The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1874-10-22
WHITE LElGEEASB KU-KLUI.
Sumter County, Ala. the seeae or the
Billings Murder.

( A correspondent writing from York.
Sumter County, Ala, q secttrn OF the
South now possessed of q most uuen-
viab.e nOtOriety, describes it as q '.re-
/ giOn with the trade mark Of Satan
stamped upon it +" He says:
Livingst0n, the seat Of Sumter coun-
/ ty, is town Of ], 200 or I,5O0 inhaoi-
tants, few miles up the road, where
the military are stationed. and where
most of the planning for these outrag-
es is done, although the county around
York had been thoroughly baptized
with negro blood. Il Was near York
that Ives was shot, and several other
outrages have been committed here.
These dismal and deserted surround
ings make it fsvorite place for such
operations, and It has become . prov
erb in the surrounding country that
"whoever goes to York never comes
back again" Near here the Billings
murder occurred. one of the most afro
eious in all the records Of Kukluxism,
and On9 that will attract still more at
tention, for the United States author
ities have already started 70 ferret out
the assassins, and perhaps before this
letter is read they will have been
brought 70 justice. Billings was 3
white msn, formerly from Brooklyn,
N Y, and owned q large Plantation
near here. On the day he was killed
he had addressed Republican meet
Ing some fifteen miles from his resi-
dence, and his body was found dead
in the road, lying partly under his
horse, which was also shot. His wife
and children are at the residence of
the United States Judge Wells, at JEFF
ferson City, No., VINO was his father
in-law.
Following Immediately after the Bill
lings murder, Allen, an. honest, out
spoken citizen OF Livingston, who
served in the Confederate army and
had voted the Democratic ticket for
forty years, was cruelty beaten be-
cause he deplored the death Of Bill
liDgs, and soon after received a letter
saying that ''if he didn't keep his
mouth shut about the id Yankee,
Billings, he would meet the same
fate"
Murders and whippings are frequent
here so frequent that q certain class
OF citizens-those particularly who
stand behind the saiOOn bars-have
gotten to regard them as the merest
Commonplace. A o9Iored man,
whose name have not learned, wit
messed the shooting at Billings. but
mysteriously disappeared the day af-
ter, leaving his family, and has not
been heard of since. Some say that
the White League have made away
with him, while Others think he fled
from fear OF them
The object of these murders IS sim
ply political-simply to break up the
Republican organization, and intimi-
date the leaders from canvassin2 and
the negroes from voting. Billings
probably carried more influence than
any Republican in the county, and
as q gentleman at Meridian informed
me, "the colOred people all swore by
him." Ives, the murdered route agent
was an intelligent mulatto, also q
leader, as was also Edwards, who was
killed near Meridian; and these Tex
amples," as the Ku-Klux call them.
have bad their effect. The colOred
political societies have been broken
up, or rather dare not meet for fear Of
trouble, and the leaders have all left
the county. A negro Damed Reed,
Influential and intelligent, was raid
ed on the other day, but, fortunately
had gotten Information OF the inten-
ton OF the White League toward him
and escaped. His wife was abused,
however, and the furniture In the
house was nearly all destroyed by the
disappointed raiders. The canvass
here has entirely ceased, as far as the
Republicans are concerned, and un-
less some course is taken to protect
colored voters, none but Dem )eratic
ballots will be cast here this Fall, aud
the White League will be successful
in accomplishing their object.