The Mena weekly star., 1909-07-01

accomplishing it's purpose With r.., ty and certainty which marked apldl- one of the most wonderful mo,,a.. as the world has ever known 'neits
 None but the flower of So,.,
 soldiery ever secured admission sspeEn q, ei ranks of the Ku- Klux- Klan |. ~ the a military organization in which ,,;.l,s Sas the glamour of chivaIry and tba sled and rcverence-inspiring kmysticisrno ave ritualistic religious order. Thap" i" aroused the appreciation of the feda.n government is an undenied fact. L'a .L' those in authority recognized if 1'at potent force and officially treated w;.s it's leaders is a fact not so well tn,sh "ish
 The Ku klux Klan was a4 s zenith of it's power when. in resso. s@ to the order of the supreme cn,,ca ''N Memphis, Gen. Robert Glenn Shs" Shs..n m set in motion the mysterious mach;aSsr of the organization, which resulted
 the sudden appearance of 2,50n s;i.1l ,a determined men, who, coming tr' various parts of the state, were as mrrt ayJ, a surprise to the inhabitants Inf o, Trough and Big Bottom as they wera to the carpetbag government tbem' selves Most of the Ku Klux Klas camps, or dens, as they were callad were north of the Arkansas river an1i the entire membership of the sta,a numbered l2,000 men They for,naS the nucleus for a possible force at tremendous power Thoroughly dr;naS and true as steel. adoring their leader' and blindly obedient to every orGe- they performed without question every duty imposed upon them Wha5 Gen Shaver called his first cont;naeaa into the field, not a man knew inc h. mediate purpose of the call thoucb they came prepared for any outcome To neither the people of the section where the troops were mobiized n,r to the men who were called to arms was there ever a hint given as to whs, was contemplated, though they must have known that a crisis was at hand
 They had been called to action time af
 ter time in small squads, but never before in such military array as ths
 As they lay on their arms throuphout that long day they were nerved ,o face any danger, they were eager t
 strike the blow they must have known was contemplated, yet when nigh
 came and the word was passed among them, they rolled their blankets abouf them without murinur, and when another day dawned they had disan peared as mysteriously as they had come The people of Independence and lack son counties had walked one morning to the surprise of finding them there with lines formed; the next morning they were gone, the menacing line oi battle melted away It was astounding and is talked of throughout all that part of the state to this day.
 Counciled With Forrest
 Fastening at once to Memphis. Gen
 Shaver found the full council of state commanders in session. marshalleA by Gen Forrest. that he might convey to them the gratifying news that the treaty had been ratified with the federal military authorities. which contained one of the greatest victories of the age The notorious militia organizations with the carpet bag leaders had been terrorizing the South were to bc di,- banded, and upon this assurance word had been given that the operations of the Ku- Klux- Klan should cease
 At this meeting the Ku klux klan was formally disbanded though il had spasmodic and independent activity in various localities for several months afterwards. The agreement between Gen Grant and Gen Forrest though never officially published. 5 an epoch-making fact, and one of the
 most important events the history of this country has been, or ever will be, affected by.
 The ,,.,,,a r.f C1a,, Cb..gn. had 1sanr connected with every Ku- Klux rum0r from the time the first silent horseman in ghostly garbc. rode forth in averaging response to the agonIzcd appeal oi outraged helplessness in Arkansas, and when the organization was dlsbanded, having been so prominently identified with it, he was singled out as the central object of attraction by the vengeful reconstruction leaders In dictments were issued against him Tor murder. treason, robbery. arson and numerous other interesting charges The outlook before him was anything from inviting. There was little or no probability that he would ever get a fair and impartial trial, and, at the earnest cntreaty of his family and friends. he quietly left the country | Four years he later came back, reglsie- cred at the Metropolitan hotel in Little | Rock, and when his name was read on l the register there was an immediate sitting tip and taking of notice on the part of certain local officials Just how 1t came about is not recorded, but it is a matter of history that within twenty-four hours every indictment against him was stricken from the dockets He breakfasted with Gen Powell Clayton, the head and front a all the radical froces; held high leyee at the hotel for day or two, then Ie' turned to his home and has been an Arkansas citizen ever since.
 In reminiscent mood these glimpts of the past may be viewed, and Norm and South may recognize the fact thas it was not the soldier of the Nof1a whom the South faced in the thrcatenea second uprising, but an element wlhcn would have been condemned in any civilized country, u condition oi ahalts intolerable under any circumstahogs They are scenes of the past Today tne North and the South are as one county are one country, with one flag and ols future. The blue and the gray slana side by side in loyal support ol uil''eu 'sa nation, the administration and u@ wonder of the world.