Evening star., 1898-11-01
REIGN OF TERROR
Wilmington City the Scene ola Prob
able Outbreak.
VIEWS OF POSTMASTER CHADBOURN
Democrats Charged With Grossly
MIsrepresentlng the Facts.
TIL OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
Srecial From a Staff Correspondent.

THE REPt1 1BLlCANCO CONTENTION
Srecial From a Staff Correspondent
RALEIGH, n. c., November las tn,
readers OF The Star know, it is at Will
n ington where will be the principal out
break, if any shall occur growing out of
the present reign of terror in parts of this
state. AS that city and it's municipal gov
ernment ara at this time mora conspicuous
ly in the public eye than any other place in
North Carolina, letter from Mr. W. H.
Chadbourn, postmaster, and one of the
| most reliable business men of Wilmington,
which has been received by Senator Pritch-
ard. possesses interest.
Mr.. Chadbourn writes:
LAS the democrats seem to make Will
m:ngton and New Hanover county the
principal points of attack, when arguing
for white supremacy and against negro
domination, it might be wall for you to
know the facts about this city and county
SO that their arguments may be contro-
verted.
The plain facts be proved by any
body IN this locally, and all their talk and
palaVer about the negro running riot over
this city and county is a gross libel and is
doing us much harm in business way l
Will begin with the city, to show you that
the whites are in absolute control, but what
hurts them Is that the whites in power are
not democrats.
we have a white mayor, chief of police
and captain of police, three white sergeants
out of four twenty-five white polio amen
out of thirty-tWo, a superintendent of
streets and one-half the street laborers are
white. The city clerk, his deputy and the
treasurer are white. We have ten alder
men, OF whom seven are white. Whining
Ton mas also board of audit and finance,
appointed by the governor, to have abso-
Lutte charge of all th5 finances of the city,
and of this board of five members four
are white and three of the four are demo-
Gratis. making it in reality a Democrat
board. This board has clerk, and he is
white democrat.
City's Financial Condition.
THE city is in better financial condition
tran for twenty years, paying all it's bills
twice a month, and putting by a sinking
fund of nearly ten thousand dollars an
nually to pay it's bonded Indebtedness 1t
has borrowed less money this year for its
current expenses than in any year for the
pa st twenty years. There have been more
building of houses and greater evidences of
prosperity here than at any time since the
civil war; which will continue unless the
false statements that go out from here
about negro domination and misrule drive
people and business away from US. The
receipts at the post Office arr increasing
more llldn ~ per cent annually, which
the most correct gauge of business In the
pest ofhce there is only one more colored
! man than under the last democratic ad-
rninistration, and he is the night watch
| man. Every clerk in the post office who
comes in contact with the public Is white
AS for the county, the sheriff is white
his deputy is white, the jailer is white, the
sharif1 clerks are white, the criminal court
clerk is white, the circuit court clerk is
white, his deputy is white, the county
physician is white, the whole board of
| heaith is white, the board controlling the
city and county hospital is entirely white,
the deputy United States marshal is white
the deputy internal revenue agent is white,
the clerk of the United States court is
white, the jury commissioner is white.
You may well ask, as the negro has
been continually doing for the last five
years, where the negro comes i'll. And with
all this, they parade US among your peopc
as being negro-ridden, ana in the last
straits of despair and distress; but [ tell
you that when our city ami county bonds
cannot be bought at par and our bank
stock is from 20 to 60 per cent above par,
we are not going to throW UP the SPENCE
yet From my statement as above you will
see that the whole thing is d lie and gotten
up to deceive the people of the western
part of the state. 1t isn't negro domna-
ton or white supremacy. 1t is democratic
office holding.
They have also said much about negro
school committeeman. In Wilmington we
have two school districts, and there has
been negro on each one of these commit
tees for twenty years OF rlo:e. These two
colOred committeeman have always sat
with the committee and voted on all queS-
| tiOnS, elections of teachers, etc, for the
white schools, the same COR the colored,
and this under democratic rule. 1t has not
been changed under republir-tn rule neitt er
have the committees been changed, except
to replace one democrat On one OF the COM
mittees with another democrat
Fears Riot and BIo0dshed
In another letter to Senator Pritchard
Mr.. Chadbourn wrote that ne apprehcnded
riot. arson and bloodshed" in Wilmington
and New Hanover county, unless the re-
pubicans withdraw from the contest and
permit the minority to rule the majority.
thereby South CarolinaiZing a portion of
the old north state"
In reply, Senator Pritchard wrote to Mr..
CHadbourn as follows, in part: There can
be but construction placed on what
you say in your second letter, and that is
that unless the democratic party in New
Hanover county is permitted 10 control all
the offices of that county IT will resort to
bioodShed, arson and riot.
Il am well acquainted with 4 number of
democrats living in your city, and | cam
not for one moment entertain the opinion
that the members of the democratic party
in New Hanover county are ready to COM
nit the crimes referred to in order to
gain control of your county and municipal
affairs. l am therefore forced to conclude
that you have been unnecessarily fright
ened by some of the hot-headed Democrat
ic ward heelers, who do not represent the
true spirit and purpose of the party.
The day of bulidoZing and intimidation
in North Carolina has departed, and it had
as well be understood here and now that
the majority OF the people of this state are
determined to control its affairs by peace
able and legal methods
1T has been said that national prin-
ciples are involved in this contest. On this
point beg to differ with those VINO ho.d
this idea, in view of the fact that a lcgiS-
lature is to be elected this year which, if
democratic, will enact such election laws
as will preclude the possibility Of ever
electing republican representative CT a
republican United States senator in the
future" J. r. II.
wants Quickly Filled.
At this season, when so many are seek
ing situations, and, on the other hand, so
seeking prnnnXeS is of int