The Washington bee., 1909-07-10
THE NIGHT RIDERS
AIDED KENTUCKY
Original Organization Did Away
with Toll Gates and Brought
About Good Roads.
COMPANIES DISOBEYED The LAW
Grimes Committed Now Are by
Gangs Hiding Behind Name OF old
Association Which Caused the
AbOIishment Of the Turnpike Com
Panies.

Panies.
Louisville, Ky.-There has not
been. It is said, q crime Of mob viO-
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 Iynching OF q negro
by q mob. that has not been should
cred on the Night Riders.
The Night Riders were an organ
Ned body back in 1900, when the
state Legislature passed q law do
ing away with private ownership Of
NaSs roads. For months the turn
sfks corporations refused to obey
The state laws. They appealed to
ths State Supreme Court, then to
ne Court Of Appeals, and lastly to
ths United States Supreme Court,
and on each appeal they would get
9 stay. which made It possible for
them 10 continue running their toll
gates and charging two cents mills
Ter every horse or vehicle that passed
ever their property.
Because Of the laws delay the
eaAdition Of the roads became Inn
pAsSIble. The owners Of the turn
pIkSs would not ezPsnd enc eent
fer improvements as long as there
49, question Of their losing their
pEODsrsy By = HRaI seurt decision.
kzt they d!d net cease to mulet tFav-
slfoTs. An this while they refused
70 acespt the fair price eRered By
tie stAts for IheiT reads.
Il vas then that the Night Riders
EsrS organised. TIE organization
spread from Shelby County TO every
Rart Of the Etate. and ens Night in
ths late fall men rode from their
kamss and began burning toll gates.
ThsFs Is no record Of = toll gate
kesReT being injured uAlsss he show
ed resistance. Then he was taken
fsom the hoase, and II he sOntiRusd
o. ~ defiant he was logged. In
ninesy-Ains cases Sut sf e hundred
The toIe gate keeper vas glad to give
up Ais Job and let the gate bura.
NIEht Riders undoubtedly brought
lie turnpike corporations to terms.
There WRs not q toll gate left stand
knR IA the State of Kentucky By the
kosiowing spring. Had the taxpay-
srs and farmers been eontentea to
allow the law to take Its never end
kag course the chances Rrs that toll
gates would still be holding up tra-
vsIlers 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 1t possible
for almost all OF them TO be spTin-
kIed With oil during the summer
season, thus laying the dust.
The success OF the Night Riders
In the war against toll gates led 10
an organization of a similar char
Aetsr when the fight was waged
against the American Tobacco Com
Pany. But out of this last organiZa-
don there grew a body Of violent
men, who live on excitement and
thrive on lawlessness. Then spTsng
up. too, IawIess 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 as 8
herEs 70 ride.
II list OF the original body OF
Night Riders could be had the
ehsness are that the names OF many
men who hgured in the operations
Of the old Ku-Klux gang would be
found, and II this list were sifted
down it would show that many prop
srty-owners and men Of pTominenee
had resorted to violence because Of
their belief that action was their
enly safeguard against ruin, and
that q defiance OF law had 20 be met
BY q like defiance.