The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-07-08
First Testimony in Peon- age Cases. SOLD BY J. G. DUNBAR Boy Swore He Was Whipped
 and Worked Naked. Arrested for vagrancy in Coosa and Taken to Tallapoosa County. Fletcher Turner Denies Wo-
 man Was Killed at
 His Place.
SOLD BY J. G. DUNBAR

His Place. Glenny Helms, a negro boy, went on
 the witness stand in the United States l District Court yesterday and told his
 story of being held Tn servitude by J. | Fletcher Turner, a well known farmer or 1 Tallapoosa County who Is defendant in l two similar cases made against him by l the Federal grand jury.
 Considerable interest was felt In the | testimony of Helms as he was the first one of the governments witnesses In the | peonage cases to appear in public The | negro frequently contradicted himself all | though he was never confused. His de- meanor was that of bravado rather than | of fright and he was at all times self I possessed and self-conscious. Testimony in Brief. In brief Helms testified that while pass | ing through Goodwater walking in April | 1902 he was arrested for vagrancy, con- | victed by the Mayor and sentenced to | hard labor He was taken by the city marshal of Goodwater to Turner's farm, Turner being a hard labor contractor. He | wa simprisoned, worked under guards | and whipped often. He ran away and l was captured and returned. He was sen- | | mained at Turner's place less than four
 months. his father having arranged to
 secure his release
 1 Helms was the only witnsss examined l yesterday. The court at 6 5bclock re- | cessed until 9:30 o'clock this morning
 when the taking of testimony will be re- | stunned.
 | The examination of Helms was con- 1 ducted by District Attorney Warren S.. 1 Reese for the government and by Colonel A. A. Wiley for the defendant, Colonel | Wiley having been recently engaged in | the case.
 | When the court convened at 10 o'clock
 yesterday morning Colonel Thomas L.. l Bulger of Dadeville of counsel for Turner I began the closing argument in support of
 the demurrers to the indictments charg- l ing Turner with peonage and causing per-
 sons to be held in peonage. l At the conclusion of Colonel Bulger's
 argument Judge Thomas G. Jones over
 ruled the demurrers as to the first count l of the indictments which charged the | practice of peonage and sustained the de- l murrers to the second count which charg- ed Turner with causing persons to be
 held in peonage.
 The court then recessed until 3:3o o'clock
 When the court reconvened in the af- ternoon the lawyers filed pleas and Tur-
 ner entered a plea of not guilty to the charge of holding Glenny Helms in peon- | age.
 Witnesses and Jurors.
 The court crier then called the witnesses | as follows: ..sr The the Government-Glenny Helms. | Esau Williams. Dave Johnson, John | Davis. Pat Hill, D. M. White. T. P.
 Crawford, N. S. Walker. William Gray. A. w. Cozart. L. E. White, P. T. Craw- l ~ M 1 Carprew and J. G. Dunbar. | For the defendant-A. c. Miller. w. c.
 Stone. J. w. Pace. J. Percy Oliver. John Parker, John Lassiter, Albert Coker and
 Wood Dozier.
 All of the witnesses did not answer
 but those who were present were sworn
 and were put under the rule.
 The work of selecting a jury was then
 taken up. Of petit jury No. l. which sat | in the box, District Attorney Reese chal- | lenged J. T. Holiday of Lowndes County
 and W. M. Conine and A. M. Ballard of | Tallapoosa County. Counsel for Turner
 challenged w. s. Yougene and John | Savage of Montgomery and F. l.. Nisbett
 of Russell County. The challenged jurors
 were excused by the court and their places were filled from petit jury No. 2.
 The remaining jurors were excused until
 10 o'clock this morning. and the jury to | try the case was sworn. There was a short recess for consulta-
 ton of counsel. and at o'clock Assist ant District Attorney Julius Sternfeld | addressed the jury. briefly explaining the case.
 The Governments Cases. Mir. Sternfeld said the Government ex- pected to prove that Turner had held in | servitUde Glenny Helms on or about April 15. 1902. He read the indictment, and said the Government would prove that Turner was a landowner in Talla- l poosa County; that near the railway de- | pot at Dadeville. one J. G. Dunbar sold | Glenny Helms to Turner: that Helms was sold for about $40. paid by a check on the | Tallapoosa County Bank; that thereupon | Turner took Helms to his plantation, | where he was imprisoned aod whipped | two or three times a day; that when 1 Helms undertook to escape he was re- l captured. again incarcerated and again whipped and worked: that a man was | employed by the father of Helms to se
 cure the release of the boy, and that af- ter paying $40 to Turner, Helms was re- leased.
 Mir Sternfeld said that this was un- doubtedly peonage, and the Government | expected to prove that Turner was guilty. Whether the debt, of Helms was valid
 or a fictitious debt. Mir. Sternfeld de- 
 clared it cut no figure. Whether it was
 voluntary or involuntary servitude, MT.
 Sternfeld argued 1t made no difference. w. M. Lackey. representing Turner.
 arose and simply said that the defendant
 merely pleaded Got guilty and would await development of the evidence before
 undertaking to answer the charge. Glenny Helms Testifies.
 Glenny Helms was then called. He is youthful negro, with shaved head and
 wore neat clothes. His demeanor on the
 witness stand was that of bravado rather than confusion.
 Helms testified that he was IS years old
 and his home was in Columbus, Ga. in
 1902. He had been working at calcis in
 Shelby County and was going home with
 Esau Williams and Dave Johnson. They
 reached Goodwater and MT. Dunbar, a
 GQnQc0I D0hiIifV