The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1922-11-21
4 HELL DE 4 TINE
Nov. IS, 1922.

a HELL OF a TIME
(By A. 3. Williams, Former Editor
! Of The Grcenville News, in The
j London, Va, Mirror.)
The heading IS net intended to be
profanc. 1t IS faithfully descriptive.
November Z. It is the date for the
election this year. It is deeply burnt
ts9;n the memories O. those wao were
IN the Diae2; Bel: stt2tes Of the south
lin 1S7G-fo.y-s:x years ago. Novena-
.ls;2sr Z was The election cay that ycaG
'ESrd it was locked to with hope and
horror. It marked the time when the
white population would .3e forced to
! Fee from hell becoming worse daily
!or' you'd be established IN security.
! %If republican governments had been
I Reelected in the states CT South Car
] Dina, Louisiana, Florida and Mississ-
! ippi, November 7, 1875, there would
Save been nothing for the mass OF
; the white people to - but to depart
;sSUifsiy accepting, as temporary
! refuge, government by the United
States army which, at least, would
have beer honest and decentiy just
while il was allowed to last. Taking
South Carolina IS typical Of the 9TH
e. Etstos, Hampton Or He'll" was
j not mere slogan or campaign cry.
i was the decp-voiced declaration of
| tao clearly formed purpose Of the
S55ple. It meant Hampton, the Dem
faerat;c nominee, for governor, or
sucl, frantic and widespread disturb
ancc as would force the federal ad-
:.,il::s..ration to establ sh military law
and occupy the safe with the army.
g We forget new, CT fal to under
stand, that exactly wat Is being
faone in Russia vas uadecchan II
these American states through the
ten years from 1886 - 1S7S-rule
of the proie.ar:at, cf tecsc w,.o err
l..zz:io and possess aoehiAg; transfer
OF Tie l2na from these who owned II
. those who wanted il: destruction
Of the high bred and the middle class
:es, shifting of the bottom rail . the
; top. And cultured, rich, conse-va-
Tive New England instigated and at
{ tempted this work. Massachusetts,,
Maine, Vermont, furnished the yea
lots. the fanatical avengers, the en-
thusiast;c uplifters and overturners;
New York and Pennsylvania the sor-
goid, greedy, coarse and common
5erooks and thieves. And crazed IDEAL
list and thief and thug working to-
5gcther for the ruin Of civilization.
/ The situation justified the dread,
tmade dense the blackness, of the nor
ror, showed hardly CLEAN Of hope.
While the ku klux rode abroad. s.
! lentiy and grinly picketed the cross
roads, pasroiled village and town that
held hidden sources Of crime and dis
order, every man might feel that his
family and home were reason
. ably safe. The Invisible Empire es-
tablished and maintained law and
protection where courts denied both.
But the Ku Klux had been finally
crashed in 1874. Scores of its mem
bers had fed 20 Canada or were in
northern penitentiaries. The white
people were unguardcd, defenseless
desperate. In South Carolina the
!. group in the legislature known as
''The Forty Thieves had elected
/ Whi2per and Moses circuit Judges
Wh;ppeS was a gross, bestisl black
man from Philadelphia, who Travelled
with an outfit of mulatto women
Moses had been the 'rob5er govern
or who as governor peddled par
dons to any criminals, however vici'
Gus or vile, VINO co-ld offec money
for them and had led ribald dance:
and spent thousands of dollars in g
night in public Srothels. These men
on the benches meant use of the Law
to persecute white and colored whc
would rot or could not serve then
politically or pay their prices. On"
of the three JUDGES of the supreme
ccurs was a drunken negIo police
court shystec, also from Philadelphia
The attorney general was another
black man from the same city. ven
orous as rattlesnake in August, a!
the more dangerous because an ora