Goldsboro weekly argus. [volume] (Goldsboro, N.C.) 1885-1909, 1895-04-18

A Foul S1ander upon our Community is
ThrottIed in it's Den: Startling Rev
e1ation: The Brick-batting of the Was
som Residence was Done by the Was
SONS Themselves; Caught in the very
of

SONS Themselves: Caught in the very
Act.
This community has never be-
fore confronted such all expert
ence Or experienced such a rev.
olution of sentiment as came to
us yesterday morning, when
Sheriff B. F. Scott, Chief of
Police Capt. A. B. Freeman,
police officers Miller and Swar-
ingen, and Mr.. Leonard D. Bass
made public their discoveries of
the previous night, in regard to
the brick batting Of Geo. T. Was
SONS house, reference to which
was made in these columns two
days ago. AS we stated in that
article no colored man stood high
er in the community than Was
som and many of our best people,
white citizens, were greatly con
cerned in the attacks that he al
legged were being made nightly
upon his home; and he went SO
far as to openly charge it upon a
number of white boys in the
neighborhood, and for these the
Mayor promptly issued war
rant and had them brought up
for trial; but these boys proved
such an absolute and perfect
alibi that they were dismissed.
After this the brick batting be-
came more furious and frequent,
by night, and even by day. Was
som would come down town and
report that his house was liter
ally riddled with brick bats, his
windows broken, and finally, the
glass Of his front door. Many
Of his white friends went up and
viewed the premises and found
things in pretty bad condition
and readily gave him their
sympathy and offered their ser
vices to aid him in apprehending
whoever it might be that was SO
assailing his home. The Mayor
and the police and the sheriff
and all the officers Of the city
and the township entered into
conference with him and il
was decided to place a Sc
cret watch about his premises
Of which only Wassom and the
officers were cognizant. Was
som was instructed to have all
his family at home that night
and let not one of them be alb
sent Instead of carrying out
his part of the compact, how
ever, he went to the other ex-
treme and had every one Of his
family away from home until a
late hour and then brought his
boy and a small girl that stays
with then-his neice-with their
clothes pretty well slashed up.
but no injury done their per-
sons, and these two told
the marvellous tale that they
had been set upon by a band of
n asked boys at Maj. Eason's cor
ner, one Of the most frequented,
thickly settled and best lighted
sections Of the city, and their
clothes cut as presented-but
there were no bricks thrown at
the house that night; because the
police were there, secreted on
the premises and Wassom and
his folks were away-doing the
clothes cutting act over at his
store in Webbtown.
This clothes cutting act was
really the key to the secret Of the
situation, and when Wassom tried
to run it in on the police, after
failing utterly to keep his agree.
ment with them that night in
their efforts to catch the supposed
outside assailants, they "smelled
a mouse" for they we'll knew
that the two children had not
been assailed, and the children
themselves told such conflicting
and so many different stories Of
their assault (?) that ten yeal
old boy could readily see that il
was a put up job. The police
therefore went to work without
further conference with Wassom
whose house, other than the
night he kaaeaO the police were
on guard, continued to be as
sau]ted. On Wednesday nigh
officer Swaringen who was Sc
creted on watch discovered the
women of the premises throw
two bricks from the kitcher
against the house; but as he was
so located that he could not come
upon them readily he kept his
discovery and used it in placing
pickets Thursday night, whose
names are above given, and these
every one caught the women IL
the very act, and saw them re
peat it several times, of throw
| ing bricks quickly from the
kitchen against the house, while
i Wassom from an upstairs win
ldow shot his pistol six times a
random in the air. And yet this
lis the man who has thus at
tempted to besmirch some O
the very best people and large
number of innocent boys in the
community-even going so far a:
to say that he lived in nightly
| fear that they would burn hin
out of house and home.
i In addition to the gentlemen
mentioned above who caught tn,
Wassoms in the very act of as
sailing their house, there were il
the house at the time two well
known and reliable colored men
, Henry Williams and JAS. Hogans
, who are satisfied as to the gull