Huntingdon Journal

              JL he  xluntinffdon   J ournal.
VOL. 47.
HUNTINGDON, PA., MAY 29, 1872.
NO. 22.
KU-KLUX.
SPEECH OF HON.  JOHN  SCOTT,
<iF   rEN.NSYLV.WlA,
Delivered   in   the   inited   Stales   Senate.
-May IS, 1872.
The Senate, as in Committee of the Whole, proceeded to consider the bill ^S. No. G5G) to extend thc provisions of tho fourth section of tho isct approved April ¦2.0, 1871.
.Mr. SCOTT. I ask tiiat tlie bill be rcttd.
The Chiel Clerk read as follows:
Re it ctiaclcd. dc. That thc provisions of thc fourth scetiou of thc aet approved April 20, 1871. entitled "An aet to enforce the provisions of the fourteenth aracndiuent to the Constitution of the United States, and for other purposes," shall con¬ tinue in force until thc end of tho next regular session of Cou;;resP.
Mr. SCOTT. Mr. President, this bill piiipo.ses ti> continue in force until tlio end of tho uoxt regular secsion of Congress lhe provisions of the fourth section of April 20, 1871, whieh I ask the Secretary to read.
The Chief Clerk road as follows :
" Sne. 4. That whenever in any State or part of a State tbe unlawful combinations named in thc preceding section ofthis act shallbe organized and armed, and so numerous and powerful ns to beable, by violence, to either overthrow or set at defiance the constitued authorities uf such State, and of the United Slates wilhin such State, or when tho con¬ stituted authorities arc in complicity-with, or shall connive at the unlawful purposes of, such powerful and armed combinations ; and whenever, by rea¬ son of cither or all of the causes aforesaid, thecon- viction of such offenders and the jireservation of the publ.c safety shall become in such district im¬ practicable, in every such case sucb combinations shall be deemed a rebellion against the Govern¬ ment ofthe United Sutes. and daring the continu¬ ance of such rebellion, and within the limits of the district which shall bo so under tho sway thereof, such limits to bo prescribed by proclamation, it shall bo lawful for the President of the United States, when in bis judgment Ibc public safety shall require it, lo suspend the privileges of the linbeas corpus, tu tbe end tbat sueh rebellion mny bo overthrown : Prodded, Tbat all the provisions ofthe second seetion of an act entitled "An act relating to habeas corpus, and regulating judicial proceediugs in certaiu eases," approved March li, iS63, which relate to the discharge of prisoners other tban prisoners of war, and to tbe penalty for refusing to obey the order of the court, sball be in full force so far ns thc fame are applicable to the provisions of this section : Procidcdftirtlirr, That the President sball first bave made proclamation, as now provided by law, commanding such insur¬ gents to disperse: And prodded also. That thc provisions of this seetion shal! uot bein force after the end of the next regular session of Congress."
Mr. SCOTT. Mr. President, these pro¬ visions and the proposition to extend them suggest the following inquiries :
First. Are there unlawful combinations organized and armed in any State or parts ofany Suite?
Second. Are they so numerous and powerful as to bo able by violence to eith¬ er overthrow or set at defiance the consti¬ tuted authoritiis of the State and of the United Stute.s within such State?
Third. Aro the constituted authorities in complicity with or do they connive at the unlawful purposes ot such combinations ?
Fourth. Is the convietion of ofienders or the preservation of the public safety impracticable by reason of all or either of theso causes ?
Fifth. If the convictionof ofienders and the preservation of the public safety be not at the present moment impracticable, does the past give such reason t:) appre¬ hend sueh a state of aflairs as will render them impracticable, and as will require this power to be lodged iu the President for the protjction ofthe public welfare ?
These inquiries open a very wide field of investigation ; but I do not propose to i'ollow any cf them at great length, not ean I take them up in their order, as the testimony which I shall consider will bear upon them all. There was a timo whon it might have boen advisable to dwell upon the evidence establishing the existence of the Ku Klux Klan, the combination against which principally it is well known this legislation was tlirected; but that time has passed. Its existence now stands confessed. In speaking of South Caro¬ lina, in tho v.iow of the minority of the committee upon the condition of thc late insuneetionry States, they say this:
" We pass, then, tbe negro testtmon}' for what¬ ever it is worth. But while we do tbis, wc do not deny that in that portion of South Corolina com¬ monly known as the Piedmont region, embracing the counties of Spartanburg, Laurens, Chester, and York, a broken and somewhat mountainous region of country, largely populated by an igno¬ rant, uneducated, and, when excited by wrong, a lawless class of white people, there have been within the last eighteen months or two years nu¬ merous instances of lawless outrage upou thc black population by disguised men known by the name of Ku Klux; but that this stato of things, to any considerable extent grows out of politics, in the ordinary partisau sense of tho term, we do most emphatically deny."
Passing from the consideration of a single State to Ihe condition ofthe States generally the minority says :
*' While we do not intend to deny that bodies of disguised men have, in sever.al of the States of the South, been guilty of the most flagrant crimes, crimes which we neither seek to palliate nor ex¬ cuse, for the commission of which thc wrong doers should, when .ascertained and duly convicted, suf¬ fer speedy nnd condign punishment, nre deny that these men have any general organization, or any political signiilcancc, or that their conduct is in¬ dorsed by any respectable number of thc while people in any State, on tho coutrary, the men and tho bands by which such outrages ore perpetrated are almost universally regarded by the intelligent people of tbe several States as tbe worst enemies of tho South, as Ibey furnish thc men now in pow¬ er at Washington tho only excuse left to maintain war upon them, and to continue tbe system of rob¬ bery and oppression which they have inaugurated —a system which is destructive not only oftheir peace and prosperity, but is intended to blacken and malign their character as men before the eountry and the world."
Then fullows a mild admission that theso "disguised bands may have been found operating in one-tenth part, or tbrty out ofthe four hundred and twenty eounties in the States of North and South Caro¬ lina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida." Although the existence of these bands is thus admitted, I desiro without going into repetition of the testimony, co sketch briefly how long and in what States they have exbted.
Geoeral N. B. Forrest testified that the Ku Klux were organized in Tennessee in 1866. To my mind his testimony is sat- istiictory evidence that, if not the origina¬ tor of the order, he was its chief executive hoad. Ifl had l;im before a fair jury upon trial for that oflfense I could convict him at least of that upon his own testi¬ mony ; and it would seem the minority of the committee eame to tho samo conclu¬ sion, qualified only witha '-perhaps." They say on page 449 :
"Perhaps the men who knew more about that formation of what has come to be familiarly known ns t.-e Ku Klux organization than any others were Oeneral N. B. Forrest, of Tennessee, and General Jobn B. Gordon, of Georgie, extracts from whose testimony we propose to incorporate into this report, ns illustrative of its origin, objects, and dissolution."
Gordon and Forrest both declined to tell all they knew. Gordon fixes 1865 or 18G6 also as the date of the organizution in Georgia ofwhich he was asked to becomo chief Starting its existence at those dates, I can but refer, without quoting, to the citations in the report of the major¬ ity from pages 17 to 22 to show its eon¬ tinued spread and operations through every in.sarr^ctionary   State   from  those
dates up to and including the year 1808. The citations referred to show that in Texas, Kentucky, Virginia, North Caro- linia, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Ar¬ kansas, and Louisiana, up to 1868, scenes similar to those described in Tennessee were enacted. In some of these States they were of more limited extent than in Ten¬ nessee. In Louisianatheywerefarwor.se, tho testimony taken in 1869 showing that over two thousand persons were killed, wounded, and otherwise injured iu that State within a tew weeks prior fo the presidential election, and that half the Stato was overrun by violence.
General Forrest alleges that he disband¬ ed tho order in Tennessee in 1868. How unreliable his dates are will bo ascertained by an examinatiou of his te-stimony and the correspondence referred to in it. lie was at first of tho impression that it was early in 18G8 ho had disbanded it, but he has finally brought to the recollection that it was after his return from the Dcm¬ ocralic national convention, in 186S, that he was interviewed at Memphis; that the interview was published in the Cincinnati papers; that ho wrote a letter on the 3d of September, 1868, correcting the cor¬ respondent in what he considered errone¬ ous in his statement. These facts brought him to the conclusion that it must have been in tho latter part of 1868 that it was disbanded ; but the bloody history since 1808 shows it was not disbanded. His own testimony shows it had extended into Alabama, jlississippi, and North Carolina in that year. General Gordon's testimony shows that it was in Georgia.
The testimony taken by the joint com¬ mittee clearly establishes that the same or¬ ganization, pursuing che same purposes and seeking to accomplish them by the same means, has existed, and been active since 1868, in the States of North and South Carolina. Georgia, Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi. There can be no reason¬ able doubt of its existence still in Tennes¬ see and in most of the other States where it is for the present quiet but ready to aet whenever it may be deemed necessary or prudent to do so. Its recent character is better fised. however, by the evidence furnished from the organization itself, evidenco which stamps it as one of the foulest blots upon the civilization of this century. At the trials in Columbia. South Carolina, the constitution of the Ku Klux in that State was given in evidence, having been found in possession of one Samuel Brown, Esq., a man of wealth and stand¬ ing in York county, who was chief of a Klan, and is now expiating his ofl'ence in the Albany penitentiary, sentenced upon his own confession. The same constitu¬ tion governed the order in North Carolina, as is shown by the testimony of David Schenck, Esq., a loading lawyer of Lin- colton, in that State, who became a mem¬ ber ofthe order it. 1868 and says that in doing so ho considered that he was swear¬ ing to support the platform of the conven¬ tion that nominated Seymour and Blair in New York. It is printed in the North Carolina testimony as an appendix to his evidence, pago 41-1. nnd-eAn f hpro be con¬ sulted. Without quoting at large from it, several points will be observed in that constitution and in the by-laws.
First, article three, section one, provides that among the duties ofthe secretary is the following: "to notify other Klans when their assistance is needed," "give notice when aay member has to sufl'er the penalty for violating his oath." AVhat that penalty is, article six, section one, shows : 'any member who shall betray or divulge any of the matters of thc order shall suffer death." That the intercourse of the Klans with each other is kept up through the organization is shown by arti¬ cle two, section two, of the bylaws: "a brother oftho Klan wishing to become a member of this order, shall present his ap¬ plication with the proper papers of a trans¬ fer from the order of which he wasa mem¬ ber formerly, shallbe admitted to the order only by a unanimous vote ofthe members present." That this intercourse extends through Stato and national organizations is apparent from article six, seetion six, of the by-laws: "the porson. through the Cyclops ofthe order of which he is a mem¬ ber, ean make application for pardon to the Great Grand Cyclops, of Nashville, Tennessee; in which case execution ofthe sentence can be stayed until pardoning power is heard from."
Among the duties of the Cyclops, the chief officer, he is required to "inspect the arms and dress of each member on special occasions." (Article three, section ono, of the constitution.) And article five, sec¬ tion one, of the by-laws provides : "each member shall provide himself with a pistol, Ku Klux gown, and signal instruments." The by-l;iws show the political character when taken in connection with tho oath. Section three of article ono of the by-laws : "the C" [Cyclops] "shall have power to appoint such members of the order to at¬ tend to the sick, the needy, and those dis¬ tressed, and those sufl'ering from Radieal misrule as the case may require." The oath administered was as follows:
Oldi,j,itioii.
'•I, (name,) before the immnculatc Judge of heaven and earth, and upon the holy Evangelists of Almighty Gud, do, of my own freo will and ac¬ cord, subscribe to the following sacredly binding obligation :
"1. We arc on the side of justice, humanity, and constitutional liberty, as bequeathed lo us in its purity by our forefathers.
"2. We oppose and reject the principles of tho Radical party.
"3. We pledga mutual aid to each other in sick¬ ness, distress, and pecuniary embarrassment.
"4. Female friends, widows, and their households sball ever be special objects of our regard and pro¬ tection.
"Any member divulging, or causing to be divul¬ ged, any of the foregoing obligations shall meet tho fearful pcniilty and traitor's doom, which is death, death, death."
Organized under such a constitution and bound by such an oath the proceedings of its members in the northern counties of South Carolina after the election of 1870 and un¬ til thc spring and summer of 1871, as well as in the southern portion of North Caro¬ lina, were of the most lawless and despe¬ rate character. I do not propose to at¬ tempt a recital of them. They embrace indignity, outrage, and murder. They were inflicted principally upon the negroes, but in many instances also upon white men, and of the highest respectability. I give several instances as showing the character ofall.
Elias Hill, formerly of York county, South Carolina, is a remarkable character. Ho is crippled in both legs and arms, which are shriveled by rheumatism ; he cannot walk, cannot help himself, has to be fed and cared for personally by others. He was in early life a slave whose freedom was purchased, his father buying his mother and getting Elias along with her as a bur¬ den of which his master was glad to be rid. Stricken at seven years old with dis¬ ease, he never was aftorward able to walk, and bo presents the appearance of a dwarf, with the limbs of a child, the body of a man, and a finely developed intellectual head.    He learned his letters and to read
by calling the school children into the cabia as they passed, and also learned to write. He became a Baptist preacher, and after the war engaged in te.-.ching colored ehildren and conducting the business cor¬ respondence of many of his colored neigh¬ bors. He is a man of blameless character, of unusual intelligence, and is so well edu¬ cated that he speaks very good English.
That man was brought beforo tho com¬ mittee aud the narration of his testimony was a scene which would havo been worthy of the painter's pencil, and whieh will nev¬ er be forgotten by any man who witnessed it. Carried into the room set up in a chair, for (ho purpose of giving his testimony, he went on to tell us how, on the 6th of May. 1871, but a few weeks before this committee visited that place, afterthe pas¬ sage ofthe bill denouncing penalties against these ofi'enses, a body of masked and dis¬ guised men came to his lowly cabin at midnight, took him from his bed, searched his huuse f'or his jiapers, alleging that hu had been in correspondence with Mr. Wal¬ lace, thc member of Congress, in referenee to tbe business of the colored people of the district. They took him out, and that do- crepit body which I have described was laid upon the ground, and he was there scourged with a horse whip, and after be¬ ing thus scourged they puta halter around his neck and threatened to drag him tothe river and drown him, telling him, "You must no longer teaeh these children ; you must no longer preach the gospel here; you must no longer permit meetings of the col¬ ored people to be held at your house ; you must quit writing to Wallace, quit taking a Republiean newspaper; you must come out in the newspaper of the county and declare that you renounce your Republican prineiples; and unless you do these things we will eome back and kill you."
The voice iu which he gave this state¬ ment was one of peculiar strength and mel¬ ody, that kind ofa voice which those WDO were accustomed to hear his preaching said to me melted down his audience with more power than that of any man in South Car¬ olina. Ho was examined at length, and after giving his evidence in chief—it is worth any Senator's whilo to turn to it in the testimony and read it—tho following was elicited by a member of the commit, tee. He having been charged by the Ku Klux, while whipping him, with preaching political sermons, that subject was thus brought to his notice :
"By Mr. Van Trump :
"Question. You do not feel very kindh- toward the white race?
".Answer.    I am afraid of lliem now,
"t^ucstion.    Frightened at them ?
"Answer. Yes, sir. I have good wili, love, and affection toward them, but I fear them.
"Question. Is that because you are a Baptist, or why ?
"iVuswer. I know it is my duty as a human be¬ ing to respect all the human race, and also the grace of God teaches mc to say so.
"Question, When you get to preaching, do you not show up the wrongs and oppressions suffered from these white people ?
"Answer.    Yes, sir.
"Question. Is that what you generally preach about ?
"Answer.   Y'es, sir; love universal.
"Question.    I do notwishto misleadyou you answer without fully understanding Jn
:have ques-
Answer. Please to ask it again. Question.    I ask you if the subject-matter of your sermons is   the wrongs and cruelties inflicted by these white people?
"Answer. No, sir,- not at all. I was accused of that on thc night when they beat me; but that is not the snbject on which I preach : it is scriptu¬ ral salvation.
"Question. You have tbe idea that these white people are determined to put you black people down ?
"Answer. Y'es, sir; I have that idea very strong¬ ly. They are determined to keep ua from using any influenee for republicanism, wbich we believe is God's will. I do believe it comes nearer to God's will and universal love and friendship in this world thnn any other.
"Question.    Y'ou mean republican government ?
"Answer.    Y'es, sir.
"Question. Do you also mean the Republiean party ?
"Answer.    Yes, sir.    I believe  thc  Republican
rty advocates what is nearer the laws of God than any other party, and  therefore I feel that it
rigbt.
"Question. ^\ hen you are preaching, do you preach republicanism in your sermons ?
"Answer. No, sir ; I preach the Gospel, repent¬ ance toward God, and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
"Question. Do you never preach about poli¬ tics?
"Answer.    Ko, sir.
"Question. Then these Ku Klux were wrong in tbeir accusation ?
".Answer.    Y'es, sir; they^ were."
I wish, Mr. President, that every man in the nation who has ever felt disposed to palliate the crimes of Ku Klux, could see that remarkable man and hear his narra¬ tive of his wrongs. What was the eflfeet of it upon this man, an American citizen, a better one than thousands who have been engaged iu scourging his race ? He wish¬ ed to live under our institutions ; he loved them as you see; but he felt so well satis¬ fied that thc animosity of the peop:e of that portion of Soulh Carolina against tho colored race would not permit him to re¬ main that he entered into correspondence with tho .secretary of tho Colonization So¬ ciety, and made an arrangement to go to Liberia, unknown to most of those who surrounded him. When that was learned the whole neighborhood rose up and pro¬ tested against this man, their counselor, their friend, their preacher, their teaeher, leaving them; but he had made up his mind that he could not live where ho wanted to live, and he went, followed, ac¬ cording to my information, by some twen¬ ty or thirty families from the region in which he lived ; and to-day—I road not long since in ono of the religious periodi¬ cals of the country a description of his ar¬ rival in Liberia—to-day Elias Hill is ban¬ ished from the Republic of the United States, living in Liberia against his will, because ho cannot live in South Carolina for fear of the Ku Klux.
John Genoblcs, of Spartanburg county, sixty-nine years of age, a respectable whito man, who had been in tho county since 1827, acted last year as an eleetion officer. Disguised men took him from his bed on tho night of the 22d of April, 1870, strip¬ ped him, beat him with hickory withes, and concluded by saying to him, "Ifyou will agree to go to tho court house and get on the steps and there declare yourself a Democrat, and say that you have quit this partyism or this Radicalism, wc will let you go; but if you do not, we will como back and kill you." He proceeds, "There¬ fure, of course I did it."
"Question.    Y'ou ])romised to do go ?
"Answer. Y'es, sir ; I promised to do so if they would let me off, for I was nearly dead, almost fro¬ zen. Tho toes of my right foot have not a good feeling in them yet, and I don't know as I'll ever have thc feeling in my rijjht foot as beforo, for I was almost chilled to death iu that eold rain."
In pursuance of that promise he went to Spartanburg, tho couuty town, and thus relates what he did on the day of the Sheriff sales at the eounty court:
"I got up—the sheriff was then done seUing his property—I got up on tho steps, and said that I was no longer a partisan man and was not in fa¬ vor of a black Republican government ; that I thought that a white man was somewhat superior to a blackman. That is pretty mu'rh all that I said ; also, tbat I was a member of the church so long—seme forty.thr«c years."   «   *   »   »    *
"Question. Was thia statement made by you because of you belief in truth of what you said, or was it to save your life ?
"It was to save my life."
Dr. John Winsmith, a nativo of thi same county, sixty-eight years ofage, a man who had been for fifteeUjiears in thc sonate and house of repreiisehtatives oi South Caralina before the war, of irre proachable character, and who considert himselfa Conservative, deeided in the hiti olections to support Governor Scott, be¬ cause, as he statts, thc opposing candidates declared themselves betttr liepublican> than Scott, and Scott was Republican enough for him. Some forty or fifty dis¬ guised mon visited his house, occupied b} himself and wife, at night and .saluted him as a 'damned rascal." The bravo old man immediately got his pistol and fired at lhem. They put seven balls in him, endangering his life, and entering the room where hi^ wife was, said to her :
"Wc eame after this man Winsmith, this Radi¬ cal." She said to him. "If you are ai'ter my hus¬ band, and say he is Radical, I tcll you what, per¬ haps I ought not to say, but you tell a lie : lie i.- no Radical ; he is a Conservative antl not a Radi¬ cal in anvthing. .Said be, "Why docs heact witb tbe Uarlicals, then ?" She did uot reply. Saidhe. 'If be is not, wby dou't he come out in tho news¬ paper and say so ?' "
This is freedom of opinion in South Car¬ olina. I come now to a case which has excited considerable attention. On Satur¬ day evening, the Slst of December, 1870, a company of negro militia left Unionville, and when a short distance from the town met a man named Stevens coming in with a barrel of illicit whisky fur oue of the hotels. Ho was a drayman, had lost a leg in the confederate service, and was aceom¬ pained in his dray by another man. The purpose with which tho militia went out is not clearly ascertained ; one statement being that they said they were going out to "mug a man," and another that they were going out to "guard Budd W^illiams." a negro from being Ku Kluxed. Whatever was their purpose, upon meeting Stevens they demanded whisky from him, and he gave them what ho had in flask. They asked for moro, and upon his starting from them they fired at him ; he jumped from his wagon aud rau; they followed, caught, and killed him. It would seem to have been a cruel, unprovoked murder, one for which all who participated in it certainly deserved to be convicted, and to suffer the extreme penalty of the law. It excited great feoling in Unionville, the whito pop¬ ulation believing, ;is expressed by a wit¬ ness, "that thc entire negro community were in sympathy with murderers." Moved by that feeling, they proceeded to di.sarm the negroes who eomposed tho mil¬ itia company, as a measure of .self-protec¬ tion. Thc people turned out on Sunday morning and arrested quito a number of the negroes eharged with the offense, and lodged them in jail. On the following Wednesday night, the 4th of January, somo forty or fifty Ku Klux rode into the town, surrounded the jail, entered it, took out five of theso prisoners, proceeded a short distance from the town, where they killed two of them, the other three mak¬ ing their escape aftor being shot at and wounded. Thoy were recaptured and again lodged iu jail in a few days, and with   some eight or   ten others who were
ota-i-uod ^vitU tLo ouiuo     ojrci>>>o     rouiutttoil
there until the night of Suntlay, tho 12th of February.
Judge Thomas, tho presiding judge of that circuit, apprehending that these per¬ sons might also be taken out and disposed of as the others had been, under a statute ofthe State authorizing him so to do. is¬ sued a writ of habcs corpits for the purpose of bringing them before him at Columbia and committing them to prison there. Itis well to consider thcsefaclswhcn thosewho clamor for tho sacredness of the writ of habeas corpus eome to look at the result in this case.
This writ wxs delivered to the sherifl' at Unionville on Thursday ovoning, the 9th of February. The train would return to Columbia Friday morniug, andnot again until Monday. After the train loft Fri¬ day morning the sherifl'ealled a conference of lawyers to determine whether ho ought to obey the writ. They thought it was informal, but all recognized "the well- known signature of Judge Thomas," and "advised the sheriflT to keep the matter secret and communicate with Judge Thom¬ as, and ask him whether it was genuine." Subsequently this advice was reeoneidered, and on Friday evening the sheriff was ad¬ vised to obey the writ on Monday morn¬ ing.
On Sunday night a body of armed and disguised Ku Klux, variously estimated at from four to eight hundred, rode into tho town, took possession oftho jail, took out eight of the prisoners charged with tho murder of Steven.s and hung them.
If this intention to remove them on Monday was kept a .secret until Friday evening, it will strike every one forcibly that this organization must, in that coun¬ ty or the adjoining ones, be not only nu¬ merous, but under wonderfully strict mili¬ tary discipline, when from four to oight hundred disguised, mounted, nnd armed men could be assembled iu that time, es¬ pecially when it is remembered that Union county had in 1870 but 8,718 white popu- latioL, and the village itself not over four hundred. It may not appear so strange, however, when the prevailing sentiment is ascertained from the testimony and inci¬ dents revealed by it.
It seems that ono man, Thomas Hughes, when he hoard the firing whieh shot the prisoners on the first raid, supposed it was by negroes on the way to rescue the pris. oners. He says he i^imediately got his gun and traveled hastily three-quarters of a mile into town, to defend the jail against the negroe.s. He went in, aroused a ma¬ gistrate, and informed him of his suspi¬ cions. Although the magistrate slept within onc hundred and fifty yards of the jail, tho operation of faking out the pris¬ oners had been so noiselessly performed that his slumbers had not boen disturbed. Ho directed Hughes to go up streot, ring the bell, and arouse thecitizens. Hughes went, and in the hotel found mombtrs ofa special citizens' police which had been guarding the town, who informed him that the negroes were not coming to the jail; that the Ku Klux had been there, and had taken the prisoners out. Upon hearing this, his ardor subsided; ho rang no bell; the citizens were not aroused, and Hughes went home with his gun. lie was Ste¬ vens' brother-in-law. Some days after that he was selected as the jailor, and was in charge of the jail when the second raid was made. On neither occasion were the citizens aroused, although the special po¬ lice, who had been raised from apprehen¬ sion of a negro rescue, were on duty.
Upon the trial of two men in court sub¬ sequently for another ofi'ense growing out of this, a leading lawyer—and a Democrat —at that bar, 11. W. Shaud, esq., took notes; and he testifies that the evidence disclosed that onc of the men who were hanged by the Ku Klux, Walker, a trial jpstiee, arrested on suspicion, was not with tbe militia atall, and that the testimony did not justify the su.spicion.
This, Mr. President, is a statemeut of a
.•ase against criminals who were entitled to trial by law. I come now to the statement ofa ease involving an officer of the law.
Ill the county of Greene, Alabama, there occurred in March, 1870, the murder of Alexander Boyd, the pro.sccuting attorney of the county, a ease strongly illustrating che power of this organization to execute .ts decrees even upjn an officer ofthe law. md to paralyze the public voice and the authorities, a full corroboration of Chan¬ cellor Clark's statement, that "they keep quiet, for they might be conversing witli one of them in thc street and not know it," and that -'grand juries havo been power¬ less to bring any one of that organization (0 justice."
The facts are these : a man named Snod- dy was killed, and threo negroes were ar¬ rested for the murder, named Henry Mil¬ ler, Sam Caldwell, and Sam Colvin. Ccl. Jolly, who defended them on the prelimi¬ nary hearing, (page 265,) says that Miller and Caldwell wero committed f'or trial, and Colvin was discharged. Miller and Caldwell escaped from jail, and it was un¬ derstood that in some way Miller had been taken ami killed. Colvin, who was the fath¬ er of Caldwell, (Caldwell being his former master's name.) was taken nnd killed by disguised men.
It was asserted that Mr. Boyd made dee laratioiis to the effect that he had evidence in his possession to show who were the murderers of Colvin. and that he intended at the then approaching term of court to prosecute them vigorously, and to hold ovor tho grand jury t'nT fho purpose of do¬ ing so. He wasa single man, and board¬ ed and lodged in a hotel on thc public square in Eutaw, the cuunty town. About eleven o'clock on the night of the 31st of Mareh a band of disgu sed men, estimated generally at twe.ity-five, rode into the town, formed in f'i;ont oftho hotel, detach¬ ed a s(|uad who went in, compelled tho clerk to show thcin^o Boyd's room, and there deliberately murdered him, putting two balls through his forehead, and sever¬ al through other parts of his body, (page 298.)
At the timo this was done there were in the towu the ministers and elders ofa presbytery thon holding its sessions, (page 258). The .sheriflF was at the hotel a very short time after Boyd was killed. There wore yet persons on the stieet. The town coutains, according to the census, a popu¬ lation of 1,920 ; but no alarm was given. The sheriff made no effort to call a pos.se, ofi'cred no reward, took no steps then or af¬ terward to follow or detect the murderers. The people remained in their beds unaware of the occurrence until the noxt morning, and when communicated to ono witnes.", Mr. Pierce, a member of the bar and after¬ ward mayor of the town, il was in such manner that he supposed his informant was seeking to make an April-fool of him. (page 298.)
Boyd was buried the next day after he was killed. No meeting of the bar was called, and not a member of it attended his funeral, (page 300.) So fixed ancl so cer¬ tain is it that he was a victim of the Ku Klux, that Mr. Pierce states his friends had placed upon his tombstone, "3Iurder- ed by tho Ku Klux," (page 301.) At the next court tho grand jury investigated the case, and their finding was. that they were unable lo identify anybody connected with it but that the parties who committed the murder were traced on their way home to Pickens county. The impression seems al¬ most universal that thc men who did it eame from some othor county, some even stating that they came from Mississippi ; and, strange as it may seem, it is also con¬ ceded, in the face ofthis, that the causcof his murder was the declaration of his in¬ tention to prosecute the murderers of Col¬ vin, whicii could affect only persons in Green County.
Showing that thc organization in Jlis- sifsippi is in full sympathy and communi¬ cation with the organization in Alabama. The occurences in South Carolina to whieh I have referred had taken place before the sub-committee visited that Stato. When there, ascertaining the fearful extent to which these lawless acts had been perpe¬ trated with impunity, mombers ofthatsub committee Wf ro impressed with the belief that if, afler tho community was made aware of them, there was any recurrence of violence, no other remedy than the most stringent ono would suffice to bring the perpetrators to justico, and to prevent scenes of bloody retaliation.
Subsequeutly, after being apprised of an outrage occuring, as was alleged, in Spartanburg county, which afterward prov¬ ed to havo been in Union county near the line of Spartanburg, and of the destruction ofa school-house in York county, the Pres¬ ident's attention was called to the faet de¬ veloped before the committee and to lhe.se renewals of violence aitor their visit, and to the necessity of exercising the power vested in him by thc act of April 20.1871. Instead of at once acting on this informa¬ tion, as wo now learn from tho President's message communicated to the House of Representatives, ho instituted further in¬ quiry through tho Attorney General, and upon information obtained through that inquiry, ho did exerciso that power, and after proclamation suspended the privilege oftho writ in thc counties of Spartanburg, Union, York, L.ancaster, Chester, Fairfield, Laurens and Newberry, in South Carolina. This was after a term of court had been held in Y'ork county and the subject given in charge of tho grand jury. The presid¬ ing judge of that circuit. Judge Thomas, had requested of me asthoehairman ofthe committee the information communicated to tbe President as to York county. I re¬ ferred him to Major Merrill, the comman¬ der of the United States troops at York- ville, and requested him to give all the aid in his power to any investigation di¬ rected by the court. 1 regret that I can¬ not incorporate here the wholo report of Major Merrill made lo his superior officer, but his account of the proceedings of the court, of the suspension of the writ, and of tho scenes which fbllowded if, gives a bet¬ ter idea ot the true state of facts than any words of mine can give.
At the session of tho U. S. Court true bills were found against seven hundred and eighty-five defendants, there being about five hundred defendants in all, as some of them were named in several bills. Of these, fivo were convicted upon trial ; fifty-three pleaded guilty, and tho others could not be tried and wero held over. Several oftbem have since been tried and others have pleaded guilty, as I am inform¬ ed, in Charleston at the circuit court. The evidence elicited at those trials leaves no doubt of the existence of the order, and ils purposes as elsewhere described, and al¬ so ofthe intercourse ofits members through the several States. Let me quote from thc tcstimany of Kirkland L. Gunn, a wit¬ ness who was examined in these trials in Columbia, South Carolina:
"Kirkland L. Gunn.
"Oy Mr. Corbin. We have no objection to ask¬ ing the general question : First, what was the ob¬ ligation and purpose of the Klan ?
".Answer. The obligation, sir, that I took wa.' that I should not divulge any part of the secrcl.' of the Klan that I had joined, and it was for the purjinso of putting down Radical rulo and negro suffrage."
liy Jlr. Corbin. JIr. Gunn, you have statod th. general purposes of thc order. Now, will yoi please state to the jury, how those purposes wen to be carried into effect ?
"Answer. Well, sir, Ihat is known, I think ; but the way I was told tbat they nere going to carrj this into effect was by killing off the white Radi cals, and by whipping and intimidating the ne¬ groes so ns to keep them from voting for ony men who held Radical offices.
"By the Court. State what was done in pursu¬ ance of the object of the order? AVhat was done pursuant to tbe purposo of the order as you have stated it according to j-our know-ledge ?
"Answer. Their principle was to whip sueh men .as they called Radicals, and men wbo were g the negro population
dered !
"Question.    Well, Mr. 0 tbis ; night-time or day-tii ••Answer-    In tho night sir. •'Question.    Whether the organization was arm¬ ed according to tbe by-laws ?
".Answer.    Yes sir ; they were armed. "Question.    What were their arms ? "Answer.    Most  generally  pistols;   sometimes shot guns, muskets, Ac.
"Question. What is thc Ku Klux gown gener¬ ally referred lo in the by-laws ?
''Answer. It is a largo gown made—all that ever I saw was made of some solid colored goods ; I don't know what the color was ; it looked dark in the night ; I never saw a gown in daylight.
"tiucstion.    Wbat   were ibese gowns  worn for?
"Answer.    To disguise the person, sir.
"Question. M'bere tho purposes of the order to be carried out with the disguise on ?
"Answer.    Yes sir.
"Questiou. When the Klan was assembled to prosecute anj-of its purposes, sueb as whipping nnd killing, where they disguised or nol ?
"Answer.    Always, sir.
"Question. Now, Mr. Gunn, can you tell us anything about the extent of this general con¬ spiracy, this organization, not only in Y'ork coun¬ ty, but beyond thc limits of York eounty, or be¬ yond the limits of tbis State ?
"Answer. I met the snme order in Georgia, sir. I don't know anything about it beyond York coun¬ ty, in this State.
"Question. Y'ou met itin Georgia whatcounties in Georgia.
"Answer. I fuund it in Whitefield county, and Catoosa.
"Question.    What counties ?
"-Answer. The first meeting was Catoosa coun¬ ty.
"Question. Wbat were they doing over in Geor¬ gia to carry out this conspiracy ?
"Answer. Tbe meeting that I was at last was to raiso money for the purpose of sending to South Carolina, they told me.
"Question.    For what purpose ?
"Answer. For paying lawyers' fees and paying witnesses to go to court.    [Laughter.]
"Mr. Johnson, {solo roce) I hopo they raised it. "Mr. Sfanber}, {solo coce.)   Tbat  is encouraging.
Mr. Corbin. {solo voce.) I sbould Ihink that would be comfoning information to you.
"Question. Tho whole matter discussed in the meeting?
"Answer.   Y'es, sir.
"Ijuestion. Taking care of the Ku Klux breth¬ ren in this State, were they ?
"Answer.    Yes, sir.
"Question.    Wns money eaised ?
"Answer thero was, sir.
"Question.    Raised it for sending on here ?
"Answer.    Thoy told mo that was tho purpose.
"Question.    Monev paid in ?
"Answer.    Yes. sir."
The cases I have given and this testi¬ mony show thc efl'ect of this organization upon its viclims. Now, I desire very briefly to eall attention to the eflfeet upon its members, and I do it in but ono ease ; but it will I think, satisfy any ono that it is idle to talk about demorilization and corruption in the southern ^States among the negroes or in any party, when it is ap¬ parent that in South Carolina and in a number of these States there is an organi¬ zation whieh in its consequences would lead every man lo distrust his neighbor and destroy all congdeucc in evory judi¬ eial tribunal. I refer to the printed tes¬ timony ou page 1342 for the purpose of making two or threo very brief extracts from the evidence ofa Dr. Bralton, let me state, who was tho leadingphysician in Y'ork counly, South Carolina. He had the lar¬ gest practico of any physician in tho coun¬ ty ; a man of culture, a man of inlelii¬ gence, a man probably, according to my recollection of his appearance, from forty to forty-five years of age. He was ealled before the commitlee when they were in York, and I wiil now read a few- brief ex¬ tracts from his testimony for the purpose of quoting afterward the truth in regard to him. The first question that is read is this :
"Our purpose is to inquiro into the security of life, person, and property through this county, and the manner in which the laws aro executed. Have you any knowledge of any offenses against thc law, or against the security of person and pro| erty, that have not been redressed in tbo or¬ dinary courts of justice?
".Answer. I bave no personal knowledge of anything of the kind. I merely hear rumors and reports.    Personally, I know nothing about it.
Passing to page 1344, I read the fol¬ lowing :
"Question. Du you know of an organization in this county intended to prevent negroes from vo¬ ting as they saw proper ?
".Answer. I don't and tbat has not been the case.
"Question. Do you know anything of this or¬ ganization commonly called Ku Klux?
".Answer. I am uo member of the Ku Klux, and know nothing of their proceedings."
He was examined at very considerable length. I will remember the testimony. After referring him to some publications made in thc newspapers, ho altered his opinion as to thero being no Ku Klux organization, and said, in answer to a ques¬ tion, (page 1348 :)
"Question. Y'ou do believe now that there is a Ku Klux organization ?
"Answer. From that article there mubt have been at the time ; whether there is now I do not know."
On page 1350:
"Question. Now Doctor having stated your be¬ lief that thero is a Ku Klux organization, since J-ou saw this notice in the paper, state who in your belief compose it.
".Answer.    I cannot tcll you that, sir.
"Question.    What class of people, sir ;
•'Answer. I cannot tell you who compose that organization. I know nothing about them. I do not belong, and have no means of knowing.
•'Question.    Have you no idea who compose it ?
'•Answer. No, sir ; I have no means of -know¬ ing."
Bear in mind he denied ail personal knowledge of a single Ku Klux outrage in that county, in which there were eleven murders and over six hundred whippings. He denied that he know anything of the organization. He denied all knowledge, in short, of its operations except what he gathered from common rumor. Bear in mind the character of the man. Bear in mind that it is said that no man of respect¬ ability or character had any part in these outrages, much less countenanced them.— Now, sir, when thc proclamation was mado that the writ of habeas eorpits weuld be suspended. Dr. Bratton fled, and my infor¬ mation is that he has rover been back in York oounty sinee. Several of the men who hanged a man named Jim Williams, a militia captain, wore arraigned and tried at Colimbia for that ofi'ense, and the tes¬ timony upon that occasion proved that this Dr. Bratton, who thus swore, was the lead¬ er ofthe band; that he provided himself with a rope in the town of Yorkville and carried it on his saddlebow out to the cab¬ in of that man, Jim Williams, and with his own hand put the rope around AVil¬ liams' neck and hanged him. Sir, I do not wish to leave this fact to my statement, but I quote from the address of Hon. Mr. Stanberry, the counsel of the defendants in that case, and let him spoak of Dr. Brat¬ ton, so thatthe character ofthis organiza¬ tion and its efl"eet upon its members may be apparent. Lot it be remembered that this was on  tho trial of one of the young
men who accompanied Dr. Bratton on that occasion.    Mr. Stanbery says :
"Ilow in God's name, genllemcn, can yon make him responsible for the horrid outrage tbat follow¬ ed. Wby gentlemen, did not tho men that wen detailed to go down tbere and seize the man, sup¬ posed Ibey were going for bis arms ? They were absent abuut an hour or less tbnn an hour, when bey returned they were silent ; the question was. •Have you got the arms ?' Xo response whatever, l>ut some showed guns ; in a little wbile Dr. Brat¬ ton, in answer to a question put to him by somi man where William- was, said 'he is now in hell.' Gentlemen, I do not stand here to justify Dr. Brat¬ ton, but to defend this young man ; let Dr. Brat¬ ton answer for himself, anddo not hold this young man guilty on account of his misdeeds, I do not justify that horrid outrage that was committed there that night. It m.ikesmy blood run cold to listen fo thc relation ofit ; alter they had got his ul they mur-    guns, to take him out from hi-> family, and without
moment's time to make his peace with God, to , when did they do launch him into thc other world, and upon their return to speak of it in the impious manner whieh hns been detailed I
"(Jcnilcmen, Ihe right man is not here: you bftve tbe proof, but not the offender. "When he or tbey. whoever they may be, shall bearraigned, then wi'll !)c the time to mete out thc just measurement ol such a crime : but. gentlemen; I beg of you not to confound thc ju.=t with the guilty."
That is not my language; that is the language of Hon. Henry Stanbery, who was taken from Cincinnati to defend these men, and ho is speaking of a man who stood socially and professionally at the head of society in York county, South Carolina, and who swore before the cooimitlee that he knew nothing at all of that outrage.— Talk about corruption; talk about demor- alizaticjD in Legislatures under the negroes, when the leaders of society are not only themselves murderers, but come bsfore the country and deny it by perjury I
I have thus given in some detail tho proceedings in South Carolina, becau.sc tbere the evidenco ofthe existence of the organization and its purposes and acls is beyond controversy, iind it is only necessa¬ ry to apply the samo evidence to other lo- ^ilitics infested by the organization to ap¬ preciate the condition of thc poor and de¬ fenceless, who are thoobjectsof its attacks, and to show the necessity of tho exercise of power by tho strong arm of tho Federal Government to suppress fhis monstrous conspiracy.
Now, sir, as to the extent lo which this organization has prevailed : it is staled in the views of tho minority that it doos not prevail in raoro than forty counties in theso Stales of North and South Carolina, Geor¬ gia, Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi.— Let mo give you the names of tho counties in these States in which these offenses have been committed. Outrages have boen com¬ mitted in North Carolina in the connties of Orange, Chatham, Alamance, Lenoir, Harnett, Sampson, Caswell, Guilford, Gas¬ ton, Lincoln, .Moore, Rutherford, Cleve¬ land, and Catawba.
South Carolina.—In the counties of SparLanburg, Y'ork, Union, Chester, Ab¬ beville, Laurens, Fairview, Newbory, and Lancaster.
Georgia.—In the counties of Jasper, Walton, Whito, Morgan, Jackson, Han¬ cock, Wilkinson, Washington, Cherokee, Greene, Madison. Piko, Whitefield, Haber¬ sham, Putnam, Haralson, Warren, Rich¬ mond, Gwinnett, Floyd, Glasscock, Chat¬ tooga, Dade, Clark, Jefi'erson, Oglethrope, Walker, Appling, and Columbia.
Alabama.—In the counties of Blount, Calhoun, Chambers, Choctaw, Fayette, Greene, Hale, Jackson, Jeflferson, Law- I rence. Limestone, Macon, JIadison, Mar¬ shall, Morgan, Perry, Pickens, Sumter, Tuscaloosa, St. Clair, Cherokee, Coosa, Lauderdale, Marengo, Tallapoo.«a, and Walton.
Mississippi.—In the counties of Chick¬ asaw, Kemper, Itawamba, Tishemingo, Prentiss, Lee, Leake, Tippah, Union, Al¬ corn, Kemper, Lauderdale, Lincoln, Lown¬ des, Marshall, Monroe, Noxubee, Oktib¬ beha, Pontotoc, and Winston.
Florida.—In the counly of Jackson alone tho evidence shows that within the last fivo years thero havo been one hnn¬ dred and fifty-three homicides.
Here we have ninety-nine counties in all, and this in all probability falls below the number. I have not had limo to make a careful examination of that part of the testimony at tho taking of which I was not personally present, and have only in¬ serted here tho names of those counties where offon.ses are clearly shown to have been committed. I hjivo no doubt there are more. I shall givo presently a sum¬ mary of the offenses committed in these counties.
These facts bear upon the denial made in tho views of tho minority of the extent of thc organization, of its political signifi cance, or ofits having tho countenance of any ofthe respeetable white people oftho South. Each of these may require a pass¬ ing notice.
As to the members ofthe organization, the fact that in York county the number was almost equal to the white voting pop¬ ulation is of itself startling, and whenit is remembered that about tho same state of affairs existed in fhe two adjoining counties, and to a large extent in olher counties, it is evident that nolhing bntlhe power of tho General Government is suffi¬ cient to restrain that organization in that State.
Again, after the concession that Gen¬ eral Forrest knows so mueh more about the origin of the organization than any other person, his slatement as to its num¬ bers becomes imporlant. In 1868 he said there were forty thousand in Tennessee and five hundred thousand in the South¬ ern States. Tho only correction he made of that statement in his letter written to correct errors was that he believed there were those numbers. His belief as the head of that organization is significant, and equivalent to the knowledge of other people.
The allegation that the order docs not exist in more than forty counties is met by tbe names of the counties of the several States which I have already given.
I will now give the summary to which I have referred. In North Carolina four¬ teen eounties aro shown in which outrages occurred, and in them there occurred eighteen homicides and three hundred and fiiteen whippings. In South Carolina, nino counties in which the testimony taken by the committee shows there were thirty- five homicides and two hundrod and sev¬ enty-six other outrages. Thc presentment of the grand jury says there were forty homicides in these counties, and over two thousand cases of other outrages. In Georgia there arc twenty-nine counties shown, in which seventy-two homicides and one hundred and twenty-six cases of whippings are disclosed by the testimony. In Alabama thero arc twenty-six counties, in whieh two hundred and fiiteen homi¬ cides aro shown to have occurred, and onc hundred and sixteen cases of other out¬ rages. In Mississippi there are twenty counties in which there are twenty-three homicides, and seventy-six cases of out¬ rages by this testimony; and in Florida, in the one county of Jackson—I have not had time to look through the other por tions of tho testimony—one hundred and
county alone since tho war; and let it bo supposed that theso even are ali. These foot up ninety-nine connties, five hnndred and twenty-six homicides and twenty-nine hundred imd nine eases of other outrages shown in this testimony, and by th.s find¬ ing of fhe grand jury.
Now, let us go further. At Columbia there arc true bills fmnd against five hun¬ dred and onc defendants. In the northern district of Missis.sippi there were bills found against four hundrod and ninety defendants, and in the southern distriet against one hundred and fifty-two defen¬ dants. In North Carolina there are bills found against nine hundred and eighty- one defendants. I have not the returns of thoso that have been fijund in Alabama, but I knon a number of bills have been found thero and that there havo been a number of trials and convictions.
Now, sir, when you remember that there were twenty-nine hundred and nine out¬ rages and five hundred and twenty-six homicides, and that these ofi'ences have been shown to have been committed by men in bands ranging from five up to seventy-five and a bundred and sometimes as many as four to eight hundrod, it does not require much arithmetic to show tbut this is a formidable organization. When you have over three thousand victims, victims to violence committed by bodies of men in an organization, who need donbt as to the character and the extent and the power of theorganization ?
It is alleged that in all theso proceed¬ ings tho men are of that class in societv who have no countenance. Sir, let me call your .ittention to two or three facts. The minority ofthe commiltee have admitted— it is an admission—thet General Napoleon B. Forrest and Goneral John B. Gordon were thc first men who were at the organ¬ ization ofthis Klan. Who are N. B. For¬ rest and J. B. Gordon ? I suppose that for political purposes I could give them no higher indorsement than to stale that they were both delegates at large from their res¬ pective States of Tennessee and Georgia in the Democratic national convention of 1868 ; itnd taking the testimony of Schenck, of Norlh Carolina, that he con¬ sidered ho was swearing when he was ini¬ tiated in the Ku Klux organization to sup¬ port the platform of that convention, it is not much to be wondered at that the plat¬ form was so constructed when two men who are admitted to have organized the Ku Klux wero delegates at large in that convention, and their position ought to rank them as respectable men. In addi¬ tion to that, J. B. Gordon was the com¬ mander of the left wing of Lee's army at the time of the surrender.
We have here, then, the Ku Klnx in ils beginning. Where is it in its ending? When these men wero arraigned in South Carolina for the enormities which I have described, what was witnessed ? Did the white people of that State aceept the pro¬ ceedings of tho General Government against the Ku Klux as a relief from tho terrible scourage which tho minority of the committee say they are to them ? In¬ stead of that, we find in the public papers an appeal by Wade Hampton and others asking contributions from the community to defend such men as those who were as¬ sociated with Dr. Bralton. This circular has already been read in tho Senate, but I present it again in tbis connection:
[Circular.]
Emioest counsel from the North have been employed to dt'Ienil tbe men prosecuted under the Ku Klux acts of Congress. Tbis bas been undertaken in ortler that ample Justice may be done, .and to the end that the constitutional questions JnTidTed may be considered. Tbis is deemed a puljlic duty. In order to carry out this purpose, it is ne¬ cessary to i-aise tho snm of $15,000 Your county lias been osfcsced S2,U(H>, which you will please raise and trau/'mit to Colnmbia to tbe committee in charf^.
WADE HAMPTON', M. C. BUTLER, J. D. PALMER, J. P. THOMAS, S. I* LBAPHART, W. B. STANLEY, JOUN McKENZIB.
Oymmittee. Colonel C. Josts, Rock HiU,SouVl t^rvtina.
My Dear Sir : Ur. Stanbery, Keverdy Johnson, mnd Judgo Barrett nf New Tork, have consented to como, and IVO Bhall need $15,000.   Do raise what yon can.
Yours, truly, WADE HAMPTON.
Subscriptiou lists   havo been   placed in   the  hands of Jamea Mason, W. II. McCorkle, and W. B. Metis, of York¬ ville, aud of J. M. Ivy, and W. L. Roddey, of Rock Hill. C. JONES.
Accompanying this circular in the York" ville Inquirer, of November 30, 1871, is tbe following editorial showing how tbat appeal was responded to :
••Tlie Ku Klux Trials —W-e dire t tlio attcDtiou of our readers tu tho circular in another column, with tlie ap¬ pended notei, iu relation to the triHl ofthe persons pros¬ ecuted under the Ka Klux acts of Congress. Kminent northeru lawyers Imve been retained to assist iu tbe man¬ agement of the cases for the defense, witb tbe special pur- of fully arguing the cou^tltuttonahty of th
iaws under which citizens of thi-i State have been de¬ prived of tlieir personal liberty. In order to meet the fXpenses hicnrred by this movement, tbe committee state that the sum ot $15,000 is necessary, and that York county is assessed for $2,Ut 0 of the amonut. Col. W. U. McCorkle, and Messrs. James Mason aud W. B. Metts have been ap¬ pointed to receive ^subscriptions at Yorkville; and Messrs. J. M. Ivy aud W. L. Rodilley, at Bock Hill.
"Charleston bas heen assessed f3,UUt>, and the citiMns of tlmt city have gone to work with a witl to raise there quired amount. Comniitiees were appointed io the city and thronpliout tbe county to solicit snbfcrlptioos, and even before any concerted action Imd beeu taken, four cit. zens step[>ed for',vard and subscribed and paid $15l>. The Courier, in relation to Ihe movement, says :
" 'The cause is one which must appeal strongly to onr people. It is tbe canse of civjl liberty. This movement aims totecnre a fair trial imd the voice of tfae counsel wbo will be heard witb respect by the court and by the country in de.''en^60f the accused, whn ure victims of martial law. Our fellowH;ilizens ofthe up-cunntry are the present suf. terers.   It may be our turn ne.\t.' ''
Thus we have Gordon and Forrest at the organization of the Ku Klux, who in¬ fused into it ifs spirit and its life ; we find Gordon and Forrest and Wade Hampton all in tht: Democratic national convention in 1868 ; and then we have Wade Hamp¬ ton and his associates demanding publio contributions to defend the assassins whom Forrest and Gordon organized, and who went forth upon their work of murder and of outrage.
Mr. NORWOOD. I was out at the moment, and if the Senator will pardon me, I should liko to inquire whether he stated, as I have been informed, that Gen. John B. Gordon is at the head of the Ku Klux organization in Georgia ?
Mr. SCOTT. That there may be no misapprehension on that subject, I will turn the Senator from Georgia to what I did say. I quoted from the views of tho minority of the committee, who say this:
'Perhaps the men who knew more about tho formation of wbat has come to hefamiliarjy known aa the Ku Klux organization than any other* wore General N. B. Forrest, of Tennessee, and General John B. Gordon, of Georgia, extracts from whosa testimony wo propose to incorporate into this re¬ port as Illustrative of ils origin, objects, and disso¬ lution."
General John B. Gordon was examined before the committee, and I commend his' testimony to the study of the Senator from Georgia, and if he is in doubt afiter read¬ ing it that General John B. Gordon was the head of just such an organization a.<* is shown to have operated from that time down to the present, I am vory much mis¬ taken in the clearness of his perception.
Mr. BLAIR. With the permission of the Senator I will state that General Gor¬ don disclaimed having connection with any organization for tho purpose assigned to it by tho Senator in his speech. The minority of the committee argue that they state what wero the real purposes of the organization at its inception but dis¬ tinctly stale that it had been departed from in many insfances by persons who had fifty-three homicides have occurred in that I gono into it; that in  its origin   General