The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-05-03
FATE OF HARVEY SMITH IS
 IN JURY'S HANDS AT DECATUR

I the officers quarters. The ground be- meath the dog tents" Is carpeted with the gray army blankets on which the men crawl in and out for rest for there is no room for anything but rest in | those tents.
 The soldiers are almost without ex- ception young men, very little above or very little below twenty-one. Throughout the day they threw base ball from to another or tugged with each other on the grass. All but the | sentinels pacing back and forth In the sunlight with the corporal of .4.e guard making his regular rounds with his relief or running to answer the call of sentinel who has stopped the lthoughtless citizen attempting to tako a near cut to the court house. No Soldiers in Court.
 In the court room there Is not a single soldier. Within the room where Smith is being tried there Is not a visible sign to remind the people that | the military had been called upon to protect prisoners who are to be tried | for their lives. The soldiers are in the yard upon the steps and occasionally in the halls but never in tho court room.
 The court room Is packed from end to end and from side to side. The gall Ilery is black with negroes, and out l side the doors are white men and ne- groes who were unable to make their way in.
 Coming in and going out the crowd g1ances curiously and Interestingly at the soldiers. On the streets some time. the National Guardsmen overhoars an occasional uncomplimentary remark l about "tin soldiers" and just how much 1t would take to make them run These come from certain class, a small class, and not the representative Iofa of citizen lhas no comment to make one way or another. The conservative citizens when asked are of the opinion that tho sending of the soldiers was thought full safeguard against the possibility | of any disorder.
 | The cetrain smaller classes. who try to sting the passing militiamen with side remarks annoyed the troops DO little last night. Two or three for laggravation tried to break through the lines. A crowd of dozen walked around the lines and cursed the sol- .l diers. At length a corporars guard went out and halted the noisy young men, Four of them were arrested af- ter a sharp struggle.
 l. A little later the officer of the guard Ihad reason to believe that crowd or I75 to 100 was gathering in the little valley west of the court house, Tor the purpose of rescuing the prisoners made by the military. detachment of twenty-fve men was sent out. AZ the approach of the soldiers the crowd fled rapidly in the darkness
 At s:30 Judge speake, tall, well | rroomed and distinguished looking, took his seat in big leather chair A court officiaI In a baggy suit of clothes | called out in a conversational tone, "Ovez. oyez. the Honorable Circuit Court of Morgan County is now in ses- sion"
 Young Men Before Court. corporaPs guard marched into the | court room, with their Krags at trail arms guarding the four young white | men who had been arrested TOT annoy
 ing the sentinels, or violating the mih- | tary regulations of the court mousse camp of the Alabama National Guaro
 The guard was personally commanded hv Captain Gregory, a tall, well set-up
 young man with a blue army shirt lie
 wore no insignia of his rank, unless It was the big army revolver In the hoIS-
 ter by his side.
 The four young men. whose names were never mentioned in the proceed ings, were lined up before the Judges stand They were very young men,
 only one of them perhaps being over 21 years of age.
 '-These young men," said fudge Speake "are charged with violating the military regulations of the State ! troops WnO are thC SONA ' house. Those troops were sent here by the Governor to preserve order and not to oppress anybody. They have
 the right to make the rules and re-
 strictions for preserving the order OF
 their camp and guarding the property
 entrusted to their charge. l am satis- | fled from the information brought me
 that these men have intentionally com
 mitted no wrong; that 1t was pot their
 purpose to commit any offense against
 the military. I shall therefore Tecom-
 mend to Captain Gregory to release
 these young men,. Captain, you may
 release them"
 The young men were carried into the
 court house yard and permitted to go
 their way.
 The second day of the trial of Harry
 Smith then began.
 Van Bailey, a young and nervous ne-
 gro, took the stand, having been called
 up by the prosecution. The witness
 was now living in Bethel, Tenn, but
 in January he was employed with Harry Smith at the oil mills Tn New
 Decatur. He remembered the day of
 the murder of Miss Bloodworth. Smith
 had asked the witness to collect his wages at the oil mills, but the oil mill
 people would not give the witness the
 money. By appointment he met Smith up town near the postofice. Smith af- ter talking to witness and Lacy Smith
 went up the street. John Collier came up looking for Smith. He walked up and down the street looking uneasy.
 Waited For Her. Smith came up and they all went fin a little store near the postofflce. They saw young white woman come in the , store. Smith waited awhile and then walked up the street. The young lady then started up the street. He did not ' see Smith any more. Late that night Lacy Smith came 70 the witness s house with some oranges.
 In giving his testimony Bailey was
 examined by Deputy Solicitor L. P. TrOup.
 State Senator S. A. Lynn, appointed
 by Judge Speake to defend the prison
 CT, then took the witness in hand and questioned him closely as to discrep- | ancies in his testimony. The line of
 questions carried the intimation that , 1 the witness had been arrested in Ten . nessee and brought to Decatur to be 1 drilled in his testimony. During his . occupancy of the stand the witness
 tripped In his testimony once or twice. , Jake Lance, a middle aged man with , a Roman nose and a short mustache, I next took the stand. He had he said, , since the 23rd of January, been stead , fly at work to gain evidence to convict the murderers of Miss Bloodwortn.
 Mr. Lynn objected to the testimony f of MT. Lance. saying that he mad talk ed with the witnesses in the case. The objection was overruled, the court say , ing that there was no evidence to show 3 that the witness had violated the in-
 3u1cfion of the court