A card from Gen. Healy

Title

Source Type

Newspapers

Author

N/A

Publisher

The Montgomery Adviser

Publication Place

Montgomery, AL

Publication Date

10/09/1874

Transcript

Editors Advertiser: In your issue of this morning appears an article entitled "Is Marshal Healy a mere partisan?" which appears to demand a reply from me, in that it gives your readers a false estimate of my duties and implicitly charges me with neglect of them, such as they are. At least one of your number is a lawyer and must know that it is no part of the duties of the Marshal of the United States to set criminal investigation on foot. This is the duty, primarily, of the party aggrieved or his friends, then the District Attorney or a Grand Jury; it is duty which I have never assumed. The Marshal's duty commences when a warrant is placed in his hands by some judicial officer of the United States; then he is bound to execute it whether the defendant be white or black, Democrat or Republican. The courts of the United States are always open to all without discrimination of race or politics, who desire to seek therein redress for their wrongs suffered at the hands of Kuklux or conspirators of any party or political persuasion; but they must make complaint, on oath, and obtain a warrant else no arrest will be made. Neither myself nor my deputies have ever made an arrest without a warrant, unless of parties violating the election law pending an electiou for members of Congress, or taking a person In the act of illicit distilling or counterfelting, when the laws specially authorizes it. You ask why I have not arrested "Warren Dew, Skinner, Frank Threat and other negroes implicated in the Forkland and Sumter county disturbances," "the negroes who lynched Huff Cheney, in Choctaw conuty," "the parties who kukluxed Mr. Rapier at Union Springs," "the negroes who brutally beat the Democratic negroes at Pine Level," and "the four negroes in Wilcox county?" I answer because no one has ever lodged a complaint against them, with any U. S. Commissioner, on which to base a warrant. Let the Editors of the ADVERTISER or any other friend of the Injured parties swear out a warrant the persons referred to, and I will cause it to be executed as promptly as I did that against the alleged murderers of Billing's, even though it should require the assistance of the entire army and navy of the United States to do it. I am no partisan in matters of duty. A word about your article from the Mobile Register about the treatment of the prisoners, Reufro and others. They were not chained; they were merely handcuffed, two and two, to prevent escape while traveling; they were not marched through streets of Montgomery amidst a howling mob of negroes, as I can call upon Messrs. Hough & Benson, proprietors of the omnibus line, to testify. When confined they, were furnished such accommodations as the State furnishes for its prisoners, which I admit are not over decent. I know nothing of the other charges, in the article referred to, but the maxim, "false in one thing, false in all," applies to them. Very respectfully, etc., R.W. HEALY, U. S. Marshal..

Sources for

Granville Bennett