Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1884-01-04
Especial Telegram to the Globe. |

Especial Telegram to the Globe
HILLsBoRo, ILL.,, Jan. 3.-This has been
day of intense excitement here. The full
meaning. of the announcement of a verdict
of acquittal for Jno. G. Montgomery, Lee
Pettis and Emanuel Clement was
not fully realized by the people
here last night. The verdict was
so unexpected that people looked at each
other in dumb amszement. In fact, The YER
dict of not guilty was terrible shock to
the whole community, and it required
some time for the people to recover from
its parsly yzing effect. This morning peo-
pie began to realize what had happened.
Many said that the verdict was in the ma
| ture CT public calamity and was an out
rage upon justice.
Said leading business man TO your
correspondent: This verdict is
terrible thing to Montgomery
county. 1t will hurt us badl,.
People abroad will get the impression
that this county has sanctioned one of
the foulest crimes known in the criminal
calendar. The public will believe that in
this county criminals of the deepest dye
can Iuxuriste and enjoy their freedom.
This verdict is a bad thing for US. Such
verdict as this is what encourages mob
law. The people are becoming very tired
of having such men as Jno. @. Mont
gomery, L ee Pettis and Emanuel Gle
menti turned loose in their midst
The sentiment of the man is only that
OF hundreds here. It is safe to say that
this is the most unpopular verdict that
has ever been rendered in this country,
and the jurors themselves will never hear
the last of it. Their unusually unpopular
verdict has been the sole theme of CONVEX
satiOn here on the streets, in the parlors
and where the people have congregated.
The Jurors themselves have been rudely
treated: many of their old friends declin-
ing to speak to them. One OF the
Jurors was heard to remark.
Il might as well be in the midst
| of q desert as here in the streets of Hills
bord." The jury has beer lashed by an
enraged public opinion the entire day. In
fact, the Jurors who lived in the country
| lost no time in getting out of the town
| this morning. Some of them now apoli-
gizs for the verdict. Several of them
have stated to-day that they believed the
dsfenda is were guilty, but that they did
not think the evidence against the accused
was sufficient to warrant conviction. Pub
lie opinion would not denounce the YER
| dict in such unmeasured terms if it we're
not for the fact that on
the first ballot taken by the jury they
stood five for conviction and seven for
acquittal. People cannot understand how
these five for conviction were changed into
voting for acqaittal.
| The people think that if they were hon
est in their belief that the defendants were
guilty, they should have stuck to ii. The
names of the five jurors who were at first
for conviction are not known, the jury
having passed resolution before making
their verdict public that they would not
divulge what took place in the
| Jury room. It has leaked out
/ here to-day, however, that the testimony
of Miss Bond was practically thrown out
by the jury. One of the jurors, p. L.
Davsnport by name, is reported to have
said this: Miss Bonds evidence was
simply weighed against that of the sisters
of Lee Pettis, and the verdict determined
by the preponderanoe of evidence. Said
the Juror: 'Is not the evidence of four or
five women stronger than that of one?"
| There is still loud talk of lynchinR,
and there is much probability that thIs
! talk will be put into execution before long.
| Poop may talk as much "a they like about
| the goodness and modesty of Montgomery
county people, but it is true nevertheless,
| that if there had been few men here last
night and to-day to take the responsibility
of acting as leaders, Pettis, Montgomery
ard Clement would have adorned the
limb of some tree by this time. There arc
hundreds of men here who are ready to
ioin hanging bee. The only thing they
need is good leader. Is is true that this
cold weather is very unfavorable for mobs,
as people cann)t congregate much
out of doors. A man re-
marked this afternoon that this
cold weather was the only thing that was
saving the necks of Montgomery, Pestis
and Clement. Last night the defendants
realized that they were in dangerous
quarters, and on being asked to go to
their boarding places refused and said
they would stay in the court house all
night, and so they did. In q strong room
in the second story of the court house sat
the three defendants ali night long, armed
to the teeth and with guns and revol
vers around them waiting, almost
expecting, that mob would
seek them out. Not wink did
they sleep all the night. Lee Pettis left
here early this morning on the seven
O'Clock train for the west. It Is not known
whore he has gone, but it is hardly prob
able that he has gone to Christian county.
II he has gone there it is to feel the public
pulse and to see whether 1t would be safe
for the others to come.
At eleven o'clock this morning Gle
menti bought ticket to Irving, small
station six miles east of here, where he
was going to visit in the family
kof B. Leon, also a Spaniard.
EgAt little after twelve o'clock the
| following dispatch Was received here from
Irving by j ohm r. Challacombe, a leading
hardware merchant:
sgRv1NG, ILL.,, Jan. 8, 1884.-To J. r.
Chaiiacombs, Hilsboro, Ill.,: E. P. Gle
menti, one of the defendants in the Bond
outrage trial, reached here little after IL
O'Clock and put up at B. Icons. On his
arrival becoming known. a crowd quickly
gathered, and he was given five minutes
| in which to get out of the town. He eieft
at once going toward your place. Give
| this to all citizens"
! The receipt of this dispatch created
big sensation here and hastened to excite
| public indignation more and more. About
| or O'Clock CLEMENT arrived here from