The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-01-05
UNION MAN SHOT TO DEATH Tragedy in the Selma
 Saloon, ABUSED THE STRIKE BREAKER Trouble Grew Out of Demands of
 Linemen. Burch Had Been Assaulted by the strik- ing Foreman and When Two Met FusiIade With Pistols
 Followed.
ABUSED THE STRIKE BREAKER

Selma, Jan. 4-(Speciai.) lone man dead and two others slightly injured is
 the result of shooting scrape which
 occurred in ". D. Youngs Plaza sa- loon on Alabama Street, between Broad
 and Washington. about s o'clock this afternoon.
 The primary cause of the shooting can be traced to the strike of the Southern Bell Telephone linemen, which was inaugurated in this city the first | of last April. The man dead is Marion Phillips, who before the strike, was foreman of the linemen here. the
 wounded men are l.. P. Cook and Fred Young.
 Cook was shot through the right foot, the ball entering the heel and coming out on the side. Fred Young was hit on the ankle bone of his right foot. The ball did not enter but sim ply hit the shoe and glanced of. The man who did the shooting was s. L. Burch, who is lineman for the Bell Telephone Company, and who came 1 here about the middle of last April from Jackson, Miss, to take the place of some of the striking union men. After the shooting Burch ran from
 the saloon through the negro bar. which opens on Washington Street, and
 up that street half black to the
 stairway to the telephone exchange. where shortly afterwards he was arr rested by Sheriff F. M. Blackwell, Pos lice Captain Miller and Officer Blanton.
 He was carried to police headquar-
 ters and locked up and refused to | make a statement as to how the shoot | ing came about. After the shooting Phillips body was taken to an under l taking establishment on Water Street, where upon examination 1t was found | that the five shots which Burch had fired from his 32 calibre pistol had ta- ken affect.
 One of the shots grazed the muscle | of the light arm and entered the body | through the side Another went | through the front upper part of the E oh1th a third on the left side several
 inches above the heart. the fourth on | the right wrist and fifth grazed his | face
 | Three of the wounds inflicted were sufficient to have caused death and 1 Phillips was dead when he fell to the l floor of the saloon.
 Did Phillips Firey Although Phillips had pistol, 1t Is said that he did not have time to shoot
 at Burch. From what can be learned the cause of the trouble between the two men dates from the time of the telephone linemen strike, and has been
 kept up by Phillips ever since. Soon after his arrival here to take the place of the strikers Burch was ap- preached by Phillips and others of the
 union men who offered him many in- ducements to quit working for the tell ephone company and return home, or if he did not want to go home they would purchase him a ticket to any part Of the United States. Burch refused the offer of the union men and told them that he was proud to be able to take one of their places.
 From that time on Burch has been
 the subject of much abuse from Phil lips. Upon several occasions. Phillips
 has met Burch upon the streets and cursed him out in the vilest kind of
 language which Burch never resented. On one or two occasions when they met Phillips, pushed him from the sidewalk and these attacks. Burch also never resented. Phillips was of
 very fry and unforgiving disposi- ton and whenever the chance offered.
 would go out his way to abuse the non-
 union man.
 These difficulties were renewed this afternoon when early, it Is said. that
 the two men met near the TeleDhone
 Exchange on Washington street, and Phillips again cursed out Rurch.
 During the latter part of the after noon Burch worked on some wires on pole almost in front of the Plaza saloon on Alabama street ana 1t IS stated that about a half hour before the shooting Phillips passing up the street saw him at work on this pole and again stopped and called him several vile names.
 Tried To Borrow Gum. atn later, it is said, that he again re- peated these to Burch who kept stead ily at work About fifteen minutes before 6 o'clock, the bar keper ar O Films saloon. corner of Water and Washington streets, block away from where the shooting occurred. said that Phillips came in that place and tried to borrow a pistol from several people No one had a pistol to lend him and when asked what he wanted with 1t he replied that he was walking up Alabama street when that Scsb' Burch who was working upon the top of telephone pole had cursed and thaT he did not propose to take such an insult
 Phillips left O'Flinn's saloon and went to the Plaza saloon. which he en- tered In that place standing at the counter there were l.. r. Cook. and Fred Young talking while closer to the street was VIII Hardowski Hence ChiIders and J B, Harrison. To the latter three men Phillips walked up to, and began talking.
 He had been talking a few minutes when Burch entered and went to the rear end of the bar, where from the barkeeper. L. J, Wright. he ordered a glass of beer. He was given the beer and was lifting the glass to his lips when MT Hrabokski says that Phil lips took a pistol from his pocket and putting it in his coat pocket. he walk ed up to Burch and hit him with both fists. knocking him to the floor.
 Burch Arose Shooting.
 Burch, it Is said, arose from the floor shooting and never did stop un- til his pistol had been emptied. Phil lips Is said to have died with the pis- tol in his hand, but never did discharge the weapon. J. W. Harrison. Hence Childers. Win Hrabowski and L. J. Wright. tell practically the same story about the shooting. What seems most mysterious about the shooting.