Fort Worth weekly gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1889-09-05
ROBERTS COUNTY CASE.
Judge Little Comes Back with Batch
of AffidavitS
In Support of the Allegations Made in His
Open Letter to Governor Ross-NO Need
of the Rangers.

The Judge was seen last night by repre-
sentative of THE GAZETTE, who inquired
of him what had been the outcome of
the contested election cases in his
county, and IN what the trouble there
had taken its rise.
''The trouble, such as it isl said
Judge Little, "and 1 assure you there
has been very little of it, arose over
division in sentiment regarding the
proper location of the court house.
Bennett, situated over on Indian creek,
and Miami were the contending points.
Miami won, and now the jewellers on
Indian creek are dissa tisfied. -
Glow did the rangers happen to be
sent to Miami?''
''That is one of the things no fellow
can find out. The whole story, sNh1eed
up, is this: There was a eonteS OYER
offices of county and dIstrictA clefk
Burns was in possession of sthe OFFICES Ahd
a writ of custer was ISSUE orde1Ih ssthej
constable to take chaE&e oEssthe sehic ess
and turn them over t6EAlcofEfa e con-
testant. On AugustM Capt. McMurray
and three OF his rangers arrived in
Miami, and on the 18th the constable
proceeded to serve the writ of custer
He went to the courthouse with q posse,
all the members of which were armed,
and demanded possession of the clerk IS
Office from Burns. Seeing that resist
ance was useless, Burns complied. Burns
went to the sheriff and told him
what had been done The
sheriff appointed a deputy, gave
him a six-shooter and told him to go to
the clerk s office and guard the records
and not allow them to be used. The
man went to the office, and, upon ar
rival, found Capt. McMurray and B. NJ.
Baker there. They told him he had no
right in the office, and that he was liable
to arrest for carrying a six-shoOter.
Baker, evidently becoming excited, said
to the constable: FClear out the office
if you have to kill and drag out. - Hear
ing this and being told by Capt. McMur-
ray that he had no right to carry a gun,
the sheriff S deputy left. Now the COM
plant we have to make is that
there was no need of any rangers
beng sent 10 Miami. The county is
inhabited by law-abidIng citizens, the
people of the town are peaceably dis
posed, and the civil authorities are per-
fectly competent to execute all Writs that
may be placed in their hands without
any assistance from the military arm of
the government. The application to
have rangers sent to Miami was evil
IDENTITY made for the purpose of casting
the stigma Of lawlessness upon the people
of Roberts county. We further think
that Capt. McMurray, having been sent
there to help preserve the peace, and he
could have been sent there for no other
\ ,Tr-I,F
matter at all, seeing that everything was
quiet and orderly. -
elbow about your refusal to convene
the commissioners court for the purpose
of approving Alcorn's bond?'
81 had heard it said that AIcorn, as
soon as his bond was approved, intended
to load the county records on q wagon
and move them over to Indian creek.
[ know if he attempted that there would
be trouble, ana somebody would be
killed. 1 therefore waited until the
posse brought there by the constable had
gone away, then l called the court to-
gether, approved Alcorn s bond and
swore him in. -
"Then you still stand by the state
ments made in your open letter to Gov
neror Ross?'
Every one of them, and I am ready
to Substantiate them before any unprej-
udiced man who may be sent to investi-
gate the matter. AS the matter now
stands Governor Ross has appointed
to investigate the trouble Judge Willis.
the man who had the rangers sent there,
and Judge Willis has delegated Baker
an attorney in the case and one of the
chief movers in the difficulty. With
judge and a packed jury of !
course we stand no chance for q lust |
verdict. have here affidavits from ten |
of the best men in the county that bear
me out in every thing say -
Here Judge Little produced the affida- |
wits of Capt. J. S. WEIGH, Judge John |
G. Irwin, D. E. Burns, L. V. Harm,
Thomas Armstrong, A. w. Henderson |
Lefors and Joe Titler.
Captain WEIGH, agent of the quarter !
master 5 department United States army. |
affrms that there was no disturbance of |
any kind in Miami on Aug. u, and none !
there no time. He had heard the cleo |
ton contest discussed but had heard no |
indications of a purpose on the part of |
any Of the claimants to defend their
claims in any way save through legal |
channels.
Judge John s. Irwin, of Edwardsville,
Ill. , testified that he had been in Miami |
for some time prior to August u, min
Cling with the citizens, and that everv-
thing was peaceable and quiet, and there
was no disturbance threatened which
called for the presence of the rangers.
W. A. Nourse, postmaster at Miami,
'wears that all was peaceable in the
town, and that so far as he knew no dis
-urbance was imminent on August y
L. V. Harm swears that he was in
Miami on August y, that there was no
trouble of any kind and that there was
10 necessity for the display of a heavily
armed force such as the rangers and the
s posse. He further SAYS that
Mr.. AlcOTn, in whose favor the writ of
)uster was issued, had opposed employ
ng an armed posse in serving it.
I. H Lefors testifies that there was no
iced of rangers in Miami on August y,
hat no trouble was threatened: that had
he writ Of custer been placed in his
lands he could and would have served
(.
Thomas Armstrong, the man depu-
lied by Sheriff Lefors to guard the re-
lords ofthe clerk 5 office and prevent their
emUval, testifies that he went to the
.lerk's office; that there he saw Capt.
dcMurray and B. II. Baker; that "B.