The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, 1905-09-08
or so wantonly Inundated.
Judge Albion w. Tourgee, au-

thor. 0f "A Fools Errand, "
which is the carpet-bagger's
storysof the Klan, pays a tribute
in this book to the organizers of
the invisible Empire" which
is very remarkable, when we re-
member that he was writing of
enemies who had on more than
one OCCASION sought his life.
He9says: "Such, however,
was the ,indomitable spirit of the
Southern people that they scorned
to yield what deemed op-
pressi0A. prot TESTING With indig-
fercely ,sdBsii issilig aim aImoss as WITH shh
tears. Mo- conquered foe ever
passed. under the yoke, which
they conceived to mean servitude
and infanay with more unwilling
step orssmore deeply muttered
curses. The Ku Klux Order was
a daring conception for a con-
quered people. Only a race of
warlike instincts and regal pride
could have conceived or executed
it. Men, women and children
must have, and be worthy of, i'm
plicit mutual trust. They must
be trusted with the secrets of
life and death without reserve
and without fear. 1t was a mag
nificent conception, and in a
sense deserved success. 1t diff
fered frog all other attempts at
revQk4 Ha in the caution and
sliiSs,ssss,sss so atsvhich it required to be
aGsSsNsssapspe 1t was a movement
essssNNSsaie face of the enemy,
'.....e,.SsssSoinemy of overwhelming
...::vi. Should it succeed, it
-. I..u1d be one OF the most brilliant
j! revolutions ever accomplished.
ShouM it fail-well, those who
We're Engaged in it felt they had
nothing more to lose.' >
Judge Tourgee was in my opin-
ion the most brilliant carpet-bag-
gersWho ever found fame and for
itHH. taHs in ms the aeatif atHifped d S9pth. In
the Ksl Klux Klan for the part lie
took in persuading Governor
Holden to suspend the writ of
Habeas Corpus in North Caro-
lima. The writ had never been
suspended for moment dur
ing the entire history of the
| Commonwealth, not even during
the four years of war when the
conscript acts were enforced. A
hundred picked men were com
missioned to execute !ourgee
and the Governor for this usur-
patton of power and throw then
bodies into the Capital Square, al
Raleigh. They failed only be
, cause of a warning received II
: time. And yet this big-bralnedi
/ self-poised Yankee sat down al
! forwards and wrote the trlbut
to his foes I quote. We South
! erners are much too intense 1
t our feelings to do such things,
n It never occurred to Judg
: Tollrgee at the time he wrote tn
d | hook that the members OF TN
i Klan were merely set OF scou1
s drels and desperadoes. -,
Ie Nothing perhaps better lllu
G. trates the chaotic conditions
" the times than the manner
a. which Judge Tourgee obtalne
az his title. He applied to the $
Mt nreme Court of North Carolll
al for license to practice law al
m fell through on the eXamlnavlo llo
t. He cursed the ancient and homo
a. able Court, composed OF men
,ir great ability, as an aggregatl'
a of solemn asses, ran for the Leg
nd lature on the Negro ticket a,
of was elected. He passed a
through the Black Parliament
he deprive the Supreme Court
i'd the right to examine candida.
na- for the bar and placed the pr
ew lege in the hands OF the comm
cal justices of the peace, many
AL whom were negroes who co
nth not read or write. He went
,er- fore a magistrate, paid his
site of twenty dollars, got his lice
of to practise law without examl
tion, ran for judge and took
Mr.. seat on the bench.
the / do not RECORD this lac. III, LII
,uth disrespect to the meihody y
! by Judge Tourgee. He was
ting the people of North Caro-
en- would nave peel oeiis i1:e; AZ;
ran know under nopler coiluiC, ~,
cleo He was one OF the lew i me
tory our state government aC Cile
ande who had any Dralns or coiiscl