Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1870-03-03
THE MALCoNTENTs
Correspondent Interviews Secre-
fxary Eaeacher-What the Doughty
Secretary says of Matters and
Things. tat.---- 80 -

A Correspondent Interviews Seere-
tary E1eacher-What the Doughty
Secretary says of Matters and
Things. .ae.--- .e--.'t 500 = >
"Ayery," the Tennessee correspondent
of the Cincinnati Commercial, writes
from Nashville, Feb. %, as follows:
Yesterday 1 called upon Secretary
Fletcher, at his office in the Capitol,
where he can always be found closely
attending to business. He is good officer,
and has been constantly retained in office
since the reorganization of the State
Government, in 1866. He, is short,
thick-set man, and, in common parlance,
would be called Chunky" but this squat
ty body is surmounted by a head that
strikes the beholder as having something
in it; and there is, for within the State
there arc few better orators, more yigor-
Gus writers and thinkers than A. J.
Fletcher. ls c Ea2 81
'AIr. Fletcher" said |, 81 have been
reading your letters to Congressman Till
man, published in the Banner, and see
that you favor a second reconstruction
for Tennessee. T a9iAa ta. ar
Eyes; that is the only thing that will
save US. A military government is need
ed, and strong one. have written two,
or three letters to Washington upon the
subject, and that is all, although they ac-
euse me of being engaged in secret con-
spiracy. The Legislature have sent four
investigating committees after me, and
expect two more before night. That will
make six. After awhile they may get
up few more.n 30 e~'.t>1. J
'sDo you think that military govern
ment would effectually check the opera
tons of the outlaws that have been so
busy of late?n3 l--l 400 - GO
Certainly do. Put a Military Gov
ernor here, with a military police force in
every county, and the scoundrels would
soon be hunted down. That is the only
thing that win stop it. You have, doubt
less, heard good deal about Southern
chivalry; these Ku-Klux are the lowest
type of their boosted chivalry. They
mask their faces, and go around at mid
night to whip, hang and murder the poor
negroes because they dare to live. Cd
id such chivalry." q
ACoC. Cfllo may CfCuLudily LOiItCt
themselves without the Intervention of
military force. @
'sNo, sir, never. They are upheld in
their dirty work by a class of citizens
that ought TO be ashamed of themselves.
We have no Radical daily press in the
State to expose the infamous work that is
now going on, and only one or two OBJ
scpre weekly sheets. Every night there
is more or less of this murdering going on,
that is never heard of by the world. The
Rebel papers don't care to publish many
of the outrages, and so they are not heard
of.
eff l was taken out and hung in the
market-hOuse, tonight, by the Ku-Klux,
the UNION AND AMERICAN would rot say
a word about it, and if the Banner said
anything at all it would be that had
committed suicide on account of remorse,
or something of the sort. The other
night the Ku-Klux boarded the train at
Stevenson, Ala, and searched every car
for me. They had understood that /
would be aboard, but fortunately for me
| was not. Had l been on board they
would have made away with me, and the
rebel papers would have reported that
had stolen large amount of money and
run away to Texas, or somewhere else
edo you think the new Constitution
will be adoptedl"
"Of course it will. In many counties
in Middle and West Tennessee the negroes
will be kept from the polls, OF made to
vote the way the whites want them TO.
In that way the thing viii carry with
big rush"
Here two gentlemen of color came in,'
whom l recognized as members of the
late cclored convention, and the Secre-
tary ushered them into side room, prob
ably for the purpose of having private
confab about the situation.