Year: 1871

Democrats throughout the South.


K-You were invited to make SOW
eral speeches in the South


Gen B-I made speech in Mont
gomery and in Meridian, Miss, and
was asked to make speech almost
every day, but I did not have time.
was the only Democratic member
of the committee there, and I was
prevented by chat from going to Mo-
bile and Vicksbnrg, where I was in
vited The committee generally sat
ten hours every day, sometimes at
night. There were three Republi-
cans, and, as 1 had no Democratic
colleague with me, I could not absent
myself day. But wherever spoke
in in public, or whenever I con-
versed with the leading men Of the
State, I found that they all accepted
the policy known as the Missouri
policy, as the only hope, and l be-
lieve that


IF GRANT SHOULD BE REELECTED
it would come very near depopulating
the Southern States of the white
people. l believe that everybody
would leave who had the means to





get away. The danger, the appre-
hension under which they suffer, the
actual inability to repress the crimes
of the character have spoken of, 10
such that the peopelc fe ell that they
can not in safety remain there among
that vast negro population, which is
prompted and urged all the time By
the most unprinciplel men on the
face ofGod's earth to excuses Of
every kind and description. They
consider that the Missouri policy is
the only one to save them from
ruin-extradition from their homes.
They believe that it would produce
a 9 ondition of affairs in the South
which would enable them to control
labor better, and in all probability
it would renew the prosperity of the
South and conduce to the happiness
Of both races; because these disturb
ances were created in great part by
designing men down there, growing
out Of the animositics engendered by
them, and they destroy tho happi-
ness of both the white people and the
negroes. They can not get along
neither race can get along without
harmony and good understa nding.
The whole South is in q most
unhappy condition.


ACTION OF THE COMMITTEE.


R.---Did fairness characterize tbs
action Of the committee?


Gen. B.---No. If there was brawl
on the street they would endeavor to
prove it to be disorder, and give tho
impression Of lawlessness, and they
would very frequently reserve wit
nesses. For instance, in Mississippi,
they had before them the United
States District Attorney. He came
to Colembus, and was there the whole
time that the committee sat there
They never put him on the stand
until the very last day, when they
had determined to adjourn on Friday
night. Friday evening they put this
gentleman on the stand, and be had
fortypages of foolscap, which he had
filled up with all the stories he had
been able to gather together under
his administration of the Kuklux
laws, and he read them to the COM
mittee, and they were all reported
when it was too late for me to call
any witnesses from the localities to
explain or refute them. And they
observed that sort Of conduct in all
their sessi ons in the different places.
They male point to give the minor
ity no opportunity to refute the
stories gotten up in this way. The
ONLY REAL KuKLux


that We had before us was man who
admitted that be had joined the Ku-
klux in Sumter county, Alabama.
He admitted he had taken the oath
and joined the Kuklux. They asked
him the question, "Of course you arc
a Democrat" but he drew himself
back upon his dignity and said NOT
that before the war be was an Old
line, Henry Clay Wing. Since the
war he had not belonged to any
party. "But,' said these inauisi-
tors, ''you did not belong to any
party, but you voted for be Demo-
crats!' NO. said he, with an
oath, Il have voted but once since
the war, and the time | voted it was
for old Squire Meredith, who is