The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1898-11-04
In RED SHIRT REGION
Lurfd Garment to Terrorfze North Car
DINA NegrO-DemOcrats Will Carry
the State The Legislature. Now Two
Thirds Republican and Popu1ist.
VIII be Overwhelmingly Democratic.
The Wilmington situation shows No
Improvement-GovernOr Russell ON
the Ground
Washington Post Specially

the Ground
Washington Post Specially
Hamlet, Y. g, October 31.-This is
the red shirt district of the state. The
red shirt is the danger signal for the
negro. 1t first made it's appearance in
South Carolina when the white people
of that state rose against negro rule,
and the success which attended its
use, especially when it was worn by
a man who carried a Winchester rifle,
was so great that the North Carroll
ans along the border mere have adopt
ed it as their red badge. 1t fills the
negroes souls with fear.
A story is told here today Of a party
of white men wearing red shirts, who
last Sunday entered a negro church.
They said not a word as they took
their seats, but presently the preacher
closed his discourse. and then the en-
tire congregation dispersed in great
haste through window. and doors. The
red shirt, however, does not always
figure so peacefully. In this town last
Saturday night, in one of the stores,
a negro cursed the red shirts. A white
man standing by shot the negro dead,
sending a bullet through his forehead.
The man will, it is said, be eventually
brought to trial, but 10 one expects
hat he will be convicted.
Tomorrow at L~aurinburg, neal this
place, the red shirts are to gather at
a great meeting, the chairman of the
state committee, F. NJ. Simmons, being
rnor thanA urI@ a~o 20
speak. This is a republican county,
but it will not be republican after next
Tuesday. On this point there is not
a dissenting voice. Here, as at Will
mington, and, in fact, in all the
ties in the eastern part of the state,
the negroes will not be allowed to
vote, OF if they appear a. the polls
they will do SO at their own peril. All
the white people, even men who have
hitherto associated with the republic
a party, are now associated with
the anti-negrO movement. An associa-
ton, known as the White Government
Union, has been organized in this
county, and it's red and white buttons
are universally worn.
PREACHERS HOSTILE TO BLACKS
even the preachers, who rarely have
anything to do with political cam
paigns in the south, are active in their
hostility to the further domination of
the blacks. 1 happen to have before
me as I write this dispatch the original
of a letter written by Rev. J. D. HUFF
ham, a leading Baptist clergyman, of
Raleigh, to a friend. Il fully appreci-
ate" he ia 1.-The gravity of the crisis
which is upon us. The issue rises i'm
measurably above all consideration
of ordinary p~artisanship. Dur civiliza-
ton itself is in peril. My hear is with
those who hold and maintain hat for
the good of both races, white men
and white men alone must rule in
North Carolina"
When it is remembered that this is
/ the deliberate utterance not of a dem
Ocratic politician, but of a minister of
the gospel, who is supposed to preach
love and charity to all men, some idea
a be gained of the deep feeling which
is stirring the state from the noun
tainS to the sea. The result of this
revolution against the negro will, of
course, be a sweeping democratic vic
tory in the state. The effect of this
viStOry will not be seen SO much in the
congressional districts as in the cleo
ton of a democratic legislature.
LEGISLATURE WILL BE DEMO-
CRATIC.
The congressional canvass is going
almost by default. In at least two dis
trictS the democrats nave not nominal
ed a candidate, and out of all the dis
tricts in the state not more than two
will be gained by the democratic par
ty. The Legislature, however, will be
overwhelmingly democratic, and when
it is stated that the republicans and
pOpuliStS had a tWO-thirds majority in
the last Legislature, the full extent Of
the approaching change can be appre-
ciated. No one asserts for a moment
hat the democrats will achieve this
victory through a majority of the vOt-
ers in every section. They will be
materially aided, of course, by the re-
turn of the populists and Of the old
line wing republicans. In Edgecombe
county, for instance, which has al
ways been republican by $500, there
are now, l am reliably informed, only
five white men aligned with that party.
Where this combination of all white
men will not effect it's p how
ever other methods will be resorted
to, and the result will be that the
counties now most strongly negro in
their population will be the very ones
to send democratic members to the
Legislature. The red shirt and the Win
chester rifle will prove effective. Their
persuasive force has already been felt
in this county, where nearly one hun
dred negroes have just had their names
81 III 4 -
STRAINED SITUATION IN WILL
MINGTON.
The situation in Wilmington tonight
has not improved. During the forenoon
the business men selected George
Rountree and NJ. S. Willard, one a
lawyer and the other an insurance
agent, and both men of high respecta-
bility, as candidates for the legisla-
ture, to take the places of the regu-
larry nominated democrats. This
change was accepted in excellent
spirit by the democrats generally, al
though there were some murmurings
because the outcome was due to a
suggestion from Governor Russell. 1t
was supposed that the action of the
business men would permanently ease
the situation, but tonight Governor
Russell Unexpectedly appeared in the
city and held a conference with Oliver
H. Dockery. the republican nominee
for congress. This has made the dem
OcratS suspicious.
There are rumors that Governor
D,,--A1 Iii Af~ -