The morning news., 1892-03-30

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before be would be guilty.
on 70 Frogtown be went then, and played
skin with a fellow named Murray for 2
cents. About $50 o'clock Gay got back to
the Office of Justice McDermott who was
reading the afternoon paper. Justice No
Dermott said; Jim, did you have two az
handles In your houser Gay said YES, nand
Justice McDsrmOtt remarked: "Well,
they've found two sx handles and Meyers
watch in your house,
Gay said he expressed surprise, and when
Justice MoDermott told him that his wife
had been arrested he said 'that couldn't
be-" He went over to No. 2 engine house.
where Justice McDermOtt telephoned to De-
tecttge Hanley, at the barracks, and told
Gay to go there.
The prisoner said he went down TO the
barracks, where the az handles and bloody
shoes were shown him. He remarked TO
Detsctive Hanley that be knew he never
killed anybody, and asked him to go over
/ t. the jail with him 30 as he could ask GINS
\ Williams why It was, after committing a
crime, he should put the watch In his house
20 have him suspected. Detective Hanley
went over with him TO the Jail. but Gay
said Williams wouldn't talk 10 him.
| THE JAIL SCARED HIM.
| Gay went into a long story of his move
ments up to his arrest by Policeman Christie
/ on Tuesday morntag. After awhile Justice
McDermott and Detective Wetherhorn
came down and said they had a warrant to
put him Ia Jail. He asked what the charge
was, and they told him it was for
murder. When they started him for jail
Justice McDermott talked to him about how
bad things looked for him. and he had Sat-
ter tell what he knew
''lf tell you ] committed the crime,n
answered Gay, 'I would be telling you
lie, and can't account for the watch being
found In my house, because don't know
anything about It, Detective Wetherhorn
said be didn'r care to know anything from
him because he had it all anyhow.
I'VE were getting closer to the jail at
this time," said Gay, land when / saw the
steps l said: My God, and turned to Justice
McDermott and said: Take me down to
your Office They took me, geatlemens and
don't deny that / made the statements
those gentlemen swore to yesterday, but
never had anything to do with the murder.
There ain't one of the men In the jail who
will connect me with the case. That's all
about that. gentlemens.
TIE PLOT TO KILL MEYER
Then Gay told what he knew of the
plot TO kill Mr.. Meyer. He said he had
met Gus Williams, Marion Hayward and
Charley Bacon the Sunday before, and
W illiams said, "We're going to rob
somebody and tramp around the country
like we used to. Don't you want TO come
inp
Gay said be replied he did not, aud
Williams said: "Well, myself, Marion
Heyward and this crazy boy trsferr1ng to
Charley Bacon) will divide up"
The prisoner said he never saw the men
any more until the Sunday afternoon of the
night Mr., Meyer was murdered. when Will
iams told him they were going to kill Mr..
Meyer that night and get his roll.
he. akn nNas ...gN
buttal, and, about O'Clock, Solicitor Gen.
eral Fraser began the argument. He spoke
only fifteen minutes, and argued that the
bloody shoes, bloody closhei and ak handles
the finding OF the watch under Gays house
made out q clear circumstantial case against
the prisoner, which was fully corroborated
by the confessions.
u DEvILTSH CRIME.
The solicitor described the murder as one
of the most diabolical ever committed in
Savannah, premeditatei with a devilishness
hardly conceivable. He closed with an
eloquent appeal for verdict OF murder,
Attorney Tison spoke over half an hour
in Gays behalf. He warned the jury
against the danger of accepting confessions,
and tried to get 1t to accept his theory that
what Gay had told in his confessions was
caused by fear. Mr.. Tison eloquently ap-
pealed TO the jury to acquit Gay, holding
that there was nothing but circumstantial
evidence, and that had been explained away
by the witnesses for the defense.
Attorney Pease followed for tbs prisoner
In speech of an hour and a half's duration.
de sifted the evidence of both the state and
the defenses and admitting all that GAY had
said he asked the jury where it had been
proved Gay had been connected with the
murder of Mr.. Meyer. Mr.. Pease argued
to the court that even though q man had
ipt N rnpfr af~S TO arx,fA F1f1
and then didu't take active part afterward
he couldn't be found guilty. The attorney
pleaded hard for his client, and asked the
jury to acQhit Gay.
An Adjournment was taken until O'Clock
at the conclusion of Mr. Pease's arEumsns.
The news that Hon. F. G. duBignon
was to sum up for the state at that hour
attracted a tremendous crowd to the court
room. The spectators were packed to-
gether like sardlnes and forced the inner
and outer doors of the court room open
People stood out In the corridor clear back
to the city court room door. They expected
q great speech from the eloquent pleader
and Mr.. du 8ignon didn't disappoint them
He was In his old form like the time ne
represented the state, and for an hour
he held the audience spellbound.
PUTTING GAYS NECK IN THE MOOSE.
Taking the evidence from the beginning
around the prisoner from which he couldn't
| escape. While the attorney was tightening
| the moose around Gays neck the negro
| never for q moment took his eyes from him
| He seemed TO drink in every word, and
once while Mr.. duBignon was showing a
| discrepancy between GAYS testimony and
| those of soma of the defense witnesses the
prisoner undertook to answer him. He did
| say: "rhat's right, sir"
| In opening Mr.. duBignon said: "I
do not" as has been insin-
uated, "appear here as counsel for
| any class. | stand before you to- night, as
1t has been my privilege to stand on more
than one occasion bsfore the juries of Chat
ham county. in vIndlcstion of law. Ny
| client is one that might make any ones
heart glad to have. It Is the sovereigntv
of the state whose laws are security and
whose paths are paths of peace"
THE FINAL APPEAL
The peroration of Mr.. duBignon was a
display of oratory. 1t was as follows: 81
have talked longer than thought / would
talk In this case / have gone hastily, h..
riedly, impsrfectly over the evidence. /
know that you have listened to il patiently,
| have watched you. / know that you are
going to mete out justice to the ds-
ceased and Justice to this defendant
Far be it from me to belittle that attri
butte of mercy, which is the most divine in
our nature. ask you, gentlemen of the
| jury, to remember that mercy to the wicked
Is cruelty to the good. We live in a land