The daily morning journal and courier., 1903-03-03
PAPERS IN lNDIANOLA CASE
SUBMITTED TO HOUSE BY POST
 MASTER GENERAL.
The Correspondence Showing Threat Against Mrs. Cox Who Was Forced to
 Abandon the Postoffice-Persisten Efforts of the Mayors Brother-im-iaw
to Get tho Appointment.

l &HAkoAsn oA eAAC Hs"y
 to Get tho Appointment.
 Washington, March 2.-Postmaster
 General Payne to-day forwarded to
 the house all the papers in the case of
 the Indianola, Miss, postoffice, which ! postoffice was discontinued by the ad- ministration because of the forced aban- l donment of the office by it's negro post | mistress, Mrs. Minnie V. Cox. The cor
 respondence shows that A. B. Weeks, a brother -in-law of Mayor Davis of In- ldianola, began his candidacy for the postoffice against the negro incumbent | as far back as April 7, 1902, when he
 began sending 8 long series of letters l and telegrams to the department. The papers include an extract from @ let | ter of a postoffice official dated Febru- ] ary 23, 1903. In this letter Mayor Davis
 of 1ndianola is quoted as saying that if
 Mrs. Cox should again take charge of 1 the Indianola postoffice 'she would get her neck broken inside of two hours D On January last John c. Dougherty, United States special attorney at New l Orleans telegraphed to Assistant Attor- ney General Pratt at Washington "that
 there are numerous negro county and municipal officers serving under demo- | cratic administrations throughout the southern states" Mayor Davis of h. 6ianola wrote the fourth assistant post 1 master general on January last re- l questing copies of all letters written the department regarding the postoffice and stated that the postmaster was request ed by all of the citizens to resign, that no threats were made, that she was
 perfectly willing" to give up the office. Fourth Assistant Postmaster General Bristow declined to furnish the copies Of the letters. The correspondence shows that A. B Weeks wrote the de- partment several letters during last
 April, in one of which he requested that
 he be appointed at once and in a letter
 dated May 30, 1902, he stated that he
 was anxious to get the appointment.
 supplementing this only July 2 with
 letter urging his own appointment and
 giving the causes why it should be
 made. On September 19 he wrote the
 fourth postmaster general that there
 was determined effort on the part of
 the people to make the postmaster re-
 sign or give up the office in some way
 because she is colored and requesting that Ms application be remembered. On
 october Weeks wrote the president
 that he had the assurance of Mrs. Cox.
 the postmaster. that she will forward
 her resignation in the next few days" and pressing his own application on the
 ground that he was the only republican
 at lndianola and later he forwarded a
 petition of colored citizens of Indiano-
 la and vicinity in behalf of his appoint
 ment. on January he wrote the pres
 ldent that the postmaster had aban-
 doned the office; pressed his claims for the appointment and said that he would
 be glad to have the president wire him to qualify. Later he wrote the president twice asking that the postoffice be re-es- tabished, stating that Mrs. Cox would not take charge of the office again and urging h's own appointment.
 The papers show that several other candidates applied for the office on De- tober understanding that Mrs. Cox had rendered or was about to tender her resignation.
 Postoffice Inspector Fitzgerald on De- cember 15 submitted detailed report relative to. the circumstances which caused the people of Indianola to order w. V. Cox, a railway postal clerk, and two other persons to leave that place. presumably on account of their color.