The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1880-11-25

FROM the Charleston, s. c., News, we
learn that the Ku,Klux are not yet alto
gether the myths the Democracy would
have US believe Judge Townsend, of
Marlboro, was called out of his house on
the night after election and seized and
gagged by masked men and led away, his
captors threatening to hang him for lead
ing the Independent movement in his
county. He finally relieved himself from
the gag, cried murder, and his friends
rushed to his assistance, the masked men
making their escape. When the Judge
made resistance the Ku-Klux used the
points of their knives, inflicting slight cuts
and badly damaging his clothing. The
perpetrators have not been arrested, and
the Judge fears to make any move lest he
should be killed. The News publishes a
Southern version of the affair, reducing the
masked crowd to one man, and he a negro,
so that it was not a political affair at all,
only personal matter, and that the Demo
cracy very much regretted the occurrence.
The News characterizes the affair as "A
Tempest in Teapot" and says that there
are several theories about the matter: one,
that it was some man who had personal i'll
will against the Judge, and desired simply
to treat him with indignity; another, that
it was put up job by Townsend himself
to excite sympathy; and still another, that
it was done by negro to wreak vengeance
upon Townsend for alleged perfidy in
having his name printed upon both the
Garfield and Hancock tickets. Just sol
The man was not hurt, only scared little
for funl Nobody scared him; it was a
putup job; and finally negro did it for
revenge. And yet great indignation was
felt at Democratic headquarters, and by
the Democrats generally, at such conduct "
!. The worst that can be said Of il. is that il
was some man who desired to do some.
thing smart and have little fun at Town
sends expense. No political significance
whatever is attached to it here" The az
fair reminds one of the old story of the
man who borrowed the kettle and returned
it broken, and when inquired of in refer
renee to it, said, first, that the kettle was
cracked when he borrowed it; next that
it was whole when he returned it, and
finally that he never had the kettle. Oi
course the Southern Democracy is not res
ponsible, but it is strongly suggestive Of
the methods by which the South was made
solid. The excuse and denials are like
those with which they have been wont to
oil f1,a
crimes committed during the reign of the
White League. They didn't do it; they
regret it; and the deed was not done
Well, if the Southern Democracy cannot
prevent such disorders and crimes agains
freedom and free speech, if such deeds
must go unheeded and unpunished, ther
are they unworthy to exercise the boastet
privilege of self government, and ought tC
be remanded to a condition of territorial
dependence. The trouble is that the lead
ing men in the South excuse, apologize,
for, and wink at the crimes committed by
the lower classes, under the plea that they
are necessary to secure the supremacy o
the white race. If they would set theil
faces as flint against such practices and
hunt down and punish the criminals, il
less than a decade life would be as safe
and opinion and speech as free as at the
North. Emigration would begin; manu-
factures and all that goes to make nation
prosperous and great would spring up
and the South would become the garden
of the world; education would be gen.
eral, and society advanced long way
i'm all that pertains to civilization and
good morals.