St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-08-11
GOVERNOR IN EFFIGY.
Indignation Over the King
Communication Runs Very
High at Memphis.
PostOn'S Murderer Is Hustled
Away to Nashville in a
Hurry.
Bitter Editorials in Two of
the Newspapers Of the
e,uthern City.
A Hint oP tho Tpan1hnHOuS
A Hint OF the Tremendous
Pressure Brought to Bear
on the Governor,

MEMPHIS. Aug. 10.-Tonight a huge
crowd gathered at the corner OF Main
and Madison streets, where King assaS-
sinated Poston, and hanged Gov. Blu.
clianan in effigy. This afternoon Chief
of Police Davis received letter in
forming him that Col. H. Clay King
would he taken from the jail and
hanged Or shoteto death by a mob. The
letter said preparations were on foot to
form such mob as would be able to
storm the Jail and oyerpower any
force that could be put behind
tho walls. The chief showed the let
ter to the sheriff, and he lost no time in
making up his mind. A train stopped
i'll the rear Of the Jail, and Col. King, in
company with his son, quickly emerged
from the prison and got aboard. They
were accompanied by the sheriff. The
trio will proceed to, Fulton, where they
will board a Nashville & Chattanooga
train and go thence to Nash
vile. The Nashville IL Chattanoo-
ga train will meet the Louisville
train from Memphis at Mckenzie, and
there is remote possibility that the
prisoner may be intercepted there.
Never has a greater storm of indlgna-
|. ton arisen in this city than that caused
by the action of the governor i'll COM
muting Kings sentence TO
imprisonment for Life.
Immediately after the sentence Of
King by the supreme court, his wife,
whom he had made IN former years
give Mrs. Pillow, woman whom King
loved better than her to whom ne owed
his highest duty, a certificate of char
acter by compelling her to visit him and
Mrs. Pillow on their Arkansas planta-
ton, began her wolk in his behalf. The
friends of Dave Poston, the mall whom
he had murdered. prepared a petition
tothe governor, praying him 10 allow
the law totake its course. This latter
petition was sighed by thousands
of the best people of Memphis,
the leading lawyers and gentle
tlemen in all the higher walks OF life.
Then the federal court refused TO inter
fere aud eX-Attorney General Garland
was taken into the case. Through his
ahd others efforts began the pleas from
beyond Memphis which were so dis
tasteful to the people of this city. Gov.
Buchanan received letters and petitions
from Senators Carlisle and Blackburn,
of Kentucky; Voorhees,, of Indiana, and
entire Texas congressional delega-
ton, and Breckenridge, Of Kentucky.
Other petitions were received from
Gov. Hogg, Gov. Francis, eX-Gov.
Taylor, of this state, and many from
persons beyond the state. Gov. Bu-
chanan is being roundly denounced. and
there is some. unfavorable comment
OF the part taken by Senator Harris.
Grover Cleveland is also mixed up in
the business. The widow of eX-Lieut.
Coy. King, of Kentucky, Ii. Clay Kings
sister, who married her cousin,
Wrote to Cleveland
iri regard to the matter, and Mr.. Cleve-
land in his reply said he had Cnly Su-
perficial knowledge of the case, but
from what ne knew he hoped that the
death sentence would not be executed.
Mr.. Cleveland's letter was at once for
Whrded to the governor, and this after
moon, when Mr.. Cleveland's action be-
came known, lie also was rOundly
denounced. When Col. King left the
Jail this afternoon he said he had been
unjustly treated and denounced those
who had prosecuted him, as lie char
acteriZed the action of friends of Pos
ton.
Newspaper Comment.
This mornings Appeal-Avalanche, IN
discussing the subject, said: 1.-The gov
ernor's power in the matter is absolute
and exclusive. The responsibility is
his alone. He is not required to give
reasons. He may yield to any passing
caprice to appeal to his svmpathies, to
prejudice-and yet his authority remains
indisputable and supreme. If his de-
termination of the King case is to be
taken as precedent, then we see no
raaSnn ybv any other criminal ShOuld
ever be hanged in Tennessee. King,
in cold blood, after careful deliberation,
shot down David II. Poston. unarmed
Snd unsnspecting. 1t "aS a highway
Assassination. in which the victim was
given no chance to defend himself.
There could not have been murder
more heinous. When the trial was had
the murderer himself. with the most ex-
traordinary assurance, protested against
ethe introduction of the insanity piea.'
Discussing the review of the case by