The Portland daily press., 1895-01-19
JOHN J. SMALLWOOD.



and Albion, N. Y. disclosed that there was
in neither of those places any property
taxed to Smallwood. The property in
franklin, Va, which was represented as
worth $4,000. was worth hardly as many hun
dreds. AS for the school property at Clare
mont. only about $500 had been paid on it,
and he had no title at all to it.
When this was learned, Mr.. Heckbert
directed j. C.iParker, lawyer at Franklin,
Va, to bring suits against Smallwood. The
veil OF confidence fell from the eyes of Mr..
Ross. Before Mr.. Ross went away from
South Portland ne made the following state
ment:
at is painful subject to me on account
of the relations have had with him, and
my trust in him as personal friend. But
l feel il my duty, both to myself, to those of
whom he has solicited aid and to the gener-
al public. to say that, in the light of
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS,
confirmed by verbal and documentary evil
dence, of the most indisputable sort, his
representations concerning any matters
cannot be relied upon. For ten years he
has seemed to ME 10 be "a conscientious
Christian gentleman; and it has been a
been discovering little by little for several
weeks past. that have been deceived.
''That he has had we'll form ulated plan
for school for his race in Virginia, first
at Franklin and then at Claremont, there
can be no doubt. He has been collecting
money for this sc hool plan since 1889, when
the state of Massachusetts, sent him as a
delegate to the Worlds Sunday School con-
vention in England. He has been collecting
money ever since, travelling much. and
now has about twenty-five pupils at Clare
mont. The site is magnificent, and Mr..
Smallwood has represented that it was paid
for; but he has no title to the property,
and has only paid few hundred dollars on
it.His teachers like himself seem to be away
collecting money most OF the time. He has
represented in the South that he had very
strong Northern backing, with guarantee ed
pledges for hundred thousand dollars.
know that some at least of those subsoip-
lions are bogus. There is a presumption
that many of the others are.
.'sHe claimed in recent letter TO the
PRESS that the fire which destroyed his
planning mill and $1,000. feet of lumber was
incendiary. the result of the
VENGEANCE OF THE KC-KUX.
who resented his defence of the honor OF a
colored girl. AS matter Of fact the mill
was and had been under lease to milling
company, and that company owned the
lumber. 1t was net his at all. Neither was
the fire inoendiary. One of the peculiar
features of Mr.. Smallwood's method OF
work, is his skilful appeal to Northern SYM
pathy on the subject of race antagonism."
The efforts of Mr.. Ross and the friend
who furnished the $500, Rev. l. Luce. to
secure settlement have brought out only
a series of explanations and excuses.
Finally suit was brought in three counties
and trustee process was served on the
State Bank at Richmond, where Smallwood
had in the past had deposits.
Shortly after this bank account was
trusted, Rev. Mr.. Luce received from
Snallwood a check for $3.50 on the State
Bank at Richmond. This check was de-
posted here, and in due course of time Mr..
Luce received word from the Richmond
bank hat Smallwood had no funds there.
1t is not known whether this was on
account of the trustee process or because
there was actually no cash there.
The exact standing of the legal proceedings
against Smallwood are not definitely
known. They are, SO far as this end of the
investigation is concerned, in Mr.. Heck
bert's hands, and he declined to be inter-
viewed when approached oy the PRESS.
Mr.. Ross puts it mildly when he speaks of
his painful surprise at Mr.. Smallwood' Is
conduct. 1t was Mr.. Ross who discovered
the colored orator and gave him his first
chance, and for ten years has been
HIS CONSTANT FRIEND.
He was proud of the career and fame of
his protege :; and the developments of the
last few weeks have come as rude shock.
Smallwood was born slave in September,
1863 When here last fall he said that In
1881 he was working in lumber camp in
Virginia, when commercial traveller
named Davis heard him speak at some local
meeting of laborers. Davis referI ed him to
Mr., Ross, then pastor in Greenfield, Mass.
and interested in the colored people.
Smallvood wrote to Mr.. Ross a letter add
ing to The end sentence about as follows:
Il have learned to write thus well in the
swamp and expressing a strong desire fol-
further education. Mr.. Ross has since be-
come convinced that Smallwood had already
at that time attended the school at Hamp-
ton. But at that time he had no intimation
of this and he was further confirmed in his
high opinion of the young negro By letter
which he received from Franklin, Virginia
purporting to be written and signed by q
prominent white citizen, Rev. George
Washington Vaughan, D. d. This. Rev. DR.
Vaughan represented that Smallwood was
a natural orator, and young man of suct
pronounced talents that he certainly should
be educated. The writer dared not do il
for fear of social ostiacism and hoped thai
Mr.. Ross would see to the ways and means
Since recent develomenpts have occurl &c
Mr., Ross has tried to look up this Rev
George Washington Vaughan. d. D., but
oddly enough cannot find that such mar
ever lived in franklin, Va. The only mar
of that name in town is a very ordinary
colored person a relative of Smallwood.
But ten years ago Mr.. Ross did not know
this, and when he received the letter from
the Rev. G. ". ". d. D., he at once be
stirred himself and securing contribution
of S25 from Ex-Governor Washburn, sent i
to Smallwood, who came North to
THE SCHOOL AT WILBRAHAM,
Mass. He paid his way by doing chores
lecturing and other odd jobs.