Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1900-02-05
Was Brought About by a
Railroad Company.
HENRI WATTERSON
Claims That it Hal an undving Hatred
For Goebel and Worked Hard Ito
Defeat Him-The Exact Situation
in the State. 81

III SUC 0t0SSs u
-- 4aot
Louisville. Ky, Feb. 5.-Mr. Henry
| Watterson today rave out the following
sta j
1.-THE head and front of our present
troubles in Kentucky, at once the source
land the resource of the revolutionary
proceeding by which republican, govern
ment has been for the time struck down
and a military dictatorship set up In Its
place. is the LOUSY lille & Nashville Rail-
way In the recent state cam
paign it supplied material resources IN
| such abundance as to draw out all the
dangerous elements of society and to put
into activity all the forces OF poiitlcal ad-
venture. The two leading parties to the
contest were as nothing. by comparison
with its gigantic machinery for corrupting
the elections. The hordes of desperate
mountain men who We're precipitated up
on the state capital could never have got
there except through it's agency.
lit is at this moment the backbone OF
the movement to transfer the state CAPT.
tai from the city Of Frankfort, it's law
full abode, to the little village of London
in Laurel county. situated upon one of its
branches, in the heart Of the vendetta re-
! gion whose turbulency has long d.sgraced
the state. Some seven months Ago, fore
seeing something Of this situation, /
wrote earnestly to Mr.. August Belmont.
the financial head Of the Louisville &
Nashville Railway company. to protest
against its interference in party affairs.
! having in vain sought to dissuade Mr..
Milton Fl. Smith, its local president. 1
was then, as l am now and have been,
for thirty years. the friend of that great
corporation. N
Mr. Belmont sn lowed my letter the
courtesy of submitting it to his executive
board and did me the honor to send me a
copy of it's deliberations embracing the
! reasons of it's refusal to consider my ap-
peal in the affirmative. The sole purpose
of the Louisville & Nashville was at sev-
cry cost and hazard to defeat the cleo
ton of Mr.. Goebel to the gCvernorship Of
Kentucky.
"Mr. Goebel was a man of un~inlpeached
purity in his private life and of conceded
professional ability. During ten years
service as senator in the state leghsla-
ture, no act Of his excepting what is
known a. the GcGp pei election Law. had
brought the least rtproach upon him, nor
any unclean dollar had ever been charged
against him, although money to corrupt
legislation had often flowed as free as
water at Frankfort. But, in some way,
he had given deadly offense to the man.
age1nent of the Louisville & Nashville
n this manageme nt felt that it must
destroy him. It has certainly done this.
But in doing it, it has brought upon the
people of Kentucky the incalculable
wrong and the dire disgrace of transac-
tions unexampled in the history of
republican government.
There is not at this ome nor has
there been at n moment, the least dis
order or semblance of disorder, except
such as has emanated from the hand of
the de facto governor, Taylor. The noun
tain men We're brought to Frankfort, If
not by his express command, yet by and
with his knowledge and consent. Their
presence in Frankfort could have but one
meaning and purpose and as if to aug
ment both meaning and this purpose.
some of them who had been arrested by
the local police for carrying deadly Weap-
ons and for disorderly conduct were, in
advance of trial, pardoned by the de
factO governor.
1.-The shot that killed Mr.. Goebel was
fired from an upper window of the exc
cutive building. which swarmed with the
armed adherents of the de facto COVER
nor. Admission I'd this building was al
once denied the civil authori les, a cor
don of troops was thrown about it and
there under the pretense of being in a
state of siege, the de facto governor has
ever since held himself a voluntary pris-
oner though SURF punded by the state
militia, called out by himself and issuing
thence proclamations disbanding the
general assembly and transferring the seal
of government of the commonwealth. Al
this while the contestants before the leg
islatune were proceeding strictly with
the laws OF the contest, with not the least
threat of violence or show OF disorder
There was positively no thought of insur.
~rection, outside the Imagination of, thu
governor. By his orders the general as.
sembly OF the commonwealth has beer
denied access to it's chambers in the state
capitol, close by, guarded by troops, by
his orders it's members nave been chased
through the streets of Frankfort from one
place to another. seeking a Legislative
abiding place. and by his orders the pro.
. cesses of the court Of law, including the
writ of habeas corpus are denied service
and the lawful procedure of the peace
officers has been put at defiance, whilst
martial law has taken the place Of civil
law and. IN these lines. an armed cotfiic1
is invited.
This 10 the exact situation in Ken.
lucky. I give it In answer I'd numerou.
kilograms and letters from all parts Of
the country asking 1t. I have no party
! interest to serve. I am not now ant
) have not been for years In active fellow,
ship with the leaders Of my own party
and my sole purpose Is to represent to ths
ties that the cond ition OF affairs in Ken
lucky is not that Of force against force
justifying a certain neutrality in publ,
opinion. but that Of a military u%surpatior
u~nwarranted by law against what tn,
law writer's call the peace and dignit,
of the commonwealth"