The Sheriff Who Arrested the Election Judges

The action of Sheriff Woolery at the Republican primary in the First Ward yesterday is such as it is difficult to contemplate with patience. The most charitable judgment would be that he lost his head completely and was not responsible for what he did, but this is rendered impossible by the fact that he had unquestionably marked out his course in advance and had carefully planned every move he made.

It was unquestionably Sheriff Woolery’s intention to break up the primary, using the powers of his office in an arbitrary and illegal manner for the accomplishment of that purpose. He secured from a justice of the peace outside of the city warrants for the arrest of the regularly appointed judges of election. The charges made against them may or may not have been well founded. Whether they were or not, it is certain that Woolery procured the warrants, not in the interest of justice, but in order to prevent the holding of the election. He might have arrested the judges the day before. He might have waited until the polls had closed. Instead of doing either, however, he served the warrants at the moment of the opening of the polls and dragged the judges from the polling place. This shows the purpose of his act so plainly that none can doubt it. If it were not enough, however, the additional fact remains that he hurried the arrested judges to jail and left instructions that nobody should see them or talk with them. Not until an order had been secured from Judge Osborn were those who were prepared to go on their bond permitted to see them.

Woolery’s subsequent proceedings were in line with the lawless beginning. At the head of a gang of the disreputable deputies whom he had appointed for the purpose he attempted, without warrant or justification, to drag police officers from the polling place where they were performing their duty as instructed by the mayor. When prevented from doing this by the timely arrival of reinforcements for the police, he, the chief peace officer of the county, did his utmost to precipitate a bloody riot. Only when served with a restraining order from Judge Osborn did he relinquish his lawless purpose and leave the election to proceed unmolested.

It is not easy to account for Woolery’s acts. He is not a child, but a man who should have intelligence and judgment. He has been repeatedly honored by the people of this county. He at least owes it to them that he conduct himself with decency and decorum. He should not use the power which they have placed in his hands for the wreaking of private vengeance or for the accomplishment of personal ends by illegal methods.

If Sheriff Woolery is permitted to hold his office until the expiration of his term it is to be hoped that he will not again make an exhibition of himself disgraceful alike to himself, to his party and to his county.

It is, perhaps, uncharitable to believe that Sheriff Woolery’s action in the First Ward yesterday was in pursuance of a plot concocted with Considine and other Democrats to split the Republican party and thus assist in the election as sheriff of his deputy, McDonald, whom he expects to be the Democratic and Populist nominee.