Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1890-05-03

7 COMM sSlOndrS OF tlcCtlou WIZ "N
sworn. OF because legal voters
voted illegally outside OF theli
respective voting precincts. or loI
any reason except the illegailty OF the
vote itself he made no point. In Gen,
eral COTS counter notice he charged
every manner of technical objection. lie
raised and relied on every question tha'
could have been devised. lie MADE
every special pleading that technical
LAWYER i'm the ShrcwdneSS OF MS craft
could urge to save client ALREADY
doomed TO the ScaffOld. Then and only
then Judge Fleming accepted the issue
as General Golf had forced it. Upon
the pleadingS thus made up by the
choice of the Republican conteStee, the
court. consisting primarily of "a joint
committee Of the Legislature, and final
/ IN of the Legislature itself, proceeded
20 the trial.
/ / cannot in a short article go through
all the details of this great struggle. Oh
the personnel of the joint committee
nothing harmful can be said. l concede
thar the TWO Republican members
Judge Maxwell and Mr.. MOrriS-are
men of character and standing. No we'll
informed Republican i'm the State, who
has respect for himself or his word, will
DENY that the three Democratic
Members of the House who. together
with Judge Maxwell and Mr.. Nor
riS. formed the joint committee,
are men of the highest char
acter and possesses all the best qualities
Of intelligence, integrity and manhood.
Nor shall l undertake 10 90 deliberately
into details covering the issues by votes
I'm the tifty-fOur counties which cOnSti-
tute the State. OF the seventy and odd
votes excluded i'm Brooke county, which
had been cast for Gen. Golf, 10 must be
admitted that the objection was techni-
cal. but il was none the less conclusive,
and simply hoist the Republican candi-
date bv his own petard. The laws OF
West Virginia require voters 10 cast
their votes i'm their respective districts.
III they cast them elsewhere they are IL
legal and void.
The town of WcllSburg, with adjacent
territory. had been voting district, and
its people had voted in the town. The
boundary line of this district had been
changed. and the 20 odd voters l men
toned. ignoring this change. had cross
ed the line of their voting district and
voted illegally i'm WellSburg. They had
As well have voted i'm another county.
Their votes were illegal. They could not
Dee counted. and the principle which eX-
cluded them was applied fairly TO all
votes subject 10 the same objection
throughout the State. no matter whom
they affected. But the contest did not
turn ON these votes. The report OF the
committee. as sustained by the LegiSia-
ture. amply justified the Inauguration
of Judge Fleming without regard 10 the
vote excluded by this technical and con-
elusive objection. The truth Is, ana
we had as well confront il. that there
never would have been any contest for
the GovernorShip of West Virginia after
the election was over if il had not been
for the mdiScriminate. reckless and
ruthless polling of illegal negro votes in
Inc counties of Mercer and Mcdowell.
The Norfolk and Western Railroad had
recently been extended from POcahOn-
.as. i'm Virginia, down the BlueStone
INTO Mercer county, and through the
dividing mountain into Mcdowell. IL
runs zig-Zag between the two States OF
Virginia and West Virginia for more
han twenty miles.
The establishment of permanent [
operations I'm Mcdowell i'm coal mining |
lad begun about August. 1SSS. \ negro |
population i'm that mountain region was
nhcard of until this establishment. |
There had not been a sufficient time from
The inauguration of these works 10 the
late of the election 10 give the statutory
residence. which was required TO entitle
men TO vote. but short as this period was
N the marvellous development OF coal
operations In that region. hundreds of
negroes from Virginia and North Caro- !
ina had flooded this section of our State. |
they were not residents. They were
he accidents or the incidents of this
-apid development of coal mining, or
most likely and worse. many OF them
we're taken there to dig more politics
Than coal There are reasons for this
assertion. From mines i'm Virginia TO
mines i'm West Virginia it was in some
Instances but two or three miles.
These negroes were mostly men
without families. In mining regions
.hev are migratory. Their residence,
where they have any. is transient. IL
was well understood by Democratic
managers before the election that raid
was To- Dee made upon the ballot in these
counties by designing and over Jealous
politicians, and that negroes,
freshly hocked 10 that section. were 10
be- worked for an they were worth. Ev-
,rv reasonable prccautiOn was taken but
without avail They voted, l Will not
saw. early and often" but right or
wrong. they voted.
I'm Mcdowell. in which the census OF
1850 scarcely recognized the existence
of a negro. and where up to August,
ISIS. he forms no recognizable part of
the population, i'm November, ISIS, he
Dolled nearly 400 votes. The contest
for Governor turned ON the face of the
returns upon little over a hundred.
The contest was not the contest OF
Judge Fleming; 10 was not a
scramble for Office; il was not
q clamor for spells: 10 was the
result of a marked and manly deter
IIlINNNlNM W NAAN -WNA l'FlA' va N+tN --N
he mountain State that the elective
franchise should not be proStituted and
that the ballot should not be debauched.
The investigation which followed the
notice of contest. and the appointment
Df the joint committee TO carry 1t on,
was long and exhaustive. Dispositions
were taken i'm. think, all the counties;
certainly i'm most of them. In Me
DoweH and Mercer counties the facts
were explored without fear or IA
yor. The books of coal operators
were examined and placed in
evidence. pay rolls were procured, dates
N employment established, time of
coming proved. the length of residence
lScertained and, upon testimony which
would Justify any jury in the world in
trial for murder. the raid upon the bal
lots i'm Mcdowell and Mercer counties,
W. Va. by unqualified and imported
negro voters. was So thoroughly eStab-