The Saline County journal. [volume] (Salina, Kan.) 1871-1893, 1890-01-30


20 freedom every fcot Of territory ",
then possessed. The curse Of humsl
slavery should never stain it. Madi
sou, and some other writers In thi
federal list seemed inclined to criti
else that congress, for having PRO
ceeded 10 forsl new states, % cree
temporary govsrnmeets without To-
least colsr Of constitutional author
Ity.n We scarcely know hoU thank
ful We ought TO be that they did 10
and did not leave the task to thos'
who framed the federal constitution
Excellent and systematic e. that In
strument n In lie main lines o
thought, and esp seielly In its deter
mination 70 keep distinct the legis
lative, executive and iudieia
branches thereof, it bears the 1rs
stain Of q more selfish legislation
IL permitted the slave trade 10 b,
legslised for twenty years. Piracy
murder, raplns and robbery wers
thus for Q limited period sheltered
within Its folds. The period 1t which
American slavery should terminals
In every stste was uuhappily no,
named. Can anyone wonder ct whsl
came Of it. The basest and most
criminal Of all selfish interests had 9
hearing and bequeathed q curse,
The ordinance OF lTST gave us 9
Gordon OF free states, without the
curse Of sristocracy aud with free
opIniOn, speech and press-Ohio, In
diana, Michigan, Illinois Wisconsin,
and Minnesota.
But Il will be said none Of these
things affected Kansas. Technically
no, and yet by the inevitable inner
itsncs Of crime and evil, yes. Kan.
sas was then unknowR. The region
of which it was q part was banded
hither and thither between SPsniard
and Freedman. jefferson, who
was an active instrument In dsdicat-
ing the original teFrit Jries TO free
dom acquired Louisiana, but men
less wise aud Virtuous were enabled
to mould the character and destiny
OF the new territory. In early Kan
sas days we heard much Of the "Mis-
souri, compromise" Some consid-
cred Il q crime. The Missouri COM
promise was itself q crime TO begin
with. A congress dominated by base
aud selfish Interests consented that
Missouri should be cursed by slavery
on q plea Of compromise that No
other slave state should extend 20
far north, but also consenting that
all south Of the line known 40 Mason
and Dixson should be devoted to
slavery. The extension, growth and
Of slavery was thus re-
The only way TO measure
the enOrmity o. this political fault Is
to count the graves and try TO esti-
mate the domesti. sufferings and
caused by the late war.
followed Missouri, and
then Texas, and the element hostile
to q republic Of equality and freedom
grew strong enough 10 menace ID.
Then came the Mexican war bring
Ing the acquisition Of New Mexico,
AFiZons aud California. Had the
now dominant slave power been
willing to divide California, they
might have been able TO plant slave
In the southern half.
Happily they grasped ct the whole
aud lost sill. Fremont, Broderlck
aud their confreres were able to hold
the Pacific coast for freedom. Then
came the repeal Of the Missouri bar
gain, for It was tile true intent and
meaning Of the Kansas-Nebraska
bill to give Kansas to slavery and
Nebraska TO freedom. IL was Just
rs well, a. matters turned out, since
the people proved better defenders
Of liberty than the politicians. The
way 10 happened made Kansan his
tory.
The first shadow passed, In May,
1854, over Kansas history, when the
Missouri border ruffians organized
and In Vaded Kansas to take posses
sion OF the land. II was done by
Of companies, after q pre-
arranged plan, and necessary InfOr-
nation was furnished them by the
ut Washington. IL was
the fret great sQuattlng "hoom, the
design being to build foundations OH
and thus claim aud occupy all the
land having timber and
water. This squatter title was 10
be maintained by the revolver and
bowie knife, to be disposed OF to
settlers only; at least
that was the original intention.
Some Of them took claims they In
tended to hold themselves. Who
were these inyaders?-A handful Of
slave-Owning leaders,
aud O mob OF poor white men, de-
pendent border rOughs, with a few
who might wish really to settle, but
the macs was too poor to own slave
What bound these two parties or In
terssts together, for the poor men
were really working against their
own interests, degrading labor aud
up an aristocracy? The
backbone OF the alliance was care
fully fostered prejudice. They be-
gan by hating the negro, and ended
by hating all who syInpathized with
or eomm!serated him. In the
slave ststep there was always an un-
employed class OF poorer white
people, usually up for any popular
After the first half Gen.
fury Of the republic had passed, IL
wss not safe In these states for any
man to talk as Jefferson aud the
of the government had
done. In one-half nf the union free
dom Of opinion and Of the press did
not exist. IL was safer for q man TO
be Q horssthief or . highwAyman
Than an abolitionist. Slavery
dictated to the courts, the
congress and the American eXscu-
live, and u has engaged In q struggle
10 extend aud perpsIuate Its powers;
Kansas made the battlefield. The
issue was net merely that few men
should hold slaves In Kansas, but
that the slave holding oligarchy
should be the ruling force Ia the re-
public. IL successful it also meant
Tor Kansas, that labor should be de-
graded, and aristOcraey built up, en-
IerpTlse dwarfsd, freedom Of opinion
aud the press suspended. and that
fraud aud violence should maintain
these when necessary.
The organic act, passed May, 1854,
and the census OF 1855 only showed Q
Total OF 1901 persons, exclusive Of
Indians. or these 5,l2S were males,
man and boy, 1878 females, and
here were 242 slaves and Isl free
persons. The March cleo
lion, which threw q great shadow In
Kansas history, witnessed au inva-
lion Of nearly 5000 armed men from
he state Of Missouri, who Invaded
svery voting district. In some cases
hey had artillery with them. They
voted, and then In many
places prevented the legal voters
rem voting. or the men elected
many were residents Of Missouri.
This pEo-slsyery legislature, usurp-
uE the function Of violating every
principle Of the American govern
nent, turned out our friend Hon. 3.
D. Houston OF Concordia and Hon.
n. +. Conway, about the only two
Who were honestly elected. The
legislative stay at Pswnee was very
,risf. Whether they feared the
.holera or the wrath Of an outraged