The Washington bee., 1909-05-15

Louisville, Ky.-Thsre has not
been. 1t is said. 4 crime OF mob viO-
Isnce committed In this State, Ia
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
~ q mob, that has not been should
cred on the Night Riders.
The Night Riders we're an organ
he'd body back in 1900, when the
state LEGISLATURE passed law do
iaE away with private ownership OF
Btate reads. For months the turn
pike corporations refused to obey
The State laws. They appealed to
tie State Supreme Court, then to
the Court Of Appeals, and lastly to
Ehe United states Supreme Court,
and on each appeal they would get
9 stay. which made II possible for
them to continue running their toll
gates aAd charging two cents a mile
fer every korse or vehicle that passed
ever their property.
Because Of the laws delay the
sOadition Of the roads became ina
pAssibie. The SwnOrs Of the turn
pixies Woala Rot sIPend one cent
ssr improvements as lsAg as thsrs
YES question sf their losing their
property By . hBAl court ascisiea,
bat they sld AOt cease TO mulct tTaV-
siisrS. All thts whfEe they refused
e accept the fair price sRersd By
the State for Ikeir reads.
II was thea that the Night Riders
Ssrs sTKaAiESd. The organization
spread from Shelby County to Svsry
RaFt sf the Btats. and one night in
EAs late fall Esa rsds fFem their
AsHss AAd began burning toll gates.
TAsTs Is No record sf = toll gate
keeper being injured unless he show
sa resistance. Then be was taken
fEUm the hoHVe. and II he sentiAueA
- bs defiant he was AoEgsd. In
EfneSy-zine cases cut sf = hundred
tAs teIs gate keeper vas glad to give
up his ieb and let the gate bura.
Night Riders undoubtedly brought
GAs turnpike corporations tG terms.
There was act toll gate lett stand.
bag in the State Of Kentucky by the
following spring Had the taxpGy-
srs and farmers been eontented to
allow the law TO take its never snd-
Tag course the chances are that toll
gates would still be holding DIP ira
Vellers 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-
cd them and even made it possible
for almost all of them to be sprin-
kled with oil during the summer
season. thus laying the dust
The success of the Night Riders
in the war against toll gates led to
en- organization of a similar char
acter when the fight was waged
against the American Tobacco Com
pany. But out Of this last organiEa-
ton there grew a body Of violent
men, who live on excitement and
thrive on lawlessness. Then spTang
up, too, lawless bodies Of men in
many of the Southern and Middle
Western States. who chose to call
themselves Night Riders, though the
probabilities are that 80 per cent, OF
the men didn't own so much As
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
ef the old Ku-KlBX gang would be
found. and II this list were sifted
down it would show that many prop
srty-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
hV a ike defiance