The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-09-20
Mr.. LAWRENCE'S AFFIDAVIT.
CAUSED HIM AND JUDGE MAC DON
ELL TO COME TO BLOWS.


He Made the Amdavit-Mr. Law
renee said He Did, and the En-
counter FOIIOwed-They Were Sep
arnted by Mr.. Gordon and Another
Gentlemhn-Judge MacDOnen Con-
sidered Advantage Had Been
Taken of Private Friendly Con-
versatiOn.
There was a little encounter yesterday
afternoon in the Office of Mr.. A. A. Law
renee, over the Merchants National Bank
building. between that gentleman, who is
the registrar representing the Citizens
Club. and Judge A. H. MacDonell. who,
1 as is well known, is a prominent member
of the Liberal Club
While it grew out of a political matter,
the affidavit made by Mr.. Lawrence to
the effect that Judge MacDonell said Mr.
Johnson would give it to the Citizens Club
in the neck, the encounter was more OF
| a personal than political nature. Judge
! MaoDonel considered that advantage had
| been taken of private friendly CONVEX
sation and was very much put out about
! it. He went to Mr. Lawrence's office ana
! asked him about 1t. Some words fol-
| lowed Mr.. Lawrence considered that he
had been insulted and blows followed.
The difficulty had been in progress Tor
minute or two when Mr. w W. Cor
| don, Jr., Judge MacDonells law partner
and another gentleman entered Mr.. Law
renoe's office and separated them. Both
! gentlemen were perhaps a little bruised
| as result of the encounter, but 1t could
| hardly be said that either got the worst
| of it, as they were soon separated. Mr.
| Lawrence went out of the city in the af-
] ternoon very shortly after the difficulty
occurred. Judge MacDonell was asked
| for statement of it last night. He was
reluctant to say anything about the mat
ter, but In view of certain facts, decided
to do so. He said:
! MY first intention was to take no no
tice of this matter, but to explain 1t by
| counter-affidavit in court. Mr.. Lawrence
and / have been quite intimate as friends
| Our offices adjoin with a hallway between
and he comes in every morning to read the
| papers. We have been in the habit of
using each others law books and discuss
| ing points of law together, and became
very good friends. We often talked to-
! gether and joked each other about politics.
being on opposite sides, in the way of
| pleasantly, and he has a number of times
asked me about Mr.. Johnson, what kind
! of man he was, and what Mr.. johnson
would do as a registrar.
IT have told him several times that ]
considered Mr. Johnson a man of stand
| ing and of character in the community,
and one who had the respect of the good
| WI
| 1t came to purging the registration lists
1 was certain he would do what he be-
! lieved was right. told him l knew moth
! ing about his personal leanings in this
matter one way or the other, that never
! had heard him express himself on the
! question, and that never had talked with
him in regard to 1t.
ION the day he refers to in his affidavit,
| Sept. II, ne came into my office. The reg
| istration had closed and l asked him when
/ they would get TO work and purge the
list. He said in several days as the list
was now being made up by the tax collec-
tor. He then asked me what would the
| registrars do and in a joking way l said
that IL the list was properly purged the
Citizens Club would get it in the neck.
| He then asked me what sort of a man
Johnson was. l told him 1 thought he
was a pretty straight man. and would do
what he believed was right / then said
in a joking way that 1 supposed if it gets
| to a question where he's in doubt, that he
will give the Liberal Club the benefit of
the doubt. We talked on a while longer
and he went back into his Office.
Il thought no more of the matter until
this morning when 1 opened the paper
and saw the affidavit that he had made.
/ felt indignant that he should have tax
en- such advantage of our friendship as to
use remarks that had been made in PR
vate conversation for publication of my
via nd Art han 10
that put no seal of confidence upon him
as to the remarks 1 had made, but l hal
no idea that he would use them in such
a way. / considered it a violation of the
rules that obtain among gentlemen and
friends in regard to repeating a private
conversation.
Il procured a copy of the affidavit that
he had made in order to see exactly what
he mad sworn to, and in the afternoon,
when / returned from dinner | went into
his office He was then entering his Of
flee, and handed him the copy and asked
him II he had made that affidavit. He said
he had, and started to say that
on account of our intimacy he didn't care
to have any difficulty about it. then told
him wanted him to understand that re-
garded him as puppy of the first water
and a sneak, to use language spoken in
private conversation, as that had been, for
publication. Then he said hit me- and
don't know which one OF us struck the
first blow We went at IL together and /
suppose we struck twenty blows each be-
fore Mr.. Gordon and a gentleman from the
Brush Electric Light Company came in
They caught hold of us. and separated us
and that was the end of it.
II regretted the matter very much and
had no intention of getting into any diff
Guilty but simply wanted 10 tell him what
l thought Of his action An the matter"
The matter became current talk on the
streets last night among the friends Of
those interested. and there was a general
desire to know the facts in the case about
which little had then been learned.
DIED IN A SLEEPING CAR.