The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-01-22
FAMOUS LITIGATION ENDED.
DODGE GIVEN TITLE TO HIS MONT
GOMERY COUNTY LAND.

The Property That Was Involved in
the Famous Conspiracy Cases OF
1890, in Which Hall and others
Were Convicted of Murder-The
Defendants Restrained From In
terfering With the Property i'm
Any Way-GiIIis Held in Contempt
of Court, But Sentence Suspended.
Practically the last Of the famous
Montgomery county land suits, which have
led to one or two murders, and which have
been cause celebre in the United States
courts of Georgia for six or eight years,
were disposed of in the United States court
yesterday.
The principal one of these suits now
pending is that of Norman w Dodge, a.
ell & Co. and others, which was filed Nov.
16, 1891. In this suit settlement had been
reached as to G. A. Powell & Co, who
were represented by Messrs Garrard, Mel
drim & Newman, and the decree taken did
not apply to them, nor to S. H. McCullom
another of the defendants who was repre-
scented by Messrs. Denmark & Adams.
l.
Walter b. Hill of Macon. After short ar
guments and explanations to the court of
the features of the case, a final decree
was signed by Judge Speer, the other de-
PENDANTS besides those mentioned having
failed to appear.
The decree was to the effect that Norman
W. Dodge is the owner of about thirty lots
of land in ATontoop,arv, aDd 7 aura,s oo,,r,
ties which were in dispute. The second
paragraph of the decree was a perpetual
injunction against Columbus White,
Frank Morrison, Burrell or Russell Park
err Hugh ellis. H. 1. Sears, A. ]. Me-
Daniel, Mrs James Dorsey, John T. Cur
ry, l.. S. Mcdaniel, d. H. Mcdaniel, H. 7.
Wright, w. E. Wright and Mrs. S. E. I.iv-
tngston, restraining them from holding or
asserting any claim to the lots mentioned
in the decree, and from interfering with
them in any manner
The decree further declared that all deeds
TO the property described held by the de-
PENDANTS named, are. void, and must be
surrendered for cancellation. The same
declaration was made with regard to any
leases of the property which the defend
ants may have made
mand of the plaintiff or his agents or at
torneys, the decree of the court~shaH he
executed by placing the agents or lessees
OF the plaintiff in possession of the prop
erty, and removing any of the defendants
from it, and taxing the costs upon them
The marshal of the court is directed in
this provision to see that the terms of the
decree are executed. The final paragraph
of the decree provides that the defend
ants, q, A. Powell & Co, having fully
settled with the plaintiff for the alleged
trespass committed by them, no decree
is rendered against that firm or the in
dividuals composing it.
The other case growing out of this one
which was also disposed of, was that of
Norman w. Dodge against Hugh ellis
who was charged with having violated the
temporary injunction and order of the
court in the foregoing case, in that he
trespassed upon one of the lots, lot No
12l, in the Eleventh district of Montgom-
cry county, after the injunction had been
issued.
A decree was also signed by. Judge Speer
in this case, the finding being that the
plaintiff had submitted sufficient proofs to
show that the defendant was in CONTEMPT
of court but the issuance of a rule abso-
lutte and sentence for such contempt was
suspended until the further order of the
court, leave being given to the plaintiff
at any time to move for such sentence, on
showing to the court that ellis persists
in his contempt and violation of the
courts orders.
These are. the same lands which were
connected with the famous Montgomery
county conspiracy cases, which were tried
by the United States court in 1890, after
which Hall and others were sentenced to
the Columbus penitentiary on conviction
of murder and lesser offenses. Hall, who
was Macon lawyer, died at the peniten-
tiary in Columbus day or two ago.
The DEGREES taken yesterday practically
| dispose of the litigation in connection with
this property. and fix the titles of the
plaintiff, Dodge, who is said to own in
| that section about 100000 acres. This land
| was originally distributed by state land
| grants, which accounts in part for the
| dispute that arose with regard to the til
| ties. There are several lumber mills and
several turpentine stills upon it, some of
| them being worked by the Hilton, Dodge
Lumber Company, and others by parties
to whom portions of the property are
| leased.
WANTED A SUIT REMANDED.