The daily worker., 1933-01-07
Mrs. JAMES TELLS
MURDER STORY
Vivid Picture of Negro
Oppression in South
CONTINUED FROM PAGE oND

me that the sheriff told him he was
coming to take all of the stock. On
Monday morning a deputy sheriff,
Clifford Elder, came to the farm and
walked over to my husband, who was
at the woodpile. The deputy told
him he came to get the stock. Cliff
told him if he took the stock off the
farm the family would all starve.
We have seven children, from seven
to eighteen years old. Ned Cobb
came out of the house and pleaded
with Sheriff Elder not to take the
stock. Elder pulled his gun and
threatened to shoot both Of them.
He couldn't scare them, so ne said: !:
I'm going to get the high sheriff
and help. and come back and kill
you all In q pile
Cliff could see trouble coming, so
he told me to take the children to a
nsighbor's house. l went to the
home Of John McNIullen, about 200
yards away, and Mrs. McMullen and
I watched my farmhouse from the
window. My children continued to
play with Mrs. McMullen's children
in front Of the house.
Shooting Starts
At about 1880, Sheriff Elder and
three others came to the gate and
walked up to the house. They called
for Cliff and Ned, who Immediately
came outside. Only few words were
spoken, but almost Immediately
Sheriff Elder pulled his gun and shot
Ned Cobb in the hip. Then Cliff and
Ned started to run away from the
house. with the sheriffs shooting
after them. The sheriffs began to
shoot into the house, too, and some
men in there returned the fire. AL
the sheriffs ran away and hid, and
continued to shoot into the house.
John McMullen was shot and killed
as he was going towards his own
home. Then the sheriffs began to
Shqot in all directions, and bullets
were flying all around the McMuilen
home. Preston McMullen, the young
son of John McMullen, was shot in
the leg while in his front yard.
Il was awful scared, and started
down the road to the home of my
brother, Judson Simpson, with bull
let's flying all around me. About
1880, some men came to Simpsons
home, beat his wife on the head
with a pistol, and shot him twice
while he was sitting in a chair.
He was shot in the face and hip.
One of the white men picked up
an axe and was about to finish
JudsOn off, but white farmer
stopped him. This white farmer
also helped hide Judson away, but
later Judson was arrested. and he
is now In the county jail at Dade-
vile.
A Ruined Home
II didn't go back to tie house for
several days. When I did go back,
I found all the stock had been taken
away, and most Of the food, and
some clothes. The house was all torn
up with bullets, and all the furniture
was smashed and broken.
II never saw Cfff alive again.
But I was told that he had gone to
see DR.. Eugene A. Dibble, Of Tus-
kegee Hospital, who looked after
the family when they were sick, for
years. I found out too that while
Dibble was pretending to look after.
Cliffs wounds, he sent a student
to the sheriff's Office, and a deputy
came right over and took him to
jail, where he died.
my seven children are being taken
care of by relative. The farm has
been taken away, and we are all left
destitute.
II want to thank the International
Labor Defense for their help in fight
ing for the release OF all the croppers,
and for arranging the funeral In Bir-
mingham. I want to call on all the
workers Of the South, both Negro and
white. to join and support the In
ternational Labor Defense in its great
fight for the Scottsboro boys and all
the oppressed and prosecuted Negro
workers and poor farmers"