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AND SOUTH GEORGIA PROGRESS
Thomsovillc • Times, Vol XXX.
Thomasvllle Enterprise, Vol. XLVII.
ipOMASVUiLE, GEORGIA, FRIDAY OCTOBER 80, IBM.
NEW SERIES VOL. XVI. Jfo. 81.
TOM MARD2E
I GOES FIT
Jury Acquits Boston Man
> of Murder Charge In
I* Ten Minutes,
i Alter remaining out ten minutes
only the Jury In thccaee of Thomas
Mardre, accused of murder, returned
a verdict of not guilty ot 11.11 year
, terday afternoon.
The ease was renamed yesterday
morning at half pest eight. Solid,
. tor Thomas made a clear presenta
tion of the state's aid* of the case In
t an hoar's speech. ’ H* was fallowed
* by CapL Hammond for the defease
In an eloquent- address of an hoar
and a halt. The Judge gave a lucid
, explanation of. the law oik the caae
and the Jury retired to consider It.
- When they returned after only a
few mlnutfe deliberation It was felt
I, certain that theexpected verdict of
^acquittal had been reached. The
Judge cautioned the spectators
I against any demonstration of feeling
1 on hearing the verldct. Foreman C.
B. Quinn haqded the paper to
solicitor who read the words "We the
Jury find the defendant not guilty.
Mr. Mardre was immediately sur
rounded by scores of friends and
' warmly congratulated . on the out
come of the trial. They accompa
nied him to Boston, where he Uvea.
Details of Trial.
(From Tuesday's Dhily.)
A crowd that filled the Thomas
county court house yesterday heard
the erldenee In the case of the state
vs. Thomas Mardre, charged with
t!.'^ murder of Khalil Abraham last
March In Boston. There were four
witnesses Introduced by the state,
none by the defendant, and attorney
Roddenbery of counsel for the de
fense completed his argument. The
Jury was then taken to the Mitchell
, House for the night. Court will re-
„ assemble at half past eight this
morning, the solicitor and attorney
Hammond will speak, and the case
will go to the Jury.
, K Many Spectators.
J Among the people at the trial
‘ rere at least twenty ladles. The fa-
her and mother of the accused;- his 1
ncle W. L. Mardre of Lumpkin, and
la wife and little child were with
1 Im in the court room. Among the
1 oston people here for the trial are
, : B. Everett, J. Q. Burney, J. G.
* aylor, W. R. Forster, R. I. Beas-
I ry and D. H. Parker. Among the
i ltnesses summoned for the defense
none of whom testified however, were
,JL. B. Cone. M. R. Mallette, t. W.
Dukes, G. B. Cochran, J. B. Way
and J. M. Rusbln. J3very seat In
the court room was taken and' the
aisles were crowded with people
watching the drama of so much hu
man Interest.
The Jury.
Both aides were announced ready
aad the case was'called at halt past
one o’clock yesterday afternoon.
Hammond A Hammond and Rodden
bery A Luke appear for the defense,
and solicitor Thomas for the state.
The striking of a Jury occupied an
hour and a half, and each aide used
Its full number of challenges. Four
panels were exhausted before the
twelve were selected.. The men who
a .Mve Mr. Mardrata fate in their
bauds are W. A. Duron, of Meigs,
K C. Scott and M; D. Ruff, of Boe-
tdn, N. H. Sasser, Meigs, W. A. Mat
thews, J. L. Rehberg, 8. XV. Davis,
C. B. Quinn, Letter E. Cone, Thom-
asrille.-W. A. Rehberg, Coolldge, W.
S. Odom, Metcalfe, and Edward
Dukes, Boston.
. What the Witnesses Saw.
The first wltnes sworn was Homer
H. Ramsey, a farmer living about
five miles from Boston. He said that
he had known Tom Mardre for a
long Hide, saw klm on the afternoon
of the trouble. Was lnsidW the store
p8*a It happened. Miss Sadie Car
son was also therA Mardre was on
the opposite side of the stare room.
Khalil Abraham came In* Witness
thought he was a darkey. He and
Mardre conversed In loud tones. Mat-
dre said "Ton get, out” Then he
got- his gun, Abraham had no gun.
Hands'ware down at hit aide. Tom
Mardre kept shoving the licensed
with his left hand until be got him
out on the side walk. Had a pistol
In his right hand and struck Abra
ham with It two or three times. Ab
raham had hands up trying to keep
off the blown Then there was a pis
tol find but Mardre had only pistol
he had seea. Abraham cried out
"Oh", ran through vaoant (tore next
door, fell at back, and soon died.
Witness saw blood on his ' shirt.
Thought wound was In chest The
pistol was fired In front of the store
next door to Mferdre’a., ten or twelve
feet from the Mardre store. After
the shooting Mardre walked 1 back
Into the store with the pistol In his
hand. Bald to Miss Carson, "He Is
dead" or "I have killed him, but I
did not mean to." On the cross ex
amination by Attorney Roddenbery
Mr. Ramsey said that be (did not
know whether or not Abraham had
been ftTfihe store belortpfflW' men
.were close together, but he did not
see how Mardre held the pistoi
whether by the butt or barrel. He
did not see Mardre aim or point the
pistol. The two men were scuffling
when the shot was fired.
Mr. Brantley's Testimony.
W. Z. Brantley aald “I beard
shooting about 3 p. m. near Mar-
dro'a store. I was across the street.
I did not see who fired the gun, but
J did see a man run. I went to the
back of the 'Moody store snd found
Abraham there dying. He had i
pistol ball In his chest. He ltved on
ly a few minutes. 1 heard him cry
‘Oh, you’ve shot me,’ when the gun
was fired*’. In'cross examination
Mr. Brantley said that he had known
Mr. Mardre a long time, 'had been
his employer for a year, that he had
always been peaceable and easy to
get along with. He was a quiet man.
His health was not 'good. Witness
would not call him a strong man.
Abraham belonged to the carnival
company. Wlas a great big fellow.
Another Witness.
T. A. Taylor was 80 or 90 feet
away from the scene of the fight. He
saw a commotion and excitement.
Saw Abraham run through the va
cant store. Saw him die. Saw bullet
wound. Looked to him like It was in
his side. Saw Mardre In the scuf
fle. Saw him walking back to his
store with a pistol In his hand, and
saw him put the pistol In his pock
et. The witness was not cross ex
amined.
Miss Carson Was There.
Miss Sadie Carson, an attractive
yonng lady who was In the employ
of Mr. Mardre at the time testified
that Abraham had been In the store
in the morning and purchased some
cigarettes. Came again about three
o’clock in the afternoon and com
plained about being overcharged for
some gasoline. Mr. Mardre ex
plained that -he had not overcharged
the man, and explained how the
charge was less In five gallon lota
than in one. He then asked the
Egyptian out'of the store, telling
him be' did .not want any trouble.
(Continued on Fourth Page.)
BIG COURT
JS OVER
Negro Murderer Goes to
Jail for life ou last
Day. ,
Big court la over. With the find
ing ot Nelson Marshal guilty of mur
der and his sentence to life imprison
ment, court adjourned yesterday
evening until next April. Many
cases on the dockets, both civil and
criminal were not reached. Borne
were transferred to the city court
and others carried over.
The Marshal caae took np moat of
the day. The evidence showed the
case to be an aggravated one. Mar
shal was prosecuted by n negro
named Albert Tompkins, on the
charge of carrying concealed wea
pons. After court had adjourned he
went to. the home of the prosecutor
and ahot him. Attorney Titna as
sisted the Solicitor in the prosecu
tion and Roddenbery and Lnke look
ed after the defense.
A feature of the trial was the ar
rest of one of the witnesses, Walter
Rountree, colored, for perjury. Wal
ter swore to all sorts of things on
the witness stand, and told a differ
ent etory from what he had pre
viously related to the attorneys for
the prosecution. As a result he was
Jailed for perjury, and Is now out
under $500 bond.
Another negro, Charley Wash
ington, plead guilty of burglary. He
was sentenced as for a misdemeanor
and bis term Is 12 months on the
chain gang.
After t$e Jury had rendered lt’i
verdict In the murder case adjourn
ment was taken, and court reached
It’s end after a short but Important
session. .None of the true bills, ex
cept those for Jail cases were tried,
the bogd cases being carried over.
LUMBER CONCERN BANKRUPT.
Rig .Valdosta Company Goes Into the.
Hands of a Reeefver.
Judge Robert G. Mitchell has ap
pointed George L. Patterson of Val
dosta as receiver for the J. F.
Bailey Lumber Co. The company
has done business for a number of
years In South Georgia, with Val
dosta as headquarters. The assets
are said to be merely nominal and
the liabilities (o amount to $24
000.
CABINET CHANGES.
Oscor Straus First Hebrew to Hold
Snch Position.
Washington. D. C., Oct. 24.—The
folowlng statement regarding pros
pective changes lS President Roose
velt's cabinet was made public last
night:
'On the retirement of Secretary
Shaw and Attorney-General Moody
from tie cabinet, the following
changes wll be mad*:
Secretary of the Treasury—Hon.
George H. Cortolyou.
Postmaster General—Hon. George
L. Meyer.
Attorney-General—Hon. Charles
J. Bonaparte.
Secretary of Commerce and Labor
—Hon. Oscar & Straus.
The general understanding for
some Urns has been that Attorney-
General Moody will retire on the first
of the coming January and that Sec
retary Shaw mil follow him on the
fourth of March.'
On the flint of the year, therefore,
Hr. Bonaparte, who la now Secretary
of the Navy. srUl succeed Mr. Moody
at Attorney-General, and he will In
turn be succeeded by Mr. Metcalfe,
the Secretary of Commerce and La
bor, the latter’s place being filled by
Mr. Straus. Mr. Cortelyou, now
postmaster-general, will take Sec
retary Shaw's place on the fourth of
March, at wHch time Mr. Meyer Is
to become PcStaaster-General.
Mr. Meyer, who will become Post-.
master-General, Is ambossador to
Russia, to ^d$h place he was ap-
polnted on March 6, 1(05, having
been promoted to that office follow
ing Ms service aa ambassador to
Italy from l»oj> to 1S05. He la a
native of Massachusetts and hsa
been well known as a business man.
The appointment ot Mr. Straus
caused considerable surprise, as It
will be the firtt'ca«e when a cltlsen
of tha Hebrew faith has bean made a
member ot a President's cabinet. He
was horn December 3, 1S50, aad Is
wall known.' as a, merchant, diplomat
and author. Harepresented the Uni
ted States as minister to Turkey on
two different occasions, and was ap
pointed by Prssldlat Roosevelt to fill
the vacancy censed 1$ the death of
ex-Prealdent Harrison aa a member
ot the permanent court ot Arbitra
tion at The Hague.
WAR AUTOMOBILES.
New Machine for American Army
Modern and Effective.
Washington, Oct. >X4.—Not to be
behind the times ln'the adaptation of
the horseless carriage to the needs
of tha army^and ahyeast of the ex
periments which have recently bean
conducted In various European coun
tries, at least one American has been
at work In an effort to widen the
Held of usefulness of the automobile
In war time. There Is on exhibition
here this week a machine constructed
of steel, except for the solid rubber
tires, and surmounted by a slender,
though none the less effective and
modern, rapid Are gun. in perfect
ing bis adaptation of this now famil
iar vehicle to the needs of the mil-
i *
Itary, the Inventor has made a rad
ical departure from the types which
have of late been tried In Germany
and Austria, for Instance, In that he
has made no provision In the way of
armor for the protection of the
chauffeur, the gunner, and assis
tant gunner. However, this lessen
ing ot the total weight will give him
much greater tpeed, and in otfcer
ways his car Is even stronger and
better fitted to withstand «the rough
service than those put forward
across the pond. Until very recently
American and English Inventors have
confined their efforts to providing an.
easy riding autoambulance, but this
last Invention seems to be a long
step In the direction of securing a
safe and rapid mesas of transmitting
dispatches and dolng’scoutlng work,
which heretofore has been done by
the cavalry.
COTTON GETTING WORSE.
Commissioner Hudson Is Out In a
Bullish Interview.
Atlanta, Da., Oct 24.—"The cot
ton situation la getting worse," said
Commissioner of Agriculture Hud
son yesterday, as be opened a box
containing some cotton bolls which
has been sent to him from Sooth
Georgia. The bolls had rotted.
"The small bolls have commenced to
rot," continued Mr. Hudson. "We
tried to prevent such, and now the
prospect Is even worn thgn ever.”
For several months tha rain has
Injured the cotton to a great fltent,
and now the prospects 1* even worse.
In hte last monthly estimate. Com
missioner Hudson stated that the
crop would be decreesed to about II
per cent •*
SUNDAYSCHOOL
ASS’N DEFUNCT
Meigs Disappointed Be
cause Convention bid
Not Gome There.
(By J. S. Searcy.)
8. S. Association Dead.
What has became of t e officers of
the Thomasvllle Sunday School As
sociation? Is the Association dead?
Perhaps they are both dead
don't know It
This town invited the association
to hold the meeting In September of
this year, at this place. The invi
tation was accepted. We killed the
fatted calf penned the chickens and
pigs as it were. The Association
was asked to set the day and hour of
It's coming. Nearly two months
have passed and still It Is ‘sine die.'
It wee Informally agreed a few days
since, that an attempt to hold the
association at this late date would
be unproductive of good.
Besides, It appears to me to be
lietter to have-Ahese meetings In the
spring of the year, when all the
schools are at their best, and the
teacher may have an opportunity to
put their Inspirations to work.
Institutes In Spring Time.
I believe also that the state teach
er's Institute should be held early In
the spring season, or Just before the
spring term opens. Speaking for
myself, one receives at these Insti
tutes not only Inspiration, but gen
uine substantial aid that should he
have an opportunity to put It to the
test at once, would not only make a
lasting Impression, becoming a fixed
principle, but Ms school would re
ceive the benefit of it.
The Church and Whiskey.
It Is gratifying to the fullest to
read a few days ago In the T-k. that
the church throughout it's associa
tions Is to take action on the eyll of
the whiskey traffic. It has been
surprising how tamely It has dealt
with the suSject heretofore. It la
doubtless the greatest evil, with
which the church or the world has
to deal, and yet members are allowed
to make their periodical excuses ot
:‘T've been guilty of unchristian
conduct. I’ve been drunk.”' As a
whole the church Is not careful
enough In Its conduct In the matter
o'f whiskey drinking. The little ona
hour news papers and the city dallies
and weeklies that parade flaming ad
vertisements ot the whiskey dealers
ought to be cut out. You say It
wouldn’t make any difference! If
the church people of Georgia would
lend 'their honest Influence against
It, and let whiskey severely alone
themselves there would be but lit
tle use for further legislation on the
subject.
Methodist Parsonage Bonding.
It will be Intereatlng news to the
Methodist contiguous to Meigs to
know that the building of the par
sonage for the new circuit to be
formed hat been commenced,' and
will In a few weeks he completed.
It will also be Interesting tor the
presiding elder to consider that the
present pastor can’t do more for the
Methodlet church la the new circuit
than anyone he can get Into the
place. Beeldee the people will,pay
a good preacher more than they will
ipooroa * iwrair •
A School BoardUg House.
Messrs Carter. Willie and Weeke
are showing commendable spirit,
and confidence In the fntnre ad the
Graded School here, by building a
commodolous boarding house for the
school The material being placed
on tha vacant lot between the resi
dence ot Mr. T. J. Willie and tile Col
lege. When finished It will be for
rent and will be for the accommoda
tion ot boarding pupils.
Oyster Fellows.
The “Oyster Fellows” had another
odd super last Tuesday night They
ft
them a delightful repast
Preaching Doubled.
At the regular conference ot the
Baptist church laet Saturday it was
decided to have preaching twice a
month, Instead of once a month aa
aa present The days selected era
the first Sabbath and the Saturday
before. The foraer pastor. Rev. T.
A. White, haring been previously re
elected, formally accepted the calL '
It le to be hoped that the, Methodists .
-will adopt the two other Sabbaths.
Then onr people will have s year of
the beet preaching to which they have
aver had an opportunity of listen-
,nr - .■(
81.00 Fee Hundred for Picking.
Some of the farmers of this part of , ,
the country are paying $1.00 per *
hundred pounds, for picking cotton,
and they are not crowded with hands -
even, at that price. Certainly farm
ing pays a big per cent, alee how cam
such wages be paid?
The Grinding of the Caae.
Syrup making has began and every
body Is happy. Sugar boiling will
soon become popular places of re
sort While the parties thafoteahe
up and go out from here are, no
doubt, welcomed, yet It doesn’t ap
pear to me to be fair to tha generous
hearted farmers to go. out |nd Ale-
stray enough In one evening's enjoy- i#
meat to make a barrel of
Personals. "fk - v-
Mr. E. M. Johnson of Garden Val
ley, spent several days here this
week with hla old friends end holne
folks. He Is an old Meigs boy and
hae many friends here.
Messrs Potter and Malbr-
Misaes Mamie and Lottie, Evans of
Cuolldge were the guests of the fam
ily ot Mr. G. L. Duren during the
week.
Mies Sara Jefferson after spending
a. week at. her home In Beunavista
with her sick mother has resumed'
her place here aa music teacher'to-'’
the school. •* •
Miss Minnie Reapess after spend-l !>
lng a ' week very ^pUasatily U£'- *
Thomasvllle, with relatives ha* se- ' -
turned home. •
Mr. P, B. Braswell lately of Thom- •
asvllle, was here Saturday. Mr.'
Braswell was raised a few miles
South of this place, bat will doubt
less make Thomasvllle h|s future '
home. :
Miss Etta Butler, why has eharg*- :
of the Pine OroVe school near town •
In Mitchell county, has suspended It
for two weeks, on account of cot
ton picking.
Miss Clifford Davie is spending the
week-with Mis* Ells Butler et her- '
home near Ocblockonee.
Mrs. Maggie Moody of Monticello,
Fla., la the guest of Miss Stella Du
ren, this week. Mrs. Moody will
be very pleasantly remembered aa
Mlea Maggie Humphries, a former
pleasant visitor hare.
Mrs. Haven and her stater Mra.’,
Viola Baker of Miami, Fla. are the-
guests of Hr. and Mrs. O. C. Luns
ford this weelL
More Old Soldiers.
Mr. J. R. Braswell and his son
from the Cairo neighborhood were In
town Wednesday. Mr. Braswell la
much Interested in the movement of
the Time*-Enterprise to compile the
naanee of all the old soldiers of Co.
k of the' twenty-ninth Georgia, ot
whieh he waa' a member. He tolls
of twd who have not previously been
mentioned, B. T. Hicks, who lives
below Boston and Jasae Thompson
of the seventeenth district