The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1900-03-13

S1derat1On. Ii 1S q SITUATION
of revolutions; OF the fOrclble overturn-
ing of the fundamental rights of Amer
lean citizenship; Of the prostitution Of
government to malicious ends; Of pas
sion. prejudice and bandit daring
usurping the place Of Justice.
To begin with, we have a group Of
office-seekers plotting to steal by
forms Of law absolute control of the
election machinery of the state; we
have them put in possession of that
machinery and in spite of the partisan
one-sidedness Of the arrangement, we
$1,000 plurality for the Republican
nominee for governor in a poll in which
reputable Democrats assert that there
was actually cast for him not less than
a $4,000 plurality. Although the revis-
ion of the returns by the Democratic
down still further it dares not over
throw it altogether. and the Republi-
can nominee in due order is declared
elected and inaugurated. Then it Is
found that the Democrats, thanks to
the Goebel returning boards, have a
small margin of control in the legisla-
ture and to make that margin sure
they proceed to unseat a number Of
fairly elected Republicans. Once in
sure control, the contest is sprung and
the prejudiced tribunal Is about to
render it's predetermined verdict when
the bullet of an assassin lays the
Democratic claimant low.
"Thereupon." affirms the man whom
the people elected governor; a man
who in defending his rights and the
rights Of the people of Kentucky and
Of every state where republican forms
of government are supposed to pre-
vail, has exhausted all his private re.
sources and incurred the continuous
and prospective risk OF assassination,
"a conspiracy was formed to fasten
this heinous crime upon all or some of
the state officers elected by the people,
the purpose being to obscure and cover
the political robbery and to terrorize
! and destroy all opposition. In order to
| carry out this foul conspiracy they
procured an act appropriating $1O0, 900
| ostensibly for the purpose Of detect
ing the criminals, and have employed
a lawyer whose course in the criminal
practice Of Cincinnati was SO Odious
as to cause riot. resulting in the de-
struction of the court house and the
loss Of over forty lives. Following this
| an employe OF the notorious Cincin-
natl Enquirer has made affldavits,
charging that the Hon. Caleb Powers.
secretary of state; his brother, John
Powers. a captain of company Of
state militia; w. H. Culton. a clerk in
the auditors office; the Hon. Charles
Finley. ex-secretary of state, and Can.
tain John w. Davis. policemen of the
| state house grounds. conspired, aided
| and assisted in said assassina ton,
| Culton, during the night of March 9,
was taken from his home. where his
wife and child were sick, and incarcei =
| ated in the county jail. without bail,
or being given an opportunity to secure
bail. On the day of said assassina-
tion. Harlan Whitaker. whose resi-.
| dence is in Butler county, KY, was
arrested. charged with said crime and
assassination, and was placed in Jail
and kept confined without trial for
over one month. in defiance of the pro-
vision of law requiring a speedy ex.
animation trial and that a person
charged with crime shall be brought
out every two days. Upon the trial he
was held over without bond, notwith.
standing there was no evidence intro
duced showing his guilt. For some
cause, or without cause, our courts,
composed almost entirely of Demo-
cratic Judges have become so partisan
that 1t is practically. if not absolutely,
impossible for any man not of their
persuasion to obtain a fair trial. As
| organized, the courts are courts of con-
| viction instead of courts of trial"
Our telegraphic columns carry the
story forward to the time of writing.
The chaos born of wilful fraud is fed
by continuous audacity until it has
now reached a proportion that, we SUBJ
NIT. properly comes within the mean
ing OF Section 4 of Article " of the
federal constitution. which says that
the United States SHALL. guarantee
to every state in this Union a repub.
lican form of government" If the
United States courts cannot or will no,
interpose restraining hand, the chief
executive of the United States must
be appealed to to undo. If he can, a
monstrous wrong, which has become
intolerable.