The news & observer., 1905-12-16
a GREY HEADED SCOOP"

Bern Journal printed as news that 1T
had just come to light that Ed. Utley
and Jim Wilcox, two noted long term
prisoners in the penitentiary, had been
engaged in a plot to make their es-
cape by killing their keepers with
pistols which they had procured.
Seeing that item, the local man of
the News and Observer telephoned to
the penitentiary and was informed by
the Warden, Captain Fleming, that
there was no truth in the report of
the attempted escape, and it was so
printed. Later the Raleigh local pa
per published statement that
few months ago. Governor Glenn
had occasion to look up Utley's record
On an application for pardon and had
found that he was charged with hav-
ing a pistol in his possession and plot
ting an escape.
Whereupon the New Bern Journal
flaps it's wings and crows:
"a few days ago the Journal pub
l:shed a story about sensational!
affair in the penitentiary in which
convicts Wilcox and Utley were i'm
plicated in a plot to kill the guard
and gain their liberty. 1t will be re-
membered that the undoing of the
two men was through third party
whom they trusted. The Journal had
high authority for the account and
felt sure of the authenticity
sundays News and Observer show
ed a dispostion to doubt the truth of
the narrative. 1t said:
ga report has been published in
some paperx out OF Raleigh, sent out
in Raleigh correspondence that Otley
of Fayetteville, in the States Prison
for the murder of a clerk in the notel
at Fayetteville. and Wilcox, CT Eliza
beth City, in for the murder of Nell
Cropsey, had secured pistols, had
plotted to shoot the guards and es-
cape. but had been BETRAYED by a
third party.
"'From an Official inthe State
Prison it was learned last night that
the report was entirely wrong, that
there was nothing in it. 1t was stated
positively that neither of the men
had pistols nor had they been found
with them. There is absolutely no
truth in the report, is the statement
that is authorized to be made in the
matter
."This. of course. is supposed to de-
fend them in not giving the news.
But the truth of the matter is the
News and Observer was little sore
because it had been beaten out or
good news story and thought it better
crv fake than to confess that they
were scOoped.
The suggestion of a scoop in this
story is delicious piece of humor.
The facts as narrated by the journal
are substantially true, but so Is the
Declaration of Independence, the bat
tIe of New Orleans, the surrender at
Appomattox, the action III Manila
Raw and other more or less prominent
landmarks of American history. Ine
world moves so fast in this quarter
that all the available headline type
is needed to display current events
without unearthing the cold ana
hoary past. Once the local stan OF
this paper has lit on a fact, they 90
not hoard it for ever. They too, are
moving fast and have daily food for
thought. A newspaper is not historl-
cal except as related to things of the
nresent. To throw a spasm over an
attempted escape of Twenty-Five
months standing and to talk about
SCOOP is Just a little BIT staggering
Not suspecting the Journal OF anu
ouarian tastes, the News and Cd
server. having forgotten the orlglnal
occurrence, supposed that the report
was of fresh attempt. SO did
Warden Fleming, who answered nat
urallv that all was quiet within the
stockade. If the Journal should pup
lish that it was rumored that war
ship had been blown up in Havana
harbor. could it claim a scoop
on the Associated Press on the
incident of the Maine?
This matter was detailed TO News
and Observer reported by Governor
Avcock months before the expiration
of his term The attempted escape
was discovered in March. 1904. The
prjston authorities knew that the pis-
tolls were in the penitentiary ana had
Intercepted a letter from Utley to a
Young woman in which he had stated
that he expected to see her on the fol-
lowing Sunday. An extra guard was
detailed to watch Utley and Wilcox
Finally they were placed in dark cells
and kept there until they confessed
the plot and produced the pistols.
When application was made to Gov
ernor Aycock for Utley's pardon, he
was in possession of these facts, but
said nothing as to his reason for re-
fusing the pardon. When Utleys at
tornevs afterward applied to Governor
Glenn. he mentioned the matter of the
record of the plotted escape. Even
that was months and months ago, soon
after Governor Glenn's inauguration
indeed a fact which we now call to the
Journals attention as having occurred
some time last January.
This new discovery Of the Journal S
is about on q par with tho feat of the
Richmond paper which recently pub
lished under big head lines. the fact
that a mob had broken into church,