The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1897-09-09
4 Sensational CHARGE.
THE DISTRICT JUDGE OF TYLER
CHARGES THE GRAND JURY
AT THAT CITY.
Wants A SWEEPING INVESTIGATION
He Wants the Participants in the
Recent Tyler Mob Brought to
Justice, Though the Heavens
Should Fall.

| Tyler, Tex, Sept. 6.-(Special.)- dis
trict Judge Gordon Russell today gave
jury which was convened for the Sep
TENDER term. He especially charged
the jury to look into recent defalcations
that have occurred in this county, and
also to investigate the Tyler mob and
hew to the line in both instances.
Touching on the defalcation matter.
he says:
"'There is much connected with the
history of Smith county of which we
are justly proud. Men have gone out
| from our midst who have illustrated
| the best elements of civic and military
| life, and the old county's record is re-
! fulgent with the deeds of her noble
| sons. | am not pessimist. indulging
| in vain memories of the good old days.
| | believe we have as many good people
| In this county as we have ever had, and
believe that in the honor and integrity
? of our citizenship we can challenge
| comparison with any people on the
| earth. But in the last few months
events have occurred which have
brought our good name into disrepute
and men have stood up in their places
and reyiled us and said all manner of
evil against us. Huge commercial dis
| asters have befallen the community
which have absorbed alike the deposits
| of those with competency and the saw
| ings of the poor. The public funds.
| reaching up into the thousands. have
been lost and the people are called upon
| to struggle under an additional load of
| taxation to make good the defacation.
Bonded officers and their sureties who
trusted to these dismantled institutions
are being pursued with lawsuits. The
air is full of scandals and the records
of the courts are full of charges of
fraud growing out of these failures.
The last grand jury made an investiga-
ton into some of these matters and
in a public report they advert to some
of the facts to which your attention is
| called. stating that at that time they
| were unable to gather sufficient testi-
mony upon which to predicate an in
dictment. | now call them to your at
tention again. 1t is charged that one
of the repositories of the public funds
made an appointment with the county
officials to count the cash belonging to
the county. That few minutes be-
fore the court began a gentleman walked
in with a shirt box. The box was filed
not with shirts. but legal tenders.
This money was counted by the unsus-
pecting public servants who thought
the money belonged to the county. and
they went away firm in the faith of the
solvency of the bank. AS soon as they
were gone the shirt box with its con-
tents was carried back to the moneyed
institution to which it belonged. The
bank where the public money was sup
posed to be shortly suspended. closed
its doors, and is now in the hands of
federal receiver
ut is charged that various wildcat
institutions have been organized and
chartered, without assets or solvency.
and used as convenient hiding places
and drainage pipes through which the
public and private deposits of the bank
could be conducted into the pockets of
certain individuals.
at is charged that the bonds of this
city to the amount of $50, 1000. bonds is
sued to cover a floating debt due for
current expenses. We're delivered to one
of these banks for sale. 1t is charged
that these bonds were sold ut their par
value and that not one dollar of that
money ever reached the city of Tyler.
or any of the creditors who were enti-
tied to that fund. 1t is charged that
various institutions possessed of credit
have deliberately used it to buy large
sums. which when purchased We're sold
to other corporations and the creditors
laughed to scorn. 1t is charged that
various concerns have been foisted into
existence. and when their absorbing ca
pacity had been fully Quilted. were de-
liberately wrecked to the enrichment
OF their officers and to the misfortune
and dismay of hundreds of innocent
victims"
II charge You to be jealous and faith
FIJI in the investigation of violations of
these statutes. If the law has been
broken and the state courts have iuris-
diction. fearlessly indict the offender. Be
no respecter of persons. Let there be in
this county an impartial administration
of justice. If somebody has gone out
here and stolen shaggy pony or
razor-back hog. ndict him because he
has violated the law of the land. but at
the same time do not hesitate TO strike
at the sinner in high places. Let il be
known throughout all the length and
breadth of the land that if we have
swindlers and embczzzlers, no matter
what their station in life, we indict them
and punish them. Let it be known
that in Smith county no man gets so
low or so high as to be beyond the reach
of the law when he violates it. When
you do this, then in the administration of
criminal justice will be realized the
grand eulOgy of Hooker when he said of
law, that her home is the bosom Of God
and her vice is the harmony of the
world
IN TINS connection | Will say THAI |
want you TO select finance committee.
Select three competent. fearless. honest
men; men who are nObody's man Fri
day who will go through the books and
let the country know exactly where we
are at Let us have general waking
up and Overhauling Go into these
things hammer and tongs and we will
clear up the moral atmosphere in this
vicinity. That's the way to quicken
the public and private conscience"
The Mob Law.
Touching upon the mob law question.
he says:
Gentlemen. some time last May Riley
Stewart. a peaceful, inoffensive old gen
tlcman living in this county was enticed
from his home and brutally murdered.
Etfie Jones, a negro, and Will Jones.
white man. were arrested and put in jail
in Tyler, charged with the crime. On
the night of May %, pending a judicial
investigation. before the courts could be
heard to declare their judgment, a mob
came into Tyler and over the protests Of
the officers of the law shot Will Jones
to death in his cell. This man had
been arrested by the state authorities; he
had been disarmed by them; he had been
confined in Jail to await trial With |
out an opportunity of being heard, with |
out trial. without a witness to speak |
publicly for or against him, and while |
protesting his innocence and begging fer |
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