Sfjs* Montgomery Monitor*
VOL. XXIV.
Jordan Swain's Trial Closed
For Present===Mistrial.
The second week of Montgomery j
superior court began here Monday |
morning, but will doubtless be
cdosed before the end of the week.
No case tried here in years lias at
tracted the attention shown in the
trial of Jordan Swain for the kill
ing of W. C. Beasley in this coun
ty last October, and on Monday
asid Tuesday immense crowds were
present to hear the evidence.
The first case on the criminal
docket of Montgomery Suoerior
Court Monday was that of Jordan
Swain, charged with the murder ;
ofVV.C. Beasley, the foul deed]
having been committed October
2, 1908, near the home of the dead
pjau, four miles from Orland in
this county. The state announced
ready immediately after the case
was called. State's attorney,
Solicitor Graham, was assisted
by A. E. Smith of Adrian, while
the defense is represented by John
R. Cooper of Macon and Judge \Y.
B. Kent of this place.
The entire forenoon was con
sumed in empanelling a jury, and
at the noon recess only eleven
men had been selected. When
court convened tor the afternoon
only a short time was consumed .
in securing the twelfth man. Jury j
were as follows :Bennet I rost, S. Z.
Salter, W. S. Miller, W. H.
Brown, J. B. Conner, IS. A.
Hughes, S. J. Clark, H. C. Me-
Lem ore, W. T. McDonald, S. A.
Johnson, J. F. Cromartie and V\ .
L. Snow.
The first witness introduced by j
the state was Mrs. Edna Fosky, a
daughter of the murdered man,
who, at the time of his death, was
about fifteen years of age. Fifteen
witnesses were sworn for the state
and seventeen for the defense, i
Mrs. Foskey was on the stand from
2:30 to 4’oclock and underwent a
most rigid examination, but to
great measure was composed
throughout the ordeal. She has
been married about three months.
According to h«u^ testimony she]
was forced by Swain into a mostj
compromising position near the |
home of her parents, about 8j
o’clock on the fateful night, and
during this period saw her fa
ther approaching and informed
tjwain, who, without warning shot
Beasley tour times, the first tak
ing effect in Beasley’s breast.
Swain immediately tied, and was
later apprehended in Louisana and
returned here. Eater lie was taken
to Savannah jail for safe keeping j
on account of the sentiment!
against him m this county. He
was returned here last week and j
that morning entered the court j
room with his father in a compos- j
ed and pleasing manner which he |
retained throughout the day.
After the testimony of several j
witness, both for state and tin-,
feiise. arguments were made by A. j
E- Smith for the state and VV. B.
Kent for the defense. Jury was
quartered tor the night and court i
adjourned for the day.
On taking the bench of the J
Oconee Circuit four years ago, |
Judge Martin instituted the prac-j
tice of opening court with prayer,
a minister usually performing this
service. In the audience Tuesday j
morning was Rev. Joe fe. Mc-
Daniel, being present as a witness
for the state in the Swain trial,
and upon invitation opened pray-]
*r. It issaid that Mr. McDaniel j
bad been informed as to the tenor]
of his prayer, but misunderstood j
the instruction given him, being
a little deaf,and proceeded to pro
nounce a blessing upon the court
in general, and using language re*
fleeting on the guilt of the prison
er, calculated to arouse prejudice
jn the minds of the jury. j
Referring to the prisoner, the
j minister said (quoting from it -
cord:) “I pray for mercy for this
poor boy who is now on trial for
lus life. His hands are stained
with the blood of his victim, mid
I hope that when he comes to die,
which he must,the Great God will ;
forgive him for his crime. If he
fails to get forgiveness in this
world, I hope he will be forgiven
in the world to come, O, Lord,
have mercy upon this poor sinner,
whose hands are dyed in the blood
of his fellow man. * * * May the
doctors of the law in this case
speak truthfully, honestly and
! not lie.”
Tuesday morning, after the un
usual prayer by Rev. McDaniel, |
Solicitor Graham began argument |
for the state, when to the surprise
of a crowded house, Attorney
Cooper for the defense arose with ,
a motion for a mistrial, based up
on the allusion of the minister to
the prisoner. His motion was
sustained and a mistrial declared j
by Judge Martin, and the jury
discharged. While this sudden]
turn in the case is based upon
common statutes, it brought sur-j
prise to many assembled here to
hear the case. Swain was returned
to jail, and will probably he re
turned to Savannah for safe keep
j ing.
The case of Hugh Peterson, in
dicted for killing of Marshal Full-
Ford at Ailey during the winter
of 190 J, has not been tried on ac
count of the illness of Solicitor
Graham. Peterson, who spent a
part of lust year in the State Sani
j tarium at Milledgeville under the
verdict of a lunacy trial, is here,
liberated on bond. This case will
probable not he called again dur
ing this term. Other jail cases,
all negroes, are being disposed of |
this week.
George and Clarence Kelly, ne
groes, were tried yesterday for
robbing the store house of W. B.
Cadle of Tarry town some time
ago. George Kelly the young dar
key, was pronounced too young to
come under the law, but his bro- j
11 her Clarence was pronounced
guilty, and sentence will he iin- :
j posed later.
Several cases of minor impor
tance were disposed of. and a num
ber of true hills were found by the
grand jury.
DR. DiCKEY SECURES
NICE SUM AT VALDOSTA.
' Valdosta, Ga., May lE—Dr.!
J. B. Dickey of Emory College
; spent Sunday and Monday in Val
jdosta, preaching here Sunday and
’taking up a subscription for the
i $300,000 fund which Emory is
j raising. He got $2,000 Sunday
i morning and SI,OOO was added to
i the amount yesterday. ,
At the Baptist Church Sunday
a collection was taken for money
jto put in the new pipe organ and
] SOOO was raised in a few minutes. I
At the Presbyterian Church about 1
j S9OO was used to finish payments!
j on t heir church.
Valdosta churches have had
I pretty good drafts upon them i
j lately but they have met them
bravely. The Baptists raised SSOO
* for evangelist Martin, who con
' ducted a meeting there two weeks.
[ The Methodists raised a similar
amount for Dr. Gordon and Mr.
Crittenden for their Bible read
ings.
1 Last week the Tabernacle Bap
fists handed over SSOO to Dr.
Broughton for nine days preach
ing, and this week the Christians,
| will give Evangelist Sniveiey and
j hie singer SBOO for their services.
Timber Lands.
Wanted —To buy from owners,
yellow pine, poplar and cypress
timber lands in South. Give legal
description, estimates, soil, dis
tance rail and water. Will not
deal with agents. Address Lock
j Box ?>oi> Oshkosh, Wi*.
MT. VERNON, GEORGIA. THURSDAY, MAY 13, 1909.
! COMMENCEMENT AT
| U. B. INSTITUTE.
The week beginning Friday, Mav
j 21, will witness the corninencment
(exercises of the I nion Baptist.
; 1 nstitute.
j An elaborate program has been
prepared, and for weeks the stu
jdent body has been rehearsing
tor the closing exercises, and u
(great number of visitors and
friends of the school is expected
;to attend. The following is a
synopsis of the exercises to he con- ]
i ducted;
Friday, May 21, 8 p. m.—Orn-j
toral contest.
Saturday, 22d, 10:510 a. m. — !
Class day exercises. S p. m.—
Champion debate.
Sunday, 25id, 11 a. m. -Com-:
mencement sermon. 8 p. m. —Mis-!
] sionary sermon.
Monday, 21th. 10:510a. m.—llao-;
(calaureato Address. Graduating
]exercises will follow, and the pub- (
lie is invited to attend.
BISHOP GALLOWAY !
REPORTED DYING, i
Jackson, Miss., May 11. —The]
physicians attending Bishop Chas. |
B. Galloway, of the Methodist!
: Episcopal Church South, at 0:5)0!
this evening announced that lie is
gradually sinking, and it is not i
probable that he can survive two
hours,and certainly not the night.
Bishop Galloway is ill of pneu- j
monia. Ho lias been in feeble]
health for several weeks.
Bishop Galloway is probably
the most prominent of the bishops
of the Met hodist Episcopal Church
South. His articles to southern
newspapers during a visit to the
Holy Land were widely read.
©a©©©©®©®®©®:® ©a©©©©©©©©©©©
| LOCAL-PERSONAL |]
’© ©
§ .©; ©o®;©..©. ©: © © ©'©. ©o' •© .© © ©©:©©©:© 0 ©© ©
Mrs. J. M. C. McAllister ol
Rochelle arrived Tuesday atter
-1 noon fora visit to her parents,
! Mr and Mrs. 0. A. Mason.
I Mr. James Mitchell of Lumber
City was a culler at this office
I Tuesday evening, lie is a clever
1 gentleman.
Miss Jessie Johnson, who lias
for some t ime been visiting her
sister, Mrs. Thos. J. Thompson,
1 has returned to her home at Butts,
| Ga.
Mrs. Janie M' llae, who has been
ill for several days, is now im
proving.
While court will probably con
tinue lor several days, the crowds
are gradually dwindling away.
Most of the farmers are busy at
this season. Monday witnessed
ja very large attendance at court.
We have just opened a fancy
I grocery store in the Morrison old
stand, and will keep a choice line.
;Tlie trading public is cordially in
i’ vited to give us a call.
Morris Brothers,
Mt. Vernon, Ga.
After spending some time in
Mt. Vernon with their daugh
ter, Mrs. J. L. Adams, Mr.
and Mrs. D. C. Sutton left Mon
day for Macon, where they will
visit before returning to their
home in North Georgia. These
ug(d people are held in high es
teem by the people of Mt. Vernon
and their departure is regretted by
; many.
Dr. and Mrs. I{. H. Mobley' and
little one visited relatives and
friends here Tuesday.
Mr. D. W. Folsom returned
Tuesday evening trorn Savannah,
(where he spent the past fifteen
day on the Federal jury.
I
Judge G. T. Mason of Lyons was
a caller at this office vested ay
nfternogu.
WILL TALK TO MONT
GOMERY FARMERS.
Editor of Monitor:—Please an
nounce through the columns of
your valuable paper that tiro. T.
L. Hawkins, State Organizer of
the F.E.ifr C. IE, will speak to the
! farmers and their friends at the
following precincts on the dates
named, each day ar 11 o’clock :
Soperton, May 15; Higgston, 11
] Mt. Vernon, ISt.li; Beulah, 20th;
(Sardis, 21st ; Gleuwood, 22d.
j Also, that the county meetim*
j will he held with Glonwood Local
j May 22, beginning at 10 a. in.
James T. Geiger,
Co. Secy.
TEA HELD UP AT
j SAVANNAH PORT.
Savannah, Ga., May 9. —Not
j because there is a duty on tea, for
. there is not, hut because the re
j
Epiirements of the pqre food law
. have to ho complied with more
I than a half million pounds of
! tea brought into tins port from
Amsterdam are being held up at
the Savannah custom house await- ]
! ing a report upon samples of the i
; tea that have been sent to Wash- (
I.
i ington.
1
, Tea appraisers are located at ;
New York, Boston and Haiti- j
1 more, and the opening of a tea j
1 house here to supply all t he south-1
]erii territory will probably result
] in appointment of a tea appraiser j
1 for Savannah. W. II Molyn, who!
] came from Holland to Savannah ]
to establish the branch house of
a big importing-exporting con
cern of Amsterdam is a noted ten
expert and blonder, and his com- ,
ing to America has been heralded j
as an event of importance.
Mr. Jno. M . Thigpen of Toombs
. | county was a visitor to our office
] yesterday. He is « former cit izen
| of this county—and ol course had
(to have the old county paper.
The shirt waist is the most pop
ular garment worn—every lady
wants one for summer. Those
beautiful white ones are for sale
by Mrs. 0. W. Fox, Ml . Vernon.
Summer millinery galore. See
, the best to bo found in this sec- j
lion at my place. Hats for ladies
of all ages and estates of life, and
|
all up to the minute in style and :
grace. Mrs. C. W. Fox, Mt. Ver
non,
* SERVICES AT GLENWOOD SUNDAY.
The Monitor is requested to an-1
I nounop that Rev. J. F. Jordan
. of Mcßae will fill the pulpit at
, Gleuwood next Sabbath, preaeh-
I ing at. 11 in the morning and 7:5J(»
■ in the evening. Mr. Jordan is n ‘
young mitn hut gives promise
lof developing into one of the
j strongest ministers in this soe
j t.ion, and the public is cordially j
1 j invited to attend each of tho ser
* i vices.
FOR QUICK MONEY.
I i This, according to their plan of
rj doing business, is what you get
.from the Vidalia Loan iY Realty
JCo., when von mage the proper
, application to them for it. This is
. a new institution, about two years
old, and yet they do an enormous
j' business throughout this section
111 money lending and handling
r.-al estate. The headquarters of
this firm is at Vidalia. and Mr. J.
’ Wade Johnson is manager of the|
. loan department. He is well known
* to the people of this county, and
if you are in need of money on
H real estate, communicate with hint]
, at once. Read the ad. of this firm ;
( in this issue of The Monitor.
GOVERNOR SMITHS V
j MAY INVESTIGATE.
- i It is probable that Governor
f j Smith will make s one investign
.j t ion of allairsat the state sani
t ( tarium at. Milledgeville, as tin*
• j result of charges which have been
■ : brought to his attention.
* ( These charges were published in
i the Augusta papers, and also in
Watson’s Jeffersonian, and come
largely from 1!. E. Diinniugtou,
i Richmond county man, wim,.
\ ift-er remaining at the asylum a
I vear and a half, was discharged as
cured.
It is charged, among other
things, that , while the patients got
comparatively poor fare, the of-!
ttoinls of the asylum live off the
! fat of tho land. One of the Ait-
I I gustii papers says there is an alii
! davit, made by a woman, in which
.; some grave charges are made.
! A letter written recently t<> The
| Constitution by Dr. S. VV. Arrow
wood, of Atlanta, slut ing that the
body of a patient with a broken
skull was recently shipped from
the asylum to Atlanta, for inter-
I inent, also figures in the charges.
It. is expected that Governor
(Smith will make some inquiry in
to t he mat ter t Ins w“< k.
TERRELL FARMERS TO
RAISE HOG AND HOMINY.
Dawson, Gal, May II. —Terrell;
I county producos more cotton per
lucre than any county in tie
,I! oiled Stub's. F<>r eleven year
ishe hasstond at the top in the
yield ol cot ton per acre.
While this is true thousand of
dollars worth of corn, oats and
j other feed-stufl'sare being shipped
| into the county from the west.
The farmers here are beginning
j to realize that their lands holds
just as great, possibilities tor the
■ production of feed crops as for
j cotton.
They believe it possible with
| the same attention to scientific
j principles as is devoted to cotton.
; to make Terrell the banner count '.
(
(in the production of grain, Hon
J. It. Mercer, of Dawson, in ordei
to stimulate interest, in corn rnis
mg bus offered one hundred dol
lars in prizes ns follows:
For the best, acre measured from
any field, lie offers $10; for second
best $510; for third, S2O, and for
the fourth, $lO.
General interest in com raising
prevails in the county this yeni
I and many farmers have entered
i t his contest.
The Williamson plan of con
i growing is largely used hern and
this plan is growing in favor.
Crops in this section are in ex
cellent condition and the pros
pects now are fora large yi< Id <>(
both cotton and corn.
DIED AT STUCKEY.
The angels claimed Mrs. Matte
Barlow of this place on VVrdnes
day, April 2*. at 5* o’clock. Hlu
1 was 558 years of age, and leaves u
loving husband and 8 children, an
aged father, two sisters and mu
brother. She was a devoted ivif<
and kind and loving mother.
In early life Mrs. Barlow united
i with the church, and lias served
her milker and is now called to a
more blessed home. She was laid
to rest. Thursday, R v. M. L. Jes
sup conducting tho service, which j
was heard by u large concourse ol !
friends and relatives. Truly her
death has cast a gloom over our i
community, but wo hope that our I
loss is her gain, and that the Lord |
will bless those who are left to j
mourn her departure.
She was confined to her bed fm j
only about nine days, but for nj
I number of months had grown grad- j
unity weaker, until death relieved
1 ter, and she passed out with a j
smile, answering tho beckon of i
the angels.
j May the Lord in his infinite
j wisdom bless tier family and cher-
I ish thoin with love. C. M.
WELL KNOWN YOUNG MAN
DIES IN SAVANNAH.
•I The remains nf Mr. Lewis K.
. I Patrick of SiiYiiutiuh were buried
•
■jin the MeUregor nomotary south
‘ of this place Tuesday afternoon,
having been slopped here from
! Suvaiunili, at whieli place lie re
<*t*ntlv died it 11 or a prolonged ill
ness. The immediate cause of las
ileatli was blood poison which ho
contracted some months ago,
- lie is a young man, about
t wenty-eight years of age and well
known to our people. As a boy,
Mr. Patrick was in the employ of
Dr. M. L. Currie at Ailey.and was
an exemplary ehnraeler. lie was
n grand-son <d' the Inter U«v. L..V.
Patil.ln, by whom lie was partly
raised, and a nephew of Mr. <i. ft.
Allcorn of Ailey, and bis untime
ly deat h will Im regretted liyinniiv
| - .
friends and acquaintances in this
sect ion.
Mr. Patrick had been in Savan
nah for eight years in t ho employ
ment ot a drug drill. A number
of his relatives are buried here.
Pile burial service was conducted
by Rev. J. I). Rabun of the Bnp
! ist church.
HAVE JUDGES THE POWER
TO SUSPEND SENTENCES'
Atlanta, (iu.,May l>. —The st ate
prison commission lias asked At
torney General Hurt for a ruling
mi tin important quest ion affect
ing the right of a judge in a state
court, to suspend a sentence im
posed on u prisoner.
Several months ago, two white
women, Jane Hunter nnd Fannie
Manns were convicted in the su
perior court of Habersham coun
ty of a misdemeanor. 'They weie
ordered to pay u tine and to serve
twelve months on the chainguug.
The latter part, of the sentence
vas suspended on condition that,
the women leave the state within
JO days.
The judge signed nn order di
rected to the sheriff, to the ClVcot
hat unless the women took steps
t.o carry out, their agreement to
naive the state within twenty days
or them to be placed on t he coun
ty eluiingnng
The women went away but drif
tid buck into the community
where their conduct hud been of
fensive. They wore arrested and
placed 'in t he gung under the sm
p mded sentence. Thu sad spee
acle of white women on a ehnni
.{ang led the prison commission
ro recommend that, the governor
immiito their sentence to service
it, l lie state farm, which was done
iniler the new law permitting the
serving of misdemeanor sentences
it, the farm.
Now the complaint is made t hat
the women are lining held illegal
ly by tlx* prison commission. It
is alleged tlmt ft judge has no
right to suspend ft sentence, and
rljat when lie, in this case, order
'd the sharin' t<> release the pris-
I
mer lie annulled the sentence pre
viously imposed, and that the
women were m t legally bound to
carry out any agreement upon
which tile terms of release were
hosed.
The members of the prison com
nission are inclined to the view
lint the judge’s order for the con
ungont rel'uis" of the prisoners
was not legal, mid is merely null
ian I void, without alfect as to the
original sentence.
However, the attorney general
lias betn asked for tin opinion,
land In will probably clear up
many doubts having to do with
the rights of State courts to pa-s
I
[uni suspend sentences —a right,
to In* denied under the (ieorgia law
but one tliut has been frequently
ass lined.
NO. 2
