The Washington bee., 1909-04-24
THE NIGHT RIDERS
AIDED KENTUCKY
Original Organization Did Away
with Toll Gates and Brought
About Good Roads.
COMPANIES DgSOBEYED THE LAW
Grimes Committed Now Are by
Gangs Hiding Behind Name Of Old
Association Which Caused the
Adjustment Of the Turnpike Com
PaAIes.

Louisville. Ky.-There has not
been. it Is Eaid, crime Of mob vio-
Isncs 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
sSysrSl years. with the exception OF
tAs occasional lynching OF a negro
~ . mob. that has not been should
sred en- the Night Riders.
The Night Riders were an organ
iSsd body back in 1900, when the
sEats Legislature passed law do
HAg away with private ownership OF
EAss reads. For months the turn
pfhs corporations refused to obey
6S State laws. They appealed TO
tAs State Supreme Court. then TO
SAs Court Of Appeals, and lastly to
&c UAitsd States Supreme Court.
sad On each sBpeal they would get
g stay. which made II possible for
them 10 continue running their toll
gates and charging two cents mile
sAr every herse sr vehicle that passed
s~ST tAsiT property.
Because Of the laws delay the
eSzAitiea Of the reads became im-
pAss1Als- The swHsrs Of the Turn
pKkss w0VIa net ezHsnd enc cent
fer iMHFoyumenta As lOng a. there
Was question q their l0sinG their
pESDa<ty - q aAal esErt ssCisisa.
kxt tAsy Esd Hst cease ts RulCt tTGv.
salSES. All this whEls they refused
. accept the fair price eEsrsd BY
tAs State for Ihsir reads.
II was thea thEt the Night Riders
WarS organised The organization
sproad frem Shelby County TO sVsry
part q tAs ststs. ana enc Alght In
tAs late fail nSz rode frsm theiI
ksHss Aza ksxAn burAinE toll gates
ThsFs Is 70 rscorN sf = toll gate
ksSpsF being injured uElsss he aheW'
e resistance. ThsR he vas taKeE
fTNm tAs hOzSs, and IL he esAtiAust
- ~ ssAaat he vas Aoggsd. In
zfnssy-Rine cases cut sf = hundred
EAs Gsls gate keeper vas glad to EtVe
up his Isb and let the gate bura.
Night Riders undoubtedly brought
the turnpike corporations to terms
There was not 8 toll gate left stand
bag in the State Of KOntucky By the
following spring. Had the taxp0y-
sFs and farmers been contented to
Anew the law to take its never end
lag course the chances are that tOl
gates would still be holding up ira
VaIlera on the State roads to-day
and that the roads would have beer
worse now than they we're when th'
Night Riders became organized.
The Kentucky roads now ar
among the best in the United States
There are not millions Of dollars o.
wAtered stock on which to pay int
crest, and the State tax has improv
ed them and even made 1t possible
for almost all of them to be sprin'
kled with oil during the summer
season, thus laying the dust.
The success of the Night RidcYs
In the war against toll gates led to
an Organization of q similar char.
aetsr when the fight was waged
against the American Tobacco Com
RAny. But out of this last organiEa-
ton there grew q body Of violent
men. who live on excitement and
thrive on lawlessness. Then sprang
up, too, lawless bodies OF men in
many Of the Southern and Middle
Western States, who chose to cal
themselves Night Riders, though thC
probabilities are that 90 per cent. oi
the men didn't own so much, as 1
horse to ride.
II list of the original body Oi
Night Riders could be had the
chances are that the names OF may
men who hgured in the operations
Of the old Ku-KlBx gang would bt
found, and II this list were siftet
down II would show that many prop
srty-owners and men Of prominence
had rescrted to violence because ei
their belief that action was their
only safeguard against ruin, and
that a defiance Of law had TO be NET
by a like defiance.