Year: 1866

tion-The Witnesses and Reserves


How the Radical Majority was oh.


tanned Last spring.


Editors of the Register:


Being subscriber to your excellent
paper, desire to give the public, through
your columns, small sketch of the state
of things that exists in the county of
Gilmer IP the first place, at the elec-
tion last spring the Radicals had small
majority, and 1 desire to let the numer-
ous readers of your paper krow how
they got it.


One John S. Brannon was APPOINTED
Registrar for the Glenville Township
Brannon is a very reckless man, who
seems to have 10 regard Cor truth, honor,
or anything else. The Board q: fegis
tration for our county selected him as
the most fitting man to do their dirty
work. He very diligently hunted up
and registered all that would give him
assurance that they would vote his
ticket. If tLey could not take the iron
clad oath, he would register them with
out it; il did not matter what they had
done, if they would vote with the Rad
ical party it was all right.


To those that would not agree to vote
their ticket, he would read the obnoxious
Maryland oath, telling them, at the same
time, that they would be indicted fthey
did take that oath; so a great many
who did not know but what that was
the oath imposed on them by law,
told him that they could not take it;
and by the time that they found out
what oath they had to take, he had got
around and registered all his Radical
friends. He then concealed himself
until after the books were returned. |
saw as many as twenty six voters hunt
ing for him at one time, but could not
find him. One little squad of men, hav,
ing learned that it was his practice to
sknlk in home after dark and away
again before day in the morning, con-
cluded to watch his house at night, and
when dark came on they put pickets
around his house to watch for him, and,
after he supposed that everybody was
gone, he came slipping in home. The
pickets hailed him, and told him that
they were there for the purpose of regis
terng. The balance of the squad soon
surrounded him. He, finding himself
surrounded by a set of men that, posi-
bly,, could not have looked very good
natured, became very accommodating,
and told them that he would register
their names, and told them to tell their
neighbors to come to his Office, that he
would be there, and would give all
chance to register that wished to do so.
So they gave the word out, and the peo-
pie flocked in the next day with hope
of meeting with an opportunity of regis
tering; but this God -forsaken creature
had gono and concealed himself as be
fore So they, after being so often dis
appointed, gave up the struggle and re-
turned to their homes. Now who can
tell what the Registrar did with his oath
all of this time.


The next nuisance that we had to con
tend with was the board of registration
for our county, which was composed of
the following named gentleman James
Gathers, Mathew Holt, and Thomas Nj.
Brannan, three men whose thirst for
Office seems to have hid away every par.
ticle of honor that they may have had,
including their oath Of Office. They had
q routine of witnesses summoned in for
their own convenience, and, as it was
Just after the close of the war which,
they contend, is not over yet, they took
it soldier fashion and drew up their wit
nesses in line Of battle. Thomas b.
Floyd, an unsuccessful candidate before
the people, who holds the Office of Jus
tice in Glenville township under Radical
misruIe; George NJ Riddle, of wild pork
notoriety, who prOtfers TO swear any
thing that man wants for fifty cents;
and Samuel Summers, who is very noto-
rious as witness, made the charge.
Old Dorcas Morris and old jimmy Bran
non composed the reserve, who, owing
to the bravery Of those that led the
charge, were not very often called on,
but when they were called up they never
failed to do their whole duty. Gathers,
who is the president Of this ponderous
board, has been an Office seeker ever
since he has been III this county, and
almost always unsuccessful. He, like
the other two members of the board,
seems willing to sacrifice two-thirds of
UuS VI JhSlL OOuhby unO SdhO
of getting into some little Office Let
the people say what they may about the
short. ightedness of this board, l will
venture to say that there could not be
a better selection of witnesses made for
the purpose they use them for. The
acts of the board are no less disgusting
than those of their selected registrars
When Riddle, Floyd, and Summers failed,
which they did not often do, they would
swear one another and give evidence
amongst themselves, and when they fail
ed they called up the reserves and they
nerer failed. In ono instance, where one
of the reserves testified against minis
ter of the gospel, he told the beard that
he could prove by twenty witnesses that
her evidence was incorrect, but the board
very politely informed him that they
could not hear defense A great
many others were treated in like man
ner. Some of the worst men in the
county, such as the soldiers were ordered
to shoot down wherever they could find
them, were registered without taking the
ootb an1 ollOUel tn vote nv layiD0