The Fairfield herald. [volume] (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1849-1876, 1871-04-12

OF the horrible catalogue. Final
ly, it is charged that the objects Of ali
these Ku Klux Klans and their affllia,
tions are, by reign ofterror, to ex.
clude the Southern republicans, chief.
ly the emancipated blecks, from the
polls, and so to get complete control
of the several States concerned, and
then to render tho fourteenth and
fifteenth amendments and all the re.
construction laws of Congress praoti.
cally null and void through tho cleo.
tion of q democratic President and
Congress according to the Talnmany
national democratic platform OF
1868.
Now, admitting the fearful cata.
logue ofaccusations against tho Gun
lawful combinations" of tho Southern
States to be substantially true-and
when General Grant officially de.
clares them to be 50, and desires 30 m
special legislation on tho subject, they
must, to u great extent, be true.-the
question recurs, is the remedy pro-
posed tho remedy required I We
think it does not reach the seat of the
disease. We think tho difficulty all d
the remedy are to be found in tho
fourteenth amendment. Tho third
section of this amendment declares
that emo person shall be a Senator or
Representative in Congress, or eloctor
Of President and Vice President,
or hold any office, civil or
military, under the United States, or
under any State, who, having pro.
yiously taken an oath ala member Of
Congress, OF as an officer of the Uni.
ted States, or as member of any
State Legislature, or as an execu.
tive or judicial officer of any State,
to support the constitution Of the Uni.
ted States, shall have engaged in insur
rectiou or rebellion against the same,
or given aid or comfort to the enc.
mics thereof" And then there is q
disfranchisemont law, extending to
these and other parties conspicuous
in the rebellion. Here, then, is the
difficulty. These parties so punish.
ed are the leading white men in in.
telligence, political experience, in.
fuencc and property in the Southern
States. Their late slaves may 90 to
Congress, but these disabled whites
still bear the brand Of traitors. They
have all the duties of submission i'm
posed upon them, but none of the per-
sonal benefits of restoration to t.o
Union. They are held responsible,
under pains and penalties, for tho
crime of whole people, and the
whole people concerned sympaihize
with their suffering confcderatcs, many
TO the extremity of these "unlaw.
full combinations.'' Reach this diff
Guilty, and you reach the seat of this
Southern disease of organized VIC,
lence against the laws Of tho land.
The remedy follows, in the four.
teenth amendment, it specified rebel
disabilities, and it is in these simple
words, referring to the particular
disability Of any individual-"but
Congress may, by vote of two.thirde
of each house, remove such disability"
All, then, that is wanted to place the
dominant and responsible white
classes of the south in full rapport
with tho Government of the United
States. is to restore these mon to the
full and equal condition of loyal oiti.
zens. They will trust you if you
will trust them. Try it. The ex-
pertinent has been tried in scores of
individual cases, and no failures, that
VIC are aware Of, have been reported
among them. Try, thon, universal
amnesty, as provided for in the four.
teenth amendment, such an amnesty
as will make even Jeff Davis eligible
again to tho Presidency, and you
will do moro to disarm these Ku
Klux Klans than you can possibly
accomplish by the employment Of the
army and the navy, and the United
States courts and marshals, and the
suspension of the habeas corpus
with che continuance Of these rebel
disabilities.
Under these disabilities IL is no.
torious that the Southern men best
qualified, from education, experience
and influence, to assiot in restoring
law, order and harmony in the South
ern States, are ruled out, and ignorant
Southern whites and blacks and un-
scrupulous Northern adventaTsrs and
spectators, coming into power have
donecmaoh to bring into general dis
Heppte these reconstr Southern
State governments. Make it the in
terest Of the Southern white men WHO
give the tone and the public sentiment
to Southern society, make it an OBJ
ject with them to support the oonsti
tuition as it is and the administration
and you will gain them. In o word,
restore them, j; completely to the
"rights, privileges and immunities'''
Of "citiSens Of tho United, States and
of thelState in which they reside,v
and you will make friends Of enes
mice and convert these horrid Ku
Klux Klans into, law-abiding men ;
r. - A.