The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-06-30
Jury Was Out But Few
 Minutes.
For the First Time in FOrty-One Years white Man Receives Death sen-
 tence fin Mobile County.
Advertiser Bureau.

by hanging"
 At five minutes to six this afternoon. after deliberating less than a half hour, the jury In. the City Court in the case of the State of Alabama versus Andrew Thomas, murder, returned into court the above verdict and the rec ord in the criminal history of Mobile county since 1865 was broken, In that a white man was sentenced by jury of his peers to suffer the death penal ty.
 This is on the authority of the trial judge who for thirty years himself has presided over that tribunal.
 Aside from the regular panels spec fal venire of 100 jurors had been sum- moned from which to secure a jury. At noon today eleven Jurors had been secured and the venire exhausted Judge Semmes ordered an extra venlre of seventy-five drawn and adjourned court until o'clock. to allow the sheriff to serve notice on the venire- men. The court had appointed Ritten- house Smith and Edgar l.. Clarkson to defend Thomas Solicitor James H. Webb appeared for the State.
 At 2 o'clock court re-convened and soon the twelfth juror, John M Hand. Jr.. was accepted and sworn m. The witnesses were heard. the most damag- ing one against the defendant being q XQNuB Bkfi, A1tH6 ElcHd 1HOHipSOus GOdS- in of Thomas's victim who testified she heard the scuffling overhead and rush. ed up the stairs. Seeing Thomas beat ing hts wife she picked up their baby from the floor and rushed out of the room.
 She also testified she saw Thomas knock his wife against the wall and draw his pistol She heard her cousin beg him DGf to kill her and saw him fire. then saw him fire again when the young wife and mother was on the ffoes
 Thomas on the stand swore the pis- fol was fired when he was trying to enter the room by forcing the door and his wife grasped the pistcs when it was accidentally fired. His statement was directly opposite to what had been testified and he denied having threat ened that morning that he would klfi his wife, which was testified to by the girl and another witness. The defen- dant when the verdict was rendered and the jury was being boiled never moved or showed any concern about the fateful worda
 History of the Crime.
 Early in the morning of May g, last. the city was startled by news of the killing of a young wife by her hus- band.
 The killing occurred in a room on the second floor of a house on the south side of Spring Hill avenue. second east of Pine street. Detective Murphy and other officers hurried to the scene and Murphy went at once to the room where he found Andrew Thomas with a pistol in his hand. his wife dead on the floor.
 Thomas was cuffed and taken to po- lice headquarters and the body of his wife to the morgue Coroner Hirsh- field sum.noned a jury and hesr2 tes- Elafr Fs1,- Nh~ f1 Nrd Thomas held for murder.
 preliminary hearing WAS had later before the Recorder and at this hear ing the following was afduced;
 Thomas and his wife had been living together. The night before the kill ing Thomas assailed his wife and she left home. going to M. Wheeler's house, where she was killed. Thomas went there on the morning of May 9. and again assailed and beat his wife. While the woman was on the floor. where he had struck her, and having hold of one of her hands, he drew a 3s-calibre pistol. The woman. who was only 25 years of age. begged that he would not kill her. Thomas fired. the bullet entering the left breast above the nipple. and as the wife was well tering in her life blood, he fired a sec ond shot which entered the right side of the@ head penetrating and passing through the Draln.
 Mrs Thomas was a Miss Miller be- fore becoming the wife of Thomas. and was born west of Mobile. The was a handsome young woman. and the mo- ther of one child Since Thomas, in- generation he appeared in the Probate Court seeking to obtain custody of the child. Judge Price Williams. after hearing the testimony, awarded the child to the parents of the dead woman. 
 Early Morning Fire.
 At 4:30 o'clock thIs morning fire in the Armour Packing Company building did considerable damage, one fireman was inured and the big fire engine "Pat J. Lvons," damaged. When the fire was discovered an alarm was turn ed in from the box at Commerce and Government Streets. just across the way from the building. The entire dc. partment, except Hose Company No. g., responded. The fire was located in the second and third floors of the building and was soon extinguished after the firemen got busy
 What came near to being q serious accident occurred directly in front of Lavretta's Coffee Saloon, in Duncan Place. Capt Gus Hehm. of the big steamer Fat J. Lyons, was handling the lines. As he swung the horses out of Royal Into Government Street. on the south side of Duncan Place he pull ed -hem to keep from tanning the aerial truck. TIe engine struck a large iron column. breaking 1t into pieces and before the engine stopped rolling an- other column was struck and broken. Some of the pieces, in falling, struck Captain Rehm on a hand aud foot, both being injured. 1t being necessary to amputate portion of one finger. He had close call, this being his second mishap at a fire durine the week.
 While the crew of Creole No. 1 was engaged on the fire the horses ran aw ay with the hose wagon. They took the south side of Government Street and went west. narrowly escaping the big steamer which had come to a halt after the collision with the post The horses were caught at Broad Street and returned to the scene of the fire by police officer.
 The extent of the damage to the Ar mour Company's plant could no. be as- certained. Manager Logan saying he would have to await the coming of the auditor, who Is in Meridian. The auditor has been notified and is expect ed here tomorrow morning
 Members of the Fire Department have the opinion that the fire originated from the smoke room as there has been sev- eral runs to the building to extinguish fires resulting from this room. The nre was a mean one to handle because of the density of the smoke.
 Gun Club to Celebrate.
 On July f the Mobile Gun Club will have a jolly good time ar their club aouse on Blaakely' Island, across the river. Aside from the regular semi ponthly shoot for the Hunter Arms Company gold medal. there will be number of shoots fof prizes given by