The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1870-05-20
CHARLESTON AND THEREA-
BOUTS.
CHARLESTON, May 10, 1870.
EII EIIIV

The impression that the Ku kluk snake
Is killed il mistake. 1t Is only sCOtched
md is as active If not MS vigorous Is ever,
It's tactics Nre changed, hut not its ami
mus.
liz leaders never contemplated violent
measures. But they made their dupcs
believe that they did. The cry was,
Down with niger supremacy" The
leaders knew well enough that there was
not the slightest danger Of negro suprcm.
acy, and hence that there was nothing Of
that sort to be put down. But the dupeS
thought that negroes working in salt
works, &c, and especially negro suffrage
was @niggcr supremacy" and, us they
saw no way Oi avoiding the negroes work.
ing or voting, except by driving him out
or killing him, they thought they were to
do one or the other, and they were at OllC
timc actually waiting for and expecting
the "Ortler" from headquarters" to dc
one or tho other. or course, the order
was never issued. The leaders were
sIircwd enough TO know that either was
impossible. They, In fact, desired neither
They desired DiGS TO carry the county
last fail, and the district this fall. They
got the votes lust lall Whether they will
get them this fall remains to be seen. They
are working hard enough for it-hardcr
thnn the Republicans are to prevent It.
IAwLEsSNEss.
But the appeal to base prejudiCes and
passions llad lis effects. The spirit Of law-
icssness was rife, ready to break out ut the
slightest occasion-as it did break out in
the Maiden riot, The leaders, like the
apprentice Of the German sOrCerGr, evoked
spirits that even they could not control,
Leading Democrats here have said to Dem.
ocratic soldiers, that they were glad OF the
presence Of the troops here, because their
presence had saved the community from
trouble, II not 6loodshel.
Even their presence docs not entirely
prevent trouble. Last Sunday two drunk.
ell fellows jOstled negro oil the sidewalk
without the least prov0cation, save that he
was a negro Upon Ills enquiring why
they did Il, they answered by firing rock
at him The negro was incautious enough
to do rs most white men would have
done, fire a rock back again. Upon this,
one Of the white rowdies drew a revolver
and fired bullet at the ncgro-iortunatc'
" missing him. WhereupOn John Crcel
who fired the pistol, was arrested, and the
next morning our Democratic Mayor fined
him $25, the limit Of the law, and Dem
ocratic chorus Justly denounceS John Orccl
John CreGl Is n guilty desperate, and
ought 10 be put beyond the power oi
making pastime Of shooting at negroes
But, guilty as he Is, the Democrats, inClud'
ing perhaps tho very Mayor who fined
him, by melting and encouraging through
their secret, midnight, Ku-KluX OrgAni2a'
tiOn, this spirit Of lawlCSsnesS, are guiltlet
than he. He is willing Cnough-0r was
But, without the excitement aroused by
Democratic leaders against the negro, and
the spirit Of lawlcssness brcNthcd through
the community by Democratic oracles
John Creel never would have thought o.
making a recreation Of jOstling and shoot
ing negroes.
But tho act Of the Mayor, as well as
other indications, cvincc that the leaders
are afraid Of the ghost they have raised
and arc preparing change Of tactiCs
They dare not at once tell their dupcs thai
all they said and did last fall meant moth
ing, except TO catch their votes. They
Will not ostcnsibly change front. But
they will try to laugh down the indignn'
ton excited by their Ku Klux operations
They will cndeavor 10 shit tho response
hilily Of all acts Of lawleSsncss upon some
poor, drunken John Cruel, and raise thciI
hands In holy horror at the deed. They
will throw dust in the eyes oftlGir dupCS
to blind them to tho Inconsistency, and
eventually buttOn.holc the dArkiC Tor hil
vote. AT first, il will not be done directly
That would he too bold n step
Just now, the great effort Ia To throw
dust in the eyes Of some more ignorant
and prJudicel Republicans, because the
negro Is TO vote-aS II voting the Demo.
cratic ticket would prevent tic negro
from voting-as II too, a man is likely to
desert victorious army, and 20 over TO
the enemy, just because Of its receiving q
reinforcement, whose uniform he didn't
happen 10 fancy. Human nature don't
work in that way;-though there mar bc
some Democrats ignOAnt and prejudlced
enough to be temporarily so affected. But
Republicans can hardly be found 10 bite
al 30 bare a hook 0s that. Some other