcr Of tho Democratic party of Pulaski county.
 roaREsr CITY October n.
 DEAR ratEND--tt was rcncrallv supposed tho grrnd jury would rot touch tho murder eases. but the circui. iudgc has givcn a strong charge to tho grand i,,ry. and if it acts on that chargr many prominent citizens will he i'm plscntcd. They nj present. in breafhtcss suspense. "hlnnk" says, that V true hiii is f. tf.sPt flFshV times worse nfYnirs fhan that of last May will | occur. ard pcarlv all the Republicans of the town will bc killed.
 All the leading men nd attorneys arc trying to cncct compromise. and nrc busy night and day in that effort. Ouc of tho editors sf'id to mc; This plncc is rcsting on volcann Ono move and the streets will run with tlotsi. We arc in no particular danger, but men arc prrocupied and in that. to hc un- dcrsiood. ono would have to he present.
 With villainous tenacity, certain class of citizens pursue their vile mis- representations of the law-abiding Democratic party of this county. The writer of the above clippings from the sArkansas State Register had not the manlincss fo sign them. He might have been called upon to prove his assertions. and failing. would stand convicted hy his own evidence of wilful and malicious falschood. The Demo- crats are in omanner responsible for the sad climax in May. They had borne insult and injury time and ! again. and only resented it when it reached point where low-down. con temptihle negros were aided and en- outraged. by promise of protection. to | openly insult and misrepresent the very hcst white men that ever hreati,ed the air of St. Francis county. Write | or say what they will. they could never make us believe that they would submit to as much cause for resent ment as did those citizens who partici- patrd in the May riot
 The writer is evidently sorely disap- pointed because the charge of Judre Sanders to the grand inry met with the hearty approval of all fair-minded men here, And disappointment is shown all along the enemy's line. How do you know that witnesses were in town every day "who knew all about who committed the murslersy" Do you not know that YOU DO NOT KNOW ANY THING OF THE KIND? We honestly he- lcve that no one knows. positively. who killed any ef those men who were unfortunate enough to lose their lives in ilie riot. Excitement was tco high, and great majority of those in the crowd turned upon their heels at the first report of pistol, and firing had scarcely ceased before the streets were almost clear of men.
 Upon inquiry we find that iil the grand jury accomplished considera- hle: t2l that there was not single poker or whiskey case before the grand jury: ts) that the charge of the judge was followed closely: (ll that the writer could not have known that mot ad day has passed since the grand jury has been emranneled hut witnesses were in town who knew all about who committed the mnrders;' | t5l that the first nine days of the grand jury, referred to, was spent in carry ing ont the instructions of the judge to the letter; t8l that instead of one wit ness, eighteen were summoned to ap pear before the grand jury; t7l that the man who said he was afraid to testify, did afterwards testify, and has not been harmed: tsl that 1t is false assumption to say that ''the life of no man who would testify to the truth against the assassins would be safe" t9l that the majority of the jury were fisionists; l (lO) that no threats have ever been made. public or private, that can be learned of, against any person, in case they testified to anything they knew; 1 lll) that there Is no ''denlorahie condi- ton of affairs" here: tl2) that the ''bet- ter element" dominates here, and the bad element is not consulted in these matters, ilSl that the whole letter from "A Citizen" is false. from beginning to end; (il) that the letter said to have been written by Democrat of this county to Democrat of Pulaski county cannot he produced, and Is an outrage upon this community. not . word Of it being true; tl5l that the ed tor spoken of cannot be found. hence never used such language; (isl no ed itors have left the town; tl7l if there is any volcano here it must be resting on the shoulders of the poor fool that cnn- cocted these false stories. Lastly, it is regretted by the people of this town i've mean the respectable pcoplcl that we have in our midst any p~rSon claiming to be man, who would ma laciomsly use the gifts of God to keep I up strife ut this place Our county is