The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-02-26
MAIL CLERK
 BOUND OVER Eugene Hester Has Pre- liminary Hearing. BOND FIXED AT 5000 He is Accused of Embedding Money from Letters. Friends of the Young Man Confident of
 His Honesty and His
 Bond Was Made
 ..--... Promptly.

After a hearing which began at 10 o'clock yesterday morning and was not
 concluded until late yesterday after
 noon, United States Commissioner John
 A. Fillmore fixed the bond of Eugene
 Hester, of Montgomery, railway mail clerk accused of extracting $2,621.66 from registered letters. at $2.000 for his appearance before the next Federal grand jury.
 The bond of Hester was made by pr. R. l.. Huddleston of Fillmore County
 and J. M. Freeman of Montgomery. Hester, it will be remembered, was in charge of a postal car of the Atlantic Coast Line running between Waycross Ga, and Montgomery, which he report ed was entered near Wiley. six miles | from Montgomery, on the night of Jan l uary z, by a lone. highwayman with | masked face, who shot him, Hester registered letters and left the train before the trainmen were aware of his presence.
 Soon after the hold-up Hester was ] transferred to a run between Montgom- cry and Selma. About two weeks ago he was arrested by Postoflce Inspectors
 II. E. Thfele and M. W. McCrea. In-
 spector McCrea swore out a warrant against Hester charging him specifcal- ly with extracting $2,500 from letter
 mailed by the First National Bank of
 Dothan to the Hanover National Bank,
 and $121.56 from a letter mailed at En-
 terprise.
 l Being arraigned before Commission
 CT Elmore immediately after his arrest,
 Testers bond was fixed at $3,000, and
 he spent one night in the country jail.
 Later the bond was reduced to $2,OOO.
 which was made and Hester was re- | leased from custody.
 The preliminary hearing was attend
 ed yesterday by large crowd. Many | friends of Hester, including a number | of postal employees sat with him in the court room and expressed their utmost
 confidence in his honesty. The mail clerk was represented by 1 counsel and District Attorney Warren
 s. Reese looked after the interest of | the government.
 l Twenty witnesses were examined but very little of importance was dis closed. The witnesses included w.
 R. watford, cashier of the bank at Dothan; Miss Roe Smith, employed in | the Dothan postoffice; L. B. Pierce, con-
 ductor; A S. Tombstone, engineer: w | H. Loftin, baggagemaster; Jim Flaw l kins, negro fireman, and William Good | son, negro porter on the train which was robbed; H. F. Irwin, assistant post | master at Montgomery; Eliza Ann
 Pleasants, a negro passenger on the train; Dr. M L. Wood, who attended Hesters wound; Perry Hazard, negro | who lives at Wiley. The trainmen testified that they did
 not see the alleged highwaymen get | on or off the train.
 | The passenger, Eliza Ann Pleasants | testified that she got on the train at Wiley and did not see the alleged rob- | Der.
 Perry Hazard was at the station al Wiley that night and said he did not
 see the highwayman. | J. w. Huggins, who is mail clerk
 running between Waycross and Mont ! gomery swore that a few nights be"
 fore Hester was robbed a man attempt | ed to forcibly enter his mail car at Wiley.
 Postoffice Inspector McCrea swore tc
 the story of the robbery as told to him
 by Hester.
 No attempt was made to impeach l the character of Hester. pr. R. L.
 HudIeston. H. c. Ivey, J. A. Rast. J. B. | McFadden, W. L. Goree, J. T. Richard | son and F. T. Adams, testified to his | good cha aracter.
 At the conclusion of the hearing of 1 testimony the lawyers argued the case l at length.
 Commissioner Elmore said there was sufficient doubt to warrant a submis- sion to the grand jury and bond was
 fixed at $2,o00 which was made
 promptly.
 The grand jury will investigate the
 case at the next term of court.