Wilmington journal., 1874-07-24
| JUDGE, RUSSELL AND islS.-EU
kSszJx TESTIMONY

Judge. and asks the people of
,ksanaps6fss R ahess ss, Duplin, Ons-
4 low Sand dsthe Atler counties in this
i Dis Ect B voH for linn. Has he any
4 riglF tessxpe6s-the people of Sampson
to put him on the Bench? Let us
| sec.
His cou-se toward the people Of
that county was such that they sought
and ebtaifed relisfs from the sIegislax
ture by having their county taken out
of the District, so that he might not
hold itsscorrts:s If there was everany
dissatisfaction with that action of the
Legislature it has aever come to the
public ear. Indeed SO anxious were
those people to get rid of Judge Rus
| sell that they agreed to pay, and did
pay willingly and cheerfully one half
of lthesJudge's salary for holding their
courts in" the new circuit, whereas
fhad they remained under, Judge Rus
sell the State would nave paid the
/ whole amount. In these hard times,
when men pay money out of their own
| pockets to get rid Of Judge who will
cost them no money, it is safe to say
they have very strong motives con-
trolling them. - .' '''@." - ,.....,
| The w lite people of Sampson coun-
ty have 10 love and no cause = to love
''our reconstruction legacy" Their
feeling on this point is notoriously
| well nigh unanimous. Is it likely, that
the whole white people. of an entire
county should be in the wrong in this
| matter, and that one man, and that
man Daniel Z. Russell, should be in
! the, right ,..I !..,...- ..<'l. ...,..
People, OF =. Sampson, has Judge
! Russell told the truth about you or
has he Sian ndered you? Here is what
| he said 9tnoicg' oath before the United
| States Senate. Ku tlux Outrage Com
mittee in the spring of 1871. Read
every word careful!y:' ..' "s
EXTRACTS FROM JUDGE RUssELLs TEsTI-
OUTRAGE COMMITTEE, IN THE SPRING
OF 1871. -
Question-(by the Committec.) Is
there any other portion OF your dis
trict in which there has been any dis
turbance OF the public peace? .. -.
Answer--(by Judge Russell.) There
aave been crimes committed i'll some
of the counties--in at least two OF
them to my Lnow!edg; and I have
reason to believe that in one of them
lat least, they We're political?
Q-What county is that? ..4
A-SampsOn.
Q-What was the character of thai? ?
A-The most striking instance /
have heard Of was that of e coiorcd
man, WHO was said to have been a
2s'ot1ai3acat !yenNfAt0n aud Republican
in the county, who WAS called out to
his door just after dark and shot dead
by patty of men at the fence. That
occurred III the year 1868, immedi-
ately after, or during the Presidential
campaign. There have been no indict-
ments, and so far. as have been in
formed, 10 attempt to indict. That
occurred within short distance of the
county town, and almost within the
corporate limits. ..
Q-Were the men III disguise who
| cOmmlteu the OHeEce!
Al have never heard That they
; were. I have taken the trouble' my
self to enquire privately of negroes,
and one or two Union men in that
comfy, if they knew anything aLout
the facts connected with the murder:
The inyarable answer was if they had
any knowledge it would not be safe fol
them to reveal it.
I q Mas II tho n
ton before any Magistrate?
Al never heard that it was.
Whether it was before Coroner's 8 Ju1y
or not I cannot say. It is usual to
have such jury, and the usual verd.
let IL such cases is death by some per
son unknown to the jury Whether
an investigation took place in that
case I 10 not remember. There has
been no presentnlent or Indictment
before the Grand Jury.
Q-What was the political complex
ion OF that county and its officers
A-Democratic'
Q-In cases arising out of injuries
alleged to have been inflicted by the
secret disguised organization, do yeu
believe there is any difficulty in the
administration OF justice in the Courts
in consequence of the existence of the
organization.
A-Wel / do not remember that
there has been any indictment in any
Court, over which I have presided,
against the masked marauders. /
have a very decided opinion on that
question, but I cannot speak from any
positive personal observation.
Owe would be glad to have your
opinion as a judicial officer of the
county, of the state of things in your
District?
ADO you desire me to speak spe-
cially with reference to my District, or
elsewhere in the State? .'
Q-Elsewhere in the State, if your
information is such as to have formed
an opinion upon it.
A-Well sir, my Information extends
over most of the State, for I have
taken the trouble to inform myself in
respect to at least two-thirds of the
occurred, and from what [ consider
reliable authority, my opinion is very
decided that it is utterly impossible to
secure anything like n fair trial in any
case where any person belongs to any
of these secret organizations, or clans,
Constitutional Union Guards, &c.
Utterly impossible in any such case to
obtain fair trial on the part of the
State. In the first place it is difficult
to procure bill ofindictment through
the Grand Jury. In nine cases out of
ten the men who commit the crimes
constitute Or sit on the Grand jury.
either they themselves or their near
relatives or friends, sympathizers, aid
ers or abettors and if bill is found
it is next to impossible to secure con-
viction upon trial at the bar. 1 have
heard Of no instance in North Carolina
where conviction of that sort has
taken place.
Q. Does that difficulty arise from
the presence of members of the organ
ization on the jury or from the appear
ance of witnesses in behalf of the Or
| ganization, or both
A-From both, SO far as my infor-
nation goes.
Q-To what extent is that the case
| ~, ba 10 Of