The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-11-03

Dri bin, in a lengthy communication ad- dressed to Governor J. e. Beckham of Kentucky refuses to grant the reaui- sition for the extraditior of ex-Governor William S. Taylor and Charles w. Fin ley, who have been indicted by Kentucky courts for complicity in the murder Of Governor William Goebel. The text or Governor Durbins letter to the Governor of Kentucky follows:
 Indianapolis, Ind, Nov. Z, l9ol.
 Dear Sir-For the second time requisi- tions have been sent to the Governor ol this Commonwealth, issued by your au- thoritv asking for the extradition of William S. Taylor and Charles Finley, al- legged fugitives from justice from the State of Kentucky and at this time re- siding in the State of Indiana. The ln- dictment presented charges these men with being accessories before the fact to the wilfull murder of William Goebel l respectfully decline to honor the requisi- tions.
 "The reasons given for a similar action on the part of my predecessor the la mented ex-Governor Mount, still obtain in a pertinent manner as basis for this refusal. reinforced, as they are, by events that have occurred since that time. which only tend Io establish the conviction to those who believe in equal and exact justice under the law to all men that the time has not yet arrived in the en- vironments of this prosecution whereoy an unprejudiced and non-partisan hear ing of a trial could be had l choose to make use of the right and the duty as the Executive of the Commonwealth, to exer- else a discretionary power of refusal to the end that the purposes of persecution which seems to be the conspicuous fea- ture of this prosecution, may not force these men before a court partisan to the very extreme of vindictiveness and jury organized for conviction in its per sonal and impanelment.
 "The assassination of the late William Goebel was a monstrous crime deplored. as I believe. by every citizen of Indiana and of the republic. The spirit of assas- sin is the twin of anarchy. If allowed to go unpunished there could be no more serious crime than that of citizen or State, or the official representative of the Commonwealth, in any capacity, should be foully murdered as the result of con spiracy or as an individual act
 'I have given careful and conscientious consideration to the evidence produced in the case already heard of the person ac- cused of complicity in the murder of Will liam Goebel so far as has been placed in my hands by the attorneys for the prosecution, and I unhesitatingly affirm that conviction based upon such mass of self-evident perjury reflects the poi soned passions of a court and jury and strengthen the belief that were those acquisitions honored, would be only aid ing the determination of the prosecution to convict these men without any refer ence to the law, justice or fact. I cannot cause a man from whom the presumption of innocence should never be stripped. eX- cept by legal methods to be subjected to the rapine of political persecution. Kentucky is a Commonwealth revered for its high sense of justice and honor; 1t has given to the jurisprudence of the country some of the ablest lawyers of the nation; it has honorable representation on the supreme bench; 1t Is the birth place of Abraham Lincoln, the embodi- ment of justice, who dedicated his life to securing the rights of all men under the law. It Is a State wherein very gen. orally justice has been slgnally exempli- | fled in the practice and purposes of courts and this honorable record only emphasizes in conspicuous comparison l the odious acts which, in the trial court | of Judge Cantrill, has been permitted | in the name of law, where the life and | liberty of citizens are at stake. Can a | fair trial be had for those under indict- ment? What was the object in appro- priating $100,000 for the conviction of the suspected murderers of William Goebel? Does not the evidence demonstrate that | a portion of this sum has been paid for perjury? Tn the recent trial of Caleb | Powers why should judicial proprieites | have been outraged by the refusal of Judge Cantrin to give a change of venue | from his hearing? Why should jury of
 twelve partisans of the late MT. Goebe | be selected to try the cause at bar? | "In striking contrast to the ultrf | partisanship of the Kentucky judge ant | fury, 1 recall an example of the profound l sense of justice that characterized cas' | largely political in it's character, tha
 came before the federal court in Indiana | polls shortly after the war, when part! | spirit was at its zenith. The Demo | cratic treasurer of Jennings County Wa
 on trial. General Harrison appeared fo | the prosecution and eX-Governor Hen | dricks for the defense. The regula | panel of jurymen was in the box. Juug | Walter o. Gresham was on the bench MT. Hendricks first appealed to the cour for a political poll of the jury and thel
 for a special jury to be composed or al | equal number from the Democratic an | Ranrblican parties He made a mos | earnest and eloquent plea that justice t
 his client and the political chaarcter 0
 the case demand that the jury shoul
 be evenly divided between the two lead
 ing political parties and no advantage
 he given over his client by the insidiou
 influences of a preponderating partisa
 bias in the jury. Judge Gresham yer
 promptly granted the request and ne'
 jury was impaneled as asked for by Nil
 Hendricks. Compare this act of justic,
 based on the proposition that no politics
 judge or advantage should enter into tn
 jury box with the record of the court an
 jury in the cases that have so far had