Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1872-02-28


being a loss Of s., SO7, 800, 81, or over
$500, 900, 900 more than now remains.
The State taxation on what these peo-
pie now have Wasi in 1870, $12,SlS.6 SIS,
while it was S, 165 ,4S6 in 1860. When
their affairs were managed by their
own people, the county taxation on
all the property then owned was only
50, 115, 1s4, while now, under carpet
bag and negro rule, it Is $l4,29S,6SO
or eleven million more on the rem
nant still In existence than 1t wa
on the whole property they owned
when the war began. In view CT
the enormous debt which is shown to
have been wantonly, c0rruptly and
fraudulently beaped upon a people IS
poor as the census reports show, with
fve-eighths Of their property gone,
ard the taxation on the remnant
nearly four-fold as much as it was on
the whole when the affairs were hon
esty managed, is it to be expected
that the people of these States will
have either love or respect for the
men OF the party by whom they have
been thus plundered2 No man can
LOOK over the testimony taken before
the committee without coming to the
conclusion that no people had ever
been so mercilessly robbed and plum
dered, so wantOnIy and ~causelessly hui
inflated and degraded, so ~recklessly
exposed to the rapacity and lust Of the
ignorant and vicious portion Of their
own community and Of other States,
as the people Of the South for the last
six years. There was q reason
for manufacturing a kuklux lie
and locating it at Brownsville,
Tennessee, for the minority report. OF
the kuklux committee say that al
though Tennessee was for sOmeTeason
embraced among the States assigned
to one OF the subcommittee, no evil
dence was attempted to be taken to
show any lsWlessness there. 1t fol-
lows, therefore, that five at least Of
the eleven Southern States-tO-wit:
Virginia, Tennessee, Arkansas, Lou
Isisns and Texas-sre free from even
the suspicion OF laWlessness on the
part Of the people, whatever may be
he fact as to their rulers. These five
States embrace greatly more than
half the the territory, and nearly half
he population Of the eleven South
States, and it is hard to conceive
Why, If political or other combina-
ions existed for any general purpose,
hey should be left out while the
Dther six States, or part of them !
we're in combination for any :
UGH general objects. The minor !
ty do not deny that bodies Of dis !
.Uised men have in several States Of :
he South been guilty Of the most fla :
rant crimes-crimes which they (
either seek to palliste nor excuse, :
the commission Of which the !
7roDg-dOeTs should suffer speedy and l
ORdign punishment. But they deny !
hat these men have any general or !
snizatiOn or any political signif-
ance, or that their conduct is in ;
Orsed by any respectable number OF =
7hite people in any State. The mi I
ority report is sustained in the asser- q
on that there is nothing in the evil n
ence tending to show that there is :
Ither any combination, conspiracy, ;
or desire on the part of any re- \
Dectable number Of the people Of the .
Outh to deprive the cOlored race of =
ny Of their civil or political rights, 4
I'D there is certainly none either to =
lbvert or interfere with the legiti- i
late authority Of Che Federal or State \
)vernment. Appended to the views I,
the minority is the paper drawn n
P by MI. Van Trump, the minority =
ember OF the subcommittee visit :,
g the State OF South Carolina. :
g states the election in 1870 took =
ace on the 18th Of October. In look :
g over the official report Of the adj -
tant and inspector-general, it would IS
observed that, while the distribu- -
N Of arms to the negro militia ex- a.
ads up to the very day Of election, n,
t a gun was placed In their hands :,
er the day Of election, and the ex-
Of the ten days allowed for
Republican election commission
to retain the ballot-boxes in their pr
session. This was the exciting at
Use Of whatever trouble and dis Is
-bance existed in South Carolina in WI
o. It was then that kukluxism pr
,wed its head, and even the mise IN
lie testimony Of the negroes them e1
YES showed that the principle OBJ kIi
Of the kuklux visitations was to VIC
reh for these very arms distributed OF
ong them by the governor. ter
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