The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1905-08-20

secrecy. was observed in. getting out
the napers and arranging other prelimS
lnarleS- With Lindsay and Van Hise,
Stednfan and arranged to have" all
the papers in our deals with them in
their respective offices on the day the
arrests were planned 1t was on the
10Th day of March in the year after
the investigation was begun that
entered the private Office of Robert L.
Lindsay in St Louis with Deputy Mar
shall Soest.
Lindsay, jaunty and busy. was at his
desk I quietly told him he was under
arrest
Who are YOU and what am | under
arrest for?'' he demanded.
l told him who I was and, briefly.
what he was wanted for.
All right" he said cooIly, reaching
for his hat, but you came just in time
to spoil big trade for me-
. Then he became indignant
This is an outrage" he said angrily:
"a plot put Up by Carl Schurz to ruin
me- It's the work of the id reform
ers IN the Republican party, and is go
ing to hurt the party
As nearly at the same instant as was
physically possible the arrest of q. score
more Of the leaguers was made in ST.
Louis and other cities All were placed
under bond. the furnishing of bail being
Of such prominence and means as most
of them We're.
Then began a most desperate fight
for freedom, on the party of the land
4eaguers. fight in which was employed
every agency from the Influence. of the
highest dignitaries in the Republican
party TO the intimidation OF even minor
witnesses by threats of lynching.
Among the. men who had been care
leSSly let into possession of incTiminat-
Frank Smith. an empioye of President
Thompson of the Boatman's bank of
st. Louis. who had a country seat at
Ironton. One day the following notice
was sent to Smith from a mysterious
source:
'Ironton, No.
Frank Smith.
Cook at ThOmpson's.
Prepare with your makeT-he will
want you to come to him very soon.
We viii on August Is, at u o'clock
midnight. come to your house and hang
YOU TO a tree until you are dead. May
you be ready to die. Beware,
PARTY OF LTNCHERS."
With the history of the tree of death
in Arcadia valley in their minds the
persons upon whom such notices were
served did not look upon them as iests
or idle threats. Seventeen coTpses had
dangIed from the limbs of this tree
IN mute testimony of the sincerity Of
purpose of the land leaguers; and the
receipt of such a notice after the leag-
uers had been brought TO bay was not
q pleasant incident The government
maintained surveillance over the Grim
inals and their suspected allies, how
ever and prevented the execution of
any threats. The notice sent to Smith
I found to be in the handwriting OF
Robert Lindsay
It was in high political places that
the most telling fight was made by the
leaguers to escape the penalty of their
crimes To explain this fight / must
revert for a moment to the national po-
litical situation of that year Grant
had completed his globe-circling tour
and was being urged FOR third presi-
dentiaV term. Among the 306 delegates
10 the Chicago convention that stood Dy
him to the last were james, Lindsay
and Carroll r. Peck. Grant was de-
feated for the nomination By the uneN-
pected launching OF the name of James
a Garfield around whom the anti
Grant forces rallied. The schism IN
the party preceding the convention was
widened by the nomination and cleo
ton of Garfield. and the bitterness Of
feeling was nowhere more intense than
ia Missouri.
Robert Lindsay was prominent in the
Grant faction of that state, being an
officer in n large political organization
with such staunch Republicans as
Z. i.
prominence. His father was Grants
personal friend and political benefici-
AIRY. and the relations between the for
mer President and the Lindsay family
were very warm, as indicated by James
LinGSGy's appointment 10 one reSpoa-
sible position after he had proved a
defaulter in "A previous one
United States Attorney Bliss. upon
whom fen the chief burden of prosecu-
ton of the leagUers in. the courts, was
appointed by President Grant. and
other government officials. the weight
of whose influence should have been on
Iukewarm in the cause. 1 do not mean
to imply that there was any overt
neglect Of duty on the part of the gov
eminent prosecutors. nor that any of
the Grant politicians used their inllu-
ence corruDtly: but ] do say that
from mysterious sources and in the
most mysterious manner. there came
strange happenings-all in favor of the
defendants. Ia did not take me long
10 see that 81 the rate matters were
going the land leaguers would soon be
free without trial
At the time Of his arrest Robert
Lindsay charged his trouble to Carl
Schurz. In the newspapers he charged
that Secretary -Schurz had discharged
James Lindsay from the Ironton land
Office without cause. and that he
Robert, had issued a circular attack
ing Schurz for this act. In order 20
get revenge for the issuance of this
circular Schurz had concOcted this plot
against the Lindsays. according to
those worthless. The Secretary of the IN
terror was member OF the anti-Grant
faction, and this gave some color. with