OFFICE OF

The Republican Advocate.

112 WHITEHALL STREET.

Atlanta, Ga. April 17^th, 1876

Hon: Fred Douglass—

Washington D.C.

Dear Sir: I send you an extract from the "Colored Tribune" published in Savannah which speaks for itself. Let me ask you as a friend to the Colored race in the South being a Colored man myself, to go before the Judiciary Committee of the Senate and defeat the Confirmation of Henry P. FarrowFarrow, Henry Patillo

Henry P. Farrow (1834-1907) who has for three years Dist. Atty. for Georgia and has been reappointed and is now hung up on charges before the Senate. Farrow is officially corrupt and indeed the worst enemy to our race in the State.

This Joe MorrisMorris, Joe

was guilty of no offense as it is now acknowledged by all parties—and made his escape from the section where the difficulty occurred. And come to this city and went into the office of Dist Atty FarrowFarrow, Henry Patillo

Henry P. Farrow (1834-1907) a stranger for his council and advice. Farrow at once sent out for a detective Ed MurphyMurphy, Ed

and had him arrested and is really the cause of Morris' death. Allow me in the name of humanity and of my race to ask you at once to bring all the influence in your power to have Farrow defeated—or to have his name withdrawn from the Senate.

Yrs &c Elias Boman

Newspaper clipping enclosed with Boman to Douglass,

April 17, 1876

Enclosure

The fate of Joe MorrisMorris, Joe

.

Two weeks ago we copied an article from the Waynesboro Expositor, in which was stated that Joe Morris had been taken into the woods near Gordon by a gang of masked men. As nothing has been heard of Morris since, it may be settled that he has been slaughtered by the masked vampires in human form. The history of this piece of Ku-Klux villainy is as follows:

Joe Morris, whom our citizens will remember as the man who was charged with being the head of the ridiculous charge of insurrection started by designing men, who desired the destruction of the colored peoples manhood, called a “convention” to meet in Murfreesboro on March 24, 1876, for the purpose, so far as we can judge from the printed call before us, to petition the civil authorities for a redress of grievances, and to prosecute certain parties who had outraged the colored people. A day or two before the meeting Morris was arrested on some frivolous charge that has never been made public, and it seems placed on the “chain gang” and sent to work near Gordon. And it was here while a prisoner of the State that he was taken away into the woods and destroyed.

We have never seen Morris but once, and but little is known of him by our people in this State, but we nevertheless pronounce his kidnapping and undoubted destruction, one of the most wanton and unnecessary yet recorded in our crime and outrage ridden State. For our State authorities, who are “guardians” and protectors of the lives of prisoners serving out sentences, to remain quiet and make no effort to recapture their prisoner and protect him, [dis?] [...less] disregard for law, that [...] [?mplicity] in the crime. All law-abiding citizens demand of the State [...] clear up this matter, or [...] [reputation?] of winking at such [...] [crimes?] against law and justice.