The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-03-12

| have been issued. charging them with
being accessories to the assassination OF
Gov Goebel including Secretary of State
Caleb Powers and ex-Secretary of State
Charles Finley. In his statement Gov.
Taylor recites the conditions under which
he claims to have been elected and
charges the Democratic contestants for
state offices with conspiracy to secure
| control of the government. He contin-
ues:
Notwithstanding these conspirators
We're defeated at the polls as TO the state
Offices they succeeded in securing a ma
Jority in each of the two houses of the
general assembly and in retaining IN
power the state canvassing and counting
, machine
while many Democratic members
were honestly elected, yet others were
elected by the manipulation Of dishonest
precinct officers and county canvassing
boards before and during the election
and then after the election by a system
Of counting in and counting out until the
majority aforesaid was obtained. AS
thus constituted the general assembly
and canvassing board have declared that
polls shall be set aside. 1t is needless
to say that such conspiracies as this
almost inevitably produce revolution, be-
cause free people will not willingly be
deprived of their right of suffrage or
consent that the minority instead of the
majority shall rule.
CALLS 1T CONSPIRACY.
Pending this unfortunate struggle, the
Hon. William Goebel, the contestant for
the Office of governor, was assassinated
by some persons whose Identity is un
known. Tnereupon 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 OBJ
scure and cover the political rob-
berry and to terrorize and DESTROY all op-
position. In order to carry out this foul
conspiracy they procured an act appro-
priating 100000 ostensibly for the pur-
pose of detecting the criminals and have
employed lawyer whose course in the
criminal practice ir Cincinnati was so
odious as to cause a riot resulting in the
destruction of the court house and the
loss Of over forty lives.
Following this an employe of the CHI
cinnat Enquirer has made affidavits
charging that Hon. Caleb Powers, sec
retary Of state; his brother, John Pow
ers, captain of company Of state
militia w. II. Culton, a clerk in the
auditors office; Hon. Charles Finley, ex-
secretary of state, and Capt. John w
Davis. policeman of the state house
grounds, conspired, aided and assisted in
said assassination. Warrants were is
sued and said w. H. Culton was, dur
ing the night of March 9, taken from his
home where his wife and child were sick
and incarcerated in the county jail with
out bail or given an opportunity to Sc
cure bail
"On the day of the assa assination Har-
land Whitaker, whose residence is in
Butler county, Kentucky, was arrested
and charged with said crime and assas-
sination, and was placed in jail and kept
confined without trial for over one month
in defiance of the provisions of law re-
quiring a speedy examining trial. and
that person charged with crime shall
be brought out every two days Upon
the trial he was held over without bail,
notwithstanding there was absolutely no
evidence introduced showing his guilt
For some cause, or without cause, our
courts, composed almost entirely of Dem
ocratic judges, have become so partisan
that 1t is practically, if not absolutely
impossible for any man not of their per-
suasion to obtain a fair trial AS or
ganized the courts are courts of convic-
tion instead Of courts Of trial.
Under this state of affairs, believing
that each one of said persons is inno-
cent of any completely in said crime, and
further believing that the enormous re-
ward will secure the conviction of these
men, however innocent, I deemed it my
solemn duty to issue pardons to them in
order that these political conspirators
might not be enabled to deprive them
of their liberty or their life. The guilty
men should be punished, but designing
men, controlling the courts should not
be enabled to shed the blood of innocent
men, and if 1t is in my power to prevent
1t I pledge myself In the name of God
and humanity that it shall not be done"