The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-04-03
MILITARY MIDDLE
THIRTY SECRETLY COURTMAR-
 TTALED AT GADsDEN.
Private Gay Writes Warm Letter Re- Plying to Capt. Raincy's Remark Concerning Trough Elc-
 ment of Company.

| III tne iOcal company nere IS the f8ci
 that secret courtmartials have been
 held the past week and thirty of the men have been courtmartialed. Cap.
 tain Rainey went to Montgomery in
 person and secured the sanction of the
 adjutant general, and the governor
 now has the matter under advisemtnt
 Captain Rainey Is determined to get
 rid of the very men who made him | captain and this has a great deal to l do with the trouble. It Is now given
 out that there will be an inspection | of the company here on the 18th and the old members and the new members are wondering who the officers will | inspect. The following letter from Pri-
 vate Gay will appear in Mondays Times-News:
 'Times-News--I notice in your is-
 sue of March s1st statement made | by Captain l.. B. Rainey to The Mont- gomery Advertiser in reference to the military trouble here in Gadsden, and | among other things the following: I l would not command a company that | was not efficient, and I could not have | an efficient company with It's present
 membership said the captain. TO tell the truth, the tough element was
 in the majority, and the good men of Gadsden do not care to mix with them decided to get rid of the tough ele- ment and gave them honorable dis charges
 As received an honorable dis
 charge 1t necessarily follows from
 Captain Rainey's statement that he
 considered me one of the tough ele-
 ments. Now, admitting that Captain Rainey's statement was true, (which
 l seriously question for I think there
 were several boys in the company with
 whom even the captain could have
 mixed without furnishing his character
 in the least) that did not Justify the
 method he resorted to to get rid of
 what he termed the tough clement
 by giving them honorary discharges,
 purporting to be by authority from
 Headquarters, when, as a matter of
 fact, he had no such authority. It
 seems to me that the captain of a mili-
 tary company ought to be truthful in
 all his statements, and thus set an ex-
 ample worthy of imitation by his sub
 ordinates. I do not deem 1t necessary
 To make any defense of my character.
 as am well known in Gadsden and vicinity, having been born and raised
 in this county, and have lived in Gads-
 den for the past nine years. This is
 the first time in my life that I have
 been called tough As to whether l deserve that appellation I leave the
 people with whom I have lived to say.
 T had entertained a high regard for Captain Rainey and as a member of
 his company I always gave him the respect due from a subordinate to an officer. I never failed to comply with a single order issued by him in his official capacity. I could say more, but
 will refrain, as I do not wish to make my article too long:
 Willie P. Gay"
 L. L. Battles attempted to commit
 suicide 1t is alleged. at his home in West Gadsden last night by taking an overdose of morphine. According to statement made by one of his children 1t seems that MT. Battles, who IS about sixty years old, has been drinking very heavily for several days and last night he took large dose of morphine with the intention of ending ms days. Physicians were quickly summoned and they worked with him all night before they could revive him sufi1cfently to get him aroused, He is still suffering from the effects of the drug but he is out of danger. No cause is known for his attempt upon his life unless his mind was temuorar- fly unbalanced from the excessive nse or whiskey He Is one of the best known men in the county
 Gadsden is to have her Carnegie IJ- Drary atter so long time. Prof w E Striplin, principal of the Disuue High school, and the chairman of the Library committed, received a letter Saturday afternoon from the agent of Andrew carnegie stating that the committee | could draw on him at once in sums | ranging from $2.000 to $3.000. up to | $lO'OOO. the amount which he has do- | mated. The citizens of Gadsden sub- scrloed to the fund to purchase the lot, | which is on Broad Street. on the corner | from the First Baptist Church, and which cost $2.600. The lot has been nh A1 active construction of the library will be commenced just as soon as the ar chltect gets the plans ready.
 charles N. Afford died at the home of his sister Mrs. B. M. Martin, on Wal nut Street, in this city. Saturday, of consumption, from which he had sur- 'ered for several years. Mir. Afford was only 50 years old and was one of he best known young men in the city He was native of Guntersville, where le was born and reared. He was a graduate of Auburn College, and some ew years ago he moved to Gadsdon ind opened up a civil engineers office. ioing good business. About year lgo his health became so wretched that le went to Los Angeles. Cal, and later O Denver. Colo, but to no avail, and ] few weeks ago he came home to pass is remaining days here. He leaves mother, brother and several sisters. The funeral services were held Sun lay afternoon, Rev. w W. Scott oh- iating at the home, and then the Elks f ook charge of the remains, escorting \ hem to Forest Cemetery, where the emains were laid away with the cerc- ionies of that order. Many beautiful oral offerings were sent by friends.
 Saturday was the regular monthly ! ayday for the teachers of Etowah ounty, and there were quite a num- CT of them present to meet the coun- 7 superintendent, Prof. J. F. Williams, ho disbursed a little over $1,3OO mong them. f The local lodge of the Elks held r lelr annual election of officers last ' Ight, and they will be installed this l eek. The new officers are: W. c ' ellenger, Exalted Ruler; Charles P. ' nith, Esteemed Leading Knight; Alto r Lee, Jr. Esteemed Loyal Knight; [
 E. Ramsey, Esteemed Lecturing : night; J. W. DuBose. Secretary; C. l.. j, 0wan, Treasurer; Walter Rosenbaum. ' Her; c. L. Gum and J. w. Hammond, 2 rustees. F Mayor Charles P. Smith, who assum- i, the reins of Government only a few ' lys ago. is making record from the r ,ry start. He Is an enterprising busi- . ,ss man and he Sees many things that ,, hers do not. and he has the back |. ,ne to enforce the laws that others t' d not. He has given the police posi- ' ve instructions to arrest all vagrants Id all minors caught fin the saloons ..
 lettering around them The police 4. we taken him at his word and are ' ak!ng arrests by the wholesale and | 7