San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1890-08-04
INSULTING THE DEAD.

discussion of the Breckenridge cleo
tion case, to insult the memory of
dead man, done to death, as ever,
particle of evidence shows, wilfully
maliciously, unnecessarily and un
provokedly, and for no other reason
than because he was engaged In al
attempt to secure testimony to show
what every circumstance rendered
probable, that he had been defraud
ed out of the ballots, which, properly
counted, would have elected him tc
congress. Speaking of the con test in
the national huseo of representatives
over this election, the Express says
"There seem to be a dispositionon
the part OF some republicans, with a
grain OF conscience, not to unseat Mr. {.
Breckenridge because he is demo-
crat and a gentleman, and seat his
opponent simply because some people
in Arkansas disobeyed the law and
murdered a ruffian who had desolat-
ed their homes in time of profound
"When such man as Mr..
Breckenridge is set aside to make
room for an obscure politician, who
would not be permitted to enter the
back door of q gentleman's kitchen,
except as mendicant, republicans are
daring q public opinion which it Is
dangerous to challenge"
This attempt to smirch the charac-
ter and degrade the memory of the
murdered Clayton, a man universally
known and respected in his
state, a gentleman of family
and high position, is 80 utterly detest-
able, and so far beneath the decency
which usually characterizes the Ex-
press that 1t is difficult to account for
its appearance. 1t is the attack of q
man devoid alike of common sense,
human feeling and respect for the
dead. 1t reveals a mind utterly OBJ
livious to truth, and so sodden in
prejudice as to recklessly invade the
sanctuary of the dead to find a palia-
ton for Its partisanship. 1t uncovers
q nature in which the emotion OF pity
has no place, and sports with the
sacred sorrow of wife and children as
though 1t we're an unholy thing. 1t
proclaims that political murder is
its own justification, and brands
with the hot iron of infamy the wife
and children of the innocent victim
of such murder, in order to justify the
deep damnation of his taking off. 1t
deifies the crime thus perpetrated,
and empties all its walls of wrath up
on those who have sought to bring
the dark deed to the light of day;
and regards as only worthy of the
highest national recognition the man
who profits by this most foul and ex-
ecrated assassination. The annals of
journalism present no parallel to this
and monstrous libel upon
a dead man. A man In whose death
the purity of the ballot was sullied
beyond cleansing; a man IN whose
death the sacredness of home was
invaded and robbed of its glory and
its protection; man in whose death
the house of life was forcibly broke II
into and despoiled of its treasure; a
man in whose death the bar of Arkan-
sas lost one of it's brightest orna-
ments, the state one of its most valu-
able citizens, and humanity a noble
hearted friend. That this man
should be represented by the Express
as blackguard, q men dicant, a dis
reputable whose murder was iustlfi-
able on general principles, beggars
belief. That his murder should De
made the justification for brutal at
tack upon his character seems more
incredible still. That his assassina-
ton should be deemed an act so vir-
tuous as to sanctify its results from
Investigation, and debar congress
from considering the damnable deed
as affecting the seat thus secured
through political murder-this is
most incredible of all. For the credit
of our common humanity it is most
sincerely to be hoped that this in
famous and unnatural pIllory of a
dead man, to lessen the accused GRIM
inality of his bloody murder, will not
bejussified by the press of Texas.
The horror of the conception itself is
appalling. The logical effect of such