The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-10-13

escape retributive justice The details Of the senator's exploits in Alabama in
 the matter of the general elections of | 1sI2 and of his own success we reserve
 Tor chronological presentation soon | to be reached
 The volume of Acts of 1S70-7i. is d.
 thin book. The one house of the legis-
 iature despised the other, as an incom- petent, illegal, vulgar intruder; the other feared its companion as an ac-
 cuser with the proof before it. as a
 Wronged heir, whose claim was deep
 seated in human rights and Gods or daining. Thus divided In the seat of
 power, the state could make but small
 effort 10 throw off the dismal effigy of political confusion which had been vio- l lentlN thrust across its path.
 | The accomplished legislation was
 largely expansive of corporation inter-
 ests. The Tallassee cotton mill, the Montgomery and Pickett Spring Gravel
 Road company, the Bienville Water
 works company, Tuscaloosa Scientific
 and Art association, & number of rail- | road interpretations, interpretations of | churches, schools, academies. city and | town charter amendments, Red Noun tain Iron and Coal company, insurance l companies, great number of widows
 made free dealers and many youths | whose fathers had not survived the war l were subjects of legislative action. | One of the leading acts in import ance was one which placed the Land Grant college. the Alabama A. and NJ.
 college, now the Alabama Polytechnic institute on a firm footing. The gov
 ernor was authorized to receive from Congress the land scrip apportioned to
 this state during the war. Under the
 act of Congress, July ?. 1882, the dis
 tributive share of Alabama, 30,0o0 acres 1 of public land for each senator and | representative in Congress, was 240,-
 GOO acres. The governor purchased with the land scrip $235.o00 Alabama state bonds par value Upon this en- | dowment the institution began life | Under the military constitution all
 county officers were elected once in three years from November 1888 The triennial election of this class came off in November 1871. In the black l belt the scalawags were already wide ly separated from the carpetbaggers.
 While they prospered nightly in the monopoly of the federal patrona ge 1 through Senator Spencer. the former
 fought fiercely for the rich county of fees to be bestowed by the negro vote
 | Having been an observer on the ground, I may properly relate an in-
 cident attending the November 1871, | ciuCtiOhs III ndTeukO cOul1ty.. Billy BUT leigh Jones. senator from Marengo, had
 made desperate canvass for sheriff | of that rich black belt county. The | democrats put up for the office Con- l federate veteran of distinguished repu- I tation for courage and steadiness un-
 der fire, Harrison by name, man of l fine address, manly figure and auburn hair. Harrison did not canvass for votes to any extent but he did Hay
 low and say nothing" with resolution. There was no need for his canvass of the voters. Jones had his messengers l Gall negro preachers) out all the time with the word and the button from him at Demopolis To augment his
 fame he shot to death on the highway | a white man unarmed and without | sight of anyone. A piebald jury, part white and part negro, tried and ac- quilted him before carpetbag cir chit court.
 l Jones pursued his canvass up to date very near election day with ut l most rancor. He was man of cer- | tain kind of courafe. Young. physically perfect and thoroughly well educated. | lis father had been one of the wealthy
 cotton planters. owning many slaves His older brothers were gentlemen of
 the first social position, all democrats
 He was married to a daughter of a
 citizen of Demopolis of first class 1 standing.
 Three weeks before election Jones planed to have a riot on the occa- | sion of a Saturday meeting of his own, at Mckinley, village in thickly pop | ulated negro district. not remote from the Wilcox county line. In the part of
 Wilcox. near Marengo, a considerable number of negro soldiers had settled on
 their discharge from the United States army. The agricultural lands there are notably fertile.
 Jones was quick to take up familiar
 relation with the negro ex-soldiers. Hc
 needed the effect of their disciples and | intelligence in his proposed enterprise. 1 w. F. Abrahams was mayor of Mc-
 Ktnley, a tall, lean young man. full of | pluck and ready to fight at the drop
 of the hat. He was a lawyer of prom
 ise and mayor because the citizens
 called to him.
 The mayor sent word out through the plantations and by Saturday he had a posse of 75 to 100 men, most of them | Confederate veterans. armed for action 1 in the village.
 | Jones planned in this way and SO conflded himself to one of his trusties | on the ground, negro who could read. to-wit: Jones would arrive at night at Faunsdsle, railroad station east about 10 miles from Mckinley. At that time there was no settlement at this station. The place is in the heart of | the canebrake plantations. There in the
 darkness and solitude he would collect from 200 to 900 able bodied young ne- gro men. The column formed at Fauns- | dale would gather recruits as it passed through the Great Weaver. Coleman and
 Paulding plantations and halt three
 miles north of Mckinley. The Wilcox
 column would approach Mckinley
 about II a. m. When the converging columns came in communication with
 each other. each assured sof the support
 of the other, Jones would appear. take
 command end order the general mas
 sacre of whites.
 l Early saturday morning Mayor Ab-
 raianls sent scouts out in all direc-
 tions. The Wilcox county contingent
 of negroes was met near the old cross-
 roads. three miles southeast of the vil-
 lage of Mckinley. They were armed with fowling pieces, etc, and well or ganized by the old negro soldiers. who
 marched off with them
 The mayor received reports, kept his head and went to work The mayor SC : lected several discreet citizens. dis armed them and sent them out to the i crossroads to meet the advancing WU- COX county armed mob These citizens
 on approaching the marching biacK column halted it and ca lied for the
 leader. They informed him in hearin4.
 of many of his followers that the laws
 of Alabama and of the United States ! forbade an armed organization 10 en.
 ter town without permission. This informa ton was met with sfbos | threats and generally daring manner
 After while the leaders consented 10 1 select some of their number to sar,t