The Savannah morning news., 1904-09-28
CATO AND REED
NOT ALONE GUILTY
ASSERTS SHERIFF KENDRICK
HE WANTS WILL RAINEY INDICT-
ED FOR HODGES MURDER.

statesborO sheriff Believes Firmly
There Was n Before Day Club, But
Does Not Think 1t Need BE Fear
ed in Future-Snys He Has Inves-
tigated Matter Carefully and is
Positive Negroes Had Organiza-
tiOn for Murder and Robbery.
That Reed and Cato, who were
| burned at the stake near Statesboro,
We're not the only negroes implicated
in the murder of the Hodges family is
| the firm belief of Sheriff Kendrick of
Bulloch county. who was in Savannah
sheriff, viii Rainey, one of the ne
groes now in Jail at Statesboro, also
took part in the tragedy.
At the next meeting of the grand
jury, Sheriff Kendrick says he is going
to present the evidence that he has
and try to secure an indictment against
RaineY.
Reed, it will be remembered, main
tanned that Rainey was one of the
party that murdered the family and
burned the house. The sheriff has
since received a letter from a negro,
whom he hopes to be able to get be-
fore the grand jury, stating that he
will find that Will Rainey is guilty
when he gets to the bottom of the af-
fair.
Officers Neglected Duty.
There were undoubtedly others i'm
plicated in the murders" said the sher-
iff, land if the people had waited, they
would have been caught. But they
ran right over everything"
Sheriff Kendrick was asked If he in
tended to be present at the sessions
of the court-martial. which meets here
next month. He said that he did not
think he would. He said he did not
know what would be done, but in his
opinion the military undoubtedly neg
lected to do it's duty. He believed
the crowd should have been kept back
until the endorsements from SaVan-
nah arrived.
Are Before Day Clubs.
Sheriff Kendrick, when asked If he
believed there was any such thing as
a Before Day Club, said there was no
doubt about the negroes having an
organization near Statesboro, though
ne 0ld not know Whetner BEFORE Day
Club was what they called it. That
was the name that Reed had given him
for the organization.
He said he had investigated the mat
ter very thoroughly and he believed
there was such an organization, not
only in his own county, but in some
of the adjoining ones. Sheriff Ken
drick has made several trips to ad-
joining counties, investigating the mat
ter, besides finding out everything he
could in Bulloch.
Expects No More Trouble.
The sheriff, however, expects no more
trouble from Before Day Clubs. He
says it. has been clearly shown that
the negroes cannot keep up such an
organization for any length of time.
When one of them gets in trouble,
he is sure to tell on the others, the
sheriff says, though it was one of the
regulations of the organization that
those who were caught should take
their punishment without giving the
others away. Several other murders
had been planned, the sheriff says, for
the night on which the Hodges family
was killed but the negroes became
frightened and decided to wait and see
the result of their first act.
Sheriff Kendrick came to Savannah
for George Johnson, a negro boy ar
rested by Detective Bostick and Pa
trolman Sims Monday night. The ne
gro was wanted for running away
from, home.