The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-05-30
HE TELLS OF THE SYSTEM
Of Opinion That He Has Acted
 Within the Law.
Understood That Department of Jus tice Has Requested Judge Jones
 to Try Peonage Cases at /, Present Term of the United States.

!. WI Pace of Tallapoosa County. who was brought to Montgomery yesterday evening by United States Deputy Mar shal A.. B. Colquitt. admitted that he had bought negroes from Coosa County con stables and worked them on his farm which is ten miles from Dadeville. Pace is reparded by government officials as the chief defendant in the peonase ] eases, which are being investisateo oy direction of the Department of Justice. Each of the eight indictments returned by the federal grand jury now In session charges that negroes were "soio 10 Pace and held in a condition Of servitude at his place.
 Remarkable as it may seem each Of the Indictments charges that each or the negroes so held was taken to Faces place by Constables of Coosa County.
 The government, it is said, charges tnat certain justices of the peace and con stables of Coosa County entered into a conspiracy to seize negroes and denver them to Pace, who has a contract to hlre all hard labor convicts of Tallapoosa County.
 Keeps Convict Camps.
 Being A Jesse of county convicts Pace maintains a prison. employs guards ana keeps hounds for capturing escaped pr- znnara He a0fnftIeO idSt HiShb thoN negroes secured from Coosa County con stsh,es were treated the sam eas county conyicts Pace made the statement With ont hesitation and in a way that indi- cated he did not feel that he was guilty of wrong doing. - Two Coosa County constabaes. Robert [ N Franklin and Francis M. Prnet, potn { of Goodwater have been arrested ana ! both have made bond and returned 10 ; their homes. -c :. I Pace was arrested in Dadevfile yester- day morning by Deputy Mahshai Cclquitt, ! who left Montgomery for. DadeviHe Thursday evening. Pace came into , Dadeville from his country place about the time the Deputy Marshal reached there. When arrested he was not sur prised saying he had been expecting to De arrested several days He did not aesire to return to his country home and ex- pressed his readiness to come to Mont- gomery on the first train.
 With his prisoner Deputy Marshal Col uuitt reached Montgomery on Western Railroad train at 6:30 o'clock yesterday evening. They proceeded at once to the federal court room where Judge Thomas G. Jon ss was on the bench. 10.
 A power of attorney had been executed by William Gray and W. c. Stone, prominent merchants of Dadevllle, and was in possession of Deputy Marshal Colquitt Messrs Gray and Stone desired to make the bond of Pace. The power of attorney authoried the making of bond returnable at the December term of court.
 Bond Fixed at $2,ooo. Judge Jones announced that he would fix the bond of Pace at 5000 He said, however. that the Government might elect to try Pace before the December term and consequently the authority delegated by the Dadeville merchants was not sufficient. To save Pace from being committed to jail, Judge Jones said if Pace would pay the expenses of the Deputy Marshal to Dadeville and re- turn, he would remand Pace to the GUS tody of Mir, Colquitt and direct Mir. Col quit to secure a power of attorney from Messrs Gray and Stone, authorizing the making of bond of 5000. returnable June l. or from day to day thereafter.
 Pace expressed his appreciation of this arrangement, and said 1t was sausfac- tory to him.
 Deputy Marshal Colquitt and his pris- oner spent last night at Montgomery hotel They will leave for Dadeville on an early train this morning
 But one indictment has been returned against Pace This indictment is very brief and charges him simply with hold ing John Davis, a negro, in servitude on or about September 10. 1901.
 Pace Is a large man. He weighs prob- ably 275 pounds and is probably six feet tall His face is florid. He isa typicaI mountain farmer He wore a homespun shirt without collar and a broad -brim- med black hat His feet were encased in abnormal shoes, evidently of home manu- facture. He evidently has gout. He says he thinks his feet were frost bitten. al- though physicians nave pronounced his trouble a disease of the bone His ap- pearance is not preposessinR. but he is agreeable in conversation and spoke in- telligently of his trouble.
 Pace Talks of Cases.
 Last night he said he was i'll and un- able to make a detailed statement of the cases under consideration, although he said he was willing to do so if he was | not suffering great pain. Early in the | evening he went to bed and asked to be | not disturbed.
 Without any hesitation Pace said he | bought the negro John Davis from Robert | N. Franklin, a Constable of Tallapoosa | County. who brought him to his place | from Goodwater, a distance of about | thirty-f1ve miles. \He said he did not | know what Justice of the Peace tried | Davis and did not ask He understood, l he be taken to his Faces, place. Davis. | he said, begged him] to take him as he | did not want to go tP jail. He said after l explaining to Davisl that he would be | confined as were thel County convicts. to | which Davis eagerly \agrecd. he drew up | contract by which, Davis agreed to | work for him sixteen Imonths and 1t was | signed by Davis. Pace said he paid Frhnklin S7o for Da- wis, which was at the ,rate of a fraction | over $4 a day.
 1t is said the govern tnent will under take to show that the chnstable was paid | a commission"
 Asked if he did noA think sixteen months was a severe sea 1tence from a Justice court Pace said hle did not ask about it
 Pace said that 1t was nop a fact that large number of negroes had been bought | by him. He said he had Abought about