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THE VOL. V. TRIBUNE. CLAYTON. RABUN COUNTY. GA?. THURSDAY. JULY 31. 1902. NO. 28. BIGGERS AWARDED ACQUITTAL VERDICT Declared “Not Guilty” of Simpson’s Murder. JURY WAS OUT TWENTY HOURS Damaging Statements Concern* ing Female Relatives of the Led to Mailman’s Death. Willis R. Biggers, who wag tried for his life before Judge Foster In the criminal division of the Fulton supe rior court at Atlanta, Ga., charged with the murder of Mail Carrier William Simpson, was declared not guilty by the jury Wednesday afternoon at 3:45 o’clock. » The jury was out twenty hours and forty-five minutes and was charged twice by the court. The first charge was delivered at 6:30 o’clock Tuesday ‘evening and the jury was recharged at 3:35 o’clock Wednesday afternoon, the members having requested the court to give them again that part of the charge relative to self-defense. Judge Foster repeated his entire charge of the previous day and the jury was out only ten minutes before rendering a verdict. As soon as the verdict was read Big gers was surrounded by a crowd of friends, who showed their pleasure by shaking his hands and patting him on the back. He had a smile and a pleas ant word for every one. After leaving • the court room he held a levee In the hall, where hundreds grasped his hands, spoke to him or else were con sent to stand by and witness the pro ceedings. The young man's wife, mother, moth er-indaw and other members of the im mediate family were all In tears and apparently were besides themselves with Joy over the acquittal. He re mained at the court house for probably an hour after the verdict was rendered, and then, after visiting the jail for a short while, went home, where a - fam ily reunion was held. Now that Biggers, who was the prin cipal in the case, has been acquitted, It is expected that the cast against H- I- Sterne, the young man’s brother-in-law, t who was indicted as an accessory with jlK, will be nol prossed. Sterne, who , consumptive. Is thought to be in a ecarlous condition. VBiggers, in his statement to the jury, pleaded self-defense. He said - that 31m pto I fired the first shot and that he kllledr-the mail carrier In order to save; bit own life. He asserted that Simpson hatjf- circulated damaging re ports concerning several female mem bers of the BJjjgers family and that he had gone to meet the man to request him to cease making any more such statements., He: said th. mail carrier v.i had grossly insulted his wife and his nother-ln-law and that when he called n on several occasions to remoa- iwlth him Simpson met him at Joor with a pistol and challenged do anything*., trial "of the case attracted a amount of interest, the court being crowded dally. - Fanagement nut affected. Death of Mackajr Makes Vo Change in Cable Company Affairs. A London dispatch says: George C. , the vice president and general ger of the Commercial Cable any, was asked Wednesday by a entative of the Associated Press ct the death of John W. Mack- ild have upon the business of the ty. He replied: i not know who will succeed Mr. T as president. ’That Is entirely ands of the board of directors, however, that there will of policy: The progress i company? and particularly Mr. y’a plans, will be faithfully car- The contracts for the Pa- able have been lot, and the, enter- 'will proceed precisely as though aefcay’s death had not occurr- “HARMONY” TALKS Made to New England Democrats by nessrs. Bryan, Shepard and Carmack at Boston. Nearly 4,000 democrats gathered at Nantasket, Mass., Thursday and parti-' cipated In the "harmony” meeting ar ranged by the New England Democrat lc League, the new political organisa tion which is expected to develop its strength in the fall campaign. Mayor P. A. Collins, of Boston, was “moder ator,” as ho expressed it, and pre sented In order Edward M. Shepard, of New York; Senator Edward W. Car mack, of Tennessee, and William J. Bryan, of Nebraska, who expounded and discussed the issues .of this cam paign to marked satisfacton of the au dience. Colonel W. A. Gaston and Charles S. Hamlin, rival candidates for the democratic gubernatorial nomination in Massachusetts, were both present, while Lewis Nixon, of New York, and Congressmen Wilson, of that state, and John R. Thayer, of Massachusetts, were conspicuous amon#jthe guests. The weather of the morning was cloudy and threatening, but at noon the sun appeared, and as a result the afternoon boats to the beach were crowded. Hon. Henry F. Hollis, secretary of the league, who was the active spirit in arranging the meeting, marshaled his forces at the boat, leaving for Nan tasket shortly after 11 o'clock, the par ty including all the organization's guests. It took an hour to make the run down the harbor, and on arrival the party was escorted to the Rock land house, where a meeting of tho league was held. • A reception by Mr. Bryan, Mr. Shep ard and Mr. Carmack followed, anl then, at 1:16 o’clock, three hundred members of the league sat down to a banquet In the great dining room of the hotel. Among those at the dinner was Miss Ruth Bryan, who is accom panying her father on tl)ls trip. At the conclusion of the dinner, the crowd repaired to the mamnuMfe tent on the lawn in front of the hotel. In a few minutes every seat was taken, and the canvas at the sides was removed In order that hundreds who were una ble to get in might see and hear. Mayor Collins promptly introduced Edward M. Shepard, of New York, as the first speaker.. Senator Carmack followed, and for nearly an hour and a half held the attention of his hearers. His discus sion of the trust issue brought forth applause, which was repeated fre quently during his argument on the Philippine question. The presentation of Mr. Bryan de veloped great enthusiasm. Cheers greeted' him as he stepped to the front of the platform, and he was several times interrupted by demonstrations of approval. Mr. Bryan left Thursday night for Maine, accompanied by Senator Car mack and Charles S. Hamlin. Friday night they appeared at Rock land. Early In the afternoon addresses were made in Augusta, and later In the afternoon they attended another meet ing In Bangor. BILL ARP’S LETTER Bartow Philosopher Recalls Last WordB of Great Men. AS FOR HIMSELF HE “STILL LIVES.” Last Remarks of Daniel Webster, When on- His Death Bed, Im presses William With .Great Force. GORE IN WAGON BODY. Tracker’s Mysterious Disappearance Baffles Atlanta Police A bloody wagon-bed and a missing man make up the features ofa mystery which is engaging the attention of both the Atlanta, Ga., city officials and Ful ton county poliee, as well as a posse of citizens who began searching the woods' along the road between Hemp hill, a town in the Adamsvllle district, and Atlanta. ' The missing man is Felix Pitts, a white man who was employed on the farm of George Gloer, near Mableton. Pitts left Gleer’s place Wednesday morning with a load of produce. He Is known to have arrived In Atlanta and to have disposed of his stock. He was last heard from on Peters street about 2 o'clock. It has been discovered that Pit lected about >5 Wednesday an disposed of his produce, mated to have brought making the total amour his possession scare “I still live,” * I was ruminating about the'last words of great men, and those of Daniel Webster always im press me with peculiar force. On the vgry confines of eternity, on the brink of the everlasting change that he knew was at hand, his great mind seemed to be studying and waiting tat the mo ment of his departure—waiting and watching for ! the separation•" of the soul from the body, and wondering how he would pass the crisis. There was no fear, no dread, as he calmly whispered, “I still live,” and immedi ately died. His body died, and what was the next vision of his great soul the world would like to knew, but it is forbidden. I thought of all this not long ago as I seemed to be drawfng near the end and approached the con fines of that undiscovered country from whose bourne no traveled re turns. I was seriqus and solemn with expectation, byt ,Mps not alarmed, for my'faith is that my Maker will take care of me and of all others who love Him and try to do right. All that trou bled me was the separation from those I love and their grief at my departure. Two months la a long time to be a child again without vital force enough to walk alone. But I have passed the crisis, and though weak and nervous am on the up-grade, and can walk about the garden and carry the little grandchild in my arms and give him flowers and feast on his smiles and caresses. Well, that is enough on that line. You readers can find sermons and prosy commentaries on sickness and death on another page. “Carpe diem.” Let us enjoy the day and be thankfut thatVe still live. But to drop rever ently from the sublime to the ridicu lous, I recall that when I was young a number of us were quoting the last words of great men such as Seneca and Plato and Calvin and Luther, and one said: “Well, yop know what Dan iel Webster said?” No, we did not re member and he replied “Why, he opened his great big eyes and looked at his friends who were weeping around him and whispered, ‘Boys, don’t cry; l am not dead yet.’ ” Forty-one years ago last Suhday the battle of Manassas was fought. It was the first battle of the civil war and made a deeper Impression upon those engaged in It than any other. Com pared with the great battles that came after It, it was almost insignificant, for there were only four hundred nd seven ty federals killed and three hundred and seventeen confederates. The federal account gives sixteen hun dred of their army as missing. That is tk mistake,. tor' J>y four o'clock they were all missing. Our cav alry couldn’t find them, though they followed their trail of dlscarged guns and haversacks for miles and miles. There never was such a rout and such a panic during tho war. We didn’t have enough wagons next day to gath er up the scattered munitions of war, and it-took McDowell a month to call In his army of twenty-seven thousand men and reorganize. But In the long run they got even with us and a little ahead, and the Grand.. Army is stilt bragging how four of them-whipped ope of us In four years. That’s all right. We are satisfied with our' rec ord, and It grows brighter as the years rollon. Anno domlnl will tell. The other day my doctor said I must take aUme exercise and be took his mother and me up the river road for a few miles to the ruins of the Cooper Iron works. It was a wild, weird, ghootly place on the' banks of the Etowah, whe^e once were rolling mills and foundry and, furnaces and flour mills and tan yards and hundreds of cot tages. where happy laborers aud me chanics lived. But Sherman’s army burned and destroyed everything, and since then most of the crumbling walls have fallen and the trees have grown up in their midst and wild vines have climbed the trees and nothing is visi ble but ruins and the sad spectacle of a cruel and bitter war. But this is one burning that, according to the rules and usages of war, was justified, for these iron works were making cannon Cream of News “T vs. | Brief Summary of Most Important Events of Each Day. —Harve Story, a life convict, e8 . capes from Georgia state farm near for the confederacy. It was the lone- j Milledgeville after being shot by guard some chimneys of the poor all along | —Major MIcah Jenkins his line of march that marked his bru tality and proved his assertion that “War is hell.” But no more of this. While viewing these ruins my memory went back to the time when Joe Brown was gover nor and ordered that 5,000 pikes be made with a spear point and a side blade curved downward like a reap hook and a long handle In a socket, so that our boys might take ’em coming and goiug. If they didn’t run we were discharges Deputy Collector George Washington Murray, the former pegro congressman from South Carolina. —Adjutant general representative of Governor Aycock, of North Carolina went to Wrightsvllle Thursday to re view Georgia troops. —Rev. I. Sykes, a Christian minis ter, has been arrested in Texas on charge of bigamy, it being claimed he has six living wives. to overtake ’em and and hook ’em ! —President Roosevelt was given back. That’s what old man Lewis told me, and he was the master mechanic who made them, and he still lives near here and Is in his 88th year. I saw him today, and lie steps light and springy. He is an Englishman. "Mr. Lidwis,” said I, "why didn’t the Geor gia boys use their pikes?” "Well, you see,” said he, “the old army officers who were drilling our boys at Big Shanty looked at these pikes, and said to the governor: ‘What will the ene my be doing With their guns while our boys are rushing on them with these pikes? They will shoot our boys down before they can get. to them,’ and they madfe so much fun over the pikes that they were refused. West Point wouldn’t have anything that was not made at West Point.” And so the fur ther manufacture of pikes was stop ped and those that were made are now scattered all over the country as curio3 for museums. A sister of mine says she saw one of them not long, ago in a museum in Boston. But still I don’t see why spears are any more out of oi'der than bayonets when a desperate charge Is to be made. “Charge bayo nets!” is in the West Point tactics, and why not “Charge pikes?” They are an awful looking weapon, and If they were coming at me and my gun was to miss fire, I would drop it and run like a turkey. I had rather be bored with a bullet than stuck like a hog. But It Is all over now, and we have beaten our spears Into pruning hooks, according to scripture, and will not learn war any more, except when the mulattoes and niggers refuse to give up their lands to us. We want more land for territory and more niggers for subjects. But I hear the dinner bell and must go—not to partake of the feast, but to say grace and preside and inhale the savory odor of roast lamb and green corn pudding and look at the peaches and cream for dessert. They let m6 do that and give me nothing but soup- and rice for my share. My tomatoes are now in their prime, and It pleases me to gather them In the early morn. My largest weighed two pounds, lack ing two ounces, and was a beauty. It was working them In the hot sun and then filling up with ice water that laid me up.—Bill Arp, in Atlanta Con stitution. FATHER’S ADVICE FOLLOUKD. Body of Ashley < ocke Burled Beside Paternal Ancestor. The body of Ashley Cocke, who was hanged at Greenville, Miss., was buried la Elmwood cemetery, Memphis, Tenn., Wednesday, beside the remains of his father. Captain W. G. Cocke. The father died twenty years ago of wounds received In a personal encoun ter. On his d&ath ljed he'admonished his sons to live like men, never to brook Insult and die game. LEMONADE Wa;* POISONED. Tartaric Acid and Zinc Vessel Came Undoing of i orty People. Forty persons were poisoned at Maryville, Tenn., Thursday by drink ing lemonade which had been over charged with .tartaric acid. J. Warren' Carr, a merchant, dis pensed the lemonade from a zinc ves sel into which he had poured enough' acid to charge fi|& gallons instead of the two Which fbe vessel hold. Carr’was tht> first victim taken slcft add fee wiU ^-obablv.“die. great ovation and sincere'welcome by the people of New Jersey Thursday. —Judge Jackson renders decision In injunction cases against striking min ers at Parkersburg, W. Va. One given ninety days and five sixty days in Jail, but “Mother” Jones escapes. —Hon. W. J, Bryan, E. M. Shepard and Senator E. W. Carmack spoke at harmony banquet in Boston, Mass., Thursday. —Syndicate, with Andrfew Carnegie at its head, has been organized to pur chase all cotton cpmpresses in the south. —J. Pierpont Morgan was the guest of honor at a dinner, given in the house of commons (London) Thursday. Pre mier Balfour was present ajjd he and Morgan proved hall fellows well met. —Captain Strong'has arrlvddln Lon don. He stoutly denies that he rob bed May Yohe, and gays hey never spent a dollar of her money. —During a bitter debate In the house of commons on the Irish question Thursday, William O’Brien declared that the Irish would aid any nation en gaged In war vlth England. —Jury In Biggers case, at Atlanta, Ga., after being recharged by,the court, returned a verdict acqulttfik# the de fendant. ' ■ —Internal Revenue Agent D. A. Gates sahmltB his annual report show ing a decided decrease in illicit distill ing for the past year In the states of Georgia, Alabama and Florida.’ —Cemetery committee of Atlanta city council Is called to investigate rumors of mismanagement at j cemetery, —In a three-cornered flight ton county, Ga., one man is kM two dangerously woundetL>T* v W —In Americus, Ga., Wednesday a Negro shot-hie wife and dajMhter to death. ; • —Ohio capitalists will‘hire for oil near Asheville, N. C., arid ftfelMsure of success. i i.'.vrrJ : —American financiers aaeniannlng the establishment of a gregt;^interna tional bank, with capital of tOoO.OOO. —Three Americans held' up\ train on the Mexican Central raftPcftft Wed nesday and secured 153,006. MM? —Riots in Paris and, other. French cities continue be^^upe , tjje, ,-f govern ment Is enforcing the law against re ligious associations. H tiffin ft have been arrested; 1 ’ " ”* —Emperor'^iBlan# NaS.been Svarned that he may be attpcked- M 6# visits Posen, oviflng y> the blttiy ^hatred which the Poles entertain for/* * e Ger mans. —In the hohdei of ’ctdnfchsl'^ednes- day John Redmond -made An attack on Mr. Wynflham, ctylqf £0,<ffp^||PH/or Ire land, and moved a reduction ot his ssl- —Monument to WinUHtt tt T. Wal ker Is unwind . at, <n the- presence of J.000 ^Jij^t^peeta- tors. Major J. B. Gumming and'Presi dent Julius t: BiWit dinivejf^&otable addresses. >vi*G 4. ijoblf McGhee, on, tidal flit ( Floyd county for murder, commits;u|fide la jell at Rome. ' ' • ■ ‘ | hi! I sag —Senator Bacon'spring; surprise la Macon, Ga., street car deal In shape of contract with- Metropolitan notopany. •Boiay Bryant, Marshal -Hyer A teased