The Aberdeen weekly. [volume] (Aberdeen, Miss.) 1878-1933, 1909-12-24

Hon. A. Ames,
Jackson, Miss.
Honored Sir:-In answer to
your letter of the 23d inst, l will
say that the whole party are per-
fectly determined by ANY and ALL
means to carry the election. The
leading men in our county are n.
p. Willis. A. F. Rawson. S. c.
Moore, w. w. Hatch, George Will
kin. w HI Redwood. and many
others and they do not hesitate to
say that they will have 1900 men
from Alabama to compel the COL
ored men to vote the democratic
ticket or not at all. 1t occurs to
me that it will be almost impossible
to hold any election at all in this
county. The republicans will not
be allowed to vote. They are de-
termined to have riot and make
their boast that there will be no
L. s. soldiers to protect the voters.
They will have it all their own
way. Yours,
JAS.W. LEE,
Sheriff of Monroe County.
AS election day drew near and as
the long campaign was drawing to
close the interest in political af
fairs was excited to the highest pos
sible pitch. All eyes were turned
toward the election day which was
to decide who had won in the
struggle. The campaign had
| brought out the advice OF the min
istry. Capt. f. @. Sykes who had
charge of the military had had
frequent interviews with Bishop
Robert Paine, distinguished min
lister living in Aberdeen, and who
| had given conservative advice to
the young captain, but all his adj
monitions had ended with the in
variable refrain, You must carry
the election, if you don't you are
lost" G. J. Leftwich, Pamphlet
Edition, y.
The negroes had begun to enter
tain vague apprehensions as to the
results of the election. for the re-
suits of the campaign were as was
calculated that was, they were
fearfully intimidated, and had
grown fearful of the democrats.
The bold front and the war-like
measures resorted to by the demo-
Gratis had confused them and had
created no little alarm among
them. They were at such state
on the day of the election that the
least show of violence made them a
victim of their fears. They pre-
ferred voting at the central box,
thinking that, in the presence of
the L. $. Troops and white repub-
licans they could vote without be-
ing molested. The election laws
allowed a voter to vote either at his
own box or at the central box
which was then located at Aber-
deem. By voting at their own pre-
cincts they could be voted at others
also, because then, they took day
for voting at each box, and several
days were required to cover the
county. The republicans often did
this in order to carry elections by
an overwhelming majority. The
democratic leaders saw that the
negroes were going to vote at Aber-
deem en- masse. They sent men to
advise the negroes to vote at home,
and advised the republicans not to
mass the negroes at one voting
place, but the outcome seemed in
evitab BILE, and very exasperating to
the democrats.
In regard to the campaign of
1875 there appeared in the Aber-
| deem Examiner on the morning be-
fore the election a pledge signed by
one hundred and ninety prominent
citizens-sarmers and business men
of Monroe county, in which they
threatened to discriminate in max
ing labor contracts against those
who should vote the republican
ticket III WAS aS follows.
1. That they would discharge at
least one third of the more active
club leaders and drummers.
,. That they would not know
ingly employ anyone who he'd been
discharged bv any signer of the
pledge, or permit to live in houses
or on their lands, those who had
been introduced in the county in
the interest of the Radical party.
3. That they would furnish the
county executive committee a list
of those persons who might have
been refused labor on political
grounds, TO be enrolled in book
kept for the purpose. and which list
was to be printed in the Weekly
Examiner as standing advertise
ment for the protection of citizens.
The purpose of this article was
probably to intimidate the negroes.
learners History of Reconstruct
ton in Mississippi, 393-]
On the day preceding the cleo