The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1904-08-22
THE STATESB0Ro TRAGEDIES
As They Appear to statesboro
Citizen.


Statesboro, Ga. Aug. 20.-On the
night of July %. about six miles from
Statesboro, Mr. Henry r. Hodges and
his whole family, consisting of his wife
and three children, were foully muir
dered, and their bodies cremated in
their home. 1 visited the scene of the
crime the next morning The five
bodies, charred beyond recognition,
with every limb burned off and skulls
crushed. had been dragged from the
smouidering ruins and piled side by
side under a nearby wash-shelter. l
had never before witnessed a sight so
revolving. The whole family gone!
Not one left to tell the story! Words
are wholly inadequate to describe the
awful scene.
This quiet, peaceable, Christian gem
tleman and his contented family were
thus murdered and burned by two ne
gro wretches who lived near by, and
who, from their own confessions, had
received favors at the hands OF their
victims. The relatives, friends,
neighbors, the whole community.
stood in the presence Of this terrible
destruction of life and property with
feelings better imagined than de-
scrtbed.
Had the guilty parties become known
at the time, no doubt their lives would
have been at once required at the
hands of the outraged citizens who had
assembled by hundreds at the scene.
Such course would undoubtedly have
been improper, wrong, yet the so re-
cent ana terrible provocation would
have weighed as partial excuse for
melting out a hasty retribution.
This, however, did not occur. The
two negroes, Paul Reed and Will Cato,
were subsequently suspected, arrested.
lodged in jail, pronounced guilty by
the verdict of the coroner's Jury, and
the evidence of their guilt seemed con-
elusive. 1t was after the coroner's
verdict that our leading citizens asked
Judge Daley to call a special term of
Superior Court to try them, that
speedy justice might be melted out. The
judge issued the call, and the court
convened. The two negroes had a fair
trial, by jury OF twelve men, Able
counsel represented the defense, APP
pointed to this duty by the court. The
evidence against Cato and Reid, in ad-
dition to the confessions made by them
on the trial, left not the shadow of
doubt as to their guilt. The jury said
they were guilty, and the judge SEN
fenced them to be hanged on Sept g.
twenty-throe days from the date OF the
sentence. There MGs no reasonable
doubt nor ground FOR doubt chat this
sentence would be carried into effect.
Up to this time Bulloch county had
done herself credit in thus permitting
the law to proceed without molesta-
tion. But after the guilt of these men
was established and pronounced by
verdict, and there could be no longer
any doubt so intense became the feel
ing of some who had witnessed the
trial, that better judgment gave way
and passion overcame restraint and
the crowd OF usually law-abiding citi-
zens became TO- the time transformed
into a mob, deaf TO all appeals for the
law to take its course. intent on
wreaklng punishment upon these law
less fends. Infatuated by the refusal
of the guards to surrender the prison.
ers, the mob made a mad rush upon
the military, disarmed the guards, cap
tured the two negroes, brought them
out and burned them to death.
We do not offer a criticism nor give
an opinion as TO who it was that failed
IN the duty TO uphold the majesty OF
the law
II has gone out to the world through
the Sensational daily press, that the
best citizens" Of the town and county
participated, sympathized, aided. abet-
ted. and even led In this work Of
Wrestling these negroes from the hand
Of the law and IN burning them at the
stake, and the charge is made that the
mob spirit was universal II is this
rnisstatement OF the facts which we
are now concerned with. The statement
that the best people" were all engaged
IN this act Is Incorrect and untrue. and
does hundreds of our people "a gross In
justice that must not pass unchal-
lenEed That a few Of our property
owners and ordinarily law-abldinR cit
izens were IN the mob. is unfortunate
~ true. but N ~ true. on the contra
~, that great nnnny--a large major
ny, 4 think-of the men composing the