The Washington herald., 1909-01-17

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she would have 10 resign: doctors. me-
chanics- and others were asked 10 -efuse
hill biIIies' their services. At first many
Of the association men rather disap-
proved even Of this peaceful boycott. Its
growth was rather SLOW; bat eventually,
as animosities grew and personal bitter
nesses sprang up. il became general But
even this boycott was Ineffective as a
means OF forcing the hill billies" into
| line as whole. The people OF M0ntgOm-
/ cry County are very largely Of Scotch
/ Irish stock and apt 10 be stubborn in
/ disposition
The more peaceful boycott having
/ failed OF its purposes. the night riders
/ appeared. Violations OF the law took the
/ form, in the beginning. OF sailing and
seraping plant beds. sowing grass seed
/ among the tobacco plants-in short. the
! destruction OF the tobacco Of the hill
I biliies" by every method possible To-
Z bacco plants are first terminated in es-
/ pecialiy prepared beds. then taken I'D by
/ the roots and set out in the helds in hills
/ If they are destroyed at about the time
/ for replanting no crop can be raised that
( year.
It was in May. 1896. that the first act OF
/ lawless destruction Of tobacco occurred
/ in Montgomery County, although II is al
legged that the night rider organization
was perfected. for the purposes Of dTiv-
I ing the hill biliieS'' into line. IN the fail
and winter Of I905-19O6 The leaders Of
I the tobacco association have always pub
/ licly disclaimed violence when categori-
cally questioned as TO whether they ap-
/ prove Of its use, but II IS significant that
/ it is usually the stubborn hill billies"
I N---r--
I posed 10 BE- an inner circle Of the plant
/ eTs' association In the earlier days Of
/ their existence the destruction OF prop
/ erty and the intimidation OF the hill bill
/ lies" as a logical progression from the
/ boycott seemed 10 satisfy them. For a
/ time they were willing TO let It go al
that But Iawlessness IS progressive. The
! taste for violence grows. The ma-e reck-
/ less element among the night riders
| gained the ascendancy, and finally a state
/ Of affairs that IS little less than civil war.
/ and complicated with a thousand person
/ al hatreds and mixed with a dozen selfish
( or foolish motives. has grown out OF the
/ original economic grievance held by the
! planters against the tobacco truth That
J original grievance against the intangible
/ trust has IN some cases been lost sight Of
/ altogether L has been superseded by a
I definite. personal hatred against some
/ concrete enemy IN the other camp.
/ Just how far the leaders Of the ass0cla-
/ ton were responsible for the original
( lawlessness is a matter upon which I
/ cannot speak with authority. Il is al
least certain that as the forces which
I they invoked got beyond their control and
1 as lawlessness spread they accepted every
7 occasion 10 deny responsibility And il is
/ just as certain that many sympathIZers
with the association in Montgomery
County VIII 10 this day so so far as 20
/ cOndOne the murder Of a hill billy"
I From the destruction OF plant beds It
/ was a facile step TO arson and the whip
+ ping OF human beings. The tobacco barns
I OF the hill billies'' have been burned.
stables with livestock in them have been
destroyed. threshing machines and farm
/ implements have been dynamited.
a favorite trick was 10 hide bottles Of
/ gasoline and kerosene. with bundles OF
matches tied 10 them, in the sheaves Of
grain belonging 20 the "hlI biIIies." so
1 when the grain was run into the thresher
I the bottles would break, the matches ig-
mite and the whole concern be DESTROYED
! Threatening letters flooded the country.
and still do. The whipping Of people by
3
! became a favorite pastiTne. Throughout
the whole district affected IL IS difficult 10
say how many lawless acts. including
murders. have been committed since the
/ night rider OUtrages began In the coun-
Try directly tributary 10 CIarksviIle. Of
which I am speaking more particularly
/ at present il IS estimated that nearly so
crimes have been committed. The prose
cutting attorney OF Montgomery County.
| Mr. Matt g Lyle. assured me that this
estimate was too high; he thought a con-
servauve estimate OF acts OF lawlessnesS
| would reach about a hundred
They Do Not Dare Tell.
The local papers IN the region affected
from the night riders-or at least from
the tobacco association-the country cor
/ respondents for the city papers do not
dare TO tell what they know. as 2 rule;
witnesses 20 back on the prosecuting at,
! torney, refusing to swear in the court
room to what they have stated in private
conversation, juries are either afraid 70
return an indictment against the night
riders OF else are so packed with night
rider sympafhizers that convictions are
practically impossible: local officials in
the country districts are kept in a state
OF intimidation.
The man who is pOpularly given the
credit. or the discredit. for organizing
the night riders is one DR.. David Amos.
q country physician. who formerly re-
sided IN the little village Of Cobb. Cald-
! well County. Ky
| Where he now resides no one seems 70
know. for he disappeared some months
ago Some people assured me he was in
Japan; others that he was in San Fran
cisco. Again, I heard that he had left
San Francisco for South America Other
! informants said he was dead. ana still
others that he was IN hiding near CobD
Ky. He is about fifty-five years old.
was told before he began to fight the
hill billies" with his organization ht
had for several years been fighting Old
John Barleycorn rather industriOusly.
However that may be. he Is credited
with great deal Of ability as an organ
izer. and this he must have If he reals
is the organizer Of the night riders.
For they are both military and a civi
organization The head IS known as tn,
/ general, counties are presided over b1
colonies, msgisterial districts by cap
tsins, and So forth It Is the policy e
allow the younger men-mostly fellow,
between the ages Of eighteen and thirty
to do the actual raiding. while the olde'
heads and steadier hands are reserved
for jury dayt. witnesses. and so forth. il
case any Of the raids lead to trouble II
the courts.
Night Riders Are Nun nbered.
The masks used are constructed OF al
most any dark material. with Sits Gu
for the eyes and mouth. The leader
wear in addition to these a band Of whit
across the shoulders Each man has hi
number and answers to It instead of b.
name, while on an actual raid only tn
commanding officer speak. In the Reel
foot Lake district the night riders usu
} ally added TO the mask a kind Of lOOs