The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-03-04
WHO MURDEDER G0EBEL?
A kENTUCkTAN CALLS ATTENTION
TO CURIOUS FACTS.


From the New York World
An eminent public man of Kentucky
one of the most eminent in the state and
well known throughout the country--sends
the World The following account of the
mystery of the assassination of Goebel:
william Goebel was shot al 11:10 in the
morning of Jan 80 Nearly month has
passed and the mystery of Ihis murder is
more of a mystery than it seemed to be
a few hours after the shooting. All of
the facts that are undisputed may be
summarized as follows:
"Goebel left the Capitol Hotel to attend
the meeting of the Legislature at the
State House, accompanied by Col. Jack
Chinn, of Lexington, and Warden Eph
Lillard of the Frankfort penitentiary
LAS they entered the state grounds Lii
lard walked in front of Goebe and Jack
Chinn. The two latter went rapidly up
the broad pathway, Goebel three or four
steps ahead of Lillard and Jack Chinn.
LAS Goebel reached point forty feet
ahead of the State House and eighty-five
feet from the nearest angle of the execu-
tive building the firing began.
while four or five shots were being
discharged Goebel sank to his knees and
then fell heavily upon his left side. Blood
was squirting from a wound just in front
of the right armpit."
Who fred the shots? Were they fired
from the front or the rear? Were they
fired at close distance or long range?
Were they fired with intent to wound or
with intent to kill? Did any one see them
fired?
These are . few Of tho questions 70
which there has been no answer, indeed
no attempt at answer
The first impression promptly sent out
by the Associated Press, was that the
shots must have come from the execu-
tive building-a high, detached wing
building to Goebels right from the little
old main Capitol This conclusion was
jumped at because that building was oc-
cupied by GoebePs political adversaries.
and had been and still was to an extent
sleeping quarters for mountaineers who
had come to Frankfort with their Win
chesters ito look on at the Legislature"
as they said significantly. The only evil
dence that has been advanced to sustain
this theory is the statement of a Mr..
Reading, who stepped out from his store
far across the wide street in front OF the
State House yard at sound of the shots,
Mr.. Reading says:
LAS l walked toward the middle of the
street l looked around TO sees if l could
locate where the shots had come from.
AS / could see no one in the yard l looked
up at the executive building l saw a
window open on the third floor and a
mans arm extended as if reaching for
something"
This evidence is refuted by the state
ment of w. H. Stone, the State Insurance
Commissioner. whose office is the one in
dictated by Mr.. Reading. Mr. Stone says:
Mr. Readings statement is no doubt
correct, as Immediately after the first shot
was fired / ran to the window and pushed
il up, but owing TO the shape of the build
ing could not see the part of the yard the
crowd was running to, and withdrew. The
shots were not fired from my side of the
third floor In fact, | do not think they
were fired from any part of the third
story"
However, upon the strength of the
Reading statement man named Whit
taker was arrested, was nearly lynched,
is still under arrest and viii not come
up for examination until next Tuesday.
He was in the suspected building, in the
office of the Assistant Secretary of State,
and had rushed out from there and
around in front of the main Capitol to
small detached building the far side
TO call the Adjutant General, and was
RUNNING back. He thus twice passed the
spot where Goebel lay dying. He was
arrested by a well-meaning Old man for
merely running, and that toward, not
from, the supposed ambuscade
Whitaker is completely cleared by
John Davis, custodian OF the Capitol
grounds amply corroborated. Col. Davis
says:
Il was just outside Gov Tayror's office
when l. heard the shots and heard Gov.
Taylor say: My God, what have they
done?' He called to me at once 10 go
over to the office of Adjt. Gen Collier, and
Whitaker went along. He could not have
done the shooting"
Besides Whitaker one man is also
under arrest uutried, for the shooting
man named Sutton, who, in the wild
dehrium of a debauch in which he
jumped from a thrd-story window in
Louisville and ran unhurt mile, de-
clared he had done it. 1t is enough to
say that Sutton is wholly uncorroborated
even by himself This leaves suspicion
10 any concrete individual wandering
in quite an aimless and desultory way.
According 10 Col. Jack Chinn who with
Eph Lillard constituted the Senator's us
ual bodyguard, 'Lillard had gone ahead
and had just got into the State House"
So it seems that I.illard was nowhere near
the scene, yet in his statement to the re-
porters Lillard says:
Il tried hard to get a sight of the fell
low. He kept pouring the lead down at
us, and / will swear there was no sign
TO indicate from where he was shooting
As many shots as he fired would make
a considerable powder smoke If ordinary
cartridges were used, but never a sign
of smoke could | see"
Col. John Chinn gave out several con-
fictins statements; for instance, in one
he said Il saw stream of smoke set
Ting back from a window in the east of
the Capitol building" In another he said,
'the firing maze no smoke that / could
see, and | saw no sign Of a gun at any
of the windows and could only judge of
the direction by the sound"
The first physician to examine the dy-
ing man was DR. f. e. Hume, whose
office is in the basement of the Capital
Hotel Goebel was carried to this office
and DR.. Hume made a hasty examination,
pronouncing the wound one that must
cause death in a short time. Goebel was
then carried TO his room on the second
floor Of the Capital Hotel In the treat
ment afterward there were engaged Drs
Hume, Mccormick. Ely, McMurtry, Walk
er, cambridge, Chinn, Mckenzie, Barrow,