The Portland daily press., 1892-11-23

70 rne county Tor the purpose OF con.
testing the district. His past was, ac-
cording to all reasons, as well calculat-
ed to excite the negroes hostility as
Cen. Wickham's was to enlist their
gratitude and friendship. He had be-
fore the war been one of the leading
spirits in organizing the ssblue lodges"
Of Kansas. After the war, as member
of the legislature of New Jersey, he had
either moved or seconded resolution
rejecting the Fourteenth amendment.
These facts were esta blished by record
evidence during the canvass, yet, with
the exception of certain of Gen. Wick.
hams own servants, the negroes who
voted for Gen. Wickham were hardly
worth taking into account. The negro.
however. neither bears malice nor graft,
tude long. He is, for the most part,
kindly creature, who simply follows his
impulses and is duped more easily than
q child One OF the most active workers
for Gen. Wickham's opponent was
one of our old SERVANTS, who it might
have been supposed would, owing to
the following facts, have supported him
on personal grounds, If on no other.
Just prior to the war Pills father who
belonged to neighbor, was arrested
for burning and was tried before the
old county court of five magistrates.
The proof was complete and four of the
magistrates were for hanging, but Gen.
Wickham, the fifth one, refused to unite
in Judgment SO severe where no life
was taken, and SO the incendiary was
saved His son, so far from voting for
him, however, was unsleeping in his
opposition to the man who had saved
his fathers life.
This was the bitterest campaign re-
call in Virginia, for a section had split
off from the democratic party, and, with
the establishment" of the public debt
as an issue, was organizing the negroes,
a fact which at once greatly aroused
the race feeling on both sides. The me-
gro Churches tremendous enginery
among the negroes worked unceasing-
ly, and for the first time the negro
women organized and took an active
hand in the work. They formed clubs
violent talk.
The negros habit of assuming double
names is so well recognized that one
ceases to be surprised at it. The other
day one came to my Office with some
pension papers, to try to get pension
as the widow of deceased union sol
der The papers had been made out
by an agent in Baltimore on the state
ment of the woman's daughter, and her
name was given as Caroline Thomp-
eon. widow of William Thompson"
s'But, Aunt Winnie" said my partner,
to whose father both she and her hus-
band had formerly belonged, "this is
not your name?"
s.Nor, sab; dat amt my name" she
said.
"Were you ever called Gardiner"
ssNor, sah."
swell, what was your husbands
name?"
ssHenry johnson; but I did heah after
he left me that he changed his name to
William Johnson"
The pension papers were returned to
the agent with a statement of the facts.
This will illustrate why when twenty
William Johnsons are registered, most
of them if not all looking as much alike
to white mans eye as SO many black
eyed peas, delay and mistakes In exam
ming them are unavoidable. One of
the challenged, however, got the turn
on his challenger that day. He had
been a rag picker and bought rags,
scraps of paper, ETC., but had moved
from the shanty he had long occupied,
and on purging day. nothing being
known of him, had been stricken from
the poll list as dead. On election day
he turned up in line to vote, alive
enough. 1t happened that one of the
challengers had some time before sold
him some stuff, and when he appeared
| he said:
"Hello, Uncle Billy You can't vote.
| You are dead"
"What's dat?'' asked the old fellow.
sWhy, you are dead. See here" He
showed him the page and the word
dead" opposite his name. Billy looked
at it moment curiously and then
slipped out of line.
'sWell, look heah, Marse Norm" he
said. s.You know bout dem twenty
three dollars owes you? Well, don't
you forgit dey's dead too" And he
went off chuckling at the roar that
greeted his apt wit.
| THOMAS NELSON PAGE.
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