The Iola register., 1890-08-08
THE CLAYTON KILLING.
Majority Report on the Clayton
Breckenridge Case.
The Murders That Followed the Ballot Box
Theft-The Suspicious Circumstances
and the Failure to Iudict Com
mented Upon.

WASHINGTON, Aug. 4-Representative
Lacey, Of Iowa, has prepared for sub
/ mission to the House the majority re-
port of the Election Committee upon the
ayton-Breckinridge contested election
case and the murder of the Republican
| contestant.
Commenting on Clayton's murder, the
report says:
''The State and Nation were horrified.
| Rewards were offered and the commun-
ity of Morrilton, near which the murder
occurred passed appropriate resolutions,
but no earnest attempt in bringing the
murderers to justice has been made by
the local authorities. The efforts of
the Governor have been in vain. Much
of the work done has been upon a mis-
taken idea and due weight has not been
given to the suspicion that should nat
urally attach to the ballot box thieves"
Next the report refers to the killing
of Smith, a negro detective who was in
vestigating the ballot box theft, and of
George Bentley, brother of o. T. Bent
ley, who was suspected of being one of
the thieves. George Bentley at the
time was negotiating with the Pinker-
tons to give the Government evidence
and expose the guilty parties when he
was said to have been accidentally shot
by his brother. The report says there
is no direct evidence to show any GRIM
inality in the killing of Bentley, but
declares it unfortunate that these two
killings occurred while the men were
about to give evidence to the Pinkerton
detectives
The theory that Clayton's murder was
due to the enmity of one Hooper is
taken up, and the report says it clearly
appears that Hooper was not only in
California when the murder occurred,
but was i'll with dropsy. This theory,
says the majority, was naturally pleasing
to the contestee (Breckinridge), though
the friends of Colonel Clayton very
naturally complained that so important
a clew should have been concealed for
ten months from them, and only made
known when the Congressional investi-
CATION began.
The report, continuing. says: "No
reasonable explanation of the murder
appears except that some of the ballot
box thieves, finding the taking of the
testimony progressing, killed Colonel
Clayton to suppress the investigation.
No other motive is possible.
THE necessity for the enactment of
some law which will prevent ballot box
stealing and murder from comforting a
prima facie title to seat in Congress is
evident from the result in this contest.
Had such laws been in force as would
have prevented the contestee from
taking his seat with such title, no one
would have attempted to confer such
title by stealing the ballot box. Evil
IDENTIFY ballot box stealing was looked
upon as joke in that community until
the awful consequences that have re-
suited have appalled, the good people of
the country.
mo doubt some of these men would
have been deferred from taking the first
step in the crime if they had realized
that murder would be the end. But
they crossed their Rubicon. Breckin-
ridge got the seat in Congress and one
crime followed in the footsteps of the
other. The least guilty of the criminals
dare not expose the more guilty lest the
fate of Clayton should overtake them.
''The murder of Benjamin, we'll |
known Little Rock Republican, who |
was killed near Morrilton while confer |
ring with local Republicans with regard |
to bringing the ballot box thieves to
Justice, must be we'll known, for large |
number of persons were present but |
they are not indicted, no indictments |
have been found under the State Elec-
tion laws for the ballot box crime; the |
murderer of Smith is discharged with |
out trial; the killing of Bentley is not !
investigated, and the only man whose |
crime is punished is Wahl, the Federal |
supervisory, who was indicted for play |
ing cards when he was shot"
The contention of Breckinridge and |
his counsel that the acquittal of the |
judges and others charged with frauds |
in this election should bind the House, !
and that this adjudication should be ac- |
cepted by Congress as proof that frauds |
did not exist the report says is surpris- |
ing, and the majority decline to be |
bound by the action of an Arkansas jury |
in criminal case. The report also dis
agrees with other legal propositions
brought forward by counsel
THE present case" continues the re-
port has attracted attention, not be-
cause it stands alone as startling and |
S striking incident of dangers ahead for
our form of government but because it
appears to be one of very bad kind
In the old days of the code of honor,
political antagonists often met face to
face and eye to eye, and sought their
adversary's life. This method of set
ting political differences has become
obsolete, and we frequently con-
gratulate ourselves upon the i'm
proved moral tone of our day and gen.
Grafton. But never before has contest
for seat in Congress been terminated
by the bullet of an assass.n n. If such
methods are submitted to in silence, the
party benefited by the crime of his par
tisans quietly and without dispute re-
tanning the benefits of the death of his
competitor, a new element would be in
trod uced in our form of government
The resolution accompanying the re-
port declares the seat vacant