Birmingham age-herald., 1894-08-01
ON TRIAL FOR MURDER. Six of the Ringleaders of Slope No.
 3 Massacre, in Which B. W. FIERCE WAS KILLED, Brought Into Court and Witt neSSeS Sworn and Placed
 Under the Rule.
B. W. FIERCE WAS KILLED,

The preliminary trial of six of the miners charged with murderng B. W. Fierce at Pratt mines on the 18th of July was begun yesterday, Justice of the Peace T. H.. Moore of Pratt City and J. T.. Garrettson of Birmingham sitting. The trial is being held in the criminal co lIt room.
 When court was convened at II 80 a. ID. Mir. Ferguson, in behalf of the state, sug- gested that all the warrants be considered and the trial of all the defendants be had at the same time. He said, with the large number of defendants and witnesses, if rately, there was no telling when they would get through.
 To this the defense objected and Colonel Altman urged as one of the objections that if they attempted to try all the defendants, nearly lC0 in number, at the same time great confusion would result, both to the court and the counsel.
 MT. Ferguson said that the prosecution had it in it's power to substitute a warrant including all the defendants for the sepa- rate warrants and force a trial of all at once, but that they didn' t desire to do that. They wanted to try the ringleaders first.
 Mr. Little said it would do the prosecu- tion great injustice in case where eighty-six men are charged with conspir- acy to put witness on the stand to testify against two or three of them.
 Mir. Allen, for the defense, said fifty of the defendants might be ready and forty of them not ready. It would necessitate the keeping here of about 500 witnesses for several weeks if they undertook to try all at once.
 Pending discussion of this question court adjourned at 12 o'clock until 2;30.
 AFTERNOON SESSION.
 On resembling court in the afternoon Justice Garrettson stated as the opinion of the court that from the best authority at hand aud to the better subserving of public interest the motion of the prosecu. ton to consolidate the cases would be sus> tained. After considerable discussion be- tween Solicitor Ferguson and counsel for the defense the court room was ordered cleared and the defendants brought into court. This was done.7
 Sheriff Morrow and bis deputies then began bringing the eightysi defendants in squads of twelve each into the court room. There were thirty fonr white men been returned to jail MT. Salisbury, for the prosecution, said that it might be pos sible that equal and exact justice could not be meted out to everyone II all the cases were consolidated and suggested that the trial of the six men whose trial was set yesterday be begun at once, and the trial of thirteen others, who were supposed to have been the riDgleaders of the mob, be set for some early date, and at the eoncln- sion of their trial that of the remaining defendants be taken up. This was agreed to and Wednesday. August 8, was the date set for the trial of the following thirteen defendants: Will Brock, Charlie Ballov, Will Bailey, M. Benoit, Francis Brawley, Charles Caldwell, Henry -Discutener, Emile Goddie, John Kelso, Henry Ray. mond, A. Treherne, D. Truillions and Charlie Yarbrough.
 Smith Houston, Dan Marshall, Isaiah Nelson, Jack Roebuck, T. c. Jones and Lee Lewis, all colored, were called before the court and the charge of murder against each one of them read. To this they pleaded not guilty.
 The witnesses were all called in and sworn and put under the rule, after which court adjourned until O clock this morn : ing.
 Solicitors J. H. Little and 0. H. Fergu- son and MT. Joseph 8. Salisbury of Pratt City represent the prosecution, and Messrs. B. M. Allen, O., K. Harsh, John T. Shugart and J. J. Altman the defem nts in this case.
 The defense has thirtytwo witnesses subppnaed and the state eleven.
 The trial of these six defendants will probably occupy the court the balance of the week.