The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-12-11


self. although an officer OF the law, had
done nothing to rescue the negro
The attorney general leaned forward and
pointed finger straight at Douthltt
How many men were there in the mop
that took the negro from the buggy he
said.
Vel. should say ten fifteen" said
Douthitt, hesitatingly.
And you made no effort to help the
sheriff In the performance OF MS SWORN
DUTY? Mr.. Taylor asked
Douthitt admitted that he had not SHOWN
fight.
why didn't YOU" inquired Mr.. Taylor
You were there as the prosecutor of that
county, a sworn officer of the law, and by
your own admission you did not do your
duty. Do you mean to say that ten men
who knew themselves 10 be yiolators OF the
law could have resisted successfully rev
determined men with the nerve that men
ought TO have? Why didn't you do some
thing?"
Douthitt visiby embarrassed, but hid
his discontinue by smile. He murmured
somett ing about not wanting TO shoot.
There was no necessity to shoot, saic
the attorney general There need not
have been a shot fired. If some one with
courage, and he emphasized the word
courage, had taken dubbed revolver
and had used il on the heads of the MEM
bers of the mob. hit them in the face with
1T, there would have been no lynching.
Douthitt replied that his position had
been difficult and that maybe the attorney
general did not realize the exact circum-
stances.
CALLED 1T PLAIN MURDER.
Yes. L do said Mr.. Taylor. II
| mixed up in an affair of that kind once.
Anyway. you were there and allowed muir
der to take place. Murder" and he spelled
| the word out. Did you not realize that
| every man in that mob is liable 10 the
punishment for MURDER" he asked once
| more.
Yes" replied Douthitt. He then con-
tinued with his testimony. seldom assert
ing anything positively and speaking with
| the utmost care. The Governor submitted
| him to a searching examination near the
| end of the days hearing.
Ex-Sheriff Dudley himself was the first
| witness. He testified that after receiving
| telephone message from Oaktown he had
| taken a hack and driven TO Lawrence
| Vile, ILL.,, with his posse. He claimed that
| billiard had not asked for requisition pa
| pers and had said he was willing TO return
without them. He stopped at Robinson,
Ill, he said, because he had not been Will
| ing to return to Sullivan by the way OF
Oaktown, where, he had heard, there might
| be danger of losing his prisoner.
! The prisoner left In the Robinson
| jail, he said, while he and his party ate
| breakfast. At Robinson Dillard demanded
| requisition papers and he Dudley agreed
| and prepared to wait there for them. Later
| the negro changed his mind again and said
he was willing to go without them. Then.
Dudley said. he called up Prosecutor
| be all right to bring the negro to Sullivan
| and that there was no danger.
REVOLVERS DRAWN.
After reaching Sullivan, Dudley said,
| men sprang from everywhere, determined
to take his prisoner from him. He drew
his revolver, he said, did his father,
Oliver j. Dudley, and Deputy Mills. He
threatened to shoot, he declared, but the
mob paid no attention to him and dragged
the negro from the carriage, tearing Dill
| lard's clothes from his back they did
| so. There were three hundred persons
present, he said, when the negro was taken
| from him. All this occurred in the yard
| of the Jail, he said, and his wife and chill
dren Were there screaming and begging
him to be careful. He could have shot
| and could have killed a number in the
| crowd, Dudley declared, but that would not
have saved the negro's life. and then there
| would have been no telling what would
| have happened. He called for assistance
! upon fifty men in the crowd, but no one
would aid him, he claimed. The gist of
the whole matter was, the sheriff said,
that it was absolutely impossible to protect
the negro, and in looking back over the
| affair he could not see where In any way
| he could have acted differently.
On cross-examination he admitted that
he had visited a saloon in Robinson. He
| did not know how many of the members
of his party had entered, he said. He was
| Informed, he said, that at least one member
of the party was so drunk he had TO vomit.
| Dudley had to stand a severe cross-ex-
animation from MIR. Taylor and Mr.. Moores,
and after they got through the Governor
| had an inning. The state contended that
If the sheriff had called up the Governor S
office in Indianapolis in plenty of time the
militia could have been ordered out and
| the negro saved for the law.
HEARING TO-DAY.
Among the witnesses sworn were A. B.
Houston, sheriff of Crawford county; Oil
yer J. Dudley, father of the ex-sheriff;
Mrs. Dudley, his wife; Fred Asbury, the
driver of the carriage which brought the
negro back to Sullivan: DR.. Maxwell the
coroner, and under the law present sheriff
Of Sullivan county; Edward s. Sparrow. a
tailor of Sullivan, and William F. Douthitt
who was hauled over the Goals without
| mercy by the attorney general.
| Yesterday was devoted entirely to exam
ination of witnesses for Dudley. To-day the
| citizens of Robinson, ILL.,, who have been
| summoned to the hearing will testify, and
the state has other witnesses whose testi-
mony, 1t is claimed, will be adverse TO Dud-
| ley. The hearing will be resumed at
o'clock this morning and will probably oc-