The Washington bee., 1909-04-03
The NIGHT RIDERS
AIDED KENTUCKY
oasiAaI Ors@zizatis@ Did Away
with Ton Gases and Brsaght
Abous CeoA Rsads.
COMPANIES eSOsEYED THE LAW
OskAAs CoNazssse4 New Are kY
S@s H5&1zS BsAAsa EAzs - OLE
Associates Which Caused the
AksEsshzzssA - sAs Turzp4ke O~sA-
PAzAsa.

PazAea-
Louaavills. Ey-Thsrs has net
eSsa. Il is sA4A. . syine sf Aob Vie
ls7es csmMFtSad n this state, in
TeAASSsss. 81, In fact. IN any OF the
E8UthSra States sr In any Of tbs
kiAdis Western States In the past
eswsrsl years. With the exception OF
As sseazionai lynehinE sf 3 negro
~ = Mob, that has not been should
sesG s3 tho Night Riders.
ne Night Riders were an organ
AaA RsAy bAek In 1890. when the
sAAts Legislature passed 4 Law do
~ swAy VIA pytvsss ownership OF
AAs rsaas. FeT EsAthS the turn
- sS<HsFAkssAs Fssussa to obey
- BsaAs hws. TAsY appealed t.
- state sxvTs@s ceurt, then to
- CSaFt e Appeals. and lastly to
- uHitsd states Supreme Court,
- "a each apDsai they wsaid get
. sag. wkfsA A@4e It possible for
tksa ts soztaH3s TuRning theiT toll
sAsos sad ekAFStaG two cents nils
~ every ksFse ~ vehicle that passed
SvSg sAsir VvsPsTtg.
bssAHss SS The laws delay tAs
ssaaftssA ef the reads became Ina
pAAsGkts. ne SwHSrs Of the turA-
Hss wsHsG sst sxpS4A s@s ssat
asS lxSRSsVS@Sata ~ lo@g - thsrs
was Rwsstbsa sf thstr ISsaas GhsiE
R1srSg ~ = AEA1 ssuFt SSofsssa.
s@G eASy atA HS4 cease ts @atSt trAV-
ssssra. All thts whsss tAsT refused
e Aocspt tas fair Hries OEsred hy
LAa BtAts fer lhetr FsAas.
II vas thea that ths NIEAt Riders
sSrs srgAAtsSd. T&s organization
EsrsAA trom Shelby Oszaty to every
RAxt sf the state. ana enc Atght In
SAs Lass fail Hsn rOds frem their
AsMss AID began buFz1RG toli gates.
YAaFO Is As record SS toll gate
kss7sE kSsnG injured uzisss he sASw-
81 resistance. Thea be was taksn
- ks Gsaaat he wa AOgssd. In
EIaStY-Rlas eases cut 81 4 hundred
The tole gate keeper vas glad 10 give
sR ASs ssb and let the gate burR.
Night Riders undoubtedly brought
sAs turnpike corporations to tsrms.
There was act toll gate left staB6-
tag In the State Of Kentucky BY the
following spring. Had the taxpay-
sFs and 1aFmers been eentented 10
allow the faW to take its never end
ing course the chances are that toll
gates would still be holding up ira
vollers on the State roads to-day,
AAd 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 lmpTov-
ed them and even made II possible
for almost all Of them to be spTin-
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
an organization of a similar char
acter when the fight was waged
against the American Tobacco Com
Rany. But cut OF this last oTganiga-
tion there grew a body of violent
men. who live on excitement and
thrive on lawlessness. Then spTang
up, too. iawless bodies of men in
many or 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 a
horse to ride.
If a 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
Of the old Ku-KlgX gang would be
found, and IL this list were sifted
down 1t would show that many prop
erty-owners and men OF prominence
had resortsd to violence because OF
their belief that action was their
only safeguard against ruin, aRd
that a defiance OF law had 10 be met
by q like defiance.