The record-union., 1898-02-10
THE WORDEN CONFESSION.

Salter D. Worden has filed with the
Executive of the State a written con-
fession Of his participation in the infa-
nous deed at trestle No. ,, by which a
train was wrecked in the summer of
1894, and five human lives We're taken.
The story of that time and its law
lessness of action, and in the sentiment
of the community is still fresh il
memory and calls for no recital now.
Word ems confession contains no reveal
ments Every fact he states in elabora-
ton was known to the officers of the
law shortly after the commission Of
the massacre, which was the logical
outcome of the tyrannous influence of
organized lawlessness. and plotted de-
fiance of the machinery and represent
atives of the law. The wretches who
planned and carried out the butchery
at trestle No. had neither plausible
excuse nor the slightest provocation. 1t
was a cold blooded and heartless muir
der of United States soldiers, and of a
faithful railway engineer.
The confession of one of these, the
tool ana serviceable creature of the
shrewder and bolder assassins, leads
the impartial mind to no new convic-
tons 1t affirms and confirms just
judgment. 1t rebukes the spirit of the
time that gave birth to the atrocity,
and emphasizes the truth that without
L. or
der there is no safety in popular gov
ernment. 1t puts the finger Of truth
upon both chiefs and hirelings in the
terrible tragedy of trestle No. 2. 1t
gives the lie anew TO the sneaking and
cowardly defense set UP at the time
and recently newly advanced, that the
railroad companies plotted and had ex-
ecuted the murders at the trestle in or
der to revolt public feeling and turn
popular favor it's way. 1t effectually
puts an end to the recent cowardly at
tempt to show that the crime was COM
mitted by some unknown or unappre-
hended persons and that the Committee
of Mediation was wholly innocent of
completely in the awful affair.
The confession fortifies the position
already taken by the Record Union"
that it will be a mockery of justice to
execute this scapegoat and allow the
chiefs in the massacre to go scot free.
Miscarriages Of justice of that order
tend only to weaken the cause of So
<ia+xy acof,e+ accacc;ps apd thugs II
tends TO destroy confidence in the i'm
partiality of law and of justice. which
is the chief attribute of each.
All the facts Of the tregedy Of trestle
No. =, We repeat, were known to the
officers of the law very shortly after
the commission of the awful crime.
From the first practically, the prosecu-
tion knew every fact recited at this
late day by Worden, and these same
facts We're known to many an other, and
all these knew that they could be sub
stantiated by unimpeachable testimony
and irrefragable evidence. But with
this full knowledge on the part of the
officers of the law the chiefs were given
1AONlkS dAAtE Il dtlSiApl ~ "
some Of them TO justice, and in the
end dismissal Of information followed
as to all those under charge, but the
selected scapegoat Of the shrewder
criminals was sent to conviction.
II is because the Record Union" be-
lieves that justice was not done in such
proee lure that il has held and still con-
tends thar Worden should have his
sentence coInmuted to imprisonment for
life. No just mind can for a moment
conceive of any excuse for the officers
of the law IN discriminating as they
did in favor of persons equally guilty
with the man Worden To hang him
under all the circumstances would,
therefore, be a travesty upon justice.
1t would be confirmation of the scape-
goat plan of the chiefs in the tragedy.
Public justice demands that all crimi-
nails should be punished. To select one
and give others equally or more guilty
clear quittance is to put premium
upon shrewd rascality that the vista
ton Of the law may fall upon the weak