The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-06-08
PONDER GUILTY OF MURDER.


1N,-..A turned and said: This Is for yon
ARR LaIo. 4 can lick you and your big
80 NJ, tommy, and then turn to work
/ 9Hu mex your old man. Laird said. sYoa
I 0ouluh hex one side of my. old man.
| fireman Steinberg said: Tom YOU
oNsHl 10 nave better sense than to taxi
70 drunken man. Laird replied: WHY
uuA you call him down. Hes coming
mere interfering with me- I've asked him
70 go away replied Sternberg' That's
an can do. He don't belong 70 nv com.
pany. Laird then said 10 keenan,: .Tu see
you tomorrow and Keenan, replied: Go
] on you are nothing but
dny"ay. Bob I said, why don't YOU
set on for an hour2 kearnev then too;s
heehan away Mr.. Steinberg told ms
! that ne would have TO make a report Of
| the matter. If he didn't somebody womb
/ report him. He said II Keenan, hadn'r
| gone away he was just going TO ring ub
81. Laird came TO me later in the daV
! ana asked me If I remembered Steinbarg
| saying 20 him. Tom, YOU ought to have
| pctter sense than to talk TO a drunken
man. l told him YES, that's all l want to
| know, he replied. heard no more Of the
| case until Sunday when Laird told me that
| the chief had told him to have his wit
nesses for o'clock Monday evening. and
asked me If l would go as a witness for
hlm told him that l couldn't leave the
quarters without being summoned. He ask
Cd me what was the custom and how they
! summoned witnesses around the engine
house. l told him I didn't know exactly.
l thought he had better put the names on
piece OF paper and hand them TO the
chief. Monday morning Laird told me that
the chief said he couldn't spare the men
from quarters, but that he was going
10 try and get his witnesses there.
Il received no summons up to dinner
time. After dinner went to Kehoe's iron
works to get a piece of brass pipe. When |
came back "A o'clock taps" had come in.
and the horses were back In their stalls"
In a few minutes" Ponder continued.
Acting Foreman Kearney told me that he
had orders through the telephone to take
the engine to the exchange. Myself and
Glass started out with the machine When
We got to Drayton street, Kearney called
to us to hold UP. We waited and two other
men came up and went with US. When We
got to the exchange we left Driver Glass
on the engine with his horses while the
other three of US went up into the ex-
change.
we were met in the hall by the chief,
who said Tom. you so in first. l went in
and the chairman of the fire committee
asked me what had to say about the case.
stated the case to him. telling him that
Keenan, had called Laird an obnoxious
name. He asked me what it was, and
was drunk. l told him that / couldn't
positively say that he was. Mr.. Carolan
asked me if l could tell if he had a few
drinks in him. told him not being used
to liquor or handling it, 1 didn't think /
could.
Il then went down to the engine and let
Glass go in. I didn't know that Keenan,
had any hard feelings against me in that
/ was unfortunate enough to overhear the
row between him and Laird. l cannot
say positively whether it was the same
evening of the trial or the next, but pass
ing down Broughton street, as usual, to
my supper l raised my hat to Mrs. Keen
an and said Good evening She leaned
over the banisters Of her stoop
and said; You dirty, contemplate puppy,
don't you ever dare to raise your hat to
me again, or any one belonging to you
She kept on DIT this rate, and kept going
down the street faster. 1 went to supper
and returned to quarters.
Il didn't hear any more of this thing
until the men get their notice of their
dismissal. Laird started to talk pretty
loudly and l told him, Bob, this won't do
you any good. You had better keep still.
l then went to dinner. When I>returned
l asked Kearney if they had let Frank
so also. He said yes, he had seen him
packing up his clothes. I said there were
two good men gone. Kearney said Yes,
two good men gone keenan, was in
the engine house the morning Of
this affair with Foreman Cullom
Malone, keenan, and different members
of the truck company calling him Dick
and also talking to some one keenan, said /:
III be back here before 1000 years.
could have come back to-day, but would
not come back to work with such
unless 1 couldn't get anything else to do.
II then passed by him and went to my
the back wall of the building
He pointed his finger at me and said I
was contemplate puppy and while he
didn't have any brains he had plenty of
muscle, and knew how to use it, Again
pointing his finger at me, he said: There's
the one contemplate - - - that L
want to get even with in this depart
ment,' He said l was drunk, and added:
III get even with him if it takes a
thousand years, and what's more, -
him, I'll yet even with him tonight.
l didn't care about hearing any more of
his talk, so l went into the engine house
upstairs and took of my overalls and
went to the cupboard, whore my tool box
was. there saw this pistol. IL was an
Old thing. 1t was brought to me a week
or so before. 1t was apart when I got it,
The young man who brought it asked me
IL l would put it together and blue the
barrel. l told him / would try. l put the
pistol together and put a charge OF car
tridges IN 1t. The cartridges were brought
to me by young friend. We, were going
to try the pistol as soon as we got it
fixed up. l put IT in my bosom.
shortly afterwards 1 said to Glass
Bob, dread to see night come on. From
/, the way those men acted and the threats
Keenan, made that he would get
satisfaction at night, they are going
TO wayisy me when am going to supper
Glass didn't make any answer. I went to
the front door and looked out. l didn't see
and be5y, and walked over to the truck
side and asked Mr.. Kearney if he had
heard keenan, abuse ne. He said he didn't
hear anything in the engine house. asked
him if he had heard him say anything in
the lane. lie said yes, lie had heard it in
the lane. l told him that was all l wanted
to know from him. l wasn't going to make
a report Of this TO the chief, but 1 was go
ing to prosecute keenan, in the morning.