Montgomery County sentinel., 1890-09-26
A Libel Upon Rockville.
A Batch Of UntrutJM Statements Payuded
an tie Washington and Baltimore Papers.


The Washington Post of Sunday last con
tained the following article, purporting tc
be Especial dispatch" from Rockville
which was repeated in the Baltimore Ame
ricam of Monday, and evidently furnished
to both papers by the especial detective
therein mentioned:
During the Rockville fair a party OF
young Washingtonians came over here and
gave show in the town hall. The perfor-
nance was well patronized and generously
applauded, but when the program termina-
ted abruptly at $50 o'clock, the audience
became indignant, evidently believing that
they had not had their moneys worth of
amusement. The amateur play folks were
followed to the station bya crowd of young
men, mostly from the country hereabouts,
who hooted and gave vent to their feelings
in turbulent fashion.
When the show people had boarded the
train the cars were egged, and two or three
windows were broken with stones. A lady
passenger was struck by missile and slight
ly hurt, and the neck of one of the Wash
lngton boys was severely cut by broken
glass. During the excitement a revolver
was thrust in the faces of the crowd by one
OF the party of showmen, but his compan-
ions disarmed him before he could use the
weapon.
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Com
pany, through local detective, swore out
warrants against five OF the young country
men who attacked the train, and they were
arrested. The amateur actors in Washing
ton were summoned as witnesses, and the
case came up before Justice Stonestreet yes
terday. The courtroom was crowded to
snffocation,and considerable excitement pre-
vailed One old gentleman put a,appear-
ance armed with shotgun, evidently an
! tlcipating trouble, and it was openly assert
ed that not one of the five defendants would
be convicted. The first move of the de-
fense was to question the jurisdiction of the
magistrate, and, after some parleying, the
cases were removed to Gaithersburg and
the hearing set for Friday next.
Only one of the Washington witnesses
responded to the subpenas probably fear
ing ill-treatment. The solitary witness,
VIM. M. Robinson, was ready to testify, but
had no sooner entered the courtroom than
| he was confronted by an officer, who arrest
ed him for carrying concealed weapons. 1t
was charged that he was the man who point
| ed revolver at the crowd from the car win
| dow the night of the trouble Young Rob-
inson protested that he was innocent, and
had never carried revolver. The court,
however, had no doubt on the subject, and
promptly found Robinson guilty and fined
him $5 and COSTS"
So many untruthful statements are con
tained in this account, and the actual facts
in the case are SO much distorted, that it is
proper, in justice to this community, that
the incidents which led to this trial should
be fairly and truthfully stated.
On the evening OF September 9Th party
of amateur Snowman gave an exhibition in
Rockville, which was attended by an audi
ence of moderate size, largely composed of
boys. The character Of the performance
is alleged to have been exceedingly immoral,
if not absolutely indecent, and so devoid
of merit as an entertainment that number
of persons left the hall in disgust shortly
after the beginning. The "spendid array
of TALENT" finding themselves practically
minus an audience, abruptly deserted the
iootlights a few minutes before nine O'Clock
and scampered for the depot. Meantime
squad of disappointed and mischevous lads
had purchased dozen eggs (fresh ones, un-
fortunately and proceeded to the depot for
the purpose OF returning complimentary
benefit to their late entertainers" Just as
the showmen We're about to board the train
the boys let fly their ovilorm jokes. They
were well received " by the audience, and
one or two of them are said 10 nave made
decided hits" AS the train was moving
out of the station, one of the egged TRACE.
dans thrust a revolver from a car window
and snapped ii several times at the crowd.
No stones were thrown, no windows broken,
and no injury done beyond that resulting
from few soft, lresh smashing eggs. 1t
was quite dark at the point from which the
eggs were thrown, and nobody knows who
threw them save those who did the throw
ing. Five young fellows were arrested,
however, and it was the hearing to be given
them, but which did not take place at all,
that the special says was the scene of great
disorder and excitement.
The solitary witness, qfteroards fined five
dollars and costs for carrying concealed
weapons, was positively identified by two
competent and disinterested witnesses as the
man who flourished the revolver from the
moving train, ami his fine was paid by the
Especial detective The officers OF the
court generously renittcd their fees, not be
cause they believed young Robinson inno-
cent, but because he was Il stranger here
and could not raise any more money.
There Was no iii natured disorder during
the progress of the hearing nor at any other
time-nothng inconsistent with the larcical
character Of the whole affair-and the unso
phisticated young cOuntryman with dsa-
bled shotgun was on his way to the gun
smith, and, seeing the crowd at the shoe
shop, where an emergency caused the mag
istrate's trial to be held, had merely dropped
in to see what was going on.
The people of this community do not
give countenance to any species Of disorder,
They regard the conduct of the boys who
threw the eggs as ugly and indelensible and
well deserving a fiogging by their parents,
but they are naturally indignant that the
thoughtless offense Of lew mischievous
urchns should be taken up by the metro
politan press and hera lded broadcast as a
desperate attack upon Il railroad traiu--fDr
the single purpose las there can be no other)
of making great reputation for gifted and
ambitious special detective, whose superiors
in authority, if acquainted with the simple
nature of the offense, would direct him TO
make more profitable use of his time than
to spend it in pursuing IA handful of small
boys and imposing sensational yarns upon
gullible newspaper reporters.
Fine Corn Mrs. Martha A. c. Nelson
left at this office recently several ears of
very fine white corn that are of crop
grown on her farm, by Mr.. Edwin Monday,
near Hunting Hill, The crop was grown
on field that was cleared Of pine timber
| aioht vaara auo and IL ic aaf:matad that aach