The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1871-11-22
FRANK BLAIR INTERVIEWED.
The ku.Klux, According to His OBJ
seTValiOn During the Recent In
YestigaltOns In tho SOuth,

| -NNSvA SutAuh Nug AAGCgue Au@
VesIigaItons in tho South.
ST, LOUIS, Nov, 9l.-A reporter of the
Repu5!teda interviewed Senator Blair,
yesterday, in regard to his observations as
a member ol the Sub Ku.Klux Commit.
tee, which has just closed its investiga.
tons in Alabama and Mississippi The
following are the main points of Mr.,
Blair's statement:
The testimony Of some two hundred
Witnesses was taken Radical witnesses
chiefly negroes-while those oil Mr.. Blair
were gentlemen Of education and promi.
nence in society. The evidence OF Hunts
ville, Alabama, showed that there exist
cd system of wholesale plunderlDg, car
ried on through the government and In
diVidual acts Of tho negroes, In cOnse-
quonce Of which tho people in many
instances were driven to take the law into
their own hands, and protect their prop.
erty by intlcting punishment upon the
negroes, II was not shown In any
instance that these acts had anything to
do with politics. There arc many In.
stances OF arson for plunder or revenge,
and great many instances frape, which
are instantly and violently punished.
Apart from these things, there Is no
more violence In the South than in any
other part Of the country. The impriS-
onment Of negroes does not repress plum.
derlng by them. They don't regard Il aS
punishment, On the contrary, q prison is
moro comfortable than their own cabins,
and II Is no disgrace 10 beincarcerated. In
Sumpter, Green and Hale counties many
negroes voted the Democratic ticket, and
these counties have Democratic majorl.
ties, Tho carpet.baggera had left this re-
gion, and an attempt was made to prove
that this was the result OF the violence
and intimidation, but tho effort entirely
failed. IfNH..
Much the same condition Of things ex.
listed In various sections Of Mississippi,
brought about by tho plundering Of ne
groes, the policy Of the State Government
under Gov. Alcorn, and the very vlndlc.
tive prosecution Of the whites under the
Ku.Klux law. Some three hundred In.
dictments have been found in tho United
States Courts against the whites on
very flimsy pfetexts In great
majority Of cases the enforcement Of tho
act Is regarded as arbitrary and illegal
involving great loss and expense .nall
In regard to the proclamation Of mar
tlal law, Mr., Blair said tho people arc
apprehensive that II II becomes necessary
TO carry the elections, martial law will
be declared by the President They feel
that the whole thing Is mere trick of
party to retain power. They are all con
yinced that the only way TO stop these
things and restore peace and harmony In
the South, is to accept the Missouri policy
proclaimed by the 81. Louis Republican,
and vote for some liberal Republican TO
defeat Grant, have q general amnesty
and repeal all Of the Ku.Klux laws. This
Is the only thing that gives the Southern
people any hope for tho future. He be.
lieves that II Grant Is reelected, II will
come near depopulating the Southern
States Of white people, as they cannot re.
main there In safety under the present
condition Of things.
Ghr Blair stated that unlairness charac.
teriZed the action Of the committee In
taking testimony. Tho majority frequent
ly reserviDg witnesses until II was too
late for him to procure rebuttlng testi.
mony. They only had one real Ku.Klux
before them, man who Joined the Klan
In Sumpter county, Alabama, q Wing be-
fore the war, and who had cast but one
vote since tho war, and that for q radical
The people do not hope much good to
como out Of the action Of the committee,
as they do not believothoi true condition
will be reported. The only ray Of hope
that penetratcs the South at present and
keeps the people from complete despon-
dency Is their faith in tho success of q
passive policy.