Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1899-03-30
DISPOSITIONS BEING TAKEN.
Some of the Charges Made by Rhea About
the Election in azeweII.

|
of w. F. Rhea in the Walker-Rhea con
test. The work is being done before A. S
Higginbotham, as notary public, with D
H. Smith representing Rhea and A. P
Gillespie as counsel for General Walker
Up to this time some five or six witnesses
have been examined, and nothing hal
been proved that will tend to sustain the
charges Of Rhea in any important particu
lar. One of the witnesses has been very
inaccurate, to say the least, in many of his
statements, and will be contradicted by
number of our most reputable citizens.
We have just seen copy of the charges
and specifications made by Rhea as to the
manner in which the election was con,
Quoted in Tazewell county. The charges
are too lengthy for us to publish them in
full, but we will, for the edifcation of our
readers, give some extracts from them.
They are as follows:
81 charge that at every precinct in said
county number of ballots, from l to 25,
were rejected which should have been
counted for me, and which l shall insist be
counted for me.
81 charge that your partisan friends in
this county secured and were furnished
more than $1,000 in this one county with
which to corrupt the election and to bribe
voters for you, and that money and
whiskey were freely and lavishly used at
every precinct in the county.
Il charge that the poll books and bal
lots from at least one-.lalf the precincts
in said county were not certified, sealed,
and returned to the clerks Office as the
requires, and that the ballots since the
election have been left in this condition in
the charge of the clerk, who is q partisan
of yours.
81 further charge that large majority
Of the postmasters in this county were ap-
pointed upon your recommendation, were
bitter partisans of yours, and that just be-
fore the election they held a meeting at
Tazewell Court House, at which meeting
the postmasters ofsaid county were assessed
and required to contribute to your corrup-
ton fund.
"BLUEsToNE PRECINCT: l charge that
the Republican judge conducted himself in
the most partisan and outrageous manner;
that he intimidate& Democratic judges,
and he conspired with other partisans of
yours to intimidate voters.
NORTH TAzEwELL PRECINCT: The Re-
publican judge was the marker of ballots
during most of the day, and charge that
while thus acting he openly left the booth
on numerous occasions and consulted with
your partisans on the outside, electioneer-
ing withivoters to vote for you and intimi-
dating employees of his and persons in
debted to him to vote for you. Il \
4 l charge that the fraud, intimi-
dation and bribery practiced by your sup
porters at this precinct was such that a
large number of voters who desired to vote
for me did not do so, and that you re-
ceived sixty or more illegal votes at this
precinct.
TAzEwELL PRECINCT: The frauds, cor
ruption and intimidation and violence
upon the part of your supporters ard par
tisans at this precinct we're so bold, glaring
and outrageous that the House of Repre-
sentatives will be asked to reject and throw
out the entirepoll. l charge that your
supporters and partisans at this precinct
openly boasted after the election that they
spent 81 900 in cash, and 1 charge that
this money and merchandise were corrupt
ly used by your partisans in hribing voters
to vote for YOU | further charge
that about noon on election day your par
tisans provoked and brought about dis
graceful row within the 40-foot limit pre-
scribed by law, and that they attacked an
officer of the law whose duty it was to pre-
serve the peace, and struck said officer
with an open knife, and that your parti-
sans openly declared that the Democrats
should not be allowed to vote, and by this
outrageous and disgraceful conduct many
voters who intended to vote for me were
frightened, intimidated and kept from vot-
ing. charge that by reason of all this
fraud, corruption, intimidation and
violence and other illegal conduct you re-
ceived at this precinct not less than 100
votes which shall insist shall be deducted
from the vote returned for you, in the
event the vote of said precinct is not en-
tirely rejected and thrown out.
81 charge that at Poor Valley Precinct,
Midway Precinct, Richlands Precinct,
Cedar Bluff Precinct, Tip Top Precinct,
Graham Precinct, 3urk'siGarden Precinct,
and in fact at every precinct in the county
the same frauds, corruption, intimidation
and violence as was carried on and prac
ticed by your partisans at Tazewell and
North Tazewell was carried on and prac-
ticed at each and all of said precincts, by
all OF which means you received at each of
said precincts, from 10 to so votes which
were illegal, and which I shall insist shall
be taken from the vote returned for you
in the event said precincts are not entirely
rejected and thrown out."l
Mr.. Rhea also charges that General
Walkers friends bribed one of the judges
of election at one of the precincts in th e
county without naming the precinct. The
people of Tazewell county can judge of the
trnthfi1lness of the above charges.