The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1893-09-26
MAYOR TROUT CALLED BACK.
fcontIned from First Page).
out the sacrifice of the lives Of nine spec
tators of the attack upon the jail.

out the sacrifice of the lives Of nine spec
tators Of the attack upon the JAN.
Previous koanaks LynchIpgs
The peop,e OF Roanoke ere not as
! orderly people. There are less infracuohs
| of the iaw--State and municipa|.ih .hiH
| city Of twenty-five thousand people than
arv oth.r of like size In the Union. Al
! times they become excited. as ON last
Wadnssdsv. over come horrible crime.
and rise in their might 10 punish the
criminal. There are only three sueh cases
In our history. The first was WIZ LaVen-
der. lynched In January, 1917, lot an al
legged attempt to commit cTl.I'hai 40
sauIt ,tpou a little girl named Perry. lie
was sriritrd away from the jail to
poiicemsn's house near where Smith was
burnt. but was found and short shrift
given him No one else was
hurt. and sufficient has been disclosed
since 10 warrant the assertion that La
yender never intended 10 harm the gill.
Later on an attempt was made to lynch
orr fallen. for an assault upon little
-year-od gil by the name Of Bryant.
An angry crowd gathered I'm front or the
old police station. Windows were broken.
and The place captured. The prisoner was
brought out, but cooler counssiS prevail
ed, and he was returned TO his cell. Falen
was innocent; the officials believed his
assertions, and saved his life without the
use of pistol or club.
And there is no reason why history
should not have repeated itself last Wed
nesday night. Smith was guilty OF this
q doubt does not exist In any mind, yet
TO project him. nine citizens were shot
down In their tracks never TO rise as1Il.
and .hfrty or more wounded. nearly all,
II not quite all Of them. by squad Of
soldiers stationed al point where there
was no attack, and who fired withou; or
ders to do So This is what the evidence
so far adduced before the corOner's jury
establishes.
How the Mayor Was Shot.
Mayor Trout was wounded by some one
who fred from this point. A pistol
ball was extracted from his foot and
Il was fired from Campbell
street. only five or six balls entered
the room in which the Mayor was
standing, from the west side OF the
building. and these struck behind him.
and no trace of bat one that entered
the door on the north can be found
This was taken from the Mayors foot
The infantry did not know that
Mayor Trout had been shot. for he
was in the room above ard behind
them. He gave no command to shoot,
and no one else to DO so for him when
he was present.
This Is the feeling and expressed SEN
timent here among DIne-tenths or the
people. white and colore5. aud explains
the reason for the demands for most
thorough investigation with view 10
instituting a prosecution for manslAueh-
ter against the light infantrymen. and
perhaps their captain.
Every one now comedies that Mavor
Trout committed a serious blunder when
he fed the city, and that It would have
been better 10 have remained here In
control Of the city govrnment. After the
hanging of Smith and destruction of
his body nv fire Mayor Trout had
nothing 10 fear from anybody Had one
man struck Il blow at him five would
have resented 1t promptly.
Awaiting TIL. fr investigation.
The chief of po 20 and city sergeant,
who were SUSPENDED in response to a
general demand. are quietly awaiting the
outcome Of the investigation now in
progress before the coroner. and TO be-
gin next week In The grand jury room
of the Hastings Court. AS Sergeant
Traynham is claimed by some TO be
a State officer as much as clerk Of
the courts, treasurer or commissioner OF
the revenue 1any are anxious to see
the legality MS suspension by author
ity visited ID the mayor by the city
charter
A New York paper OF Saturday pub
fishes a special dispatch from Roanoke.
which is full Of gross inaccuracies. II
states that an day long Friday a mob
surrounded Mayor Trout's house. while
another watched the Ponce de Leon
Hotel. wrere Mayor Trout was supposed
to be stopping each with a rope ready
to hang him. This is nothing more or
less than a lie out of the whole cloth.
Everything Quilted down Thursday. and
on Friday Mayor Trout was not looked
for Everybody, including the correspon-
dent know he had left TOWN