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“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* •. . . * -—-