Newspaper Page Text
“The Enterprise
Covers Every
Nook and Cor
ner of Coffee
County and
Then Some”
STBWfIRT’S FORGERY ACGUSATIQN
DENIED BY THREE AFFIDAVITS
The following affidavits explain |
themselves. They are given by some
of the most prominent men in the
county and should be sufficient for
anyone in making up their mind as to
the real author of these so called let
ters:
GEORGIA, COFFEE COUNTY.
Personally appeared before the un
dersigned officer of Georgia duly
authorized by law to administer oaths,
the undersigned who after being duly
sworn deposes and says:
That a certain letter, a copy of
which is in C. 5. Stewart’s letter of
October 2nd, 1910, to-wit:
“New Douglas Hotel,
European Plan,
Douglas, Ga., Sept., 10, 1916.
Mr. John Davis,
Dear Sir:-
I have been thinking that
you were going to help me in
this race but I hav e been told
that you are working against
me. Now if you are doing
that, you can take your vote
and go to h with it. I
have been told that you
would not stick to your wor;
I am convinced now.
Yours tridv,
C, a., otov.a*-.
was presented to this deponent, that
he examined the signature, that he
knows C. E. Stewart’s signature and
in his opinion he, C. E. Stewart, signed
said letter.
Deponent says that for some time
he was Cashier of the Citizens Bank
of Douglas, Georgia, and for years
was Cashier of the Merchants & Far
mers Bank of Nicholls, Ga., and as
such is skilled in observing signatures
and handwriting. That as Cashier of
the Citizens Bank of Douglas h e came
in contact and had occasion to observe
the signature of C. E. Stewart, and
in this way he knows signature of C.
E. Stewart when he §ees same, and
that the original of which the above
is a sub; tancial copy was in his opin
ion signed by C. E. Stewart himself.
(Signed) Carl Meeks.
Sworn to and subscriber before me
this Nov. Ist. 1916.
D. W. Johnson, J. P., Coffee Co., Ga.
GEORGIA, COFFEE COUNTY.
Personally came J. A. Davis, Mayor
of Nicholls and John Kirkland, Cashier
of Merchants & Farmers Bank of
Nicholls, who being sworn say that
they are acquainted with the signa
ture of C. E. Stewart, and that they
have a contract that they saw C. E.
Stewart sign, and that they compared
the original of which the letter below
is a copy, and that the signatures on
each are identical, and in their opin
ion C. E. Stewart, signed th e letter
of which the following is a copy, to
wit:
“New Douglas Hotel,
European Plan,
Douglas, Ga., Sept., 10, 1916.
Mr. John Davis,
Dear Sir:-
I have been thinking that
you were going to help me in
this race but I have been told
that you are working against
me. Now if you are doing
that, you can take your vote
and go to li— with it. I
• have been told that you
would not stick to your w'ord;
I am now convinced.
Yours truly,
C. E. Stewart.”
(Signed) J. A. Davis
(Signed) Jno. Kirkland.
Sworn to and subscribed before me,
this Ist day of November, 1916.
C. Meeks, N. P. C. C. G. (Seal)
CITY REGISTRATION.
The City registration books will be
opened November Ist 1916, and kept
open at my office for thirty (30) days.
Only those who hav e registered in the
County and are qualified to vote for
members of the General Assembly and
have paid all taxes due the City of
Douglas, including Street taxes and
are otherwise qualified will be allowed
to register and vote in the coming
City election which will be held on the
third (3rd.) Saturday in December
next.
J. D. KnowleSj-'City Clerk’
Douglas, Ga.
Douglas Enterprise
VOLUME XXVII, NUMBER 27
C. A. WARD’S
OPEN LETTER
Mr. C. E. Stewart who was defeat
ed for Representative of this County
at the September white primary by
the Hon. John Paulk has flooded the
1 County with some remarkable letters
jin which he attempts to blacken the
j fair name of our County by wholesale
| charges of fraud and corruptian at
the ballot boxes. Strangers who are
not acquainted with the author of
these letters personally or by reputa
tion might believe that there was some
truth in the statements made.
He charges that the County Execu
tive Committee attempted and did by
i their rules in some manner hinted at
j but not specifically stated defraud him
|in the primary. This Committee is
j composed of three members from each
i district in the County and they are
iin my opinion and belief fair minded
! honorable men. The rules adopted by
! the Committee were passed unani
mously in open meeting and-published
! before either Mr. Paulk or Mr. Stew
! art announced themselves as ciNjdida
i tes for the legislature and therefore
| could not have been passed with a
| view of being for or against any par
-1 ticular candidate or individual.
| Mr. Stewarts charges that hundreds j
of white men were disfranchised by ]
having their names illegally stricken
from the voters lists simply because
j they would have voted for Stewart,
and intimates that the Executive Com
mittee and his enemies are responsible
: for this fraudulent act. The truth
! ss he knows is that the list of voters
’ used at the September primary was
made out by the County registrars j
I an that the registrars were appointed, I
net by the Executive Committee, but
| v/ere appointed as shown by the Minu
jtes of Coffffee Superior Court on Mch.
] 4th, 1916 by J. I. Summerall the
! honored Judge of our Superior Court.
The Registrars who made the lists
| are Melvin Tanner, Joshua Dent and
| Eugene Merrier. If names wer^
| fraudulently and illegally stricken
ifrom the registration lists these men
are responsible for it, and they were
' sworn to do their duty according to
law. Joshua Dent, Melvin Tanner and
Eugene Merrier have lived all their
lives in Coffee County and are known
to our people and to the Judge who
appointed them as upright, honora
ble, Christian gentlemen and I do not
believe they are capable of knowingly
doing such an unclean, dirty act as
disfranchising a single legal voter.
Mr. Stewart’s grave and serious
charges to the contrary notwithstand
ing.
Mr. Stewart charges that his op- j
ponents including the managers of the j
i primary bought votes, coerced votes |
and stele votes for the purpose of
defeating him. Why don’t he specify
ana name in his letter whch of his
opponents and which of the managers
of the election did these things? If
these charges are true the public and
the officers of the County ought to
know who the guilty parties are in
order that they could be prosecuted
and purnished. It is not fair to the
honest voters and honest managers
to make a serious charge like this in
generals terms,he should in all fairness
h e specific. Surely Mr. Stewart is not
attempting to avade the libel law when
he fails to specify who these thieves
are. I am acquainted with all the
managers who held at the primary and
I think they are upright, honorable
gentlemen.
In his letter of Oct. 18th, publshed
in the Coffee County Progress Mr.
Stewart gives this remarkable advice:
“Go to the polls on 7th of November
and if your name is not on the reg
istration list, make the manager the
oath and you can vote.” Now what
does the law of our state say—Code
! section 67 provides that the County
j Registrars shall furnish the lists of
t-voters to the election managers on or
(before the morning of the election.
THE DOUGLAS ENTERPRISE, DOUGLAS, GEORGIA, NOV. 4 1916.
The Enterprise Publishes the Legal Advertising of the City of Douglas, Cffee County and County Commissioners.
RETURN GAME
WITHMCRAE
ON NEXT MONDAY ON SCHOOL
GROUND HERE. GAME WITH
PIEDMONT LAST MONDAY RE
SULTED IN SCORE 12 TO 7.
South Georgia College from Mcßae
will play a return game of foot-ball
with the Aggies on E. D. A. S. campus
Monday p. m. Came to be called at
3:00 o’clock. This promises to be a
good clean game and the team needs
your support both spiritually and fi
nancially. The expenses will be some
what heavy and we hope to see every
fan out to the game an bring someone
else with them.
The Aggies went to Waycross Mon
day for a return game of foot-ball
with Piedmont Institute, and although
in a crippled condition from the loss
of two of their best players, they put
up one of the hardest fights of the
season.
The score? Well, of course We
came back with the small end, but,
with two teams so evenly matched, it
is a hard matter to beat eleven men
and the referee. We rather not ex
press our cninicn o' C-rough the
paper, so if you wai.t lo Know what
he is, just ask any of the players or
local fans that witnessed the game.
Don’t get the idea that we are grouch
ing just because we got bear, for
fairly and squarely we won the game
| tut, “Mr. Referee” gave it to Pied
mont. We are also informed that the
head linesman was betting on the
game, and stole enough from cur boys
to net fifty yards or more. Now,
haven’t we the right to kick?
Piedmont made the first touchdown,
which would never have happened if
the ball had been given to Douglas,
when they held their opponents for
downs just a few minute; before, and
the referee said we pushed the man
hack and really he was tackled behind
the line of scrimmage.
The first half ended with the score
6 to 0 in favor of Piedmont.
The Aggies went back in the third
quarter with still more determination
and grit, and by successive end runs
and line bucks carried the ball over
for their first score. Sharp kicked
goal. The third quarter ends with
the ball in opponents possession on
the Aggies thirty yard line, carried
there by a fumble and a fake end. run.
Score, 7 to 6 in favor of the Aggies.
Piedmont finally carried the ball to
our five yard line and were given five
downs by the officials to put it over,
but the Aggies held them and the ball
went over. It was now on our one
yard line and on an attempt to punt
Sharp’s foot failed to connect with
the ball and a Piedmont man fell on
it behind our gold line. Pierce failed
tc kick goal. Final scofie, 12 to 7 in
favor of Piedmont and the “referee.”
says: “All persons whose names ap
pear on the lists of voters placed in
possession of the election managers'
and no others shall be allowed to de
posit their ballots according to law.”
It is to be hoped that the honest,
fair minded, law abiding citizens and
voters of Coffee who believe in uphold
ing the law of our land which is the
protector and guardian of the rights
and liberties of all the people; and
without which every man would have
to depend upon his strong arm for
the protection of himself, his family
and his property; and without, which
law the strong would crush and op
press the weak, will read and ponder
well over Mr. Stewart’s letter, the
tone and style th e charges and ad
vice which they contain, before they
decide for whom they will cast their
ballots for representative in the com
ing election.
The first qualification for a public
official should be honesty. Every
thing else fades into insignificance
when compared to this great virtue.
“An honest man is the noblest work
of God” is a maxim which We can
safely take as our guide when we go
to the polls to deposit our ballots.
John Paulk fills this qualification. No
man has e'’er impugned or attacted
this integrity. He is a good business
AND COFFEE COUNTY NEWS
J. M. ASHLEY
BUDIEDMDNDAY
DIED ABOUT 11:30 SUNDAY
NIGHT. FUNERAL WAS LARGE
AND MANY FLORAL OFFER
INGS WERE MADE.
The city and county was shocked
early last Monday morning when it
was announced that Mr. J. Marshall
Ashley was dead. The cold fact
could hardly be realised, as only a
few days before he was mingling on
the steets with his fellow men.
He had a stroke of apoplexy on last
Thursday afternoon, falling from his
swing at his residence and was found
lying on the floor by Judge Dart, who
happened to call about that time, and
‘from that time until his death on
: Sunday night about 11:30, he never
1 spoke, and only a part of the time j
was in a state of consciousness. He !
never rallied in the least and while ;
the public knew that his condition was
very serious, no one could hardly j
think that this was his last illness.
Mr. Ashley was 54 years of age and
a man of very large business affairs.
He had lived in this section of the
state all his life, and starting with
nothing, he accumulated one of the
largest fsrtur.es Ul3 1 -.ur.ty. i,
never married until about ten years
ago when be and Miss Ada Clements,
of Alamo, were happily married.
About three years ago a son was
born to them, who passed away and
was buried just a few days before the
untimely death of the father.
The burial of Mr. Ashley took
place'on Monday morning, and one of
the largest gatherings that ever at
tended a funeral in this city, was pres
ent. The floral offerings were numer- |
ous and elaborate which testified the !
great esteem in which the citizen was j
held.
Besides a wife, the deceased leaves j
several nephews and nieces, and one j
sister, Mrs. W. F. Hinson, of Hr.zle- I
hurst. Among the former were Miss j
Letitia Lewis, Cora Lewis and Claude
Lewis, and the children of the late
Dr. W. C. Ashley, of Ocilla.
Mr. Ashley was very nrominent in
business affairs and in some way has
been connected with every public en
terprise of the city and county, and
other enterprises elsewhere. He was
president of the following institutions:
Union Banking Co., Ashley-Price Lum
ber Co., Union Pharmacy, Douglas
Grocery Co., and Vice-president of
the Peninsular Naval Stores Co., of
Jacksonville. He was a director of
the Georgia & Florida railroad, and
various other institutions well known
in this section. His pets were the
Union Bank, which h e organized, and
his naval stores and farming interests
at Upton, where he first began to
make his money.
The death of Mr. Ashley removes
from the city, county, and state, a
man of real force, and he will be
sorely missed by the people of this
section, as he always responded to
every call for the upbuilding of his
heme town and county.
man and has mae a success as a far
mer and in a business way. He will
make Coffee County a safe creditable
Representative in the Legislature and
one of whom the people can be proud.
I have waited until now hoping that
some one else would answer the unjust
and unfair letters of Mr. Stewart as
I do not like to get into public prints.
I have tried to be fair and state
facts as I know them to exist. I do
not believe in abusing and accusing
my fellow citizens of fraud and thiev
ery and corruption and in my opinion
a majority of the good people of Coffee
County where I have lived all my life
believe with me in true and just prin
ciples.
C. A. WARD.
Meeting at Eroxton.
*
Elder Wm. H. Crouse, of Graymont,
Ga., will preach at Broxton Primitive
Baptist chuch next Monday at 11 A. M.
and 7 P. M. Elder Crouse is one of
the ablest ministers in the state. All
are cordially nvited to attend these
services.
; . Waiter M. Blackwell, Fat .or.
* - - * . • ■ , V-i
SI.OO PER YEAR IN ADVANCE
STEWART ANSWERS CHARGES
MADE BY BIS OPPOSITION
SERVED WITH
MBJTEWART
Reidsville, Ga., Oct. 30, 1916.
Editor Enterprise, Douglas, Ga.
Dear Mr. Editor:
I am at present a member of the I
House and Senator-elect from the !
second senatorial district to the Legis- j
lature, and therefore, interested in the I
candidacy of your Mr. Stewart and in j
your county. I think w e can all agree !
that something was wrong with the j
recent primary for representative in I
your county, for a race is now on to j
select your representatve.
I know your Mr. Stewart well, and I ;
have known him in a business way for j
several years, and he is ail right in ;
business, but I want to speak of him
as a representative of your county in ;
the Legislature.
I served the last three sessions with 1
him, and watched him closely and
listened at his speeches and remember
| ed. how he voter, and I ray for him
■fi-oi i R or ,„ r<• tu o best and ablest
[is one of the most active and hard
j working men in the House and always
■ in his seat and prompt in his commits.
; tee , wark. He is a member of the
| most important committee in the
House.
Personally he is a lovable character,
clear of head and big of heart; and
that is known to all people who asso
ciate iwth him. No one can dispute
the fact that he v/ill be one of the
j leading members of the next House if
| elected. He will be upon the most irn
j portant committee of the House a d
Ibe a great power for bringing good
I things to South Georgia. lie is as
loyal to his county and section as any
man that ever lived. In my huml-ie
opinion Coffee county will make a mi
take to leave Mr. Stewart at heme.
Yours very truly,
11. H. ELDERS.
E. H. MCLELUND GIVES
VIEWS ON POLITICS
Fairfax, Ga., Oct. 27, 1916.
To the Douglas Enterprise,
Dea# Sir:-
Please allow me space in your paper
to say a word to the people of Coffee
county in regard to the race for rep
resentative. I was born and raised in
this county, and have lived long
enough to remember reconstruction
days just after the war when the bal
lot box was surrounded by northern
; bayonets and on down to the time in
later yea's when we had so much trou
. Lie among our own people before the
; white primary. 1 was one who wanted :
1 peace and wanted the white people to i
settle their difference among them
! selves and we agreed on the white pri- !
miary and everything worked well un- !
.til the present time. Now it seems :
that we are to have confusion and
strife among ourselves. I can’t see I
for my life why we should have all I
this trouble. If we tolerate this thing ]
as bolters of a primary we may ex
i pect trouble and confusion in the
future and we will be ruled by Mr.
“Cuffee,” as he will hold the balance
of power as he did in years gone by
when money was spent on the negro
1 vote and in that way the choice of
the white people was defeated.
1 Now let’s get togther again and stay
together for we need peace and har
mony in this good county of ours. Let’s
go to the polls on the 7th of Novem
ber and vote for John Paulk.
E. H. McClelland.
There is nothing supernatural about
Chriropractic. It’s apparantly mar
velous cures are accomplished through
purely scientific methods based upon a
profound knowledge of the human
mechanism. W. H. Hughes the Chi
ropractor is located in the Union Bank
w.«- ,
Help Us
T’y telephomryg
ews Items to
.\ umbers 2X
M, or 106.
Editor Enterprise.—l will thank yv%
for sufficient space to reply to an arti
cle appearing in a recent issue of
Enterprise under caption, “John T’&afk
Writes Card to Voters Reviewing Caa
paign.” In the outset I shall not
to same as the article of John ftioik
because it is filled with too many ns is
statements to have originated tfee-rec
neither shall I attempt to say wSu
wrote said article and from whence it
came beeause it is not necessary, the
people of our good county already
know the source from which it orig
inated. The ear marks are too plain.
You can see the hand- of the captan
of the “rifig” too plainly between Da
lines. It is a plain case of the “hand*
of Esau and the voice of Jacob.” Jrhi
Paulk’s name may appear te the
article, but I am sure if you could baw
an investigation of “who wrote i-asi
article” and put it before a committee
that Mr. Paulk would dodge the eom
mittee to feci) from upholding ah*
“vng” in their dirty tricks, like fee
dodged the committee hearing iu
case in Atlanta. This card is 'V: u
that fake receipt they had before the
committee, trying to prove that Mr
Paulk qualified according to the rv'
of fVto (*''• it, 11'o r* r 'V 0* -•-
mary of ttept. i_tn. bo I wish :.o say
that under the circumstances I arc re
plying to the card and its “daddy” tin
ring and not to Mr. Paulk. Atm!
right here before going farther I -ant
going to ask a question t If Mr. PimD
appear before a small cornrnh
tec bearing hi? own case in which tin
office he claimed is involved, or k
plainer words, if he cannot protect
I own interests before a small comraA
tee. how could he protect and deftnfi
the interests of the people of Coffes
county before a legislative body of
one hundred and ninety men? And If
other men and other interests repre
sent him now and shape and contm
his eompaign, who will control anr
ad as rsj rcsentative* if Mr. Pa tv i
be elected ?
It is quite amusing to note th e con
tents of this “ring card,” as one para
graph makes one allegation and tla
next a cmoplete contradiction. Tbt
said card attempts to infter that Stew
art is running as an independent car
didate for representative and is so
tempting to “tear down” the whit*
primary. I will say this: If any or*
thinks I am an “independent candid
ate” just look on the official baflc*
issued by the State Democratic Ex
ecutive Committee and you will frri
my name there.
This honorable committee, the vetj
source of Georgia Democracy, after
hearing our evidence which showed
i fraud and corruption of the ballot bj
;the wholesale, ordered the race rax
:bver in the November election. I ate*
wish to state that the county comrsd
tee refused to give a re-count. Thu
day my contest was filed they first
agreed to give a re-count and we nar.
.at 2:30 p. m. to have same and I rexr
j with them at the appointed hour
informed that the hearing was posa-
Iponed until September 29. This date
i was three days after the meeting of
| the State convention. If I had wail**
1 on this hearing and the county coot
jmittee had turned my contest (wfcki
: I am sure they would have, done) I
'could not have appealed from tfe«r
[decision. So you see what a nice Os
tie trap they had set for me. If I
had waited until th e 29th of Septez*-
ber on them my case would have fawn
entirely in their hands. And there
would have been fake receipts by tfci
wholesale and a fake Tiearng and be
fore they got through "Doctoring” rat
my contest would have been a “fake.”
So I anticipated all this and placed isy
contest before the State committee.
As to my trying to tear down tk*
white primary will say that I am But
fighting to tear down but to protect
it. If they are as rotton as th e one <*
September 12 yeas, where votes wens
bought and stole and white men. da
franchised, this system will not be
to tear down but will “rot down.’
Hence that is why I am making sag
fight keep it from “rotting down.® 1.
stand for decent primaries.
Respectfully,
j Chas. E. Stewan/
tkrfa* •. . . * -—-