New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1874-04-19

as an escort is concerned, have neve
desired it. If the citizens of your parish
think l have been or can be kept from
holding court through fear, they are mucl
mistaken. While l am fully aware that
am in danger continually, in Franklin
and out Of Franklin, yet the knowledge
OF that danger has never deferred me from
goiEg to Franklin or anywhere else that
have right to go, or where duty calls me
In regard to the offer to furnish a guard tc
project me While In your parish holding
court, l feel grateful to the gentlemen fol
| their Kindness to me, and have no doubt
but that they are acting in good faith
and that they really desire 20 have term
OF court hello; but perhaps they have not
courts are held, and the necessary prepar.
| ations tor holding court SO as to be eff.
fective.
An immense number of crimes have GER
| talnly been committed IL your parish re-
Gently. Your messenger counted some
twenty-four or twenty-five persons who
have been killed by violence in your parish,
and that not one person is now in custody
for committing any of said crimes, but all
are running at large. terror to all peace
| able and good citizens A term of the Dis
| trict Court Is or ought to be held for the
| purpose OF trying cases, civil and criminal,
according to law, and in order that Grimm al
cases may be tried fairly. the persons who
commit crime should be arrested examined
and confined in Jail or released on bond.
The taking of these preliminary steps is
the duty of all justices of the peace, the
parish judge, the sheriff aud his deputies
| constables and all good citizens, and it is
the duty of the parish to furnish secure
jail. In this connection, permit me to say
that If the good citizens have The power to
protect Inc while holding court they have
the power to arrest and cOntine the law(ess.
In my opininon this is the proper way to
suppress crime and establish law and order.
10 hold term OF court and try men for
crime VINO are running at large is worse
than farce. OF course no one who knows
himself guilty is going voluntarily to come
into court aud stand his trial unless he has
got the thing fixed to suit him and has
secured his acquttal before hand, and a
verdict empty authorizes him to continue
his career OF crime AID protect him from
future punishment. | do not consider act
ing this kind OF a farce as a proper dis
charge OF the duty devolving upon me as a
judge of this district, anG never intend to
make the courts of law OF my country a
shield to protect and legalize crime, and l
am determined to let the courts 90 by
default rather than prostitute them to the
support and assistance OF crime. am fully
aware that in order TO restore the proper
execution of the law to our suffering coun-
try, to protect the life, liberty and
property of our te.low-citizens, it is
necessary that the terms of court
should be regularly held; but holding courts
alone will not do it. All the officers of tide
law must do'their duty. and the good citi-
zens must do theirs. If you have not a
sufficient number of justices of the peace
and cOnstables in your parish. prompt
measures should be taken to get them. and
to get men who will do their duty prompt.
". Let good citizens lend them a helping
hand, and when crime is perpetrated let it
be examined, and the guilty secured. Then
court would be held that would not be
farce.
feel hope that the good people have
suffered enough, aud that they will orga-
nlze and put down outrage and crime by
enforcing the law in lawful manner, and
my duty, as we'll as my inclination, will
cause me to do all in my power to aid them
in so laudable an undertaking.
Respectfully,
7. S. CRAWFORD.
He did not tell them whether he would |
hold that term of court or not. He felt il |
to be not only prudent, but his official duty |
to keep his cOunsels to himself So the |
Franklin Sun, a little abusive sheet pub
ished in Winnsboro, took it for granted he
would not be there, and came out in a very
abusive editorial against the Judge, saying
hat he would not hold court when he had
,een petitioned to- Yet the judge, norwith-
standing this additional embarrassment.
vent at the appointed time, not willing to
ct personal danger deter him.
He never went to Franklin and returned
~ the same route. Sometimes he would
70 through the woods by night alone Some
lines he would take a steam boat at Column
ia, 60 to Monroe, there take the cars to
Delhi, thence to Winnsboro by stage, a
QUITE of over one hundred miles to accom-
lish thirty. That was his safest route, as
here was generally other travellers, who |
7ere protection to each other.
Often he has taken one or two resolute
len, and on horseback and in bv-paths
lade his way over the swamps, to hold
curt in Franklin. {
This may seem almost fabulous to !
'orthern people-that man would do this
vice year for eight years for people s
lat were constantly doing all they could q
galnst him But, he said. there are 9
,me good people Ill Franklin; they ought | |
have court: it is my duty to hold it, and i
will do it at the risk of my life, whenever
ley are properly prepared for it,"
Franklin parish was then, and is now. the
'ndezvous and refuge of the Ku- klux Khan.
very one who dwells in this Southern n
'untry can tell what this means-knows Ii
at 1t means murder and violence to all
no oppose them. The officers of the law, t.
no Will not wink at their crimes, nor try "
smoothUover their Outrages, are marked g
them and elected to assassin alton.
Idge Crawford knew this, yet single b
nded he opposed them. He could scarcely | h
lister corp0raFs guard in Franklin, who o.
d not tremble for tear they should be sus- a,
cted of being his friends. Yet how o,
Dingly would they have helped put them 81
wn, could they but have seen a sure way A
do it; but, distrustful OF each other. no o.
knew when his time would come and he is
struck down by the assassin
Judge CrawfOrd's heroism and patriotism
facing and battling this mysterious and :;
cked organization is almost past belief w. %,
any other country he would have pro- %,
tlon and gratitude. In this, when thew ~ ~
ally succeeded in taking his unseltish =,
he was brought home to his family for q, q.
rial, and nothing more said about it. ~
n the spring of 1873 Judge Crawford re- "a
we'd formal notice that if he ATTEMPTED W.
hold court in either Franklin or Cata-
lla parishes there would be an inquest ia
d over his body. A little over q year hi
ore this he had received friendly warn M
from Arkansas that ''he was elected to Tn
and names given; 1t was ne
ned with cuts of enc foot shod and one
t bare. In the fall OF 1868, near the time WI
the general election, he was chased out 81
Columbia by this same murderous clan Tn
forced to flee for his lite-forced to call ma
IN friends for protection. A band of To-
nut twenty old Union men rallied to. his tn
and kept guard week at the residence MI
a friend who was in the same danger wa
ey then called council of war and de- ia'
ed that Judge Crawford and his friend va
uld make their way through the woods slr
Red river. thence to New Orleans and Ut
there until things grew more quiet. De