The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1874-09-17
The Temper of the South.
The Negroes in n Condition Worse than
Slavery.

Gen. Hawley of Connecticut lately addressed
letter to the Hon. Charles Hays, Member Of
Congress from Alabama, and formerly the
largest STAKEHOLDER in The state, and soldier in
the Confederate army. asking for an informal
account of the true condition of affairs in the
South.
In reply Mr.. Hays gives an appalling picture
of the condition of affairs in the South, and a
detailed statement of the outrages in Alabama.
He declares that the spirit of rebellion still ex-
lists in the hearts of many Southerners, and
that every opportunity is embraced to commit
deeds of lawlessness and crime. Riots, MUIR
ders, assassinations, and torturing for the pur-
pose of terrifying the true friends of the gov
eminent are more common than at any time
since the surrender of Lee and unless the au-
thorities interfere to avert the calamity, Mr..
Hays sees nothing in the future but gloom
and despair to the loyal men of the South, ruin
to the material interests of the country, and
death to those who uphold the power and in
tegrity of the nation, and counsel submission to
the laws of the United States. Only well au-
thenticated facts, with dates, names and locali-
ties are given. The following are some of the
cases:
On or about the first day of August, 1874, in
Sumter county, Ala, about one mile from his
residence, near kamsey's station, on the Gaines
vile branch of the Mobile & Ohio railroad.
Capt. W. 2. Billings, a son-in-law of ex- United
States Judge Wells of Missouri, and formerly
a resident OF Brooklyn, N: Y, was brutally
murdered When discovered he and his horse
were both lying dead in the public road; his
body pierced with buckshot, and that Of his
horse riddled with bullets. The "hiding place.
of the assasins was found, but the coroner's
jury returned the usual verdict that he came
to his death by gunshot wounds, and that the
parties firing were unknown" Capt Billings
was Republican, and had that day addressed
Republican meeting at Abrahams planta-
ton, some fifteen miles distant from the spot
where he fell
As fit sequel to this horrid political assas-
sination. is the case of Northern man named
Allen, keeper of hotel in Livingston, in the
same county where Billings was murdered. Up
to this time, and for twenty years past Allen
has voted the Democratic ticket in Alabama.
Since the taking off of Billings, ALEU- has been
outspoken in his denunciation of the crime and
its perpetrators, and has openly asserted that
Billings was murdered on account of his poll
tics" The last week in August, in his hotel,
Allen was set upon by gang of ruffians, who
beat him numerically with pistols, and threat
ened to kill him if he didn't keep his mouth
shut about that id Yankee Billings"
The next example" as the rebel leaders are
wont to term the "usual Killings" is perhaps
one of the most atrocious, unprovoked, and
terrible that has ever stained the pages of
Southern desperation, About six months since
Thomas L. Ivey, an inoffensive, intelligent,
honest and Woodworking c0lored man was ap-
pointed United States route agent on the
Alabama & Chattanooga railroad, running be.
tween Meriden, Miss, and Livingstone, Ala.
Mr.. Ivey had never been charged with any
crime against the laws of the state or society,"
and was universally regarded as an exemplary
and faithful employee of the government. Yet
murdered while in the discharge of his duties
0Agaln, gather from the Meriden Mercury
ldem an account of the killing of five negroes
IN North Sumter on the night of August "a,
1919. Nothing is known as to why these
correspondent of the Mercury, writing from
GAINESVILLE, Ala, August g. 1874, facetiouslv
remarks that two of the crowd went dead in
a corn field" This Democratic correspondent
concludes his article as follows: "Ail these
deaths occurred on the night of the 9th A eS.
cept the LegrO woman who was killed eariv in
the morning of the 18th. Mr.. Vincent 1.-THE
gentleman who gave the correspondent the
items of news being asked if it was good
night for killin',' answered No; it had not
been dry for some weeks p"
On Friday night, August 81, Simon Edwards
was taken from his house by band of men,
some ten or more in number, and most fOullv
and brutally murdered. On the same night, or
rather the following morning, the body of
Monroe Keeton, young man living at Toom-
suba, about thirteen miles distant east of
Merden, and five or six miles from where the
killing of Edwards took place, was found dead
in front of the depot building at the above
named place. The assassins were brought to
trial, but were acquitted by a partisan judge.
Plckens is a county in West Alabama, where
the white men publicly boast that no white
man ever cast Republican vote and lived
through the year. In the days of the former
reign of Ku-Kluxism it was regarded as a per-
feet hole of murder and crime. The report of
the congressional investigating committee fully
eucidates the former glory of Pickens county.
To-day it is worse than ever, and the white