The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1871-07-08
The Kuklux investigation.


Our effort to hold the Ottawa Rpublican to
the point in = discussion is usually about Is
successful as that Of the lawyer with his wit
ness in the famous Cousin Sally billiard case.
A week ago. apoloeising for the blank failure
of the Euklux investigation at Washington,
the Republican accounted for it by the anus
ingly laundering statement, that the reason
the committee could find no facts was, that
since the passage of the KuKlux bill the
South had become scared and ceased its Ku-
klux outrages. We called the attention of
the Republican to the fact, which the editor,
if he had read his exchanges, would have
known, that the investigation at Washington
was limited to occurrences before, not since
the law was passed. To this he replies with
an alleged quotation from the Chicago Times,
that the democracy would take care that
the Kuklux would cease to be, before the
Presidential canvass should set in," and ex-
claims, as trlumphantly as idiotically, "There,
that's the reason there are no KuKlux :"
Now the Chicago Times may have aaid fool.
ish thing like that or 1t may not The mere
assertion of the Ottawa Republican that it did
is no evidence one way or the other. But
supposing the quotation to be genuine, how
does that touch the point which we made,
that the KuKlux committee was appointed to
hunt up facts alleged to exist before the Ku-
Klux law was passed to justify the passage Of
that infamous law? 1t can make NO differ.
cnce to the success Of their investigation,
whether the prediction or advice OF the Times
was held good or not, as that relates to matters
subsequent to the passage of the law, while the
investigation is limited to acts before the con-
summation OF that infamy.
However, says the Republican, to deny that
the KuKlux did exist in the south, under
some name or organization, " for the purpose
OF violence on the persons and property Of
republicans is to state a falsehood too bare
faced to need contradiction" Nobody has
ever denied, that we arc aware Of, that there |
was once such an organization at the south as
KuKlux; but the denial has been that its OBJ |
Ject was the persecution of any decent or
honorable man, simply for being republican.
AS the biggest scoundrels at the south, &C.
cording to Greedy, are the carpet baggers from
the north, it is very likely this class more
than any other, received the attention of tho |
KuKlux regulators, but this is no proof as no
other proof has yet been produced, that the |
organization was political. Here is something
(which throws more light on its true character
than volumes of the rubbish with which radi-
cal papers commonly regae their readers.
We quote from Washington despatch in the
Chicago papers of Tuesday:
The KuKlux committee examined a coored
republican from North Carolina to-day. who
swore that he had been shot by two persons
disguised as KuKluN, and severely wounded.
On cross examination, the witness admitted
that the parties turned out to be two members
OF the Union League.
The tendency OF the whole investigation at
Washington, as well as the statement of all
fair minded and candid men, has been to show
that the so called KuKlux were nothing but
bands OF lawless men or lynchers, gotten up
on the spur of the moment III different local.
ties as occasion arose, without any general or.
sanization, understanding among, or knowl-
edge of each other, for some purely local act
Of violence, seldom il ever having any politi-
cal aim, but purely to effect some object of
robbery, revenge, OF regulation" where the
laws were supposed to be too slow or ineffi-
Gent in. operation, just as KuKlux band
regulated" by hanging the man Meara in
lroquois county the other day.