The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1871-03-25
Are We on the Verge of Another Civil War!

The answer to this question looks very
like an affirmative.
Mr. Sherman's speech in the. Senate on
Saturday last, astonished his colleagues,
because he has heretofore been regarded as
rather conservative on the subject of the
South. He characterized the outrages
committed there upon unoffending Union
men as exceeding anything that he had
heard of in ancient or modern history
Coming from man so uniformly moderate
and careful in his expression, this language
is regarded as somewhat remarkable. 1t
appears that he has been searching the
records for the crimes committed by the
ku klux, and he presented such an array
as to horrify those who heard him.
Mr.. Sherman says: These men being
mainly soldiers of the late rebel armies
had virtually taken up arms in violation OF
the very liberal terms accorded them by
General Grant upon their surrender. After
reading from the Ku klux oath to show
that the objects of the organization were
political, to prevent colored men and others
from exercising their political rights, and
that by it the members were bound to muir
der, rob, and plumber under the discipline
prescribed by their former rebel leaders,
Mr.. Sherman said he did not know of any
organization in history which for atrocity
could compare with this. The Thugs Of
India were a secret organization, sworn to
rob and plumber, but they did not conceal
themselves. These men committed their
crimes at night, and carried terror where
ever they went. Every member of the
Senate would admit that an organization
so revolving to humanity should be put
down. Their number in North Carolina
had been stated at forty thousand, but was
certainly ten thousand. Any reader of the
testimony would suppose it much larger
In Rockingham county, in that Stste, sixty
two of these outrages had been committed.
In one case magistrate of a town in that
county had testified to the hanging of a
colored preacher at a late hour of the night
by seventy five armed and disguised men
on horseback. The dangling body of the
victim was found suspended from tree in
front of the courthouse with paper pin
ned upon it on which were the words:
"Beware, We guilty, both black and white.
X. X. K.' A poor half idiot negro, who
had seen some of these men, was drowned
several days afterwards to prevent their
detection by him. Thirty-eight similar
cases had been shown to have occurred in
the same vicinity.
In other instances, as shown by the tes-
timony, band of disguised men in Ala
nance county had taken colored man
from his house, whipped and shot him, and
then compelled all the negroes in the neigh
borhood to swear that they would never
vote the Radical ticket. The killing of a
sheriff had been shown to have been pre-
viously determined upon in secret. He
desired his Democratic friends to be con-
verified to the belief entertained on the
Republican side, that these outrages should
be stopped, and with that view he submit
ted and had read various extracts from
Democratic newspapers of the South,
denouncing the outrages as impolitic and
heinous, and calling for severe measures of
punishment for their repression. AS show
ing the morale prevailing among the Ku
klux themselves, he read a card from a
member of the Ku klux in reply to an arti-
Gle in an Alabama paper, the point of which
was that the writer did not think it an
offence to kill negro.
The murder of Col. Crane, of Jackson,
Miss, an ex-federal officer, by Yerger, and
similar instances, were referred to as show
ing that every victim of such outrages was
Republican and every perpetrator Dem
ocrat, and that no man throughout the
whole South had yet been convicted for any
such offence.
The following statements of facts by the
editor of the Washington Chronicle, are
published in late number of that paper:
In Union county of South Carolina nine
teen 90 men, all Republicans, have been
murdered in cold blood since the election
last autumn-every one prominent Repub-
lican; scores have been cruelty scourged or
brutally MANNED. In the adjoining county,
Laurens, thirteen men were killed on the
day after the election, and numbers since,
while mutilations, bullet wounds and terri,
BILE whippings are uncounted.
In this same county of Union, every State,
county, and borough officer has been order
ed to resign or leave the the county forever
within fifteen days, under penalty of death.
The several bondsmen of each bonded
officer have each been served with the same
notice. So clearly do these threatened
men comprehend the fatal decree that not
one has ventured to disobey. The men,
bers of the Legislature, the Sheriff, the
clerk of the court, the school commissioners,
the county commissioners, and every county
officer have either resigned Or fled. Every
bondsman has withdrawn.
This Kuklux decree was issued not
because these officers were colored men, for
the majority of them are whites; not be-
cause they are carbet-baggers, for the major
ity are natives; not because they are cor
rupt, for some of them at least are honora-
BILE and decent men; not because they are
incompetent, for some of them we know to
have respectable qualifications for the posi-
lions they hold. We say this positively,
because during our residence in South Car
DINA we became acquainted either person.
ally or by reputation with the majority of
these men.
Why, then, are they forced to the dread
choice of deposition, exile, or death p
Because they are Republicans Because
it has been definitely decreed that in the
county of Union no Republican shall be
permitted to hold any office whatever, and
this whether appointed by the Governor or
elected by the votes of the people.
Nor is this all. When these officers are
replaced by Democrats, then the voice of
the scourged and the dying can be stifed
and there will be apparent peace in the
deserted home or above the grave of every
leading Republican in the county Exile
or assassination is to be their portion. If
the experiment succeeds in that county it
will be tried in nearly every county in the
State. 1t is the political plan of the Dem
ocratic party of that State, deliberately
adopted and resolutely entered on. If it
proves success, as it bids fair to be, it will
be tried in other States. Wherever it is
successful no Republican will dare hold
office, be candidate, or even cast his bal
lot. Wherever the plan succeeds there will
be in the next election by bloody violence,
precisely the same Democratic unity by
which in 1861 the South was coerced into
secession. This is the specific and well
understood plan of the Democracy of North
Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia at
least, and to the same to less degree, in
all the Gulf States. Whatever we do with
the facts, we must face them. These are
the facts.
What can these men answer in iustifica-
ton of their course, who, having entered
the Union Armies to put down the first
rebellion of those men NOW banded as Ku-
klux klans) against government and
against law, have encouraged this threat
ened instruction, by aiding the Democrat
ic party with their votes to bring the nation
to the verge Of second,-as that party
fomented and inaugurated the first rebel
lion? Do you want to take your place
again in an army of five hundred thousand
men, to restore order and assert the author-