The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-01-25
CRANK IN A COURT ROOM
RHETORICAL FLIGHTS BRING ON A
MELoDRAMATIC COMEDY.

MELODRAMATIC COMEDY.
Judge Van Epps Sends the Man to JAN
for Contempt-The southern League
Directors Still Awaiting Atlanta's
Decision-A Hard Fight With a
Convict.
ATLANTA. GA, Jan. 24-There was quite
a sensation in the City Court to-day while
City Attorney Goodwin was making
speech in damage suit brought by George
q. Edison against the city Of Atlanta. The
speaker was reaching climax in brilliant
flight of rhetoric. and these words echoed
through the court room; Aye, gentlemen
of the jury. there arc men who, with Com
munstic spirit, believe the city treasury
should be opened at the bidding of any
man Thank God, in this country of indie
pendence and freedom Communists have
not and never will throttle the powers of
government"
There came a pause, and q middleaged
man with a beacon nose, who occupied a
seat in the gallery jumped to his feet, and
trigicallv exclaimed: "By heaven I'll
protect my principles and my country
Judge Van Epps was on his feet aud
the sound Of the gavcl rang through the
court room. The bailitf's yelled order in
court, City Attorney Goodwin caught his
breath, and the jurymen looked as if they
wanted to adjourn.
EMPHASIZING HIS ASSERTION.
Down from the gallery rushed tho man
with the beacon nose and sprInEing Ovef
the railing he faced Col Goodwin, and
yelled ont like a mailman: lyon can't do
it, by the eternal Gods you can't do it.
Wherever | am I'll protect my principles
and dear old England, my mother country
May my tongue be paralyzed and all the
fires of h come and scorch my body if |
fail to protect my principles and country
when any man dares to speak against them.
! tell you that"
"Out with that man to Jail commanded
the Judge who was now fully awake to the
situation, and Bailiffs Alternately and
Kimberly caught the protector Of his coun-
try and principles by his coat collar and
yanked him out of the court room into
the street, and i'll n few minutes
turned him over to the tender mercies of
Jailer Poole, who will keep him locked up
until be gets sober enough to show why he
should not be fined for contempt of court.
The man gave his name as Henry Greene.
You see he said to the jailer. Il don't
mind where you put me. ! consider it an
honor to be locked up for my principles and
TILE SOUTHERN LEAGUE
The directors of the Southern League
held no session to-day. as they could not
learn whether Atlanta would enter the
league or not A meeting will probably be
held tomorrow, when it will be known
whether Atlanta will come in or not. If
she does not Montgomery and Richmond
will be considered to fill the vacancy.
a party of 325 lumbermen from North
western States arrived in this city this
morning at 2 o'clock. They went in a body
to the executive Office and were presented
10 Gov Gordon. At 4 O'Clock they were
rendered a banquet at the kimbali House
by the Atlanta and Gress Lumber com
panieS. They left for Cincinnati at o'clock
tonight.
DESPERATE CONVICT.
Principal Keeper of the Penitentiary
Towers received letter to-day from Supt
Reese, dated at the coal mines, stating that
lie and Mr.. Fitzpatrick and few of the
guards had a desperate encounter last Fri.
day with VIII Armour, a convict. Armour
was laying down and neglecting his work.
When Mr.. Fitzpatrick reproached him for
his conduct Armour raised up and struck at
Fitzpatrick with a shovel and a large knife
barely missing his head. Capt.. Reese was
sent for and when he arrived he found that
Armour had cut Mr. Fitzpatrick on the
bone. The negro dropped his knife,
and, picking up some rocks
near by, threw them at Suut Reese. barely
missing him. Mr.. Fitzpatrick then struck
him on the head. He became so unmanage-
able that Capt. Reese fired two shots at him
Neither took effect. The negro then ran,
and was caught and carried to the hospital,
where he will be treated for slight head
wound. Armour is one of the most human
Hgeable convicts at the camp. and will be
severely dealt with by Capt Reese.
CRO0KEDNESS AT A DISTILLERY
w H. Chapman, inspected the registered
distillery of Joel Coffee near Lula yester-
day, aud discovered an ingenious, though
rude, contrivance by which the government
was being defrauded of the tax on a good
zeal of whisky. 1t is the duty of the revenue
officials TO see that there is an unbroken
connection between the worm and cistern
room. Mr. Chapman noticed that the
quantity of whisky reported was too small
for the material, and a close investigation of
the still showed that the pipe which carried
the whisky from the worm to the csetrn
room came dOwn TO the floor and
that there was an elbow in it, from
which it ran into the cistern room.
apparently with unbroken connections. BY
prying up the pipe MIR. Chapman discovered
that there was hole in the bottom of tbe
elbow, and the upright piece of scantlng
on which it rested also had a hole to the
bottom of it, nearly two feet below the floor
where it was trimmed and inserted in the
bung of a twenty -one-gallon barrel that
was buried in the ground.