The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1903-06-14

good man. We believe that and we have
known 1t all the time We are prepared
to prove 1T by irrebuttable testimony. Our
contention is that for some reason Mr..
Skinner was looking for Mr.. Haywood. He
went to the post office to mail a letter
long after mail had closed and before the
incoming mail opened, came out of the
post office, saw Mr.. Haywood coming from
the court house and then instead of going
out of the middle steps of the post office
and into Fayetteville street he turned
down the sidewalk and met Mr. Haywood
near the southern steps. That is how
ne came to be near the southern steps, He
did not get out into the street from the
middle steps and he did not come around
upon the sidewalk near this building as
Mr. Simpson told to Mr. Russ and then
go over beyond the trees and go into
the street again and be shot. That is
merely a conjuration Of Mr.. Simpsons
brain, trying to get Mr.. Skinner into a
position where the facts could fit the
wound. The fact is that Mr.. Skinner saw
Mr.. Haywood coming from the court
house; he went to meet him: had this al
tercation, struck the blow; reached for
his pistol and it stuck in his pocket
Then he began to back trying to get his
pistol, first using his left hand, then both
hands, and Mr.. Haywood got his pistol
first. This theory acquits Mr.. Haywood
of crime, and Mr. Skinner of cowardice;
neither was Haywood q criminal nor
Skinner a coward. They met fortuitously,
words passed, a heated argument, blow
was stricken and both men reached for
their pistols, and Mr. Skinner did not get
his out soon enough. He had on his
overcoat and did not get it out in time;
but being left-handed man he was reach
ing for it. That accounts for his being IN
that position. 1t accounts for the down
ward and backward tendency of the ball.
The range of the ball downward one inch
backward two inches, the hole in the over
coat every single fact proven in this case
corroborates our theory. Every single fact
proved in this case negatives the theory
of the State The State proved that Mr..
skinner bought his pistol five years ago
But the pistol now appears perfectly new,
showing that it was not usually carried.
why carried that day? The answer is
plain. He intended to attack Mr.. Hay
wood that day and took the pistol which
usually remained at home.
Now that is briefly our theory If VIC
had not put on a witness but had only the
benefit of examining the States witnesses
we would be entitled to bail and reason
able bail at that. But what sort of testi-
mony have we offered? 1t is not often in
a murder case that a defendant is so
fortunate as to be able to completely make
out his case as we have done here. What
have We? -Four men who saw the homi
eide Robert N. Simms, as good a man
as is i'm the State of North Carolina;
man that enemies have bounded down for
three long months; for what? Because,
il your Honors please, he places truth
above money and refused perhaps the
largest fee he ever received (both
the State offering to employ him,
and we begging to employ him) and he
says, 'No, it will be necessary for me TO
be a witness at a dollar a day" He has
spoken the truth when he was offered big
fees on either side to become counsel in
the case. And yet they say that he was
hired to come here and testify falsely. We
expected after the charges that they made
that they would bring some evidence here
against Mr.. Simms. We had expected that
they would bring some hyena pup or some
gutter snipe to come here and utter
word against the man. We have brought
the best men that the State produces:
men of the pulpit-men high in Office
men on the bench with your Honors-men
whose word and name go for truth ana
justice all over the State, and they come
here and testify that his character is
good. Whom do they bring on the con-
trary? Do the gutter snipes and hyena
pups that have been barking at this man
dare to come. No, sir They have fed
into their dens and into the mud, silent
and COMPOUNDED. They will never be seen
in the court house. So much for Robert
N. Simms He was brave enough to tell
the truth when the crowd was against
him and l thank God that no mans char
acter has ever been proven and indicated
more completely than Robert NJ Simms'
has been. The prosecution introduced MIR
Willis G.. Briggs to contradict Mr. Simms.
But he confirmed and corroborated him.
1t then introduced DR.. Skinner and he
confirmed Mr.. Simms wora for word.
study of Mr. Simms' conduct with TO-
ference to this case will convince every
fair and unbiased man that the line OF
conduct pursued by him was as nearly ana
absolutely correct as it would have been
had it been marked out by a professor OF
moral ethics He saw the difficulty and
he did not want to be a witness. He
supposed that number OF other
people saw the difficulty and there
would be no necessity for him
to be witness, and he at
first said nothing about it. Sunday
morning he went to Sunday school and
church and did not read the newspapers
until dinner time Sunday When he read
the papers he saw that the accounts pub
lished wholly incorrect, and it appeared as
if no one but him might have seen the
difficulty Immediately he said to his
brother-in-law, Mr.. Moseley, at whose
house he dined that day: Il saw the
whole matter and these accounts are not
correct. ] reckon | viii have to be a wit
ness in the case" This was Sunday about
noon, the day after the homicide. During
that evening he was applied to by the
State and by the defense to appear in the
case. Doubtless, liberal fees were offered
him and his vanity appealed to him. but
to both he says, Il cannot tell you until
tomorrow" And on the morrow he goes
to see DR.. Skinner the father of the dead
man, and tells him that he saw the diff
fculty and saw Mr.. Ludlow Skinner knock
M. Il 49, ~