The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1899-01-17
He PICKED SN|PES
And Found the Fusion Bird
Easy Game.
MR.. WILLIAMS SPEECH
FUDGE WINBORNE PICKED UP
THE FEATHERS.
THE HEREFORD COUNTY BILL AGAIN
Considered in all its Details by the Committee
Yesterday. twill This Morning be
Favorably Reported Back
10 the House,

The Hartford county bill will this
morning be returned to the House with
favorable report
1t was threshed over again yesterday
afternoon by the Committee on Counties.
Cities and Towns, with the result of /;
unanimous vote in favor of its passage.
The original bill was not adopted, but
substitute, which eliminated the objec-
tionable features of the bill as first in
froduccd
Mr.. Snipes. the Republican member
from HEREFORD, opposed the bill before
the Committee and Judge Winborne, of
the committee also discussed it.
Mr.. Snipes couldn't find any respect
in which the substitute was an improve
ment on the original bill. He could see
in both an attempt TO rob the present
county officers of the offices chosen.
And for this, he said. there was no
reason-that all the present officers were
white men, competent men,
This brought Mr.. Gillian, of the COM
mittee, to his feet
Il desire TO say, in the name of the
people of HEREFORD county, and on the
authority of the best people in
the county, that that statement is un-
true The officials are not white men and
they are not competent men. HEREFORD
county, continued Mr.. Gillian. has l.,
300 negroes and 100 white men who
affiliate with them. In my county such
white men are not esteemed any better
than negroes-hardly as good. They use
the negroes as tools. and TO do SO have
TO sink to their level. They sacrifice
the public welfare for office and then dis
grace the office. They neither respect
or obey the law; they loot the treasury;
and are banded together for public plum
der / am not speaking specifically. |
am telling you the rule. Nor are my re-
marks personal to the gentleman from
HEREFORD.
THE character of these men in Hert-
ford county is on par with that of the
same sort of fellow in my county. As a
rule he is no better-not bit.
Il wanted to say this much in reply
TO the gentleman from HEREFORD (Snipes).
/ shall reserve the privilege Of further
paying my respects to him in the House
for some of the statements he made
Saturday, He's here representing 1900
negroes ana lUO White men.
Mr.. Snipes in turn said half the votes
he received were white votes; that the
Democrats forced the negro to vote the
Democratic ticket.
Judge Winborne replied that there was
no truth in either of these statements.
ION the campaign we told the negro
in so many words that we didn't want is
vote-that we wanted white votes, and
none other. This consolidated the white
man on one side and the negro and Il
few white officc-seekers on the other.
.sThe object of this bill is not TO throw
ont any officer-if he is competent and
obeys the law Its object is to see that
the county taxes are not wasted, but
are properly expended.
1.-THE men proposed as commissioners
in the bond are fair-minded. honest and
competent They are men of experience
and under their administration there will
be no arbitrary exercise of power.
.iAs to the provision requiring an ex-
animation of the bonds Of the county of
ficers. that is only as 1t should be. No
man has a right to fill bonded office
until he gives ii proper bond. lt is made
the duty of the commissioners to see that
the bond is a proper one That's all.
Now as to the white and negro vote
in the county. The total vote is about
$500. OF this the negro majority is
about 200. And the statement just made
that some of these negroes voted the
Democratic ticket is absolutely false.
Snipes-"Did yon not hear it rumored
around that the Democrats would give
a dollar apiece for negro votesT
Winborne-No. And if it was so
stated il was a lie and the man who
circulated it was liar. And if you
heard it, it was started either by you
or some of your friends
Judge Winborne then went on to tell
who the three commissioners are. Col.
Mitchell. the oldest man on the board, is
nm old-line Republican, he said. who
wants to do right but is easily by
designing men He OWNS considerable
property.
The second man on the board, Judge
Winborne alleged had no property, save
his exemptions. having, it is claimed.
transferred his property to his wife to
escape payment of a debt. The third
commissioners has no property at all,
worth speaing Of
..The two last-named commissioners
are men of great prejudice and partisan
bins. governed by their feelings and pre-
induces rather than by sense of right
and wrong. The interests of the tax
payers are not safe in their hands"
Mr.. Francis ID. Winston, member of
the committee spoke of the men whose
names had been put in the bill as new
commissioners. They are all known to
him personally and are, he said, persons
of the very highest character.
And as to the the votingthe Demo
cratic ticket, why he just didn't. | don't
know what they did elsewhere, but in
Eastern North Carolina the negro didn't
vote the Democratic ticket.
II made the first campaign speech that
was made in Bertie-that was my cele-
brated Ahoskie speech. In 1t / laid
down the doctrine that we didn't want
any negro votes. And from that day ia
this--no, from that day to the day OF
the election, the negro quit the Demo
cratic party. Since election. though, it's