The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-03-25

Frankfort, KY. March 24-"John
Powers told me they had two negroes
here to kill Goebel. They were Herker
Smith and Dick Coombs.''
This statement was made today by
F. Wharton Golden, a fraiI, consump-
| overlooking Kentucky mountaineer,
while on the witness stand in the pre-
liminary examination of Secretary Of
State Caleb Powers, charged with con-
spiracy to kill Goebel.
Golden told story Of the events
| leading up to the murder that, if sub
stanuated, Will, in the minds of those
connected with the prosecution. at
| least, probably go far toward proving
the contentious Of the commonwealth
that the murder was the result of a
plan in which several prominent men
were involved.
Whether the defense will seek to i'm
| peach Golden's testimony in this pre-
| liminary examination, is not known, as
! the attorneys for the defense viii not
talk on the subject, but unless such
attempt is made, the commonwealth
will rest its case, buth County Attor-
| ney POlsgrOve and Attorney Campbell
| being satisfied that enough evidence
has been presented to hold the de-
| PENDANT on the charges.
Golden, who claims to have been a
! friend to Secretary Powers and his
| brother, John Powers, for years, gave
/ testimony that was particularly dam
| aging to John Powers, but he also
| brought in the names Of many Others
| including Charles Finley, w. H Coul-
/ ton and Governor Taylor in his story
of the bringing of the mOuntaincers to
| Frankfort previous TO the assassina-
] ton
Taylor Not Directly Implicated.
! Governor Taylor, however, was not
I directly implicated. and the attorneys
! for the commonwealth intimated today
/ that they do not expect to have his
name brought forth prominently in
/ the story Of the alleged conspiracy.
Golden was not crOSS-eXamined to-
/ day and adjournment was taken at an
| early hour this afternoon on account Of
| his physical condition, the witness hav-
| ing a slight hemorThage during the
/ morning, becoming so weak under the
! strain Of the examination in the after
noon that he begged to be allowed a
| respite. He was quite nervous at
times.
Golden's testimony tended to show
| that a plan was made to bring to
/ Frankfort several hundr5i Irregular
necessary, as Golden expressed it. go
into the legislative hall and kill off
! enough Democrats to make IL our way. y
The testimony did not show that the
alleged plot TO kill Goebel was part Of
| the original plan, nor did it contain
/ the names of those who conceived that
idea. But the commonwealth sought
TO show by GOlden's conversations with
various people that not only John and
I all 10
full knowledge Of the alleged plan of
assassination
Golden on the Stand.
Secretary of State Powers was the
only one of the defendants brought
into court this morning. F. Wharton
| Golden of BarbOursville was the first
witness. He had known Secretary Pow
ers for about eighteen years, and knew
| Mr.. CultOn- He was also acquainted
with Governor Taylor and Captain John
! Powers. He said he was a friend TO
! all of the defendants. He was in Frank
| fort in January and February, and saw
| Secretary Powers nearly every day He
was in Frankfort on Jan. II, and went
| TO Harlan county on the 18th, and then
went TO Laurel county for three or four
| days, from there returning TO Frank
fort.
From there where did you go-to
BarbOursviIle? ?" asked Attorney Camp
1 bell.
After hesitating, the witness said: Il
won't answer that"
| When did you have a conversation
| with Secretary Powers 90
! when Mr.. Powers and I left here
| together. Colonel Powers told me to
go to Harlan county and tell Postmas-
II ter John Hirst to send down ten wit
nesses in the contest case who were
regular mountain feudists."
Wanted Men Who Would Kill.
Did he understand what you meant
| by that, and what was your under
standing of that request %
/ Objected to, but oYerruled
81 won't answer that said Golden.
! After some harley GsIden said: 'sWell.
men who would stand UP, and, If neces-
sary. go into that legislative hall and
| kill off enough to make it in our favor.
did not see Hirst. 7 saw Hamp How
| ard. told him we wanted ten regular
mountain feudists for witnesses. We
wanted men who had good Colts forty
| iveE"
Were the Colts forty-fives to be put
| in evidence?" asked Attorney Camp
| bell.
Most assuredly they were" answer
| ed Golden
In reply to a question, Golden said
he did not know the witnesses who
| came to Frankfort He delivered the
message to Howard on Sunday, a few
days before the shooting Of GOebel
When did you next see Caleb Pow
e-s?"
Il saw him on Tuesday. I got on
the train at Ferris station, Laurel
county. He had a couple of men on the
train named Pease and Locket. He told
me to take care of them 1 next saw
Powers in Frankfort. 1 don't remem-
Der what conversation we had then
Men From the Mountains.
Who selected the men who came
from Harlan county?'
'Hamp Howard. He selected thirty
men besides the ten. Caleb Powers. I
think. selected the men from Knox
county. There were about seventy or
eighty. Jim Sparks. county attorney
in Laurel county, selected the men
from Laurel county,"
When was il determined to bring the
men to Frankfort
It don't know"
Witness stated that at London, Pow
ers said he wanted a regular army of
nountaineers to come 10 Frankfort.
In answer to further questions, Col
den said Powers gave him $3.50 to give
TO Judge Bingham in Bell county.
i gave some of it to Bingham 10
send ten men down TO Frankfort said
I Golden. Witness said he gave Howard
$3.50 for ten tickets to Frankfort and
return He knew some of the men
from Bell county. Most of the men
were mountaineers. About ] 200 or 800