The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, 1905-09-15
THE kU kLUX kLHN
IN SOUTH CAROLINA
CONTINUED from first page. J

The rule III South Carolina
should not he digniticd with the
name OF Government. 1t is the in
stallation of Il huge system of brig
andagc. The men who have had
it in control, and now have have it
in control, are the picked villains
of the community. They are the
highwaymcn OF the State. They
are professional legislative robbers.
They are men who have studied
ana practiccd the art of lcgalizcd
theft. They are in no sense differ
cnt from, or better than, the men
who fill the prisons and pcnitcn-
tiarics of the world. They are, i'm
fact, of precisely that class, only
more daring and audacious. They
pick their pockets by law. They
rob the poor and the rich alike, by
law. They contiScatc your estate
by law. They do none of these
things even under the tyrant'S plea
OF the public good OF the public ne
cessity. III V do all simply to en-
rich themselves personally. Tie
sole, base object is to gorge the in
dividual with public plumber.
Having done it, they turn around
and buy immunity for their acts,
10y sharing their gains with the
ignorant, paupcrizcd, b2sottcd
crowd who have chosen them to
the stations they fill, and which
enables them thus to rob and plum
der.
such being the nature Of the
State Government, and the outragcs
referred to having been committed
upon those by whose votes this
Government was established, it
can he understood that the public
opinion, which in any normal con-
dition of society rallies to the sup
port of law and order, was not
aroused to the necessity of putting
down the ku kluX klan, but when
it became apparent that the coun-
try was in a state of anrchy and
that gangs of rutlianS were bent
upon driving the negroes out of the
country, public sentiment was
aroused and began slowly to concert
measures for the restoration of law
anI order. Public meetings were
held, and people began to consult
together a to what should be done.
1t was about this time that meas
urcS were introduced and agitatcd
in Congress, looking to action by
the Federal Government, and mas
much as everything that had been
done up to that time by the Rcpub-
lican party, had been apparently
directed to the oppression of the
white race, and to the support of
tn" Reconstruction Government,
which had been so oppressive and
humiliating, the threat of Federal
interference tended to Qurnch the
nasccnt desire of the better element
among the white to undertake meas
urrS and the repression OF thc pre-
vailing disorders.
Things remained about in this
condition for several months, there
being intermittent raids and whip
pings, when some time in the au-
tumn Of 1871, Gen. Grant issued
his proclamation suspcnding the
writ OF habcas corpus in the coun-
ties above named, and the military,
under the command of Major Mcr-
rill, began making arrests. Five or
six hundred men were arrested in
the counties of York, Union and
Spartanburg, Il good many innocent
men among them, and at the De-
ccmbcr term OF the United States
Court, ut Columbia, true bills were
found against about five hundred.
Five men were convicted and sent
t" the Albany Pcnitcntary, and
about fifty pleaded guilty and were
sentenced to various terms of inn
priSonmcnt in the county mils.
In the trial of the case against
Mitchell and others copy of the
Constitution, bylaws and oath
under which the ku KluX Khan
was represented ito have been
organized in York County, was Of
fcrcd in evidence.
The oath is follows: | (namc,) }
before the immaculate Judge of
Heaven and Earth and upon the
holy Evangclists of Almighty God,
do, of my own free will and accord
subscribe to the following sacredly
binding obligation:
|. We are on the side Of Justice,
humanity and constitutional liberty
IL bcqucathcd to us in its purity by
our fOrcfathcrs.
,. We oppose and reject the prin-
ciplcs of the Radical party.