The Opelousas courier. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1852-1910, 1868-04-25
The z. x. K. Folly.

There are always restless spirits about
in these States, who try to get up scares
for timid people. Such we believe to be
the ku-klu1-Klan apparitions, which
have been showing themselves in Ten
nessee, Alabama and Mississippi. We
are sorry to see the newspapers feeding
the desire to get them up, by parading
their movements.
1t is all folly, and does an infinitude of
harm. Not the least is, that those young
men who thus disguise themselves, and
travel the country to frighten simple ne
groes and travelling people, who may Or
may not be Radicals, though it matters
not whether they be SO or not, are them
selves neglecting the duty of planting
corn and working it, which they accuse
the negro of neglecting, by his devotion
to political affairs. Let the white men
set them a better example.
But the worst of it is that all such acts
of intimidation, whether there be real
design to do violence or not, strengthen
the Radical party at the North. The
smallest and most trifiingact of this kind
is trumpeted there as evidence of wide
spread faction and a desire to renew the
flames OF civil war. There is little of
good effected by it, if ever any. If a
bad man or two be thus driven away, it
makes little or no change in the general
result, and is altogether likely to make it
worse. 1t will certainly embroil our
people with our conservative military
friends, and this should be enough to
cause it to be abandoned.
We hope our friends of the press will
discountenanee this thing wholly. Our
hope must be chiefly in the recovery of
power at the North by our Conservative
| friends there, aided by prudent conduct
on our part here, and not by any demon
strations by wild young men among us.
| The best use we can make of the lat
| ter is to put them behind the plow, and
to call on them to take half day to vote
when election day comes. ALI the rest
of their time should be spent at their
daily labors. or in some innocent recre-
alton not interfering with the greater
duty of recenstructing the country ma
| terially in its agriculture and mechani-
cal employments. @
Every idle young white man is a great
er curse to the country than two vagEant
negroes; first, because he has greater
capacity for evil as well as good, and
next, because "this is a white mans
country and he has no business to neg
leet its greatest interests.
We never see any announcement of
these X. X. K. parades, but we are filled
| with modification at the folly of our
people in encouraging them, even by
their silence. Ii cur Southern people
wish the Radicals to elect their Presi-
dent, let them get up such things from
| this time until the Presidential election
and make them believe that mysterious
violence is the fate of every negro or
white man, whose views do not chime IN
/ with the prevailing sentiment Of the peo-
I pie in any particular neighborhood of
our region.-N. O. Picayaae. s
LADIES s'TALK.-They have readiness
of resource which enables them to say
the very thing that is most right, at the
very moment when it is most wanted
to rectify the biunders of other people
of their stupid male relatives notably ito
anticipate and prevent some threatening
contretemps, or to counterfeit its effect a
moment after its occurrence. Itenables
them to set the talk going at critical mo.
ments, and to keep it alive with bright
answers and lively repartee always. i
/ gives them the power Of keeping people
in good humor, or Of restoring their equa.
/ nimity when it is gone. This abundance
i of ideas and qnickDess of fancy witt
q which women are for the most part en-.
/ dowed, leads then, in certain cases, to al
sorts of good and wholesome results. In
other cases, however, where the capacity
is lower. these same qualities have 9 diff
ferent issue and are shown chiefly in ths