Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1869-01-28
A Timely Appeal.
A Protest against Mob vi
olence from One whose
Life has been Devoted
to Peace,Law and Order.
no the Kn.Klux Organization


To the Ku-Klux Organization
| have deemed it proper to APP
peal to you in behalf of the public
peace and law and order. I have
been persuaded to do SO because
| was once Governor of the State,
and, because, when the final breach
became manifest between the
North and South, l thought prop
er to take sides with the South
the land OF my birth, and which
covered the ashes of my kindred.
/ was not in favor Of that breach.
My whole course in politics for
the twenty-five years preceding
was against the policy Of separa-
ton. But when events trans
pired which rendered disunion in
evitable, as / thought, / was called
| upon to take sides. | did SO, in
sadness and sorrow, but in good
faith. Whether | acted wisely or
| otherwise, is not matter of any
importance to the public; and at
my time of life, is not likely to
be matter of much importance
to myself. Certain l am that /
have acted in good faith. l know
and was conscious at the time, that
l was making a sacrifice of any
hopes | might have had as a pub
lie man but under the circum-
stances, it was impossible for me
to turn my back upon a people
among whom | was born and bred
and who had honcred me with
their confidence, merely because
they were weak, and ] had disap-
proved of their course.
Since the war ended | have
been sincerely and earnestly anx-
ious for the restoration of govern
ment, both State and National,
and especially for the restoration
of real peace and harmony. To
this end | have endeavored to
act with all the means in my pow
er. At all events, l have been
paying since the war the high
est penalty that could have been
inflicted on me-the loss of my
franchise. to say nothing about
my right to hold Office. And
still, and in despite of that, |
have been laboring from month
to month and from year to year to
bring about sentiment of tolera-
ton, Cancellation and harmony a.
mong our people, We must have
peace and law and order. Society
would be a hell if every man
were permitted to take the law in
to his own hands. There would
be no security for life, liberty or
property.
| do not know the purposes of
your organization, nor am | aware
Of your numbers. | never saw
one of your body to know him. l.
have heard a thousand and one
stories OF your outrages, very
many of which | believe to have
been exaggerated.
But whatever may have been
your motives in the beginning, if
you please, a sense of insecurity to
life and property, and purpose to
protect both, l respectfully sub
NIT that the period in which any
such idea may have been cherished
has now passed away. Courts have
been established in every county
and are in full operation. If the
law has not that full force which
it had before the war, it is rapidly !
acquiring it, society is regainingI
its lost ground, and the whole ma
chinery of Government, SO long
disturbed, 10 regaining its wonted
vigor and force. beg you to re-
feet that while /, and thousands
of others are struggling con-
stantly to regain our lost priv
ileges, we are thwarted at every
step by continual reports of
outrages upon the law, attributed
to your organization. No doubt
many of these reports are false,
or exaggerated-we can not tell.
But whether they are false or
not, no organization, by whatever
name it may be called, has right
to take the law into its own hands.
To do SO puts an end to all Gov
eminent, and makes every man
the enemy of his neighbor.
If your views are political, let
me say they are impracticable and
preposterous. No valuable sue.
cess can be achieved in that way.
to yourselves or to your friends.-
And i, perchance. you bring to
punishment some miscreant whom
the law has spared, you do it all at
the enormous cost of a large por-
ton of the community. who are