The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-10-05
FIGHT 1GETS LIVELY
MOVES AND couNTERMovEs IN
THE CASE OF HARRY
SUMMERS
TENNESSEE SHERIFF ARRIVES
Induces Summers to Sign Statement
OF voluntary Return-McGhee Re-
sents Action as Unfair-Hear-
ing Before Governor Today.

the charge of murder would be the
cause of some decided heroics, When
Attorney McGhee rushed eXcitedly into
the county attorneys office, followed by
prominent colored citizen, it looked as
if there We're trouble ahead Mr.. Nc
Ghee was inclined to be wrathy, and as
he said, "righteously indignant" Mr..
McGhee has been preparing to make
hard fight against the extradition of
Summers, but for few minutes it look
ed as if Mr.. Summers might go back
anyway.
Summers was in the municipal court
yesterday morning charged with being
fugitive from justice. Judge Hine Or
dered his release on the ground that the
complaint was defective. Sheriff w. S.
Sammons, of Hardeman county, Tonnes
see, arrived in town early in the morn
ing and left requisition papers at the
governors office. Summers was no soon
er released than Sheriff Sammons walk
ed in, and with Detective Frazer rear
rested him. Summers was taken to the
central police station.
Mr.. Summons, who has long known
Summers, had a little hart-to- heart
talk with the colored prisoner, and told
him that he was still his friend and in
tended to stick by him and see that he
got a fair trial. He intimated that Mr..
McGhee had done all that could be done
for him, and that it would be better to
ASICtilI POCNSoO1y5 dliO tlitlI IL llO ulO
it would go easier with him. If he
fought the case here he would have to
go anyway and it might be harder for
him. He said: Haven't 1 always been
your friend? Didn't you vote for me?
You know I'll give you a fair deal"
He asked Summers if he wouldn't go
back with him and Summers said yes.
The sheriff then drew up a paper which
Summers signed, stating that he was
willing to go back to Bolivar without
further resistance When Mr.. McGhee
went to see his client to talk over the
case he learned that he had signed this
paper. why did you do it % said Nc
Ghee. 'They told me the boys back
there would all stand by me if l went,
and they said you had done all you
could and would have to give up the case
now" said Summers. McGhee asked
Summers if he really believed all this
and Summers said he didn't know. "You
thought yesterday that to go back would
mean hanging, said McGhee, 'thaVe you
changed your mind?" Summers said he
hadn't, and was still certain that he
would get the worst of it if he went
back. McGhee talked to him severely
and told him to sign 40 more papers,
and then went over to the court house
to interview Mr.. Kane e44
L want warrant issued,',. said Nc
Ghee, (which will bring this man under
the charge of the sheriff. l shall feel
safer II he is under the protection of the
district court. 1 know that this man
Summers, who is poor and ignorant, can
pe induced to do most anything by a
white man from his own county,
County Attorney Kane thought that it
was unnecessary to issue such a war
rant, and finally, to assure Mr. Nc
0Eee, the county attorney pledged his
| WORD that Summers should not be taken
away without fair hearing in court
l DO not want to say anything unkind
| OF anybody connected with this case"
| said Mr. McGhee, "but it really does
look to me as if this was small bit of
| triclzery''
STORY OF THE CRIME.
AS nearly as can be learned from the
evidence presented at the inquest. the
STORY CT the murder was this:
William FI4ewark was foreman of the
Jumper nfm of Wise & Lesh at jackson
Tenn. On November l, which was paw
DAY tor the company, the men were all
PAD and LeWark, with some others, at
Lenoed an afternoon variety show at
| Bolivar, and in the evening went to the
cottage OF one Frances Mcneil and be-
ing unable to- get in went around to the
| pack door and knocked Some one ask
| cd, WHO'S there?'' and when Lewark
| responded, they were refused admittance.
The men were intoxicated and were not
d. H. a.
turned to the front door and began to
| pound Finally someone came to rho
door LeWark had his hands in his over
| coat pockets, in which were two bottles
OF whisky. Suddenly the door swung
| open and Lewark stepped forward. only
TO meet with a terrific blow from an ak,
Which split his head half way down. and
he fell to the floor. The sheriff was no
titled at late hour of the murder. and
hastened to the. scene. He found LeWark
| lying across the threshold of the cottage
bathed in his own blood, a little dog lick
ing up the brains (which were scattered
| on the floor. 0 The women in the Mace
were all arrested;4 and a man named
Turner, who 9was known to have fire.
quented the place, was arrested, and
| gradually the officers arrested a number
of persons Who had been in the cottage
Summers had flown and there was no
trace of him. Those who were arrested
all accused Summers of being the man
with unanimity that suggested a pre-
arranged story. Turner and the others
have been in custody ever since, while
the police have been looking for Sum
| mers. Lewark, notwithstanding his ter
rible injuries, lived for twelve days with
half his brains gone, and his scalp hang
| ing in two pieces
Gov. Van SAINT will be home this morn
ing, and the hearing on. the requisition
will no doubt come up today.
MASS MEETING LAST NIGHT
For earnestness of purpose and large
attendance probably no gathering of the
colored residents of St. Paul ever before
held has eXcelled the meeting of last
evening at Twin City hall in the interest
of Harry Summers, the negro now under
arrest here on requisition from the
governor of Tennessee, charging him with
murder. The hall assigned to the meet
ing was filed to it's utmost capacity and
many who came We're unable to crowd in
and were obliged to leave.
Harry Howard was elected chairman of
the meeting, and d. c. Cotton secretary.
f. L. McGhee attorney for the prisoner
related the circumstances of the case as
told above and read from the Chicago
Tribune record the 1ynchings in some
OF the Southern states during the past
! fifteen years, which showed among other
| statistics that in that period of time seven
| persons were lynched in Tennessee, five
| Of whom were negroes and two white
| men. OF the negroes one was a woman
merely accused of Stealing Mr.. McGhee
! argued that If Cow Van SAINT were to
refuse to honor this requisition for Sum-
| mers he would not be acting without
| precedent, as the state of Louisiana had
| refused to surrender a negro to Missis-
! sippi on the ground that he would not
| b given a fair trial if returned to the
| latter state; Nebraska and Florida had
| done the same; Pennsylvania had refused
| to give man1up to- Florida; Indiana had
| declined to returnsTaylor to Kentucky,
| and President Roosevelt, when governor
| of New York, had refused to do the same.
| Addresses expressing the belief that to
| return Summers to Tennessee would be
! to deliver him to mob violence were made