The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-04-26

Thelynching at Walia Walla is indefens-
ible on any grounds. There were none Of
the mitigating circumstances which at
tached to the late massacre at New
Orleans. There had been no failure of
justice. There had been no acquittal Of
the prisoner. He had been promptly ar
rested and imprisoned, and there was not
the slightest reason to doubt that he would
be vigorously prosecuted and properly
punished.
But if it had been otherwise; even II the
circumstances Of tho New Orleans case
had been repeated in this case, govern
ment troops should have been the last
men to have taken the law into their own
hands, to have made an assault upon .
prison and upon the officers of the law. It
il not as though they had been stationed
on wild frontier, surrounded by savages
and outlaws, where civil authority was un-
known or powerless, and where they
might be excused for resisting assault upon
their garrison or upon themselvesAs sol
diers. suppressing with the strong hand
deeds of violence that were otherwise UNI
punishable.
These troops were stationed in the inn
mediate neighborhood of . civilized and
law-abiding community. The soldier
whose death they took it upon themselves
to avenge was not slain or attacked in gar
rison, on duty, or because he was . soldier
He was off duty, on carouse, was gam
bling, and his taking of was the re-
suit Of . saloon quarrel between two
gamblers, of whom he was one. If
the result of the rencounter had been
fatal to the other party at his
hands. it is not to be presumed for q mo-
ment that the citizens would have re-
sented it by an attack upon the garrison, or
that they would have held any other
soldier accountable. for which there would
have been fully as much justification as
these soldiers had for the course they pur-
sued.
Properly considered, this affair ap-
pealed to the soldiers as such no more
than If it had been the result of q
quarrel between two civilians. Other
wise the stationing of armed
troops in the vicinity would be an unmiti-
gated evil to any community, source of
terror and constant peril If they. bearing
arms as an incident of their profession and
trained to use them, are to make common
cause against citizens who are forbidden to
bear arms and are to resist the civil
authorities, it would be but q short time
until their presence would be terror and
no citizen would feel safe in his home.
The plea of Colonel Compton, when
warned and appealed to by the author
tiles, that he was powerless to keep
the men in garrison and prevent
their visiting the town, is contrary
to all military usage, is not to be credited,
and is sufficient to encourage suspicion
that he was, if not in completely at least
in sympathy with their unwarrantahle
purposes. 1t Is an insult to the service TO
hint that the commander Of an American
garrison cannot keep his men within
bounds and control them in such an emer-
gency as he was warned against.
He could have thrown out a guard
around the garrison, and could have for
hidden any of the troops going beyond
bounds, and could have ordered into the
guardhouse any who violated the order.
Failing to do so, he cannot escape respon-
sibihty for the consequences, which are
alike disgraeeful to him, his command.
the service and our civilization. He
should without delay be cashiered, and
every man engaged in the massacre should
be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the
law.