New-York tribune., 1868-04-08
THE urRDER or lSHBCrA.

George ". AShbum of Columbus. Georgia,
has been an active Radical UniOniSt for years.
He has been trusted by the Blacks. and has ef-
lcctiyely promoted the organization of the Badi-
cal party regardless oil colon. Apart from this,
nothing has ever been alleged to his prejudice.
For this. he was marked out for distinctions;
and. about midnight, between March 3lst and
April tst. band of thirty or forty persons
suddenly surrounded his house broke INTO il,
both front and rear, found him in his bed
chamber. and there shot him dead. Five Of
them entered the room aud fred at him at arms
length and his body was perforated by three OF
their shots each Of which would have sullced
10 Nil him. They remained in the house ten
OF fifteen minutes and then dispersed no one
interfering OF attempting 10 arrest them, though
the murder was committed on one OF the most
public streets, in the heart of the city. And
nobody sllppOses they will ever be punished by
any State authorities which are at all IN SYM
pathy with Andrew johnson or the late Rebel
lion That this is one of the first fruits Of
the organization in Georgia Of the "Ku-klux
Khan no intelligent person in that State can
doubt-abundant threats that such a tragedy
was impending, intercaved with calls OF secret
%
appeared in the Rebel organ at Columbus.
In fun view of and with reference to these
facts. 1he n. J. Times discourscs as follows:
IL seems like the precursor OF the ~ races m the
southern states OF which have heard much during
the last three years. such seems 80 utterly
Irrational thoroughly fatal 10 TIE best interests OF
both races and certain 10 involve the whole South IN
he most dreadful disasters which cun Oyertake any 80.
cietv that 4 Is very hard 20 believe m the possibility Of
s advent It certainty viii not como in the form Of an
open II much more likely 10 90 ils Woih thOSh
than ny Any open war for which any class OF men can
be held responsible
on the subject The Southern Whites sho" signs 81 the
most profound and intense hostility 10 tht de2 ot ne
GRO siprenacy That hostility threatens 20 break Oui m
acts of concerted murder and assasSinaton-
first against those Whites VIII" SIDE win lhr BLACKS n
tbs contest and against the Blacks Themselves. II
that hostility hest bc turned aside bl The deposition
OF President johnson that fact WI rr slrohs argument
more eicacious 70 certainly IS not beneath tic dignity oi
Congress 20 eiye Them dne attention, ,.,, ,, .o,i,.
''Thr remedy that occurs as most p0up ana rUefuNr
" he soutl,rrn states; increase me authority Of The
military commanders suspend the hdbew o5DHS try Hl
smell offenders by drum head court martial; ana crush
, ~, tlesc means the hostility ~ the Southern Whites
to hr political domination o those who were lately their
negro slaves. This plan has the advantage 0t having
i tisd more than once already in the history oi the
LII M has been tried in Poland in Hungary. and ~
IrInd; and It ought not to he diicn now Tor niel,
ecui men 70 draw the inference when these pcccdrnts
'"'' RcmarI, by The Tribmc.
II il were not u waste of strength 90 throw Il
stone at "a dead dog, we could easily sho" that
Andrew Johnson il the very man who, more
tlan aH others. has melted and infamed the
d4udish spirit which inpccd TO this murder.
go provc this. We would cito MS Message to
Congress nj the opening OF its present session,
and thcIc rest The Gni0,as of that internal
document is identical with that evInced III the
butchery of Ashbun. Bnt Tie Times Is not
vet ouite 50 dead as Johnson, and We choose
10 deal with IT,
There are in Georgia more WHITES ilidn
/ Blaels-after deducting those at present DIS
! fi;,ncbiscd. the number Of White legal voters Is
nearly if not quite equal to that OF the Black
while the Whites own at least nmeiy-p oi
every hundred houses and acres OF land with 4
! like proportion Of other property, and nave
! almost monopoly Of the learning, tue Dusi-
ness habits aud aptimdes, the animal and me-
Chanical power, &c, &C. In what sense, with
what reason does Tho Times echo johnson s
malignant babble of "negro SupremdcyV y
Where is the proof that the Blacks even as
pire to such supremacyP Scrutnize the lists OF
candidates nominated aud maiuly elected by