The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, November 27, 1898, Page 19

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 1898. 19 Race Riots and Jfiozfyzm Law in the Carolinas Blazksa-d Whites Arrayed Against Each Other in Murderous Fury. The Governor of One State Barely Escapes Death From the Mob. Men and Incidents in the Frightful Outbreak of Race Hatred That Has Deluged T'wo States in Blood MODBBING AL MANLY. EDITOR FR nce of the Sunday Call Special Corresp: of ys Governor he he Carolira, say Governc North “It's a long time '; and the Governor of he says to the Gover- lina, “Sh-h! Don't to Caro- be. be- r of Sou s in alleg: they are Southern country of a > race war of last how did not get , but came very a sensation ne i no Governor of y has ever lost nant citiz a Stat Wi g with bl streets of mir es were s and pot Winche Spring- , the Governor, who n of North Carolina, troub! white citi- “LYNCH THE GOVERNOR.™ e wa Gol ception, period of s of “Lynch him d one of his friends car into a box car, ed behind him, and the nds stood guard pulled out ched his home, in aboard Air Lin and the Govern- 1 have a button on coat and his raiment was in tat- The nor weighs more than | 0 pounds ated enemie Maxton lating as to the figure he would have cut at the end of a rope. s is only one incident of tt events that have sti ng th been a re of negroes in aington, N. C. There has been a itical riot and a wholesale of negroes in Greenwood, S. story of Wilmington and the 3 nwood both furnish food story - thought, but on far different lines. THE WILMINGTON RIOT. fifteen ne- cilled; but no white man At Greenwood at least roes were killed and one white at least ington 8 t his life. I will first teil the story of Wilming- ton and then of Greenwood, and let the al reader v lu- ind 1 Wilmington irely to the negro n lo- cal politics a is about 1 which the actically ut restric- ed the right of suffrage. The en permitted to do this ere in the minority. vhite voters in tk colored vot 100,000 : id the danger of remacy become a combina- Republi- ¥ white vote and espec e Demo- cratic white voters, began to have their | apprehensions. Governor Russell hails from the sec- tion of the State in which Wilmington {s situated. Here the ratio of colored men to white is almost two to one. The Governor and his F ublican allles got hold of the government of the city of Wilmington, and in order to keep the negroes solid permitted them to share in the offices. The colored men here quickly felt their power. They realized that it was through their votes that the Republicans had triumphed. While the Republican leaders held the more important offices the white men in Wilmington soon found that they had over them a colored police force, while the fire department largely consisted of colored men and the postoffice was manned with colored letter-carriers. A NEGRO GOVERNVIENT. In fact, to all intents and purposes, it was a colored city government. The colored city government levied the city.taxes, collected them and spent | began to arm thems an over | white the Cape Fear region. | publican shooting at | have a_ serv | any other way. started for i | aetermination before the way of | make no concealment of it now. | them. The whites were -paying 96% per cent of the taxes, the colored were i % per cent of the taxes. sduction into office of this new r a repetition of d story of profl a Nearly every Southern city f reconstruction had been and now it was Wi e e colored men did not neglected negroes and ere he road upon whites W Chadbourn, the Republican . wrote and published a let- ¢h he declared that the ne in charge of the municipal s wer government of Wilmington; that the whites would not longer ® -ar with this condition of affairs, and that “they would carry the mnext election either with votes or with arms.” | | " Long before the canvass in the cam- paign just closed began the white citi- S of Wilming.on, almost without re- | gard to pa ared for the great- t emerg: months ago they | Ives quietly. Each iated with the Re- zn, if he did not already iceable firearm, purchased | r or a Springfleld rifle, and | ots of ammunition. They determined | to carry the fall election by force and timidation if they could not carry it itizen not affil a Wincheste GOVERNOR RUSSELL ALARMED. They made no concealment of this election; they They | nd an abuse | | | ts and robber multiplied. n were insulted on the street and | was no redress. White women be jostled from the sidewalks | e mudc streets by colored , and negro men would laugh ¢ Little white girls would s snatched and thrown into were firmly convinced that the African was not born to rule the white man, | and no amount of argument can change their opinion. | “Governor Russell became alarmed at the threatening condition of affairs that his management had brought about. He was notified that something dread- | ful would happen in Wilmington if the | negroes attempted to outvote the | whites on election day, and through his influence the Republican leaders were forced, just before the election, to take down their ticket and give the Demo- crats no opposition in the county ex- cept one Representative in Congress and State Senator, these districts including other countles than New Hanover, in which Wilmington is situated. Election day passed off quietly in Wilmington, although in three or four other counties in the State the negroes were intimidated and hindered from | voting by the presence of armed men at the polls. The elec | termined city government, by tion ! elng over the whites de- to put out of office the entire force if necessary. Governor tried to induce the city officials to resign, but without avail. an orderly meeting of the white was called, and resolutions 1 taking possession of the ty government in the interest of the white population, calling on Alexander | Manly, the colored editor of the Repub- { lican paper, to leave town, and appoint- ing a committee to wait on the more objectionable white officeholders and | colored leaders and invite them to leave the county. WHITE MAN KILLED FIRST. The story of the exciting events that followed this revolution have already been told. Manly, the colored editor, | swho had been an object of loathing for | Then citizens were passec months because of the editorial attack- | ing white women, had already taken his | departure. The Record office was | bur; because the proprietors of the | pape . believed by the committee appointed at the mass meeting to be ig- noring its demand. An outbreak on the part of the ne- groes had been expected that day, and nearly every white man in the city of Wilmington was under arms. This number has been estimated at 2000. The White cltizens of each block had a dis- | tinct organization under a separate leader. Bach man had his orders, and | no matter where disorder broke out the | white citizens were prepared to quell it quickly or add to it materially. There is no question that the first shooting was done by the black men. A negro in Brooklyn, a suburb, shot a Wwhite man through the right arm. The wounded man with his left hand shot the negro dead. The negroes began to rally in force with guns, and four of them were shot dead in their tracks then and there. The blacks were over- awed, but not before at least fifteen had been killed and probably twice as many wounded. One negro was found badly wounded hiding beneath a porcn and was taken to the hospital. Tt was a reign of terror simply for the blacks and their white associates. A REIGN OF TERROR. A committee moved quickly around and notified the more promirent and objectionable white Republicans that they must leave town. Silas P. Wright, the Mayor, had already gone. Justice of the Peace Bunting, who was also United States Commissioner, was told to go. So were Chief of Police Melton and Charles Gilbert, the superintendent of city carts. Notice was also served on G. Z. French. Mr. French is ths acting sheriff. He allowed the actual Sheriff $1200 salary, and performed all BURNING 47 THE "R ECORDYS OFFICE AT WILMINGTO} oy | the duties of the office himself and took | thority for this statement is Senator all the emoluments. Pictures of Bunting and his colored housekeeper still hang on a tree in front of his house, where they were hung by the mob. Thomas Miller, noted colored leader, who, when he heard the Record building had been burned, declared that he would wash his hands in white men’s blood night, was lodged in jall, and a picket was thrown around to prevent the more irresponsible whites from drag- ging him forth and killing him. Colonel Waddell, one of the most prominent citizens, who had been chair- man of the mass meeting, was elected Mayor, and all the old officials resigned under pressure. Waddell has a fighter's Jaw. His ancestors have fought in three wars. Dr. Silas P. Wright offered his resig- nation as Mayor of the city, and it was accepted. Colonel A. M. Waddell was elected Mayor of the city and sworn in by M. Newman, J. P., whereupon Mr. ‘Waddell took his seat as Mayor. Nearly all of the old city officials are | now in Washington seeking 1o have a Cengressional investigation or are wan- dering northward seeking new places of abode. The statement telegraphed North that ministers of the Gospel, with rifles on their shoulders, paraded the streets on Thursday and Friday nights to pre- serve order is no fiction. This actually took place. It is also a fact that the race question in Wilmington rose above politics, and that many white men heretofore Republicans joined in over- turning the city government. The fury of the mob at Wilmington when it finally burst forth was added to by race prejudice, long kept in restraint in North Carolina. The deepest blot on the city is that the poor whites wan- tonly shot any negroes they met. Most of the murdered victims were unarmed and molesting no one. So high did the feeling in Wilming- ton run during the political campaign that it is a marvel that there was not a murderous outbreak long before Thursday, November 10. Early in the campaign Governor Rus- sell became a target for the orators of the white men’s party. The Gov- ernor owns a large plantation on the other side of Cape Fear River, just op- posite Wilmington. For years he has supplied the city with milk. Some one printed a communication in the Mes- senger one day inquiring why white men bought Governor Russell’'s milk, since he was responsible for negro rule in the city. Instantly the Governor’s dairy was boycotted and his milk is not now sold in the city. So much for_the story of the riot in Wilmington. Now for the story of Greenwood. THE GREENWOOD RIOT. Greenwood County in South Carolina is a omparatively new county, having been erected fyom the county of Edge- field on one side and Abbeville on the other. Edgefield County was the scene of some of the most disastrous political riots during the period of reconstruc- tion. Within its borders occurred the famous “Ned” Tennant riot, so called for the negro leader, who was killed. The colored population in that sec- tion 1s very large, outnumbering the whites, but the race question there is merely a soclal problem, not a political one. In Greenwood County the qualified white voters outnumber the qualified negro voters about ten to one. The au- that | a| {ion, and came out with a fine repu- and Shocked the Nation. Tillman. The Tolberts are a very influ- ential white family in Greenwood County. The most conspicuous member of it is Major John R. Tolbert. He is | really the Republican leader in South | Carolina. Major Tolbert is a man of middle age, who graduated from the South Carolina University, which at the time of his graduation was the educational institution of the highest standing in the South Major Tolbert served during the war as a member of Butler's Confederate Cavalry Divis- tation for courage and the rank of a leutenant. He is to-day a slender, erect, dressy man, with an iron gray beard and fine presence. He has two brothers, one of whom, Thomas Tol- bert, lives near Phoenix. THE TOBERTS. Major Tolbert has a number of sons, among whom are Robert and Rhett Tolbert, Thomas Tolbert Jr., Joseph Tolbert and James W. Tolbert. Major Tolbert became a Republican leader in South Carolina. He turned Republican during reconstruction days, in the hope of getting office. He is at present the Collector of the Port at Charleston,S.C., having secured that post by virtue of his efforts for McKinley at St. Louis In 1896. His son, Robert Rhett Tolbert, is chairman of the Republican State Committee. Robert Rhett Tolbert's name has been invariably printed Robert “Red” Tolbert. “Red” is a nickname. His other sons are all ac- tive Republicans. The Tolberts are all planters in that section of the State. There are all very well educated and very well-to-do, too, and their com- bined holdings in land exceed 10,000 acres. The wife of James W. Tolbert was appointed postmistress of MecCor- mick, a small country town. James W. | Tolbert professes to be his wife's a sistant in the office. Collins, a brother- in-law of R. R. Tolbert, claims to be the postmaster of Ninety-Six, a station on the Southern Railway, near Green- wood. This is denied by the Demo- crats, who say that Collins is an ap- plicant for the postoffice at Abbieville Courthouse, and James Tolbert is an applicant for the postoffice at Green- wood. ‘Although the Tolberts are one of the best families in the State, there being nothing against either their personal or business habits, the great mass of white people have regarded them with enmity because they are Republicans. ‘When Robert Rhett Tolbert became a candidate for Congress this fall the white Democrats declared that he should not have any votes, and the feel- ing in the community was very bitter. NEGRO VOTES REFUSED. The negroes were bolder than they have been for many years. I do not think the Tolberts have anything to do with this. The only reasonable explan- ation I have got is that furnished by Colonel N. G. Gonzales, who says that since the colored troops behaved so fine- ly at Santlago and El Caney the ne- groes through the South believe that they are a race of warriors and can whip the white men, and this impres- sion has made them very hard to get along with. They were encouraged by the orators both in North and South Carolina to go to the polls on election day, and were reminded of the great exploits of their race in Cuba. The colored orators were prone to allude to Maceo as one of the greatest warriors of modern times. | Rhett Tolbert for Congress. GOV W.H. ELLERBE Z.OF SOUTH CAROLINA Election day came and all the negroes | brave war record ii the Confederate | wood of Greenwood County who were quali- | fied to vote through coming up to the | requirement of the South Carolina con- | stitution were told by the Tolberts to | go to the polls and vote for Robert Phoenix, | which was one of the poiling places, consists of a cross roads country store. It was here that the race war in South | Carolina began. army, states that he never joined in the movement to have the negroes vote and pledges all his efforts in the fu- ture for the sustalning of white su- premacy in South Carolina. In the meantime the negro hunt went on, the Tolbert hunt having been aban- | doned. Wherever a negro was found he was shot down. It is doubtful if any of the men who The polling place was on the second | had a hand in the shooting of Etheridge floor. Every time a negro applied to | have been killed. Nearly all of those vote for Robert Rhe‘t Tolbert his vote | who were slain were not only inno- was refused, whether he owned $300 and | cent 'of participating in the earlier trou- could read and write or not. Thomas Tolbert Jr. was in charge of the negroes at this polling place. He asked permission to take the afidavits | of the negroes that they were qualified | voters and were not allowed to vote. In | the room where the ballot boxes were | this was refused, so he went down- | stairs, had blanks filled out in regular | form, signed and acknowledged by a | notary public. As each affidavit was | made it was folded and put into a bal- lot box which the Republicans had pro- vided. This went on for some time until J. | 1. Etheridge, a prominent white man in | the community, tried to stop the pro- ceedings. As a matter of fact Mr. | Etheridge had no more right to inter- | fere than if he lived in another State. | There was no danger of negro supre- | macy; there was no danger of the Dem- | ocratic candidate for Congress being | unseated, because the contest could not | possibly amount to anything, and in ad- | dition to this, Phoenix was not in Mr. Etheridge’s voting place. | Mr. Etheridge’s interference resulted in a fight, and during this fight Mr. Etheridge was shot and died almost in- stantly. ‘THE WHITES TO ARMS, Then the whites flew to arms. A | Tolbert and negro hunt began, which | lasted for three days. Most of the ne- groes took to the woods and were hard to find. At the close of the second day’s riot- ing some negroes fired upon a party of whites from ambush at Piney Grove Church, wounding two of them. Armed | white men scoured the country in every direction. The fury of the mob was directed more especlally toward the Tolberts. Thomas Tolbert had been shot and mortally wounded in the fight at the polling place. Major John R. Tolbert was driving along the road with his 15-year-old nephew when the whites fired on him. He was shot in the back with buckshot and in the head with bird shot. His nephew was also wound- ed with buckshot. Some of the promi- nent Democrats assisted the elder Tol- bert to a place of safety, but later, when the rioters learned his where- abouts, they went to the house deter- mined to kill him. He made his escape, however, and reached Columbia, three days after he had been shot, with none of the forty- six leaden pellets that had entered his flesh yet removed. The other Tolberts and the whites who had been connected with them in the movement got out of the county as best they could. The only Tolberts who remained were Thomas, senior, and Elas L., the brothers of John R. Tolbert. Thomas, senior, had remained in Abbeville and was not molested. The mob pursued Eliag L. Tolbert to the house of a prominent Democrat, but was finally persuaded to disperse. Since that time Ellas L. Tolbert has printed a most ab- ject letter, in which he alludes to his ble and of firing on the whites at Piney Grove Church, but were unarmed. When a negro was found no questions were asked. He had merely to run and the mob riddled his back with buck- shot and bullets. At one place by the roads there was a pile of five dead ne- groes as late as Thursday afternoon. ‘hile the excitement was at its height a movement was started to burn the houses of the Tolberts. Wiser coun- sel prevailed and this was not done. Both Governor Ellerbe and Senator Tillman are in favor of shooting colored men in order to keep them in subjec- tion. Tillman himself participated in the great Hamburg riot in 188. In gpeaking of the Governor’s conduct a Greenville paper said that the Governor on Tuesday, when there was rioting at the polls, remained calm, and that on Wednesday, when white men were hunting the colored men all over Green- MoB ATTACKING G RUSSELLS TRAIN, © <« County, he became calmer still, On Wednesday, when the rioting reached its climax, the Governor was as serene as a summer morning, and on Saturday, when the trouble was all over and most of the white men had put away their guns, the Governor sent an fmpassioned dispatch to Greenwood de- manding that the rioting stop. Major Tolbert has returned to his post as Collector of the Port at Charles- ton. All the other Tolberts except those badly wounded, together = with their relatives and associates, have gone to Washington to get satisfaction through Federal interference. The burning question of the hour is what will become of the Tolberts. The white men’s party around Greenwood declare that if they return to their homes they will be killed and their houses will be burned over their dead bodies. This is evidently no joke. It has hap- pened again and again to white Repub- licans all over the South. It has hap- pened as frequently in South Carolina- as in any other State. What a South Carolina mob can do when aroused was shown at Lake City, where the colored Postmaster and his entire family were either murdered or burned to death. Apparently the average country white in South Carolina has made up his mind to use the shotgun and the torch as long as the negroes are appointed to office or are encouraged to be active in polities. EYCLIST IN HFRIGAH CHASED BY. A LION HE following is, says the British Central Africa Gazette of Septem- ber 10, perhaps one of the most extraordinary adventures that has T ever fallen to the lot of a European | even in Central Africa, where adven- tures with wild beasts are pretty fre- quent: Mr. D. C. Robertson, Gala Estate, Namazi, about midway between Blan- tyre and Zobra, sends the following note: “I rode out on my bicycle from Blan- tyre on Monday afternoon, the Z2d of August, and reached Mr. Stoud’s before the sun went down, and after waiting for a few minutes, started again, just after sunset. By the time I got to the Namazi crossing it had got quite dark, except for a little ljght the new moon was giving. The road leading to the Gala Estate from the main road has only just recently been made, and is quite soft and lumpy, besides being very steep for at least half its length. The rest of it is fairly level, but none of it is in a condition for cycling yet, except the portion which extends from my first plantation to my house, which was made some time ago, and is now nice and hard. “When I left the main road I dis- mounted, and started pushing my bi- cycle up the hill, but before I had gone far I heard a heavy body pushing its way through the bush on my left. I thought it was some big game, possibly an eland or buffalo, but as I felt a cer- tain amount of uneasiness I went to the other side of the road and pushed away as quickly as I could. When I had gone & short di\lunce up the slope I looked round and almost had a fit when I saw a full-grown lion standing across the road, broadside on, with his head turn. ed toward me,” and, as I looked, he started in pursuit. “T attempted to mount my machine, but owing to the slope and my excite- ment I failed twice. The third time I succeeded in getting away, and I did pedal for all I was worth, but the ma- chine kept wobbling across the road, and I saw that the lion had lessened the distance between us by about half, though I was still fifty yards from the top of the slope. He kept up a low ~ growling all the time, and I could hear him more and more distinctly every time as he still lessened the distance between us. “I think I could easily have outstrip- ped him if it had been level, but the machine kept up a rattle, rattle over the inequalities in the road, and once or twice I was, almost thrown off. 4id not dare to look back; indeed, there ‘was no need, as the growl plainly told me that he was almost on me, but at last I reached the crest and flew down the opposite slope. I then suddenly re- membered that there was an open cul- vert across the road some 200 yards ahead, but there was no time to dis- mount, so I rode intc it, and the shock flung me high out of the saddle, but I fell back on it without being knocked off. Fortunately the side of the drain next the hill was high and the opposite side low, so that the machine was not stuck in the culvert, and though the front fork was twisted and the front wheel grated against it it was not quite jammed and I was able to ride on. When I reached the smooth part of the road near my first plantation I was able to get up a good rate of speed, but I no Jonger heard the growl in the rear. G