Semi=weekly graphic., 1897-08-14
THE FACTS!
HOW A REPUBLICAN TREATED
A BONDED NEGRO SERVANT.
A Few Facts That It Would be Well
for the Negroes to Think Of.

an account of an outrage perpetrated
! upon a negro boy by the name of
Adam Williams, the Is year old son
of Nancy Williams, by Messrs. A.
and John Perdue. AS it was about
time to go to press the account of
the affair was necessarily brief, but
today we are able to give fuller par
tiCulars, which should be quite re
freshing to the negroes of Jefferson
county, of whom Mr. Perdue is a pc.
litical leader
From what we can learn, the boy,
Adam Williams, is faithful worker,
but his father does not like him and
would not let him live at home.
Notwithstanding this, however,
when the boy found employment
his father would not let him work.
Some days ago, the boys father,
unknown to the son, had him APP
printed to Mr. Perdue until he
reached the age Of manhood
This fact was unknown to the son
who was then in the employ of
Mr.. w. H. Rowland
Yesterday morning the boy, by
an attorney, appeared before the
Jefferson Circuit Court and had his
disability as a minor removed, for
purpose of preventing his father
from interfering with him.
In the afternoon Mr.. Perdue
learned that the boy was working
for Mr. Rowland so he repaired to
the Rowland residence, entered the
yard, found the boy, dragged him
him out of the yard and, as we are
informed by creditable witnesses,
gave him an unmerciful thrashing.
He also threatened to cut the Boys
throat if he did not go with him.
The boy was then carried to the
store of A. Perdue, secured trace
chains and locked them around the
boys ankles, and punished him with
a piece of board.
Tt was at the.store of A. Perdue
& Co. that the GRAPHIC reporter
saw the boy in chains
This morning an attorney appear
ed before Judge Elliott fer the pur-
pose Of suing out writ of habeas
corpus for the boys release. Judge
Elliott suggested that if the
attorneys would go to Mr.. Perdue
that he (Perdue) would release him
without writ being is
sued. This the attorneys did and
Mr.. Perdue agreed to release the
boy from bondage and chains upon
the payment of 1915, the amount he
had expended in having Adam
Williams placed in bondage. The
boys attorneys paid the money and
he was released, and now we are in
formed, there will be a damage suit
brought by the boy against Mr.
Perdue for the punishment and mis-
treatment received at his hands
We are creditably informed that
the correspondent for the Asso-
ciated Press at this place, at the
suggestion of Mr.. Perdue, last night
telegraphed the morning papers a
story modifying the statement
which appeared in yesterdays
Graphic. If this is true, the cor
respondent has done a grieyous
wrong, for the article which APP
peared in our issue yesterday was
entirely too mild to suit the affair,
and was the truth and nothing more
uttered in mild words.
Mr. Perdue is one of the leading
Republicans in this county. A
leader of the negro voters, and it is
somewhat strange that he would
stand by and see negro in chains
and these chains placed there, too,
by MIR. Perdue's son. Especially so,
when that son had no legal or moral
right to place them there.
Had white Democrat perpetrated
such an act upon a negro of this
community the Republican papers
all over the country would give
columns in describing the brutality
of Southern Democrats, and the
correspondent for the Associated
Press would be the first to send the
matter abroad, exaggerated in all
its hideous forms. He would not
seek to modify an already muchly
modified account.
1t is passing strange that South
ern negroes will never learn who
are their best friends.
STATE OF OHIO, CITY OF TOLEDO, LUCAS Co.
Frank J. Cheney makes oath that he is the