The weekly standard., 1869-10-13

II The Wilmington Journal has an artic,s
which exhibits curious disposition 70 go
ntvo, opposite directions & the same 'lne, e.
nc first half it is intended te assurs sucit
Of The Ku Klux as have been ghtened g
the prospect of being foundd d5t and PQnishSS
ed for their crimes. 49,
The article is called forth by an article in
the STANDARD, in which we said:
~We tell these men there is another power
taking cognizance of their crimes-a power
xI,ieh tbey can no more resist than they
could stop an avalanche-a power which ID
.ouict,v but surely pgepaFisg 10 crush Them
Each day new links are forged in the chain
of evidence against them, and soon they
will be bound hand and foot. We warn
them in time Awhile longer and it viii
be too late. And when the day of reckon
| ing comts, as 1t viii, there viii be many a
man in Orange county who viii bitterly re-
gret that be ever allowed scheming men TO
put his neck in the halter" ,''l
|, In commenting upon the Journal says"
/ We tell the stranger who edits the Stan
dard that the time has now passed by in
| North Carolina when citizens can be IN
| ,fuenced by threats and intimidations The
day of military, tribunals, of drum-head
courts martial, of petty tyrants clothed in
| uniforms, is gone His threats are mere
bosl. There is no other power to take cog
nizance of crime but the regularly elected
| officers of the law. We now live under civil
rule. There can possibly be no secret trial
nor secret punishment. The Grand Jury Is
| the only power in the land to indict-then
the petty jury tries, and to known, defined
offence, q known, defined punishment is as
signed. The Governor of the State, thiiss
mystical and irresistible power which haunts
| the brain of the Standard editor cannot
dare not, go outside of this. 20 ,f-a .,ils
| The journal thinks, and thinks truly, thai
it would be next to impossible to get jury
which would dare to convict a Ku Klux, ne
matter how plainly proven guilty he might
be. 1t is therefore glad that there can b'
no other trial than by these juries .d'~-ag
The Journal however, thinks wrong wher
it calls the warning of the Standard threat
They were not threats, but simple state
ment offacts We gave them that men who
are now placing the halter around theil
nccks might pause in their career of crim'
and be saved. luI q r aE, lsnurfH
We do not wish to see any more mer
hung or shot than we can help, and there
fore, knowing what we do, we warn tht
guilty men that they may repent in time
| for we know that otherwise swift and
terrible retribution will fall upon them.
| In giving this warning, we had no refer
ence to to the Governor, as the Journal erro
neously supposes. That Governor HOLDEN
is determined to use every effort to crush out
murder in this State is fact already well.
known. ,a--. ...... -.... .....
| Further than this we do not intend to say,
not having the right to do SO. That we
have said anything at all has been because
we have wished to prevent men who have
not yet committed crimes from doing So
that they may not be lost. Yet, once more
we tell the Ku Nux, and all who aid and
abet them in their criminal deeds, that q
terrible punishment awaits them, and that
a resistless power is preparing to crush
| them,