The Russellville Democrat., 1890-07-03
Another ..southern outrage,

Another sS0uthern Outrage"
 Exploded.
 On tue ninth day of last month l (June), Mir. John Boans of this place, received through the post of l flee an anonymous letter. It was one of those threatening epistles some times written by willy politicians for political effect, and sometimes by cowardly scoundreIs with a grelv ance to ayenge and without nerve to face the object of their disfavor.
 Mir. Boans, the recipient of the communication. is republican. He has lived in this community for over three years and has at all times had the respect of the good people of Russellville regardless of politics, and no attempt has ever been made to deprive him of any rights as q citizen or partizan.
 When the letter was received and | exhibited, democrats condemned the act in unmeasured terms, and set about to ferret out it's author. The fact that republican had received such letter just on the eve of a political campaign. and while the probability existed of the introduc- tion of an election bill in congress. caused suspicion to be aroused touching the origin and purpose of the letter The theory of the re- publicans so far as they expressed l themselves at the time was that it had it's origin In church affairs and had no political significance what ever The democrats discredited this theory but were content to let the matter rest and await develop ments.
 They had not long to wait. The Little Rock State Register of last week reached this office on Friday. it's columns teeming with material out of which southern outrages are manufactured, and in conspicuous position appeared this article under the sensational heading,
 THREATS OF ASSASSINATION. The Springfield (Mass.) Union says: AThe Washington correspond ent of the Mail and Express learns that a western senator has received from a we'll known Grand Army man now residing in Arkansas the follow ing letter:
 "Since writing you last 1 have re- celved per mail one of those ominous letters 80 often sent in Arkansas) warning me to leave In as short tune as possible, and notifying me that the next notice would be sharp and quick. My only offense can be that It was through me that Grand Ar my of the Republic post was organ ized here and an American flag pro cured on Memorial Day. I am re- spected here by the churches and all the solid business men, but in Ar kansas justice is blind to any crime committed by democrat. am us ing every effort to find out the writer of the letter, but do not expect to succeed I have been active in pol itics but am republican to the backbone. I shall not leeve, but may be assassnated. If you mention anything in thls letter, please mention neither name, town or county, as the tools of c. R. Breck- inridge are at their trade Tn this dis trict. Poor old Arkansas is her own worst enemy. Her main object ap pears to be to kill her best friends My means are invested here and I could not leave if wanted to-"
 The genuineness of the letter is vouched for and, of course there can be no reader so blind as not to see the reasons for suppresing the name of the writer. When one of the two great parties has to struggle against thls sort of personal persecu tion, when the fear of assassination is ever before the eyes of any repub lican organizer, is It strange that there is a growing sentiment Tn Ar kansas, that if the United States government cannot protect it's own citizens 1t deserves the contempt with which it is being treated by ex rebels?
 And is it at all wonderful that the straw of hope offered by the Lodge bill is eagerly grasped at by republi- cans in Arkansas, and that the Little Rock State Register says plainly "The republicans of the south de mand the enactment of a federal election law, and if the present con gress adjourns without passing such a law, it will fall short of it's duty to the republican party2"
 To show that the author of the letter above was the party who received the anonymous letter, we append the full text of the threaten ing epistle:
 l MR. JOHN BoANs.-Sir: After due deliberation we have decided to rid our community of all such men as you whose sole aim Is to insult, create and try every way to cause hard feelings | with the people. Therefore we give you timely warning to prepare to leave here as soon as possible. We witt allow reasonable time but our next notice will be quick and sharp.
 MANY CITIZENS.
 The surprise and indignation of our people when the article was read can better be imagined than de scnbed. How MT. Boans could put such construction upon the letter received and write as he did to hIs western friend in the face of the fact that he and hls political friends here had repeatedly stated that they did not believe any political sig ni1cance attached to the anony nous communication, is mat. ter for each reader to solve for him salF