The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-06-13
THEY KILLED THE COURT.
oAss CoUSrY,s sHoRx. CUT TO JUs-
TICE.

A passenger train on n feeder OF the NJ, X. I.
system pulled out Of the Harrisonville, Mo-, sta
tion at @ p. NJ, to connect at Holden with the
Missouri Pacific train for southeastern points.
II was a two-hour run over an open country. It
was in the season when the twilight is late.
Nearly half way between Harrisonville and
Holden II Gum City. There Is nothing In q
name, especially in the name OF n Western town.
Quinn City consisted of n wooden station, the
merchandise store. q saloon, and a smithy. It
was made conspicuous In a single night al
though the massacre. as It Is called, occurred q
few miles beyond the site Of the city.
Tho train had among its passengers Gen. Joe
Shelby, the man Of picturesque war history;
Judge Steveson, presiding Justice OF the County
Court Of Cas-; the County Attorney. Clyne. and
n local politician. William Dutro, who was one
of the bondsmon OF Judge steveson and q tool
of the administration Tho last three wore on
their way to the State capital 10 negotiate some
railroad bonds. about which there had been trou-
BILE In tho county. and the trouble had It's climax
near Gum City.
A few minutes after tho train had passed out
Of sight OF Gum City the engineer saw bstruc-
lions on the track and brought his engine to q
stand. A posse Of mon covered him with guns
and assured him quietly that he was not to DO
molested and that no train robbery was to 90
cur. While this assurance was being given,
bnOtnoT pOob0 UOATuou On0 VI II CohChcb u
informed Judge Stevenson. Clyne, and Dutro.
and one other. whose name Is forgotten, that
they were wanted Gen Shelby protested,
"but," as he afterward said, II quickly dis
covered tho character OF the mon. They had
been with me, or some Of them had, and I knew
they would carry out anything they undertook"
Tho four men called, obeyed, the Instructions
were removed by the mon who had guarded tho
engineer. and tho train headed for Holden.
It was an hour after sunset Four mon
mar hsa in nt tESns si Gt a RGSs'1, , through g The The s sc.ss
halted the four men and told them to form in
line facing his posse. This was oboyed. There
farewell messages were left TO b delivered:
ESery shot tod told. The The four alr' mon "aa on MI. tie line q
q: sss, Siaf, the Sn slz = f IG% 9or%. ssf sss H. hss s ssssS cont ont
eealed them. The posse and ite leader turned.
mounted their horses and rode away a. de-
ddsSFsfi sSsor Il n ta ss ss TSSald hsSS f SsS n sEf . fn @nes
as looked at the faces Of the dead.
days and but one press association. and that
handled no news thereabout except such Al con.
were meagre, regardless Of the importance Of the
event. Tho Gum City massacre caused o ahud-
S SSIn in c9 ns. sG IN So1 sna # r w 1SsS' sSe s sHiisiinsy 1 "a;
done. But outside OF that section there was no
account beyond q s,ereottyped report; n c-.t,
Brown. by Those who always turn white at any
unusual event, that q condition Of terror was in
sns ssaHn Il not sf ignored onsd III The sf Sey wna 70 ordered ID . assiS q
company OF Kansas City, militia to Harrison
county and halted. Its commander was respect.
fully informed that there was no occasion Tor
aoy. s9,a1es Of 0 ssn ssas aa had Esii Ss sSnn ml.in aSan saS
e G r ALI Lag .,c all tS %.t tnSts Sef fSs him sa%m and sS!a IL
at home on the border and draw on the farmers
t teof &c UPON nhf hiSS SSnlff &c so% aIsossy the 81 or rSs % 81 ths
The COMMITTEES did walt upon the Governor.
i vas composed Of men whS realized ,ldisse what They they
mao asn t. G Ssve VIZ tSe haG ris s6hsp 9sspes sssL' G They
their their re cases, 20 and nd'T piedssa their property ana
Their lives to appear when wanted by the civil
The Governor sent them home. and an order
was issued for the military company 70 return
One year; two: Aye, and ten years Of grand
no Indictments OF the Quinn City posse we're re-
turned orHsd;.d N :, jnFg in Cas- b SSSuSn ss, T sonnS. h TSs
government had no case. because the train from
which the men were taken carried no mall. The
Gould people, who built the road. made no COM
The events which led to the massacre are In
teresting enough and dramatic at certain points.
York. He said:
Graft Brown BsS m was rs'S Governor NOR" Of Missouri. and j
reckon no New Yorker oyer 40 has forgotten b;
a she soa sr q Hcr weS d tFSsieS as + ' fsc f1a e Z a shs SEE .ass n
saying that B.. Gratz Brown did moro to NIL w
the bloody chasm In the West than any man nJ yoq
have an IDEA that IL Il had not besn for b. Graft
Brown, the war on the border you'd have lasted
I'm 1875 sSr a i FEW men saw Gov. Brown b III tn.
office Of the mansion, and informed him that 4
must std re aSi am his % ord HReSb By up WHICH sRi ~e Company aPaiS q q
militia had been ordered to Cass county. Gov
5 51sT had t bSsn sMaj %er IN the thS F %sss t asys siiSp Sc.
vice, One had been in the service OF the Rich
% G,psl. Cabinet n1s.sn, h They yo were the h t sPoHsSR%S IN h I'M
sides. They had returned to their county to hpt
not been q tax ooiiectsd for three years. Their
S S.sn n comm ea te 'e OK I Sat 1 until FIT its t titie 'R WA. n oS
seure, The records had been burned, and
when the men who had enlisted az Federals ant
Confederates came backbone OF them did not
they I had to t ns tb the 1sDSs' Of ONE %ss another y t aost s 81 ~,
honor community. They had to begin over:
They had got under nd .I hsadw ~ when rsn the s spcs
political light. x railroad had been bull
through p Sne Sect Hen t Of the S So%SntSr ssn and q p tn
was the county seat, and had been since as the ad
mission OF Inc SthLt. Inc Tlcubhllt nHl pcOpl
conceived the scheme of creating q new count.
with that town as the capital. II they had sue
ceeded they would have killed Harrisonville. 70
the new county line on the south would hav
loft Jacksonville on the edge. This engendere
hatred worse than the war feeling. The peopl
at the county seat and those near by were force
to contribute money TO defeat the new count
- schemers who were at the State capital, backe
by a railroad clique. and who were acquainte
with the methods that Influenced the lobby. TIL
struggle was the chief business OF one session
and Pleasant Hill lost
Then came the spectators. They were tn
agents OF an organization which called itself
railroad company. 1t had q charter which pei
mitted the county government TO subscrib
bonds without submitting the question TO tn
people. The county government in Missouri 10 1
the hands Of what is known as the County Cour
It creates the tax, or causes 1t to DO done. co
iects II, and has general Jurisdiction except !
criminal cases. This tribunal in Cass county l
1870 consisted OF three men. The President q
the court was Stevenson. He went TO Cass count
after the war. He got his political schooling O
the Erie Canal / reckon there are some peopl
in New York who can tell you what that mean
II you don't know. eteveson was the whol
court. He ruled the other Members. 49,.
""This tribunal played into the hands Of th
raiIrnad nr1anizafion- In RnifR M ODDositlOn 4