The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-04-24
INDICTMENTS STILL
 HANG OVER SEVERAL
Henry Youtsey Is Still In Prison and He Is Still Left to Suffer for the Murder of Governor Goebel
 of Kentucky.

Frankfort, Ky.. April 23.-Gov. Wilson at 6 o'clock this evening cleared the Ken lucky court records of all charges grow ing out of the murder in January. 1900 of Senator William Goebel, who was de- clared to have been elected governor, ex- cept those hanging over states evidence witnesses in the alleged conspiracy by granting pardons before trial to former Gov w. S. Taylor and former Secretary of State Charles Finley, who have been fugitives in the state of Indiana for nine years; to John Powers. brother of Caleb Powers, who is believed to be in Hon. duras; to Holland Whittakes of Butler county, John Davis of Louisville and Zach Steele of Bell county, under indictment, and who did not flee the state.
 Those over whom indictments are left hanging are Wharton Golden of Knox county, now in Colorado; Frank Cecil of Bell county now a railroad detective in St. Louis and William H. Culton of Ows ley county, said to have died in the west few months ago.
 The cases, with the possible exception of Cecil, will be dismissed, leaving Henry E. Youtsey, now serving a life sentence in the state penitentiary, the only person to suffer for the taking off of Goebel.
 Reiterating the belief he expressed some months ago when he granted pardons to Caleb Powers and James B. Howard, that no one but Youtsey had part in the mur- der, and that 1t was not a conspiracy as the commonwealth charged, Governor Willson says that he believes it a sacred duty which I must no longer delay to carry this belief into effect" and grant pardons to the men charged, and who fled the state as they had the greatest req sons to believe that they could not have a fair trial" and if they stayed here would be forced to trial before a partisan jury under conditions which world give them no cha-ce at all for a just de- cision.
 Review of Contest.
 In extending clemency in the Taylor case, the governor after reviewing the state gubernatorial election of 1899 and the contest instituted before the legislature by Senator William Goebel, says:
 'For years it seemed as if there never would be an end of the political use of the Goebel murder to keep up hatred and contention. In the campaign of 1907 it was again brought up as it had been in every campaign since 1899. by speeches in which 1t was claimed that the democratic nominee for governor would not pardon Taylor, Powers and others, and that the republican nominee would pardon them if elected
 T made no answer to these speeches until I came to the home of Powers, in the mountains, where I told the peo- pie. his friends, that I would not pre- judge these cases, that I would not prom ise anybody either to pardon or not to pardon these men, but that if the cases ever came before me I would take them up officially and decide them on their merits, and that I was as anxious for the conviction and punishment of every person guilty of the murder of William Goebel as any one in Kentucky.
 .fWhan tha PoWara and Howard apnli- cations for pardon were presented, pub lie hearing was had and the whole his- tory and course of the prosecutions were thoroughly discussed, the theories of the prosecution and the defense made per- fectly clear, and I became thoroughly familiar with the whole case of the prose- cution and defense.
 Evidence Is Lacking.
 In his indorsement of the pardon of Charles Finley. Governor Wilson states that there has been no evidence brought forward In any of the conspiracy cases already tried to connect him with the assassination of Goebel beyond the fact that he helped bring the mountain army or petition in boots" to Frank fort. Governor Wilson says that the evidence does not show that the noun tain men were connected with the as- sassnaton and their appearance was only an incident of the troubled times at the capitol when republican office holders and democratic contestants were alike excited by rumors of impending bloodshed and each calling on adher- ents to come to the capitol and give the support of their presence.
 Of four other men, caught in the drag net following the murder and who are still under indictment for alleged con- nection with a conspiracy to murder Goebel, the governor notes that no at tempt has been made to bring them to trial In nine years and declares that no evidence has been adduced to connect them with the case.