The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-10-12
THE TRIAL or HITCH.
Lieutenant Cone Says the Captain Or
 dered Guns Unlsaded.

Lieutenant Cone Says the Captain or
 dered Guns Unisaded.
 Savannah. Ga, Oct. 1.-The court martial trial of Capt. R. M. Hitch was resumed today. The first witness was Lieutenant Cone of Statesboro. who was on duty with his command when Cap tain Hitch arrived. He said the guns of his men were loaded when Captain Hitch came, but that the Captain or- dered them to be unioaded.
 H. P. Guerrant, 6 local newspaper man, gave testimony as to the remarks of Judge Daily when sentencing the negroes. He said the tenor of the Judges utterances was to keep down strife. Sheriff T. 2. Kendrick of Bull ioch County. who with the military was responsible for the safety of the pris- oners. was the most important witness of the morning. It was he who was ordered by the Judge to arrest the leaders of the mob. but whose force was not large enough to enable him to do so. and who also was told by Judge Daily that Captain Hitch was In charge of the situation. He repeated his story that when he rushed into the prisoners room it was to take them through the scuttie hole to the roof and save them. Counsel for Captain Hitch questioned witness claseiy about his cooperation with the military. He said that the military did not always cooperate with him,
 The first witness at the afternoon session of the court martial was Ser geant R, M. Thompson. He testt- fled to the delivery of the prisoners by the sheriff. He estimated the mob at between 1.50o and 2.00o. He saw about fifteen pistols. He recognized Landram George as leader of the mob and saw him place the noase around cato's neck,
 Private A. c. Lufbofo testified that Albert Kendricks. deputy sheriff di- rected the mob He saw him leave and return with the mob.
 Captain Hitch began his statement. He was on the stand three and . half hours and went into the historyeof ths tour of duty minutely. He emphasized that he had. he believed. discharged his duty according to the best of his ability under the circumstances He said he had been in full control of the situation until the time he was be- trayed and overpowered by the sher- iff.s deputy. Under similar circum- stances and having confidence in the good faith of the civil authorities he could not see any way clear to act- ing in any different manner from that which characterized his conduct at statesboro. Captain Hitch asserted that he had no apology to offer for his conduct. being firmly grounded in the belief that he had discharged his full duty as a soldier. At the even ing session of the court martial. Col onel Toomer, counsel for Captain Hitch made a forceful argument on the line that Captain Hitch had obeyed the in- structions as far as lay in human power and that he failed to protect the prisoners only because he had be- trayed and forcibly overpowered.
 Judge Advocate Napier made q pow erful plea for the majesty of the law and in defense of the dignity of the militia. At the conclusion of his ar gument the court requested him to give a nopinion as to whether a find ing In Captain Hitch's case could be held up untt the other cases had been heard. He will deliver his opinion on this point on the converting of the court tomorrow morning.