The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1912-10-23
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regfstEatton list.
TUfng to DisfranehIse.
The whole idea OF the registration
fraud charge seems 70 be founded IN
the belief entertained by those max
ing the charge that no coIored man
should be entitled to vote and that he
should be summariIy. disfranchised
becanse Of his color.
The county court has set October
/ "a as the date for beginning the hear
\ ing OF these charges and Col Mar
cum. representing tie Republican
committee. will appear for every
voter VINO has NOT been notified that
charges have been Med against him.
No NOtfce Given.
when the court met recently
for the purpose Of carrying out the
| law and going over the registration
Il books for corrections, all the regis
trars had not yet fled their books
w. E. R. Byrne, G. R. c. Wiles and
Il John H. Green, the Democratic at
torneys, fled two petitions before the
court affecting a few over 100 voters
Il and undertook to have the court to
\ strike all these names from the reg
Il istration books. The charges which
were sworn to by the chairman OF
the Democratic county committee, al
lleged that the men whose right to
vote was questioned, had not been liv-
] ing in the state a sufficient length OF
ydrae. John S. Marcum, appearing
for the Republican committee learned
that the; Democrats HAD SERVED
80 NOTICE on THE VOTERS THEY
+ SOUGHT To- HAVE STRICKEN
FROM THE REGISTRATION LIST
AS REQUIRED BY A SECTION OF
iCHAPTER Is OF THE ACTS OF 1911
THAT a MAN MUST HAVE FIVE
DAYS NOTICE. Neither did any no
tee accompany the petitions and
every one of the voters challenged
was a colored man
Mr.. Marcum moved that the petit
tons be dismissed because no notice
had been served on the men chaIIeng-
ed but the court overruIed the motion
on the ground that no technicalities
would be allowed to interfere with a
thorough investigation of the charges.
The court entered the order that the
county clerk prepare notices to be
served on all the voters, in compliance
with the law and then adjourned
until Thursday. Mr.. Cole. the chair
man of the Democratic county com
mittee, who is chief deputy sheriff OF
the county, was not allowed to serve
the notices because he was an inter
es;ed party. The sheriff and the court
trailing TO agree on persons to serve
the notices on the voters, the court
selected two constables to carry out
this part of the work.
Political BuncOmbe.
! Mr.. Byrne then declared that he
had other petitions to file but that
he had not even been able to get any
one to swear to them. When asked
as to whether Mr.. Cole would not
swear to them, he said Mr.. Cole was
not sufficiently acquainted with the
facts set forth in the petitions to swear
to them Mr.. Marcum said he would
waive any technical objection and al
low the petitions to be filed with the
court without them being sworn to.
THESE PETITIONS AFFECTING
MORE THAN 400 VOTERS AND NOT
EVEN VERIFIED BY ANY ONE EX-
CEPT THE ATTORNEY WHO
WROTE THEM WERE PERMITTED
TO BE FILED WITH THE COURT.
The court declared it would pro-
vide a stenographer to take up the
evidence in the various cases and go
into detail with each case. All those
who heard the arguments in the case
were impressed with the fact that it
was a scheme of the Democrats to
manufacture political buncombe,
wholly unGounded, to send into sec
tons of the state where the people
are ignorant CT conditions existing
here
False CInmor Recalled.
| 1t will be recalled that these same
charges of fraud in Mingo county
were made before the last Democra-.
tic legislature when G R. C. wiIes in
stituted a contest for the seat of Hon.
Wells Goodykoontz, OF Williamson,
charging that he had been defeated
i by wholesale frauds in the county.
This contest was referred TO the house
committee on privileges and elections,