The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-01-17
DECKER ON STAND IN COMER LIBEL SUIT Sticks to Assertions Made In
 Original Affidavit CAUSES MUCH AMUSEMENT Insisted on Calling Him "Mr." Conner for "This Particular Case"-Trial
 Adjourned Early Until
 Monday.
CAUSES MUCH AMUSEMEN l

At 11:15 o'clock yesterday morning Judge
 Senn adjourned the hearing in the libel
 suit of Gov Braxton5 Bragg Conner
 against the Montgomery Advertiser until
 10 o'clock tomorrow morning.
 The feature of yesterday mornings ses-
 sion was the testimony of E. A. Dicker'
 a former track foreman for the Louis
 vile and Nashville railroad, and the man
 who made the affidavit, the publication
 of which resulted in the libel suit. Only
 two witnesses were examined at this ses-
 sion, Victor hanson, advertising man.
 ager for the Advertiser taking the stand
 again upon the converting of court and
 being followed shortly afterward by MT.
 Dicker.
 A crowded court room greeted the open
 ing for the day. The crowd consisted
 mostly of prominent lawyers and pol-
 ticians, who took keen interest in every thing that was said or done Governor
 Conner was the exposure of all eyes
 though he took no active part in the pro
 ceedings and remained in the rear of his
 counsel.
 Mir Dicker is well along in years and was kept upon the stand for over an hour much against his will. His frequent injunctions to the attorneys to hurry up, together with his refusal to consider | "Governor" Conner, insisting that it was
 "Braxton Bragg Conner" in this partic-
 ular case, caused many ripples of laugh
 ter to pass through the court room.
 MT. L.cker repeated upon the witness
 stand that which was contained in his l affidavit, though he. stated there were
 one or two words in the affidavit which
 should not have been there and which
 he attributed to the stenographer writ
 Ing the affidavit. The affidavit was in effect that while he had a crew of men
 repairing the private side track of the Ayondale Cotton Mills about the month
 of october, 1900, "Braxton Bragg Conner"
 approached him and inquired as to the l cost of the work, and then told him to go
 to the cotton mill office and receive his
 pay. This, the witness stated, he told 1 MT. Conner he could not do; that 1t was not his way of doing business, and that 1 he would draw his pay for doing the work | from the railroad, which would in turn
 send a bill to the cotton mill. Upon his giving this reply he stated that MT Conner turned and walked away, saying "he
 would die poor if he did business that way"
 The witness stated that in 1866, when | he was about 22 years of age, he visited l his Uncle Jake and Aunt Mary Conner in | Newberry. s. C., this visit occurring shortly after he had been honorably dis charged from the Confederate army. He I further stated that Uncle Jake and Aunt Mary Conner had two sons about his age. One of these sons he stated was named
 ''Braxter" Bragg Conner.
 His original home was in Milton county. Georgia, which he left over 30 years ago | to remove to Alabama. About a year after his visit to Newberry in 1866 he | received information to the effect that his
 uncle and aunt had died and that the | two boys had drifted west.
 1 He testified that he had never seen any I thing of them since, and that when he 1 saw MT. Conner in October, 1900, he be- l lieved him to be his first cousin, "Brax- | ter' Bragg conner, whom he had last seen | 40 years before in Newberry. S. c. This impression that MT. Conner was his | first cousin came upon him at the time I MT. Conner approached him while working | on the mill track. This impression, he stated, however, he did not impart to MT I Conner as The could not afford to-" When asked for an explanation of this latter statement, he replied that he could afford 1 to do so as MT. Conner was a rich man | and he was poor man.
 1 He then told how he came to make the | affidavit in 1904, saying that he was work l ing at Newcastle. MT Conner was running for railroad commissioner and he became very much interested in the race One | day. while talking to Track Supervisor
 Harroll he related the Avondale cotton mill incident and shortly afterward re- ceived instructions to go to Birmingham. | Arriving at Birmingham he went to the | office of Superintendent Starks and later | to the office of Jones Moore, MT. deFuniak | coming in while he was there. He stated | that he related the incident and that | shortly afterward typewriter state ! ment was presented and read to him, which he signed. This was the affidavit I which was published.
 1 The witness was asked by the plaintiff s l counsel if Governor Conner and k. Will | kinson had not visited him at New Castle
 a short while after tNe affidavit had been printed At first he stated he did not 1 think so, but after MT. Wilkinson was brought Into the room the witness said he believed there had been such visit, l but he could not state who the man was
 that accompanied MT. Wilkinson as his l back was turned toward him.
 Dielxer stated that for the past four
 wears he had been farming on his wife S | farm near Sprlngville, in St. Clair coun- | ty. having taken up this work upon leav- | ing the service of the Louisville and | Nashville railroad. He has resided in the district for 90 years, and while connected | with the railroad lived in his own home at | Woodlawn and was also voter.
 He gave his age at 65 years and was very deaf MT. Grubb for the defense and Judge Weakley for the plaintiff were l compelled to stand close to his ear and sneak in very loud tones when questioning