The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1900-04-08
A FAIRY TALE THAT HURTS.

la, MIMI. contains IN It's issue OF
March 30th communication dated
Black Mountain, n. c.. that about
takes the/ cake" for fiction about
North Carolina ways and North Caro-
lima courts. The writer, who signs
his name "Armstrong" tells of attend
ing the county seat to learn some
thing about the way they run court.
After some preliminaries he gives this
account of procedure:
ut was a suit for intimidating and
threatening voters at the polls by the
shotgun policy, whereby only ten Re
publican votes had been returned in Il
county having several hundred Repub-
lican voters. The judge turned red in
the face, the lawyers coughed and
threw out their tobacco guilds, the
jurors hunched each other in the ribs,
the witnesses winked suspiciously, as
much as to say, Hell is now to pay"
| began to- think SO, too, for ] have
learned never to dispute a southern
er's word, especially when | hear re-
volvers begin to click, as they did all
over that court room. | at once took
back seat near the door!
THE first witness testified that the
white Supremacy Club for several
days before election, paraded the
roadways of his district on horseback,
with masked faces, wearing red fan
mel shirts, armed with rifles and whis-
key, and went shooting recklessly into
dooryards and fields where colored
people were at work. They threaten
ed and frightened the voters to such
a degree that many were afraid to
register their names as voters or GO to
the polls TO cast their ballots, under
threats of vengeance and discharge
from their jobs by the white rule
regulators" Another witness swore
that on election day after the polls
were closed a hooting mob surround
ed the voting place, declaring fraud,
and began shooting through the win
dows, when one of the frightened cleo
ton judges fell in a fit and the ballot
box was thrown out of the window.
A red-shirt Irish Democrat jumped to
his feet and shaking his fist at the
witness exclaimed:
''Yees are black liar. sor! was
there meself, an we voted in "a hat
no ballot box at all at alan we had
an honest count We TUX the hat
across the strate to the st. Patrick
saloon an laid it on the counter be-
soide our revolvers in a peaceful man
ner, sor, an we counted every vote.
sor, without firm shot or tallin'
drink. / voted tin tonnes meself
that day. sOr, an we found every one
of them ballots in the hat
Il noticed that the prosecuting at
torney was getting hot under the col
lar. He sprang to his feet and point
ing his quiyering finger at the Irish
man, exclaimed:
Pat, I'm going to impeach your
evidence for truth and veracity as Il
witness. Now tell me how many ne
groes you have killed in the past year
and how many times you have voted
at election"
Il will not criminate meself," said
Pat. I'm not your witness. j do not
kape a roll of dead niggers. Call some
of your own witnesses, squire"
THE attorney of the defense then
arose and addressed the court in be.
half of white supremacy in the
South" and the inherited right to
govern the lower-race in behalf of so.
ciety and a good government, and the
protection of family and home. His
eloquence was convincing and persua-
sive. as were also the two revolvers
sticking from his hip pockets. The
judge took a fresh chew and shed
some red tears, and the jury shook
their heads and grated their teeth III
behalf of Justice to the white man
and to hell with the black man." 4
moment of threatening silence ensu-
ed which was broken by an accidental
discharge of q revolver on the back
seat, and in an instant the court room
looked like an arsenal of war awaiting
an attack. The judge declared the
case dismissed. the jury discharged
and the court adjourned-all in sell
defense. l and the sheriff were the
first ones out. | was little ahead tC
the street.
Is it any wonder that the readers
of that paper have no true conception
of the South when fiction like this is
sent out as actual occurrences? There
is no portion of the country where
such a farce could be enacted, and vet
some visitor. presumably to pass the
time sends a story of his own concoc-
ton to far away paper as a real ac-
count of a legal procedure in North
Carolina. How can we ever reach the
men who read such fairy tales and
makes them know the truth?