The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1898-10-06

Courts, is the city attorney Judge P.
Stanley, cOlOred, is cOnStab bic OF TINS
township. He has arrested a number
of white ladies and taken them to ne
gro magistrates for trial since coming
into office.
A PLAGUE OF NEGRO OFFICIALS.
In the township there are three ne
gro road OVerseerS-GeOrge Cooper, A.
B. 'koonce and G. Fl. Smith. Each has
white men to work the roads under
him.
Craven county has twelve negro
school committeemen-H. c. Dawson, J.
A Dixon, Jr., w. d. Pettipher, T. l..
Moore, James Hargett, w. F. Morgan,
Nero Groom, John r. Holland, Jesse
Brooks, Robert L. Davis. w. w. Law
renee and r. w. Williamson.
The colored police force of Newbern
are: Isaac Richardson. r. c. Baker,
Henry Pasteur, A. A. Bryant and
Robert Moseley. These fellows do not
give much trouble. They serve in the
black precincts. 1t is the coiored mag
istrates that do the work here, anyway.
The mayors court is a slim affair.
Craven county has her share of
negro justices of the peace. There are
! q of them. They are: H. E. Dawson,
w. D. Pettipher, Jesse P. Godett, F.. w.
Fisher, David Ambrose. Dock Cooper,
Abraham Denis. AlonZo Pelham,
Washington SDirev, James r. Hooks,
Albert Foreman, Alexander Pelham, A
, A. Bryan, Lewis Ham. w. w. Law
renee, Robert G. Moseley, Thomas O.
| White, John B. Willis. M. w. Chap
man. w. H. Green, W. H. Burton, Fred
Douglas. l.. W. Eubanks. Dennis Per-
kins. Frank Raspberry, John A. Boons,
/ w. A. ROuntell.
"PROF." ISAAC H. SMITH
! Prof Isaac H. Smith, Republican
candidate for the Legislature from this
county. is the greatest freak of ma
ture that this campaign has brought
out He is negro, politician, mon
ey-lender and a swell society man.
Truly he is the Mark Hanna of this
section: the Shylock of NeWbern, and
! ,ne Beau Brummel of the negro popu-
lation of North Carolina. In the so
ciety" world he has measured swords
with George H. White. the negro Con-
gresham of the second district. And
next year he claims that he will be on
the turf for Congress. He has skinned
the toughest of dead-beats, and he has
outwitted the shrewdest of politicians
Professor Smith yields facile pen and
uses an oily tongue. Truly, he is a
very smart negro He is unique in looks
an in character. In business he can
fleece the pertest of men. Manv are
the men that he has skinned alive. True
he has done deeds of kindness. He was
+ one of the first men to contribute tC
the Vance monument fund He did it
because Vance had worked for the edu-
cational interest of the negro.
| saw Professor Smith at his office
The first time 1 called l asked: rs
Smith; Isaac Smith, in?'' A big, burly-
looking fellow answering to the de-
scriptiOn of Smith, told me that he was
not in. l then asked when he would
be, and was told that it would be the
next day at 10 O'Clock. | left at once
a nd rot of hI
found the same man in the chair behind
| the desk. but this time asked if Pro
fessor" Smith was in. He said: Yes
he is in. 7 am Professor Isaac Smith
The trouble before was that l had no,
called him professor
Il have heard that YOU We're com
ing down from the ticket here in
! Craven county. Is there any truth in
ito" His reply was:
who are your
told him. He then offered me a
chair and began to talk He said:
! No. ! am not coming down unless the
people want me to. They nomina ted me
and they can take me down if they
wish to do SO. But / am going to run,
and I am going to be elected
/ In conversation Smith s very enter
tanning talker. He is smart. shreWd and
mean. Many of his own people curse
him for his method of doing business.
He lends money and charges outrage
Gus rates of interest for ii. For in
stance he loaned q negro man so and
made him pay 81 q week for it til the
principal was paid back: and in this
case the time was over SIX months. He
has let out so and collected as much as
500 for it. These are his methods In
deed. he IS the boss usurer of tha State.
He looks a everything from business
standpoint. He was heard to say the
other day that this Republican bust
ness was like Il stock company. The
white Republicans were taking Of TAX
ing him down. He said: This is a stock
~~--1-:av The negro has % per cent.
and inc wn1te man : per cent Who
ShaIl say what am going to do"
THE PEN CHEATED OUT OF SMITH
Smith has been convicted before iu-
ries twice for forgery. but on account
OF technicalities he was let off by the
, supreme Court. The first time he got
Npf because the solicitor in prosecuting