The evening times., 1899-07-03
Grom the New York Tribune. /,

dEluing communities, WHSTc INC means VI
communication are ample and where. new
men are constantly coming in and MEM
bers of old families going out faction
in a political party obtains control OF the
official machinery and exercises II SO
tyrannically that the opposing faction be-
gins to chafe under the injustice practlce1
against those who are not friends and re-
tainers of the men in power, a personal
encounter occurs-it may be between men
of little standing-the factions take sides
and support the actual belliserents, and
within few months the war is Oh between
powerful political enemies albeit they
may belong to the same party.
The feud that has been rag,Lg IN Gay
county is a pointed illustration OF these
facts. For more than half century the
White family has been ruling the politicai
destinies of the people of Clay county aad
its members have either held all the OH
ces or dictated the choice OF the incum-
bents Shut out from the world by hills
and mountains, the Whites have been en-
apled to hold their own against the op-
posing faction in their own party, as no
new citizens ever come into the county.
This was the political situation in Clay
court. two years ago, when VIII Wnlte
tern, of office as sheriff GApiIed and his
brother, Bev White, jr., who had been
Wills deputy, became a candidate for
sheriff. At that time nearly every county
Office was filled by White, and the in
cumbents had managed the affairs of the
county in such way as to secure the most
financial and political benefit TO the White
family.
The Philpotts. also an influential family
of Republicans, became 50 much dissatis-
fed with the way in which the Whites
hat fhnNr nm
tered into a combination with Gilbert Gar
rard son of Gen. T. T. Garrard and
strong Democrat, to support him for sher-
if if he would make the race. The for
NAL majority of the Republicans in Clay
county is 1000. so that the Whites felt
safe, but the Philpotts made so vigorous
canvass for the Independent Democrat that
| Gilbert Garrard came within less than 100
votes of being elected.
This bitter campaign aroused great
deal of ill-feeling between the Whites on
the one side and the Garrards, Philpotts.
and Bakers on the other. Ii was when this
feeling at its highest point that A. B.
| Howard a friend of the Whites, and Tom
Baker Republican, but strong support
er of Gilbert Garrard, became involved in
the difficulty over the Judgment against
! Howard which Baker had bought. When
! the Bakers and Howards got 10 fighting,
/ the Whites naturally took sides with the
! Howards, and the Garrards supported the
Bakers. 1t was largely on account of this
! fact that Tom Baker killed Will White.
! Will had been abusing the Bakers to old
! Mrs. Lucas, and she had told them that
/ Will White had threatened to kill all of
/ the Baker family. When Tom heard of
this he armed himself and when he met
Will White he shot and killed him. This
aroused all the dormant fire of the Whites,
| and they determined to avenge their
| brothers death by Staying Tom Baker at
any cost, and so it was that when the
! State Guards took Baker to Manchester for
trial this month his assassination was as
| sured, at least in the minds of those who
know how intensely the Whites can hate.
The famous French -Eversole feud of
Perry county was another illustration of
| the power of life tenure in Office to pro-
mote a vendetta. The Eversole family in
Perry county occupied about the same po-
sition there as the Whites do in Clay coun-
ty. No Office could be held, it appeared,
save by an EversOle or a relative of an
Eversole. Fulton French had political as
pirations, at least for his friends, but he
could not induce the Eversoles TO allow
any of them to be elected A trivial en-
| counter brought on hostilities and a noun
| tain war resulted which cost the State of
| Kentucky more than s100, coo and filled
| thirty-eight graves OF these there are
seventeen occupied by Eversoles, who died
with their boots on at the hands of Full
ton French's men.
The Tolliver-M Martin feud in Rowan
county, which was settled twelve years age
by Boone Logan, then young lawyer TAX
ing the law into his own hands and ex-
| terminating the Tolliyers, was another OF
! the same kind. The Tollivers ran every
thing in the way of office in Rowan county
with high hand, and their followers be-
came so terrifying to lawabding citizens
who had taken no interest in the fight that
they determined to stamp out the Tolli-
vers after about thirty men had been
killed.
The Strong-Amy feud of Breathitt county
was also built on political oppression. The
Strongs dictated the political destinies o
the county and the Amys objected. The
actual fighting began as usual, over some
trivial matter, and it was kept up with un-
varying regularity until not only were
thirty-two men killed, but Capt. Bill
Strong leader of his faction, and Joh1
Amy, leader of the opposing clan, were sho
to death.
The popular idea that the leaders Of
these feuds are men of low standing and
no culture is erroneous. The Whites are
descended from the same family that pro,
duced John White, once Speaker Of the
House of Representatives of the United
States, and they are closely related tt
John d. White, of Clay county, who ha:
served two terms as Congressman from the
Tenth District. Fulton French is lead
ing lawyer, and his opponent, Joe" Ever
sole, was a prosperous merchant and rea
estate owner, whose brother, H. c. Ever.
sole, is circuit judge of the Clay county
the man who raised a little army of 15t
men and exterminated Craig Tolliver ant
his clan, is now one of the leading attor.
neys at Pineville, KY, while the relatives
of Captain "Bill'' Strong are prominen
in politics in this and other States. On
of his nephews is today United States
of Breathitt.
1t is true that the actual fighting mel
in the average feud belond to the loves
strata of mountain society, many of then
being unable to read, and ready to kill
man for a small sum, provided their EN-
ployer pays them promptly and stands be
tween them and all danger of the law. On'
of the most accomplished man-killers de
veloped by these feuds was Bad Tom
Smith, who was the champion killer in thu
employ of Fulton French. He was charged
! with killing eight men, and on the scaffolt
he confessed to having killed six, and CAV,
details of his bloody work. He had al
, ways come clear" as the mountaineer
say, for the killing he did for French, ant
, it was only when he went to killing on hi
own account that he ran efoul of the law
, He murdered one DR.. RAIDER while the lat
ter was asleep in bed, and for this he wa
, hanged.
French succeeded in having him cleare
, for killing the five men he confessed t,
killing for him. In telling on the scaf
, fold about the killing of one man who wa
, especially obnoxious to French Smith said
"Mr. French paid me 81 day and CAV