The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-03-11
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Advertiser Bureau,

very doors this morning when at 10 o'clock the bailiff cried "Order in Court .'' The occasion for this unusual gathering was the assembling of 300 special vefire- men. besides upwards of 100 witnesses, summoned in the w. H. Wick murder case. Besides these there were the regular jurors for the week. the prisoner, Robert A. Goodwin. whose case was be- gun yesterday morning and had not been | concluded when court adjourned last night, and the witnesses and attorneys
 in his case These with spectators pre- | sent made an assemblage of about 5OO people, all white.
 When Judge o. J. Semmes took his seat on the bench he. after consultation with | the attorneys in the Wick case, instructed | the baihf to call the witnesses for the State and the defense. Then came an | interview during which the attorneys went over the situation to reach a decis- ion as to whether they were ready for | trial In the meantime 1t was agreed | that if both sides announced ready the court would proceed to draw jury in | the murder case after which the Goodwin (grand larceny) case would be taken up | and concluded There were yet several | witnesses to be examined in this case, after which would te heard the argument | and then the charge to the jury. During the walt, by request of attor- neys, the case of the State vs Lewis | Arata, robbery. which had originally been
 set down for March 3, was reset for
 March 16th. This indictment has been pending for about fifteen years. The de- fendant left the city and went to Europe his father having signed his bond for 1,500. At the next term of court the
 case was called and the bond forfeited on declaration of the father that Lewis Arata would not return. The S1,50O was paid into court, but the indictment stood. Last
 fall the defendant returned and surren- dered and Is again under bond. Shortly after Il o'clock, all prelimi- aries being gone through with both sides in the Wick case announced ready and the work of securing a competent jury out of
 the 300 special and regular jurymen be- gan.
 Out of the first venire, and when the defense had exhausted all of its chal-
 lenges and the State all but two, the jury
 was secured as follows: J ullus Delchamps, lumber dealer. Delchamps; J. Curtis Bush.
 Jr., merchant, city: Arthur L. Batson,
 miller. city; August H. Rayford. Whis-
 tler;' Rube Dorian grocer. city; Lewis
 Rafield. Coden; Jacob M. Forbes, clerk,
 city; Frank w. Carmelich, cigar drum
 mer, city: Joseph Bolton. farmer; coun-
 ty: Benjamin Deakle. farmer. county;
 Toxey. retired physician, city.
 The jury was then sworn in and placed
 under custody of the sheriff, pending con-
 clusion of the Goodwin case.
 Hearing of testimony began in the Good
 wyn case about 2 o'clock and the lawyers
 went into argument at o'clock.
 At T:45 o'clock Judge Semmes closed his
 charge to the jury and they retired to make up a verdict.
 For the State Solicitor Webb and Ed
 ward M. Robinson made able speeches,
 while equally able arguments were made
 for the defense by Attorneys Samuel B.
 Browne and Harry T. Smith.
 The jury announced at o'clock they
 could not reach verdict and were locked
 up for the night.
 Walter Hart, a smooth negro, was
 bound over this morning by Recorder McAleer in two charges. grand and petit larceny. in the sums of $500 and $50 respectively. Hart succeeded. so the evi- dence showed. in working off bogus paper money for goods on unsuspecting victims.
 About 9:SO o'clock this morning an aged one-armed negro was seen to come out of One Mike Creek Swamp, at the head of St. Joseph Street. without a particle of clothing on his person. Some kindly disposed persons at Maupin ard Neely's stock yard secured some clothing and dressed the man, after which the patrol wagon was asked for and the uh- fortunate was taken to police head quarters. It was impossible to learn his fective speech. He was very humble. however, and obeyed every instruction of the turnkey. He will be sent to the poor farm.
 About 3:30 o'clock this morning two boxes were pulled for q fire in the south- ern portion of the city. The fire was located In a small frame house on War tinguished after considerable damage had been done. The blaze is thought to have been of incendtary origin.
 Raphael Semmes Camp No. il, United Confederate Veterans. ran the first eXcur- sion of the season from Mobile to New Orleans this morning. There were five passenger coaches and a baggage car and each coach was filled with people. The excursionists will return Friday evening.
 News continues to come from thls and adjoining counties of great damage by the unusual and incessant rains and high water in creeks and rivers. The greatest damage in this section has been sustained by truck farmers. all of whom have lost every potato put in the ground, while cabbage andA)ther vegetables are rotting in the fields. the occasional glimpses of sunshine aiding materially in the destruc tive work.
 One wealthy resident of Baldwin Coun- ty, residing at Magnolia Springs. who recently removed here from the North and purchased a large tract of land there, has established an experimental vegetable farm on these lands and Is colonzng some. He had 100 acres planted in Irish potatoes, all of which are destroyed. His losses fin this and other plantings will run into several hundred dollars.
 From the western and southern portions of this county comes continual reports of great damage of like kind and owing to many of the losers being small farm CTS. their losses will be heavy Aside from the present losses to the truck gardeners the fact that crops of this kind will be necessarily late makes an added loss to them in that vegetables from Cuba and Florida coming in. would req @ the harvest of good prices while the farmers locally will have to take second crop prices. so to speak.
 Along the river front from Choctaw Point north, the mills are greatly handl- ! capped some being entirely closed down, | because of inability to obtain logs. This | is not only loss to the mill owners. but | to the large number of operatives whose | wages are stopped in the interim.
 Miss Eleanor Weems left this afternoon l for Montgomery where she will join Mrs. | ]. 4. Mckinney and party. in a trip to | Troy, for social entertainment
 The steamship Bratten, after undergo | ing about $7OO0 repaiIs, sailed today for | Puerto Cortez for her maiden return trip | with a fruit cargo for the Commercial Steamship Company, recently organized here with John B; Cefalu as president. The Bratten Is fitted out to carry pas sengers as well as freight.
 In view of the reception to be rendered the several committees, of the silver ser vice presentation by Captain Davis and The officers of the battleship Alabama, off next Tuesday. General Chair man Whiting announced a special train to that city on that day from Mobile. Hand some invitations have been issued to the by the officers of the Ala bama-