The Columbus weekly dispatch. (Columbus, Miss.) 1902-1905, 1904-03-03
TWENTY-FIFTH YEAR
Gov. Vardaman Won.


negro Albert Baldwin. who was
to have been burned today at
Tutwiler for the murder of En-
gineer Fogerty, tonight lies safe
in a cell Of the jackson Jail, and
what was planned to be a most
horrible burning has been saved
the state. And this burning Of
a negro at the stake was averted
by the prompt action of Governor
Vardaman. whose views on the
negro question have been the
subject of so much discussion.
This afternoon at 3 30 o'clock a
special coach hitched to the
southbound limited brought the
negro to this city. escorted by
the Greenwood company under
the command of Captain Keesler,
Adjutant- General Fridge and
Gov. Vardaman. Not twenty pe0-
pie at the Jackson depot knew
what was going on. The negro
was placed in a hack and taken
to the jail by Adjutant-General
Fridge. Gov. Vardaman went to
the mansion and the Greenwood
company stepped from the coach
of the special to the YaZoO and
Mississippi Valley train and left
Immediately for their home in
Greenwood
The trip last night and this
morning was not without acci-
dent. The Governor and the Ad-
jutant- General left here at 10
o'clock. They arrived at Green
wood about . o'clock, where they
were met by Capt. Keesler with
As men of the Greenwood com
pany and - men from the Itta
Bena company, under Lieutenant
Rich. No time was lost at Green
wood and the special pulled
straight out over the branch for
Grenada. At Grenada there
came very near being a serious
accident. There was a collision
between one of the freights in
the Grenada yards and the speci-
al, and the Governor and the sol
diers were greatly shaken up.
1t was known that the engineer
was in sympathy with the burn
ing of the negro, and it was
thought at one time that the ac-
cident was premeditated, but an
investigation proved this to be
incorrect.
The 45 miles between Grenada
and Batesville was made in fifty
minutes 1t was a race for life,
for it was known when daylight
came the Tutwiler mob would be
after the negro. Batesville was
reached about daybreak. Sheriff
Johnston had a picked posse of
fifteen men protecting the negro,
and immediately upon the arrival
of the Governor and the militia
company the negro was brought
to the depot and turned over to
the chief executive and the sol
diers. There was little excite
ment at Batesville, but the eX-
citement would have begun as
soon as the Tutwiler posse could |
have arrived at that place.
Gov Vardaman made the com
pany of about 100 people that had |
gathered at the depot a very op-
perfume and appropriate speech. |
He thanked them for assisting
in upholding the law. Sheriff |
Johnston made a short reply to
the Governor s speech. In less
than fifty minutes the special was
turned around and pulled out of |
Batesville with the negro prison |
er. The return trip to Jackson |
was without incident until the
special was a few miles south of |
Canton, when one of the cogs in /
the engine broke. and the com
pany of soldiers waited two hours
for the regular southbound to
pick them up, arriving at Jack
sou at B 80.
Baldwin was seen by a Com
mercial Appeal representative
this afternoon and confessed that
he killed Engineer Fogerty at
Tutwiler two weeks ago, but
says that he did it in self defense.
Since then up to the time of his
arrest at Batesvllle he says that
no has hpaO waOdprinor in the