Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1946-08-30
Military Operation
Al Jail Won Election
els Had lost
Continued From First Page. }

lieutenant, had later become sheriff
Reports of brutality on the part o
deputy sheriffs had disturbed tn,
people. The perennial charges tina
the county had been stolen from
the Republicans had been ampli
fed by new evidence at the openini
Of the campaign. When the Gil
decided to run ticket, they en-
tered into fusion" agreement will
the Republican party which in
dorsed their candidates. The cam
paign against the party in powe,
was fought on the time -honorec
moral issue-'Throw the rascal
out"
The GIs had worked hard on th'
election. They had raised a SIS, 00t
campaign fund and had beaten tn,
opposition at the poll tax game
Harry Johnson, jr.. 21-year- ole
treasurer of the league, estimate.
the league paid the 81 poll tax fol
$500 citizens and that the county
Democratic machine probably paic
the tax for about 1000. That left
the machine in the lead, but the
boys knew that hundreds of per-
sons, who annually got their pol
tax receipts from the Democratic
party workers, had promised to vote
for them.
Deputized Authority.
Sheriff Mansfield was exercising
his powers to the fullest extent on
election day. Talk about too much
power for one man" on the national
scale! Consider the power vested
In rural sheriff. He can deputize
his authority to carry arms and
make arrests to as many men as
he pleases. The lowest estimate
I heard of the number of deputy
sheriffs patrolling McMinn county
that day was 200.
Pat Mansfield was using the
power to continue the machine in
office. In every polling place the
CT Nonpartisan League and the
Democratic county machine were
equally represented with two watch
ers each-equal with one exception:
The machine watchers were deputy
sheriffs with loaded revolvers. And
more armed deputy sheriffs were
at the boundaries of the polling
places and still more were walking
about in the streets. Most of them
were young-probably GIs them
selves. A lot Of them were strangers.
They had no police experiencing
training to restrain the impulse
to exercise their power by drawing
that gun.
The tension in the town was
caused entirely by the county cleo
ton. Voting in the primary contest
between Edward w. Carmack and
Senator Kenneth Mcclellan, who
won with the backing of the Crump
machine, was conducted at different
polling places and unmarried by
violence
Shot Disrupts Peace.
Sheriff Mansfield had his law
and order until 3 pm. Then Deputy
Sheriff Windy Wise, whose regular
job was racking balls in triangles
in an Athens pool room, shot Tom
Gillespie, colored, who had been
refused admittance to the 18th cleo
ton precinct where he had always
voted. He was hit in the back
and is recovering.
Fifteen minutes later at the 18th
precinct they were both within a
block of Athens courthouse square,
Bob Hairell, CT watcher, was
beaten with a blackjack when he
objected to a man voting twice.
He was taken to the Jail, but Dr.
w. E. Force, who was unimpressed
by the show of arms and refusals
to release the prisoner, pushed him
self past the deputies and took
the boy to his hospital. He had
suffered conclusion, but he re-
covered.
John Peck, the one reporter Of
the daily Post-Athenian, went to
the Jail to ask about Hairell. John,
a 28-year-old CT, was new at the
game. He had connection with the
Chattanooga Times, and a week
before he had taken a Times re-
porter into McMinn County road
house, had whisky with him and
watched the crap game in progress
on the standard green cloth that
allows odds for the house. A few
days later story describing the
place and reporting the illegal sale
OF whisky and the gambling ap-
peared in the Times. The sheriff
and his deputies blamed John for
1t. challenged him to swear out a
warrant against the place to legalize
a raid on it. While John was on
the porch of the jail a deputy sher-
if hit him on the jaw, knocking him
fiat on the grass.
Apology Promised.
Chief Deputy 30 Dunn picked
him up.
John" he said. I'D rather have
given you $50 out of my own pocket
than have that happen. Don't ask
who hit you. Things are white
hot now. But I'll give you my word
of honor that he will apologize to
you tomorrow"
John went back to his paper, a
block away. He told the editor
owner what happened.
I've got to get my daddy out of
town before he hears about this, y
said John, "or he'll get his gun and
come downtown and get killed"
The editor. who understood the
situation, excused John who got his
father and drove him into the next
county, a circumstance which left
the paper little short-handed
when the top story of the Nation
broke in Athens that night.
At o'clock the polls closed. Quite
q throng was milling about the 18th
precinct. The report that there
had been a shooting (Tom Gillespie)
had brought them out. About As
minutes after closing, they saw
something. Ed Vestal, CT son of
q local manufacturer, and Charlie
Scott. another CT, came right
through the plate glass door of the
store which was serving as the
polling place. Blood was flowing
dovn IN yo,inp UeSfapS fare from,