The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1901-12-01
Especial to News and Observer


Oxford ~ c., Nov. 3O.-At fifteen min
utes past five O'Clock this afternoon
the Gattis-Kilgo case went to the jury.
Judge Shaw finished the reading of his
charge and the jury, after listening for
forty minutes to a review of the testi-
niony which was abandoned as too
The morning session began with Judge
Graham continuing his speech begun the
night before. 1t lasted until after IL
O'Clock when Judge Winston began the
last speech for the defense
Att O'Clock adjournment was taken for
dinner, and after dinner Judge Winston
spoke for nearly an hour and half.
His speech over, the jury left the room.
and Judge Shaw heard from counsel for
the plaintiff with regard to connecting
defendants with the issuing of the PAM
phlet This was established and argu-
ment was had to connect defendants with
the issuing of the ten thousand supple
ments. In his charge the court denied
this plea.
Immediately after dinner Judge Wins
ston continued his argument. sad
there would be little left in the case il
the American Tobacco Company, Mr..
Duke, the rich man; the poor man and
opposition to Trinity College be taken
out One reason he assigned for Mr..
Gattis' coming to Granville was to get
to a county where there was strong OPP
position to trusts, and he declared that
the motive of the suit was because Mr..
Duke was on the board. He argued that
in way had O'dell been connected with
the suit except as a member of the board
and expressed wonder that the plaintiffs
han run off to Concord to get a man to
sue. They will have to scrape the
earth to connect O'dell and Duke with
the case
Judge Winston here read one by one
the various charges made against Kilgo
at Trinity, and for each plead that they
had not been proven AS for malice in
the publication of the pamphlet it was
agreed to publish it six weeks before any
thing was known of Gattis in the matter.
In arguing Judge Winston here said to
the jury:
Il say to you that this case only got
TO the box by the skin of it's teeth
Immediately counsel for the plaintiff
were at Judge Shaw to keep Judge Win
ston from such argument.
The latter claimed that Major Guthrie
had blazed this way, and after declaring
there was not a scintilla of evidence to
go to the jury, and that there was over
whelming evidence of no malice, he said
it was utterly inconceivable that a body
of men could be malicious. Passing over
the first issue, rapidly, as His Hone had
instructed an answer he agreed that
the matter complained of was not false.
Here he reviewed the charge made
against Gattis by Kilgo, and declared
each to be true, giving facts as they ap-
peared to him to prove them, and sum-
med up these by saying that Kilgo's po-
siti0n and his character brought from
South Carolina were enough to convince
the board of his truthfulness. He urged
that the jury say mo" to the second
ISSUE AS to the reason that Kilgo did
not go on the stand, he declared it was
because there was nothing for him to
testify. and then JudgeS Winston dis
cussed the character of Gattis as de-
scribed by DR.. Kilgo, and showed how
he found an endorsement of Kilgo's
charges in the doings of Mr.. Gattis, and
he cited the reference of Mr.. Gattis to
ev. B. r. Ham, and to his son.
"Buts we don't want to hurt Gattis-
character" he said, I'VE are not after
that, even if he was volunteer witness
at Trinity for he did not have to go un-
less he wanted to-
Here there was again a reference to
, the questions asked Mr.. Gattis about
opium and the insurance fraud.
IF he was broken down in 1899 how
could he testify three months later that
he had been in good health?"
Mr. Winston then presented some
rogent arguments going to disprove the
charge of malice. He said that if Gattis
could have gone on the stand and show
ed malice from Duke and Odell he might