Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1920-07-22

half of the candidacy of Pat NJ Neff
for governor.
The Starr county situation in 1906,
at the time when Judge Seabury was
county chairman Of the democratic
party there, was brought up by him
in the course of a discussion of his
political record, his part in the cleo
ton in San Benito in 1910, and his
part in the city election in Browns
vile, when he was city chairman, in
1912, all being in reply to the Har-
bert Davenport "open letter."
Judge Seabury said that at Rio
Grande City in 1906 there was a
split in the democratic party, G. Duff
fy, local leader, turning over to the
republicans in the race there that
year, giving the republicans, as they
believed. a chance to elect their tick
ct. The late District Judge Stanley
Welch was holding court there at the
time. of the election, and decided to
hold court over until after the elcc-
tion in the hope that he would i'm that
help to prevent trouble. The night
before the election Judge Welch was
murdered in his bed The following
day, election day, armed men were
stationed in line at the entrance to
the polls, Mr.. Seabury related, and it
was necessary for him time and again
to 20 through this line 10 help dem
oCratic voters reach the polls.
The result of the election was. Mr..
Seabury said, that the republicans re-
ceived a slight majority in Rio Grande
City proper, but the county returns
gave the democrats the majority, fl
nally.
Judge Seabury said that following
this election he resigned as county
chairman of Starr county to be APP
pointed county attorney to prosecute
the murderers of Judge Welch, in
which prosecution he assisted District
Attorney John |. kleiber, the result
being that one man was sent to the
penitentiary for life. He resigned the
county attorneyship after the close of
the case.
THE facts at San Benito in 1910
WERE" said Judge Seabury that was
not a supervisor Of the election, or an
election officer. | was there to help
to get out the democratic voters, and
to use every effort to see that the
democratic voters were given an OPP
portunity to vote. The rangers were
called in by the presiding officers TO
preserve the peace The two parties
kept their men separate and were
voted. one from one side and one from
tn other. The polls were kept open
for fifteen minutes after the legal
closing time. and when they closed
we had about thirty men unvoted and
the republicans had some fifty.
What gave US the advantage at
that election was that the business
men and the farmers voted with US.
If our men wanted 10 vote in a hurry.
would not let them get ahead. Some
of them went over to the republican
line. leading them to believe they
were voting that ticket when they were
really voting ours. We won by bet
ter organization and by better tactics.
nothing else.
In reference 10 the 1912 election
in Brownsville. had nothing to do
with the selection Of the presiding of
ficers. They were selected by our
adversaries. In the fourth ward, be-
cause Of wrangling in the box. we
failed to get in large number of the
voters and the election was won by
the independents by some two or three
majority. The practices adopted at
that election was condemned at the
time by myself and by many others
VINO were certainly against it. One
thing that | might have done was TO
take forcible possession Of the polls,
and one man sought to persuade me
10 do this, but refused.
I'm reply to the charge that the
firm of Seabury & George is attempt
ing 10 monopoliZe the public Officers.
will say that Mr.. A. NJ Kent was
solicited by Judge Wells to run for
county attorney. He had been county
attorney before the war, resigning to
enter the army. 1t was generally
thought tina. - .rould be reappointed
or reelected. So far as Mr. Kent is
concerned ! don't know today wheth-
or he Is supporting me or Judge
Spears. will say, however, that
trust him, absolutely.
'As 10 James Taylor of Corpus
Christi. he is not in the race for dis
, trict judge. He was never solicited
by me TO run for district judge, and,
f, Continued on Page Four.)