Newspaper Page Text
THE LEE COUNTY JOURNAL
YOL. X 1
Man, Wife and Little Children Vic
tims of Diabolical Fiends.
SLAIN WHILE THEY SLEPT
Two Oider Daughters in an Upper
Room Were Unmolested and Quickly
Gave Alarm--House Was Set Afire.
One of the most horrible tragedies
in the history of Rowan County, N.
€., occurred near Barbers Junction,
about forty miles from Greenshoro
Saturday morning. Between the hours
of 1 and 2 eo'clock an unknown per
son or persons entered the home of
Ike Lyerly, a well known farmer,
while its occupants were asleep, kill
ing Mr. Lyerly, his wife and two of
the youngest children, and fatally
wounding a third.
The parents and three children
were asleep in the front room on
the first floor, there being two older
daughiers sleeping upstairs, who were
unmolested and were awakened by the
smoke and flames from below, the
criminal or criminals having set fire
to the house. The two girls descend
ed the’ stairg to awaken their father
and mother. On reaching their room
they beheld their father and mother
and the three youngest children lying
on the bed, their heads crushed and
their faces badly disfigured.
The two -older daughters, Mary
and Adidie, aged 18 and 16, respective.
ly, managed to carry the dead bodies
from the house and extinguished the
flames. Then they ran to the nearest
neighbor,*w. B. Barners, and told the
story of the awful tragedy.
There being no officers of the law
available, R. R. Millikin, train dis
patcher on dquty at that hour, was no
tified and promptly wired the news
to the sheriff at Salisbury, who start
ed at once to the scene with his
bloodhounds and a posse of armed
men. Bloodhounds were also sent
from Winston-Salem to assist in the
pursuit of the murderers.
Mr, Lyerly was a respected citizen
and well-connected, and it is incon
ceivable that any one should have had
anything against him cor his family.
Three negro men and a Negro wom
an—George E. Erwin, Jack Dillingham
and Mitche]l Graham and his wife—
were soon arrested and put in jail at
Salishury on. suspicicn of complicity
in the case.
Later the prisoners were removed
to the Charlotte Jail for safe keep
ing. There was nothing to indicate a
lynching at Salisbury, but the sheriff
thought best to move the prisoners.
The coroner’s jury Saturday night
fastened the crime upon all the pris
‘oners.
THAW BOUNCES HIS ATTORNEYS,
Disagreed With them Over Question of
insanity Plea for Defence
Harry Thaw has dismissed the law
firm of Black, Oleott, Gruber &
Bonynge in a fit of anger, and that
firm will not defend the young Pitts
‘burger.
The dismissal came, it is said, as
the culinination of a number of argu
ments Thaw has had with various
members of the law firm over the
question of insanity as a defense.
« 1 am the boss,” Thaw is said to
have declared. “And I will not stand
for the insanity plea,” the prisoner
added. ;
e ——
ATTACKED BY CHINESE PIRATES.
Outlaws Take Possession of British Steam=
er, Commit Mucders and Escepe.
Advices from Hong Kong state that
the British steamer Sainam was at
tacked by Chinese pirates at a point
fifty miles from Wu Chow. Rev. Mr.
MacDonald was shot and killed. Tho
captain of the steamer was badly!
wounded. A Chinese passenger also
was kilied. MacDonald and his wife
are stationed at Wu Chow in the in
terests of the Wesleyan Missionary |
Society. _ t
- NOI SU CONSERVATIVE.
Bryan Declares That Word IMisleading
and Says He is More Radical Now
That He Was in 1896.
A Londen special says: Willlam J.
Bryan, having had the opportunity of
reading American newspapers, con
sented Thursday to discuss some of
the questions which have been rais
ed since he has become prominent us
a presidential possibility for 1908. He
saia, in part: :
“I notice that I am desecribed by
some as a conservative and in order
that thére may be no misunderstand
ing on that subject, permit me to say
that in one sense I z{lways have been
a conservative. The demoecratic poli
cies are conservative in that they
embody old principles applied to new
conditions. There was nothing new in
principle in cither of the platforms
on which I stood. We were accused
of attacking property when in fact
the democratic party is the defender
of property because it endeavors to
draw the line between honest accu
mulaticn by honest methods on the
one side and predatory wealth and
immoral methods ¢n the other.
“It is to the interest of every hon
est man that dishonesty should be
exposed and punished; otherwise the
deserving are apt to suffer for the
undeserving.
“If, hcwever, by the word conserv
ative they mean that I have changed
my position c¢n any public question
or moderated my opposition to cor
porate aggrandizement they have a
surprise waiting for them. I'am
more radical than I was in 1896, and
have nothing to withdraw on econom
ic questicns which Have been under
digcussion.
“The only question we discussed in
1896 upon which there has been any
apparent change is the silver question
and that has not been a change in the
advocates of bimetalism, but in con
ditions.
“We contended for more money and
urged the free coinage of silver as
the only means then in sight for
securing it. The preduction of gold
has brought in part the benefit we
expected to secure from the restora
tion of silver, The per eapita vol
ume of money in the United States
is almost 50 per cent greater now
than it was in 1896 and the bhenefits
brought by this increage have not
only vindicated the quantitive theory
of money but have proven the bene
fits cf the larger amount cf money.
No advocate of the gold standard can
claim the triumph of his logic. |
“I believe in bimetallism, and I be
lieve that the restoration of silver
would bring still further prosperity,
besides restoring par in exchange be.
tween gold and silver using coun
tries; but I recognize, as do all other
bimetalists who*l have met abroad,
{hat the unexpected and unprecedent
ed increase in gcld production has
for the present removed the silver
question as an issue. |
“While the money aquestion has
waned in importance, cther questions
have been forging to the front, and
to these questions we must apply the
same principles we apnlied to the'
money question and seek to secure
the greatest good fo the greatest
number by legislation which conforms
to the doctrine of equal rights for allé
and special privileges for none.” l
Mr. Bryan added that he would dis
cuss the trust, tariff, railroad and |
labor questions, imperialism and oth
er issues at lepgth when he reached
America, x
STRIKERS ON THE WAR PATH, §
T |
Armed to the Teeth, One Huadred Take:
Pcssession of Grvernment Camp. §
One hundred strikers have taken|
possession of the government camp
at Corbett tunnel, in the 'Shoshonei
reservation works, eight miles from |
Cody, Wyoming, and have created a .
reign of terror, They threaten the |
lives of 500 other men if they return .
to work. i
Sheriff Halmette of Cody, with fif-|
ty mounted deputies, heavily armed,i
left Thursday afternoon for the scene
of the trouble. A battle is probable, |
as the strikers are armed and are in- {
censed at the officers because they !
drove them out of Cody, July 4. ‘
LEESBURG, GA., FRIDAY, JULY 20, 1906.
DECLARE”™ WAR
Against Sister Republic of Salva
dor and Starts Invasion.
FIGHTING .IS UNDER WAY
Real Little Scrap is Promised from
Present Qutlook==Guatemala Seems
to Have Best of the Argument.
A cablegram received at the state
department is Washington Friday
from Minister Merry, at San Salvador,
states that fighting is proceeding on
the border linre between Guatemala
and Salvadcr, and also that Guate
malan troops \have crossed the line
into Honduras. This latter is under
stood to be part of the Guatemalan
attack on the fugitives of Regalado’s
army after that leader was killed on
shursday.
From those advices the impression
!s given in Washington that Presi
dent Cabrera of Guatemala holds the
key to the situation, and the question
of war or peace depends upon the
success of the efforts which the state
department is now making to induce
him to forego attacking either Sal
vador or Honduras in retaliation for
the part played in the attempted rev
olution by ‘the »S'ah:ador'efq;\ troops
under Regalado. The state department
is informed that Cabrera has gath
ered a force of no less than forty
thousand men under arms.
‘At the instance of the state depart
ment the navy department cabled to
Commander Mulligan of the Marble
head at Panama to proceed immedi
ately to La Libertad, on the coast
of Salvador, to safeguard American
interests. She could arrive at that port
Friday or Saturday. There is no other
American warships within 2,560 miles
of the scene of ‘rouble, so the Mar
blehead may have to divide her time
between Salvadorean and Guatemalan
ports.
During the day a cablegram was
received at the state department frcm
Mr. Brown, secretary of the legation
at Guatemala City. He reports con
ttnued fighting near Conte Peque,
in the neighborhood of the place
where Regalado was killed. The ag
gressive attitude of Salvador toward
Guatemala was, Mr. Brown says, real
ly on account of the personal acts of
Regalado’s troops, Consequently his
death has removed the principal ob
stacle to the restoration of peace.
Minister Merry at San Salvador
elso sent a cablegram to the depart
ment stating that Salvador was quite
willing to cease hostilities, but com
plained against the aggressive atti
tude @f Guatemala.
call to Arms by Guatemala.
Fresh hostilities have taken place
on the border. The invasion of the
country by the Salvadorean trcops
is considered to be a declaration of
war. War is accepted by official de
cree. The country has been placed un
der martial law and there is a general
call to arms in Guatemala.
L s
FAYOR SHOWN STELL TRUST.
Combine Geis Part of Armor Plate Con<
tract, Regardless of Eigh Bid.
Secretary Bonaparte of the navy
department announced Friday that the
Carnegie and Betklehem steel com
panies will be given the contract for
the armor of one of the new 16,000
ton battleships at the price named
by the Midvale isteel company in
their bid. The contract for the armor
for the other battleship will go to
the Midvale ccmpany. The Carnegio
and Bethlehem companies are to share
equally the contract given to them.
The Carnegie and Bethlehem com
panies, which are controlled by the
stee! trust, put in much higher bids
than the Midvale rompany, which is
an independent ccncern. Charies M.
Schwab went to Wiashington after the
bids were announced in the interest of
the trust armor plants. Congress pro
vided that the contract should be let
to the “lowest responmsible bidder.”
'GHOST PROMPTED MURDER
Mitchell Woman Declares She Slew
i Brother at Behest of Her Deai
| Betrayer’s Spirit.
A dispatch from Seattle, Wash,
says: Immediately after the arrest
of listher Mitchell the 17-year-old
girl wh) killed her brother Thursday
night, orders were given for the ar
rest of Mrs. Maud Crefield, the wid
ow of the prephet, whose death at the
hands of George Mitchell led to the
Lragedy, Mrs. Creffield, however, tel
ephoned the police where she was to
be fcund, eénd when taken to the
station frankly admitted that she had
entered into a compact with Esther
to kill the slayer of her husband.
She will be held as an acomplice.
Esther Mitcheli made the following
statement Friday evening:
“Mrs. Crefiield and I °"talked over
’the matter of killlng George. The
one that had the best chance to dJo
it. Mrs. Crefield bought the gun.
We were at the room about 4 o’clock
this afterncon, and I thought I would
have a better chance to do it than
Mrs. Creffield, as my brother wanted
-to see me, and believed that he
would think nothing about my going
to the depot. Then Mrs. Creffield gave
me the gun and I was to do it. We
agreed that it must be done as soon
as possible, My brother Fred was up
to my room today and said that Per
ry and George were going to Portland
this evening. I went to the depot and
saw Perry get his ticket. At last 1
saw George and I shook hands with
himn. He and Perry were walking in
front and Fred and I were walking
behind, I was walking to the door
and Georgoe was in frent of me. That
was the chance I wanted and | shot
him.”
! The girl is also reported to have
- said that the spirit of the “Holy
Roller” had visited her and urged her
to kill her brother.
At the recent trial of '‘George
Mitehell for killing the “Holy Roller”
prophet, it was claimed by the de
fense that the prophet had seduced
not only Esther Mitchell, but her
sigter, and that in killing the proph
et George Mitchell only did what any
brother would have done under siml
lar circumstances. This plea was ef
fective 1n securing the acquittal of
Mitchell.
No one suspected that Esther
Mitchell was so infatuated with her
betrayer that she would avenge his
death by killing her brother.
AFTER DEFAULTING COTTON FIRM.
Creditors of Alexander File Claims in Court
at Augusta, Ga.
The only development at Augusta,
Ga., Friday in the disappearance of
Thomas W. Alexander and the failure
for sometning over $145,000 was the
filing of a petition in bankruptey in
the federal court by the Georgia Rail
road bank, the National of Augusta,
and the Southern States Phosphate
and Fertilizer company against the
firm, The schedule shows claims as
follows:
Georgia Railroad bank, notes, $120,-
000: Southern States Phosphate com
pany, $11,681; National bank, $7,500.
In addition to this total it is esti
mated that T. W. Alexander’s per
sonal liabilities will amount tc about
$26,000, making a total for the firm
and the individual who was its head,
$165,181. :
Mr. Alexander’s whereabouts is still
a mystery. It is believed that there
will be no criminal action taken by
any of the creditors.
e
STRIKING MINERS RESUME WORK.
Nearly Forty Thousend Men in Pennsyl:
vania Again Take Up Pick and Shovel.
The men in the collieries of the
central Pennsgylvania bituminous coal
district, numbering nearly forty thou
cand, who have been idle since April
1, when the mines oclosed down be
cause the cperators would not restore
the scale of 1903, will resume work
on practically the same scale as in
1905, The agreement to do this was
made in a conference at Harrisburg,
Pa., Friday that was atended by prom
inent operators.
Tom Alexander, of Augusta, Ga.,
Short $145,000 Leaves City.
BANKS ARE THE LOSERS
Exonerates Brother, Who Was Junior
Partner in Well Kaowa Cotton Firm.
Failure Creates Sevsation.
Revelation of the f{inancial embar
rassment of the firm of cotton fac
tors of Alexander & Alexander, at Au
gusta, Ga., cne of the largest in the
state, develops discrepancies of about
$145,000, following the disappearance
of Thomas W. Alexander, head of the
firm.
‘Mr. Alexander left Augusta July
7th, after borrowing $2OO from a
friend, saying he was going to New
York. The following night his broth
er, Bishop Alexander, the junior
member of the firm, received a tele
gram f{rom him asking that his of
fice desk be opened and three let
ters found there be delivered. One
of the letters was to his partner,
in which a statement was made of
the financial embarrassment of the
firm, and saying that if Mr. Alex
ander was not back in Augusta by
Wednesday he would never be seen
again. Another letter was addressed
to a local cotton mill president, and
a third to Mr. Alexander’s wife.
The manner in which the money
was secured has not been made known
by the three banks who are the losers,
except that it was in the shape of
loans. The. Georgia Raflroad bank
sustaing a loss of $115,000, which
was marked off its books Thursday,
and charged to the surplus and un
divided profits accounts. The National
Bank of Augusta loses $7,000, and
the National Exchange bank $2,000.
The available assets of the firm
amount to about $BO,OOO, while the
personal liabilities of T. W. Alex
ander, in addition to the amount of
loans, is about $26,000,
In his letters T. W. Ale.xandet
states that he alone is responsible,
that his brother knew nothing of the
finuncial end cf the business, and
had nothing to do with it. Much
sympathy is expressed for his brother.
CAPTAIN DREYFUS FULLY VINDICATED,
Not Oniy is Stain of Dishonor Removed But
Promotion is Planned. *
At Paris, Thursday, Alfred Drey
fus wus ccmpletely acquitted of the
charges on which he was condemned
as a traitor, dismissed from the army
and imprisoned on Devil’s Island, and
regarding which France has been torn
for vears by the most bitter political
and racial agitation. His vindication
is two-fold, the supreme court first
announcing a decision establishing the
entire innocence of the accused man
and the ministry later deciding to put
an urgent bill in .parliament restor
ing Dreyfus to the army with ad
vauced rank and otherwise giving
reparacion.
RESPITES OFFERED BY GOVERNOR.
Hanging of Rawlings and Negro Alf Moore
is Agatn Pos!poned.
Governor Terrell has respited J. G.
Rawlings and Alf Moore, hoth of
Friday last, at Valdosta, Ga., until
the 3d of August,
The respite was granted in order
that the men may be used as wit
nesses in case the supreme court
gives the three Rawlings boys a new
trial, The case comes up August 16.
WARSAW JEWS FLLE THE CITY.
Over Fforty Thousand, Terror=Stricken,
Migrate in One Day.
It is estimated that no less than
40,000 Jews, old men, women and
children fled from <Varsaw, Russian
Poland, Thursday. Most of the able
bodied male Jews remained to pro
tect their property.
The houses of the Jews are empty,
and armed guards are posted at th®
gates and patrols parade the streets.
NO. 2.