Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1871-03-24

but protects them against conviction and |
punishment, first by DISCUSSES and secrecy, |
and secondly by perjury if necessary upon |
the witness stand and In the Jury box.
Third, that of all the offenders against the |
law In this order, aud they must be many
hundreds, If not thousands, because their |
crimes are shown 10 be committed by or
ganized bands ranging from ten to seventy
hye-not one has yet etbeen convicted in the
whole State Such being the state Of
affairs, 1t Is surely not necessary that the
committee shouldargie the insufficiency of
the reason given for establishing an order
which has led to such results. Whatever
may have been the original purpose of
the Ku-Klux, or of the ofIenses to counter.
act which they allege that the order was
established, 1t has now gone so far
as to present issue between the gov
ernment and anarchy, and If 1t has
not reached, 1t is fast approaching, the
point where in that issue there can be no
neutrals. With such an army of criminals
at large, with no power in the State tri-
bunals to bring them to justice, with an
organization, oaths and secrecy, battling
and defying all appliances Of law, and
bringing them to each others aid with the
consciousness that they number enough to
turn the scale of political power in favor
OF the party with which they act, so long
as their violence and intimidation are sue
cessful against those whom they oppose.
With these facts in view he must have
credulous nature who believes that any
temporary lull in the activity of such an
agency, at once a crime and a power, inn
parts continued security to those who
must become either the victims of their
crime or submissive suppliants to their
power. The testimony taken covers
large number of counties of the State, but
not all. The time intervening between the
appointment of the committee and the
close of the session has not enabled us to
examine all the witnesses we have sum-
moned, and who were in attendance. The
pendency of the impeachment trial at
Raleigh has rendered 1t impossible to bring
from there the Chief Justice and other
witness whom we deemed it important to
have before u.s. but the testimony of so
many judicial officers of the State as we
have taken can leave no doubt that, as
against the violence of this Ku-Klux or
ganization, the authorities of the State
cannot secure to its citizens life, liberty
and the pursuit of happiness.
The resolutions do. not charge the COM
mittee with the duty of examining into
the power of the Congress to afford rem
edy for so great deprivation of their
rights, suffered by the citizens of the
United States under the government of
State; they have discharged their duty in
reporting the facts, so far as their investi-
! cations have enabled them to do so and,
in the light of these facts, whether any
and what remedy can be applied, must be
| left to the deliberation of the Congress to
determine. In closing this report of the
| investigation thus far made, as to the out
RACES in North Carolina, it is proper to
say that the largest latitude was allowed
in the examination of the witnesses; that
they were not confined in their statements
by any technical laws of evidence; that no
objection was made to any member of the
committee examining upon any question
that he had considered had any relation TO
the subject of Inquiry; and that conse-
quently much testimony elected may seem
to be foreign to the question whether out
RACES were committed, and whether per.
sons and property are secure in the State
Of this class, particularly, is that relating
to the management of tie railroads, and
the disposition of the State securities by
railroad presidents. Where public men OF
either party have been reflected upon by
the testimony, in this incidental way, il
was the design of the committee to call
them, that they might have the benefit oi
their own statements in answer; but the
want of time, and other reasons already
stated have prevented our doing il
While engaged in prosecuting the
inquiry as to North Carolina, many com
munications have been received calling fol
examination into outrages of a similar
character to those complained of in thai
State which have been committed before
and since the committee was organized, by
bands of men in disguise in other States
Complaint is made that within the las
two weeks the capital of Kentucky wal
entered in the night by body of men
armed and masked, who proceeded to thu
Jail, took possession of it, set at liberty
man charged with murder, and then rodt
away unmolested. Shortly before that thu
Jail at Union, South Carolina, was entered
and ten prisoners taken out and killed
Like complaints of murder, scourging anC
violence, without redress, and demands fo
Investigations and the protection of thu
arm of the government against these law
less marauders have been forwarded from
the States of South Carolina, Georgia
Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana
Virginia. Kentucky, Texas and Tennessee
Into none of these could the COMMITTEE
examine, considering it better to pursu
our inquiry to completion Ii possible il
one State, rather then take partial and dis
iointed statements as to all, and leaving Il
the Senate the determination whether tn
public interests require this investigation
t to be pursued further. Respectfully sub
mitted.
f LSignedl. JNo. ScoTT.
z. CHANDLER.
HENRY WILSON.
|