Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-07-16
TRIAL OF SUSPECTS
Arson Crowd Face Jury at Mon
roe, N. c.
FIRST TESTIMONY TODAY
Defense Changed Plans in Call Of Test
Case
SHERIFF IDENTIFIED PRISONER
Story of Lynching Recounted on the
Stand-History of
Case.

| RALEIGH, n. c.. July l6.-The trial of
| the Arson crowd of lynchers for the muir
der of John V. Johnson. a white man,
! charged with killing his brother-in law.
Guion Johnson last April. and whom the
mob took from the Arson county jail at
Wadesboro and hanged to a tree rid
ding the body with bullets did not really
| begin till this morning, as far as the intro
duction of evidence is concerned.
After the special term OF court ordered
by the governor was formally opened at
Monroe. N. c., yesterday Judge PEBBLES
| adjourned the days session till 2:3O pm.
! The remainder of the afternoon was con-
| sumed in the selection of the jury, although
| 1t was secured in quicker time than either
| side anticipated, and at o'clock the jury
| was impaneled. The defense surprised the
/ state somewhat by offering John Jones.
| one of the twenty-three indicted men. as the
defendant in the first case to be tried in
stead of Zeke Lewis, the defendant first
| placed in the dock at the first trial. The
| state does not appear to be at any disad-
| vantage on this account. however. as wilt
! nesses today identified Jones' According
| to the evidence taken today he was seen in
| the crowd and in the Jail yard with a gun
| in his hands,
| The first witness on the stand this morn
| ing was Sheriff John c. Began Of Arson.
| who completed the testimony begun last
evening He was very certain on the cross
| examination today, as well as the direct
examination. of the identity of John Jones.
| He also identified about a dozen Of the other
| men who are under Indictment.
Sheriff Fired on by the Mob.
Sheriff Began said he was fired on by the
| mob. That he acted jailor well as
| sheriff, the lynchers aroused him and his
son and daughter. they made the old plea
for admission namely, declaring they had
| i,;I he
locked the door the mob rushed in. and
after being refused keys 20 the cell where
Johnson was confined they threatened to
shoot the man through the bars of the cell.
| Then he gave them the keys. They dragged
| the alleged half-crazy white man from the
| cell. and with rope around his neck start
| ed with him, dragging him at times, down
| the road to Monroe.
The cross examination by the defense this
| morning did not shake materially any Of
the sheriffs statements.
| Among the prisoners whom he today
stated he recognized are Zeke Lewis, John
| Jones the 'test-case" defendanD, Tom
Johnson. Henry kendall. w. Dean and
| others.
The story Of cutting down the body was
| told today.
History of the Case.
| Exactly one year ago these men, twenty
three in number, were arraigned before
Monroe. After a vigorous charge from
the judge the grand jury returned true
bills against all the defendants as follows:
! Thomas Johnson, Battle L wis and Ben
jamin Holt (these three having fed the
! state and now cannot be found) and
Thomas Adams. Zeke Lewis, Lewis Adams,
| Clyde Bowman, Fred Dunn. W. c. Dunn.
| Elmore Dunn William Dean, NJ Gud-
hedge, John Jones, I. Johnson. Oris Martin.
Lester Johnson. j. frank Nvens. John
Nivens B. F. Timmons. w. A. Nivens
James Swink and John and Joseph
Meacham.
The case Of Zeke Lewis was taken up
| first for the purpose of making 1t test
| case. Counsel for the defendant (they have
a number of the most prominent lawyers
| in the state retained to defend them) will
| move to quash the indictment. for the rea-
son that lit appears on the face of the
| bill that the offense was committed, IL
cor united at all. in another county (An-
SOM and not in this Unon) county," and
| also fo- the reason that the first count in
the bill charges that the defendants CON
splred with others without naming the
jury unknown" ct is said that there
We're fifty or hundred in the mob that
lynched Johnson. but the state has never
| been able to identify them alb
| Both of these motions were allowed bv
Judge Shaw: thereupon the state appealed
to the state supreme court. the latter
court reversing Judge Shaws ruling and
| ordering a new trial. This new trial Is
that which began at Monroe today.
| The lynching of the white man johnson
on the night of May %. 1906. was a cold
| hlooded affair. Johnson, who was of un-
sound mind it is claimed. had killed his
| brother-in-law, Guion Johnson. His friends
and the prisoner himself claimed that the
| killing was done in a tight Johnson had
| been tried for murder and the jury failed
| to agree. He was in Jail at Wadesboro the
! county seat of Arson county, awaiting
second trial, when the mob broke into the
| jail and took Johnson out and hung him
! to tree, his body being cut down by Of
| ficers afterward 1t had been riddled with
| bullets after the rope had done its work
| The lynching of white man for such an
| ofense. and under such uncalled-for cir
| cumstances, angered the governor very
| much. Gov. Glenn called upon the solicitor
| of that judicial district. and went to Arson
| county with him. He employed, in the
| name of the state, several other good law
| yers to assist in the prosecution, and at
| once set the sheriff and his deputies to
| work to detect and arrest the members of
| the mob few. If any. of which would ever
| have been discovered in the ordinary