The Washington bee., 1909-06-12

Louisville. Ky.-There has not
been, II is said, crime Of mob vto-
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 lynching Of a negro
BY a mob, that has net been should
cred on the Night Riders.
The Night Riders were an organ
lied body back In 1900, when the
State Legislature passed law do
ing away with private ownership Of
State roads. For months the turn
pike corporations refused to obey
the State laws. They appealed TO
the State Supreme Court, then to
the Court OF Appeals, and lastly to
the United States Supreme Court,
and On each appeal they would get
= stay. which made It possible for
them 10 continue running their toll
gates and charging two cents mile
fer every horse or vehicle that passed
over their property.
Because sf the laws delay the
condition Of the roads became tm-
passibIs. The owners Of the turn
pixies would not exBend enc cent
for improvements as long Is there
vas question Of their losing their
property By q hnaI court decision.
bat they asa net cease 70 mulct trav-
sllers. All this while they refused
70 accept the fair price offered by
the State for their roads.
It vas thea that the Night Riders
we're organized. The organization
spread from Shelby County to every
part Of the gtate, and one night In
the late fall men rode from their
homes and began burning toll gates.
There Is no record of a toll gate
keeper being injured unless he shew-
ed resistance. Then he was taken
from the house, and II he eontiaued
to be defiant he was fogged. In
ninety-Rins cases cut Of hundred
the teie gate keeper was glad to give
ap his tsb and let the gate burs.
NIEht Riders undoubtedly brought
the turnpike corporations TO terms,
There was not toll gate left stand
ing IN the State Of Kentucky by the
following spring. Had the taxpAy-
sFs and farmers been eentented to
allow the law to take its never end
ing course the chances are that coll
gates would still be holding up ira
VeIlers on the State roads to-day,
and that the roads would have been
worse now than they we're 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 It possible
for almost all of them to be sprin-
kied 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
kcter when the fight was waged
against the American Tobacco Com
pany. But out of this last organiza-
tion there grew a body Of violent
men, who live on excitement and
thrive on Iawlessness. Then spTang
Up, too, lawless bodies of men in
many OF the Southern and Middle
Western States, who chose to call
themselves Night Riders, though the
probabilities are that SO per cent. of
the men didn't own so much as q
horse to ride.
II a list of the original body OF
Night Riders could be had the
chances are that the names Of many
men who fgured in the operations
Of the old Ku-Klux gang would be
found, and If this list were sifted
down 1t would show that many prop
srty-owners and men Of prominence
had resoTted to violence because of
their belief that action was their
only safeguard against ruin, and
that a defiance Of law had TO be met