The weekly standard., 1869-10-13
For the Standard.
The Groom Case-Joe Turner'S Speech
at Wentworth.

! E9 .lJl ttfFl on BATH For the Standard. ?
The Groom Case-JOe Turner'S Speech
at Wentworth. s-.,...
Mr. EDITOR The Sentinel, it seems, is
determined to misrepresent the trial of Mr..
Zach Groom, which detailed in my COM
munication of the 25th. ic zr-f ., -r r1-
The, Sentinel of the 30th says that Lewis
Watt and son made afidavits that Mr.. Groom
offered them ten dollars to burn the houses
of some half dozen gentlemen. What
I did Lewis Watt and son testify before JUS
| tice Starrell2 They swore that Mr.. Groom
did not offer them ten dollars to burn the
houses of some dozen gentlemen. Conse-
quently, Lewis Watt and son are now in Jail
awaiting trial for perjury. 51 ball
The Sentinel does not tell the people that
the prosecutors gave Mr.. Groom a written
statement, clearing Mr.. Groom from all
charges. 1t does not tell the people that
Gen. Simpson, DR.. Simpson, and J.. W.
Thompson stated upon oath, that they knew
nothing of the character of Mr.. Groom to
justify the belief that he CMr, Groom would
be guilty of the charge upon which he was
arrested, and that they had prosecuted Mr..
Groom upon the afidavits of Lewis Watt
and son, and for no other reason. l..
Now as to the character of Mr. Groom:
The Sentinel says that several witnesses
testified that the character Of Mr.. Groom
was bad; that Henry Thomas said it was
bad for truth and honesty. Each witness
could testify that the neighborhood said the
character of Mr.. Groom was bad Why?
No reason could or was given why his char
acter is bad. There is no act of Mr.. Groom's
life that makes him bad man. He never
voted the Democratic ticket; he never rob-
bed any person he never killed any person.
On the other hand, Mr.. Groom has been a
consistent member of the Methodist Church
| in good standing for more. than ten years.
His whole life has marked him as good
citizen; and but for the devilish spirit of
persecution, that exists in the Ku Klux
Democracy of this State, there would never
have been anything gotten up against Mr..
Groom. There is good reason to believe
that the arrest and trial of Mr.. Groom was
planned and arranged before he was arrested
or the public knew anything of the case
Men, with the spirit of He'll in their bosoms,
with no courage to back them, were at the
bottom of the whole matter. There is a
possibility that the public may know more
Of this affair than the provicators or Joe
Turner desires that they should know. I
am done with this case. Every honest, good
citizen can see through. the whole matter.
and believes that Mr.. Groom is entirely in
nocent. Every Ku Klux, like Jae Turner,
believes him guilty. l -ss a. -.
| The Sentinel chuckles over the fact that
| the STANDARD called for news from Joe
Turner's speech at Wentworth, and received
a. long communication from Rockingham
but nothing from Joe's speech.
| You chuckled too soon, Joe. Here is the
gist of your speech. -.-.........
After dealing in great deal of blackguard,
and talk about taxes, Settles bridge, the
Ring, railroad appropriations, and carpet
baggers, he commenced upon the Union
League. He told the people that the Union
| League was the cause of all the Ku Kluxing
| that had been going on in this State; and
| that this oatn-bound association was danger
| GUS to liberty. Further, when speaking of
| the outrages in Jones county, he said that
Sheriff Colgrove had been killed because he
oppressed the people of Jones until some of
them shot him; that Mr.. Colgrove. was a
bad man, man that the people might well
be afraid of, and that be deserved his fate
Further, that Judge Settle and Judge
Tourgee had offended the good people of
Rockingham as much as Colgrove did the
people Of Jones, and that Judge Settle and
Judge Tourgee were no better than Colgroue!
What is this but trying to incite men to
take the life of the two judges mentioned
That was the mission of Joe Turner to
Wentworth. He would thank God to know
that his cowardly attempt to have murder
committed had been carried out d.
Judge Settle and Judge Tourgec would
have the editor of the Sentinel to know that
they do not fear the Ku Klux nor J oe Tur-
ncr either. If Mr.. Turner must have two
leading Republican Judges Ku Kluxed, let
Mr. Turner do his own work. No man who
hired some person to shoot through his win.
dow for the purpose of making the public
believe that somebody tried to assassinate
him, will meet man face to face for the
purpose of taking life. As leading Demo-
cflt remarked there was no difference in Joe
Turner's speech this time from any other,
only that he did not break his ticklcr this
| time. rl.f. ..e. e -
| $3.50 =,-s.AsE r- ROCKINGHAM.
| Rockingham county, Oct. 2, 1869.