Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1880-11-20
THE NEWPORT EXECUTION,
Conflicting Statements as TO it.
The Veracity Of the Chronicle vs.
that Of Father Walsh.

The Veracity of the Chronicle We.
that Of Father Walsh.
A few days since there appeared in
6 contemporary a card from Father
Walsh, the priest who cficiated at the
execution Of Dan PIT er, the Cooke
county murderer, denying in toto the
CHRONICLES report of it. At that
time we promised that we would have
something In the future on that subs
ject. That promise we nov make good.
We, as preface, desire t, deprecate
the necessity for writing this article,
but Father Walsh has Sc NJ fl tt i'm.
pugn our veracity and it becomes ue-
cessary that We sustain ourselves, rs
reputation for trGthfllness is some-
thing that we have worked for since
the initial number of this journal. Fa.
ther Walsh's cloth, too, gives addi-
tional importance to his charges which
otherwise we should pay no attention
to.
The reverend gentlemen says:
II demand Of the editor of the
CHRONICLE a retcatt ton of these st IT,
ments of his reporter" etc., these st4ts.
ments being, as far as we are able to
judge from his communication, that
Potter was Catholic before TO the
week of his execution, that he spent
his last hours in profanity and rack-
less talk as to the future and that he
continued to denounce judge and jury.
We ourselves needed no testimony
as to the truthfulness Of our reporter
because we would take his word in
case OF contradiction as readily as we
would ally one, but to assure the pub.
lie of his correctness, we addressed q
letter to Mr.. A. J. Thomas, editor OF
the Newport Sentinel. We have re-
ceived a reply to this, and the ems
dorsement of Sheriff Boyer and shall
quote from it.
AS to the fiut statement we have
Potter's own authority for it. In a
conversation at the Jail before he
left Knoxville he said: Il do not
belong to ihe Catholic church, but
am a Catholic. l have ntt been such
alwaye.n He then read the Catholic
creed and said he believed in t. This
was the foundation of the CHRoNI
CLE's item. To Mr.. Thomas, while in
the Newport Jail two days before his
execution, he said: Il am no more s
Catholic than I always have been.'
In reply to question he said: dc
not know whether I am prepared tC
die or not, bat am prepared IS much
as intend to be-" II the CHRONICLE
was wrong in its report of the inter
view with Potter at the Knoxville
jail, it was his fault, not ours.
81 demand retrsction Of t1e state
ment that he spent his last hours il
profanity and reckless talk" sayt
Father Walsh. The 'last hours" IL
the CHRoNIOLE's report was com
psrative phrase. and not intended t.
be taken literally. The testimony o
the three guards who took Potte
from Knoxville to Newport three o.
four days before the fatal day
is uniform that he did us
profane and reckless talk. At New
port it was q matter Of common repor
that he had told them to hurry up a
l. rfoL 70 in IL l, :
McMahan.' The legal hours for hi
death had not expired when the fata
fall was made aud it was certainly no
at the sherff's order. In regard to hi
state of mind Mr.. Thomas and Sherit
Boyers say:
: "The priest did become disguste
while talking with him in a smal
room in the Jail and told him emphai
ically that if he did net keep his eye
on the cross and quit looking out tn
window he would order him back t
his cell, from which he Father Walch
has induced Sheriff Boyer to brin
him, while consulting about his spirit
ual welfare. Also, the priest said b
would leave him finally when b
should be taken back to his CELL"
These two gentleman unite in say
ing that Potter was heard 10 use pro
fame language very frequently o
Thursday.
The third statement of the CHRONI
Gle is none the less true. All the tim
be was in the Knoxville Jail be d.
nounced judge, jury, witnesses an
counsel and said they were all bribed
On the way to Newport he did th
same, and when there Messrs. Thoma
and Boyer assert that the same thin
happered and they add
"As to the statement of hi
denouncing the judge, jury, ETC., o
the gallows publicly, the Sentinel
account this week 1s verbatim. II
said his life had been sworn away
But two days before the execution, "h
told me at the jail" says Mr.. Thomas
in the interview above referred to, "h
believed that the judge, jury an
counsel, that tried him were a
bribed."
: "On the way to the gallows, severs
times the prisoner was seen to pee
curiously over portion of the crow
5 seemingly MT much Interested in th
! priests reading, the later endeavorin
: all the while t. hold his attention.
This latter paragraph would seem I
effectlally contradict Father Walsh