Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909, 1902-04-18

way which may be imagined, but es-
pecially when it's members are in
trouble.
Where the meeting places of the So
ciety are, not one of them will tell.
The organizations members are found
in the political conventions of city,
township, county, district and State.
though holding the interests of its
members above the interests of any
politician. 1t never sells it's votes. but
it has developed, has been many a
time a power which has turned the
political scale one way or the other,
greatly to the mystifcation of the
bosses,
AS a rule, though coming of an or
ganization which was nothing unless
violator of the law, the present So
ciety is not composed of lawbreakers,
at least in the ordinary sense. How
ever, when one of it's members is in
| trouble, his fellows stand by him until
the last, fact which has often been
demonstrated in law courts. Frequent
| ly, in trials, it has been noticed that
there was some mysterious influence
at work on the jury, but what it was
could not be discovered.
Origin of the White Caps.
The beginning of the Institution dates
back many years to the early settle
ment Of Indiana, at time when the
State was overrun with desperate
characters who had fed from Ohio and
Kentucky. the southern part, from its
contiguity to the Ohio, being especial
ly the haunt of horse thieves. robbers
and counterfeiters. In the river coun-
ties of Indiana there was for years a
continuous reign of terror. When the
residents of these counties finally band
ed together for protection, the Grim
inals fed further to the north, where
their advent was met with the organ
ization of a band of regulators, of
which every decent citizen was q mem
Der. There was little law in those
days. Might made right and there was
no one to gainsay the right Of the reg
ulators to take the law into their own
hands. There are those yet living who
have often seen men ride by at night
with white sacks. in which were eye
holes, over their heads. 1t was never
known in one locality from what 9TH
er locality these men came. 1t was
only known that they were ION the
march," but the next day a ghastly
body hanging from limb, or shady
character with his back slashed up
with hickory gads. or the tale of some
person missing would solve the mys-
terry. People who had no business out
of doors stayed inside when the regu-
lators were out. No questions were
asked and no comments were made.
This was the original Whitecap Or
ganization. 1t served its purpose well
and when the thieves and thugs were
all driven out of Indiana it ostensibly
disbanded.
1t was in 1857 that the Whitecaps
again became prominent, but their
character was decidedly changed. Ed
ward Bingham, a constable who had
in some way incurred the ill-will Of
the gang, was the first victim. He
was called out of his home at flight,
tied to a horse and carried into the
woods. where he was stripped. He
was then bound to a tree and each
member of the gang took turns in ap-
plying hickory switches until he be-
came unconscious. Then the man was
carried back to his home and thrown
brutally over the fence into the yard.
Bingham died next day and the COM
munity arose in rage against his MUIR
derers. Indictments were brought
against several men who were known
to be in the gang and three of them
were sentenced to imprisonment. The
Whitecaps had such powerful inf1u-
ence that the convicted fnen served
but a small part of their sentences.
From 1858 to 1874. there were occa-
sional whippings of both men and
women. but nothing of nature as to
call for special action, but in the lat
ter year lynching by Whitecaps once
more drew attention to the organiza-
ton. Fear of the gang was so great.
however, that nothing was done. In