Newspaper Page Text
THE CORRESPONDENT.
VOLUME IX.
desperate battle in jail
Murderer Flanagan and Seven Other Jai!=
birds Attack the Sheriff.
ODDS FEARFULLY UNEVEN
Colored Janitor Stood Bravely By
Sheriffs Side Until Fight
Was Won. ,
The DeKalb county jail at Decatur,
Ga., was the scene of a terribe fight
Saturday night between Sheriff Talley
and eight of his prisoners who made a
bold and desperate attempt to escape.
In the fight the sheriff used his pis¬
tol, and Edward Flanagan, the notori¬
ous double murderer, was shot.
Among those who took part in the
attempt at jail delivery were George
Bankston and John Pendley, the men
who were mixed up at one time in the
murder of Policeman Ponder at At¬
lanta.
Flanagan was one of the leaders in
the assault upon the jailer, and held
as a weapon the heavy padlock which
had been sawed from the jail door.
The affair was one of the most ter¬
rific hand-to-hand fights that ever oc¬
curred in a ■prison between jailbirds
and prison keeper, and but for the
fact that the sheriff acted with the
greatest coolness and bravery, some
noted and desperate prisoners would
now be at large, and among them the
notorious Flanagan.
The sheriff was assisted by his ne¬
gro janitor, Jim Smith, and it was the
negro whoin^yinagan attach ^trying
to brain hid* .. ith a liea\ a qJJiock.
The striking feature o i* itie jail sen¬
sation was the fact that the knife with
which the lock was sawed or filed was
owned by Hiram Sharpe, the man who
brutally murdered his wife near Litho-
nia about a month ago. With this
part of the story comes the statement
from the sheriff that a few moments
before the fight with the prisoners,
Sharpe secretly armed himself with a
heavy iron bar, an act the significance
of which was not realized until the en-
counter was over.
Ike attack upon the sheriff was sud-
den and without a word of warning.
Eight prisoners, all charged with grave
crimes, sprang upon him as he passed
the cell door. The sheriff thought the
door securely fastened and when he
saw it swing open and the eight des-
perate men rush upon him, he backed
off a few feet and cried out to his ne-
gro janitor to stand by him. The ne-
ftoid gro, displaying hS ™5d. remarkable bravery,
For several minutes the fir-’ht lasted,
*
beat down the sheriff and the neero
plished, nothing stood in the way of
their liberty except a run through an
open corridor and a dash through the
residence portion doo?s of the iail which had 1
only unlocked
The ine sheriff sneriQ knew knew the the situation situation and ana
be struggled with his assailants with
» determination to conquer or be
trampled under foot.
All the while, the negro janitor
Btoodbythe side of his officer ready
to go down with him.
a while the sheriff could not get
which PP wasYn "picket
his hip When
be finally did, he pulled loose from
the prisoners and backing quickly to-
v»rd the outer door he began to fire,
The negro janitor dropped to the floor
to keep from being shot. The sudden-
ness of the firing dismayed the pris-
onets. Flanagan reeled and fell. A
bullet had struck him. Three shots
■were fired, and that was every bullet
the sheriff had in his pistol, and if the
:: “
door, slammed it to and fastened the
lock. The fight was over. The sheriff
and bis loyal janitor had won the day.
Tke jailbirds were safe.
This was the second time within two
months that Flannigan had attempted
to break jail. The last time he seized
the sheriff’s child and made a dash for
liberty. He knew that as long as he
with the child in his arms the
KNOXVILLE, GA.. FRIDAY, JANUARY
sheriff would not shoot. He waB in-
tercepted in the jail office and a des¬
perate fight followed, the sheriff’s
wife snatching her child from the mur¬
derer’s arms.
Saturday night the sheriff did not
aim particularly at Flanagan, but it
seemed to be some direction of fate
that he of the others should be shot
with the same kind of weapon with
which he had murdered two helpless
women.
It was about 9:30 o’clock Saturday
evening that Sheriff Talley sent Jim
Smith, his negro janitor into the low¬
er floor of the jail to clean up the cor¬
ridor. The negro opened the door
leading into the corridor and placed
his lantern behind it.
The sheriff followed behind the jan¬
itor to see if the prisoners were all
right for the night. As he passed a
cell Hiram Sharpe, the wife murderer,
confined in a cell across the corridor
in which the eight notorious charac¬
ters were locked up, handed him a
heavy piece of iron five feet long and
four inche* broad and half an inch
thick.
“Mr. Talley,” said Sharpe, “the
man in here with me has been hiding
this piece of iron and I want you to
take it out before it gets us all into
trouble.”
The sheriff thanked the prisoner and
walked down the corridor with the
iron bar in his hand.
Not until after the terrific fight with
the desperate jailbirds was over did
the sheriff remember the significance
of the act. Sharpe suspected that the
attack was going to be made and he
bad armed the sheriff so he could de¬
fend himself from a sndden assault
which might have meant his death.
Sheriff Talley walked to the back of
the corridor. The eight prisoners
who had planned the escape were
peering at him, watching for an op¬
portune moment to make the break
for liberty,
Not a suspicion of what was about
to take place entered the sheriff’s
mind. He had glauced at the doors
of aH the cells and he had not noticed
that any lock had been tampered with.
?, Ut £ h ® “, en ^ al r ®, ad fr thS
padlock to the door of . their cell.
The eight men must have made a
slight miscalculation in the distance
the sheriff was from their door, and
the time it would take to walk to the
rear of the corridor. They threw open
the door just as the sheriff was about
to repass it. Then the terrific fight
took place the |
Before ^ coukl pass 0Ht pr S *
oners would have to beat down the
»^**°«< h r egro ’ «<-“
* proceeded to do.
“SW b ? m ., Jta.* cried .herteriff
to * he n ® gro-
And , the answer came , back
“I’m with you, Mr. Talley.
As many men as could get at the
sheriff struck him over the head and
the shoulders with their fists.
Sheriff hh « r r Xal j ev * f OU ght % with the mo-
h { R iaut . H e
J- date jailbirds from
him as . fo«t fast a* th«v th y sDrantr P g upon P him •
py me siue of oi "he sheriff ind struggled
^^Pjf^Vthe iheriff had not had
an He opportunity at last to draw ?™w his P«£L Jistol
the prisoners an lhs P
and began o crowd
ikre ® screened . ick suo .
cession, a i F'auacan g and
fell. orisoners
Ba ® k \ nt< \ *
tumbled in m confusion than they
had left it a fe before.
Sheriff Tally saw his °PP°£“ . nl £;
the bold but “ Dfiucce8 their
escape were safely locked , up { in tb
cell for tbe mg ' j in h i ia
Flanagan wa f, . a c a r
the corridor an 1 8ent f or
. .
to dress his wound hi8 left
The pistol ball had u
thigh inflicting .bout a painful Woinchei but .bovethekn^, not t e 7 knoe
ous wound. •
UPRISING IN NEGROS.
The Newly Installed Officials Re¬
belled Against American
Authority.
Mail advices from Manila bring par¬
ticular* of the uprising last month in
the southern part of Negros island,
in which Lieutenant A. C. Yedyard,
Sixth infantry, was killed.
Instead of being an unimportant re¬
volt of native police, as was *t first
reported, it appears to have been an
attempt to overthrow American author¬
ity. This movement was started by
the chief officials of the autonomous
government, the men who were elected
and inaugurated with so much cere¬
mony last November.
Eleven of these officials, including
the president and several councilors,
were lodged in jail on a charge of
plotting treason. Several secured
their release under heavy bonds, but
others remain in prison.
General Smith found evidence that
the revolting police were following the
orders of the autonomous government,
which designed to use the forces un¬
der its control to overpower the Amer¬
icans. The plot failed through being
started prematurely. Two companies
of the Twenty-sixth infantry were hur¬
ried from Iloilo to reinforce the garri¬
son at Bacolor.
The officials arrested include some
of the most prominent men in Negros.
It is believed that they will be ex¬
pelled from the island.
ROBERTS COMMITTEE REPORTS.
Voluminous Document, Covering: the In¬
vestigation, Bead In the House-
The reports of the special committee
of investigation in the case of Brigham
H. Boberts, of Utah, were presented
to the house Saturday. The majority
report, sigued by Chairman Tayler
and six of his assistants, is a volumi-
nouS document, and is accompanied
bv a summary of the law and facts.
It gives the detai's of the hearing, the
ample opportunities afforded to Mr.
Roberts to present his case, his refusal
to testify and the unanimous finding
of facts heretofore published. It pro-
coeds -
“The committee is unanimous in
its belief that Mr. Boberts ought not
to remai^ a member of the house of
representatives. A .... majority are of the
opinion that he ought not to be per-
^exclude him. A
. (bourse _ 0 Mhe opinion that the
p roper p of procedure is to permit
be8WOrn jp and theu expel him
bv a two-thirds vote under the consti-
tutional provision providing for expul-
,,
•---—
MOB HANGS MURDERERS.
—
Half Brother,.Swan* J »' lYardl “
'
S J^jcted gilbee and
Ed Meeks, half trothei , of
the ? urdeP county * / ere jailyard , lyD f at XI I Vo^ • » Kaa
from two trees in y
^
bb sas > City Citv had Ilad been biBe convicted c of mur-
heimr being a a_young voung GeriSn trerma farmer named
Leopold Edhnger. The mvton ,
disposed of Edhnger sp >
horse and a wagon in Bates county.
Amos Phillips, an accomplice of the
two brothers in the crime, was con-
victed Friday of murder in the first
d e ev jdence showed that
the three men belonged to a gang of
thieves who bad been regularly dis-
posing of their plunder in Bates
before being swung dffiaut up Silbee shout-
ed to the mob in tones that
he himself shot Edlinger and that
Amos Phillips struck him on the head
with an ax. He insisted that his
brother Ed did not participate in the
crime. Phillips,” the
“Be sure and get
doomed men urged.
— : --—~
HONORS ACCORDED DAN IS.
ffisss
na and cal ed upon 1P °“ the Dai governor Ferrfir. gen-
r “ v
’ most courteous recep-
Y 0 Td ga ve him a
rennested him to convey a
f S p ec i a i friendship to Presi-
” nley The Transvaal gov-
informed i Mr Davis that
Kroger
will convey
NO CHANCE
FOR ROBERTS
Cosiinittee Denies Utah Nan's
Fight to a Seat.
THE DECISION VERY EMPHATIC
Two Members Favor Seating Him
and Then Having Him
Expelled.
A Washington dispatch says: The
committee of the house of representa¬
tives to investigate the case of Brig¬
ham H. Boberts, of Utah, reached a
a final conclusion at Wednesday’s ses¬
sion. On the polygamous status of
Mr. Roberts the committee was unani¬
mous and agreed upon a formal state¬
ment of facts. On the question of
procedure to be adopted the commit¬
tee was divided.
The majority, consisting of all the
members except Littlefield of Maine,
and DeArmoud, of Missouri, favored
the exclusion at the outset. Messrs.
Littlefield, Republican, and DeAr-
mond, Democrat, will make a minority
report favorable to seating Roberts on
his prima facie Tights and then expell¬
ing him. The majority were Tayler,
Frear, Morris and McPherson, Repub-
licans; Lanham and Miers, Demo-
crats. The statement of facts found
by the committee is as follows:
“We find that B. H. Boberts was
elected a representative to the fifty*
sixth congress from the state of Utah
and was at the date of his election
above the age of twenty-five years;
that he has been for more than seven
years a naturalized citizen of the
United States and was an inhabitant
of tho state of Utah.
We further find that about . 1878 1Q7Q he i
! married Louisa Smith, his he first has and
lawful wife, with whom ever
since lived as such and who, since
their marriage, has borne him six
| children.
“That since 1885 ho married as his
plural wife Celia Dibble, with whom
he bas ever since lived as such who,
since suc h marriage, has borne him
six children, of whom the last were
twins, born August 11, 1897.
“That some years after his said
marriage to Celia Dibble he contracted
mother plural marriage with Margaret
C. Suipp,with whom he has ever since
lived in the habit and repute of mar-
riago. Your committee is unable to fix
the exact date of this marriage. It does
Dot a PP ear that be keld her out as bia
wife before January, 1897, or that , be-
date she held him out as Ler
husband, w«r.r.pUa or that before that date they
to i»ho.b«d
“That these facts were generally
* against D o.wa him ta during y'*b. his campaign ^ for
election and were not denied by him.
“ That the testimony bearing on
these facts was taken in the presence
of Mr . Rob erts and that he fully cross
examined the witnesses, but declined
to place himself on the witness stand.”
FOR A GREATER SYSTEM.
Directors of Raleigh and Gaston
Provide For Herging of
Other Lines.
Great progress was made at Ral.igh,
N. C„ Wednesday toward the consum-
m ation of the plans of the greater
Seaboard Air-Line system.
Meetings were held of the director!?
and stockholders of the Raleigh and
Gaston railroad, and resolutions were
adopted providing for the immediate
merging with the Raleigh and Gaston
Railroad Company of the Raleigh and
A ta A ir-Line of the Durham and
Arrangements were also made for
the issuance of *5,000,000 first mort :
gag® bonds upon the Raleigh and.3 m-
ton railroad properties, including its
ownership in other lines
Under the plan adopted all the phys-
ical properties of the above mentioned
raUroad cemp^nien will be forthwith
tcqaired by the B^.gh » ud Gaston,
NUMBER 16.
PRITCHARD SPEAKS
Against Proposed North Carolina
Disfranchising Amendment,
VIGOROUSLY OPPOSES THE CHANGE
Keplles To Sonator Morgan, Who Had
Previously Spoken On the Sub¬
ject—A Day of Oratory.
Monday was another day of oratory
in the senate. Mr. Pritchard, of North
Carolina, delivered a long and carefully
prepared address upon the race ques¬
tion in the south, his remarks being
addressed particularly against the pro¬
posed amendment to the constitution
of North Carolina,which if enacted, he
said, would disfranchise a large class
of voters, both white and black.
He was followed by Mr. Turner, of
Washington, in a speech on the Phil¬
ippine question in which he arraigned
the administration policy.
Mr. Hoar chairman of the judiciary
committee, reported back the resolu¬
tion of Mr. Rawlins, of Utah, for an
inquiry upon polygamy with a recom¬
mendation that the first and last para¬
graphs of the resolutions be adopted.
The report was accepted and the reso¬
lution as amended adopted. As pass¬
ed the resolution read:
“To what extent polygamy is prac¬
ticed or polygamous marriages enter¬
ed into in the United States or in
places over which they have jurisdic¬
tion.
“What, if any, steps should be taken
or measures enacted for the preven¬
tion of polygamy in the United States
and places over which they have juris¬
diction.”
Mr. Pritchard, of North Carolina,
then called up his resolution. His ad¬
dress was in the nature of a reply to
that delivered several days ago by
Senator Morgan. When he remarked
that the cry of “negro domination”
was the answer given to every propo¬
sition made by the Republicans, Mr.
Tillman, of South Carolina, interrupt¬
ed to say that little else was to be ex¬
pected when the admistration contin¬
ually thrust negro postmasters on the
people of the south.
“There you have it,” retorted Mr.
Pritchard. “If I should read the ten
commandments to the senator he
would cry, ‘negro’ back at me.”
“We say nigger in the south, not
negro,” replied Mr. Tillman. “Let
us stick to the facts.”
“The sanator may use whatever ex¬
pression he likes. I’m satisfied to
use mine,” said Mr. Pritchard.
Mr. Pritchard argued that the ques¬
tion involved the peace and welfare
of the nation and the stability of our
institutions, The constitution in
plain, mandatory and unequivocal lan¬
guage guaranteed to each state a re¬
publican form of govetnment. But
according to Mr. Morgan’s contention,
said Mr. Pritchard, the constitution
could be violated if it became neces¬
sary to violate it in order to maintain
Democratic rule in the south. That
was nullification, pure and simple.
Mr. Pritchard said that Louisiana
was one of the states which, by con¬
stitutional enactment, had deprived
certain of its citizens of privileges
guaranteed them by the faderal con¬
stitution, and he said that the Demo¬
cratic party of North Carolina was at¬
tempting to secure the adoption of a
proposition to amend the constitution
of that state in a similar way.
FIGHT AGAINST ROADS.
Florida Coaaralsaloa Want Railroad Fares
Cat to Tk*<« Coats.
A big legal fight began Monday in
the circuit court at Jacksonville Fla.,
between the state railroad commission
vs. various Florida railroads to com¬
pel them to reduce the fare to three
cents.
The fight will be warm on both sides,
the railroads refusing to adopt rules
promulgated by the commissioners.
To Unseat Robbins.
The house committee on elections
No. 1 divided on party lines and by a
vote of 6 to 2 decided to recommend
the seating of William F. Aldrich, Re¬
publican, who contests the seat now
held by Gaston A. Robbins, Demo¬
crat, for the Fonrth congressional dis¬
trict of Alabama.