The Washington bee., 1909-05-08

Louisville. Ky.-There has not
been, 1t Is said. crime OF mob Vio-
lsnee committed In this State, in
Tennessee. or, in fact, in any of the
Routhern States or in any Of the
Middle Western States in the past
several years, with the exception OF
tho occasional lynehing Of 3 negro
~ mob, that has not been should
cred on the Night Riders.
The Night Riders were an organ
tzsd body back In 1900, when the
state Legislature passed law do
tng away with private ownership OF
state reads. For months the turn
Pike corporations refused to obey
sAs State laws. They appealed to
the State Supreme Court. then to
ths Court sf Appeals, and lastly to
the United States Supreme Court,
Ead en- each appeal they would get
9 stay. which made II possible for
them 70 continue running their toll
gates and charging two cents mile
fer every heFse or vehicle that passed
sv0T tAsiE property.
Because sf the laws delay tAs
ssaditisn Of the roads became im-
pAssthss. The owners Of the turn
pEkss woVId Rst sxpeAd enc esat
eSE Improvements - lSAg - there
wAa saSstton sS their l0sinE their
R<sRsrty - q anal seurt aecisiOn.
bat thsY aid ASt cease t. Aulct tTEv-
asisru. All this whfEs they refused
- accept the fair price sSsrsd by
ths State for thE4T rSAas.
II was thsn that the Night Riders
SsrS organised. The organization
sHrsAd frsm Shelby CSuAty TO every
RAFt sf the state, and enc Aight in
SAs late fall ASn rode frsm their
hsnss azd began Burning toll gates.
TASTS Is 10 record o{ . toll gate
kss%sr being Injured uHless he shsw-
e resistance. ThsB he was taksH
fFaH the hexss, and If he continued
e ks asHant be was Eoggsd. IN
sineSy-RIas cases sut 81 . hundred
AAs tSIs gate keeper vas glad 70 give
ap his Ssb and let the gate burn.
Night Riders undoubtedly brought
sAs turnsiks corporations to terms.
Thcre vas not toll gate left stan6-
EAg II the State Of Kentucky ky the
eeliowing spring. Had the tExP0y-
ere and farmers been eontentsa TO
allow the law to take It's never snd-
Tag course the chances are that toll
gates would still be holding up tTa-
Vsllers 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 improv-
ed them and even made 1t 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 q similar char
acter when the hght was waged
against the American Tobacco Com
R&ny. But cut Of this last organiEa-
ton there grew a body Of violent
men, who live on excitement and
thrive cn lawlessness. Then sprang
up, too, Iawless 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 meb didA't own so much as 9
horse to ride.
II q list Of the original body Of
Night Riders could be had the
chances are that the names Of many
men who Egured in the operations
Of the old Ku-KluK gang would be
found, and If this list were sifted
down II would show that many prop
sFty-oWneTs and men Of prominence
had resorted to violence because Of
their belief that action was their
emily safeguard against ruin. and
that a defiance OF Law had 20 be met
By q Ike defiance.