The age-herald., 1899-08-03
Presence of Troops in the Baker Case
 UnaVailing.
REFERS TO HOT SPRINGS MURDER
Has No Right to Order Every One in Clay County Disarmed, as Such Action is Against the
 Constitution.

 trouble in Clay county. He says: "A number of newspapers have been ad- visng as to my duties regarding the Clay county matter and denouncing or critieis- ing me for failing to do what they advised. | It is suggested by some that martial law | be declared, by others that at once arrest and have the violaters of the law tried and summarily punished, etc. The trouble in | Clay county, while bad enough, has been magnifed by newspaper correspondents. "Burch Stores, Willis Howard, George | Baker, Will White, John Baker, Frank | Clark and Tom Baker, seven in number, | have been killed in a period of something more than year. The slayers of all of | these men have been indicted except | those of John Baker, Frank Clark and l Tom Baker James Howard, who killed 1 George Baker, obtained a change of venue | at Laurel, where he was convicted and subsequently, the verdict set aside. Tom Baker, on change of venue, was con victed of killing White; the court of ap- peals reversed the judgment and he was subsequently baied on order of the judge of the Lincoln circuit court.
 Soldiers Were Present
 'The circuit court was then in session and 125 soldiers were present. No grand jury was empaneled, and the soldiers, who were under the orders of the judge, were ordered to take the prisoners to Barbours- vile. So that, in this instance, their pres ence did not affect anything, for which the governor is surely not responsible The | suggestion that I declare martial law is | ridiculous The constitution of Kentucky l does not allow any law suspended except l by the general assembly or under it's au- | thority.
 ''As to the suggestion that the governor
 arrest try and convict these men. the wise | acres have probably forgotten the powers l are mere executive, and that he cannot | try or pass sentence on criminals This is l purely the prerogative of the judiciary. | Tt has been suggested however, that the | governor should appoint circuit judge and l commonwealth's attorney who were to look | after these cases. Unfortunately for these | critics, the governor has such power. He cannot under the law appoint a pro tenn commonwealths attorney under state of l case, and cannot appoint a judge unless the regular judge is absent declines to preside or is sworn off the bench, and not even then, until the clerk holds an election and | certifies to him that no one possessing the l qualifications of circuit judge selected. | Troops Unavaiiing
 | But it is suggested that the governor
 has failed to do anything since the sending | of troops at the time Tom Baker was killed.
 It may be said in response the troops were
 then present and their presence availed
 nothing either in preserving Bakers life l prrpStinp his D1Irdprars I might send SOl-
 diers today to preserve the peace, but ow-
 ing to the character of warfare there in-
 dulged in, it would be next to impossible
 for them to do anything. There are not
 enough members of the state guard in Ken | lucky to patrol that county.
 "The presence of soldiers might prevent | pitched battles fights by considerable
 bodies of men, but such conflicts are not
 common, and if such were contemplated
 they would occur doubtless at some points | distant from the soldiers.
 Ut is contended by some that the gov
 ernor should interfere on account of the
 Philpot controversy. It has not been a | great while since two men were killed
 on the streets of Hot Springs, but I have
 never heard it suggested that the governor | of Arkansas should send soldiers to that
 city. In the case of the Philpot-Grifin
 fight the officers of the law promptly arr
 rested the parties and soldiers were not
 needed to make the arrests.
 But it Is said that might order every | body dsarmed in Clay. The constitution | guarantees to the citizens the right to bear
 arms openly and such persons could not
 lawfully be disarmed unless engaged in l some act manifesting a disposition to | break the peace.
 | yititated Public Sentiment
 1 '~Ihe whole fault in Clay is vitiated | public sentiment and a failure of the civil l authorities 10 do their duty. The laws are | insufficient to enable the governor to ap- | ply remedy. Such feuds have been in | progress more or less for years and no | governor of the state has ever been able | to quell them. They have terminated only | when their forces were spent by one side
 or the other being killed or moving out of ] the county.
 | "The governor has taken every step au- | thorized by law and can do no more until l statutes are enacted increasing his authori- | ty. He should be empowered in such in-
 stances to appoint judge and the judge to
 appoint a commonwealth's attorney. The
 judge should be authorized to order the
 sheriff of any county in Kentucky to sum-
 mon a grand jury from said county and to 1 act as sheriff during the sessions of the
 grand jury and the trial if such is held in
 the county and for this purpose vested
 with necessary authority to act. Instead of
 hampering the judge by making his right
 to change the venue depend on the com-
 monwealth's attorney, he should be author
 ized to act on his own notion. If it should be found practicable to try the cases in the
 county and troops should be needed there
 or in any county to which the venu is ! csSanged. they should be furnished by the