Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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VOL. XVIII. MANNING, S. C., WEDNESDAY OCTOBE THE JURY CHARGEi By Judge Gary As to the Different Kinds of Homici e. WH C THE JULGE rH hGED i'he End of a !onsg and Tiresome Case. Tht- Jury Out Twen ty H..urs and Th. n Agrees. The c1"-inr aruuments in t ease of J. H. Tillman were made Wednesday at. 1.42 p. m. Judge Gary gave the case to the jury. The arguments consumed two and a half days. Senator Tillman. uncle of the dfendant, was present Wednes day. Col. Croft resumed his argument to the jury with the convening of court and made the closing ad dress for the defendant and final ap peal for his acquittal. In summing up the defendant's case he dwelt upon the teitimony of witness s for the de fence relative to the position of Mr. Gonzales' hands as he approached Mr. Tillman. He also pressed the point that the defendant was to be judged in the light of circumstance as they appeared to the defendant. Colone Croft also addressed himself to law points invols ed. He was rolhwed by General G. D. Bellinger, who closed for the state and made the final aagument of the trial. General Bellinger made a gen eral summing up of the state's case, laying stress upon the testimony ad duced by the state relative to the shooting. Analyzing and comparing with the testimony of witnesses for the defence, calling special attention to the witnesses whose veracity had been attacked by the state. At the ciose of M r. Bellingers speech Judge Gary delivered the following charge to the jury: JUDGE GARY'S CHARGE. "Mr. Foreman and Gentlemen of the Jury: I congratulate you upon the approach of the end of this trial, which has consumed so much of you time. It has required of you pati ence, endurance anti self-sacrifice. I am glad to say that you have met the exactions in a manner to be highly commended, and when you return to your respective homes you may enjoy the satisfaction which comes from a sense of duty well performed. "Gentlemen, the trial has reached that stage when it is my duty to charge you what I conceive to be the law of homicide. This I shall do as plainly and briefly as I possibly can, and if, in what I shall have to say to you, you should conceive the idea that I intend to express or intimate to you any opinion upon the facts, I beg that you will dismiss such idea from your minds. "The Constitution of the State for bids me to express or to intimate to you any opinion upon the facts and I do not intend to do so. The facts are exclusively for your determination. You find the facts and apply them to the law which I give you and find your verdict accordingly. "The defendant. James H. Till man, stands charged by the State of South Carolina with the murder of Ni. G. .Gonzales. EWEE KI2NDS OF EOMICIDE. ~Hom icide, gentlemen, is a general term, which means the killing of a man, regardless of manner in which the killieg is done. There are three kinds of homicide-justifiable homi cide, excusable homicide and fclonious homicide. Trne law only punishes for felonious homicide. Justitliable homi cide is where one takes the life of an other in the performance-of a duty; for instance, if the sheriff hangs a man in pursuance of the mandate of a competent Court. it is justifiable homicide; he is carrying out the or' cer of the Court, and the law says it is no wrong. But, gentlemen, as there is no intimation from any source that the alleged killing was a justiti able homicide, you may dismiss that kind of homicide from your consider ation. "Now, the next is excusable homi cide. Excusable homicide is where a man kills another under such circum stances as the law, in its regard for tbe weakness of human nature, con 'dones, and it excuses the act. For instance. For instance, if a man is in the discharge of a lawful duty, a lawful act, and without fault or negligence, accidentally kills another, the law excuses him and he has done no wrong and should suffer no punish ment. Tbhen, again, gentlemen, if a man kills another in selfdefence, the law in its regard for the laws of na ture, says that he has done no wrong and should not be punished. Now. 1 will charge you further on in what I shall say to you, as to what is neces sary to make out the plea of self-de fence. "Now, I have instructed you as to what justifiable homicide is, but that does not come in this case. I have inst ructed you as to what excusable homicide is. WHAT FELOIOUS EoMICIDE )REA~s. "Tiie other homicide, and the only one for which a man is punished, is felonious homicide. which is either murder or manslaughter. Murder 'is deined' by statute to be the killing of a human being with malice afore thought, either expressed or implied. By an analysis of that detinition, gen tiemem, you will see in order to con stittte murder there must be the kill ing of one human being by another. that killing must be done with malice aforethotugh t, malice premeditated. Malice may either be expressed or im plied. Now, that is murder. Malice may be defined to be an evil spirit, a depraved and wicked spirit, and this detinition has been adopted by the Supreme Court of our Stats and has been detined to be an evil spirit, a de praved and wicked spirit, such as is found in the heart totally devoid of social duty and fatally bent upon mis chier. Expressed malice is where one person kills another with a sedate, de liberated, meant and formed design1 such formed design being evidenced by external circumstances which dis cover the inward intention, such as lyin~g in wait, antecedent menacing threats, former grudges pnd concertec schemes to do somebody harm. Nw, asi said to you before, ta constitute murder. it niust be done with malice aforethouglht and that may be either expressed or iinplied. I have just told y..u what expressed malice is. "Now. irm plied !mali'e is such as the law inters or iusplies tram the kill ing itse If. It he ki ieh is pr.o-ved, anl i. Ot on the a' t,;dant circurn stanceS, tItotn tiith las infers 'r pre sumes that the killu w:t s done with malice aforethought. That is what is meant when we speak ot implied mal ice, but. gentlemen. when all if the circumstances attendini the killing are related to % (u. you have no riuht then to infer anythiou. 'u niust look at those circumstan;,s a thee ae de tailed to you by the witnesses. and from those cirtumstances you must say whether or nut the killing was done with maliee aforethought. IN WHAT MANSLAUGHTER CONSISTS. "Manslaughter is the killing of a human being in sudden heat and pas sion and upon sufficient legal provo cation. This, gentlemen, is said to be one of the charities of the law. In its tender gegard for the frailities of our nature it recognizes the fact that under c 'rtain circumstances we are liable to be so far transported beyond ourselves that we act from passion and not from reason. When one is suddenly thrown into a passion or transported beyond himself, reason loses its sway and he acts from pas sion. If he has sufficient legal provo cation for that passion then the law, in its mercy, says that is not murder, but manslaughter. "I will call your attention to the fact that if sufficient time elapses b tween the receiving of the provocation and the act of killing to enable the blood to cool, to enable passion to sub side, to enable reason to resume its away, then the law says blood must cool, the passion must subside, reason must assume its away and holds the man to as strict an accountability as if he had not received the provocation. "In this case your inquiry will be. has N. G. Gonzales been killed? Did James H. Tillman kill him? If s:), un der what circumstances was the kill ing done? Was the killing felonious, such as the law punishes for? If so, under what circumstance was the killing done? Was the killing faloni ous, such as the law punishes for? If] so, was-it murder or man slaughter. or was the killing excusable? These are the questions you will ask your self. WHAT THE DEFENDANT CLAIMS. "The defendant sets up the plea of selfdefence; that is, that lie did the killing to save his own life, or to avoid serious bodily harm to himself. if the defendant has established his plea of .elf-defence, then he is excusable and your verdict should be 'not gc.ilty. The plea of selfdefence, gentlemen. is founded on the idea of necessity: that is, that it was necessary to take the life of a fellow man to save one's own life er to avoid serious bodily harm. For the defendant to establish his plea of self-defence he must satisfy you, gentlemen, of four things, not beyond a reasonable doubt, but by the preponderance of the evidence. Rem ember, that he must satisfy you. not beyond a reasonable doubt, but by the preponderance of the evidence of four things: First, that he was without fault in bringing on the ditliculty; sec ond, that ie believed at the time that he was in danger of receiving serious bodily harm or losing hi life, and that it was necessary to take the life of his assailant. "He must go further and shov you that a reasonable man, .4 man of ordin ary firmness, courage, prudence and reason, stituted as he was, would have come to a like -c nclusion. Now, gentlemen, the qusetion is, not what you would have done, or what I would have done, but the question is, what would a man or ordinary tirnmness-and reason and prudence. what conclusion would he have reached? "Fourth. that he had no other probable means of escape. "if he has shown these four things to your satisfaction by the prepunder ance of the evidence, then his plea of self-defense is established and he i entitled to an acquittal at your hands. "Now, gentlemen. what is prepond erance of the evidence? It means the greater weight of the evidence. It is usually illustrated thus: If you put the evidence in favor of the plea in one pan of the balance and the evidence against the plea in the other pan of the balance, and the evidence in favor of the plea bears down the testimony against it, it outweighs, it preponderates, and the plea is estab lished WHA.2 THE STATE MUST I'IO\'E. "It is necessary for the State to establish its case to your satisfaction beyond a reasonable doubt, and strie ter degree of proof is required of the State than is required of the defen dant. The State must make out its case to your satisfaction beyond a reasonable donbt. Now, what isa reasonable doubt? It is not a vague, whimsical, weak, imaginary doubt.but it is a strong, substantial, well-found ed doubt, growing out of the es idence, an .honest hesitation of the mind, brought about by the evidence. Whilst this is the definition laid down in the books, the words 'reasonable doubt' convey just as much meaning~ to your mind as the detinition that is given in the books. I think it will be enough to say that a remarkable doubt is a. reasonable doubt. I"Now, if, upon a review of the whole case, the whole evidence, that given by the State and that given by the defendant, you have a reasonable dubt as to the guilt of the prisoner or as to any material allegation of the indictment, then it is your duty to acquit. "The form your verdict will be either 'Guilty of murder.' 'Guilty of murder, with recommendation to mercy.' 'Guilty of manslaughter,' or 'Not guilty.' "'Now, gentlemen. if you should conclude that the defendant is guilty of murder, but he should not sull'er the extreme penalty of the law. your verdict would be 'Guilty of murder with recommendation to mercy.' and that recommendation will of itself re duce the punishment from death to imprisonment for life iu the Peniten tiary. "Now, gentlemen. bring to bear on this case your best judgment, and tind a verdict according t the facts as you fnd them, anrd rthe law which 1 have given to you and will give to you, re gardless of any outside clamor that already too many homicides have gone unpunished in South Carolina. You have nothing to do with that. You are only dealing with the facts and the law of this case. "Now counsei for the State and counsel for the defence have handed to me numerous requests IO charge, I will now proceed to consider them. Some I will charge you and others I shall decline to charge you." This ended the formal charge as to the principles of law. Then Jude Gary took up the bundle of regqe-ts to charge, which he con std-r. d seriatim. The jury after being - out about twenty hours brought in a verdict of "not guilty." POISON EATERS START. Dr. Wiley's Class in Salicylic Acid Begins Eating. The tests that will be continued during the next eight months at the bureau of chemistry of the Depart ment of Agriculture to determine the relative qualities of food under differ ent conditions of artificial preserva tion have begun. Twelve young men volunteers for the course of "free food and poison" took their breakfasts un der the watchful eye of Dr. Wiley, the chief of the bureau, at Washington under whose supervision the experi ments are being conducted, and each was supplied with an eye-opener con sisting of a small capsule containing salicylic acid. This preservative will be one of three that are to be tested during the coming year. It bas been intimated that the ex periments in this special drug may have to be discontinued within a few weeks owing to its character. It pre vents digestion when taken in large doses, and it is this that has caused it to be selected for trial. Meats are pre served with it, and its effect upon the human system will be carefully noted during its use at the department table. As was done in the case of the borax experiments last year, the drugs given the boarders will be in the same pro portions as are found in preserved food of the same kind. The drugs are al ways administered in capsules, and every ounce of food is weighed before being sent to the table. The most ac curate record is kept of every phase of the experiments and the whole ar ranged for eventual publication. In the case of the borax experiments last year the records are nearly ready for publication, when the results of the course will be known to the world, and foods the adulteration of which was found detrimental to the health of the consumers will be forbidden by law from sale in or importation into the United States or it possessions. A Remarkable Meeting. At one of the most remarkable church offerings meetings ever held in the Atlanta Baptist Tab, rnacle, of which Dr. Len. G. Broughiton is pas tor, recently raised $16,500 with which to lift the church debt and make improvements on the building. The church was crowded and much enthusiasm was shown. One younc lady, who worKs for her living, took from her finger a dimo'nd riig which represented nuch of ner savings and gave it to the fund. Severa?l young rnen jointly subscribed $160. redeemed the ring and returned it 0o tine owner under her protest. The object of raising the moJney to pay off thle whole nuren debt a< thi, time was to in :duce Dr. Broughton t. remain with the church. Tie minikser received a all to a large church in Boston and has not announced his decisi.'n. A ommittee from Boston church is vwaiting upon him in an etTort to aid n making his decisi'on. It is not be lieved he will now leave lik church in Atlanta. Killed His Mlothe~r and Wife. Frank Pavlik created a dramatic scene in Judge Clifford's Court in Ciii ago, pointing an accusing tinger at his father and declaring th-et the lat er was guilty not only of wife miur der, but also that of matricide. "The murder of my mother is not the first one committed by my father," said the accuser. "in Bohemia, where I wa born, he killed his own mother. He became enraged at my grandmother and struck her a vicious blow. For three weeks she- suffered and finally died.. My father was nev er punished for that crime." Attorneys for the defendant told the jury they would make no denials oif the charge that the defendant killed is wife, but would seek to prove him innocent. A Lynching Bee. Walter Jackson, the convicted mur derer of Fonnie Back, a 6-year-old boy, was taken from the county jail at Hamilton Mont., Thursday night by a mob and lynched. Shortly be tore midnight seventy-five masked men, all armed with rities- or shot guns, forced their way into the jail and overpowered jailor Stephens. Jackson was found crying in the dark est portion of his cell. He pleaded piteously for mercy, but was rushed out into the street where the mob had alrerdy provided themselves with a rope. This was quickly thrown over an electric light pole and the noose placed ab out Jackson's neck. He was asked if lie had anything to say, but only pleaded for mercy. The mob then ipulled him into the air, after which they quickly dispersed. Not a shot was fired. Brave School Girls. During a fire that destroyed two reside'ices in Irving Park Chicago, three children were rescued from death by girl students of Jefferson High school. Raymond Saunders, ive years old, perished in the flames. The students were on their way to school. which is located two blocks from the scene of the fire. Learning that there were children in the houses several girls entered and bore the im prisoned children through the dense smoke to the street. in the confusion the Saunders boy was not found. Two Extremnes. 1A bride of 70 years and a bride of 1were the extremes in age named in the applications for marriage licenses in (hicarn ron recent day. TILLMAN GOES FREE. A Jury of His Peers Declares Him "Not Guilty." SCENES IN THE COURT ROOM When the Verdict Was Announced and Col. Tillman Received the Congratulations of His Friends. The trial at Lexington is over and James H. Tillman is a free man. A jury of his peers has pronounced him "Not guilty" of the charge of murder. Thus ends one of the greatest and most important trials that has occur red in South Carolina, certainly the most important and far-reaching with in the last quarter of a century. It is perhaps due and proper that the verdict of a jury should be final. Under American law this ought to end the matter. Whether or not that verdict of "I' ot guilty" will be satisfying it is not for me to say. It is for me to record, as I have under taken during the progress of the entire trial, what actually occurred, and what was said, and it is left for others to draw conclusions. It will not, however, be amiss for me to suggest that this verdict of "Not guilty," while entirely expected, will not satisfy very many in this State. The evidendce in the case has all been published, and a reading peo ple will form its own conclusions as did that jury in Lexington Court House. Already I can hear the suggestion that the trial was a simple farce, and that nothing other than what occur red was to have been expected from a jury composed as was the Tillman panel. Already one can hear that such a verdict was the result of poli tics, and that the nephew of Senator Tillman had nothing to fear in a county that had always shown a larg er proportionate vote in support of Senator Tillman than any other coun ty in the State. It is not, I judge, violating any confidence for me to say now that counsel for the prosecution, soon after the jury had been drawn, said that nothing but an acquittal would be the result of the trial. And then, as the trial progressed, they hoped for a mistrial, but never did the counsel for the prosecution expect a conviction. [t may then be asked why the trial? There had to be a trial of the case at some time; the testimony and story of the tragedy had to be presented to the world, and it was thought that it was at least due the memory of the dead editor to make the strongest presentation of the facts in his defence, not only to the jury, but to the world. It is not for me to Judge James H. Tillman, nor is it for any one else to do so now, as he has been tried and acquitted according to the laws and forms of this great State. HOW THE JURY STOOD. When the jury retired to its room Wednesday afternoon, shortly before 2 o'cl .ck. -the first ballot resulted ten to two in favor of an acquittal. It is nderstiod tnat thle two jurors who insisted upon a conviction for man laughter held out for hours. Wnile, f course, it is not definitely known hat occured in the jury .room, it is aid that the first of the jurors to in ist upon a verdict of manslaughter, who joined the wajority, was Mr. J. B. Jumper. Tuis then left Milton Sharpe as the nly juror woo stood between James H. Tillman an his acquittal. For hurs and hours the other jurors rgued wath 1im so as to secure nis o.seait to a verdiet. At breakfast time Mr. Sharpe was alone and insist ent up..n nis position. At, about halt past 1o o'cloclehe tinally consented to a verdict. and the foreman of the jury caiitd for peu and ink wInn wiiici to, wrte the verdict, and knocked on the door to announce to tfle expectant crowd that a veroict had been agreed upo--Lwenty hours after the jury had eti red to frame its verdict. Early in the morning, when it was understood that Juror Jumper, who is a pale-looking young mill operative, ad acquiesced in the verdict of ac uittal, the impression grew strong and fast that it would not be long be fore "Not guilty" would be written across the face of the indictment. A TALK WITH THE JURYMEN. I have undertaken to find out from the jurymen themselves what was the predominating reason for the decision. Several of the jurors stated that there was no "predominating reason," but others explained that the ten jurors had come to their conclusions for various reasons, but that the minority, after being convinced that Mr. Gon zales made a demonstration when he met Col. Tillman at the transfer cor ner, acquiesced in the verdict. Mark-you, this concurrence in the view that Mr. G'jnzales did make a demonstration is given as the reason for the minority joining the majority view, although it may have been simply an excuse for the juror. When the foreman of the jury knocked on the door to announce that a ver dict had been agreed upon every one knew as far as such a thing could be possible that it was a verdict of "Not guilty," because the first report that came from the jury room was to the effect that ten jurors favored an ac qui ttal. Judge Gary promptly directed Caughman to bring tihe prisoner, Col. James II. Tiliman, into Court and runners were sent out for Col. Till man's counsel. It was not many min utes belore Col. Tillman appeared in the Court room and, sitting around him, were all of his counsel and quite a number of his relatives and friends. Solicitor Thurmond was in Court and he asked that his associates for the prosecution be called. There was some delay in finding the lawyers and Mr. Tnurmond tinally suggested that the jury might at least be brought out. THlE JURY COMES INTO COURT. A fter the jury filed into the Court room and took seats the situation was critical and the stress intense. . Every one seemed to be expecting something, and every one knew what that some thing was, but Mr. Thurmond's asso ciates had not come into the Court room, anid he was asking that the I Cnut wait until they arrived. Judge Gary finally broke the strain by saying that he saw no use for furthur delay, as the wait involved an unnecessary strain. with this, Mr. Koon, the foreman of the jury, arose and handed the indictment to Mr. George, the clerk of the Court. "One minute," Mr. Clerk, said Judge Gary; "Sheriff, if any one in this Court room makes any demon stration, or if there is any violation of the rules of Court, you will make a prompt arrest and bring the party be fore me, and I will deal with the case. There must be no demonstration in this Court." CLERK GEORGE READS: "NOT GUILTY." Then Judge Gary permitted the clerk of Court to read the verdict of "Not guilty. The closeness of the warning of Judge Gary and the read ing of the verdict no doubt did much to keep down any hurrahing, but there was some enthusiastic friend who could not restrain his joy and gave one good, hard cheer, but nothing was done with him. As soon as the verdict was announced Col. Croft and the other members of counsel for the de fence gathered around Col. Tillman and congratulated him warmly upon his acquittal. COL. TILLMAN CONGRATULATED. Quite a number of Col. Tillman's kinsmen have been devoted and con stant in their attendance upon the Court, and they followed counsel in their congratulations to Col. Tillman For five or ten minutes the whole Court was given over to Col. Tillman. The members of counsel for the de fence then went to the jury that sat nearby and extended their personal thanks for the verdict, and later on Col. Tillman himself went over to the jury and shook hands with each member that had given him his liber ty. It was while going from one jury man to the other that Col. Till man seemed to most show his appreci ation of his liberty, because his eyes began to water just a bit. From the jury Col. Tillman walked over and shook hands with Judge Gary. - RELEASED FRoMI CUSTODY. It took only a few minutes to draw up the formal order releasing James H. Tillman from the custody of the sheriffs of Richland and Lexington counties, as the result of the acquit tal. While this formal order was be ing prepared Mr. George, the clerk of Court, took the two pistols, those Till man wore on the day of the tragedy, out of his drawer to hand them to Col. Tillman, and as be did so Col. Tillman waved both of his bands, as if to spurn the offer, and said; "I never want to see those things again." There were many requests from those around for the right to own of these weapons, I but the smaller pistols was sent to its owner. The Luger magazine pistol, from which the f;'tal shot was fired, was taken off by a relative o.? Col. Tillman, who wished to exhibit it in Augusta. Judge Gary, before signing the order releasing Col Tillman. asked the State if there was any objection to his sign ing such a release, and after he was told that there was not, the order was signed and Col. Tillman left the Court room, surrounded by about fifty of his friends and relar ives. There were no iadies in the Court room at the time the verdict was read. Mrs. James H. Tillman was in the parlor of the residence portion of the jail, awaiting the return of her hus bana, and as soon as Col. Tillman had gone into the jail1 to see his wire he et there with nler to) go and see bis mother, woo was at the Kaminer Hotel, but she met him on the street, between the j Lil and the hotel, arnd, throwing her arms around her son, welcomed him back to freedoin. C2ol. fman then went into the hotel, w re he had a regular levee of f ri~ends ~ud relatives. LEFT FOR EDGEFtELD. Col. Tillman was invited to dine, and after that he arranged for his mother. Mrs. Norris, his mother-in law, and Ihis wife. his little gziri ano himself to leave Lexing.ton on the 5 o'lock train and go to Edgefield, where he propo~ses to resume the prac tice of law. Hie said Thursday after noon it was too early for him to talk about his plans, but the prospects are that he will remain at Edgefield and practice law there if he can so arrange it. He might stop over at Trenton and see Mrs. B. R. Tillman, who was severaly wounded in a runaway acci dent several days ago. During the progress of the trial for some reasons the jurors refused to al low themselves to be photographed. but Thursday afternoon they careful ly arranged to have a group picture taken. Most of them left Lexington on the afternoon train for their homes in the various parts of the county. SO)IE AP~osITE REFLECTIONS. Is the time ever coming in South Carolina when there will be a return to reason, and when politics and pas sion will not be dominant'? Perhaps the trial of James H. Till man and his acquittal will so tend to draw public attention to the condi tions in this State, to the juries, to the laws the sway of passion and poli tics that the life of N. G. Gonzales will have been lost to some good for his native State. Col. Tillman shot Mr. Gonzales in Columbia on January 15, 190:3, and heI has been in jail in Columbia and Lex ington since that time-ten months in all, and even that is more punish ment than some folks thought he would receive. In that time he has become a bit thin and more reserved and quiet in manner, but other wise he appears to be the same J'ames H. Tillman as of yore. AN EXCEPTIONAL CAsE. There has never been a cause more earnestly presented or defended than that against .James HI. Tillman. It is a decided exception to find a full dozen lawyers engaged in one case. but such was the fact in the trial of Col. Tillmnan. It has taken fourteen days of actual work to get a verdict, and this does not include the days on which recesses were made necessary on account of the illness of Juror Sharpe, or Sundays. The actual trial has taken nearly three weeks, and the week before that commanded the attention of the attorneys and others who were watch i ng the devealopme nts of the ae ard the arguments, or fixing the time for the actual trial to begin. The un usual interest in the case is indicated by the great demand for bulletins from Lexington concerning the re sult of the trial. Hundreds of news papers and individuals asked for bulle tins stating the mere result of the case, and both telegraph offices were an a constant rush all day sending out messages concerning the acquittal of Col. Tillman. SHOWED GREAT INTEREST. Senator Tillman spent only one day at the trial, but that was quite suffi cient to show his interest in the case, and it may be noted that he has care fully watched every phase of the mat ter, and has been constant in his ad vice and suggestions. Senator Till man would no doubt have been pres ent during the entire trial had he not been out of the State in the early days of the trial. Recently be has been in constant attendance on his wife, who was severely injured in a runaway accident. ALL HONOR TO JUDGE GARY. In the closing statements concern ing the Tillman trial. It is well to again speak of the satisfaction that Special Judge Gary gave. He did his work well and, under trying circum stances, made prompt and satisfactory decisions. He has done much for his good reputation. The above account of the release of Col. Tillman was written by Mr. August Kohn, for the News and Courier, from which paper we clip it. A CARD OF THANKS. Col. Tillman Says He Deeply Regrets Mr. Gonzales Death. After his acquittal Col. Tillman dictated the following card of thanks, which he asked should be given the widest possible publicity: "I feel very grateful as to the re sult of tie verdict, but at no time did I apprehend any serious consequences. "I, of course, deeply regret the death of Mr. Gonzales, but I was forc ed to do what I did. I have never apprehended a conviction, for I felt that I did no more than any other man would have done under the same circudistances, and what I was com pelled to do. "My position was fully stated in the testimony I gave on the stand. I did ask for a change of venue because I was convinced, on account of pre judice in Richland County, I could not get a fair, and impartial trial in that county. I felt as soon as my case could be presented to an 'impar tial jury I could be vindicated. The verdict has justified the correctness of my judgment. Lexington County was selected by the prosecution. Its peo ple are law-abiding and have long been noted for the fairness of their verdicts and been praised by the press. ("Signed.) James H. Tillman." TWO LAWYERS ARRESTED. A Sensation Crops Out of the Tillman 1 Trial. The Augusta Chronicle Lexingtodn correspondent says the Tillman case 1 had a sensational byplay Wednesdayi evening. It was the serving of war rants on Attorney E. L. Asbill, of the< prosecution, and his friend Lawyer1 Sturkie, both of the Lexington county bar. These warrants charged Asbill] with carrying a concealed weapon and trespass and Sturkie was charged with] merely the latter offense.] It seems that a rumor gained cir-< ;ulation in Lexington last week that an attempt had been made to pay1 Melton C. Lorick, a witness for the1 defence, two dollars and a half a day< to leave Lexington and remain away until tbe trial was finished. Tne of fer was said to have been made by At-1 torney As bill through Wallace E. Lor ick, a brother, who was one of the first constables in charge of the jury. The story was told in Lexington by J. A. H. Geiger, a relative of the Lor icks. Now to the warrants of today; In the latter part or last week, Geiger and W. E. Lorick stated that they would swear out warrants for Messrs. Asbill and Sturkie, on the grounds above stated. It seems that when Asbill heard of these rumors he se cured a buggy and in company with Sturkie drove out to the home of Geiger, some eight or ten miles from Lexington. He demanded an atfidavit from the two men denying the state ment that had been made in Lexing ton. Geiger and Lorick alleged that they refused to give these atfidavits on the ground that what they had said was true. Ashill denied this alleged and that it was a scheme to injure his repu tation. Geiger says he ordered the two men off his premises. In his atidavit for warrant, Geiger alleges that As bill drew a pistol at this stage of the uarrel and Sturkie prevented a dis turbance by getting Asbill to leave. Sturkie was present ?erely as a friend of Asbill. Friends of Asbill deny the transaction. Asbill and Sturkie gave bond. _________ Hard Times on Grand Cayman. A ccording to information received by steamship from Georgetown, Grand ayman, the conditions on the islands s a result of the hurricane and flood are deplorable, and the people are suf fering from fever. It is also stated that t~e supply of food is scant. The breaking out of the fever is attributed :irectly to decaying fruit and sap trees wich were felled by the storm and urmerous cattle that perished. It is stated that small donations of food are coming from various sources, but there is not sufficient to relieve the suifer ings of the poorer classes. On the is land are only two physicians, one of whom is a young man of limitod ex perience, while the other is rather an ld man. Killed by a Miadmuan. Miss Josephine Mead, aged eighteen years, formerly a school teacher at Angelas, Cal., was shot and killed by n unknown man, who committed suicide. Miss Mead left Angelas be cuse of the un welcome attentions of his man. For several months he per persecuted her and insisted that she amarry him. When she refused he threatened to kill her, and in fear of er life she gave up her position and left Aneas ior the ast.1 THE DEAD LETTER OFFICE. An Interesting Abstract of the Re port of its Operations. An interesting - stract of the an nual report of the business and opera tions of the dead letter office for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1903, is presented by the Washington Times. According to this report, there has been a large and steady increase in the annual receipts of the dead letter oDffice. The total receipts for the year were 10,155,146 pieces-the largest in the history of the office-exceding those of the preceding year by 854, 795 pieces. This total included all classes of matter, domestic and for eign, and for the treatment and dis position of which the services of a clerical and laborers force of 135 em ployes, male and female, was requir ed. Of the aggregate number, 302, 521 pieces were delivered unopened te domestic addresses, which included letters which should have been return ed to the card addresses of senders by postmasters, and those for which cor rected addresses were supplied by this office; 955,026 were returned unopened to foreign countries, as against 818, 594 the previous year, a striking in crease of 136,432; and the enormous total of 8,895,205 pieces were opened. Some of the letters sent to the dean letter office contained large sums 01 money, the money found in letters opened last year amounting to $48, 634.04. Commercial' paper found, such as drafts, checks, money orders, etc., represented a face value of $1,493,563. The numberof merchan dise parcels received was 254,580, which were restored to the owners as far as possible, and the remaineer held to be included in one of the annual sales. Photographs were found i n 219,955 letters and parcels. Letters which contained postage stamps in varying amounts from 1 cent up ward numbered 249,955. The domes tic misdirected letters received num bered 534,201, an increase of more than 50,000, and foreign, including postal cards, 137,190, an increase of 25,000 in round numbers. Of the domestic 79,085 were delived to cor rected addresses, an increase of over 13,000, an'3 of the foreign 21,012, an increase of about 2,500.: Tnere were 131,032 held-ror-postage letters re :eived and disposed of. Under the regulations, undeliverable merchan use matter is to be hereafter held for -ne year, instead of two as formely, before being sold, and .this rendered necessary an addition sale during the year. The first was held in Decem er, 1902, and the gross proceeds were 3,535.85. The second occurred in Ifebruary, 1903, gross proceeds, $5, ?44.15; total of both, 88,780. A STARTL1IG STWRY. ow the Standard Oil Company Knocks Out Competition. Under date of Dallas, Tex , Sep ;ember 8, the Associate press carried he information that the Forth Worth relegram prints "the most startling tory that has ever come out from the Beaumont oil fields and states that he informant is one of the most prom nent men of Fort Worth who re ently returned from Beaumont." Ac ~ording to the Forth Worth Telegram, ~his Beaumont citizen declares that 'the Standard Oil company has per etrated a gigantic steal in the Beau nont fields and that positively estab ished details are just coming to igt." According to the Beaumont itizen, "the independent oil compa ies of Beaumont are the victims, nany of which ihave been wrecked by he Standard's work. Recently some >f the leading men of the wrecked or njured companies determined to in restigate and in two days' time they ~aised $27,000 with which to push the york." In the story printed by the Fort Worth paper, it isexplained that "'the aumerous oil wells that apparently were ruined by salt water were put in beir bad condition by the Standard Jil company's conspirators. As fast ts a company went to the wall its property was brought in by the trust. By accident, it is said, the despara4te work of the Standard company was liscovered recently. The Standard Oil company long ago built a pipe line from Beaumont to the Gulf of Mexico. A pumping station was erected at Beaumont and another at the gulf. ilwas pumped through the pipe line to the gulf and thence shipped to va rious parts of the world. Suddenly many wells of independent companies tad salt water in them. The ruin of the owners is part of the history o1 the field. One day not long ago one of the pumping stations got out of working order, and oil pumping to the ulf had to be suspended while re pairs were being made. Wells that had been giving Out fully ne-half salt water began flowmng uthing but oil, good fuel oil, it is de :lared. That put the investagation n foot. The investigators secretly plugged up the pipe line at the Beau uorlt end. They drove several miles nto the colmtry, dug into the ground >ver the pipe line, made a tapping in o the line and salt water gushed into he air nearly 100 feet. It is claimed hat the pressure was from the gulf umping station and that salt water as being pumped to Beaumont into he wells that the Standard company's :onspirators desired to wreck; that ;bere was nio pressure from the Beau nont end of tnie plugging of the pipe. 'be informant of the Telegram de lares that a force of detectives is at w'ork to develop who should be arrest :d in connection with the conspira Murderer Captared. Cyrus Dixon, a white man who was working at a saw mill near Society Eill under the name of Lormin, has yeen arrested and carried to North arolina to be hung. It seems that e had been tried for murder, con icted and sentenced to death, but ~scaped, and came south by water outes, leaving no trace, till about wo months ago, his affections became ;o great for the widow of the man he nurdered he went for her--or went to neet her. She was tracked with the bove result. After being recaptured e gave himself nc concern, apparent y, but bis pleadings for the woman aob na. ed to go was very earnest. By the Dozen in the Late Storm Which Raged OFF NORTH CAROLINA COAST News Reaches Norloik of Disasters Right and Left. Splendid Work Don ; by the Life Saving Station. A dispatch from Norfolk says the first news received from the North Carolina coasts since the hurricane that raged there ten days ago dispels the hope that the terrific shoals off Jurrituck and. Hatteras have not :lainied their quota of the craft. Two vessels are known to have been lost on that stretch of the coast and further reports are expected to bring news of other wrecks as at this time three schooners are missing together with one barge. Two schooners, and t barge in addition to those wrecked between Cape Henry and Dam Neck .were lost during Thursday and Friday. rhe crew of the schooners were saved jut the barge went down with all aands on board. The tug Buccaneer, Captain Joseph Lane, reports that the barge Oracle foundered off Cape Henry with Cap tain Cookson, her cook and three sea men, all white. The tug sailed from Baltimore, towing the Oracle which was coal laden. Off Hod island the storm struck her on Thursday and the targe with her crew went down. The tug coy. not approach the heavy sea, and wt., forced to come here for safe ty. Observer A. W. Drlnkwater of the Currituck station, reached Norfolk Wednesday by the inland route and reports the loss of the schooners.Ma tel Rose and J. W. Halden. The life savers had seen the Rose about 2 p. m., Saturday with her crew in the rigging, but she was then two miles out at sea an& nothing could . done for her. At 4 a. m., Sunday e life savers. ucceeded in shooting a line :cross t k and within eighteen minutes after tman had been ,tarted- ashore the -A seven men were on the safety. It is estimated that the cargo :f lumber carried by the schooner Rose was worth more than $50,000. Three-masteda schooner J. B. Hol den, of Suffolk, is ashore near False Cape, Va., andj is a total loss. Her captain, W. O. Crammer, of Suffolk, and her crew were taken off by the life-savers and are safe. The Holden was heavily laden with lumber and an attempt to save at leat a portion of her cargo will be made. Tne ocean going tugs accustomed to stand off Cape Henry awaiting the arrival of Baltimore bound schooners were un able to stand the storm outsile and came'in to Norfolk. They report that the schooners Isabell Gill, May Lee Patton, Jennie Thomas, bound from the south for Baltimore, are not accounted for. The wires to the coast are sown but there is grave reason to fear for the safety of these vessels. Captain Thomas, commanding the schooner Hienry S. Little, which came in Wednesday ein distress, is reported in the marine dis trict as saying that he saw three schooners in a very dangerous predici' ment, and which seemed to be in danger of going on shore. -lie man aged to keep clear of the coast and made this port. It is regarded as possible that the Gill, Thomas and Patton may have made some port and the fact not yet reported. In an uarjuakge. The Norwegian stea-ner Ellida, Capt. Petersen, which has arrived in Mobile, was caught in an "earth quake" at 2.55 A. M., September 20, fourteen miles off the Cuban shore, and the shock, was .so severe that It threw the men from their berths and knocked all quite violently about,. Capt Petersen says the Ellida was en route to Santiago frosi Venzuela with cattle. The engines were running full speed and everything was all right. The water there is from 1,200 to 1,400 fathoms deep. There were no other vessels in sight. Suddenly, with no warnings whatever, the Ellida seemed to have run aground. She quivered, creaked, her propeller was out of water, and it seemed as though the steamer was constantly ris ing on the crest of a hidden reef. Then, in the twinkling of an eye,~she seemed to absolutely drop into the very chasm of the deep. Bold Robbers. One of the most daring bank rob--~ beries in Illinois was committed early' Wednesday morning at Berwick. Four men, armed to the teeth, in~ a wagon, drove into that town and entered the Farmers' State Bank, where they forced the combination of the big safe with dynamight and secured $2, 800 in cash. The explosion awakened a number of residents of the town, who appeared on the scene, but al, the point of guns they were compelled by the robbers to keep away from the bank building until they had Loaded their booty into a buggy. The rob bers then drove off in an easterly direction, but were not followed by the terrified citizens, who were panic stricken by the boldness of the rob bery. ______ __ Burned to Death. An aged lady, Miss Nanny Robert son, living 10 miles above Laurens, was burned to death in her house Wednesday night. When the tire was discovered the building was a most destroyed and no rescue could be made. Sue was seventy-live years old. The tire is supposed to have originated from a lamp, a large quan tity of .batting becoming ignited ac cidentally while she was engaged in quilting. Miss Robertson lived alone. Her nearest neighbor lived about 100 yards from hier house. A Lucky Negro. Andrew Beared, a negro, who has earnened a modest salary in the machine shops of the Louisville and Nashville railroad in Burmingham, Ala., for 20 years, has sold to the makers of the Janney car coupler a patent car coupler, which he invented 1.0 years ago and has perfected since until found acceptable to eminent rail road authorities. Beard is to get. $100,000 and royalties for 17 years on all conunlers made on hismdel