The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1905-10-25
eOAzALkS Ta Ilix1N.
The Reply of =.ia E1.!!t9r of the
State to The as .;3&9n, jr.


In defending t. s49 IL correct
ness of "The .ansa2sii Thomas
Dixon, Jr., recen sso,1,jFtad to Col
Iier's Weekly a aspoe;al arllele, which
was published over ais sianature. In
it there appeared .aese Eesit!ve asser-
tions:
cat this moment Il SoaIa Carolina
there were 80, C0o armed !asro troops
auswerable to no at;5se:'fy save the
savage instincts. of their black OIL
cers.''
.'The Ku Klux h.all, seoret oath
bound brotherhcod, rose n night
disarmed every negro alo restored
civilization.
"And so lawless band of night
riders became the sole guardians of
society, brought order out OF chaos.
law out Of lawlessness, and preserved
our race in America from extinction at
last in negroid mongrelism. Had the
south in that crisis become mulatto,
the nation would inevitably have sunk
to it's level-''
Tom Dixon rested his play on that
defense. We challenged the historic
correctness of his assertions. We
proved his misstatements so completely
that he has not touched upon these
points. We showed by history that
the Ku Klux Klan. as an organization,
was extinct before the election of Moses
as governor; before the election OF
negro lieutenant governor. We as
serted that the 80, 600 armed negroes
we're about 10000 armed negroes.
Tom Dixon has not attemped to meet
this clear question of fact. He has
not attempted to explain what is
really the most horrible insult ever
offered the southern people-the de-
cIaration that any power Of earth or
bell could reduce them to state OF
"negroid mcngrelism, and the asser-
tion that but for the Ku Klux Klan-
absolutely unknown it many sections
the south would have become mulat-
to-" He was silent on those points,
but in Columbia offered $1,000 to any
man who would prove one inaccuracy
in his play. The specific points had
been challenged and the evidence
offered, but on getting to Savannah
he suggests a commission OF II to be
appointed by the American Historical
association, society formed in Phil
adelphia about a dozen years after
the extinction of the Ku Klux Klan.
He makes the condition, however. that
all characters must be considerd as
purely fictitious and his fonly obliga
tion to the local history of South
Carolina is that bring my action
within its facts''-in other words,
that South Carolina supplied an at
mosphere where such incidents as be
depicted fromhis Imagination were pos
sible. His position is that if the at
mosphere is true, if such things could
have happened at that period, he is
sustained. And for that inquiry he
proposes a commission, to SIT Tor
weeks perhaps, and to give "The
CIansman,'' north and south invalu-
able publicity.
A splendid advertising scheme,
quite worthy of the authors keen
ness! But even then Dixon repudiates
his Columbia proposition. Hissnew plan
is to wager 81, eco and the lite of The
Clansman'' on the road against 81, 900
and the editorship of The State. II
bis exceptions in case of ''The Clans
man. had not already made historical
inquiry absurd, We could rot accept
this hattering challenge. The editor
ship of The State did not come to one
seeking greater ease, financial ad-
vancemeut or personal aggrandlse-
ment. To the versatile Thomas, who
so readily exchanged Blackstone
for pulpit, a Bible for novel and
a novel for the play, it may appear
singular that others cannot shed their
callings so readily as their coats.
There are some Offices that cannot be
Wagered.