The Tupelo journal. (Tupelo, Miss.) 1876-1924, 1903-10-23
M|LL|ONA|RE'S SON
KILLS MINE OWNER
Benjamin Aylor Shoots Gordon
Allen to Death in Quarrel.
sELF-DEFENsE is CLAIMED
Trouble Started Over tire Foreclos-
ure of IA Mortgage, Which Is Said
to Have Been the Cause
of the Ill Feeling.

! Carthage, Mo-, Oct. 17.-Benjamin
Aylor, son of ]. w. Aylor, a Carthage
millionaire and the wealthiest miner
in this district, shot and killed Cor
don Allen, prominent mining man
of Joplin, Mo-, in front of the Office of
the Eleventh Hour Mining Co., at Pros
perity. a small mining town near
Carthage, Friday afternoon at three
o'clock. Trouble between the men
arose over the foreclosure of a mort
gage on mining plant. Allen died
instantly.
Aylor surrendered to Sheriff Owen
shortly after the shooting, and is be-
ing guarded at the county Jail. He
will not be confined behind bars.
There were no witnesses to the
shooting, and Aylor refuses to talk re-
gardirg the affair. Aylor's father
states that Allen had threatened to kill
him and his son. and that his son
acted in self-defense.
When Aliens body was examined a
41-caliber revolver was found in the
left pocket of his coat. 1t had not been
discharged.
Cause of the Trouble.
Several months ago, it is stated, AL
len borrowed over 1900 from Aylor
and gave mortgage on mining plant
adjoining the Eleventh Hour property.
AS the money was not paid, Aylor fore
closed the mortgage. This caused a
bitter feeling between the men, and
j. W. Aylor says Allen threatened to
kill his son.
Twice Allen met young Aylor on the
street and struck him, but Aylor did
not resent the assaults. Friday aft
ernoon Allen attempted to borrow a
revolver from Deputy Sheriff Craig, OF
Joplin, but was unsuccessful. He did
not say what he wanted with the
weapon He then boarded car for
Webb City, where he stepped into a
buggy and drove to the mining town,
several miles from this city. Upon
arrival there, it is reported, he called
and had some words with him regard
ing their troubles.
Displayed the Revolver.
1t is said that Allen drew a revolver
from his pocket and held it is his hand
while talking to Aylor, with the sup
posed intention of intimidating him.
Failing in this, he changed the gun
to his left hand, and finally dropped it
in his left pocket. He then picked up
the buggy whip and stepped out of the
vehicle.
Aylor thought Allen intended to whip
him, it is reported, and drew his re-
volver and fired five times. All the
bullets took effect in Aliens body. He
fell to the ground and was unconscious
when reached by laborers working
near After the shooting Aylor con-
tinued his work, weighing three tons
of ore. He didn't talk to anyone
about the shooting. When he had fin
ished his work he seemed suddenly to
give down. Aylor then telephOned to
the sheriff's Office and told of the shoot
ing, instructing the sheriff to come
after him.
ba1l Denleus
At his request he was taken before
Judge Perkins, of division No. 1, of the
circuit court, Friday night, in an eff
fort to give bond, but Judge Perkins
refused to admit him to bail until after
the coroner's verdict was rendered.
Benjamin Aylor is 80 years old, and
resides in Webb City, near which place
he has extensive mining interests. He
is quite wealthy, being worth several
hundred thousand dollars. His father.
]. W. Aylor, resides in Carthage, and
his wealth is estimated at over mill
ion dollars. The family is one of the
most prominent in western Missouri.
= Allen was prominent mining man
of Joplin, and few years ago was
considered very wealthy, but he had
lost many thousand dollars in unfortu-
nate mining ventures in the last few