The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1912-11-15
TEN YEARS OF ALABAMA
No. Administration Of Governor Lewis
18651874

had an appointment ready for him in the
internal revenue service
Finally a legislative committee put this
man under oath to give testimony He
confessed he had been brought to assist
in carrying the election for the republican
state ticket Questioned by the commit
tee. Do you know of troops having been
brought into the state just before the
election for the purpose of influencing
yotes?' the answer was unblushing, Il
do"
Question: State fully and particularly
about it The prompt answer was.
Troops were brought here at that time
for the alleged purpose of protecting the
federal revenue officers In the perform
ance of their duties. This was the os-
tensible object, but the real object was to
parade the troops through the country
with United States marshals who pretend
ed to carry warrants and who exhibited
papers to the people to intimidate them,
driving them out of the country These
warrants were taken by the marshals
into neighborhoods and exhibited to per-
sons who would then inform the parties
that the marshals were after them. Then
they would leave the country or get out
of the way. The warrants were nothing
more than folded papers without any
writing on the inside, but names appeared
on the outside. Senator Spencer wrote to
cured troops, to be under control of the
revenue officers Meyer so informed me-
Acting on this information, l made a
requisition for troops and proceeded with
them and with the marshal who had the
pretended warrants and he exhibited them
as l have stated"
Question: WAS there any outrage upon
which this requisition was based? Was
there any necessity for protection of the
revenue officers 2"
Answer: There was no real necessity
for tue presence Of the troops
Question: Was there any pretended or
alleged necessity? II so. state what it
was
Answer: "There was. I shot hole
through my own hat with my own pistol
and wrote to Lou II. Mayer that l had
been set upon by men in ambush and by
the X. X. X, which he perfectly under
stood by previous understanding. / had
the troops with me at that time. | was
in advance and out of sight when l shot
the hole in my hat. ran back and de-
ployed them as sklrmishers ana we adj
vanced upon the supposed K. X. K with
an intrepidity that reflected credit upon
the troops that knew no better"
Question: ''Why did you do this?'
Answer 1T was to satisfy the depart
ment at Washington and to prevent the
recall of the troops"
tIutSllOH. W DIS lHiS ISDDTItQ 10 tffG 0e-
partment at Washington as a real out
rage?"
Answer 1T was. / saw it mentioned in
several northern papers"
Question: Were the troops retained?"
Answer "rhey were kept by me as long
as they could be made use Of as a
political machine"
w. j. Squire, deputy United States mar
shall, testified on oath. This federal reve-
nue. officer was favorite with Spencer.
From headquarters at Mobile squads of
federal cavalry We're put aboard the river
steamers with orders to debark at desig-
mated landings on the rivers above. The
officers were instructed to go out and
call public meetings which they were to
see must be addressed by republican party
orators.
Squire testified. This programme did
result in frightening many from the coun-
try and from the election. I will state a
case in point When we arrived at Mon
rceville, county seat of Monroe county, 1t
was nearly dark. Next morning there
We're scarcely any white men to be found
in the place Upon inquiry we found they
had left very early that morning to avoid
arrest. AS matter of fact, there was
no warrant out for the arrest of any
white man in that town (Report OF
joint committee of the general assembly
| of Alabama)
| In Dallas county it was decided to make
| a full test of the merits OF an election.
Gen. John T. Morgan. Gen. Edmund W.
Pettus and Gen. Charles M. Shelley of
fered for the lower house of the legisla-
ture. They were all and severaly defeat
ed by a negro carpetbagger and a seal
awag respectively.
FROM border to border of Alabama the
| general election of November, 1872, bore
witness to the same fact represented by
Congress, the unutterable depravty of
government
JOHN WITHERSPOON DUBOSE.