The Washington bee., 1909-03-27

Adjustment Of the Turnpike Com
panies.
Louisville, Ky.-Thsre has not
been, 1t is said, . crime Of mob yio-
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
tAs occasional lynching Of g negro
~ . mob. that has not been should
cred on the Night Riders.
The hight Riders were an organ
ned body back in 1900. when the
State Legislature passed q law do
nag away with private ownership OF
state roads For months the turn
Riks corporations refused to obey
tha State laws, They appealed 10
ths State Supreme Court. then to
Ehs Court ef Appeals. and lastly to
tie United States Supreme Court.
Aad on each appeal they would get
q stay witch made IL possible for
thSm TO continue running their toll
gates and charging two cents mile
fer every horse or vehicle that passed
S~sT tAsiF property.
Because 81 the laws delay the
asaaitieA sf the roads became ina
pAsstbia. The owners Of the turn
pIkss w0aId Ast sxPsad enc esRt
FER inRT0ysmenta ss loAg IS there
Waz sEOstloB Of their losing their
prUDsEty by 4 nnal 00urt decision,
bat tAsy sIa ast cease TO Aulct trGv-
salsTx. All this while they refused
. accept the fair price oRered -
tAs State fer their reads.
II vas then that the Night Riders
Rsrs srEAHiKsd. The organization
spread fren Shelby County TO svsry
bArt Of the State, aud enc Aight in
EAs late fall mSn rode from their
hsmsa kAd began burning toll gates.
ThsFU Ls 40 record Sf = toll gate
kssRsr bstnS injured uziess be sAOw-
sa resistance. Thea hs was taken
6Fam the hsUss. and II he continued
- BE aanznt be was aogEed. In
ninesy-Aina cases cut sf q hundred
tie tsls gate keeper vas glad 10 give
sp his Job and let the gate bura.
Night Riders undoubtedly brought
the turnpiks corporations to terms.
There was rot = toll gate left stand
lnk in the State of Kentucky bY the
following spring. Had the taxpay-
ars and farmers been esntented to
allow the Law to take its never end
ing course the chances are that tell
gates would still be holding up 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
Watsred stock on which to pay int
crest. and the State tax has improv-
ed them and even made II possible
for almost all OF them TO be sprin-
kIsd with oil during the summer
season, thus laying the dust.
The success OF the Night Riders
in the war against toll gates led to
sa organization OF a similar char
actsr when the hght WAS waged
against the American Tobacco Com
Rany. But out of this last organiZa-
tion there grew q body Of violent
men, who live on excitement and
thrive on lawIessness. Then spTanS
up, too. iawlsss bodies of men In
many OF the Southern and Middle
Western States. who chose to call
themselves Night Riders, though the
probabilities are that 90 per cent. OF
the men didn't own so much rs 3
AeTse TO ride.
II list Of the original body OF
Night Riders could be had the
SAaneea are that the names Of many
men Who hguTed in the operations
ct the old Ku-KluI gang WOuid be
found, and II this LIST we're slfted
Down II would show that many prop
srty-ownsrs and men of pTcmtaence
lad resorted to violence because Of
their belief that action was their
sniy safeguard against ruin. and
that 8 defiance of Law had 20 be met
By 3 like defiance.