The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1879-06-19
The Ku KluX Trials.

Senator Edmunds, of Vermont, in the
Senate last Friday, touched upon the Ku
Klux trials, and said that he had heard
that "a large number of the people of
South Carolina contributed funds to de-
fend those accused Ku Klux people,"
This he applied to the Jury bill, then
under discussion, by saying that, if those
who contributed these funds were drawn
upon the jury, and it turned out that the
Ku Klux atrocities "grew out of political
considerations connected with the rebel
lion," then it would not be a grievance
to sift the jury to ascertain whether the
jurors had an unconqucrable bias in favor
of acquitting the prisoners, no matter
what they had done.
The fund in question was raised in
South Carolina to retain Reverdy John
son and MIR. Stanberry, in order that the
Constitutional questions arising under the
Acts under which the Ku Klux were
tried should be argued by counsel whose
attainments and freedom from local pre-
judice would secure to them the serious
attention of the Court. Had not these
considerations been regarded, there would
have been no importation of counsel, and
no contribution of funds for fees. 1t
turned out badly. The objections of the
counsel were overruled. From Mr..
Johnson came q narrowing description
and whitening denunciation of the crimes
imputed to the Ku Klux. And the peo-
pie of South Carolina were unjustly held
up to universal reprobation as the de-
tenders of crime in most horrible
shape.
Senator Hampton got a chance to put
in a word of explanation, in the Senate,
and said:
~ do not wish to interrupt the Senator,
but / interpose as much for his sake rs
for my own, and I avail myself of this
opportunity which his courtesy has ex-
tended to me to say @ word about those
Ku Klux trials.
"Some years ago the Senator from Ver-
mont, who occupied then the same posi-
ton that he does now, charged upon the
floor of this Chamber that he had infor-
nation that I was connected with the
Ku Klux organization in South Carolina,
and with me he associated my present
colleague (A1r. Butler) and very dis
tinguished gentleman who is now judge
in that State. We wrote respectful
letter to the Senate, and came on to
Washington, asking the most earnest and
rigid scrutiny. That letter was presented
here, but the Senate took no action. The
Senator from Vermont, when that letter
was presented, said that he had been in
formed that the Government had infor-
nation to that effect. We asked that if
there was any such information, it might
be brought forward but that never was
done. And I take the opportunity of
saying now-and hope the Senator from
Vermont will do me the justice to know
that I speak with perfect sincerity-that
if there was one man in America who
had no knowledge of, no connection with,
no sympathy with anything like the Ku
Klux organization, it was myself. 1 did
not know that there was any such organ
ization in South Carolina until those
trials occurred. I could give the expla-
nation, but will not detain the Senate,
of how those organizations, as I found
out afterward, were inaugurated, and
what they were intended for, and how
they were perverted afterward, as l ad-
NIT, into doing wrong; but l only wish
to say that the gentlemen who were
named here, / feel sure, had no knowl-
edge of them-no connection with them.
For myself I state that with absolute
certainty.
''The contribution that was made by
the people of South Carolina to defend
those men was simply contribution that
was made on the presumption the law
always makes that parties are innocent
until they are proved guilty"
Senator Edmunds had the grace to say,
in reply, that it was quite unnecessary for
''the Senator" to repeat the denial that
was so full in the letter. Nobody, he
thought, had ever believed the allegation
since e.-Ne,cs and Courier.