Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1900-03-17
INTERVIEW WITH GOV. TAYLOR.
Governor Explains Why he Issued
Psrdons to Goebel Suspects.
DE-LA.

LOUISVILLE, KY, March 11.-Accord-
ing to q statement made by Gov. W. 8
Taylor to might TO q representative Of
the Commercial. he has granted par
don TO each of the persons for whom
warrants have been issued charging
them with being accessories to the as
sassination 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 CD argos the
Democratic contestants for State Of
fees with conspiracy to secure control
of the government. He continues:
Notwithstanding these conspirators
were defeated at the polls as to the
State Offices, they succeeded in secur-
ing a majority in each of the two
houses of the general assembly ard in
retaining in power the State CANVASS
ing and counting machine.
while many Democratic members
were honestly elected. yet others were
elected by the manipulation of dishon-
est precinct officers and county SAN
wasting boards before and during the
election and then after the election by
n system of counting in and counting
out until the majority aforesaid was
obtained. As thus constituted the
general assembly and canvsssing
board have declared that the will OF
the people as expressed at the polls
shall be set aside. It ia needless to
soy that such conspirscies IS this al.
most inevitably produce revolution,
because free people will not willing
ly be deprived of their right Of suffrage
or consent that the minority instead Of
the majority shall rule,
~ A. a. 10
the Hon. William Goebel, the contest
ant for the office of govs rnor, was as
! sassinated by some person whose iden-
THY is unknown. Thereupon con-
| spiracy was formed TO fssten this helm
Gus crime upon all or some of the State
officers elected by the people, the pur.
pose being to obscure and cover the
political robbery and to terrorizs and
destroy all opposition. In order to
carry out this foul conspiracy they
procured an act appropriating 500 .000
ostensibly for the purpose OF detecting
the criminals, and have employed q
lawyer whose course in the criminal
practice in Cincinnati was so odious as
to cause q riot resulting in the de-
struction OF the courthouse and the
loss Of over forty lives."
Following this an employe OF the
Cincinnati Enquirer has made affids-
Wits charging that Hon. Caleb Powers,
secretary of stsLe I; his brother, John
Powers. captain OF q company of
State militia w. II. Culton, q clerk in
the auditors othc. Hon. Charles Fin
ley. ex-secretary of state, and Capt
John w. Davis, policeman or the State
House grounds, conspired, aided, and
| assisted in said assassination. War
rants were issued, and said w. ii. Gull
! ton was, during the night OF March Och,
taken from his home, where his wife
and child were sick, and incarcerated
in the county jail without bail or Civ
en- an opportunity to secure bail. Ga
the day OF said assassination, Harlan
Whitaker, whose residence is in Butler
County, KY, was arrested and charg
ed with said crime aud assassination,
ana was placed In Jail and kept con-
fined without trial for over one month
in defiance of the provisions of the law
requiring speedy examining trial,
and that person charged with crime
shall be brought out every two days,
Upon the trial he was held over with
out bail, Notwithstanding there was
absolutely no evidence introduced
showing his guilt. For some cause, or
| without cause, our courts, composed
almost entirely of Democratic judges
nave become so partisan that 1t Is prac-
| tically. if not absolutely, impossible
| for any man not of their persuasion to
obtain fair trial. As organised the
courts are courts of conviction instead
Of courts of trial.
"Under this state of affairs, believ-
ing that each one of said persons is IN
nocent OF any completely in said crime,
and further believing that the enor-
nous reward will secure the convie.
ton OF these men, however iRnocent. l
deemed it my solemn duty to issue
pardons to them in order that those
political eonspirators might nat be en-
abled to deprive them Of their liberty
or their life. The guilty men should
be punished, but designing men GEN.
trolling the courts should not be ena-
bled to shed the blood of innocent men,
and il it is in my power to prevent it.
pledge nv self in the name OF God
and humanity that it shall not be