Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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, HITCH VS. TERRELL ? Georgia's Governor is Scored by Deposed Captain P IN SCATHING OPEN LETTER 1 / Governor is Accused of Prejudging Captain's Case and Approving Courtmartiai Verdict Without Even Reading It. Former Captain Robert M. Hitch, of > Savannah, the officer who was dismi3s? ed from the service of the state by a courtmartiai because he allowed a mob at Statesboro to take two prisoners from the troops and burn them, has written a very stiff letter to Governor Joseph M. Terrell. In part Captain Hitch says: i? Now that I am relieved of that enforced silence which military discipline imposed, and am at liberty to address you as a Georgian and an Amer ican citizen, i reel it to De me amy which I owe to the state and to the Georgia state troops, and*to myself, to plainly delineate certain manifestations of your character which have been brought to public attention since August 15, of the present year. Before doing so, however, I have purposely waited a reasonable time for deliberation and reflection lest uuaonsciously I might imitate that indecent haste which you have lately exhibited on occasions when the reputations of good men were lodged in your s keeping. In military affairs, the commanding officer is always accountable for the conduct of his command. For the action of the troops at Statesboro on August 15 and 1G I have always announced myself as willing to assume full responsibility and have never sought to shift the burden on any subordinate officer or enlisted man. A id neither the people of Georgia nor myself will allow you to escape your fu'.l responsibility for the action of the > court martial convened at Savannah ffy your command. Under the law, yoa are the commander in chief. Undei the law, the action cf that court martial had to be submitted to and passed upon by you- before it became effective. On you, therefore, must rest the blame. You have never been fond of assuming responsibility. On the coatrary, you have persistently pursued a course which always placed others o etween you and possible criticism. Under the military law, you court have ordered me to Statesboro on August 15 with instructions to act im' mediately under your command and according to your directions. Yours would then have been the responsibility. Local feeling and sentiment would thus have been eliminated. Instead of taking this course, you saw fit to send me there under instructions to report to sheriff of Bulloch county, who, it now appears, was closely connected by marriage with the murdered Hodges family, and to "comply with such orders as he might give." to "act in conjunction with the sheriff of Bulloch county," and to take orders for duty from the judge presiding at . the trial. It therefore became necjr.sary in your eyes to find a scapegoat; some victim must be found, some one must be sacrificed in order to relieve ihe pressure leveled against the chief authorities of the state. * You know, I know, everybody knows, that had one shot been fired during those houis while I was on that court house stairway holding back those frenzied people at the point of the bayonet pending ihe arrival of Colonel Grayson with his reinforcements, who, I assumed, was on the way, the indiscriminate slaughter which would have ensued would have caused me to be branded as a murderer- and a monster from one en i \ of the land to the other. * * I stated nf Jnnnirr T r?0/"*lQT*Pr? hf u# uic wult vi J , * uvvav.. w ~ w fore the court martial, and I now repeat that in my judgment I discharged my full duty as a soldier at Statesboro, as well as my duty as a man. It was a hard duty to perform, such as has never before confronted an officer cf the state troops. I did my duty as I saw it, and each passing day has convinced me more and more that I saw It right. I have no apologies to make. My conscience is clear, my confidence in the corectness of my course unshaken, and I am content. You, I a?n sure, cafcnot say as much. Beyond the statement that every report and all the evidence in the Hitch courtmartiai case was given careful consideration by him personally, Governor Terrell declines to discuss the letter of ex-Captain Hitch. Further than this, the governor merely says: "For me to enter into any discussion of such matters with parties who feel aggrieved at my official acts, would he manifestly out of place." 4 Confederate Monument Unveiled. At Tarboro, N. C., Friday, the Con federate veterans and Daughters ol the Confederacy unveiled a monument to the Confederate dead of EdgecomDe county. Ohio Bank Closes Doors. The Lima, Ohio, Savings Bank and Trust Company failed to open ils doers Friday because of inability to meet its clearings. / ' COFFEE FOUND GUILTY. i , \ r, j First of Sextette of Alleged Counter- ! feiters at Atlanta is Convicted on Two Counts of Indictment. j ? The first of the sextette" of alleged ! counterfeiters, P. S. Coffee, of Upson j county, was placed upon trial in the i | United States court at Atlanta Monday j : morning and after a hard legal battle | t i i in which the best of Atlanta's legal ; | talent was engaged was found guilty 1 i j I on two counts of the indictment. The jury by its verdict asserts that ! P. S. Coffee has been guilty of causing i to be made counterefiting plates and causing to be issued therefrom spurious ten-dollar notes of the Buffalo j series. It was Coffees testimony, or ; statement, that was the principle feaLture of the day's session. The witnesses for both government and prisoner had been completed when ! Coffee was called to the stand. Before he was introduced to the court \ i and the gathering the jury had j ; been secured and a number of wit- | j nesses had been presented and exhaus- j j tively examined. I Facing the jury with composure his i story in part was as follows: ! "I never saw Wynne In my life," i he said as Attorney Rucker made plain what he wanted the defendant .. I i to say as a witness, unui i was uuu- | fronted with him in the Fulton county ! ! jail. No, I never had any convdrsaj tion of any kind with him relative to counterfeiting plates or the ma*king of 1 counterfeit money." j He told of his arrest, and continued: "We came to Atlanta and I was | taken to Captain Wright's office in | this- building, where I was questioned : about this counterfeiting. I knew j nothing of it, and so told them. Theu i Rebb McMichael and Little were ; brought in. They were handcuffed, i Rebb and McMichael were chained to| gether. Little had a pair of cuffs to j himself. I was questioned again in | the presence of these me?" "Who did the questioning?" asked ; Attorney Rucker. "All of 'em. Who were there? Why, ; there was Captain Wright, Mr. Camp, I Mr. Covington and the others I have named. I was asked every question that could have been framed in such I a form that the anticipated answer ! I would have been the same as a con- j fession. When I attempted to ask j ! either Rebb, McMichael or Little a ; ! question I was requested to keep quiet, j the officers asserting that they wouia ! do the questioning. No, at no time1 |did I in any way admit having had any ; : pajrt in the work in any way vhat| soever." j "I have known Little for a long \ ; time, and while I was in business in ! Atlanta," Coffee went on, "I had him ! for a customer. We had many busiI ness transactions, and I always found ! him straight." Reference was made to Mr. Covingj ton's testimony and the witness was ! asked about what had passed between ! him and Mr. Covington. "Why," he replied, "Covington and I j were raised in the same section. We ! had known each other for years. He i took me aside and said he hated to ! prosecute because of that old child! hood association. He then advised me j to confess, to make a clean breast of ! it, saying that it would go rnucu errsier j with me. In his eyes there were tears j and he begged me to confess, saying ' that he would do everything in his i power to help me out; that he would J see that it was made light for ma. I j told him then, as I tell him now. that j I had nothing to confess." ___ I MACON FAIR A SUCCESS. Statement of Directors Indicates that ! Money Was Made on Venture. At a meeting of the directors of the j Macon, Ga.. Fair Association Monday ; niorVi* fVio finnrtoial SlinCPSS of tnQ ' ui*,Uv - , state fair just closed was fully dis- j cussed. I Though no clear-cut report was j | made of the exact status of the fair i j association's exchequer, from the de j } tailed reports rendered of certain re* j j ceipts and disbursements, the state | fair was a great success from a finan- j j cial standpoint. JAPANESE WAR EXPENSES. , I Nearly Four Hundred Millions Neces- j sary in Struggle With Russia. j A Tokio dispatch says: Prelimina- j ry estimates of the budget covering \ January, February and March, 1905, j and the fiscal year commencing in j April next have been completed and | will be submitted to the diet at its ' meeting November 25. The war ex- ! penses are estimated at $385,000,000 j and the ordinary expenses at $60,000, I 000. It is proposed to provide more funds I by increasing the taxation by $45.000,000 by retrenchment in the acimin- | j istrative expenses I WOMAN SOON TO BE FREE. I Mamie DeCris, "Diamond Queen," i 1 J Will Be Released November 21. i Mamie DeCris, better known as the ' | diamond queen, who has been serving j i a three-year sentence in the Georgia J I state penitentiary, and who caused a i state sensation two years ago because i of her being whipped by Warden Allai good, will be released on November j 21st, her time expiring then. ! i CHARGE IS IGNORED No Bills Returned Against1 Statesbore Lynchers. DISAPPOINTS JUDGE DALY Bulloch County Grand Jury Deplored Unfortunate Affair, But Failed to < Take Any Further . ' 1 ' Action. ? . ? ' < A Statesboro dispatch says* As far as the present grand jury of Bulloch county is concerned, the lynching of the negroes, Cato and Reed, will go free. The jury adjouined Saturday about noon without returning any indictments against the rioters of August 16. " * : Wfyle ,the parties implicatpd by the courtmartial testimcny are very much elated, many others are disappointed, and the jury commissioners have intimated that all names of the members of this grand jury trill be thrown out of the jury box. Those who expecied indictment^ {.o be returned say new that the only chance is for Judge Speer to take the matter up in the federal courts as was done in Huntsville, Ala. The general presentments of the jsry have only one short paragraph touching the lynching matter, as follows : "We deplore the recent lawlessness in our city and community, especially referred to by his honor, Judge A. F. Daley, in his able charge. We have investigated the matter in the light of information coming under our personal knowledge, and obtained by examination of a number of witnesses, but we have been unable to find sufficient evidence to warrant indictments.. ' . V. ' > . * "We tender our thanks to his honor, Judge A. F. Daley, for his able and comprehensive charge to this body." Judge Disappointed. Judge Daley said in discharging the jury that he did not see why indici' ments were not returned, and spoke in such manner as to indicate his disappointment and disapproval of the failure of the grand jury to indict the rioters and did not appreciate the compliment of the jury. It will be seer, that the jury ignored the evidence furnished by Governor Terrell, for no mention is made of iis 1 having been considered. By reason of the murder and assault cases mentioned in Judge Daley's charge to the grand jury at the opening of court, but little civil business has been attended to. One white man has been sentenced to life imprisonment for murder and another young white man for assault of a little girl. There will have to be an adjourned term in December, making five sessions of the superior court held in Bulloch county during the present year. Action Was no Surprise. The action of the grand jury in ncc finding indictments against any of the lynchers was no surprise to the people. It was expected by the people generally that no bills would be found. Public sentiment indorses their action. All the sentiment is not one way, but the majority of the people approve their course. They feel that even if the grand jury shonld find true bills, that there would be no hope of convicting, and the matter would be agitated for years and be a source of constant annoyance to the people. Hundreds of gooc: men in the county are opposed to lynching and opposed the lynching of Reed and Cato, vud did all they could not prevent it, yet they feel that it would be no vindication of the majesty of the law to undertake to convict any of the lynchers, as the lack of evidence and sentiment in their favor woulcl result in their acquittal; only a few men know who were the real lynchers and the grand jury examined probably fifty witnesses and failed to get their names. The people regret the unfortunate occurrence, but the crime of Reed and Cato was such that they are willing to forgive the lynchers. They are opposed to doing anything that looks like protection to the dangerous negro ele? ?4 vV>Am fn aaa -what XlitfilL ailU piCICl lUi lUtrn ovt n uww is likely to happen if they attempt assault and wholesale murder. Three Children Cremated. During the absence from home of parents, three small children of Jesse Evans, living near Coarlea, Oklahoma, were burned to death in a fire that destroyed the house. New York Postmaster Dead. Cornelius Yan Cott, postmaster of New York city, died suddenly Saturday afternoon of heart failure, following a short attack of acute nervous indiges- J tion. BAD MARKMANSHIP SHOWN. Russians Fired on Vessel Two and i Half Hours Without Securing a H t. A dispatch to The Lokal Anzeiger (Berlin), dated Geestemunde, Octob r 27 (11:55 p. m.), says the fishing vessel Sonntag, which arrived there 01 that dato, reported that it had been fired upon for two and a half hou 3 off Dogger bank, but was not hit. DEADLY EXPLOSION i ( I > i Occurs in Tunnel of Coal j Mine Near Trinidad, Col. ! j I TWO SCORE MINERS DEAD j i I j Heartrending Scenes Enacted at Mouth of Death Trap?Fatal Fumes Kept Willing Rescuers Back. i From thirty to sixty men lost their lives in , a terrific explosion which occurred at mine No. 3 of the Rocky Mountain Fv.el and Iron Company at Tercio, Coi: rado, forty miles west of Trinidad, F. lay afternoon. "Hie exact \\umber of dead may never be known, p.3 the mine is burning and in ail likelihood the bcdies wi'lbe consumed. A large number of mine officials left Trinidad as soon as wor-1 of the accident was received, x'he company doctors were picked up along the line as well as all available physicians. * E. J. Foreman, a government stock ! inspector, was at Tercio when the ex- i plosion occurred. He returned to Trinidad Friday and gave the following account of the affair: "I was standing not "moVe'tllan -500 yards from the mouth of the .tunni-l when the explosion occurred. "The, explosion was preceded by a low rumbling sound resembling an earthquake, which made the earti tremble and startled the whole neighborhood. I looked towards the mine and out of the tunnel and two air shafts came a great volume of smoxe and dust which continued for nearly a minute. Out of the two air sharts, each of which are seven feet in diameter, timbers that were fully two or three feet in diameter were shot into the air and broken to splinters. Rocks were thrown over the camp for a distance of a quarter of a mile. In fact, it rained rocks, broken timbers and all kinds of debris for fully a minute, and many people were injured by being s.truck with these mis- j siles. The * explosion, which resembled a j volcanic eruption, caused the wildest j excitement Men, women and chil- : dren rushed to the mouth of the tunnel, and women whose husbands were - - - 1 I in the mine naa to oe Drougnt away by miners to prevent their being killed by deadly fumes coming from tho mouth of the tunnel." Fumes Overcome Rescuers. The mine in which the accident occurred employs eighty men,- and it is j believed that at least sixty were in j the mine at the time. News of the explosion brought assistance from the j adjacent camps, and within a short j time hundreds of men were trying to ; enter the mine. Deadly fumes overcame the rescuers frequency,but their ! places immediately were taken by J others ready to risk their lives. II j was not thought posible that any one In the mine could escape death. It was impossible to secure names of the dead and injured. Nearly all the miners employed are Slavs. The explosion is supposed to have been caused by dust. But one body had been recovered Friday night, that of T. Duran, a driver who was just entering the tunnel when the explosion occurred. I3ALFOUR SCORES RUSSIANS, j I England's Premier Scouts Story Told by Admiral Rojestvensky. Premier Balfcur addressed an ira-1 mense meeting at Artillery hall in Southempton, England, Friday night. In. reverting to the North sea tragedy, he said: "In the story of our fishermen there was much tragedy, but no romance: in the story of the Russian admiral there is no tragedy, but I am driven to the belief that there is much romance. It is impossible to doubt which is the correct story. I shou'.I not have approached it but for the fact -that the admiral's story is really an -attack upon our national honor and implies that we are not doing our duty as neutrals." GOES OVER FOR A MONTH. Freight Rate Injunction Case Again Postponed at Atlanta. The expected postponement of the hearing in the freight rate injunction cases at Atlanta came Friday mornliur. All cases go over until Monday, November 28, when all will be tried ai once. Judge Newman declared a postponement after the attorneys for the de fense had declared they were not ready to proceed with a hearing. They had been unable to prepare an answer because of the many bills, amend ments and substitute bills filed at the last moment. EXPLOSION KILLS NEGROES. , Large Saw Mill Damaged, Two Dead and Others Hurt. Meager reports of an explosion al the large mill of the Hilton and Dodge Lumber Company, on the Satilla river, were received in Brunswick, Ga., Friday. The explosion killed two n> groes outright and injured ' sever?J others, while the mill was badly damaged. TURN* H08TILE CURRENT. Rojestvensky's Report Changes Com* plexion of Negotiations. Vice Admiral Rojestvensky's explanation of the attatk of his squadron on British trawlers, while it is received wiih incredulity by the people -.f Great Britain, has probably turned the current of diplomatic negotiations into a new channel. i ae unusn iureign uiuce is, iu wur tesy, obliged to accord an investigation into the corcumstances narrated by the Russian admiral, reinforced, as it is, by the testimony of subordinate officers of the squadron, and by the report of the Danish minister of marine, communicated to the Russian government that vessels were known to have been chartered at Hull, and in Sweden, by the Japanese government for the purpose of attacking the Baltic squadron during its passage of the North sea and English channel. ' There are, on the one side, stories of Russian ships firing upon vessels of several neutral nations, and on the other, of Incidents tending to establish Admiral Rojestvensky's report . that there were armed hostile 'vessels in the vicinity of at least the Hull fishing fleet. ^ . , . Pending development in diplomatic exchanges the British admiralty is showing the utmost activity in bringing fleets within the course of the Ruv sion squadron. - ' NEW MOVE BY ROADS. They Allege Act Creating Georgia Railroad Commission is lilegal. rne application ior injunction against the Georgia railroad commission's enforcement of . orders in circulars 301 and 302 of that body were not heard at Atlanta Thursday morning by Judge W. T. Newman, of the United States court, but were set for a hearing Friday morning at 10 o'clock. All bills formerly,filed in the cases w ere withdrawn and new bills were substituted by the attorneys for tne roads. New bills from roads that have not before asked for injunctions were also filed. The attorneys for the state therefore asked that the case be continued for a day in order that they might have an opportunity to learn the contents of the new bills before proceeding to a hearing. Judge Newman agreed to the postponement. The features of the new bills is apparently an attack upon the constitutionality of the act creating the Georgia railroad commission. The charge is made that the body of the act creating the railroad commission contains provisions that are different from the caption of the act. GREAT SUB-WAY OPENED. New Yorkers Rejoice at Consummati n/ "RanlH TVarialf" Prni^pf.. "City hall to Harlem in fifteen minutes" became a reality at New York Thursday when the main artery of Manhattan's great subway systen was opened to the public. The formal opening exercises held in the city hall in the afternoon we*e attended by invited guests. Mayor McClelland presided. Following the exercises a special train left the city hall for the One hundred and forty-fifth street terminus, carrying Invited guests. The mayor turned on the current, and the trip was made without event. The actual opening of the subway to the traveling public took place at night SNOW IN NORTH CAROLINA. Long Drought Continues and Mercury Drops Away Down. The long drought in North Carolina mountains continues, the weather there being remarkably cold. Wednesday the temperature was 14 degrees above zero, a record-breaker. Snow fell in Mitchell county, where no rail has fallen since August 1. French Deny Report. A categorical denial was given ar Paris, Thursday afternoon to the report from London that France had ar tilled Great Britain and Russia that she would not become involved in the present difficulty if it assumed an ex treme aspect. NEGRO BAPTIST CONVENTION. Delegates From Over Whole Country Present at Richmond. The colored Baptist convention, witn preachers and lay delegates from all parts of the country as members, began its sessions in Richmond, Va., Thursday. Addresses of welcome were made by Mayor McCarthy and Rev. W. T. Johnson, colored, pastor of the First African Baptist church of Richmond., who expressed a belief that the convention would find wise solutions of the many serious problems confronting the negro race. FIRST VICTIM OF SUBWAY. New Jersey Girl Injured on New York Underground Railway. The first serious accident since the formal opening of tho subway in Ne..* York occurred Friday, when a young woman named Sadie Lawson, of Jesey City, fell between the platform and the local train at the Fourteen* a street station and was badly crushel. She had a fractured hip and bruises of a more or less sericus nature, but will recover. APPEAL TO HAGUE : England and Russia Agree to Arbitrate Trouble. WAR. CLOUO VANISHES I i Russian Fleet to Stay at Vigo, Spain, Pending Exhaustive Inquiry Into North 8ea Tragedy. j3H 1 Excitement Allayed. vja A Loudon special of Friday says:! 'IffiM' All danger of war between Rusaiay||^ and Great Britain has been averted, :! %j f and-the settlement-of the only points ) in dispute regarding the attack bg|S c|| the Russian second Pacific squadron *J|j3 on British trawlers, October 21, ha^|T-'|| | been referred to an internatlonaj^^^ 1 commission under The Hague conveg^^Bj Premier Balfour, speaking at ^ meeting of the National Union of j servative . Clubs at Southampfew^a !J Thursday night, broke that sileno^H^ ; which had brought the people of thV S /fl j United Kingdom by a cindition of a?M;JjS j most desperate irritation and gtroa^B;^ rise to misconceptions which Mr.. ' four himself exposed. jWM "The Russian ambassador/'- sa^d^'^j Mr. Balfour, "has authorized a state^JjM ! ment to the following effect: TtS8Bji| Russian government on hearing | the North sea incident at once^^M|fl i pressed its profound regret and aisfc|||jB j promised most liberal compensattoi^^n The government has ordered the j tention, at Vigo, Spain, of that pldpSJ-B I of the fleet which was concerned the incident, in order that the^u^^R|jB authorities might ascertain what! ofl?j9ilB . cers were responsible for it; thdliS^aH i those officers and any material :^liW i nesses would not proceed on the ! age to the Far East; that ingdgK|H would be instituted into the facts ! an International commission as P*de|l|lM vided by The Hague convention/'',^ That, Mr. Balfour interpolated, nothing to do with arbitration; It ! the constitution of an internatlQuH|g | commission in order to find out tfc3ra?|^ facts and any persn found would be tried and punished. nmSn M i quately. The Russian governa^jg^B | undertook that precaution would iBBIB j taken to guard against a recunNMMH^Bj I of such incidents. Special ingUipjfflgM ! tions on this subject would be Preliminary to this court, sai<j 1fg&piH j Balfour, there would be the coronraH^Jm ; inquest at Hull over the dead flahiHtgH men, a board of trade inquiry anfl.jjBIB inquiry by Russian officials at Vigo.-^ Apology and compensation havini^^* already been offered, nothing now mains but to determine which actouiqj^aH | Is correct, Ro'jestvensky's' or trawlers. Eventful Day in London. /.|| Thursday was an eventful one the metropolis. The population.' red by flaring head lines in the-mQjraralB ing newspapers, seemed convfa<*K||9| ; that war was inevitable. The cabttg9|9| meeting, which was held at BOQ&SPgB ! served to increase rather than alliil|?9| anxiety. Throughout the cotnimR^H i there had spread a deep rooted, thot?Hp8H e?ii? n?<%?MBWk i periecuy cuuueuus, iuca umi, v">uhobu Britain had given Russia a time j in which to reply, 'and "Charles*' BermSgn ford, England's naval idol, was on-tfcllgffiM spot. Many, indeed, thought it only a question of hours" whm^H|sH would be demolishing Russian shipiR^^^fl Czar Nicholas Approves. '\WgL A St. Petersburg dispatch sayss TffjflBjM North sea incident will be settled I an international commission. This^H M absolutely assured. The British j posals submitted to Russia was to i fer the question to a commission | der articles 9 to 14 of The Hague j vention, and a certain of officers-"mUm i the Russian squadron cimpetent to^^fl give testimony were to be left behla|M M Russia's proposition submitted torafsS Great Britain through Ambassadw^^fl Benckendorff declares that the empiw^^B : or, being desirous of shedding the est light on the North sea inctdej^S^H | proposes that the whole question submitted to scrupulous investigatiottffip^ by an international tribunal. WAS SHORT ON STOCKS. J| |9 Commission House of Labaree, at York, Goes to Wall. 'Wm The firm of J. Walter Labaree ; Co., at New York, has closed Its flees. ' The concern advertised a stocjc-lv'* j commission house, witn numerous out^^| of town offices. Stephen CallaghanJ^B|M torney for Labaree, said that his ; ent's assets probably were between sspB^JB ; and seven thousand 'dollars, with 9 biiities 01 $123,000. He said Labareo-.JM & Co. had twenty branch offices, extending all the way from Toronta^3^l Canada to New Orleans. Shortsgd^IB ifl stocks caused the failure. - ' JAPS TAKE MORE FORTS. ^ B In Desperate Attack at Port ArtU^BB Russian Batteries are Silenced. A Tokio dispatch under Saturday's''ijfl i date says: It is reported that Japanese opened a desperate attaclrafcjS on the eastern fronts of the Keekwfclgglfl group, north of Port Arthur, durln^BH| 1 the morning of October 28, and silenc*.:|i|9 ed t-he Russian batteries. A shell ploded the Russian magazines.