The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-05-03
LIFE WAS WIPED OUT
 BY FENCE RAIL BLOW
One of Few Killings Where Liqucr
 Does Not Figure.
Men Got Into Dispute Over vaIuahIa Timber Lands Near Dcthan-Ds- fendant Was Intensely Nervous
 Throughout the Trial.
BY WILL T .sHEEHAN.

Dothan May 2-(SpeciaI. IA Hous. ton County jury went out at o'clock this afternoon to write c verdict which would say whether George Smith was guilty or murder or granddaughter or that he acted in self-defense when ha struck Walter Roach to the earth with a heavy fence rail.
 Ihe defense hopes strongly for q mansiaughter verdict and weakly for a verdict of acouittaI Smith claims self defense and makes out a case of seif defense according to his state- nent but the witnesses who saw the dlufcuity in whole or in part contradict the testimony of the defendant in fts significant parts.
 IT the jury should by chance bring in a verdict of acauittal. 1t will have to set aside the testimony of these two men.
 Twelve good men filed into the jury room with vivid memory of the de- Iendant. nervous. alarmed, suffering keenly. yet making a good witness for himself.
 They carried. too. the memory of tWenty-hve of the leading men of thls section standing in a row like A spell- ing class. and saying that George Smith had good character in every respect among his neighbors.
 They recalled, too, on the other hand the cold. unconditional statements of two witnesses which pictured Walter Roach under the uplifted fence rau with no chance to defend himself There was no chance to prove that Walter Roach was mentally incompetent. such testimony was not allowed by the court,
 County Solicitor HiH tried to nrova this by the defendant. when he asked smith on the stand: Wasn't Walter Roach ad fdiotT' but Mir. Farmer oh Jeeted. Mfr. Hill said he only wanted to show that Walter Roach was fncau- able of forming a design. Mir. Tspv argued the point for half a minute for the defense. An OK can kill a man. ans, a man has the right ts defend hirnseaf from an OK. said MT. Espy. and cerfain~ iy an OK can't form a design smith Nervous on stand.
 smith, overwrought and nervous tofa on the stand that Roacn had come to his field to talk over a timber mas- ter
 He gave me the damn lie tive or three times and I told him to leave. When he would not leave. I started or myself" The prisoner described the last act of the tragedy when the two men were fin the road. Roacn, he said, had knife and a piece of a fence rail in his hand T was backed up between a log and the fence. and then he started towards me with his head down 1ike he was going to duck under, and hit him with a piece of fence rail."
 Whiskey Played No Part.
 The tragedy grew out of a busl- ness transaction. In at least one re- spect. the tragedy is extraordinary. Whiskey played no part in 1t. Neither man was whiskey crazed-s most un- usal circumstances in Alabama kili- ings.
 The French saying apphed cynicaily to any tragedy or mystery, search for the woman." should be changed In solv- ing an Alabama crime to the question. who had been drinking the whiskey3'' In many Alabama court rooms I have seen many crimes traced back to thia inception. In practically every case until today, the intricate journey of the law through the evidence. touched somewhere the matter of drink.
 But today the law Erapples with tragedy In which drink plays no part. Roach fell heir to some land-- timbered iand-and timbered land Is valuable. But the land was In Iitiga- ton. Another claimint contested the rights of Roach and his family to tho lands.
 Roach. in order that all his rights might be protected. was legally ad- judged a mental incompetent. In tha meanwhile, he went about his daily af- fairs. but he was known among his armer neighbors as being mighty"
 Bought Land and Litigafion.
 George Smith bought the land in question from the contestant who was opposing the claim of Walter Roach and his family. With the land he bought a big lawsuit. and he bought the right to take part In tragedy which sent unfortunate Walter Roach to an un- timely grave and put him in a court of law to stand trial for his life.
 Roach sold the timber on the land to a lumber man named Cox. Cox. in good faith. cut the timber. but before he could move it. George Smith found it out and gave him warning. A few hours later. Walter Roach and George Smith met. The Smith and the Roach lands join. The two men were in theig own fields. but they quickly climbed the fence and met on the common ground of the public road.
 Words. hot words. passed between them, but only one version of what was said will ever be known. It win be tha version given on the witness stand. by George Smith. Death sharp and sur- den shut forever the lips of Walter Roach. He was struck with fence rail and instantly killed
 Claims n Fair Fight.
 The defense claims that it was fair fight man to man. and each with n fence rail The defense admits the mental incomnetency ot Roach. but 1t asserts there was no physical inoompe- tency about him. It will try to prove that Roach was strong and sturdy and no less dangerous for hfs mental weak ness.
 GeorE~ smith as he sits in the court room rubbing and washing his hands in invisible water. does not look the part of the man slayer. He Is not far above or below the forty ye~ ( mark and he books to be an averag" .rosper- ous Alabama farmer His ft ehead is broad and high. It's brightness empha- sized by partial badness It is a good forehead But hls chin retreats and ik there is weakness in his character. the retreating chin is it's sign. A long moustache cross a mouth that is none too strong. His eyes are keen. but tbev are very restless as he sits in the court room. They fly from his law