The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-09-26
Charge of PeODagR and Con-
 spiraCy Sustained
BOND PLACED AT $15OO EIcH
Testimony Before United States Com missioner Birch Shows Startling State of Affairs---Negroes lm-
 prisoned and FIogged.

The preliminary hearing of Aaron Dill and his son Archie Dill, charged with peonage and with conspiracy was held be- fore United States Commissioner A. C. Birch yesterday and the defendants were remanded to jail to await the action of the federal grand jury in default of S15O0 bond. The hearing of Marcellus Lock hart on the same charges was set for October 9, and he was also placed in jail, not being able to make the $500 bond re- quired.
 From the evidence brought out yester day the prosecuting attorneys feel sure that they have very strong case against these defendants. They were arrested last week near Guin in Marion county. the double charge of peonage and of conspir acy to deprive a citizen of his liberty. Assistant District Attorneys N. L. Steele and w H. Standifer are prosecuting the cases and the defendants were represent ed yesterday by J. c. Miller of Vernon and S. l.. Weaver and A. Leo Oberdorfer of Birmingham
 Lee Crump, another defendant under the, same charges, waived examination yes- terday and his case will go before the grand jury. He Is out on bail.
 The Evidence.
 According to the evidence Charley Hud- son was riding along the road by the Dill place when he was forcibly seized by the defendants and put to work. On the stand he testified that at night he was locked up in an old cotton house and that upon one occasion when he tried to escape he was caught when about two miles down the road and brought back and given ninety lashes with a hickory stick. He said that when they stopped whipping him his shirt was wet with the blood that had been drawn.
 He said that the chief work he had to do was to cut railroad ties for Marshal Dill Marshal Dill is the defendant who has not yet been caught. Hudson testi- fled further that he was never paid any, thing for his work and that his clothing and $1O In money were confiscated by Mar shal Dill for his own use.
 Bob Stevenson was another negro put on the stand. He is the man who ad ministered the whipping to Hudson at the command of Marshal Dill, the latter hav- ing a revolver pointed at him at the time. He said that Hudson was tied to tree before the whipping was administered.
 Stevenson said that he signed a con tract to work for MT. Dill for $9 a month for year, and that MT. Dill in turn leas- ed him to MT. Lockhart for $16 month. He also said that he saw MT. Dill wear ing Charley Hudson's shoes after Char ley had left.
 c. A. Booker, white farmer testi- fled that he knew all the defendants as well as the negroes and that he had seen Mir Dill with Hudsons pants and shoes on after Hudson had left.
 Ed Knight, a white miller testified that he knew the defendants and the ne- groes and that week ago Marshall Dill came to his mill with Charley Hudson and said: T want to sell you this negro; 1 am going to Mississippi" He said that Hudson had a gash in his head and large hole in his cheek. He asked Dill what right he had to sell the negro and received the reply that he DilD had the negro under contract. He said fur ther that Dill insisted on selling him but that he would not buy him.
 The Argument.
 The arguments made by the attorneys  simply pleas for the release of the father on the ground that he was not cognizant of what was going on. They didn't deny that there had been fragrant violation of the law, but they maintained that the chief offender was Marshall Dill, the man who has not yet been caught.
 On the other hand, the prosecuting att torneys made the most out of the evil dence and Attorney Steele cited the def milton of peonage as given by Judge Thomas G. Jones to the grand jury in Montgomery, which was as follows:
 "A person who hires another and in- duces him to sign a contract by which he agrees during the term to be imprisoned or kept under guard, and under cover of such agreement afterwards holds the party to the performance of the contract by threats or punishment or undue infiu- enee subduing his free will, when he de- sires to abandon the service Is guilty of holding such a person to "a condition of peonage
 At the conclusion of the arguments Commissioner Birch at first named the bond on which the defendants should be held at 5000 but the defense put up the plea of what poor men the defendants were and it was finally agreed by the prosecution that the bond be fixed at $500 each.