The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-06-24
CLOSE
CALL REMEMBERED
Old Time Printer Tells of Bar
ton-SoteIdo Case
MYSTERY AS TO SHOOTING
Two Brothers Went to Office Of Old
National Republican and Had
Words With Managing Edi-
tor-Shots Were Fired.
MYSTERY AS TO SHOOTING
From the Washington Post.


ton printer, that the Barton-Soteldo
shooting ARRAY took place In the editorial
rooms of the old National Republican,
which was located about where the west
erly part of the Southern railway office
building, Thirteenth street and Pennsyl-
vania avenue, now stands, in a building
that had been the carriage shop of An
drew Joyce 6 Sons
Clarence M. Barton was the managing
editor of the Republican, of which Gen.
Thomas ]. Brady, shortly afterward the
principal defendant in the famous star
route trial. was the largest owner; George
c. Gorham was the editorial writer; the
late Hallet Kilbourne, president, and
Frank B. Conger, afterward city postmas-
ter was business manager
Antonio N. and Charles NJ. Soteldo
were the sons of A. NJ. Soteldo, the minis
ter from Venezuela, and while both were
considered newspaper men, were more
noted as men about town..
'Bartin had printed an article purport-
ing to be an account of an escapade OF
10 o'clock the two brothers called on
bdIlOn III nus OHlce, Hnul0g MN diOHe
They were both under the influence of
liquor. According to Barton's rather con-
fused recollection, but few words were
spoken before the shooting began, though
ii was never proved who did the shooting.
The belief at the time was that after
asking Barton IL he was the author of
the article, Antonio Immediately clinched
with him and Charles began firing into the
TWO struggling men.
Comps" Heard Shots.
THE composing room was Immediately
over the editorial rooms, and the sound
of the battle reached us Immediately. The
compostors grabbed baseball bats, NAL
let's sidesticks. and whatever weapons
they could get hold of and rushed down.
stairs, but before reaching the scene of
the conflict two men, cllnched and strug
Cling, came out of the editorial room, and
rolled and fell and scrambled down the
narrow stairway and out into the street,
where the printers seized, separated, and
disarmed them. These were Barton and
Charles Soteldo. Barton, bleeding and
exhausted, was taken into the business
office, while the boys marched Soteldo off
to the station house. On the way he got
obstreperous, and Larry Kearney one of
the printers, subdued him. On nearing
the station they met a policemen, where
upon Soteldo appealed to him:
Take me away from these ruffians be-
fore they kill me, for Gods sake!"
What's he done, boys? asked the po-
liceman, who knew the printers.
He's only killed man-that's ALL
said Kearney.
"Of course, all was excitement and bus
tie around the counting-room, where Bar
ton was being examined by surgeons. In
the meantime / went into the editorial
rooms, cropping my way around, for the
shooting had put the lights out, when
stumbled over body lying on the floor.
then lighted one of the extinguished
gas jets and found that the man on the
floor was Antonio NJ Soteldo. There was
no one else in the editorial rooms, every
body being busy over Barton down In the
business office, so | set about to examine
him. He was very large man, and as /
was slight it was quite job for me. l
opened his clothes without finding any
signs of hurt. He was apparently con-
scious, following me with his eyes in every
move that l made, but without speaking
He was lying his back when / found
him, and there being no wound apparent
l knelt and lifted his head and shoulders
as well as ] could to continue my exam
nation. l kept talking to him all the
time.
Searching for Wounds.
Where are you hurt, old man? Tell
me about 1t. Is it in your back? Can't
you tell me where to look? Are you sur
fering? Therell be somebody here in n
minute And so on, and | expected some
one to come to my aid, of course, but no
one came, and l was alone with him at
least ten minutes.
Succeeding in lifting his heavy head
and shoulders. l found a tiny wound at
the back of his neck, whereupon I con-
tinued my chatter.
:" L think they've got you, old man. I've
found where he clipped you-a little but
tonhole right at the base of the brain
and nobody has ever got well with a hole
in him there. | think your ticket reads,
Good for glory" .
at wasn't bravado with me or callous-
ness but sort of nervous possession of
my faculties, that made me run on thus.
! laid him down again, saying:
Cheer up, old man, I'm going for
help
81 then ran to the counting room and
spoke to one of the surgeons whom
knew, DIR. T. T. Sewers, saying:
There's a man upstairs who needs
help, too. Some of you look after him.
II then ran across the street and got a
tumber full of whisky, and was trying
to hold Soteldo up so that he could drink
1t, when the doctors came to relieve me
of my charge. They injected some Of the
whisky into him, got an ambulance, and
carried him off to Providence hospital
where he died at o'clock next morn
ing.
Barton's Close Call.
Examination showed that Barton's
wounds were slight, though so located
that his escape from death was miracu-
lous. One ball struck him in the side of
the head and ran halfway around his
skull, under the skin. while another, flat
tening itself against a suspender button,
made a painful bruise at point where,
If the bullet had gone through, it would
have been almost necessarily fatal
Charles Soteldo was not hurt at ALL ex-
cept where Larry Kearney plugged him
in the nose. Barton was back at his desk
In less than two weeks.
THE case was so complicated that 1t
was hardly known whom to prosecute
but Charlie Soteldo was tried for man
slaughter during the following summer
and cleared. while the grand jury failed
to indict Barton. There was no reliable
evidence that Barton had fired a shot
during the ARRAY, though. when the print
ers separated him and Charlie Soteldo
he had in his hand an old pistol, which
had one empty shell in it, the others be-
ing loaded and snapped showing that
antagonist. The empty shell was account
ed for by the testimony of an office boy
named Seibold, who swore that he had
fred it at a. rat in the backyard the day
before.