The Jacksonian. (Jackson, Ga.) 1907-1907, May 10, 1907, Image 3

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LIGHT THROWN ON BUTCHERY Mystery of Wholesale Murder in Florida Alleged 10 Be Cleared* TWO MEN ARE JAILED Ackerman Family of Nine Persons Were Done to Death a Year Ago and Home Was Burned Down Over Their Bodies. Although a year has elapsed since the Ackerman family, composed of husband and wife and seven children, was murdered and then burned in Santa Rosa county, Fla., near Pensa cola. detectives have just procured information which on last Monday caused the arrest of two white men, Joe Stanley and William C. Smith, who are charged with having com mitted the crime. Stanley was ar rested in Geneva, Ala., while Smith was found at Gonzales, Fla., and car ried to Milton, the county site of Santa Rosa county. When it was discovered that the house in which the Ackerman fam ily resided had been burned, an in vestigation ensued, and, while it was at first thought that the entire fam ily had become suffocated and, thus unable to leave the building, it was later discovered that several of the older members, particularly the fath er, wife and older son, had been struck on the head, the skulls being crushed. It was also found that the father had arisen from the bed and had evidently seized his shotgun to fight for the lives of his family, as the gun was found lying near his charred body, with one hand resting upon it. The jury could not fix the crime upon any one, and shortly afterwards both Stanley and Smith lgft that county. Rewards amounting to near ly twenty-five hundred dollars were offered, and detectives were induced to work up the case, and, while it required a year to do so, they now claim that they have strong informa tion against the two men. WELL KNOWN AUTHOR DEAD. Dr. John Watson, “lan McLaren,” Falls Victim to Blood Poisoning. Dr, John Watson (lan MacLaren) died Monday morning at Mount Pleas ant., la. The cause was blood pois oning, the result of tonsilitis. He was taken ill at Mount Pleasant April 25. The Rev. John Watson (lan Mao- Laren) was born at Morning Tree, Essex, England, November 3, 1850. He received his education at Edinburgh University and in Germany; was or dained a minister in 1875. He was appointed Lyman Beecher lecturer at Yale University in 1896, and was made minister of Sefton Park Presby terian church > Liverpool, in 1880, re taining that position until 1905. Among the publications of lan Mac- Laren, were, besides the “Bonnie Bri ar Brush,” ‘‘The Days of Auld Lang Syne,” “A Doctor of the Old School,” etc.; and among the work signed John Watson are ‘‘The Mind of the Master,” “The Cure of Souls,” ‘ The Potter’s Wheel,” “Companions of the Sorrowful Way,” “The Life of the Master,” “Doctrines of Grace,” “The Homely Virtues,” and “The Inspira tion of Faith.” THIRTY-FIVE NAMES ON LIST. Grand Jury, Probing Lottery Conspiracy Cases, Finishes Work. The federal grand jury, which has been sitting in Mobile, Ala,, since April 1, has just made its final re port. The lottery conspiracy indict ments include a list of thirty-five names, of which twenty-three have al ready been printed. Five of the names are still withheld, the per sons not having been arrested. All except twelve of the persons indicted have been arrested and four of them have entered pleas of guilty and have secured suspensions of sentence until May 27. NO CHARGES WERE MADE. Malicious Lie Published by Jamaican Pa pers Promptly Nailed. | Congressman J. Hampton Moore, * Philadelphia, gave out a letter Sat# day night from Secretary Taft which the secretary denies the ports printed in Jamaica andjPJl*^ SCORE ARE KILLED. Wall of Mammoth Dam Gives Way and Twenty Mexican Workmen are Crushed Under Debris. A special of Friday from Chihuahua, Mexico, says: Without an instant’s warning the great walls of the Chiuvuscar dam gave way Thursday, engulfing nearly forty men under the enormous weight of masonry and water, between fifteen and twenty of whom are dead, and thirteen injured and others unaccount ed for. Soma of the injured will die. All of the victims are Mexicans. Meager details of the affair reached San Antonio, Texas, early Friday morning, when the judicial authori ties and several surgeons departed immediately for the scene. The disaster is only the last of a large number which have recently claimed nearly 200 victims in that section, and mostly in the neighbor hood of Chihuahua. The authorities are making a thor ough investigation into the present catastrophe and will severely punish those upon whom they place the blame. According to one version of the af fair the men were working on a foundation close to the foot of the main rampart of the dam, which had already been constructed. The main wall was weak and gave out under the water pressure. Tho dam was being put in for irri gation and stock watering purposes, and was a large enterprise. The loss will be heavy. ON ANCIENT INDICTMENT. Aged Man Arrested tor Murder Committed Thirty Years Ago. William G. Graham, an old man of 70 years, who was indicted in Mad ison county, Georgia, at the March, 1877, term of the superior court for the murder of William King, but who made his escape from the scene of the crime immediately after its com mission, was last Friday morning placed under arest, ten miles north west of Gainesville, Ga., at Holding’s mill, in the upper part of Hall coun ty, by Sheriff Orr, of Dawson county, to whom the warrant was sent by the Madison county sheriff a few days ago. The facts of the killing are, of course, meagre, but few of the pres ent day remembering them. However, it is said by a former citizen of Mad ison county, who is now living in Gainesville, that a difficulty arose be tween Graham and King, as they came out of a stream or pond, where they had been in swimming. It is said that King came at Graham with an open knife, when the laiter brained King with a stick, inflicting such serious injuries that King died shortly there after. It is also understood that Gra ham left Madison county on the night that the sheriff went, to his house to arrest him on a warrant charging him with murder. Graham went to Hall county, and j located near where he was arrested. He has conducted hiufsclf properly since he has resided there, and is held in estem by the people of that com munity. Graham has a wife, who is older than himself, and she is nearly blind. The old man took his arrest calmly. His neighbors never suspected he was wanted for murder, and his ar rest caused much discussion. The crime ha3 been well nigh forgotten in Madison county, owing to time elapsed since its commission. STATE FAIR FOR ATLANTA. Contract is Signed on Completion of Guar tee Fund of $15,000. The final plans for holding the Geor gia State Fair in Atlanta next Oc tober were perfected Friday when a contract was signed by the Georgia State Agricultural Society and the At lanta Fair Association on the comple tion of the guarantee fund of $15,000 I required. Under the contract the date of the fair will be from October 10 to 26, which will give two weeks for the 1 fair, EXCHANGE DENIES CHARGES. Pleads Not Guilty -to Accusation Brought by Theodore Price. The New York cotton exchange, kthrough its superintendent, W. V. (■King, has made public a statement v the charges made by The- Price of improper classllica .Jk Watemcnt avers that the claesl- is performing its .. Bt Bt I & LOOP-HOLES IN EXCUSES I Penalizing of Railroads Has Many Strings Attached. FEW FINES COLLECTED Mail-Carrying Trains Accorded Many Ave nues in Escaping Payment for Alleged Breach of Contract. A Washington special says: Declar ing it to be his - purpose to have no concealment in connection with the fines levied against transportation companies carrying the mails, Second Assistant Postmaster General McClea ry Friday gave out some figures in connection with the Southern rail way and the Ceutral of Georgia rail way, which are interesting. These figures show that fines for delays are being regularly levied. It is declared moreover, that they will be collected. Still the railroads are given an opportunity to show cause why they should not be penalized for late arrivals of trains, which cause delays in the delivery of mail. Fail ure to perform satisfactory mail ser vice according to contract has recent ly subjected the Southern to a single fine of $4,000, it is announced. For the quarter ending December 31, 1906, during which so many seri ous and protracted delays occurred on trains entering Atlanta, the South ern road was due to earn for the transportation of mail matter and rent of postal cars, a total of $241,225.70, Against this it is announced that lines were levied aggregating $18,328.26. On the main line of the Southern be tween Washington and Danville, the fines for ‘delinquencies’” as the de partment designates delays, and fail ure to perform satisfactory its serv ice as mail carrier, fines levied amounted to 10 per cent of the total pay due the road. Ou the Central of Georgia railroad between Atlanta and Savannah, and on the Atlanta, Albany, Montgomery, Ala., and Columbia, Ala., line the amount due to be earned was $32,- 168.80, and the total of fines levied on these lines l'or the quarter was $703.59. The work of the division of inspec tion of the postoffice department which has charge of tabulating the fines against transportation compa nies and keeping the accounts, is al ways three months behind In Us work. For instance the roads are required to make an affidavit of the failures in mail train service at the end of each quarter. The department works over these figures during the next quarter and at the beginning of second quarter following cast3 up its seevond quarter following casts up its accounts and the roads are permitted to submit applications for remission of fines. Even broken-down and worn-out equipment, which very frequently causes delays, will not subject the roads to punishment, if, when such delays occur, it is shown that the equipment was properly inspected and found to be in satisfactory condition when the train pulled out for the run. When a settlement is finally reach ed it is fully possible, in view of tho excuses accepted by the department, that fully 50 per cent of the fines may be remitted. The following excuses for late ar rivals are held to be satisfactory. 1. Waiting for mail connection. A railread cannot escape fines for delays caused by waiting for a connec tion unless such is a mail train from which ruail3 are to be re ceived. 2. Breakage of machinery, hot box es and trains breaking in two after proper inspection; provided the equip ment was in good condition at the time of such inspection. 3. Repairs or damage to bridges. 4. Wrecks, slow track, soft track and slippery rails, when satisfactorily explained. RURAL ROUTES ARE INCREASED. Operation of Service Up to First of May is Subject of Report. The report on the operations of the rural delivery service up to May 1, last, made public at Washington Mon day by the fourth assistant postmas ter general, shows that the total num ber of petitions for the service re ceived up to that date were 54,837, upon which 15,537 adverse reports have been made. There are now la operation 37,597 rural routes. STOP AT THE ZETTLER HOUSE The best SI.OO a day house in the city. 253 FOURTH ST., MACON, G&., Mrs. A. L. Zettler, Proprietress. ENJOINS EXCHANGE. Theodore Price Alleges That Classification of Cotton is Done by Improper Stand ard and Buyer is Favored. Upon application of Theodore H. Price, Justice Bischoff at New York, Thursday, granted a temporary injunc tion restraining the clasisiication com mittee of the New York cotton ex change from classifying cotton by what are alleged improper standards. Under the order of Justice ltischoff, the exchange is enjoined from classi fying cotton by samples drawn from bales so long before the time of clas sification as to enable them to become bleached, trom classifying samples un less the bale from which they were taken can be identified, unless they are compared with proper grades, or without aifording an opportunity for comparison with standards of every grade, or from classifying cotton which is unmerchantable occuuse oi sand and dirt. The order also requires the classi fication committee of ihe exchange to deliver to members of the exchange a set of the type of standards used by it iu certifying and classiiying cotton. Mr. Price declared iu his petition that the classiiying committee classi fied samples which are not tagged so as to identify the bale from which it was taken, that ihe classification is made by improper standards and that the committee is influenced by undue pressure to produce an over classification in favor of the seller. He asks that the injunction be made permanent. Kate Thursday night, Henry W. r i aft, representing the New York cot ton exchange, secured from Judge Bis choff a modification of the temporary injunction, it was represented to Judge Bischoff that the injunction might seriously interfere with curr: nt contracts to the injury of the mem bers of the exchange. Judge Bischoff accordingly modified the injunction so that it would not take effect pending a hearing iu the matter Monday. NEW RECORD PRICE FOR CONVICTS. State of Alabama Receives $45.25 Per Montu Each lor 175 Lieu. The making of a contract for 175 convicts at $15.25 each per month, which has been closed by the state of sets anew pace in the mat ter of service on the part of the wards of the commonwealth, while it serves to indicate the great demand for re liable labor on the part of live indus tries of the section. The contract was with tlie Henderson-Boyd Lumber company at Riehburg. There was one bid of exactly the same amount, but for 100 men instead of 175. The best contract other than this one was that made witli the Hand Lumber company at Bay Minette, some days ago, for $43, up to that time the most remunerative ever made, it was for 100 men. There is a bad shortage of labor with the lumber mills at this time, caused by the farming people rushing back to the farms for the spring plant ing. * VICTIMS ’ACCOUNTED FOR. Bodies of Eleven Dead are Taken from Explosion-Wrecked Miue- The bodies of eleven dead have been recovered from the Whipple mine near Charleston, W. Va., where an ex plosion of gas occurred late Wednes day, and this was thought to be the full extent of the fatalities. The number of injured is five. The mine was very slightly damaged, and tho cause of the explosion is yet un known. COLD LEAD FOR HOME-WRECKER. Husband Returned Unexpectedly and Found Doctor in Wife’s Room. Dr. Wayne McCoy, physician at South Point, Ohio, was shot and in stantly killed Thursday night by Cap tain John Davis of the Portsmouth ferryboat. Captain Davis had return ed unexpectedly at midnight and found Dr. McCoy in his wife’s room. Hamburg is said to have a fire rec ord larger than that of any other city in the world. There would be no more races to mony is concluded. ZONE OF WAR j TAKES A SHIFT Mexico and Guatemala arc No* Engaged in a Quarrel. OUTLOOK IS OMINOUS Trouble Brought About by Guatemala'* Refusal to Honor Mexico’s Requi sition for Alleged Assassin. The strained relations between; Mexico and Guatemala arising from the failuro of the latter to surrender* under extradition proceedings for trial in Mexico, General Lima, charged with; complicity in the assassination ofj President Barrillas, is a matter of se-t rious concern to the officials iu Wash ington. They are sincerely desirous of, the maintenance of peace in all of; the three American republics, pending the meeting and conclusion of the soc- ; oud Hague conference, otherwise thoj presentation of ceraim subjects to tho; conference by the United States would tose much of its force. With this m view the state depart-l iuent lias gone to unusual lengtns in' its efforts to tormuuue tfie war be tween Nicaragua and Honduras prevent its spread to otlie-r Ceutral■) American countries, and also to guard against further troubles in the tu- 1 Lure by providing lor a permanent i peace commission to meet in In lcara- j gua. The details of this last arrange- j ment, particularly as to time and | place, are expected to be disclosed in the treaty of Amalapa, when the text j of that, recently negotiated convention reaches Washington. Hence the officials view with appre hension the increasing friction be tween Mexico and Guatemala and there are frequent conferences at the state department, tho last being Thurs day between Secretary Root, Assistant Secretary Bacon and Ambassador Creel of Mexico, in tho pursuit of a common purpose to avoid a fresh out break of war. As the situation stands now, it may be stated on authority that the Mexican government does not believe it will be necessaiy to go to the length of actual hostilities. It does feel that it has a right to de mand of Guatemala the surrender of fugitives who have committed tho greatest of crimes bn Mexican soil. It Is feared that tfie demand for Jose Lima will ultimately bo refused by Guatemala, if for no other reason than because Lima ir, regarded as the right hand man of President Cabrera, in whose interest he in charged with having connived at tfie as assiuation of Barrillas. But in that event war might not fol low according to this authority. The Mexican troops (hat have mobilized on the Guatemalan frontier to the number of ton thousand would be re tained there and diplomatic relations of tlie two countries would bo termi nated, but there would be no declara tion of war and no hostile acts on the part of Mexico so long as there was no fresh provocation by Guatemala. Such a situation would be unpleas ant, but not Intolerable and might b terminated In one or two ways, either by the breaking out of a revolution di rectly against Cabrera’s government or by the decision of the latter to yield to the Jdexlcan demand for Li ma’s extradition. The Guatemalans as sert. tHat a very active junta exists In Mexico with the object of financing and starting a revolution in Guatemala against the existing government and It Is pointed out that Central Barrlllas was. assassinated because he wan the head of that junta. Natural 1 ” • the strained relations between Mexico , Guatemala, resulting from a termina tion of all diplomatic interchanges, It might be supposed that the Mexican government would not be particularly diligent and earnest in Its efforts to curb the activity of this junta in the matter of getting arms arm men r-ross the border iuto Guatemala; hence the belief that an active revolu tion may bo expected. STATUE OF GENERAL M’CLELLAN Unveiled with Appropriate Ceremony at Wasniugton-Rooseveit Speaks. With civic and military ceremonies, and in the presence of a distinguiau ed audience the historic equestrian statue iu bronze of General George B. McClellan erected under the aus pices of the Army of the I‘o omac, was unveiled at Washington Thursday. President Roosevelt mads the princi pal speech. Romance is a sort of maiden name | that Is lost when the marriage cere-