Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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? TRf?L OF JAS. H. TILLMAN. Mr. Kelson Qenoynoes the AHeged hhm of the Defendant by the State Press in General and the Bead Editor in Par? ticular. Mr. Crawford Calis the Homicide ''a Bloody Srutal Murder," Due to the Malice Tillman Bore Gonzales. Lexington, Oct. 13.-The case against James H. Tillman will close tomorrow. It will then be for the jury to render its verdict The closing scenes of the trial have been intensely interesting. Great crowds have been here all day listening to the splendid arguments of counsel on both sides, and several times during the day there were inter? ruptions while seats were being pro? vided for the visitors.' ?? The special train from Columbia was crowded with people who wished to near the closing arguments and the midday trains broght increasing crowds. A great many ladies from Columbia came this morning to hear the argu? ments and both of the law classes of the South Carolina College were given * the opportunity of coming here to hear the arguments of as distinguished law? yers as are practicing in the criminal Courts of the State. It was intended that the argument . should close tonight, but the frequent recesses and interruptions took so much of the time of the Court as to make it impracticable to finish to ^ night, and consequently Judge Gary directed that he would allow an hour in the morning for the closing of Col. Croft's argument and two hours for v; Gen. Bellinger to close the case for the State. The arguments that were printed very full in The News and Courier of today, and will appear tomorrow, show the positions of the prosecution and of the defence very clearly, and on that * account I have sought to give very full reports. It will be noticed that the State is not mincing its words nor making a lukewarm presentation, but ..for some reason it seems that the de? fence is' decidedly on the defensive. The attorneys for the defence seem ^ to be measuring their words, while on the part of the prosecution is far more boldness. The State, as was evidenced in CoL Crawford's address, spoke of the kill? ing as a "bloody, brutal murder," and that Mr. Gonzales "was ruthlessly *^ slain without warning and while thrown off his guard by greetings of Col. Tillman. " The State is insisting that CoL Tillman shot Mr. Gonzales because of the malice that he bore him on account of the editorial crusade that was waged against CoL Tillman's . candidacy for Governor. *. The prosecution insists that CoL Tillman simply hunted for Mr. Gon? zales to kill him and did not give him the chance of a "mad dog,' because of the editorials, and that the plea of self-defence and of any demonstration on the part of Mr. Gonzales are the veriest rot . ? The defence, on the other hand, does not seem to be giving so much of its attention to developing any "demon? stration" or overtact on the part of Mr. Gonzales, but is devoting a great deal more of its time and attention to the editorial fight that was made on Col. Tillmn by Mr. Gonzales in the State. They have vigorously attacked the policy of Mr. Gonzales and'have urged % that he was actuated by vindictiveness and a rule-or-ruin policy, and that he was an element of discord and a fire? brand in the State. Then they go cn to say that CoL Tillman stood more than almost any other man would have stood. That he was goaded on to desperation and that he was slandered and abused and out? raged as no other man had ever been in this State. The defence argues that this crusade of slander and abuse and viliification, as they call it was not political, but was the result of resentment and ; malice on the ppart of the dead editor. Tillman, they, say, upon repeated oc? casions, undertook to show that he had no animosity toward Gonzales, and to emphasize this state of mind they made much of the letter Col. Till? man wrote to Mr. Gonzales in 1892, thanking him for the help that had been given Coi. George D. Tillman's unsuccessful campaign for Congress. The defence today has made much of the fact that the dying declaration of Mr. Gonzales, which was dictated to Mr. Lathan his private secretary, was not offered in evidence by the State, and claimed that it was with? held for some reason, and that fair play and justice, demand that all the evidence be presented to the jury. This is the identical dying declara? tion that was presented by Dr. J. W. Babcock, and the State takes the posi ^,'tion that to have produced it again would have been merely to duplicate it and that for Mr. Lathan to have presented it would have given the de? fence an opportunity to criticise it as coming from the private secretary and confidential friend of Mr. Gonzales. The defence also undertook to make capital out of the fact that Dr. Cow? ard, the first physician called, was *not presented as a witness. . The State replies to this by stating that it was Dr. Griffith who first ad? ministered drugs and gave medical at? tention to Mr. Gonzales, and that he had testified. - The State is especially emphasizing the fact that Mr. Gonzales was mi? lmed and is developing this by the se? ries of witnesses who testified to this fact and then it is urged how absolute? ly foolish it would have been for Mr. Gonzales to have "gone down" into his pocket for a pistol which he did -not have. The State is demoustrating from the chain of evidence that Mr. Gonzales was undertaking to obliquely cross the pavement and avoid Col. Tillman when he was shot down, and that his only "demonstration" was in ignoring Coi. Tillman, keeping his eyes upon the opening and walking straight ahead. Col. Crawford said that, as far as ife could see, the defence was asking that the defendant be spared for shoot? ing down a man who simply "wrig? gled" his thumbs. The State today argued that the de? fence was trying hard to inject poli ? tics, prejudice and passion into the case, and to this Col. Croft said that the whole case was one cf politics; that it originated in politics, and that had it not been for politics that Mr. Gonzales would have today been alive, and Col. Nelson said that the trouble indirectly grew oat o? the hatred that Mr. Gonzales had for B. R. Tillman, and that Mr. Gonzales despised even the ground upon which B. R. Tillman walked. Mr. Asbill suggested that this line of argument was simply an effort to convert a Court of justice into a fac? tional fight, and then he added that Col. Tillman had admitted that he de? nounced Mr. Gonzales in unmeasured terms on every stump on which he spoke during the last campaign, and he asked if this denunciation by Col. Tillman before thousands of people would have justified Gonzales in kill iing Tillman any more than did the editorials justify Tillman in killing Gonzales. If the paper shots were not loaded with facts they could have done no harm. The State, in each of its speeches, is hammering away at the idei* that Col Tillman said: "Good morning" to Mr Gonzales, as if to throw him off of his guard, then, after this kind? ly greeting, the fatal bullet was fired. Very much was said in the course of the arguments today as to the relative positions of the men in the tragedy, but that is not essential, as it seems to be generally admitted that Mr. Gonzales was shot just as he was en? tering the opening between Col. Till? man and his friends, and the transfer ? station on the inside. Mr.; Crawford held that Col. Till I man was evidently waiting for Mr. Gonzales to leave his office, as he could see him from the State House steps, and that he walked up to meet him and shot him with premeditation because of the editorials, thougla the last had been written five months be? fore the homicide. On the other hand, Mr. Croft said if Mr. Tillman intended to kill Mr. Gonzales that he could have done so repeatedly before this meeting, and that he had offers from friends, including Dr. Adams, to go to the State office and have it out if he had wished to. The defence claimed that Col. Till? man had repeatedly showed that he had no animosity toward Mr. Gon? zales, and that he had no purpose to get into a difficulty, and, on the other hand, the State insists that a man peaceably inclined does not make ' threats and does not walk the streets of Columbia with a brace of pistols and make of himself a walking ar? senal. But enough cf this. The arguments themselves better show the position of the State and of the defence, and there is no* use to multiply words after so much has already been telegraphed. August Eohn in News and Courier. Lexington, Oct. ll-There were two very fine arguments today in the closing of the case. One by Congress? man George W. Croft, who is the law partner of CoL Tillman, and the other by Mr. G. Duncan Bellinger, of coun? sel for the prosecution. Col. Croft continued very much ! upon the same lines as did his associ? ates in the previous arguments and laid far more stress upon the edito? rial attacks by Mr. Gonzales that- he did upon the incidents immediately connected with the tragedy. During the progress of the arguments far more I importance has been attached to the I editorial crusade against Col. Tillman i than to sustaining the plea of self-de? fence. The counsel for the defence have devoted most of their time to the idea that newspapers take too much license ; that Mr. Gonzales persecuted, maligned, slandered and traduced Col. Tillman, and that it was nothing more than he deserved to be killed because of his editorial attacks. They have gone so far in this line as to com? pare Mr. Gonzales with Brann, of "The Iconoclast," and tosay that he was a breeder of turmoil and discon? tent, and that all such men sooner or later meet a violent death. The plea of self-defence, based upon the demonstration that Mr. Gonzales is said to have made, while casually mentioned, has been minimized and far more attention has been given the editorial and political phases of the case. On the other hand, the State, and especially Col. Crawford and Mr. Bel? linger, have spared no words in em? phasizing the charges that Col. Till? man planned to kill Mr. Gonzales, and that he deliberately sought him on the streets for the purpose of kill? ing him, and that his only excuse for so doing was the editorial policy of the State toward him. Col. Croft, in the course of his ar? gument today, referred to editorials that have currently appeared in the State, and then he created something of a sensation by his statement that an editorial had appeared in the Spartan burg Herald, in which the charge was made that the jury had been "packed." He said that this was an outrage, and that the editor and pub? lisher of the Spartanburg Herald, who was in Court, ought to be ruled for contempt and sued for libel. Here is what was said in the Spar? tanburg Herald by Mr. Zach McGhee, to which the objection was made : "The jury seems to be a good aver? age Lexington Court jury, that is, on its face. On the other hand, coun? sel for the defence seemed to be cock sure of acquittal. Why, they are not able to say, unless it be, as some one has expressed it, 'it is an acquittal jury, ' in other words a packed jury. The opinion of the writer is that this is not true, but we insist that no man knows." Col. Croft insisted that politics was the whole cause of the tragedy and that there was absolutely no use to ciaim contrary. Then he went on to eulogize Mr. Gonzales as a brave man, but added that his equal "for mfJig nity, his equal for hatred has never existed in South Carolina or any other State in this Union. " This was the motive of the defence. Col. Croft during the course of his ar? gument undertook to show that the State had editorially linked "the two Tillmans" and that there was no way of disassociating the crusade against Col. Tillman from that of his uncle, j Benjamin R. Tillman, and "hat the ? first fight against Col. Tillman had its genes:s in the opposition io Senator ' Tillman. He denied that Mr. Tillman ad? dressed Mr. Gonzales with the saluta? tion before shooting him, but that if I Col. Tillman said "Good morning," it was to some friend, and not as Col. Crawford had said, to throw Gonzales off his guard before shooting. Mr. Bellinger made one of the strongest and certainly one of the boldest speeches that has been made during the trial. He did not mince bis words and impressed upon the jury the gravity and importance of the is? sue. He urged that this case involved the civilization of the State, and it was for this jury to say "whether the future civilization and religion of our State must go down strangled in hu? man blood." He said that it was for this panel to save the State from im? pending ruin. Mr. Bellinger made it plain that lie had always supported Senator Till? man since his first entry into politics and on that accuont he was privileged to say something about the introduc? tion of politics in the case. He insist? ed that politics had no business in the trial of the case because, in his opinion, it was a simple case of "as? sassination," and that Senator Till amn's name had no place in the trial. "The doughty colonel," he insisted, was not a representative of the family, and then he went on to say that Col. Tillman and his counsel had "dragged in the Tillman family to arouse your indignation against his political an? tagonist and does blaspheme his breed." Mr. Bellinger made the case of the State probably plainer than any other of the counsel, because of his tracing every development of the testimony from the preparations of Col. Till? man up to and throughout the scenes on the corner where the shooting oc? curred. Judge Gary delivered a thorough and comprehensive charge. His rea? soning and law were entirely satisfac? tory to beth sides and his positions were so clearly and forcibly expressed as to be thoroughly comprehended by any layman in the Court House, A great many involved requests to charge were submitted to him and from all. that can be understood he announced the law correctly as ibo each of them. The Long Agony Over, the Most Remarkable Crimina! Trial in His? tory of State Ended With a Verdict Equally as Re? markable. The Jury Says "Not Guilty" But Not So the Public. If Tillman Has a Conscience What Does it Say? Special to The Daily Item, Lexington, Oct. 15, ll a. m.-At 10.30 o'clock this morning the Jury in the Tillman case rendered a verdict of "Not Guilty," and James H. Tillman stands acquitted of the murder of N. G. Gonzales. August Kohn. Tillman's Statement. Lexington, Oct. 15.-James H. Till? man, after acquittal, made the follow? ing statement to the Associated Press : "I feel very grateful at the result of the verdict, but at no time did I ap? prehend any serious consequences. I, of course, deeply regret the death of Gonzales, but I was forced to do what I did. I have never apprehended con? viction, for I felt that I did no more than any man would have done under the same circumstances, and what I was compelled to do. My position was fully stated in the testimony I ga^e on the stand. "I did ask for a change of venue because I was convinced that, on ac? count of prejudice in Richland county, I could not get a fair and impartial trial in that county. I felt sure that as soon as my case should be present? ed to an impartial trial I would be vindicated. The verdict justified the correctness of my judgment. "Lexington county was selected by the prosecution. Its people are law abiding and have long been noted for the correctness of their verdicts and have been praised by the press." - - i i aw. THE FARCE IS ENDED. An Insight Into the Proceedings at Lexington. THE SARDS WERE STACKED. What Will the Effect be Upon the Freedom of the Press in South Carolina ? By W. W. Ball The ghastly joke is ended. The col? lege of South Carolina justice has con? ferred upon James H. Tillman its hon? orary degree. Who was nominally at least a prisoner at the bar of justice yesterday has his diploma now, testi? fying to his services to South Carolina in removing, to employ the words of Congressman George W. Crot, one who was guilty of more evil politically than any other 20,000 men in South Carolina, and who, in the equally per? tinent words of P. H. Nelson, "hated the ground that Ben Tillman walks on." Viewing the whole subject with such calmness as one can command, what other result should have been expect? ed? If James H. Carlisle of Spartan? burg or James Woodrow of Columbia should "wriggle his thuumbs in his coat pockets'' in the presence of an ene? my and be shot down with some rare weapon, whose selection itself were a proof of criminal ingenuity, who is so foolish in South Carolina as to im? agine that the man who discharged that weapon would be found guilty of otht-r than the crime of self-defense? During 33 years that have passed in South Carolina since the Great War how many white men of prominence, iiow man who jould command a few paltry dollars, have been punished for crimes of violence? In Laurens coun? ty a white man of influence was act? ually and legally executed in 1856. However, a crime was laid at his door. He "stole a nigger." In Spartanburg it is true that a ? man of means, George Turner, was ' hung ten years ago but not until after homicide had grown into a habit with him. But let us look about-how j many graves are filled with victims of j this pestilence of murder; What has i been done here to destroy the germ I that first infected Cain, the slayer of | his brother? By what methods of rea- j soning known to logic had any man | the right to contemplate the possibili- j ty of a verdeict of guilty in this trial at Lexington. You may answer that the case was extremely aggravated. Yon may an? swer that its circumstances gave it place in the galleries of horror unique in isolation. You may marvel that the element of cowardice that stained it did not arouse repulsion even in the minds to whom the blood brings no shudder. But from every city of thc dead through the lengths and bord irs of our State there are graves to bear despairing witness that Murder is not a Crime ! It is true, and it is a hopeful sign, that the acquittal of this man in Lex? ington has demanded a higher price from the accessories to it than has commonly been paid. It has not been frequent that men have been driven to turn their backs on honorable pasts and spit upon the memories of their chosen political associates. Not often has it been found necessary to accuse the silent dead and try him upon an exparte showing for every syllable that he wrote or spoke. Not even in South Carolina has it been the custom to summon the names of the living po? liticians to war against the sleeping victim. No, not in the saddened pages of our State's history has such a farce been recorded on the title page of justice. They have accused the dead editor of the high crime of opposing Senator Tillman. They have rung in the insinuation that he was not the political champion of ex-Gov. Evans. To a jury including five mill hands they have denounced Mr. Gonzales as their enemy and traducer-this Gon? zales, who, following the dictates of his conscience, deliberately earned the antagonism of the mill owners of South Carolina in championing what he conceived to be the interests of the operatives. Oh, what irony of fate that smooth-tongued lawyers should have convinced a mill-hand jury that the man on trial had slain their enemy that same Gonzales ^ hose last great political struggle sprang from a sym? pathy for their little children, a strug? gle whose motive those who opposed him honored ? On a thousand charges they tried N. G. Gonzales, they went into his grave to dishonor it and they gloated in their work. Here in Lexington the crawling things of earth have gathered to testi? fy, not for Tillman, but against Gon? zales. I do not say that all the wit? nesses were forsworn, not by any means, but that perjury flouted its shame before the blanched face of de? cency as never before even in the criminal courts of South Carolina is only the literal statement of a gaunt fact. Men on whose faces long prac? tice had written the name of Liar trooped to the stand. From the filth and slums of towns and cities, from the haunts of vice where depravity sits enthroned, they came to swear that the slain editor had sought their companionship, accepted their society and even adopted their loathsome ver? nacular. No weapon has been left un? used for the assassination of the dead man's good name, ?md in the sign of perjury victory has been wrested from justice. I am indulging in no extravagant rhetoric. For 17 days I have sat in Lexington court house and seen what I now denounce as a farce, with the J knowledge always clear before me that ! the men who stood for decency and justice had every card stacked against ! them. Because he defied them I have seen Duncan Bellinger hounded as I no lawyer was ever hounded in a South Carolina court, and I have seen them one by one slink away from him. Day by day, new methods of appeal to base passions and prejudices were brought into play. The defense opened its case on the morning of September 28 with the request that the newspapers and particularly the Columbia State be excluded from the hands of the jury. On the morning j of the 14th of October it closed its case by denouncing an editorial of] that date in the Columbia State! This was but one of a thousand in? cidents of brazen effrotery and stult? ification that disgraced the trial. Le? gal ethics ! Duty to clients ! If they have been illustrated .in this trial, God help the legal profession ! My mission in this matter has end? ed. I have been here working for this newspaper during the trial primarily to speak to the people of South Carolina, the great jury, for the protection of the memory of my dead friend. In? cidentally I have been called upon to write what has been unpleasant. Gonzales set the newspaper men of South Carolina an example. He taught us that to follow duty in speaking the unreserved truth carried with it peril even unto death. The record and result of the trial teach us that the objects for which he so will? ingly gave up Iiis life have not been achieved. More than once in the course of his speech to the jury, Mr. Johnstone, one lawyer who did not gloat in the abandonment of all pro? prieties nor seem to enjoy the features of the nasty spectacle about him, ex? pressed the hope that with the trial its bitter memories might vanish. I echo it. What I have written is abso? lutely without personal animosity. I have had no personal feeling even against the escaped slayer and, for reasons of political expediency, believ ing his election impossible, was of the few who did not attack him in Iiis campaign for governor. But as a newspaper man, holding himself as honored by the association with the martyred Gonzales, I have written what I have written. To my brethren of the South Caro? lina press, let me say that the bullet tnat felled Gonzales was aimed at us all. It was aimed to still all the hands that dare to write. Never was the pen of Gonzales so sorely needed in South Carolina as it is today. None of us can fill his place. But those of us who are left, shall we hide in bomb-proofs or shall we re? member a duty to the trampled de? cency of South Carolina? A Love Letter. Would not interest you if you're looking for a guaranteed salve for sores, burns or piles. Otto Dodd, of Ponder, Mo., writes: ? "I suffered with an ugly sore for a year, but a box of Bucklen's Arnica Salve cured me. lt's the best Salve on earth. 25c at J. F. W. 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