Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1872-07-26
TIL EEECTI0N TRAIN-A. P. CURRY
ss MEaIBER or THE RADICAL,
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.

cabcandidate for Sheriff, are squirminr
One Of them has written us an anony
nous letter, which is a literary curiosity
The document is subject to public in
spection. Tae writer wiz never success
as an assassin, for he is fool enough t
repeat in his anonymous letter an anec
dOte which he has been often heard {,
tell on the streets. Neither anOnymou
letters nor scowls dark as the evening
storm-eloud, viii prevent US from dis.
charging our duty. A P. Curry has
heretofore been a proscriptive, vindictivt
Radical. Bis record is offensive to
Democrats, and we intend to deal with
him as an obnoxious partisan. Three
years ago Colonel Curry, while
Sheriff OF Shelby county, was
a member Of the Radical Elk
eeutive Cornmittee. Indeed, we do
not know that he has yet resigned that
position. Colonel Curry showed by the
faithful manner in which he discharged
his duties, that the confidence which
secured his appointment was not mis-
placed, for he was a valuable member of
the committee. He worked day and
night to elect Stokes Governor of Ten
nessee, because he was opposed to en-
franchising traitors as he stigma
TIED the Confederate soldier. Curry
had been elected Sheriff by the negro
vote. Disfranchisement suited his pur-
pose, and so anxious was he to retain
power and to keep the rebels from the
baIlot-box, that be chartered railroad
cars for the Purpose Of importing fraud
ulent negro voters into Memphis.
Never viii we forget the indignation
which vas O~ccasioned by Curry's at
tempt TO import negroes into Memphis,
where they could have an opportunity Of
repeating their votes for Stokes. So
fierce was the abuse of Colonel Curry,
he was constrained to write a weak and
silly card in Justification of his action
a a member of the Radical Executive
Committee. That card was published
in the Memphis papers, and on the
twelfth Of August a prominent citizen
of Memphis wrote the following reply to
Colonel Curry's card:
EDITORS AvALANCHE-In your issue
of the seventh instant appears the card
of Sheriff a. p. Curry in regard to an at
tempt TO import q large number of ne
grOes from Mississippi to vote in our re-
cent State election. Mr.. Curry wishes
''tO be set right before this community"
in this matter. This is cOmmendable, |
and surely is likewise the desire of the
people of Shelby county that he should
clear himself of all imputation of com.
plicity in that nefarious transaction. !
He is an officer sworn to obey and pro-
teet the laws Of the State of Tennessee, |
and any derugation from bis strict line
Of official duty not only affects his repu-
tatiOn as an officer and q good citizen. ]
but likewise brings to some extent dis
grace upon the people whose officer he
is. But does his card eXculpate him
from the charge? Does his explanation
satisfy anybody? He says:
"s a member Of the County Repub-
licen Committee, I was selected to see
.he ~upeTintendents Of the different
railroads, and to make an Arrangement
with them for additional cars on the
regular trains to bring voters from
country precincts who preferred voting
in the city, feeling that they could do so
with more freedom than in the precincts
where they lived.
believing that citizens of the county
had a legal right to vote at any voting
place IN the county they saw fit, I had
no hesitancy in complying with the re-
quest, and with that view made the az
rangement.n
In the first place, / would ask Mr..
Curry if he really believes il to be COM
patible with the position or becoming
in a Sheriff to attach himself to a COM
mittee of partisan politicians, wherein
be is required TO exercise the influence
of his official position to sustain party
intrigues and purp0ses2 Every one
knows the power Of a Sheriff when pros
tituted TO evil designs and practices, and
how easily and stealthily it may be
brought to bear in elections. An execu-
ton is held up TO favor some political
friend, to the injury Of a political OPP
ponent, or an opponent rigidly and {
unnecessarily oppressed, unless he I
will agree to vote with the Sheriff..
And although he may not exercise
his power In those and many
other cases where he could, if dis
posed TO do so, his very position is
suspicious, and every consideration Of
prOpriety and prudence should forbid
@-I n pa NAAAN4NAkA III GLENNLOLLHa Il
His politics and preferences for individ- I
ual candidates may be known, and like {
other gentlemen express himself fully i
and treely on all proper occasions in re- J
gard TO them, but further than this, ,
should be condemned and denounced I
by every correct thinking man. He I
should consider himself as the Sheriff Of :
the county and people, and not a tool of t,
party organization, to force by alternate :
oppression and indulgence, an unwilling
people into the support Of bis own party. {
/ do no make any charges against
Sheriff Curry, because / do not knOw :
what he has done. We know this, how .
ever, that he is in very bad company for r
the Sheriff q shelby county 10 be in a
Having the power 10 do mischief. and as !
ISOLATED as he tells us with the "Repub- I
iican Committee, |" a band Of unscrupu-
lous and unmitigated ~rascals, it is o
quite enough to create apprehension and D
alarm in the mind of every honest and 4
law-abiding citizen in the country. :
The reason given by Sheriff Curry for
his zeal and anxiety i'm procuring cars e
10 bring voters from the country pre- e
to the city, is certainly the most %
feeble and weak that was ever given :
Tor doing anything when a reason was
demanded. He says because they 1.-The 8
1egrOes) could vote " with more free <
dom in the city than in the precincts eI
where they lived" Was there ever !
anything more puerile? Urged by this =
powerful reason, Sheriff Curry charters q
I've Iallroad cars to 60 to COllierville, a al
precinct IN The extreme corner Of the a.
near the Mississippi State line, q.
10 bring negroes to Memphis 10 vote ~
~here Ihey could vote with mora 0free- ~
1t Il true that here in Memnhis IT
former elections, the Degroes from
MISSISSIPPI have voted with the 0reoseg y
freedom, as sOlne have been kSov1n - ht
boast that they had voted as o. = fe,
six and seyen times, in different vyards N
the same election, and this is the free- ~
Tom the Republican Committee selected =
Sheriff Curry to engineer through, and az
which he tells us he had no hes B
fancy in complying with" and he @
"made the arrangement AZ
II - usually taken for granted that -
he Sheriff OF a county is very generally a
acquainted with the voters and the n
itpength OF the Various precincts. Sher- II
~ curry then, we must suppose, knew ~
'91ae hlng OF The voting strength oil
-~0lie1vnle; which Is shown Ina the Ia.s y
sieciIon 70 nave given one hundred and u
for sienter and twelve for IA
stokes. Now, is it within the boundsofl ~
Radical cfedulitY 10 believe that Sheriff. ~
'ury dispatched fee railroad cars Ia pa
'oHjcrwie q bring to Memphis twelve it:
fa0icaluegroes 70 vote f0r Stokes ssin al
be cry WHERE they could vote with n,
a ore freedom" than they could at Col -
ieTville? VI
There is no dOiging the fact that these "a
i've cars were engaged, and We may al