Los Angeles herald., 1907-09-28
Population of Los Angeles 3oo.ooo
GoEBEL's GHOST.

angers are more or less uneasy
lest the ghost of the late Governor
Goebel. victim Of brutal political
assassination. should rise to trouble
them in the approaching presidential
campaign. 1t seems that at most OPP
perfume time a man named Sanford,
whose father is alleged to have been
killed by Goebel. has been, by the
mouths of remarkably timerous wit
nesses. found to have induced one Igo
to fire the fatal shot. Taylor, the most
widely advertised fugitive from justice
in America, the man who was expected
to be the beneficiary of the murder, and
who, since soon after its perpetration.
has been under indictment in Kentucky
charged with participation as instigator
and procurer of the crime, is now re-
ported to be busying himself to float
the Sanford story for all It can be made
to be worth to him and his protectors.
Taylor, it will be remembered, was
the individual who, having been de-
feated by William Goebel for the gov
ernorship of Kentucky. was counted in
by fraud and took possession of the
state house at Frankfort under protec-
tion of a horde of cut-throat noun
taineers from the Kentucky feud coun-
ties, hastily enlisted as militia. Goebel
contested before the legislature, and
when it became apparent that his Con-
test would be successful it was deter
mined to kill him. He was shot from a
window of the executive Office as he
was about to enter the legislative build
ing. Taylor, the usurping governor,
was charged with instigating the crime,
fled to Indiana, where he has since re-
sided under protection of succession
of Republican governors who have re-
fused to honor acquisitions for his sur
render. Taylor. fugitive from justice
In Indiana, was a Republican delegate
from Kentucky to the Philadelphia con-
vention in 1900 which nominated the
Mckinley and Roosevelt ticket. He was
brought there by route traversing
only states with Republican governors,
who had been "seen" in advance, and
so escaped arrest on the way. The dis
grace and defiance of justice and the
constitution, involved in Taylor's pres
ence as a member of that distinguished
body, did not seem to occur to the party
leaders and manipulators, who, on the
contrary, treated him rather as hero.
His personal comfort was carefully
looked to- Neither then nor since, as
far as known, has he lacked the cheer
full rattle of dollars in his jeans. The
Republican national committee, or peo-
pie close to it. Immediately took deep
interest in the welfare of certain per-
sons who had been officially connected
with Taylor just before and at the
time of the murder, and they were well
provided for. This was especially true
as to one or two who were credited
with careless statements to friends tc
the effect that the assassination had
been discussed in the executive office
two or three days in advance of the
fact.
There are several reasons why re-
vival of public interest in the case oi
Taylor fugitive from justice, might be
inconvenient to the Republican cam.
paign managers next year. The ma.
llOQdl OTBdUlZdllOA was IOO NioiDAJ
mixed up with the effort to shield the
escape and insure his ability to defy
the law and authorities of his state not
to now feel an earnest desire to over
look the occurrence and have it for
gotten by everybody else. Organized
protection of prominent party mem
ber accused of and indicted for the
most atrocious political murder in ouI
history would not constitute good cam
paign material from the Republican
viewpoint, and, from higher up" the
influencing of a Republican governor to
defy mandatory provision of the con-
stitution of the United States, thereby
fiagrantly violating his oath of office,
would not be a nice thing for general
ventilation. The second paragraph of
section 2, article of the constitution
reads:
A person charged in any state with
treason, felony or other crime, who
shall flee from justice and be found in
another state. shall on demand of the
executive authority OF the state from
which he fed be delivered up, to be re-
moved to the state having jurisdiction
Of the crime.
A more villainous instance of malver-
sation OF justice in the interest of
political partisanship is not to be found
in American annals. Indeed it is so
outrageous that the wonder is it so long
has escaped vigorous denunciation at
the hands of President Roosevelt, whose
clear insight and illuminated political
conscience have led him to see and hit
almost everything else. But even yet
there is time for him to make few
remarks on the subject, should he con-
slider it judicious so to do.