Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1871-02-12
suaGEsTIoEs TO A CONTEMPORARY.

Our contemporary, the Wing and Regis
ter,hasso very eonceited writers. They
take upon themselves greater responsible
ties than they can discharge with justice
to even Hheir estimate of their own abilities.
They disclaim all responsibility for our
conduct, but announce that common chart
ty impels them to point out our errors, and
to check their evil effects. In consideration
that this self-appointed task was underta-
ken before the events of yesterday trans
pired, it might be well enough to suggest
that in the opinion of at least twelve good
and lawful citizens of this county, our
ne;ghbor will have quite enough to do to
prove that it is g responsible" for its own
conduct. But, as it is to be- supposed that
men of such wonderful ability and fore
sight cannot only care for their own con-
duct but superintend ours, we deem it best
to show, in the instance complained of, the
error is theirs and not ours.
Admitting, for the sake of the argument,
that its opinion of the origin of the Ku-
klux is true, it does not controvert our as
sertion of its original object. We said:
every observing man knows that the origi-
nal object of that infamous organization was to
intimidate and prevent the coLored people,
through fear of personal violence, from voting
as their political sentiments dictated"
Tots1is the Wig and Register replies
that "the history of the times asserts that
Kuklux arose in opposition to the Loyal
League.''saIs there an issue Joined in this
reply Suppose we admit the answer, does
that traverse our statement of the original
object of the Kaklux organization?
But says our contemporary the Kuklux
accomplished its purposes and disdp-
pearcd with the Disappearance of the Loyal
League" This will be news to all reading
men, and particularly to the Union and
American, at Nashville, which is just now
engaged i'm the very silly work of trying
to show that the Kukl,sr in Middle Tennes-
see are negroes. We answer our neighbor
with its own party organ at the State Cap
:tal. There is no use of us bandying words
on this, for all either of us know comes
from third parties; but if any fact can be
established by newspaper and other testi-
mony, it is the fact that the Kuklux or
ganization still exists and operates in many
places in Middle and West Tennessee.
The Wing d Register cofidently demands
to know in what community the Kuklux
is the supreme authority. We donot know
of any of our own knowledge, but if such
good Democratic authority as the Courier
Journal, of Louisville Kentucky would be
accepted, we can name Frankfort, the
capitol of that unfinching Democratic
Commonwealth. But a few days ago we
printed from it declaration to the effect
that if the Kuklux was not soon dispersed
in'several localities in that state when they
were rioting in open defiance of law. the
people of Kentucky would have no right
to complain if Congress reconstructed
them.
Our neighbor will observe from our ar
ticle that our.remark was not confined to
Tennessee, by any means, as in its over
zeal it imagined.
We do not deem it necessary to notice
this effort further We do not believe that
the negroes in Middle Tennessee, were ever
organized and armed for any other purpose
than self protection. Our contemporary
seems to know better, and we might an
swer it as we were answered, that perhaps
it knows it from having belonged to them.
If our neighbor would hereafter read cur
articles before answering them and then
sonfine itself to answering what we said, it |
would meet with better success and
would not, as Artemus Ward would say,
''slop overt much. ' fs'A /