Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1906-02-01

most happily ayerted Wednesday
afternoon of last week. j. d.
Moore had loaded a car with scrap
iron on the Pilot Knob spur and
was "chinking'' the car down near
the main track. The car got we'll
under way and, the break refusing
to work, split the switch and ran
onto the main track, head bent for
Ironton, and away it ran. It's
down grade all the way and every
turn. of the wheels the car in
creased in speed. When it reached
the Iropton station it was going
fully twenty miles an hour. Agent
Downey spied the runaway car,
took in the situation at a glance.
He knew there was a fast freight
just about due from the south, and
he hurriedly called Arcadia. Ar
cadia responded and said the
freight had passed that station. 1t
seemed that a collision was cer-
tain and they at Ironton station
awaited the inevitable. Fortu-
nately, though, there was a freight
train in the yard, and one of the
brakemen started after the car,
which began to slow up as i1 struck
the grade at the hub factory.
Luckily, the car didn't have
enough velocity to carry it over
this hill, and just before it reached
the summit came to a standstill,
and then began to roll slowly back
toward the Ironton station. The
brakeman mounted the car, saw
the break raj out of order, and
dismounted and started to flag the
freight, which could now be plain
ly heard coming from Arcadia.
The train was stopped, the run
away car steered into an Ironton
siding, and what might have been
a bad collision was avoided. This
all happened in less time than it
takes to tell about it, and just
about as the runaway had ''got in
the clear" and all was plain sail
ing, Mr.. Moore came Looping to
the Ironton station on his horse,
and just about as badly exited a
man as you've seen in some time.
He breathed a big sigh of relief
when told that no accident had re-
suited, and vowed he'd never again
attempt to "chink" a a unless he
had first tried the break.
In behalf of their aged mother,
who, they claim, will die in Jail if
the sentence OF ten years imposed
upon her by the courts for alleged
participation in the killing of
Sheriff John w. Polk of Iron
county, Mo-, is carried out, Arthur
and William Spaugh yesterday
announced their intention of ap-
pealing personally to Gov. Folk.
In a statement signed by William
Spaugh, the brothers claim they
were unjustly treated. They state
they have no funds to carry on a
defense. The statement written
on Jail paper in lead pencil, fol-
lows: civilian and Arthur
Spaugh appealing to the people of
the State of Missouri for help. 1.
We are unable financially to help
ourselves. 2. We were over
powered while we were in jail. A
mob fought us both legally and
Illegally. We we're mobbed for
punishment, and now a mob seeks
to hang us and give u innocent
mother ten years in the penitent-
larry, which means death to her.
God pity them, for they know not
what they do l., William Spaugh,
have never and do not owe any
body i'll will though they hang me.
God only has a right to judge and
punish. I am not guilty of muir
der in the first degree, as I was
tried for in the Reynolds county
court. l had not committed a
crime to be searched for without a
warrant. I was not given time by
the sheriff to explain. He came to
me, gun in hand, and fired two
shots, one going through my coat
collar. We are writing a book, in
which the public will get the full
details of the way we were mobbed
in the Ironton Jail. We want to
thank Gov. Folk again and again
for our lives. We also want to
thank the people of st. Louis for
the kindness they have shown US
when we were brought here SO
mangled. We want especially to
thank Jailer Dawson. Again we
ask the people of the State and of
any other State that is willing to
come forward and help us. In the
name of God, as Christian people,
do for us what you can, also pray
for all of us that we may be
strengthened. Hoping you will
give this your earnest considera-
ton and that we may hear from
some one soon, we are, VIM and
Arthur Spaugh, City Jail, st.
Louis, Mo-" The statement tell
ing of the manner in which Sheriff
Polk met his death is the first
issued by the SpaEgh brothers
since their arrest for the killing.
Their home in Ironton, Mo-, has
been sold and the money to defend
themselves in court appropriated
from the proceeds of the sale.
This money, they claim, has all
been expended. 81 would hate to
think that my mother must spend
ten years of her life in a penti-
Tertiary just because she is the
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