The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1898-08-29

In order to favor the negroes the fusion
legislature of 1895 threw overheard the
white government Of that town and divid-
ed the town INTO four new wards BY a
careful gerrymander two of these wards
having a very odd shape We're made to
contain negro majorites; while the whites
are greatly in the majority in the other
two wards. So far that was a simple ger
rymander in the interest OF the negroes
and against the whites. But the fusion leg
iSlature did not stop there. 1t went fur
Their and conferred on the negro wards
the right to eect two aldermen for each
OF them while the white wards We're al
lowed TO elect only one alderman apiece.
SO in order to give the negroes, who were
In the minority. control Of Greenvle, the
populists and republicans in the fusion leg
islature of 1895 gave to 4 small negro ward
two aldermen, while it gave to each OF the
larger white wards bat one alderman. In
that case a negro voter was computed as
being twice as good as the white voter!
A negro voter was given twice the politi-
cal power twice the power in government
that the white voter has. What decent
white man win defend that action Of the
fusion legislature?
Aldermen Elect the Mayor
Under the fusion charter at the town
election, May, 1897, the two negro wards
elected four negro aldermen and the white
people elected two white aldermen. To be
sure the four negroes on the board out
voted the two whites. and they elected
as officers OF GreenVille IL white radical
mayor u white radical chief of police, a
negro clerk, a negro day policeman and a
negro night policeman. The entire law
making power Is necessarily invested in
these four negro councilmen. The nine GOV
erning officers of the town. tO-wit. these
four CounciImen, mayor, chief of police
two policemen and clerk. who make the
laws and enforce them in the town lay the
taxes and spend them, pay no taxes TO
speak of. AS a matter of curiosity, / give
the figures for the year from May, 1897, to
May, 1898:
one negro councilman paid taxes on
property, GO cents.
Another negro councilman paid taxes S4
cents.
The two Others paid nothing.
Altogether the lawmalling power that lev
les the taxes and spends them pays $l.47.
The radical mayor paid on property 43
cents.
me chief of police paid 30 cents.
one negro policeman paid nothing.
me negro clerk paid nothing.
These eight officers therefore, paid an ag-
gregate of $50 N taxes on property.
The other negro policeman paid s.. rs.
Leaving out the two democratic council
men. the officers of the town pay $795 into
the town treasury. They collected reve-
nues IN 1891 5000 and they paid themselves
out of that $2,S00.
Mayor Indicted for Gambling.
Now it is not always the case that men
who pay no taxes are improper characters;
but in September. 1897 the mayor and chief
of police of Greenville. being indicted for
gambling, came into court and admitted
their guilt and thereafter in May 1885
they We're reelected to their respective Of
fees.
When the next fusion Legislature of 1897
met some on the fusionists, not content
with the injury and humiliation inflicted
upon the town by its fusion predecessor,
sought to still further injure and humili-
ate it. A bill was introduced In the mouse