The Savannah morning news., 1904-09-22
GOVERNOR WILL
HAVE HEARING
IN THE BENNETT CASE
WILL DECIDE WHETHER BENNETT
is TO RETURN TO CAROLINA.

City Attorney Garrard Has Decided
That Claim of South Carolina is
Stronger Than Claim of United
States Army, and Bennett Will he
Surrendered at Once If Gov. Ter
reII Grants observation-disclosures
Only Chance for Freedom Now
With the Governor.
Gov. Terrell will have a hearing in
the Ben Bennett case Saturday to de-
termine whether he will honor the
requisition from South Carolina This
information was contained in letter
from Gov. Terrell. which Col Robert
L. Colding, Benefits attorney, receiv-
ed yesterday morning
Col. Colding will go to Atlanta to-
morrow night to represent Bennett be-
fore the Governor, and the South Caro-
lima authorities will probably be repre-
sented also. Gov. Hayward seems de-
termined to spare no efforts in having
Bennett returned to the South Carolina
penitentiary where a life sentence is
hanging over him.
In addition to the telegram which
Gov. Hayward sent to the superin-
tendent of police here, which was Civ
en- in the Morning News, he has writ
ten letter going more into details, in
which he requests the Savannah chief
to keep him advised of any efforts that
may be made here to secure Benefits
release.
City Attorneys Opinion.
In regard to the conflict between the
civil and military authorities, the su-
perintendent of police has obtained an
opinion from Col. William Garrard, the
city attorney.
The city attorney advised the super
intendent to surrender the prisoner to
the South Carolina authorities when
the requisition is presented, regardless
OF the claim of the government on him
as a United States soldier. Col. Gar
rard, however, suggested that to avoid
complications, Gov. Hayward might
take the matter up with the War De-
partment.
The superintendent wrote this sug-
gestion to Gov. Hayward, and the Gov
ernor has answered that this has been
done. The War Department has been
asked to relinquish all claims on Ben
nett. 1t is believed that this request
will be granted, as it was the inten-
ton of the army officers here to have
Bennett dismissed from the service,
anyway.
BENEFITS Only Chance.
Benefits only hope of not being re-
turned to the South Carolina peniten-
tiary for life now lies with Gov. Ter
rell. 1t has been decided that South
Cardinals claim is higher than that of
the army, and unless Gov. Terrell re-
fuses to grant the requisition he will
be taken back to the penitentiary.
Bennett, still confined at the police
station, is at times very respondent.
He asks anxiously, whenever seen, if
there have been any developments in
his case. Locked in his cell, he can
do nothing but await the outcome of
the fight that is being made against
his liberty for the remainder of his
life.
Killing of the Wife.
new theory, but one which has no
following, has been advanced as to the
killing of Mrs. Bennett. Sheriff Light
sey, while in Savannah, stated he had
been told that Benefits little daugh-
ter said her father and mother had
quarreled on the night Bennett killed
her. This is the first time it has even
been suggested that the shooting of
MRS. Bennett was not accidental, as
the coroner's inquest decided. A Sa-
MAMMALIAN, however, who recently Wis
tied Hampton county, where the kill
ing took place, says the people there
are practically all agreed that the
shooting was accidental. Bennett
sticks to the story he originally told
that the killing of his wife was acct
dental. He says he loved her better
than everybody else in the world, and
she would have been the last person
on earth whom he would have inten-
tionally killed.