The Morristown gazette. [volume] (Morristown, Tenn.) 1867-1920, 1881-06-29

moralze fellow quite as extensive
lY.
The printer of the GAZETTE in
putting head on the "Hawkins
county tragedy" article of last week,
makes us say ''illicit distilling" was
the cause of the killing of Arthur
Larkins. This is a mistake. Arthur
Larkins was not engaged in the
illicit manufacture of liquor, neither
was he engaged in the illicit sale of
liquor so far as the United States
Government is concerned, because
he had been selling under a license
regularly issued and paid for. The
facts in that case are about these as
we have been informed. The
brother of Arthur Larkins whose
name is George, was engaged for
some time in the sale of whisky.
He George employed Arthur as
salesman. The business after a
time had been transferred to
Arthur's house, and he carried on
the traffic from that place, without
keeping a regular grocery" At
the spring term of the Circuit Court
of Hawkins county, Arthur was in
dicted for selling liquor within four
miles of chartered school He
compromised the suit by agreeing
to pay the costs and to quit the sale.
The warrant for the arrest of Arthur
Larkins for violating the United
States law was issued from Morris
town, where the facts in the case
that he was selling under Georges
Iicensel were not known, but the
truth is Art.,hur Larkins was not
only not "moons.hlner' put ne
had not violated the Unl'ted states
revenue law in any way. It : not
known here who procured the war
rant to be issued, but it is Beloved |
by the cool-headed unprecedented !
citizens of Hawkins county that the |
whole thing from beginning to end
was malicious.
Certain papers and certain parties
it seems have attempted to give
this matter a political turn. But
this will not do. George Larkins
is a Republican, Arthur Larkins
was also a Republican. They had
had lawsuit, anda very bitter one
it was. George had lost that suit
in the Supreme Court, and it was
known all over that neighborhood
that the very worst sort of feeling
existed between these two men.
The lawsuit and the hostility ex-
listing between these two cousins
was, in the opinion of all of those
who know the facts, the cause of the
killing and nothing else.
The hue and cry raised against
Sheriff Blevins for putting hand
cuffs on Geo. 7. Larkins, when he
arrested him, and the charge that
Bob hand-cuffed him because he
had grudge against him, will not
do. It is false. A warrant for the
arrest of Geo. T. Larkins had been
placed in Mr. Blevin hands. He
had been informed that George had
cold, cruel murder from
malice and for revenge, and when
he caught up with the fleeing muir
derer he simply treated United
States Deputy Marshal Geo. T.
Larkins precisely as he would have
treated any other man under like
circumstances. Fit had been Gen.
Hancock or the President of the
United States who had come here
andshotd down oneof our citizens like
a dog, and was attempting to escape,
Bob would have put the bracelets
on either one of them just as he did
on George.
When Sheriff Blevins arrested |
King for the murder of Martha
West he put hand-cuffs on him.
objected to that When he
arrested Joe Harris for the murder
of Brown and Heck at Marble Hall; |
he tied the fellows hands behind !
him with a rope. That was all |
right. The sheriff only did it to
render escape impossible Before
King and Harris were convicted
hey were every whit as good in the
ey -es of the law as George Larkins
Are the tt S. d. Marshals sacred
Are they 10 be permitted to ride
over the country, booted and spur
red and armed, and permitted to
shoot down men in the presence of
their little children. in their corn
fields, engaged in making bread for
their families-and not to be modest