The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1893-11-26
A NATURAL BORN STATESMAN.


leadership as clearly A. Cesar or Crom veil
had II. What 10 the reason that San Fran
cisco alone Of all the new communities
west Of the Mississippi has never been
cursed by mob Law in its vulgar, brutal,
passionate, furious exhibition Of popular
wrath: that men stopped TO weigh with
dignity and elaboration questions Of right
and vrong7 Why is it that no hoodium
barbecue Of blood. such 40 has disgraced
many of the oldest Southern states, ever
soiled San Francisco? The answer Is.
because of William T. Coleman.
In 1852 this very able man of business,
Kentucky born. insisted that If the COM
munity was driven to the dread resolve to
resume its delegated powers of life and
death its should discharge them when re-
sumed with elaboration; without pas
sion, without vindictiveness; with calm
ness and strict observance of the forms of
legal justice. Coleman was o natural
born statesman; he was naturally a law
abiding man, who respected established
courts and hated lynch law. With hood
ium lynching parties he would have moth
ing to do, for he knew that as it takes Q
thief to catch q thief, so nine-tenths
OF the average lynching party are COM
posed of creatures who have committed
crimes for which they have justly
forfeited their lives or their liberty.
Nevertheless Coleman was q practical
statesman and leader: he saw that the
gamblers. cutthroats, pimps, thieves and
ballot box suffers had got possession Of
the polls; that under the forms of law
they had elected judges, sheriffs and prose-
cutting officers who would simply select
jury that would make q criminals holi-
day. Then the question came for Coleman
to decide IS to what he would do. As an
educated man, q conservative merchant
and law-ebiding citizen he would not, of
course. head . gang Of ruffians and lynch
right and left all accused murderers without
form Of law or elaboration, mere ignor-
ant. brutal outburst of popular fury. Cole
man would not do this, but yet he be-
iieved in the right of seif-government as
including the right Of seif-protection and
sef-preservation, so he organized q vigi-
lance committee. not out of hoodlums and
barbarians. but out of the conservative.
property-owning and law-abiding citizens
of San Francisco. He said: "These muir
derers, ballot box suffers and thieves have
stolen the courts. the sherifFs office, the
the juries the prosecuting office and the
ballot box from Us under the forms OF law;
We cannot regain our rights a. the ballot
box or before the courts, because the
criminal classes have captured by fraud
both courts and ballot box; We are, there
fore, Obliged TO organize and execute q
revolution; We. the law and order men of
San Francisco. will organize. as courts and
juries and defend our lives and our liber-
ties against corruption and criminality
entrenched behind the forms of the law
and the courts. We will do nothing in
haste, nothing In anger, nothing In vim
dictiveness; We will MAINTAIN all the forms
Of courts and the law; We will allow all
our prisoners ample time for trial: ample
time to call witnesses. to summon counsel;
the jury shall be carefully and impartially
selected; no man shall lose life or liberty
except after fair trial before q jury of
his countrymen. conducted by all the
forrus and with all the dignity and delib-
Grafton OF legal justice"
This was Coleman's solution of the
situation. He said: I'VE cannot afford
10 be robbed and murdered and have the
ballot box burlesqued within the forms of
la afr
break of vulgar, unreasoning. passionate
mob law: we must rccapture our delegated
powers of life and death; erect a govern
ment that has behind it public opinion
and continue tin operation until law and
order, until liberty aud property, are Sc
cure" Without William T. Coleman this
could not have been done; bat under his
statesmanllks leadership 1t was done and
well done, and the record of the San Fran
cisco vigilance committee from May to
September, 1850, is one OF the brightest
pages in the history Of the Anglo-Saxon
race. Six thousand of the best citizens of
San Francisco were behind Coleman: they
deliheratsd week before they acted. They
observed all the forms OF courts; they did
nothing IN haste TO repent of at leisure:
they hung but four men during their gov
eminent Of four months: they acquitted
many that were accused: they even pro-
tectsd the life of Judge Terry religiously
after he was acquitted. although he richly
deserved death. they hanished scores of
criminals and ballot box suffers. and they
80 completely restored Law and order In
San Francisco that public opinion through
out the state completely upheld them
against the governor of the state, who va.
backed by Gen. William T. Sherman, who
was erratio enough TO oppose them.
Gen. Woo 1, Of the United States srmy.
and Capt. Farrasut. of the United States
navy, sympsthifed with the policy Of
Coleman. otherwise the United STATE.
gnnboa. John Adams would have shel,ea
the city and Gen. Woe would have r;ysn
Sherman and Gov. johnson arms and
munitions of war enough from Benicia
arsenal 30 have caused q frightfal eonfic.
for the possession OF San Francisco BE-
tween Gen. sherman and the forces Of
Coleman.
Coleman Was . statesman aud general. a
r,a Of the rare stamp, that, like Cromwell
starts nP cut Of the groanG armed from head
Go foot 10 bead a successful revolution with
courage. moderation and judgment.
William 7. Coleman lived and died a great
merchant bat be was a born statesman
and leader Of men; he ooala have founded