Fisherman & farmer. [volume] (Edenton, N.C.) 1887-19??, 1898-09-02
GREENVILLE
NEeROlzED.
How The Infamous
Job Was Done.

How Greenville Was
Sliced to Turn it
Over to Me-
gro Rule.
Wilmington starr
Raleigh, August g, 1898,
w. Il. Barnard, Esq,
Dear Sir:-1n response to
your request tor an account
of how the town of Greenvllle
was turned over to the negroes
by the RepublicaH>Popullst,
Fusion Legislature l submit
the following statement OF facts:
The county of Pitt has a pop
ulation of about thirty thousand
people and is one of the finest
agricultural counties IN the
State.
Greenville, its capital town,
has a.population of about three
thousand people and is a grow"
ing prosperous town. A majors
ity of its voters are white men,
and if the people were left to
select their own officers by
fair or usual method they wo lid
be certain to choose competent
white men.
The town, however, is the
home OF one of the leading Re-
publicans of the State, and be-
ing under obligations to the
negroes he planned to have the
town turned over to them.
And here is the way it was
done: The fusion Legislature
of 1898, adopting his plan, divi>
ded the town into four wards.
The boundaries OF these wards
were so turned and zigzagged
as to put a majority of negro
voters in the first and third
wards, and a majority of the
white voters in the second
and fourth wards. The first
ward is shaped very much like
a large broad-axe, with a very
long handle and the third ward
IS like the letter V. The next
step in this devilish plan was
to confer upon each of the wards
having a majority of negro
voters the right to elect two
councilmen each, and to re
strict the white wards to one
councilman each.
At the town election in May,
1897 the negroes availed Them
selves of the power given them
by the republican, Fusion Leg
islature and took charge of the
town. They elected four negro
councilmen while the white
people could elect but two.
Thus we had a board composed
of four negroes and two white
men. This Board elected a
white Republican mayor, a
white chief of police, a negro
assistant policeman for the day,
a negro night policeman for
the night, and negro clepk to
the Board.
The taxable property Of the
town is near three quarters of
million of dollars. The Board
of Councilmen levy the taxes
and order the expenditures. 1t
may be interesting to know how
those who levied and spent the
taxes ranked as tax payers. One
of the negro councilmen paid "a
cents taxes on property, another
6 cents and the other two moth
ing. So the four negro coun~
cilmen, who controlled the
Board paid SI.47 taxes on prop
erty for the support ofthe town.
The white Republican Mayor
paid 43 cents on property and
the white Republican Chief OF
Police did not do quite SO we'll,
he paid only 80 cents. The ne
gro clerk paid nothing and the
negro Waterman nothing. The
negro assistant policeman paid
1878. The nine men who con-
troll the town, levy its taxes and
spend the money paid all toseth-
er $7.75 and leaving out the as
sistant negro day policemen.
the other eight $2.2o. The rev.
enues of the town for the year
from May, 1897, to May, 1898,
was about IS, 500, of which about
$500 went to pay salaries and
fees of office or place holders.
The white Republican mayor
and the white Republican chief
of police were both indicted at
September term, 1897, of Pitt
Superior Court for gambling.
They confessed their guilt in
open court at January term. 1898
and were re elected to the same
oFGoac ~, %J,a ,ocrro Rood ofI