The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1899-04-20
BEGAN HERE YESTERDAY
PLENTY or LURID GENERAL
tiles HE GOT
BUT THEY uNseAT NO covGRsSSMeN
Ne Succeeded in Proving tha, for Some Reason
-Four Men Did Not Vote, and They Were
Supposed 10 b. Scared One
Witness Ate up the DAY.

in the Dockery- Bellamy contest yester-
day morning at ten o'clock. The evil
dence was taken before Il. j. Best
Notary Public, in Judge PurnelFs room
in the Federal building. Mr.. Bellamy
was present with his counsel, Mr.. G..
Al. Busbee and Col Dockery was repre-
scented by his counsel, Claudius Dockery,
The witnesses summoned to appear
were; w. E Henderson, OF indianapolis,
Ind: ]. II. Melton, Magnolia. y. c.;
s. II. Bryant, Magnolia. n. G.: W. j.
Harris. Raleigh, n. c.: II. b. Russell,
Raleigh, n. c.; j. T. Howe. Washing
ton. ID. c.: Manager of the Caucasian,
Raleigh. y. c.
OF these witnesses only X. IL. Russell,
the colored chairman of the Republican
Congressional committee for the Sixth
district was examined yesterday, his
examination taking the whole day.
Never did man hunt colder tran
than Contestant Dockery opened up.
The examination was as long and lean
and lank as the Knight of La Mancha
and was about as general in its wander
ings as that laughing-stock Of the cen
turtles Out of the whole mass of rub
bish that the witness laboriously piled
IN with the aid OF counsel there We're not
twenty lines that would be admitted as
competent in any magistrates court Of
the country. There was plenty of intimi-
dation. witness said. and he sketched SO
lnrid d picture of red snirters' stand
ing along the roads lin double ranks
presumably and firing at the negroes
who were going to vote, that the eyes
OF the dusky listeners who had drop
ped in fairly bulged. But when it
came to naming men and fixing time
and place. telling who inundated and
who was intimidated. witness declined
TO answer Out of all the countless
thousands who were supposed to have
been scared out of voting in his district
he could give just four names-and of
these he said only that he knew of
no other reason why they did not vote. :
OF such. so far as facts were concerned.
was the evidence contestant Dockery
accumulated Nothing specific was
proved and in deadly parallel to the
things in general witness had heard
about threats and intimidation were the
figures showing that the aggregate vote
cast for Congressman was larger in his
county in 1898 than in 1S96-evidently
the voters were ''shooed' toward the
ballot boxes instead of away from
them.
1t was new revelation as a process
for the production of flap-doodle and
unless Contestant Dockery has been
more fortunate elsewhere it is hard to
see how his "evidence" will get much
consideration even at the hands of
a Republican Congressional committee.
Maybe some of the fleeing negroes ran
close enough to the other witnesses to
be identified though.
The examination of the remaining wit
nesses will begin at o'clock this morn
ing, and is expected to proceed more
rapidly as Russell was the main wit
ness.
The hearing yesterday was deadly dull
and only Dr. Abbott, Carl Duncan, Geo
Tonnoffski, jim Young and few other
misunderstanding general of Republican
orphaned policies were present at the
perforation The notary ruled at the
outset that he could shut out nothing
as incompetent and consequently every
thing went with a grand, free swing.
DIRECT EXAMINATION.
II. B. Russell, the first witness for
Dockery, called, said he was Repnbli-
can and lived at Maxton. and was
there on election day. He was chairman
of the Republican Congressional Com
mittee of the 9th district during the cam,
paign.
n WIFI Oh II, Iofai1 aats Of In.
timidation by Democrats against Re
publicans and Populists. Question oh
jected to by counsel for contestee, be
calse it assumed the intimidation as {
fact Notary ruled he could not instruct
witness. Ruling excepted to by counse
for contestee.
A. There was considerable trouble il
the 9th district prior to the election.
received letters as chairman of distric'
from the different counties indicating
that it was impossible to organize the
party in the district as in previous
years. In my immediate section there
was considerable fear and unrest among
the Republicans on account of Demo
cratic threats and intimidation. We hat
no Republican speaking because Demo
Gratis refused to allow our speakers t.
visit that place. In several countie:
there was an organization known al
red Shirts" and the object of this or
ganization seemed to be to frighten ant
terrorize coIored voters. Just befor,
election this organization made night,
raids in various parts of the district
shot through houses and warned voters
to keep away from the polls. Two o
three coored voters were severed,
whipped near Maxton A few night
before the election in MaXton Tn
colored voters left their homes and re
manned out all night. There were no
over five colored men who slept at thei
homes for week previous to the cleo
ton for a single night. On the day o
the election large numbers of them di
not come to the polls ut all. Those VIII
did come were allowed to vote up to /.
o'clock; after that hour no colored Re
publican voted. The red shirts stood a