People's party paper. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1891-1898, 1895-09-20
FOR THE BOYCOTT WHICHIS
THREATENING AUGUSTA?
HOW IT CAN Be AVOIDED
Are There Not Enough Brave
Men in Augusta to Down
The Rascals?

Southern journals, when the repeal of
the Lodge bill was before congress,
openly advised boycott of Eastern
merchants by the merchants of Angus
ia and the Southern Cities
Why? Because they believed it was
the only weapon that could be used to
protect the ballot box at the South
against partisansbip in the East,
Is it any more sin for the farm
ers of the Tenth district to employ the
same methods for the protection of
their ballot against the ward heelers
and ''21 year old negroes of Augusta,
who have been dragged by these ward.
heelers to the registration book and
paid 10 cents each to qualify that they
are legal voters?
Some of the cotton commission mer-
chants of Augusta in 1894 used the
mortgages they held against farmers in
Warren county to force them away
from the support of Mr.. Watson to the
support of Major Black.
- l" phS INC hOlC d NiOuS IOI UuS
farmers of Warren county to say they
will not buy goods from the men who
take advantage of their poverty to
enforce political servility
A cotton commission firm in Augusta
refused to place an advertisement in a
Populist paper for the reason that they
were conscientiously opposed to putting
weapon in the hands of an enemy.
Is it any worse for the Popuhst farm
ers to say they are conseientiously OPP
posed to trading with men who rob
them of Che sacred right of franchise :
Now we contend that two wrongs
never made a right bgt the best way
to prevent thesecond wrong is DO. REFUSE
to infiict the first. If inflicted and not
attoned for the retaliative action be-
comes right instead of wrong,
=: In this connection 1 quote para
graph from Col Dan Troy's open letter
to the people of Alabama:
zone of the most sacred of the rights
secured by the law is the right of an
honest election, at which the will of the
people, entitled to govern, may be free
ly expressed; for upon that foundation
must rest the Constitution and laws of
the land, And every citizen may right
fully use force when necessary to main
tain that right I'm, err the same circum-
stances and conditions that he NAV use
force to maintain any other right.
"When an election is held, where i: is
manifest that the purpose of those con-
Quoting it is not to give an honest1ex-
preston to the will of the voters, not
only is the right to an honest election
taken away, but even the form of an
honest election is abrogated, and every
citizen has the same right to put stop
to the performance that he has to pre-
vent any other violation of the law that
is about to be committed in his pres
ence"
Have the ward heelers, under the in
struction of Boykin Wright. the man
ager of Major Blacks campaign, mani
tested purpose not to have a fair,
honest election ?
quote the following from the Daily
Tribune, published in the city of Au-
gusta:
THE total registration of the county,
as near as it can be calculated at the
present hour is about !, 400.
"Of this number it is estimated, and
the figures are close to the correct num-
Der, $500 are negroes.
I'm this office we have a record, by
name, street, number and district, of
l, 164 negroes who are registered as 81
years of age Some we have missed,
fully enough to make the total 1900 or
more
"By these figures it will be seen that
one-third of the negroes registered as
81 years of age, or ONE OUR OF EVERY
THREE.
The population of Richmond county,
accordingsto the census of 1890, is 49,
1914. 1t is estimated that one.fifth of
the population are voters, or should be
qualified to vote. This makes, in round
numbers, 5000 voters in the county,
and allowing that whites and blacks
are evenly divided, we have colored
voting population of 1850 possible in
this county.
sit will be seen by these figures that
over one-fourth of the colored popula-
ton of the county is 81 years of age.
"We also have record of 3S1 egroes
who registed as % years of age. Add
this to the 81 year Odds and we have
nearly 1000 negroes who are registered
as not more than %, or nearly one-half
of the voting strength of the negroes
not more than 20 years of age.
L. - :