KENTUCKY. 



435 



agent and the guard itself, and the United 

 States marshal at Frankfort having, by a tele- 

 gram of March 2d, suggested an increase of 

 the guard, the Postmaster-General stopped the 

 mail-service along that route altogether on the 

 3d, and reported his action to Congress on the 

 llth. The statement of facts, as made by him, 

 was characterized as untrue in many particu- 

 lars, in the United States Senate, by Mr. Ste- 

 venson, who, at the time of the occurrence, was 

 the Governor of Kentucky, and now represent- 

 ed that State in the Upper House of Congress. 



The following letter was addressed on March 

 17th by an Assistant Postmaster-General to a 

 Kentucky Representative in Congress : 



POST-OFFICE DEPARTMENT, CONTRACT OFFICE, I 

 WASHINGTON, March 17, 1871. ) 



SIR : The Postmaster-General, desiring to reestab- 

 lish the mail-service on the Louisville cz Lexington 

 Railroad, between the cities of Louisville and Lexing- 

 ton, in Kentucky, as soon as can be with, safety to 

 the agents in charge of them, directs me to inquire 

 whether, in your opinion, that service can be now 

 restored without risk to such agents as the Depart- 

 ment may see proper to employ. Respectfully soli- 

 citing your views, I am, verv truly, 



GILES A. SMITH, 

 Second Assistant Postmaster-General. 



Hon. JAMES B. BECK, House of Representatives, 

 Washington, D. C. 



Mr. Beck directed his answer, dated the 

 19th, to the Postmaster-General, saying that 

 he had been residing in Washington since the 

 early part of December previous, and could 

 have no personal knowledge as to the matters 

 inquired of, but "had no doubt that the mail- 

 service could be performed as safely between 

 Lexington and Louisville as between New 

 York and Washington, or on any other route 

 in the country, without risk to such agents as 

 the Department may see fit to employ, unless 

 the Department takes very special pains to se- 

 lect as its agent some person against whom 

 some private individuals may have real or im- 

 aginary grievances to complain of." He re- 

 views and refutes at length the facts stated by 

 the Postmaster-General in his communication 

 to Congress, as the grounds of his action in 

 suspending the mail-service, which suspension 

 Mr. Beck characterizes as "most arbitrary, op- 

 pressive, and unwarranted." 



As to the unknown party who assailed the 

 mail- agent, and the moving cause of the as- 

 sault, the Republicans ascribe it to white Dem- 

 ocrats prompted by political animosity, or 

 aversion to the negro race, or both, thus giving 

 the deed the color and character of a Ku-klux 

 outrage so called. The Democrats said, on the 

 contrary, that among the white people of Ken- 

 tucky Republicans as well as Democrats 

 there prevailed a general and strong dislike to 

 see a negro perform the duties of mail-agent ; 

 that the agent assaulted at North Benson Sta- 

 tion was the first colored person ever seen oc- 

 cupying any such office in the State ; that he 

 head been appointed, too, in spite, as it were, 

 of the people's dislike, which was well known 

 to the General Post-Office Department before 



the appointment was made; and that conse- 

 quently, if other personal motives for the as- 

 sault had not existed, it would be sufficiently 

 accounted for, though not justified, by this dis- 

 like. But the Democrats, as appears from the 

 leading papers in the State, attributed the as- 

 sault to white Republicans exclusively, affirm- 

 ing that a large number of them, as was no- 

 torious, had made applications for that mail- 

 agency in their own behalf, and been refused ; 

 and that some among them, regarding them- 

 selves as slighted, besides the disappointment, 

 sought to give vent to their resentment on the 

 negro, whom they saw preferred to themselves. 



Pursuant to a call issued by the State Cen- 

 tral Committee early in the year 1871, the 

 Democratic party of Kentucky held its State 

 Convention at Frankfort on May 3d, for the 

 purpose of declaring the principles of its po- 

 litical action, and nominating its candidates for 

 the several State offices. The nominations 

 were: for Governor, Preston H. Leslie; for 

 Lientenant-Governor, John G. Carlisle; for 

 Auditor, D. Howard Smith ; for Treasurer, 

 James W. Tate ; for Attorney-General, John 

 Rodman; for Superintendent of Public In- 

 struction, H. M. Henderson. The political 

 complexion of these candidates individually 

 was thus represented : " The nominee for Gov- 

 ernor is an old-fashioned Whig, and others on 

 the ticket were formerly attached to that po- 

 litical faith, so that, in spite of her great Demo- 

 cratic majority, and the charges of Bourbon- 

 ism, Kentucky has imitated the liberal example 

 of Maryland, whose delegation to Congress is 

 almost entirely of Whig antecedents." 



The following platform was adopted by the 

 convention : 



The Democratic p^arty of Kentucky, in convention 

 assembled, reaffirming the principles announced by 

 the conventions held since the war, do now resolve : 



1. That wise statesmanship and true patriotism re- 

 quire universal and unqualified amnesty. 



2. The the industries of the country demand the 

 abolition of the present mode of raising the revenues 

 by which portions of the republic are oppressed and 

 robbed to enrich monopolies and certain sections, 

 and the speedy adoption of a system by which the 

 burdens of taxation will be equally and justly dis- 

 tributed, and the taxes actually paid may reach the 

 Treasury. 



3. That the preservation of liberty is possible only 

 through the States ; and we protest against every 

 act by which the States are deprived of their just 

 and constitutional powers, and State tribunals ousted 

 of their proper and necessary jurisdiction ; and we 

 are ready to join in all lawful and just measures to 

 reverse the tyrannical acts of the party in power, 

 whereby it is sought to strip the States of all rights, 

 and concentrate all the powers of government in a 

 great centralized despotism. 



4. We indorse the address recently issued by the 

 Democratic members of Congress, and unite in con- 

 demning all acts by which unconstitutional and des- 

 potic powers are conferred upon the President, by 

 which, with the use of the army and navy, the sus- 

 pension of the writ of habeas corpus, the power to 

 declare martial law, call out the militia, and invade 

 the States without the request of their Executives *or 

 Legislatures, and other undefined means, he can de- 

 stroy the freedom of elections, the independence of 

 the judiciary, and the sovereignty of the States. 



