The Jasper weekly courier., 1874-11-27
Treason According 10 Major Merrill.


Major Lewis Merrill. of the Seventh
Cavalry flor his eminent hangsman's SER
vices in Missouri brevetted Lieutenant
Colonel, and for hunting white men with
bloOd-hounds in South Carolina brevetted
Brigadier-GeneraD has arrested IN Shr.ve-
port, Ia. some OF the best citizens OF the
State-Messrs. Pike, Jacobs, Ford, Koran,
Lindsay, McWilliams, and ninety others.
The charge against them Is treason 10 the
United States Government in that they
have violated the Enforcement act. Mer-
rill swears that these citizens '.did, each
and every one OF them, conspire 10 intimi-
date and control numerous qualified voters
In said districts i'm exercising the right of
suffrage. by threatening to deprive said
voters Of employment, by threatening 10
revoke the contracts with said. voters for
labor, in violation OF a statue of the Uni
ted States Whereupon Commissione er
Levisse issues his warrants, and Merrill
arrests the whole batch.
Now, il Is proper the readers of the
World should understand the sort Of trea-
son for which Merrill, under sanction of a
United States statue, has arrested these
citizens. Shreveport is an exclusively
cotton country, and the labor contracts
made there are for work in the cotton
field. These contracts are of two sorts.
First, between the owner of plantation
and the hands employed TO till il. The
owner agrees with his hands TO furnish
tools. machinery. mules, and other stock
and their feed, seed and fertilizers, pro-
visions for hands, clothes, pocket money.
every thing, provided the negroes will
cultivate and secure the crop, and gin it
out and bale il afterwards, share and share
alike. He advances every thing-the sys-
TEN Is entirely credit system-and il his
hands, after living on hin from February
- September, choose to leave as the cotton
Is opening, lac must lose not only his crop
but all his advances made upon the
strength of his crop. Yet IL Is treason
against the United States Government for
planter. SO situated. TO choose his hands
to exercise any discretion in selecting
the individuals 10 whom he must extend
this enormous and perilous credit.
The other sort of contract which Mer-
rill construes it To be treason to have any
discretion about is between the store
keepers and the lahorers. A negro rents
50 much cotton land. lie has nothing.
but he expects 10 make from the land so
many bales of cotton as his share of the
crop. The man he rents from furnishes
seed. mule and plow; but will not fur
nish bacon. meal. clothing. tobacco, etc.
Unless the lab0rer can get these he must
stop work. Accordingly, he contracts
with storekeeper, opens a credit account
with him, 10 run always nine or ten
months. by which he Is 10 receive his sup
plies and provisions, have them advanced
10 him. upon condition that. when the
negro's crop il made. he Is to pay the
storekeeper's bill in cotton, ginncd or un
ginned. IL is treason. according 10 MAJOR
Merrill's construction of the Enforcement
act, for the storekeeper 10 exercise any
discretion a. 10 which negroes he will
trust and which he will not trust.
/ Bring the matter home. Imagine a
major of cavalry swearing out a warrant
against and arresting the proprietor of
the Republic. because he has dismissed a
drunken ratr of compositor who is
Radical voter. - and thereby threaten
ing 10 deprive such voter ofemploym mt. .
Imagine Major Merrill taking Mr. A. Il.
Stewart off 10 the Iombs for refusing "a
permit one of Gi ants CustOm-House of
tic, rs 10 open an indefinite account with
him upon the strength of prospective
wages and KNOCK downs thereby
Threatening to refuse to renew the con-
| tract with said voter for labor" But this
il precisely what Major Merrill is doing
\ in Louisiana. unter pretense If securing
I the enforcement Of the Fourteenth
/ Amendment TO the Constitution.-N. Y.
4 World.