The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1889-10-30

honor OF any hepuolIcan voter,
white or black.
1t will interest the public To know
how the fair count and free vote
theory of the Republicans worked
in a part of this district. Tt will be
remembered that Fleming chal-
lenged / 900 votes given to Golf and
that of these over 700 were cast
in the Third district As the casesof
Fleming and Anderson are similar,
as far as the voting went, we pre-
sent from the printed record of the
case of McGinnis against Anderson a
few items of evidence to which we
call public attention.
I'll. b. Barber, deputy clerk of the
Mercer county court, testified that
the poll books on file in his Office.
showed that the vote for. Congress-
man in Mercer county in 1886 was
,564 In 1888 the vote was 2,777,
an increase of ,213 in two years.
This increase was in Rock district,
in which the Mercer county mines
are located. A great many negroes
were indicted for illegal voting the
result of which was that in the
election in May, 1889, the vote de-
creased to 1905. Rock district gave
the increase and in it occurred the
decrease.
S. M. Williamson, book keeper
and paymaster for Henry Fairfax,
railroad contractor on the Norfolk
and Western railroad, in the coun-
ties of Mercer and Mcdowell, was
sworn and said that hands were
employed in Virginia. The cost of
transportation was paid for those
hands and book was kept in which
all their names were recorded.
This book shows that 80 of those
negroes brought by Fairfax to West
Virginia, within the year proceed
ing the election held on the 9th day
of November, 1888, voted for Nc
w. I'll. III. Witten, Assessor of
Mercer county, swore that he listed
for capitation tax in Rock District,
said county, white 564, colored 81.
In the mining regions he spent two
weeks and was careful and diligent
in the discharge of his duty, and
was informed by the great majority
of the negroes that they paid taxes,
voted and had their homes in Vir-
ginia. AT the November election
in 1888, the number of votes cast
in Rock District was Las; in other
words, $40 persons more voted in
Rock district than were on the As
SCISSORS books, and all these were
negroes. In 1886 the Democratic
vote in this district was 314, in
creased to 408 in 1888. In 1886
the Republican vote in the same
district was 165, increased to 1877 in
1888, the Democratic gain of 81,
the Republican gain 572.
Thirty-seven negroes, registered
in Tazwell county, Virginia, as
voters, voted at Simmons creek
precinct and Mill creek precinct, in
Rock district, Mercer county.
Thirty-four negroes on the pay rolls
in Pocahontas, Virginia, voted at
the same precincts.
James B. Cyphers, Deputy Asses
sor of Mcdowell county, assessed
the mining section in Elkhorn dis
trict, swore that 55 negroes, who
voted at Peery' Bottom, were not
on the Assessors books. AT May
berry precinct, same county, 70 ne
groes voted whose names were not
on the Assessors books. Mr..
.Cyphers was very exact and admin
istered an oath to all the negroes he
could find, but two excepted. His
evidence is clear and strong. In
the above two precincts 134 negroes
voted who had no residence in this
State and whose names were not
listed by the Assessor in 1888.
Thus it may be seen that in the
mining districts, in Mercer and Nc
Dowelf counties, 654 negroes who
swore they lived and voted in Vir-
ginia cast their>votes for McGinnis.
Mr.. j. III. BramwelI, for whom
the town of Bramwell is called, is
one of the head men in the mining
region and very aggressive Re-
publican. He is like all influential
men of his party, man of advanced
ideas and scrupulously careful of
that brittle commodity Republican
uOnoI. liz possesses Ine vicious
principle, however, that anything
tending to give triumph to his par
ty, let it ever so offensive and foul,
is exceedingly fair. On the day of
election, although his home is in
Roanoke, Virginia, he tried to vote
in Mcdowell, and being refused to
do so there, he HE'D over to Mercer
and voted a Mcdowell county tick
ct. These items, taken from the
records, are true. We earnestly in
yite the attention of the people of
West Virginia to close reading of
them. We ask our contemporaries,
all over the State, in behalf the par
ty, to present the evidence to their
readers and SO put a stop to mis-
representation and faIsehood. In
the history of political fraud and
depravity, nothing can be found SO
low and debased as we have recited.
May the day soon dawn on us that
will usher in the decency and man
hood of the earlier days of the re-
public.
Ss~oas.,I =