The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1871-03-23

The report of the Senate Ku-Klux Com
mittee IS exactly what was expected. 1t
was foreordained, and there was no need
of the palaVer of committee as basis
on which to rest it. The examination of
witnesses was er paTte, and every disap-
pointed plaee-hunter or rejected carpet
Dagger was invited to come forward with /,
his budget. The point the COMMITTEES en-
deavor to make QUITS the necessity gilmore
reconstruction Legislation 1t viii be fur
nished to order. StiA the committee is
forced to admit the existence of secret
negro societies for political purposes, called
the "Union League" the Heroes of Ame7
rica,p and the RED String" orders. The
Radical majority of the committee say:
at Is alleged, and some instances are
quoted as sustaining the charge, that the
members Of the League seek to deter the
cotOred U0ters from voting The Democratic
ticket That the sentiment of the League
and its colored members Is against that
party is entirely clear from testimony, and
the cokoyed nlG71-e0lto rotes IL runs cOaI11ter
to The dominant opl1tio's of has race ia that
Stdte 10
There we have at once the justification
and excuse for secret. political societies of
white men at the South. -,
Messrs BLAIR and BAYARD, the Demo-
cratic minerity of the committee, make
only a brief report. They desired to con
tlnle The examination and nakeit public,
50 that communities maligned by carpet
baggeis and scallawags could have an op-
portunty Of replying and producing eoun-
ter evidence, but this was everruled by
tbs Radicals. Mess. BLAIR and BAYARD
state that instantly on their appointment
the committee organized and proceeded
without delay to examine witnesses, who
were apparently all ready ir waiting IN the
city Of Washington, to wit, the son of
| Governor Holden, Colonel George W Kirk,
and Bergen, his lieutenant colonel. After
protesting that any and all action of an
| inqulsitorIal character in the internal and
| domestic affairs of the States such as was
| called for by the resolution under which
the committee was appointed, or any at.
tempt by Congress or the Executive to IN
terfere with the State governments or
citizens individually, as to matters not
cognizable by the Federal Government un-
der the Constitution, was utterly unwar-
ranted and sUbversive of our Federal sys-
tenn of State Government, the minority
say;
of military necessity. The flag of the
nation floats in placid security in every
part of the Union, and there Is no pretense
of opposition In any quarter to the peace
able operation of the civil authority"
After setting forth that the kind of in
vestigation pursued has simply given an
opportunity for any one to- come forward
and assall the State and people of North
Clrolina by any character of testimony
and in any manner that prejudice or ami.
mostly can suggest, the minority continue:
But all this is manifessly the result of
plan cut and dried by a conspiracy
formed of disappointed politicians who
have lost the confidence of their people,
and have been cast ont of Office by the al
most unanimous voice of a betrayed con-
stituency At the head of this conspiracy
plainly stands Vim. W. Holden, the Gov
ernor Of North Carolina, and now under.
going trial by process of impAaehment'f for
| high misdemeanors and gross abuses of his
| official power He has beggared the trea-
| sury of his State, and plundered, outraged
and betrayed her people, and now looks
| to the strong arm of the Federal Govern
/ ment as the only means of Ieseuing him
and his followers from the just punishment
| due their crimes. In, furtherance of this
scheme the present measure was instituted
and this committee raised The two Sc
| nators from North Carolina, (Abbott and
PooD have efficiently aided it--suggesting
witnesses and supplying interrogatories
| for their examination, and sometimes es-
cortlng them in person to the door of the
committee-room And what isthe charac-
ter of these witnesses, found ready and In
| attendance for examination?
| "Joseph W. Holden, the son and &C
/ IL o,@ff IDlI he
list. He has been an ofice-hoIder, fatten-
ing on the corruptions of his fathers ad-
ministration; the editor of his party or
gan, and even his testimony is almost en-
tirely heGrSGy in its nature, and inadmls-
sible in courts of Justice.
George w. Kirk and George B. Bergen
come upon the scene, and to the under
signed their seems a strange insensibility
to the opinions of mankind in the produc-
tion of two such atrocious characters II
the role of witnesses IN this case.
Neither of them were citizens of North
Carolina, but were called from abroad By
Holden as fitting instruments for his darh
and blody intent In violation of tn,
constitution of his State he made thest
two strangers to his people officers of mi
litia, and, having declared two countie
(Alamance and CaswelD in state of in
surrection, he gave the unhappy resident
over to the tender mereies of these tw,
ruhians. The testimony discloses thei
absolute denial of having insulted or NAL
treated their prisoners In any way; an
their perjury in these statements Is full
proved by the testimony of Lueian q
Murray, Mr.. Kerr, Mr., Turner and other
who were prisoners
The minority proceed in the same man
\ ner to review the testimony of Vim. I
. Albright, whom they term "a violent. in
scrupuIous man" and of James E. BoyC
upon whose sole testimony they say th
!. majority largely rely TO justify them
their remarkable conclusions respectin
the condition of society in North Carolini
This witness, the minority say, is a yer
young man, and by his own statement hs
3 little or no personal knowledge of th
matters whereof he speaks. They revie
II his evidence mInutely, and characterize
as weak, corrupt and shambling In I'll
same manner they impeaeh the reliabIlit
Of of the testimony of the remainder of ii
witnesses, not one of whom, the minorit
|, assert, testifies to facts within his oW
] knowledge tending to prove North Car
" lima to be less safe as a place of residen,
e than any portion of the Union lying mort
Of her boundaries. The minority the
enter upon an extensive argument to sho
that the disorders which have existed
North Carolina are attributable to Il
misrule of the so-called carpet-bag Sta
officers, the unwise legislation of Congress
and the Vaccinations of the loyal league
melting and instgatng the negroes
!: idleness, disafection and -lawlessness.
, support of these propositions the minori
! quote very largely from the testimony
Hon John Kerr, ex-member of Congre
from North Carolina, N. A. Ramsey al
others, and a number of other witness
of who were examined and cross-examin
a before the committee The minority tn;
n say: -----....------..-.,- - 90
at will be seen by the above stateme
that there has been no resistance to t
of execution of the process of the courts
. no obstrutions to officers in the exercise
p their functions. The report of the maj
rity seeks to evade the force of this ia,
thus admitting the fact by asserting tn
the Ku-Klux organization Is so band