A DAY OF BLOOD AT WILMINGTON
Negroes Precipitate Conflict by Firing on the Whites – Manly, the Defamer of White Womanhood, Escapes – Building of His Slanderous Paper Gutted and Burned.
ELEVEN NEGROES WERE KILLED
Three Whites Wounded — Board of Alderman Changed Legally, Mayor and Chief of Police Resign, and City Under Control of New and Conservative Democratic Government — Mayor Waddell puts Guards Around Jail to Protect Negro Prisoners — No Further General Violence Feared.
Wilmington, N.C., Nov. 10 — (Special.) — Wilmington has been all excitement to-day, though comparative quiet reigns to-night. Yesterday, a large mass meeting of business men was held, and it was demanded of the negroes to have the plant and editor of the Daily Record, the negro paper, which recently printed the vile slander on the white women of the State, removed from the town by 7 ‘clock this morning. The demand was not seceded to by the negroes, and at 8:30 o’clock 600 armed white citizens went to the office and proceeded to destroy the printing material. While this was in progress, in some unaccountable way, the building took fire and was burned to the ground. The fire company turned out and narrowly averted the burning of a large negro church and a negro dwelling adjoining the office.
Incensed at this, a number of negroes, assembled in the First ward in another part of the city, and a clash between whites and blacks ensued. As a result of the fight William Mayo, white, is thought to be fatally wounded; Geo. Piner, white, and – Chadwick, white, are also wounded, but not fatally. Three negroes were killed. At various other times during the day seven negroes are reported to have been killed.
Business during the day has been suspended, and the town to-night is heavily guarded to prevent incendiary fires or further trouble. Ten or more negroes have been lodged in jail on the charge of being implicated in the investigation of a riot.
According to a suggestion of the business men, the Republican Mayor and board of aldermen resigned this afternoon and were superseded by good business men, who pledge themselves to maintain order and peace. Armed white men from neighboring towns here and still others are arriving on special trains.
Bumptious negro political leaders are being made to leave the town on almost every train. At this hour, 8:30 p.m., all is quiet.
THE NEW GOVERNMENT
Will Restrain Lawlessness and Restore Good Order.
Wilmington, N.C., November 10. — After a day of bloodshed and turbulence Wilmington has subsided to-night into comparative peacefulness. Eight negroes were killed and three white men weaned during the day, one of them, William Mayo, seriously. The furniture and building of the Record were destroyed. Editor Manly escaped.
To-night the city is in the hands of a new municipal government and law and order is being established. This afternoon the Board of Aldermen resigned, one by one. As each alderman vacated the remainder elected a successor, named by the citizens’ committee until the entire board was charged legally. They resigned in response to public sentiment. The new board is composed of conservative Democratic citizens.
The Mayor and Chief of Police there resigned and the new board elected their successors, according to law. Ex-Congressmen Alfred Moore Waddell was elected Mayor, and E.G. Parolee, Chief of Police.
The first act of the new government was to swear 250 special policemen, chosen from the ranks of reputable white citizens. They are vested with all the authority of the law and will take charge of the city. The citizens will remain on guard however, throughout the town to prevent possible attempts at incendiarism. The new government will devote its attention to restraining recklessness among the whites as well as keeping down lawlessness among the negroes. Further trouble of a general or serious nature is not expected.
THE GOVERNOR’S MESSAGE.
Soon after the meeting Mr. George Roundtree received a telegram from Governor Russell saying that he would use all his efforts to influence the Mayor and City Council to resign if that would restore peace.
Mr. Roundtree sent the following reply:
“Mayor and Alderman have resigned. Two hundred and fifty special policemen sworn in. Law will be maintained and peace restored.”
Mr. Rountree is a prominent attorney here and a member of the Democratic Campaign Committee.
STORY OF THE CONFLICT
Precipitated by Negroes Firing on Whites — Destruction of Record Office
Wilmington, N.C. November 10 — The trouble in Wilmington to-day commenced at 8:30 this morning when an armed body of citizens, numbering about 400 and led by Ex-Congressman Waddell, chairman of a committee of twenty-five appointed for the purpose, proceeded to the publishing house of a negro newspaper, the Record, to wreck it.
The editor of this paper had published an article defamatory of white women, and a mass-meeting of citizens yesterday ordered his expulsion from the city within twenty-four hours and the removal of his press. Fifteen leading negroes were called in by the committee of twenty-five last night and directed to notify the chairman by 7:30 this morning whether they would agree to the removal of the press. They were informed that if no answer were returned, the press would be demolished.
No answer was received by the chairman this morning and after waiting in hour, the citizens proceeded in a body and demolished the fixtures of the printing office. The building was also fired and gutted. The leaders say that this action was the work of irresponsible persons and as soon as the fire was discovered the fire department was called to extinguish it.
FIRED ON THE WHITES
The burning of the printing office created a great commotion among the negroes of the town. The rumor spread that the whites were going to burn and murder in the negro quarters. This rumor reached the negro employees of a cotton compress, numbering 300 or 400 who quit work and hung about the streets in manifest terror. Other parties congregated in the negro section, and it was in one of these that the first tragedy was enacted. The men were standing on a corner and were ordered to disperse. They declined and, it is claimed, fired into the whites.
A fusillade was immediately opened upon them by the whites and three negroes killed. Two whites were wounded slightly. One negro ran down the street and passing a residence, fired a rifle at William M() while, standing on the veranda, shooting him through the left lung. This negro was recognized, pursued and captured while hiding under a bead. It is said he confessed to the shooting. He was riddled with shot by his captors and killed.
MILITARY ORDERED OUT
In the meantime, the time was in a state of excitement. The whites rushed to the scene from every direction, the local military company was ordered out and a battalion of United States naval reserves proceeded to the scene of the trouble with a rapid fire gun.
About one o’clock, some negroes in a house fired upon a passing party of white men. The house was surrounded and four negroes were captured and taken to the jail. One negro broke away and ran but was shot down and killed before he had proceeded half a block.
During the afternoon there were other affairs of this kind and eight negroes were killed at various points in the disturbed section. The names are at this time unknown.
OFFERED TROOPS DECLINED
As the news of the rioting spread throughout the South neighboring cities offered to send help. All such offers were declined, except in the case of Fayetteville, from which them came about 150 men. As night fell and the town was completely patrolled and guarded. Very few negroes were on the streets and they were not allowed to congregate anywhere.
The action of the citizens in organizing a new municipal government is expected to bring peace and order and no rioting is expected to-night.
It developed late in the day that the negro committee summoned last night had agreed to use their offices to have the press removed although the editor had disappeared and they had no authority on the premises. This letter instead of being delivered, the chairman of the committee of twenty-five in person was put in the m() and did not reach him until three hours after the expiration of the time limit which had been fixed for the receipt of the answer.
GUARD NEGROES FROM LYNCH
A crowd was formed to-night to take from the jail and Lynch two negroes, This. Miller and () Bryant, who were arrested to-day () with making threats and were guarded as dangerous characters.
The Mayor, Colonel Waddell, promptly prohibited, the assembling of the crowd at the jail and he himself headed a guard of twenty-five men with Winchesters to guard the prisoner.
Eleven negroes were killed, three white men wounded, one seriously. Several of the () are in jail. If they can be reached, lynching will be reported.
DISCUSSED BY PRESIDENT.
Much Disturbed By Reports From Wilmington — No Word From the Governor
Washington, D.C., Nov. 20 (Special.) — At the White House this afternoon President McKinley and Secretary Alger were in conference for nearly two hours discussion the situation in North Carolina, and the news of the rioting at Wilmington where eight men, according to the information received here, were killed.
The President was much exercised over the startling reports, and it is his position on the matter is anything like Secretary Alger’s, there is no doubt that the crime of sending Federal troops to the State would be perpetrated if the Governor made such a request.
Just after leaving the President, Secretary Alger said to me that only the press reports of the riot had been received by the President, and that no information from the State authorities had arrived. Secretary Alger said to a number of correspondents that the affair was considered very serious and was a disgrace to the State. He acknowledged ignorance of the state of affairs in North Carolina at this time.
To-night I asked Secretary Alger if he had given consent for any United States troops to be ordered out by the Governor. In answer Secretary Alger said: “Up to this hour no word has been received officially from the State. No consent for any troops to be ordered out has been given. None can be. If the Government orders out any troops, they must be State troops, and not under any conditions can he order any United States volunteers until they have been finally mustered out of the service, when they cease to be United States troops, and are again under command of the Governor. Officially the administration is without any information on the situation and is ignorant of the conditions prevalent in the city of Wilmington.”
At 10 o’clock to-night, White House officials stated that no word had been received from the Governor, though the President has heard from some private sources that Governor Russell has ordered several companies of troops to Wilmington.
WM. M’ALLISTER’S AFFIAVIT
Showing That the Negroes Were Responsible for the Blood Shed at Wilmington.
Wilmington, N.C., Nov. 10 — Wilmington is comparatively quiet tonight after a day which for turmoil and strife has no equal in the city’s history. The fact is a complete revolution in city government has taken place in that the Republican Mayor and Board of Aldermen have resigned and given place to successors who are staunch white supremacy advocates and Democrats have already established a thorough system of police protection. And it is believed that there will be no further claims at arms between the races.
Now that the “smoke has cleared away,” and conditions are somewhat more settled it appears that ten negroes were killed outright, and at least twenty-five or more of less seriously wounded and eleven others whose conduct has been offensive and calculated to aggravate the strained attitude of the races are locked in jail. Not a single white man has been killed and only one, William Mayo, was seriously wounded.
There is no doubt that the negroes are responsible for the precipitation of the race war as the following affidavit will attest:
“Wilmington, N.C., Nov. 10,
William McAllister, being duly sworn, make the following affidavit:
- That I am yard master for the Atlard Coast Line. My duty is to make no trains on the yard of the said company in the city of Wilmington.
- That at about 11 o’clock this morning, I started to go to bed, and my wife came to the window. I live on North Fourth street, next to St. Mark’s Lutheran church. My wife said: ‘Billy there is going to be trouble’ I jumped up and went to the window and saw a white man remonstrating with a negro with gesticulations. I heard the white man say, ‘Go on, go on.’ The negro was about ten paces, and then I saw the negro shoot. He pointed a pistol towards the white man and then fired. Immediately aI saw blood flow from the same white man’s right arm. Then there was another shot fired from the negro assemblage, and then there was firing from the white assemblage with the result that three negroes fell. The negroes then dispersed. Them the white men proceeded towards Moore’s druggist to telephone for assistance.
Sworn to before me, this 10th day of November A.D. 1898.
WILLIAM M’ALLISTER
This is a true copy of the original.
J.H. BOATWRIGHT.
“Notary Public”
The city is thoroughly quiet at a late hour tonight. The companies of the Governor’s Guard from Kinston. Max and Clinton are expected here tonight and hundreds of men have flocked here on special trains during the evening. However, it is not believed that they would be called into service.
ANOTHER NEGRO KILLED
Refused to Halt When Commanded by the Guard
Wilmington, N.C., Nov. 20 — Another negro was killed tonight at Tenth and Mulberry streets. He was hailed by a guard, but refused to halt, and continued to advance, was shot by the guard. Three companies of the State militia would arrive during the night from neighboring cities and aid in maintaining order.
WADDELL’S PROCLAMATION
Wilmington, N.C., November 10 — Midnight to-night the newly elected Mayor issued the following proclamation:
The undersigned, upon whom has been placed the great responsibility by the action of his fellow citizens taken this method of assisting the good people of this city that all the power with which he is invested will be exerted to preserve order and peace in this community and that power is amply sufficient for the purpose. All well-disposed persons are earnestly requested to cooperate with the municipal authorities in every way possible to secure the permanent establishment of good government. The law will be rigidly enforced and impartially administered to white and black people alike.
(Signed.)
“A.M. WADDELL,
“Mayor.”