Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-11-17
DENY THEIR GUILT.
Aclen and Norris on Trial for the
Murder of Young Buckley.
THE NEW COURT BEGINS ITS WORK
A Lumber Dealer Charged With Firing
His Own Property.
AFFAIRS OF INTEREST In THE COURTS

The trial of Henry Aclen and George
Morris colored, indicted for the murder of
Jeremiah Buckley, at Sharpsburg, on the
night of October a was commenced before
Judge Ewing, in Criminal Court, yesterday.
This was the crime said to have been caused
by the strike at the mill of Moorhead Bros.
& Co., and which created so much excite
ment in Sharpsburg at the time. Aclen
and Morris had been working in the mill,
taking the place of the strikers Buckley
worked at the steel works of Spang, Chal-
FAINT & Co, and was in the saloon of Henry
Stein when the trouble, which led to the
murder, began.
When the case was called yesterday both
men pleaded not guilty. The whole morn
ing was consumed securing jury. John
d. Robb and Thomos NJ. Marsh all defended
the two colvred men. William Bremen as
sisted District Attorney Burleigh in the
prosecution. In opening the District At
torney said he had reasonable grounds to
believe the case to be one of brutal and de-
liberate murder.
AcIen Fired the Fatal Shot.
John Stein, son of the saloon proprietor,
was the first witness sworn in the after
noon. He related practically the same ac-
count of the trouble as was developed at the
Coroner's inquest, saying that when Aclen
and Morris went into the saloon and called
for drinks Buckley was in the saloon eating
sandwich. Witness and defendants got
into a dispute about the drinks and he
ant Iba IN inf 1ad him
that he couldn't put them out, when Buck
ley interposed with "Yes, he can." Stein
then seized the two men and put them out
into the street. The scuff1ing continued,
Buckley and Henry Stein going out to
assist the witness Stein and Aclen had a
wrestle, and when the latter got up he fired
a shot at the head of Buckley, who was
standing but a few feet away. Buckley died
instantly.
Edward Hartman, a merchant in Sharps-
burg. corroborated the testimony of young
Stein relative to the trouble in the saloon.
When Attorney Burleigh asked the witness
if he had a revolver, Mr.. Marshall OBJ
jected.
"Oh," said Judge Ewing, 81 think that
is about as competent a question as some
You ask, or some you are likely to ask"
William Hughes testified to having as
sisted in taking a revolver from Morris, and
while he was doing SO, the latter fired two
shots in the air.
turbance, testified to having gone with the
officers to identify Aclen when he was ar
rested.
Did Not See Buckley Killed.
Henry Stein, the proprietor of the saloon,
related how he got shot in the leg. He did
not see the shooting of Buckley.
Joseph Wagner, a brother-in-law of
Buckley, said he saw Aclen fire the shot
that killed Buckley. He was corroborated
by Thomas Garrick, 15 years old, who was
standing near by.
Michael Casey and Joseph Beck were the
next witnesses, but their testimony was
merely a repetition of what had already
been brought out.
Officers Wallace and Lawrence testified
TO arresting the men. Wallace said that
while taking Morris to the lookup he said
his partner had done the shooting, and at
the lookup he identified Aclen as his part
ner. This concluded the testimony for the
Commonwealth
Attorney Marshall, in opening for the de- |
fense, created some surprise by saving that |
he considered the two policemen to blame |
for the present liberty of the man who |
really did kill Buckley. He. proposed |
to show that white man had been arrested |
a short time after the trouble and released |
again. and that he had a revolver with him |
with two empty chambers He claimed the |
killing had been done in self defense, be- |
cause the men who had taken the places of |
the strikers had been abused and maligned |
from the time they went there and that |
when the trouble commenced their assailants |
called them 60 niggers' and "black |
sheep" and said they would kill them.
The Defendants Were Abused.
Mrs. Pauline Morgan was the first wit |
ness. She testified to seeing part of the |
disturbance. There appeared to be from 15 |
to Is people in the crowd, and from the |
character of the language heard she con-
sidered the two colored men were being
abused.
George Morris was then placed on the
stand. His examination continued until 6
o'clock, when court adjourned. The bulk
of his testimony was to the effect that he
and Aclen had gone into the saloon peace
ably, and when told to go out they started.
But before they reached the door they were
pushed out, and a lot of men said then:
''Come on, boys, we've got the black
sheep; now we'll kill EN-
His description of the trouble on the
street did not differ very much from that
given by the other witnesses, except that he
said he had been shot in the hand during
the scuff1e. He denied having told the
officers after his arrest that Aclen had shot
Buckley, and contradicted Mrs. Morgan's
testimony by saving that the crowd on the
street did not exceed eight or ten.