The Washington bee., 1909-06-19

Louisville, Ky.-There has not
been. It Is said, crime of mob VIC
lence committed IN this State, in
Tennessee, or, IN fact, in any Of the
Southern States or in any Of the
Middle Western States IN the past
several years, with the exception Of
the occasional lynching of a negro
BY q mob, that has not been should
cred an the Night Riders.
The Night Riders we're an organ
ized body back in 1900. when the
State Legislature passed a law do
tag away with private ownership Of
State roads. For months the turn
bike corporations refused to obey
the State laws. They appealed to
the State Supreme Court, then to
she Court Of Appeals, and lastly to
The United States Supreme Court,
and on each appeal they would get
a stay which made II possible for
them 20 continue running their toll
gates and charging two cents mile
fer every horse or vehicle that passed
over their property.
Because Of the laws delay the
eoadition Of the roads became i'm
paaslble. The owners Of the turn
pikse would not sxpend one cent
for improvements as long IS there
vas questteR Of their losing their
property By q Anal court decision,
bat they dId net cease 70 mulct trav-
slleTa- All thts while they refused
10 accept the fair price offered by
tAe State for their roads.
It was then that the Night Riders
Eers organised. The organization
spread from Shelby County to every
part Of the State, and enc night in
the late fall men rode from their
kamss aAd began burning toll gates,
There Is 20 record Of a toll gate
ksepeT being injured unless he show
cd resistance. Then he was taken
fxem the house, and If he eOntiRued
% Be defiant he was logged. In
nfnsty-Aina cases cut Of & hundred
The SoIs gate keeper wss glad to give
sp his Job and let the gate burn.
HSSAt Riders undoubtedly brought
the turnpike corporations to terms.
There was not toll gate lett stand
lng IN the State Of Kentucky by the
following spring Had the taxp0y-
sFs and farmers been contented to
allow the law TO take It's never end
ing course the chances are that toll
gates would still be holding up ira
veIlers on the State roads to-day,
and that the roads would have been
worse now than they were when the
Night Riders became organized.
The Kentucky roads now are
among the best in the United States.
There are not millions of dollars Of
watered stock on which to pay int
crest, and the State tax has improv-
ed them and even made It possible
for almost all of them to be sprin-
kIed with oil during the summer
season, thus laying the dust.
The success of the Night Riders
In the war against toll gates led to
an organization Of a similar char
acter when the fight was Waged
against the American Tobacco Com
pany. But out of this last oTganiza-
ton there grew a body of violent
men, who live on excitement and
thrive on lawlessness. Then sprang
up, too, lawless bodies Of men in
many of the Southern and Middle
Western States. who chose to call
themselves Night Riders. though che
probabilities are that 90 per cent. OF
the men didn't own so much as a
horse to ride.
II q list of the original body of
Night Riders could be had the
chances are that the names Of many
men who figured in the operations
of the old Ku-Klux gang would be
found, and If this list were sifted
down 1t would show that many prop
eFty-owners and men of prominence
had resorted to violence because Of
their belief that action was their
only safeguard against ruin, and
that a defiance Of law had 10 be met
40 Hka