The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-01-14
THE SOUTHERN CLUB AFFAIR.
Mr.. Randolph Makes a Statement
About the Difficulty.

I ADONACt1 III AN6W 10 E4OOI a1OEUHI
member on Friday night is as follows:
Southern circles in New York, both
within and outside the membership of the
Southern Society, which has its club house
at No. IS West Twenty-ffth street, were
greatly interested yesterday in the one
sided shooting match which took place in
front of the club on Friday evening, be-
tween Wilton Randolph and Mai William
Hancock Clark. All day long aud until
late hour last night the club rooms were the
center of excited discussion in which the
episode was handled in all its phases, yet
with unanimity of sentiment which might
seem astonishing where there were so many
to express an opinion.
Mr.. Randolph's side of the story is told in
the following statement, which he prepared
yesterday for presentation to the executive
committee, accompanied by charges against
Maj. Clark for conduct unbecoming gem
tleman and a member of the club He said:
A month or 50 ago Mr.. Clark left book,
the autobiography of one of his ancestors,
with note to me, with the clerk of the So
ciety. The note and book were handed to
me by the clerk, and, after reading the note
and as much of the book as l cared to, re-
turned the book to the clerk, requesting
him to thank Mr. Clark for me when he
next called and deliver to him the book
A few days afterward met Mr.. Clark in
the hall of the club and thanked him for
the loan of the book, and told him that |
was through with it and had left it for him
with the clerk.
Yesterday evening as l was leaving the
society met Mr.. Clark and Capt Johnston
in the hall and was accosted by Clark with
the remark that he wanted to see me.
stopped to speak to him, and he began by
asking if | had received the book. ! replied
hoN r haI hot I had ,.>I
his courtesy before to him and had left the
book with the clerk from whom had re-
ceived it.
He answered: "Did you get the note &C
companying it,"
Ireplied that did.
"Wen," he said, in rather an offensive
| tone, why didn't you answer itq'
Ireplied that did not think it required
an answer and that l certainly had no in
tention of treating him with discourtesy.
He replied that it was no way to treat
gentleman's letter, and that no gentleman
would do it.
then said: "Mr. Clark, you wouldn't say
that outside of this club"
He replied: "Oh, yes, | would" and l
turned aud opened the door and descended
the porch to the sidewalk, followed by Mr..
Clark and his friend Capt. Johnston
Capt. Johnston had been standing almost
touching us while we talked in the hall, and
he took a position on the sidewalk so close
that thought he intended to interfere.
When we reached the sidewalk l turned
to Clark and said: "Now, what is it you
want with meW l then noticed that his
hand was on his hip pocket, and 1 said to
him:
"Mr. Clark, sec your hand on your hip.
and suppose it is on q pistol. l want to
tell you that l am entirely unarmed, but if
you have taken that position thinking to in
timidate me and insult me, it can't be
done"
He repeated then that was no gentle
man, and as he did it | struck him on the
face, and, much to my surprise, he started
to fall down, and did fall in the middle of
the street.
AS / started toward him was caught
and held for a second by some one-I think
| Capt. Johnston-and in the second that was
lost saw Clark get on his feet with his
pistol in his hand.
l caught hold of Capt. Johnston and held
him between myself and Clark, who was
| advancing toward us, and I said to him:
"Do you intend to let that man kill an I'M
armed man!'
He did not answer, but caught hold of
me. Clark advanced, and, putting his
| pistol over Johnston's shoulder, fred in my
face. l caught his hand and the pistol, and
| tried to get it out of his hand. | think it
exploded while we were struggling for it.
| His superior strength pulled the pistol from
my grasp, and be fired again.
at this moment wagon approached
from the direction of Broadway, and ran
behind it, but before I reached it he fired
again. From the wagon I ran into the
entrance of the Hoffman house and re-
manned just inside watching the door.
| Mr.. Randolph's statement after adding
the charges named, ends here. but a
| Tribune reporter learned that after enter
| ing the Twenty-fifth street entrance of the
Hoffman house Mr.. Randolph went to the
| clerk, Mr.. Martin, and asked if he had a
revolver. The clerk replied: "Yes." Ran
dolph said:
LEND it to me, then, won't youg
"What forP' asked the clerk.
| "There is a man out here shooting at
me" was Randolph's excited reply. "Let
me have the revolver, quick"
The clerk called the hotel detective, Mr..
| Jacobs, who kept an eye on Mr.. Randolph
while Mr.. Martin went out to reconnoitre.
! He found a crowd in Twenty fifth street,
but nobody with gun. MIR. Randolph, in
| the meantime. exhibited signs of intense
excitement His face was pallid, his fist
clenched, and he walked hurriedIy through
the corridor into the cafe and glanced
wildly about, peering tito the faces of the
| Hoffman's frequenters, as though expecting
| W llAu LILO cooaA4uub. 4u0 QSUSCblN6 DldC6u
no restraint upon his movements, for he
learned that Maj. Clark had been taken off
up Broadway by Capt. johnson.
| Mr.. Randolph spent much Of the latter
part of yesterday at the club house. His
| left cheek bears some marks of scorching,
which, he says, was done by Clark's pistol
exploding against it, and there are several
| slight abrasions upon the fingers of Mr..
Randolph's right hand, only one Of which,
however, was serious enough to be covered
| by patch. These, he believes, were made
during the scuffie for the possession of the
| pistol.
While in the club-rooms yesterday Capt.
| Johnston walked in and found Mr.. Ran
dolph the center Of large number of the
members who were evidently in entire sym
patny with hiE. Johnston accosted Ran
| dolph and tried to converse with him, but
| the latter turned from the captain, saying:
capt. Johnston, don't want to have any
thing to say to you" Johnston then left the
building.
There were present in the clubhouse at
the time of the shooting the following men,
bers of the executive COMMITTEES: Charles
A. Deshon, Robert l.. Harrison, J. H.
Parker, T. A. Beall and w. L. McCorkle.
| Several of these, as well as other members
of the club, were seen by a reporter yester-
| day, and most OF them discussed the mat
| ter freely, although all objected strenuously
| to being quoted, regarding what they
referred TO as most unfortunate affair."
| q II