The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1898-09-13

ard, ]. NJ. Jenkins, Elijah Lane, Wash
| iagton Mcneil, John g. Norwood,
Thos. Rivera, Jr., John H. Shaw, Thos.
Smith, A. J. Walker, r Men. VIII
liams, Luke Grady, Richard j. Jordan,
Jordan Nixon, Elijah Leonard, George
E. Green, J. Primes Bowen. John II.
Brown, Chas. a. Foreman, John Holla-
way, John H. Howe, Benjamin J..
Hooper, Major Loftin, r. H. Lane. Ca
leb NJ. Martin, Geo. W. Price, Abel s.
Robinson, Chas. Sullivan, ]. Z. Taylor,
John II. Weber, Godfrey Willis. Jr..
Lewis HolIingsworth, Levi Nixon, J..
II. Davis, A. L. Freeman, Samuel VI.
Virgins.
The negro aldermen Of the town are:
ohm Norwood, a good negro; Andrew
j. walker, now major at Fort Macon,
and Elijah Green.
At the custom house: John g. Dam
cy, collector; John E. Taylor, deputy
collector, and James H. Howard, are
negroes.
The county has six negro school
committeeman. Magistrates, aldermen,
policemen, deputy sheriffs, court house
officials, constables, ETC., make about
eighty-six negro officers. 1t is an easy
matter to pick out about as many white
men Of the same character from the lot
of officers left over after the negroes
| are counted out. They are Of the
same stripe.
At the election Of 1896, F. W. Foster
Jordan Nixon and Dempsey, were
elected on the board of county COM
missioners for New Hanover. Some
time ago they elected or appointed,
themselves members of the board of
education of the county. An injunction
was issued, and after a long and te-
dious wait they were bounced by the
courts from the board Of county COM
missioners. The clerk of this county
being a democrat, appointed a demo-
cratic board Of commissioners. The
county is blessed with that check on
the incompetent crowd. New Hanover
is not entirely Russellized.
Here are some of the deeds of Will
mington's police force:
Chief John r. Melton, of the police
force of this city, arrested r. H. Ben
son, another police officer, for sleeping
when on the street, but off duty, and
took him before Mayor S. P. Wright.
Benson was discharged, but before
leaving the room he accused the mayor
of being a gambler and offered to
prove it. From all reports Benson
cursed the whole shOOting-match out
right in the city court.
On July 18th, Mrs. Baffier and daugh-
ter, who live at 81 Cottage Lane, cap
tured a burglar in their house and
turned him over to the chief of police.
Without advice from any one the chief
turned the negro loose on a $3.50 bond.
When the time came for trial the ne
gro could not be found. He is free
today, and not far from the city hall
of Wilmington.
July 9TH, kiah BObOrn and John
Rives, two country gentlemen, fought
like cats on the main street of the
town and Chief Melton went up and
told them to stop. He made no arrests.
Later, they were brought to trial be-
fore the mayor and the officer did not
appear as a witness. The case was dis
missed. Some days afterward a war
rant was issued for one of the men for
the same Offense He was tried before
Squire job j. Fowler, of this place,
and convicted. Chief Melton was one
of the principal witnesses.
f. w. TONNES, one of the cOlOred pO-
licemen, was suspended some time ago
for lying to the mayor.
In April of this year Police Officer
w. d. George arrested a notorious ne
gro woman for fighting on the streets.
On the way to the guard house he was
followed by a gang of negroes. They
hOOted and yelled at him for awhile
and tried to take his prisoner. Final
ly, they began throwing rocks. He
wheeled and shot into the crowd. A
negro boy, Rich Loftin, fell dead.
George was arrested. The coronor's
jury released him and brought in a
verdict to the effect that Loftin was
killed by some one in the crowd. So
everybody believes. They believe, too,
that the person that killed Loftin
meant the load for the officer.
Such are some of WilmingtOn'S pet
ty crimes. There are hundreds just
like them. If this reign of incompe-
tency, insOlence and corruption keeps
up, the property of the town will fall
to nothing. Decent people cannot stand
it.
1 learned from a negro Saturday that
several hundred South Carolina ne
groes have come here in the last two
years. He was alarmed. Indeed, he
has cause to be. The crowds of loafing
negroes that pack the streets of Will
mingtOn day and night is enough to
convince thinking people that some
thing must be DONE. 1t would be best
for the negroes. They will soon be an
indOlent, worthless, disease-breeding
race here in the south unless there is
a turn in affairs. 1t would be best for
them, as a whole, if Wilmington were
lifted from the scourge that now
threatens her existence.
With all this there is a lack of en-
thusiasm here on the part of the best
citizens of the town. They are too con-
fident that the democratic party will
go in power his fall. They need to
arouse themselves. There is work
| ahead for them. I will venture the as
sertion that not a hundred good meE
in the city know how many negro Off
GERS are in the county. A visit to the
custom house, the county court house
and the city hall would open the eyes
of many. There are negro clerks in all
these buildings.
The danger is to come. If in the
short space of two years this dreadful
| state OF affairs has been brought
about, what would two more a d
to it? H. E.. G. BRYANT.