The Hustler of Rome. (Rome, Ga.) 1891-1898, October 24, 1894, Image 1

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FOURTH year Lowry Bro's Dry Goods notions SHOES HATS CAPS ETC Call AND EXAMINE OUR STOCK OF STAMPED. LINEN’S We Are NOW OPEN OUR NEW QUARTERS, NEW GOODS, and LOW PRICES, Lowry Bros atC.D. WOODS, °ld Stand 403 Broad St, THE HUSTLER. OF ROME SEARCY’S STORY. He Confesses to the Train robbery and With Officers SHOWS HIDDEN POHUCH Containing the Booty Taken From the Express Compa- I ny. Morganfield of Cin cinnati has Been Identified. Calverton, Va., October 28"— Before being brought to Freder icksburg, Charles J. Searcy, the Acquia Creek train robber, made a confession which was taken down put into typewriting and is now in the hands of the proper authori ties. There were but two men con* cerned in the robbery, Morganfield and Searcy. They had known each other before and had talked of a scheme of that sort, but Searcy for some time refused to go into it. They finally met in Washingion and there agreed to rob a train, but fixed on no particular one. From Washington they came down to Fredericksburg, hanging about there for two or three days, stay ing in the woods most of the time, but coming into Fredericksburg several times. Ou the afternoon of the day of the robbery they walked over to Brooks station from Fredericks burg and there waited for the northbound train. They got on the train at Brooks in the darkness, behind the tender, having been hidden near the pickle factory un der a box car. When the train stopped—they had no particular reason for select ing Acquia Creek as the spot for the robbery —Morganfield blew open the car door with dynamite, using a half stick with fuse and cap in the end. Morganfield also entered the car, while Searcy stood outside S. M. STARK. I desire to inform my Friends and Patrons and the Public gen er ly, that my elegant line of n a w Fall and Winter WOOLENS % Has been received, and are now open for in spection, And I willfur ther state that I am now better prepared than ever to turn out FIRST CLASS WORK AND FIRST CLASS GOODS, At prices never before heard of in Rome, S. M. STARK, IHGWT TM 16 ARMSTRONG HOTEL ROME GEORGIA. WEDNESDAY EVENING OCTOBER. 24 1894. and terrorized the train crew and passengers. After the robbery they got off the engine and struck northwest over the country, going to Calverton station, in Faquier county, and then to Midland and Balaton and on by the Faquier White Sulpher Springs, following the telephone - line to Front Royal. Near Calverton they hid in the woods some of the goods they had got from the express car. After being brought here Searcy agreed to go and show where these things, consisting mostly of bonds and bank drafts, were hidden. On Monday he was taken in a team from Fredericksburg, with Robert Pinkerton, of New York, SergeautC. W. Edington, of Fred ericksburg, and Mr. W, Seymora White, commonwealth’! attorney for Stafford county, over the route traveled by him in trying to es cape, to endeavor to locate the spot where the bonds should be hidden. Monday night the party spent with ex-Sheriff Hugh Adie, of Stafford. After breakfast with Mr. Adie the party set out to find the place where Morganfield and Searcy had hidden the money and the express pouch, containing the bonds and drafts. Up through the Stafford roads they went, by Staf ford’s store, on to and to Calverton, Searcy trying to remember the road he aud his pal traveled aud the place he left the road. From Calverton the party drove to Catletts and there back on the road to Staffords store. About three miles from Catletts, Searcy identified the place where they left the road and took the woods. Driving into a field the horses were tied behind a hay stack and the search for the bag began. The shades of evening were fall ing aud Searcy handcuffed to Pinkerton, with Edington, ex-sher iff Adie and Commonwealth At torney white, spread out through the pines. Searcy had described the spot exactly, but an hour’s search failed to find it. It was getting quite dark when Mr. Adie called out that he had found the spot, and all parties hastened to where, un der the roots of a blown-down tree, just as Searcy had described, the bag was taken out. Its contents were not examined. The party drove at once back to Calverton, where the bag was seal ed and shipped to the Adams Ex press Company at Washington. The parly will spend the night here and drive back to Fredericks burg in the morning. MORGANFIELD IDENTIFIED. Cincinnati!,Oct., 23. —Tais as teruoon Depot Watchman Wright positively identified C. A. Morgan field as the man whom he saw with Searcy in Cumberland, Md.,Mes senger Murray wanted first to hear the “man’s voice, as he said he would never forget that voice. While Murry remained out in the hall other# got Morganfield to talk tug. Murray insisted there was no doubt about it being the voice that □ eld him up, He afterwards fully identified the prisoner. The sheriff of Stafford county, Virginia, will be here tomorrow , Morganfield’s broken leg will com pel the authorities to carry him to Virginia on a stretcher. The pris oner is very unwilling to go. The coat recovered from Shields, the one legged man arrested st Vliddletown, was identified by Murray as the one worn by M «r --ganfield at the time of the robbery. Shields had sold the vest and ove.- *1 Is, but they have been secured for the trial in Virginia. The visitors think Searcy has told Pinkerton everything and that he will soon have the plans of the gang. Agent Alexander, of Charlottesville, V a., ind general officers of the Adams Express Company accompanied Wright and Maurray. ON TRIAL Capt. A. W. Ballew in the Federal Court HE AND HIS SON Mr. Hurley Ballew Make State ments About the SIBOO Pension Money they had from Lucy Burn well. The testimony in the trial of A • W. Ballew, charged with defraud ing Lucy Burrell, an old negro woman living at Rome, Ga., of half the pension money collected for her from the United States government, was concluded before Jndge Newman, in the federal court, yesterday morning. In addition to the old negro wo man and her daughter, who testi fied as to their understanding with the pension agent and the actual sum of money received from him, several other important witnesses were introduced. It was shown by the Govern ment that the total amount of the pension, as covered by the check mailed to Lucy Burrell, was $3,- 774.34. That, after it was placed in the Merchants’ National Bank, of Rome, to the credit of Lucy Burrell, a check for $74, payable to A. W. Ballew, and a check for $1,877, payable to Hurley Ballew, were drawn and cashed. Evidence was introduced by the government to show that the latter check was obtained by fraud and on a willful misrepresentation. This much having been shown by the prosecution, the government rested. COLONEL GLENN’S MOTION. At this point the jury was given a recess of five minutes and Col. W. C. Glenn, the leading attorney for the defense, offered to the court an important motion in behalf o x his client. He made the point that the col lection of the pension money and its subsequent deposit in the Mer chant’s National bank completed the relationship-existing between the pensioner and the government, and that the subsequent dealing of ;the attorney with his client formed a separate transaction. Th* government, therefore, had no right to interfere in the prosecu tion of the case, which was pr< p crly within the jurisdiction ot the state courts. Newman he dol whever, that both of these belonged to the siime irausaction and that under the proper construction of the statute he would hare to allow the case to proceed. Still another motion was made by the attorney to the effect that the defendant was not guilty of the technical charge specified in the second count of the bill. The court decided to allow the case to proceed before passing upon this motion finally. At the close of this legal discus sion the jury was ushered into the courtroom. TO PROVE IIIS REPUTATION The introduction of testimony for the defense then began. THREE Cip a n John H. Reese was the first witness introduced to sustain the chaacter of the defendant for honesty. He ustified that he was a practic ing attorney in Rome and was a member of the legislature. He had known Ballew for several years and nis rej u ation iu the comunity was that of an honest man. He hud per t o tai dealings with him and was in n position to form an estiuatfof his in tegrity. Ou the cross-examination he stated that he had never heard of the de fendant’s being oonneoted with any swindling case until the present difficulty. Sheriff Jake Moore was the next witness. He had been the sheriff’ of Floyd county for sixteen years and had known Ballew for eight or ten years. His character was good and he never knew him to be connect ed with pension steals. The cross examination brought out no ma t ‘rial evidence for the prosecution. Captaid Dave Wylie testified that he had known the defendant for twenty yetus, Hh was at p ■ s ent a joint owner with him of prop erty in Gordon county. He believ ed him to be an honest man and would not hesitate to trust his word. J, B. Chamlee, a saloon keeper of Rome, Ga., was next introduc ed, Chamlee was one of the wit nesses to Lucy Burrell's signature or mark on the back of the origi nal pension cheek, and also filed out the body of the check, payable to Hurley Ballew, for $1,887. He testified that his saloou was on the opposite side of the street from Ballew’s office. He had an other saloon in a different part ot the city A brother of Hurley Bal lew was in his employ aud still an other bro her was in the postoffice. In the convers tion that he wit nessed in regard to the SI,BOO check there was nothing stated i • regard to its being a check for $25 He thought from what he gathered thiitit wa- for the pjrcha eof a house and 101. Ou the cross examination the witness was asked by Col. Rucker if he was not anxious to keep the government off the Ballews He answered no. He was then asked if he did not write a letter to Coi - gressmau Maddox asking him to use his influence to have the mat ter dropped by the gevernment. He was not able to recollect. The let ter was then produced by the gov einmeut’s counsel and recognized by the witness, HURLEY BALLEW ON THE STAND. Hurley Ballew, the defendant’s son, who is also indicted, was the next witness for the defense exam ined by Colonel Glenn. He testified that he was now in the employ of the Southern Ex press Company, but at the time of the transaction named in the bill he was living in Rome and operat ed a drugstore. He dealt in paints and oils and also cair ed a small stock of groceries. He first made the acquaintance of Lucy Burrell in his father’s office. His father had said to her that if he took the case and undertook to get her pension sho would have to employ some one to get up the testimony. Hurley Ballew.the witness,agrseo to do this for ner. There was np agreement as to compensation. H weut to work and when the pension money was drawn she gave him » check for half the amount that was comiug to h*>r, viz., for $1,887 This check was written out by his friend Chamlee. Examined as to how he aud his father happen* d to come into possession of the origi nal check from the pension depart ment he testified that Charley Bui rell had turned over the key to the postofficebox to him several days in advance. The only mail that came was the letter enclosing pension check. He sent Charley with his own mule to notify his mother and the next morning they all went to the bank, where the check was cashed and the money redenosited. | On the nel Rucker inquire:! with a sharp accentuation, as to how much work the witness had performed by which he was entitled to such a handsome gift as 1,800. He stated that he had made sev eral trips into the country and found quite a number of difficulties in the way. The examination was lather critical along this line and the witness was finally asked if three trips into the country was Continued on Britauica page. IO CENTS AWEEK HASBEEyOLD The Rome Railroad Passes init> new Hands Nov. Itfc THE N.C. & STI. BUYS IL The Rumor was Deniectby the: Rome Railroad Officials, butl is Confirmed by Pcesi dent Thomas of the N. C. & St. L. The rumor published* in thm.]** per as to the sale of the Rome- Railroad, could not be confirmed! here yesterday afternoon. But itjias come out that road has been sold and that! the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis the purchased. They will as sume control November Ist. President Thomas, of the N. C. & St. L., says that they- have bought the road and that the work of improvident will commence at. once. New ties and rails wiH be put down. The Rome Railroad is a. short line running from Rome to King ston and there connecting with the W. dr A. It is, however, a valuable piece of property and has always* paid handsome dividends to* the stockholders. The Nashville and Chattanooga road controlesthe W. &A. and it is supposed that they bought the' Rome road to compete witLr the Southern for the Rome traffic. They will be a strong competitor of the Southern now. and. tilings will liven up. The old Rome express will put on Sunday and will run. through to Atlanta and back dai - ly. The Little Gr e n Market No. 427 Broad St. Everything Clean and nice. The best Sausage in the city. We will gaurantee every pound 1 6 oz. Police At tention all orders Tiled promptly Give us a trial McEntire & Schlap— back. JUST RECEIVER One of the most com plete assortments o. TO.'LET SOAPS AND TOILET ARTICLES. % Ever brought to the city. See our line of fine IMPORTED TOOTH BRUSHES They have no superior on this or any other market J. SOLE AGENT CANDIES J. T CROUCH & CO. Medical Buildings