The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1896-10-20
An Attempt to Disfranchise
265 Democrats.
REGISTRATION BOOK GONE
The Populists and Republicans
Combined.
A NEGRO REGISTRAR DISMISSED
But Clerk of the Court Young Knew
of the Fraud Last Week and
Carefully Kept It
a Secret.

"A great sensation was created yes
terday evening when it became noised
abroad that the registration book in
the second division of the second
ward in this city had been destroyed,
and a fraudulent attempt had been
made to substitute for it a registration
book containing the names of one or
more voters 1--WE don't know how
many, who had been refused registra-
tiOn on previous application.
The facts, as we gather them, are
as follows: When the registrars met
on Saturday to complete the registra-
tion, Capt j. T. Watts, the Democratic
registrar, observed that the name of a
voter whose name did not belong on the
list, appeared on Che book which was
in possession of George Rogers, col
ored, Republican registrar. Out of the
abundance of caution, Capt Watts had
kept a duplicate of all registrations
up to four o'clock of the third Satur-
day, and this duplicate had been bor-
rowed on some pretence by Rogers.
When Capt. Watts discovered the
false registration and inquired of
Rogers what it meant the latter told
him that the registration book had
been placed in his care by Britt, who
is posing as Popuhst registrar, but
who is in reality a deep dyed Repub-
lican, and had been stolen from q
shelf in his barber-shop where he had
subsequently deposited it. This little
story sounds very much like one of
Linney's little tales about the Ala
bama election law. The marked diff
ference is in the fact that the heroes OF
this story are not Democrats!
Rogers stated further that he pro-
cured new blank book and had bor-
rowed the duplicate of Capt. Watts to
get the names of voters already reg
istered. Two things, it is said, that
neither Rogers nor Britt have yet ex-
planned to the satisfaction OF Capt.
Watts One of these mysteries is
where Rogers got the blank book; the
other is how he came to interpolate
in Watts correct list of voters the
name of voter which did not belong
on the list.
Another strange feature of this ex-
posure is that Britt and Rogers kept
Capt Watts ignorant Of the pretended
loss of the book from Wednesday or
Thursday until Watts detected the
explanation was demanded by Capt,
Watts, he elected nothing that was
at all satisfactory. Ii is now alleged
by Britt that he procured a blank
book from Mr.. Dan Young, clerk of
the court, but is strange that Capt.
Watts was not let into the secret of
the loss of the original book between
Wednesday and Saturday.
Another thing that demands expla-
nation: Dan Young, Radical clerk,
admits that he knew the original book
had been stolen or destroyed before
Saturday, but it was not until Mon
day, when the conduct of Rogers and
Britt was exposed, that Young took
any action. Indeed until the exposure
came, Young was evidently in the con-
spiracy. helping to keep it a secret
by furnishing a new book to the per-
petrators of the fraud.
Yesterday afternoon, Clerk of the
Court Young dismissed the negro and
appointed Loge Harris in his place.
The registration in the precinct in
which the book was pretended to be
lost was 265 whites and ~ negroes.
This was the milk in the cOcoamut.
Why should this have occurred? Out
of about 1,500 precincts in the State,
many of which are Republican, such
a thing has never occurred. 1t re-
mains entirely under the present cleo
tion law enacted by Russell and COM
pany that in a Democratic precinct
that the Republican combination was
about ITO lose, the books we re stolen,