The Savannah morning news., 1903-11-14
TO STOP ROBBERIES
IF NECESSARY VAGRANCY LAW
WILL BE RIGIDLY ENFORCED.
NEGROES ARE ASSAULTED
AND POLICE ARE DETERMINED TO
STOP DEPREDATIONS.

Manager TenniIIe of Southern Cot
ton Oil Company Makes Formal
Complaint That His Workmen Are
Beaten and Robbed With Start
ling ReguInrity-These Assaults
Occur just West of City Limits.
Another NOn-UniOn LabOrer Bad
Iy Beaten and Robbed in Yama-
craw Last Night.
Unless there is a cessation of disor-
der on the west side of town the CAL
vim vagrancy law will be enforced, and
negroes who are not employed will be
arrested.
Although an extra force of uniform
ed men is kept in Yamacraw, and a
reserve force is held at police head
quarters. II has been found impossible
to prevent assaults and robberies, and
but few arrests have been made.
The failure of the police to get those
who have been committing the assaults
is due to the fact that invariably the
men who are beaten cannot identify
their assailants. The assaults are al
ner, and the assailants escape over
fences, or through back yards, before
the arrival of the police.
Mr.. George F. Tennille, manager of
the Southern Cotton Oil Company has
made formal complaint that men en-
ployed 1t his company's plant have
been beaten and robbed with startling
regularity, and has asked the city to
afford them protection. These assaults
have occurred just west of the city linn
its for the most part, but have been
committed, it is alleged. by the idle
negroes who congregate in that sec
ton
Even with a large force of police it
would be impossible to prevent these
-ups-Occurred as they do in re-
mote places-if it were necessary to
surprise the offenders in the act. Only
one remedy is left to the authorities
and that is to place under arrest every
negro found idle. In this way those
who are living on what they steal from
those who are willing to work will be
caught, and the Calvin law can be put
in force.
Beaten and Robbed.
On Margaret street near Farm, last
night, Bob Canty, a negro employed on
the Baltimore wharf. was beaten by
TWO negroes ana TODD6Q Oh SLU. Cduly
was unconscious when found by a uni
formed man. The police ambulance
was summoned and he was sent to the
Georgia Infirmary.
When CAVITY regained consciousness
he was unable to furnish descriptions
of his assailants, and would not know
them if he saw them again. The 20
lice were unable to gather any infor-
nation that warranted them in making
an arrest. A negro woman who wit
messed the assault was found, but she
could not tell who the men were who
attacked CAVITY. They struck him sew
eral vicious blows across the head and
then took his cash. The woman stated
to the officers that the men made their
escape by jumping over fence. A I'M
| formed man was only a short distance
away when this holdup occurred. A
large force of the labOrers worked on
the wharves last night and for this rea-
son there was scarcely any disorder in
Yamacraw. The negroes employed by
the Southern Cotton Oil Company es-
capped injury and the Canty case was
the only one reported at police head
quarters. There were DO shooting af-
trays and the police reserves were not
called out.
strikers Growing Desperate.
The disorder is charged by the police
to the strikers, many of whom APP
! pear to have begun to resort to violence.
The fact that the negroes who took
the places of the strikers are not the
only one suffering, but that raft hands,
and men employed at the mills west
Of the city, have been beaten and
robbed, makes the situation more trou-
blesCme.
Traps have been laid, and a score of
plans have been made looking to the
arrest of those who are guilty of the
disorder on the West Side. But the
efforts of the police have been of no
avail, and their only hope now ap-
pears to be in the vagrancy law. I'm
der it's provisions the streets may be
cleared of idle negroes and husky re-
| cruits for the changing may be Sc
| cured. 1t is figured that this will
| put a stop to the depredations and that
| the assaults and robberies will cease.
For the most part the non-union men
now appear to be able to defend them
| selves and a majority of the victims
who have complained at police head
| quarters are raft hands or men en-
| ployed in the mills. These are in no
manner connected with the strike.
At yesterdays session of Police
| Court, James Young, one of the ne
| Rroes at work on the Baltimore wharf
was arraigned for assault with intent
! to murder, but the case against him
was dismissed. Young fired three shots
at union man, who, he alleged had
attempted to assault him. Young was
| chased by a crowd and declare that
L. Co. TO, TO, II