The Clarksburg telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1874-1926, 1912-10-24
DEMOCRATS
egistration list.
Trying to Disfranchise.
CONTINUED from. page one. J

registration list.
|; Trying to Disfranchise.
The whole idea OF the registration
fraud charge seems to be founded in
the belief entertained by those max
ing the charge that no colored man
should be entitled to vote and that he
should be summarlly dlsfranchised
because 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 the Republican
committee, will appear for every
voter who has not been notified that
charges have been filed against him.
No Notice Given.
When the court met recently
for the purpose OF carrying out the
law and going over the registration
books for corrections. all the regis
trars had not yet filed their books.
W. E. R. Byrne, c. R. c. Wiles and
John II. Green, the Democratic at
torneys, filed two petitions before the
court affecting a few over 100 voters
and undertook to have the court 10
strike all these names from the reg
istration books. The charges which
were sworn to by the chairman OF
the Democratic county committee, al
legged that the men whose right TO
vote was questioned, had not been liv-
ing in the state sufficient length of
time. John S. Marcum, appearing
for the Republican committee learned
that the Democrats HAD SERVED
NO NOTICE on THE VOTERS THEY
SOUGHT TO HAVE STRICKEN
FROM THE REGISTRATION LIST
AS REQUIRED BY A SECTION OF
CHAPTER As OF THE ACTS OF 1911
THAT A MAN MUST HAVE FIVE
DAYS NOTICE. Neither did any no
tice accompany the petitions and
every one Of the voters challenged
was~a colored man.
Mr.. Marcum moved that the peti-
tons be dismissed because no notice
had been served on the men challeng-
ed but the court overruled the motion
on the ground that no technlcalitles
would be allowed to Interfere with a
thorough investigation of the charges.
The court entered the order that the
county clerk prepare notices 10 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
ested party. The sheriff and the court
failing 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.. Byrnc 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 Elk.
CBPT The ATTORNEY WHO
WROTE THEM WERE PERMITTED
TO BE FILLED WITH THE COURT
The court declared it would pro-
vide stenographer to take up the
evidence in the various cases and 90
into detail with each case. All those
who heard the arguments in the case
were impressed with the fact that it
was scheme of the Democrats to
manufacture political buncombe.
wholly unfounded, to send into sec
tons of the state where the people
are ignorant OF conditions existing
here
False Clamor 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. wiles in
stituted contest for the seat of Hon.
Wells Goodykoontz, of Williamson,