The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-02-19
THE KILLING OF GIBBONS.
FOUR STREET RAILWAY MEN
UNDER ARREST.

They started Out 10 Give the West
Savannah Negroes "A LessOn-It MAY
Prove a Costly Job for Them-E. :.
Guest Acknowledge 10 the shoot
ing and says That IL Was Done in
seIf-Defense-The Detectives say
That the -Four Men Went out TO
Take Revenge ON the Negroes for
Intimidatin- Conductor Granger
The Saturday Night BcfOre-NegrO
Passengers Compelled 10 Give tp
Fares at the Point of "a Pistol.
The death of stephen Gibbons. colored,
from the wound inflicted by a pistol shot
in West Savannah Saturday night has
developed into a considerable sensation
Four employees of the Electric Railway
Company were arrested yesterday by the
detectives. and are now held at the bar
racks. awaiting the corouers inquest,
which will be held to-day. one Of the
number. l. S Guest, has already acknow-
lodged to shooting Gibbons, and claims
that it was done in self-defense. He
claims that Gibbons attempted to shoot
him. and that he had TO seize hold of the
pistol to save himself from being killed.
In the struggle which followed he shot
Gibbons.
Guest exonerates the other three men
from any part in the shooting. This does
not correspond. however, with the evil
dence gathered by the detectives, which
shows that c. P. Walker, another employe
of the railway company, also had a hand
in the shooting.
The story gathered by the detectives
makes a very bad case for Walker and
Guest. with ]. Z. Connolly and Fred Floyd
III. r.
rested yesterday morning by Detectives
wetberborn and Godbold. The detectives
We're looking for Guest when he passed
Them on Belt line car. Detective Weth-
erhorn called to him and Guest jumped
off and came up to them
II was just going to give myself up"
he said
To a Morning News reporter Guest said
that as soon as he saw the announcement
in the Morning News that Gibbons was
dead, he made up his mind to surrender
himself to the police, and make a state
ment of the affair.
The story has been worked up by the
detectives. The conductors and motor
men of the Electric railway, running on
the West Savannah line have had some
very unpleasant experiences. There IS a
very rough class of negroes living west or
the city, and Saturday nights When they
turn home full of mean whisky, the con-
ductors literally carry their lives IN theif
hands. Saturday night week, Conductor
4. Granger had a very unpleasant eN-
perience. He had some trouble with a ne
gro who got on the car inside the city
and made him get off at the central De
pot The negro got together crowd of
his friends and boarded a later car. when
the car got outside the city the negroes
drew their pistols ana look possession.
They cursed the conductor and motorman
and dared them TO resent 1t. The two
white men had no chance to help them
selves, and had to stand the abuse. The
other employees of the company heard the
story, and it was generally discussed
among them. II was decided that 1t was
time to give the Woodsville and West Sa-
Vannah negroes a lesson
A car was wrecked on the West Savan-
nah line, near the brickyard, early sat
urday night and a force was sent out
TO get il on the track. on the pretense
OF going out to the wreck, the four men
who were arrested left the city about IL
o'clock, stopping at the wrecked car
When the last car came out IN charge
of Conductor Granger and Motorman Bor-
ders, the four men boarded 1t. There was
a large crowd of negroes on the car, but
= il did not take long for the white men TO
demonstrate their intention of running
things their own way. a short distance
out one of them cut the trolley line, let
ting the trolley fly up in the air and leav-
ing the car in darkness. While the car
was in darkness the white men frightened
the negroes by their threats and curses
and the display of their pistols Conduct
or Granger climbed on top the car ana
repaired the damage by tying the trolley
rope The negroes failed to recognize all
of the party as railway men, as they
had their overcoats buttoned up tight
around their uniforms. Walker was rec
ognized, however and was spoken OF by
some of the negroes in their accounts OF
the affair as the motorman
While Granger was collecting the fares
at one end of the car, Guest and perhaps
one or two of the others drew their PTS
tolls and ordered the passengers at their
end to pay up Some of them protested
that they had already paid. but that made
no difference. They were compelled 10
paw anyhow. There were even forty fares
registered for the trip, but whether any
more were collected by the assistant con-
ductors is not known. Gibbons ana some
of the other negroes became SO frightened
that they wanted to leave the car IN
West Savannah, but the white men com
PEELED them to remain on the car.
When the car arrived at the terminus
opposite Jasper Springs several OF the
negroes We're struck by the white men
and one besides Gibbons Is said TO nave
been badly beaten. Gibbons hat was
knocked off as he got off the car. he
may have resisted and probably dld. ne
started to run, however, ana was pursued
by Walker and Guest, who after gong
a short distance, began firing at him.
fut Guest takes the blame upon himself.
The men then returned to the car, boarded
it and rode nearly TO the city, when they
got off and walked in.
Coroner Goette, after investigating the
case directed the arrest OF Conductor
Granger
AfcDermott decided, however after hay
ing talk with Granger, not TO arrest the
two, simply notifying them 10 appear as
witnesses at the coroner's inquest this
morning.
Granger, when seen by Detective Cod
hold and Coroner Goette the day before
denied to both that he knew who tbs
white men were who had the trouble with
fhe negroes. or that he knew anything
about the shooting beyond hearing the
he defended himself by saying that the
men were his friends and that he was not
under oath when he made the statements
referred to. A Morning News reporter
was present in the chiefs office wher
Granger came in. Granger admitted re
luctantly that the four men who had beer
arrested were the four men who boarded
his car at the brickyard He told abou
the cutting of the trolley rope, though
he said he did not know who did it, anC
admitted that the men drew their pistols
and compelled the negroes to give up thei
fares. He said that Guest collected fou
fares in this manner telling him that h
would turn over the money at the end o
the trip He registered the fares. he said