Sequachee Valley news. (Sequachee [Sequatchie], Tenn.) 1896-1952, 1905-12-07
LETTERS TO EDITOR
INJUSTICE DONE THE UNION.

Editor News: | see very near all the |
correspondents throughout the county
are writing on nearly the same sub
iect There must be something dead
up the creek. Sorry my law abiding
friend, Nip 81 Tuck's Pap, has rendered
his resignation as member Of the
peace committee. We had terrible ar
gument the other day when he was
up He declares whatever the soldiers
did while at Whitwell, was law right
or wrong. | tried to cite him a few
miss steps | held were in violation of
the constitution. First, they over
stepped their bounds | may be wrong
but it was when some prejudiced agent
of the T. Q. /. Co., to crafty his am
bition, had Col Bass to march the sold
iers to the Red Mems Hall and pointed
out just who he wanted placed under
arrest, and they were twenty in num-
Der and there were no distinctions
They were searched and all they had
on their persons were their pocket
knives, and they took them, and some
of the boys say they haven't got back
their knives vet. Col Bass entered the
hall and searched the entire building.
They had no warrant to authorize
buGlll w DtdlIll bllOGC lilCll VI w NtdlOi
that hall. He had no right to act thus
unless he was clothed with search
warrant, naming the parties and the
house to be searched and naming the
kind of property to be searched for,
and the warrant would have to name
: whether to be searched in the day time
or at night. If understand the law
that they were acting under, it was
| L. 49,
and this warrant must be officially
signed. / say that no such a warrant
was ever issued OF officially signed by
any officer authorized to issue such
process.
: AS they returned from the hall they
, stopped at James Bailey's and entered
his house without being clothed with
the authority Of the law, and searched
: his house and took two old fashioned
guns, one was an old hog rifle. say
that such acts as those are an abuse of
the Constitution Of the United States,
and the State of Tennessee. This
was done under the orders of Col.
Bass, and when Gov. Cox ordered
them to go home, he turned those
guns over to Mr.. Bailey, who was in
{ the upper end of town, who would
not receive them from Col. Bass but
/ ordered him to place them back where
| he had illegally taken them and Col.
/ Bass obeyed this order and returned
? the guns to Bailey's house. emphat-
) aticly say that this searching business
2 was illegal from the beginning to the
end from Capt Fyffes own statement
) to me. He said to DR.. j. A. Walker
! and me that the T. G. l. Co. had 500
I or 600 fire arms and stood and pointed
} out the Company house where they
were and said under the States law he
a had no legal right to enter and take
\ those firearms away from the com
e pany's employees unless martial law
: was declared and if martial law was
h declared he would get every one of
e them Now, pray tell me where did
q Col. Bass get his authority to search
and take those guns and enter the Red
o Mems Hall as he did. I say because
they were union. It's evident Of it.
s self. Did he enter any non union home
D for the purpose of taking fire arms and
Q searching their persons or property?
+ say no. He carried on one-sided
h piece of business | will sustain what
Capt Fyffe said, that as martial law
+ was not declared they had no right tc
If search or disarm either side Which
v is correct2 There are great questions
= and warm arguments as to the validi-
If ty of the law covering and concerning
n fire arms That it is a felony to have
d gun in your house that will shoot q
" steel ball / say that the Winchester
"a Fire-arm & Gun Co. have made al
h Improvement to their Winchesters ant
K they will shoot steel ball | have
o had the matter investigated So, dear
% readers, if you find a gun or pisto
A. that the u. S. uses in their service i
% is lawful for you to have the same il
I your house. My opinion ON this sub
lie ject is that this is free country ant
If any company or corporation or private
re individual can order guns from an,
/ part of the U. S., from wholesale o.
I retail houses and not violate the U. S
se or State law unless the Tennessee leg
If islature meets and enacts new Law
7 to make it either misdemeanor or
" felony to enter the state any gun tina
20 will shoot a steel ball My opinion OF
10 this subject is to make it a crime Il
order a gun and have the same in you
ID house, and in your possession. Such
e. law in Tennessee has to be yet enacte,
and my opinion further is if a corpora
ton, company or private individual
orders package of goods or a box fror
any lawful house or man, whether thi
box contains guns or unlawful poke
pistols, that you cannot put this agen
l., or private individual on the stand an
y compel him to incriminate himself
ct If this is law it is new to me. ]
might be possible that l have over
looked this section. If 1 have l wan
to see the agent of the T. G. l. Go
come ON the stand and criminate hin
self and tell the court where he &C
those 500 or 800 fire arms that Capt
Fyffe Vas speaking about, and fc
he what purpose he ordered them? An
81 L say what is fair to the goose is fai
to the gander. The investigation {
be the Robertson case is enough to satisf
Va all fair-minded people that the inve,
am tigation is one-sided. The attorney
ya the officers, the court and all the jur
~ were non union men. How does tn
III look to the world. CITIZEN.