The Savannah morning news., 1902-02-07
BEGINNING TO ARRIVE
ID. ID. GREENE AND e. II. AND w. II.
GAYNOR IN SAVANNAH.
JOHN GAYN0R ON THE WAY.
FOURTH MEMBER OF QUARTETTE
EXPECTED TOMORROW.

Capt. Greene Says He Knows Moth
Ing More About the Case Than the
Public at LarEe-His Counsel Sup
posed to Know 1t AIl-Alleged
Criminal Scarcely Looks tide
fends Himself From ImputatiOn of
Nothing in story of Attempt to
Remove Trial to Macon.
Capt. BENJAMIN d. Greene and Ed
ward H. and William T. Gaynor are
in Savannah. Col John F. Gaynor,
the fourth member of the quartette
charged with having appropriated
more than S2,0OO,OOO of the govern
ments money, will reach the city to-
morrow.
There is little or nothing connected
with their case or its conduct that
the defendants have as yet manifested
any disposition to disclose. On the
contrary, when they discussed the
matter yesterday, they all said they
knew nothing more about the case
than had already become public prop
erty through the newspapers.
Il really know nothing about the
matter said Capt. Greene. "other than
what has been already said. Our at
torneys know what they are going to
do, but 1 have not yet had an oppor-
tunity to confer with them and there
fore am not in their confidence. don't
suppose they would be willing to show
heir I,,gk r
would"
Capt. Greene scarcely looks the part
of the criminal he has been painted. He
is tall and somewhat gray and wears
that air of calm resignation to the in
evitable and of supreme Indifference 70
everything that might happen supposed
to be particularly and peculiarly
characteristic of the retired officer of
the English army.
Capt. Greene, however, is not English
by good deal, though Col. t. B. Fell
der, one of his counsel insisted on rail-
lying him on his resemblance to the
type.
Its a libel" said the captain, and
to disprove the charge he told a story.
II remember once when / was in
London and some of my friends there
took me up to the Army and Navy
Club. We were talking to three or four
artillery officers of the English army,
ana as the evening waned and the
morning began to threaten an appear
ance we began to discuss the possibil-
ity of a war between Great Britain
and the United States. The English
men discussed it seriously.
- tNNhV' / said sfhafeA xvO1IIdu't he
any war. All we'd have to do would
be to go down to the southern coast of
Florida and dam up the passage be-
tween that state and Cuba. In twenty
four hours the Gulf stream would have
found a new direction and the British
Isles would be covered with a coating
of ice ten feet thick. 1t wouldn't be
war; it would be annihilation.'
DO you KNOW" said Capt. Greene,
THAT chap couldn't get over the idea
! bad spoken with perfect seriousness.
He put his head between his hands
and thought over the whole matter
carefully and finally announced that
the thing could not be done.
Why it can l said; it's only 90
miles and all that is necessary would
be for us to clear the railroads between
Florida and the Rocky mountains
bring section of that range down to
ii.
could convince that Englishman that
the engineering feat / described was
possible, but he never thought l was
not speaking in serious earnest. Now
III swear nobody could tell me a story
like that and induce me to accept il as
gospel truth. / know a joke when
see it, and Col. Fielder does me an in
justice"
District Attorney Erwin and all the
lawyers representing Greene and the
Gaynors were greatly amused by a
story printed in the Macon Telegraph
an extract from which was repfoduced
in the Morning News yesterday. The
story was to the effect that counsel
for the defendant had made an effort
to secure trial of the case in Macon
instead of Savannah, and that the dis
trict attorney and Judge Speer had
agreed that this would be desirable
if it were only legal. According tc
the Telegraph, all that stopped the
contamination of the plan was the
objection of Judge Speer.
All this was supposed to have hap
pened at a conference between Judge
Speer, District Attorney Erwin and
Messrs. duBignon and Fielder, of coun-
sci for the defense. AS a matter OF
fact, no such conference ever took
place. When Mr.. duBignon and Mr.
feider were IN Macon Judge Speer
was i'll and in bed and neither of them
saw him. Nobody connected with the
case has ever seriously contemplated
or suggested such a proceeding.
Mr.. Erwin said yesterday that the
article in the Telegraph might pos
s1bly have had its basis in an incident
that occurred in the chambers of Judge
Speer, three days after the visit of
Messrs. duBignon and Fielder to Macon.
Judge Speer had just recovered from
his attack of illness and the district
attorney had dropped in at his cham
bers of the Macon bar, including Mr..
Thomas S. Fielder. a cousin of him of
the name who now represents Greene
and the Gaynors.
In joking way this Mr.. Fielder sug-
gested that it would be a great thing
for Macon to have the Greene Gaynor
trial in that town, as IL would proba bly
result in much gratuitous advertising.
II was a pity. he said, that Il should
come to Savannah. Mr.. Erwin and
Judge Speer contributed something TO
the joke but nobody ever thought 10
take the matter seriously.