The representative., 1900-09-13
TRIAL OF JAMES HOWARD, ACCUSED
OF KILLING GOEBEL.

TRIAL OF JAMES HOWARD, ACCUSED
OF KILLING GOEBEL.
FRANKFORT. KY. Sept. S.-The trial Of
James Howard. who Is charged with having
fired the shot which killed Senator Goebel,
will begin here Monday.
Martin Lawrence, the jailer of this coun-
ty, says that "Tallow Dick" Combs con-
fessed to him while in Jail here that he held
the door OF the secretary of states Office,
and That Jim Howard. Henry Youtsey,
Frank Cecil and a man named Vaughn were
in the Office at the time of the shooting
of Goebel.
Since then Combs has claimed that he was
in the adjutant generals Office. Two wit
nesses corrobOrated this statement in their
testimony in the Powers case at George
town.
The assassination of Goebel in Ken
lucky and the trial of his assassins is
full of object lessons for the American
people.
First and most important Of these
lessons. 1t illustrates what partisanship
will do under our representative system
OF government, and furnishes the
strongest reasons why we should aban-
don that system for direct legislation
There will be no doubt in the minds
of sensible people that intensely parti-
san Republicans killed Goebel. This
crime is chargeable to Republicanism
We will not say that every Republican
Is responsible for the deed, but the deed
was the direct outgrowth of that party
intemperance which caused Roosevelt
in 1896 to declare that in event of Bry-
ans election he would like to head a
regiment for Washington to see that
he did not take his seat.
The killing of Goebel is along the
same lines as the killing of the popular
sovereignty through the corrupt and
disgraceful methods of Mark Hanna
When millionaires by the corrupt
use of enormous campaign funds
thwart the will of the people, sooner or
later some of those usurpers are sure
to get hurt.
The killing of John Brown was but
prelude to the great slaughter that
followed later.
The partisanship skirmish in Ken
lucky points to more serious tragedy
growing out of the same bitter rivalry
for power to eliminate later at the
nations capital.
The money power of the East is de-
termined to control this country this
power needed Kentucky to carry out
it's purposes. The toiling population of
the great West and South are equally
determined that popular sovereignty
shall control. A clash of frightful pro-
portions is not to be regarded as among
impossibilities.
Socialism is rising; Populism has
permeated the entire mass of working
people, the two extremes of society,
the ruling rich and the serving poor,
are rapidly drawing further apart like
two rams to engage in battle.
In vain do the great plutocratic news
papers proclaim the interests of capt.
tai and labor Identical.
In the great coal regions Of Penn
sylvania capital and labor are mar
shaling their clans. Homestead, Halle
ton, Buffalo and Coal Creek are to be
re-enacted on mightier scale.
The shot that killed Goebel in Ken
lucky was but the firing of single
gun on the picket line of two mighty
hosts that must soon engage at short
range.
Representative government is re-
sponsible for the forces that make for
war. that make for assassination. that
make for bitter partisanship and cor
ruption in politics. Representative
government is failure and all the
leading reform thinkers and writer's Of
today point to direct legislation as the
only path to safety. n
Thinking men in future generations
will refuse to give a asyfFdict as between
Taylorism and Goeheltsm in Kentucky.
Like the two old parties behind the
scenes each will seem equally repre-
hensihle. yo
Goebel sought to establish political
tyranny and his political enemies rails
ed the banner "Sic semper tyrannis. :"