The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-09-21
SOUGHT PARDON
 FOR DEAD NEGRO Convict Had Been Dead for
 Five Years HORSES COMING 10 FAIR Fred Newell Will Bring the Best String to Birmingham That Has Ever
 Left the Montgom
 cry Track.
HORSES COMING 10 FAIR

Montgomery, September 2o.-tspecial)- peculiar case came to the attention or
 the state officers today when pardon
 was asked for Wesley Sterling, con
 vict sent LID from Pike county in 1895.
 After application was regularly made and hard work had been done to get the
 board of pardons to recommend clem-
 ency it was discovered that the negro
 had been dead some time
 Ten years ago now Sterling was a young negro in Troy, and became infat- Lated with a woman. Another young negro of the same town was also In love
 with the girl. One night the girl was
 murdered and her dead body was found
 in the road near the town. Sterling was the last man seen with her and was
 convicted in the courts and sent to the penitentiary for twenty years. D. A. Baker. an attorney of Troy, and aforetime member of the legislature, de-
 tended the young negro on trial the
 money for the service being furmsheu
 by the father of the accused. Today MT Baker came to the capitol asking Tor ms
 rarole or pardon He brought with him ! the endorsement of the county and cir
 cult solicitor and all county ofhcers ask ing for elemency, and was prepared lo
 make a good showing for his man.
 MT. Baker saw Col T. L. Sowell, aud itor, and Massey Wilson, attorney gen
 eral. members of the board of pardons'
 and interested them in his errand. A
 nttle later he found Secretary of State E, R. McDavid, the third member of the board After this he went with the pa pers to Governor Jelks, the man who
 has the last and only say in such mat | ters.
 As soon as the papers were presented to him the Governor sent up to the con vict department and asked Robert Ialt' who keeps all the books, for the re' of Sterling. The answer came back like thunderbolt Wesley Sterling has
 been dead since l9OO
 That was enough MT. Baker, eVl- dently as much astonished as any man
 who had been taking part in the pro- ceedings, looked like he had seen some thing that he had not been expecting and the Governor seemed much aston ished But there it rested. Wesley Ster- ling is dead and has been five years and a pardon, or whole lot Of pardons' would come entirely too late There is much surprise expressed by all the capitol officials at the outcome,
 for it Is not supposed for one moment that MT Baker had any idea that his client was beyond the pale when he spoke so earnestly and worked so assiu- uously in his behalf.
 Brings String to Birmingham. Tn A day of two Fred Newell will go to
 Birmingham for the State falr With the hest string of harness horses that evei | Jeff the local track. He has seven In the lot and not one m the workout yes | terday but showed good form and fast enough to go with any company at a southern meeting.
 The horses that will go are | Red Ribbon (5) by Jenie Wilkes, owned | by a Pensacola horseman. Blue Ribbon, a Hal mare, owned by w. l c. Francis.
 | Castor by Dictator Wilkes, owned by
 w. w. Weber of this city. | Lilly Pointer, by Dupointer, one Of the | greatest 3-year-olds in the world, owned | by w. M. Teague, Jr.
 , Onyx (3) by Allienwood, owned by ID.
 H. Marbury.
 |, Elected, by Reelection, owned by pr. I Stegall of Abbeville, Ala
 Prime Minister (D by Abdeel, owned by N J. Bell of this city.
 Little Joe. by Bay Geers | MT. Newell says the purses at Birming-
 ham this year are good and at Macon they are large for this section of the country 1 The State Fair at Birmingham begins Oc- | tober 23 and continues ten days. From
 that point the local horses go to Macon, | thence back to Selma for the Central 1 Alabama Fair. November to Il, after
 which they go to Columbus, Ga, where ! the fair opens November 15. McCord Better. | The many friends of Leon c. McCord, secretary of the Supreme court, will be
 glad to learn that he is recovering from ] a severe illness at the home of his ' brother, E. O. McCord in Albertville. A | friend of the sick man received mes sage last night to the effect that he was past the danger point and would be out | in few days.
 MT. McCord spent much of his vacation | in the quarantine service and was sta | toned for a few weeks in Florida. He 1 evidently laid himself out to great length
 and has suffered as a consequence. He will be able to take up his work at the
 capitol in a few days, 1t is now thought.
 Shears Body Inferred.
 The body of Charles M. Shear of Jack | sonvlle, Fla, who died by his own hand. was buried this morning at 9