The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1871-12-15
Robbery and Persecution I'm
the Southern states.
Z.
The South to be Depopulatcd I'm Case OF
Grants Reelection.
Passfyisnl Everywhere Pom.
ular.

T. Blair having returned from the
South, where he has been eneaped
for considerable time in his duties
as member of the Congressional
kuklux Committee, was yesterday
interviewed by reporter of the Re-
publican. and gave the results of his
observations and Investigations:
THE INTERVIEW.
Eeporter.-Your committee had to
visit Tennessee, Alabama and Miss
issippi?
Gen. Blair.-Yes we tried to get a
subcommittee appointed to 60 to
Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas, but
the Radical majority refused it. l
presume they were afraid that the
disclosures there would be maging
to them. Of course I do not know
what was done by the subcommittee ee
appointed to visit Georgia and Flor
ida.
R.-What did your committee do?
Gen. B.--We visited Tennessee,
Alabama and Mississippi, and took
the testimony of two hundred wit
nesses. The radical witnesses were
chiefly negroes.
R.-What places did you visitg
IN ALABAMA.
Gen. B.-We first went to Hunts
vile, Ala bama. There the country
at present seems very orderly, and
the people very much deprc ssed by
the condition of affairs.
R-Are there Kuknx there?
Gen B-There are some disturb
ances, but not Of any moment-not
any more than you will find in any
part of the country. The people are
surprisingly quiet and well-conducted
considering everything they have
gone through, the impoverished con.
dition, the predatory habits Of the
negroes, and the plundering they
have suffered from the Radical legis-
lators.
R-What do you attribute their
despondency to?
Gen B-Their dependency arises
from the fact that they are so
UTTERLY BROKEN DOWN
by the war and the mal.administra.
tion of their State and county gov
ernments, and submerged as they are
under the most tremendous debts
that those fellows have piled upon
them by the aid of their negro con-
stituencles. It looks almos. hope
less, and whilst the carpet-baggers
and scalawags put in Office are plum
dering the people by means Of taxa
tion, the negroes are steali ng every
thing they can lay their hands on
stealing cotton, corn and live stock
from the farms. The people find it
almost impossible to raise any stock
on their farms.
Rs there no protection afforded
by the civil authorities?
Gen B-The negroes, are many Of
them convicted in the courts for their
plundcring, but they do not care
about being sent to Jail. It gives
them food and shelter, and they don't
lose any character amongst their
own people by it. They come out
and are made heroes of; SO that they
do not care. They will steal, come
right out, steal and be sent back.
They consider it much better way
Of getting along than to have to go
to work. When these political cam
paigns take them away from their
work of plundering they cannot be
controlled in any way, and thus I
speak Of the dependency Of the peo-
pie arising from the condition Of af-
fairs. They do not see how they can
remedy these things. Every little
county has got it's set of
cARpEr.DAcoERs AND scALAwAas,
who live with the negroes and guide
their politics, and these fellows get
the Offices and plunder the people,
while the negroes steal al libitu,n,
50 that they are plundering on all
baads.
R-What did the evidence show?
Gen Bit showed this condition of
things. There is system Of
WHOLESALE PLUNDER1Na
which goes on through the govern
ments and the individual efforts of
the negroes. In consequence of that
they were, in many instances, driven
to taking the law into their own
hands and protect their property by
inaicting punishments, of which the