The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1907-04-23

/ MEN NOW AT MOBILE ALLEGE
WRONGFUL CONVICTION, PEoN,
AGE, CRUELTY AND WITHHOLD,
ING AND OPENING REGISTERED
MAIL-sToRY CREATES A SEN
SATION.
The Mobile Register OF Monday
| contained the following:
Edward Bradford, originally of May.
| field. Ky, and Frederick Thayer, a
native of London, England, who has
| not taken out citizenship papers in
| this country. both holding cards in
the International Typographical Union
and having worked in newspaper Off,
ceS in the south and in New York,
are in this city TO appear Uefore the
United States grand jury now in ses-
sion in support of charges of wrong
full conviction, peOnage, cruelty, with
| holding and opening registered mail
and other counts, that they make, on
behalf of themselves and seventeen
other union workmen, against the
sheriff Of Escambia county, Ala, and
c. G. Greer, Son d CO., tYrpentine
distDlers, Mortimer, Ala. United
States District Attorney Armbrecht,
who is prosecuting the cases against
the Honduras Lottery officials in this
city, will present the evidence of the
two men TO the grand jury today In
addition, an appeal has been made TO
the headquarters of the International
Typographical Union TO prosecute
the State Federation of Labor has al
ready taken up the matter and will
consider steps in the prosecution at
its meeting in Montgomery today, and
Thayer, claiming British protection,
has appealed TO Ambassador Bryce IN
Washington. The story told by the
men has provided a sensation here
Bradford and Thayer are men of
considerable intelligence, as is usual
in their trade. They corrobOrate
each other in statements, in brief as
follows:
Taken From Railroad Car.
Both men were working in New Or
leans and when work was slack
they came to Mobile. They found
nothing to do in this city and with the
intention of going north they left
here on a Louisville and Nashville
freight train, having the permission
of the crew to occupy one of the
empty cars. They reached FlOmaton,
sixty miles north of Mobile, on March
81, being accompanied by William
LennoX, a member of the New Or
leans and when work was slack
and Iron Workers Union. While
the freight train was on a siding
Deputy Sheriff Webster arrested the
three men at the point of gun on
a charge of trespassing on railroad
property and they were taken to the
Escambia county jail at .Brewton.
There they were held for eight days
before being given a trial. II being
currently reported among the prison
ers in the jail that the officials al
ways waited until they got full
batch of prisoners before trying them,
so that the agent of the convict camp
would be saved a trip" While in
the Jail Thayer was forced to go with
out food for thirty hours because he
was asleep when the food was given
out, and the men complain that the
food supplied was of the cOarsest kind
and hardly enough to keep them
alive. There were other men and
boys in the Jail who had been picked
up in the same manner, including
Fred Davis and Fred Johnson of New
Orleans. the latter a 16-year-old boy
whose father operates a dry goods
store on Canal street; Charles Smith,
a member of the Electrical Workers
Union of Charleston; d. Antrim. a
union painter. and ]. Mcneil, a rep
resentative of Golfers Weekly, who
was soliciting orders at the time he
was arrested. Bradford and Thayer
and several Of the other men told the
officers that they could get money TO
pay any reasonable fines, but they
were not listened TO. There was a
statement made by one of the depu-
ties at the Jail that it would be well
for the prisoners TO plead guilty
when they were brought up, as they
would have to lie in jail another
thirty days if they did not. The IN
fortunateS were also led to believe
that by pleading guilty they would
be fined a nominal sum and then al
lowed to go.
hustled Off to Convict Camp.
On March % the men were brought
before one Brooks. a justice of the
peace. and according to their coach
ing on the subject of leniency, they
pleaded guilty. The leniency was dis
played IN Inc fines. but was not very
apparent in the costs. They were
each fined 81. or ten Gays in default,
and were given fifty-siX days impris-
Onment in satisfaction of costs
Thayer and Bradford and those of the |
BllSOu0lS WHO hlGN Nildl iitN NOuiu
get money from relatives on inform |
ing them. of their predicament, asked |
the Judge 10 allow them time to pay |
the fine and costs, out he refused. |
stating that unless they could then |
produce the money they would have
to so to Jail.
1t is charged that Bradford was !
tyied with handouts on and that |
Davis wdS tried and sentenced while |
manaclCd. which is distinctly against |
the law of Alabama
Horrible Cruelty.
The prisoners were taken over |
sevCnteen miles 10 the turpentine |
camp Of G. c. Greer, Son & Co. after /
lie judge had summarily disposed of |
heir cases. This camp is near Nor |
inner. inside the Alabama line. While |
waiting trial the men sent letters |
- various parts of the country, mott |
wing their friends and they have |