The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1903-03-25

and the first reports perhaps, gave APP
parent confirmation to the rumors of
Saturday night.
But or Sunday the Charlotte Observer.
q paper which has heretofore prided it
self on being least of all yellow and
the most conservative, sent a man %
reputation, Mr. /. f. Avery. to Raleigh
and he gave in Mondays Charlotte Oh
serer a three column account of tho
homicide. together with things not CON
nected with the case. and not correctly
stated. Things which aroused feelings
against the man against whom the
charges We're brought. That paper has
some circulation here, but il is not gen
orally read, and after receiving Avery S
account il telegraphed to Raleigh that
it would issue a special edition contain
ing HayWoodS statement when Haywood
hade made none. There were sent here
500 copies Of the paper with an i'm
portant man in charge, and a corps o,
news boys who sold these papers on Mon
day afternoon. They were bought and
read with great avidity because Oh
Monday there is no Monday paper pub
lished here. About a week after the
Charlotte Observer sent another CORE
spondent here, Mr. H. f. C. Bryant. He
sent a letter to is paper concerning the
affair. and there was sent here and ex-
tensively circulated large numbers of
these papers
"Other papers made statements that
were hostile to the defendant. The Pro-
gressive Farmer, whose standing has
wonderfully improved and which is con-
sidered as prudent, cautious and just
paper, not rash, was so influenced by the
crystalization of rumor that on Tuesday
after the homicide it published an edi-
torial in which it charged that Ernest
Haywood had murdered Ludlow skinner
and practically charged him with as
sassination. The attention of the editor
being called to this next week he moli-
fed the statement. Yet this was ten
days old when it reached the people, who
had found opinions because of first i'm
pressions.
There have been other things also which
would delay the case though there has
been no cessation of effort on the part
of counsel to prepare for the trial 1t
has been charged that as a lawyer and
Immediately after the homicide Mr.. Hay
wood had begun to prepare his defense
while the hearts of others were deep in
grief He is said to be q rich man. and
the fortune of 100000 ascribed to him
has grown to $3.50 900. This is incorrect
for he has never seen the day when he
was worth $4,000 and it is now great
deal less than that amount.
Then there has been talk as to his
treatment in the Jail. He is said to have
electric lights, three telephones, carpet
h fc
these taking the edge off of his confine
ment. This is not so, and in these re-
ports there is not syllable of truth He
has a single bed, a little table, lamp
bowl and a pitcher and not till to-
day his trunk. His cell is like that of
other prisoners, yet there are people who
are so anxious to have a sensation that
they speak of his surroundings az if they
were palatial Great I'D, how can such
things be stated. He has been treated
kindly, but in the jail for nights he has
been unable to sleep and on FRIDAY night
he had been so troubled that a trap was
set to catch the rats and In the cage
next morning there were ten big rats. So
much for the effort to create sentiment
against him by extravagant statements. /
But this is not all. 1t has been charged
that Deputy Separk on the eighth of
March took Ernest Haywood out driving
into the country. Separk did go, but it
was with John Haywood, of Alabama, a
brother of Ernest Haywood, who closely
resembles his brother. Then it was re
ported that Separk took Haywood Up the
street and had lunch at a restaurant This
is not 50.
no. &c co hat TJrrr 4
expected a difficulty and that he mad
spoken to Col. Argo and to me on Satur-
day asking us not 10 leave Raleigh that
evening as he would need us. There is
no truth in this, for beyond the ordinary
he and had not spoken since
December. We had held no conversation
for months, nor had he held one with
Col. Argo. These are the reports circu-
lated as are those that he shot Skinner
in the back.
Then the newspaper reports, such az
the Charlotte Observer, with its sen
sations and the items in the country pa
pers as we'll as the verbal reports have
had their effect, making people who frs:
learned of the homicide slow to admit
that Haywood had a defense. Does 10
seem possible that a man in front of
the Federal building should assassinate
another in the broad open daylight of
Saturday afternoon? Do not people con-
slider the grotesqueness of such charge
Yet when it is apparent that the man has
a defense they are not inclined to accept
it and on the Sunday after it was talked
that the only defense would be insan-
ity.
Then in the midst of all of this there
arose man of high standing in this COM
munity who said that the reports were
not correct, that there had been on as
that there was a fight and
that Mr.. Skinner struck Mr.. Haywood |
with his left hand and that Mr.. Hay
wood fell over. Then both men put their
hands to their hip pockets and Mr.. Hay
wood shot first.
This is the statement made by man
of high standing as a lawyer, high in the
councils of his church, high in the coun
ellis of the State. His name is Robert
n. Simms. Yet as soon as the statement
was made there was such an assault
made on him as has no parallel in the
,f TN.