Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1903-06-27
CAUSTIC BECKHAM
Statement in Which He Roasts
the yellow Press of the
North and East"
HITS THE "WAR CORRESPONDENT
And Explains That People Are Ask
ing Too Much of Him as to
Breathitt County.

Frankfort, Ky. June Ex-Governor
Beckham, in response TO a great many
requests, has given out a statement
in reference to his position in the
Breathitt county matter, in which he
says in part: "A great many letters
have come to me in the last few weeks
some from those who are friends,
some from those who are not-urging
me to use radical measures in dealing
with the unfortunate trouble in Breath
lit county, TO declare martial law and
to have trials of the accused by court
officials, and i'll fact to 90 most any
thing for which there is absolutely no
warrant of law to do upon the part
of the executive.
Newspapers Are Next Hit.
"a number of newspapers in th0
state-some kindly in their feelings to-
wards me, others most hostile and bit
ter-have come out in heavy editorials,
and said 1t was up to the governor to
do something, to put Il stop to this
lawleSsness and crime. None of them,
however. with one honorable eXcep-
tion, ever suggested in their infinite
wisdom a plan to the governor as to
what he should do. All seemed to hint
at declaration of martial law.
yellow Journals of the North and East"
Il care not one particle for the
pharisaical censure of those yellow
journals of the north and east, whose
mercenary greed for a saleable rom
ance, and whose partisan hatred of a
southern neighbor, make them defame
and misrepresent the great and god
people of all Kentucky because one
county out of one hundred and nine
teen within the state has recently been
the scene of certain crimes and viola
tions of the law. 1t has become Il
fashion and a fad with those papers to
picture in the most lurid and senSa-
tional type a killing in Kentucky. when
the slaughter of an entire family in
their locality is not dignified with
dozen lines. The calling into service
of the entire National Guard of one
the northern states to suppress a strike,
where hundreds may be slain, does not
attract One-half the notice from those
veracious journals as does the use of
one company of Kentucky militia in
aiding some circuit court in the trial
of criminal
Pot Mustn't Call the Kettle Black.
IAN illustration of this might be
found in the recent trouble in Breath
tit. where it was difficult to tell wheth-
er the war correspondents or the sol
diers Outnumbered, and those ferocious
and unarmed lOng-distance warriors.
safely guarded against danger TO their
valiant persons. breathed forth threat
enings of war and told an eager and
expectant public what a governor, a
judge or military commander should
do. These outside critics Seed not be
considered. When they succeed in
eradicating crime. or at least, reducing
1T, in their own states. then we may
efforts to tell us how to purify Ken
lucky"
Doing All That Can BE Done.
The remainder of the governors
statement declares he is doing and will
do all that is lawful to bring order
and peace to Breathitt county and
that the judges are helping him do it,
but that the remedies urged on him
by the press are mostly such things
as cost Charles his head and James
II his throne.
Foot-Race Prosecution Dropped.