The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-10-07
Destroyed Only in Reven-
ue Mems Vivid Fancy.
THE PLAN OF ATTACK
The Very First Witness for the Gov
ernment Begins Showing That the
Fight Against the DistiIIers
Was a Sham. Line Of De-
fence Shown.
(SreciaI to News and Observer.)

Especial to News and Observer.)
Greensboro. n. c., Oct. 6.-The Fed
era! Court room was crowded to suffo
cation when the session began this
morning. 1t was known that the
trial of G.. W. Samuels, one of the
seven revenue officers indicted for
official misconduct was en- and it was
thought by many that curiosity to hear
the testimony III these sensational
cases had induced many Greensboro
people to be present. But later it
developed that almost the entire au-
CienCe were government witnesses,
present from the distant county of
Wilkes: and if ever the literal spec
tacle of a cloud of witnesses" was
presented. those in the court room saw
il this morning, when after consuming
halt an hour IN calling out the list Of
witnesses by District Attorney Holton,
Judge Boyd notified all whose names
nau been called to retire from the
court room the whole body of the
auditorium seemed to rise and oegm
the tedious. Ineffective effort to retire
orderly and without corfusion.'
AS soon as court was called, and the
jury which had been selected yeSter-
day had been polled Hon. G. b. Wat
SON arose and requested the court to
order that all witnesses for both the
government and the defendant he sent
out to remain out While those testify
ing first were at it,8- District Attorney
Holton made no objection. j. w. Nc
Neil, for the defendant, then called
over the list of witnesses for defend
ant. amounting to twenty, and this
pretty good sized bunch hustled out,
taking along every orc of the indicted
revenue officers present except the one
On trial. Then Mr.. Holton began
calling over his list which had been
arranged alphabetically. and which
bore names beginning with every let
ter in the alphabet, not excepting
r." and when the order for them. to
retire was given 1S5 Wilkes county
denizens arose and laboriously de-
parted out of the purview of the
court
And these were not all, for after the
trial had proceeded some time, the
alert Watson asked if the detectives
would not be witnesses. District At
torney Holton, by whose side sat
Messrs. Wright and McAdams, the Sc
cret service employees. explained that
he had entirely overlooked the fact
that they might be witnesses, and so
intent was ne on this one lapse and
his own innocence, he forgot his sense
of instructive courtesy, and in a by
no means suave tone said: You there.
McAdams and Wright! Git out er
here"
PIcns Are Revealed.
There was just enough testimony
before the dinner recess was taken to
indicate the plan of attack and the
line of defence. The Government in
troduced first Mr. Millard West, d
clerk i'm the Treasury Department at
Washington. who stated that he had
of accounts of the Internal Revenue
Commissioners department. Mr.. Hol-
ton then got him to produce from the
files Of the department the papers
known as Form 16l which relates 10
returns from officers and special
agents of destroyed diStilleries. He
then read from the original reports
sent in by Deputy Collectors Samuels,
Hardin, Smith, Hasty, and Bryan, in
March. April. and May. 1905, showing
destruction of distilleries.. beer, etc,
in Wilkes county, belonging to parties
named Ledbetter, Pruett, Goforth,
Combes, McEwin; Church, Forster,
Call, and Shepherd. Mr.. West also
identified as the originals the monthly
reports sent in by Samuels, which is
diary of each days doings by officers
required to be kept aud tabuated,
sworn to and forwarded to the de-
paftlnent at the end of each month.
AS these interesting documents were
unrolled. counsel for the defendant
would look at them and without ado,
concedc that the signatures were that
OF their client. Each count i'm the
bill of indictment had charge for a
false report of destruction of stills,
making eleven in all. AS these eleven
reports were called off and each of
the counts were noted it was seen that
the names of alleged fictitious destruc-
tion corresponded with the names in
the bill of indictment. indicating that
the government expects to show by
witnesses that distilleries were never
destroyed.
First Witness Testifes
The very first witness called laid
This groundwork. A. F. r. Brown Of
Wilkes who said he was appointed a
deputy marshal last. December. and
had previously servel in this capacity
for five years. having had two wears
rest. testified that he was sent for bv
Hasty Hardin and Samuels, Bryan.
and Walker. revenue officers. last April
to go on raid" since he knew the
country. He said the officers had a
list of distillerieS sent by Revenue
Agent Chapman and Sunday night
they made out their route and began
the raid early Monday morning.
being out four days. Brown told of a
.,reat number of places visited but
said that at not Il single one did the
officers destroy any beer found, and
that in most places there was evil
dence that warning had been given