Show I COP1AH COUNTY Telling How the Election Was Carried New Orleans 15The cubcommittee of the Senate ccmmittea on privileges and elections met in the custom house present Boar Camercn Frye Sauls bury and Jones Leon H Matthews brother of J P Matthews killed at Eazalhurst Copiah County Miss said he had lived there all his life and was a candidate at the election on November 7 considered th voting pooulation as to color about equal but thought the colored people had a small majority believed the Independents Inde-pendents bad 500 majority in the county but the Democrats carried the election the respective parties canvassed the county together there were some slight disturbances after the canvass and clubs were organized by Democrats i Demo-crats who went armed and mounted They murdered some whipped others and put ropes around the necks of still others but did net hang them the day before election saw an armed mob at Hazalhurst they sent a messenger to his brother warning him not to vote next day a few days before the election a colored church was burned Independents attempted to organize a club there the mob carried a cannon all over the county and fired it occasiona ly armed bands not fied the Mathews fam ly that if any troube occurred the latter would be held responsible ae soon as the polis opened on Nov 7 J P Matthews went to vote and was shot by Wheeler just as he was being checked off on the poll lists witness wit-ness learned this from the election officers offi-cers an armed mob riding over the county before the election declared they would carry the election with shot guns if necessary or with the knife witness gave the names of a number of persons in the armed mob among them J T Meade chairman of the Democratic committee of Oopiah county Witness mentioned the killing of Frank Sage and the shooting of his wife the whipping of Henry Potter assaults on David Bell and Solumon Smith and other assiuHs on colored men some few colored people voted on election elec-tion day others went to the polls but feared to stay there are only three or four colored men in the county thought to be Democrats witness made a statement state-ment concerning the efforts of his brother and himself and other polincl friends to have the county officials take some action ac-tion to check the outrages and finally applied to the Governor but nothing was done A W Burnett chairman of the Independent Inde-pendent executive committee of Copiah county testified substantially confirming confirm-ing the testimony of the first witness as to the outrage and efforts made by officials offi-cials to stop them All witnesses testified testi-fied that nothing had been done to Wheeler for killing Matthews nor to Hayes for shooting Burnett |