Los Angeles herald., 1907-12-25
TWO CASES
VyHn DAILY Eastern Argus, publishe

'uBldnu IN Jne 1OllOWing regarding TIT
doings Of the Kentucky might riders"
Kentucky was disgraced again las
Saturday when a band of 500 nigh
riders rode into HopkinsviIle, destroyed
100000 worth OF property. terroriset
the town, shot out windows and door
ways. incidentally shooting in the baci
a railroad brakeman who was trying
to save the property OF his employers
That such an exhibition of mob riotine
Is possible is grave reflection upor
public sentiment that tolerates, if IL
does not support, such ruffianism and
contempt for law and personal rights
1t is up to- Governor Beckham to win.
dicate law and order in his state by al
the means at his disposal, if Kentucky
is to maintain her place among the
states as civilized community"
1t is but natural that the editor Of ar
influential daily newspaper published al
a point SO remote from the scene of the
disturbances in Kentucky as Portland
Me-, should see In the operations OF
these might riders" a proper subject
for comment. From every state in the
Union have come editorial criticisms OF
the conditions which actuated the mid
night depredations of these lawless
bands. Our Maine contemporary is not
which tolerates such contempt for law
and personal rights" Hundreds Of edi-
torials just as pointed as the one which
we have quoted in full have been writ
ten and printed.
While the situation in Kentucky is
|deplorable from every viewpoint. while
the authorities of that state may have
been lax in their efforts TO root out and
punish these offenders against law and
order we fail to see why half the news
papers of the country should single out
the state of Kentucky as an especial
object of solicitation. 1t is true that
in Kentucky the lawless element waits
for the shades OF night as the safest
time IN which to carry on its work of
pillage, and its victims therefore are
more liable to be taken unaware than If
its criminal operations were conducted
in the daytime. 1t, is equally true that
daylight depredations of the Kentucky
brand. which in one instance resulted
in the destruction of something like
100000 worth of property, unquestion-
ably would be followed by immediate
action on the part of the state govern
ment, whether of Kentucky or any
other state.
If a band of robbers should ride
through any portion of the state of
California, for example, by day or by
night, and do 100000 worth Of damage
to property, all the machinery Of gov
ernment necessary to their apprehen-
sion and punishment would be set in
motion instanter. Governor Gillett, At
torney General Webb, the adjutant gen.
eral, the sheriffs of the counties in
which such disturbances took place,
and all other officials in whom the
slightest authority might be vested
would set to work to move heaven and
earth, If necessary, in order that JUS
tice might be done, that law and order
might be vindicated. We believe the
governor, in particular, would stop at
nothing within the field of his author
ity to protect the people from the
ravages of such law-breaking body
of men
has ardently championed the governors
cause at one time published a cartoon
in which Mr.. Gillett was the piece de
resistance. In this cartoon Mr.. Gill
lett, then a candidate for the highest
office within the gift OF the people Of
California, was made to stand upright,
a majestic figure, his hand clenching a
standard from which waved a pennant
bearing the bold, vote-getting words:
LET the guilty be punished" Thus
was the strong man. cartooned from
one end of the state to the other by the
newspaper supporters Of the Southern
Pacific machine.
'sLet the guilty be punished" That
meant Abe Ruef. That the jealous
friends of Mr.. Gillett ever believed that
when he gave utterance to these manly
words he meant to include under the
term guilty the criminals "higher
up" may or may not be true. Be that
as it may, California offers the guilty
guilty by their own confessions-and 1t
is now up to Governor Gillett, who was
elected on platform, one of the planks
of which promised the punishment of
the guilty, to invoke the majesty Of the
law against those criminals compared
with whom Abe Ruef and the might
riders of Kentucky are respectively a
petty CRATER and gang of street
brawlers
Public opinion the country over has
condemned the governor of Kentucky
for permitting the raids of the might
riders" though the suppression of
depredations of this character is no
easy task Public opinion in California
condemns Governor Gillett for his re-
fusal to take suc- steps as will render
practicable and comparatively easy the
punishment of band of conspirators
hundred fold worse than the harum-
scarum rough riders of Kentucky.
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