As the presiding judge for this Precinct, No. (1) one of Starr County, Texas, at the late general election held in this city on the 6th day of November, 1906, in the upstairs room at the court-house, used by the district judge as the court-room, permit me to make the following report of the proceedings had that day:
Having had no call nor communication from the Republicans of this place for representation among the (4) four clerks of the election subject to appointment by the presiding officer, they had already been named, taking care that one man who had theretofore voted the Republican ticket was chosen and also one man whom I knew to favor Mr. Gregorio Duffy, the ruling spirit locally of the opposition to the Democrats.
Also, having heard ugly rumors of threats accredited to the Republicans, I had notified eighteen (18) law abiding citizens to be present at the polls as early as half-past seven A.M. on the 6th of November, 1906, then and there to take the oath of office and act as the peace officers during the election. Of these only 12, I think, appeared and were sworn in.
As soon as the election judges assembled they and those of the peace officers present and the supervisors were sworn in.
At this point the presiding officer stepped to the front door and noting that a body of armed men on horseback and afoot had assembled on the outside at the 100-foot limit from the polling place, asked who had dared come to the polls thus armed and was told they were the Republican voters.
Immediately Mr. F.W. Seabury called me to the foot of the first flight of steps and introduced me to a Mr. Creager, who, after replying that the armed men outside were Jose Pina's peace officers, demanded representation among the clerks of election. I told him that all parties had representation, but when he insisted on some of the names he suggested, it being agreed to by the person, I put Domingo L. Garza in the place of the Duffy representative I had called to act as clerk.
From the names Mr. Creager suggested as inside officer, I also chose Mr. Jose Pina, believing that by having him under my direction, the agreement between Mr. Seabury and the presiding judge on the one hand and Mr. Creager on the other, that the voters should come up stairs in pairs—one Democrat and one Republican together—could best be maintained, for the reason that the said Jose Pina had been the agency who, through his magisterial capacity incident to him as county commissioner for this Precinct, had appointed the (40) forty peace officers that Mr. Creager said the Republicans had at hand to preserve the peace and insure a fair and quiet election.
Thereupon Mr. Garza and Mr. Pina and the balance of the peace officers called by the presiding judge were sworn in, and word reaching me that threats of breaking in the front door below were being made by the Republican crowd outside, the janitor was ordered to open it; the polls were declared open and the timepiece set at eight o'clock A.M.
During the course of the first half hour—possibly it was that long—the agreement of pairing the voters coming up to the vote was observed. Then, noting that for some minutes nearly all the voters had been Republicans, inside peace officer, Jose Pina, was directed to see why there were no Democrats coming in.