New-York tribune., 1908-12-14
NIGHT RIDER CASES UP
CLANS GATHER FOR TRIAL
Tennessee Woodsmen to Face
CHARGES of atrocities Today.

r-nior CITY Tenn Dec. 13.-Clad in rougn
bo,oo.nun with ragged trousers tucked deep into
cowskn boots innocent Of polish. with strassunS
boards and hinge slouch hats. but always with
tho inevitable long barreled rife or big pls'o
in plain view the denizens of the Reei""t L"Ne
region are assembling in this quaint niue town
Tonight for the opening scene tomorrow OF 'he
Night Rider trials.
They are friends and relatives Of the men VINO
are held under military guard at the barracks
They, ignore the townspeople. look at them
with scowls When they meet one another d
silent nod or a whispered word is all that passes
silently and singlv they wander through the
s+reets or stand for hours outside the barracks
gazing cIriouslv up at the windows of the room
in which their friends are held incommuhi'aoo'
Sometimes they approach the trim young sen
tries on guard taking careful inventory OF the
glistenng bayonets and rifles.
They feel keenIy this trouble these rough but
sn,nIe men of the Tennessee backwoods. They
believe that they prosecuted and that the
entire world is against them "Old Tom" John
son. who. the state says. the first leader OF
the band but was deposed because his immense
stature and huge hand easily identified him. eH-
presses the belief of most of them when he SAYS.
It's like this heah. stranger God, He put
them red hills up theah. An He put some OF
us pooh folks. that He didn't have no room foh
nowheah else, up theah. too. An then He saw
that couldn't make hvin' farmin So He
ordered an earthquake an the earthquake left
big hole. Next He filled the hole with watah
an put fish in it. Then He knew we could make
q livin' between farmin and fshin'. But along
comes these rich who don't have to make
no Hvin', an they tell us all that we must not
fish in the lake any mo-. cause they owns the
lake an the fish God put theah foh 1t jus
nachally amt right, stranger it amt no JUS
tiCe''
This is the Night Riders original view but
the primary object of the band forgotten
by many, officers say, and the organization be
gan to use its persuasion to vent the personal
spites of members and to regulate private af-
fairs Of many persons for miles around
For instance, merchants whose total sales did
not exceed s. day were ordered to sell goods
at cost, plus 10 per profit; tenants of farms
were ordered to pay no cash rent, but to insist
on working the ground on shares; growers of
grain tobacco were ordered to plant only so
many acres Of soil; landlords were hidden by
advertisement not to lease their property for
cash rents a woman who had left her drunken
husband was ordered to return to him and when
she refused she taken to the woods stripDed
tied to q tree and lashed with a cat-o'-nfnetails
until her back and shoulders were one big
wound Other women, fond of pretty clothing
were told to cease wearing it. And every case
VI iSIuSdl 70 comply instantly followed bv
a visit of the black masked crew a swift ,io
lent seizure Of the recalcftrant. a rapid ride n
the depths Of the forest and an awful wbirnine
For nearly two years these terrors Of the
wilderness rode nightly. For two years no man
not member ever retired TO rest without
breathing a silent prayer that he and his family
oe spared the terrors of midnight visitation
Then the riders extended their operations
Ihey began to visit the larger towns. such az
Troy Dyershurg, Union City This eytensio,
was followed by the murder of CAPTAIN Orentin
Rankin Finally the people became er1raqad tba
Governor interfered, and in frenzy many persons
said: 7'iiS
We will stamp out this organization. legally
or by mobs, or We will be STAMPED out b,, II ,,
And 50 came special grand jury. instructed
by Judge Jones and advised by Attorney Cen
eral Caldwell. Quickly. too came the defiance
Of the Night Riders:
Dismiss the grand jury stop the ir,extiga-
ton or we will send jury, judge and prosecutor
to join Captain Rankin"
The answer was the numerous arrests of al
legged Night Riders by the militia and 1o5 in
dlctments for capital offences For the trials
on these indictments, which win opep to-ror-
row. the issue is clearly drawn II is a struggle
between organized lawlessness and the forces of
order.