| OCR Text |
Show Teller lusjairj. New Orleans, 24. Be.'ore the Teller Tel-ler committee representatives, N. J Cummin, a member of the legislature from Natchitoches, testified lhat the general tenor of the testimony ot tho witnesaeB on the republican side, to iho effect that a conspiracy existed on the part of the democrats to break up negro meelinga lor political eflect, waa unqualifiedly false. There waa no organized band such aa Blount described. des-cribed. Our action against Blount and othere waa taken for protection, they having threatened to get the negroes together and burn the town. It waa reported that Blount had ten or twelve armed negroes in hia house. Alter consultation wo concluded that it would not be safe to allow him 10 remain there. Witness was acting chief of police. The aflair was quietly managed; no violence or banishment waa contemplated. Witness con sidered the BridaB witnesses the most bloodthirsty men he ever Baw. When they were acting with the democrats they proposed to kill the republican leaders. It was natural for ua to think when they , turned over to tho other side lhat they , would propose to kill us. The testimony testi-mony of the witness throughout waa contradictory of the republican witnesses. wit-nesses. Except as to Blount, Bridaa , and others were ordered to leave tho parish but witness aaid that the cause , was not political. He declined to express tho opinion aa to whether it would be safe for Bridas to return, , be having done great injustice to the whole people of iho parish. Charleston, S. C, 24. Before tho Teller committee, Butler Spears, of Sumter county, a colored republican, testified that ho was pursued and, fired upon by demoorat?. I W. H. Singleton testified to finding packages of tissue tiokels in the ballot box at Swimming Pen precinct. He referred to tbe democrats of Sumter, who testified to the general good feeling towards the .tolured people in the county and the non-interference of the democrats with republican mutaiuga on October 12th. He said lie was disgusted with the conduct of ihe democrats in cflenng violence to Sam Lee, and that tho tissue tickets in the Sumter box: could only have got there by fraud. Pendergrass, colored, a deputy United States marshal of the same place, waa assaulted by a party of democrats who then, without being sworn, voted tissue tickets bv the handlul. Other supervisors testified to being refused admission lo other pol ling places in the county. R. E. Blair and J. H. Johnson, republican supervisors at Camden, Kershaw county, testified lhat the polls were crowded by whites so that tbe colored pfoplc should not vote and to finding a Urge numbers of tissue tickets in the ballot boxej. J. M. Cautey and William shannon, democratic supervisors su-pervisors ol tbo same plac, and W. D. Tranlham, cnuoty chairman, chair-man, testified that after 9 o'clock in tne morning, the crowding waa over and lhat everybody who chose to do so could vole; and that many colored poply abstained from voting at the inunction of their leaders. N. S. Hilton, Edward Benaon, Preston Tnompson, other supervisors of O I'unibia, irt-titied to interference vvah United States officers by democrats. demo-crats. Msg to voting tne tissue ticket-i wrppd up in large democratic ticketa and to fraudulent votin' txicn'vtly and generally. |
