The Palatka news and advertiser., 1915-09-24

Gregory the postmaster, while no mar
aspired to county Office if an ole
soldier was also candidate.
/ When. the white population was moi
over Zoo this place sent out seven
teen young men who entered the min
istry, and even a larger number who
are now presidents and professors OF
universities and colleges. At oul
mothers knees we were taught to ar
preciate Christian character ano
Christian culture.
Next to the governor, Jacob Henry
Smith, for nearly forty years the pas
tor of the Presbyterian church, was
the foremost figure and the mos5 in
fuential citizen. He almost convert
cd Ire 70 relieve in infant baptism
one Sunday morning-not by his ar
guments, but because of the voice of
authority with which he declared thai
this custom could easily be traced
back to apostolic times.
The first money which |, a country
boy, ever made was acquired by the
picking and the selling of cherries,
and since Aretai1ed them, going from
house to hSise, grew familiar with
all the streets of this little town.
There was one house, standing far
back from the street, its yard thickly
shaded by elms and oaks, which was
to me place of mystery, for here
there lived that one-eyed scoundrel,
that old carpet-bagger, Judge Tour
gee, the Republican boss of the state,
who had sought, so we are told, to in
troduce social equality among negroes
and whites, who had wrecked the good
name and the financial integrity of
our fair state by his unexampled ex-
travagance when he was in control of
the state legislature, and who had
brought about almost a reign of ter
ror, so that he was justly considered
by all good people to be veritable
monster.
His literary works, like o. Henry's,
run into many volumns, and some of
them possess high literary excellence.
But the place of which | am now wri-
ting remembers him with divided feel
ings. There is certain pride which
our citizens have in knowing that
their town is the scene of one of the
most popular American novels and
nat her citizens appear as living
characters within its pages. Judge
Tourgee, as he was known to US
Judge Tourgee, as he is known more
correctly in the literary world-left
the state following the downfall of
Republican rule six years before the
departure of o. Henry for Texas.
While 0. Henry was clerking irregu-
larly in his uncle's drug store, Judge
Tourgee published, in 1879, his first
book, "a FOOLS Errand," announcing
it simply was written '.'by one of the
fools" If you have not read this
work | commend it to you, because it
is a delightful book aside from its
local and historic interest. 1t pre-
sents in a series Of incidents the con-
ditions which existed during the pc
riod of the reconstruction, and | am
prepared to verify every incident in
the book, with the exception Of those
which relate to love-making, all of
which is properly fiction. The hero
of the book is now a distinguished
judge, who appears in "a FOOLS Err
rand" under the name of John Bur-
Lesson. Colonel Servosse, about whom
the story centers, is Judge Tourgee
himself. Thomas Denton was the
late Judge Thomas Settle of the u.
S. District Court, and Col. Zech Jones,
Burney Gretter and other local char
acters took prominent parts.
The great chapter of the book tells
Of the killing of Walter Stephens,
who appears in the book under the
name of John Walters. The latter
was the leader of the Union League,
commonly known as "the Red
Strings" a secret organization Of ne
groes, carpet-baggers and Southern
Union men, for the destruction of
which the ku-KluX Klan came into ex-
istence. Walter Stephens was the
leader of the Union League in Cas-
we'll County. With daring amount
ing to foolhardiness he attended d
Democratic convention in Yanceyville
held in the Caswell County court
house. Called out for a supposed con-.
ference, he was seized in the corri-
dor, gagged and flung into a room.
From the window he looked out upon
his home across the ravine, where his
children were playing. Granting him
q few moments for prayer, his as
sassinS then stabbed him to death.
| have stood in the room where
the tragedy occurred in company with
one of the few men now living who
knew the names of those who par
ticipated in the murder. Judge Tour
gee describes it faithfully, but with
the prejudice of a Northern man.
heard from a sanity Christian wo-
man the other side of the story. The
white people of that section of the
state were terrorized. Their bar,s
were set on fire at night. The negroes
were infamed by the promise that
"the United States Government was
preparing to confscate the lands of
the rebels and give to each negro for
ty acres and a mule" There were
rumors which claimed to be founded
upon fact that on a certain night the
members of the Union League, led by
Walter Stephens, were to arise, burn
the houses, kill the men and turn over
the women to the lecherous blacks,
and a horror of death took hold upon
everyone. To them the Staying of
Stephens was the death of one that
the many might have safety And