The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-02-27
Little Son Swears Father
 Was at Home.
COULD NOT SHAKE TESTIMONY
Defendant Denies Accusations of
 State.
Effort Making to show That Tom Edmondson. Killed His Own FamIIy at woodland Mills
 and Escaped.

Decatur, Feb. 26.-(Special) )-Fol more than two hours this afternoon Corbin Clements, the nine year old sor of Bob Clements sat in the witness stand and gave evidence that will have more to do to save the life or liberty of his father than all else that ha. been told from the witness chair 1T favor of the defendant.
 The lad had lived in the country all his life and had never seen 6 court house before. to say nothing oi facing a jury as a witness. Notwith- standing this lawyers for the State with many years of practice failed utterly to make the boy contradict himself.
 He said:
 T was asleep when the fire com menced. Mama woke me up and when I woke up papa was in the room put ting on his clothes. He told mama to ring the bell and she rang it and papa hollered and ran to the fire. went to the door and saw the fire.''
 He testified he was at Tom Edmond sons before dark the evening of the fire and saw Tom Edmondson and all the family there
 T went there to borrow soda and Aunt Fannie gave 1t to me-" he said
 Just before dark he saw all of the Edmondsons again when he went out on the porch to wash his face. The family went to bed about dark.
 Bob Clements Testihes.
 Bob Clements took the stand in his own defense. He denied the story as told by his brother-in-law Rufus Luk- CT and Luker's son yesterday He de- nied that he told the Luker boy and his father that he killed the Edmond sons and would burn them up in the building that night and denied giving the Luker boy twenty cents. He de- nied killing the Bdmondson family and setting fire to the buildings.
 The day the Edmondsons were lying dead in the buildings, according to the evidence of the State, Clements said he was at Edmondson's that even ing and helped Tom Edmondson to feed his stock
 The light from the fire shining through his window and the roar of the fire woke him up he said, he was the first person at the fire. John l.. Grier came next and a number of oth- CTS followed.
 Both the house and the barn were on fire when I got over there" said Clements. My house was 163 steps away. I couldn't see anything in the house for the fire. ran to the front of the house to see if I could see any thing of the Edmondsons. I didn't see them. and then went to the south of the house but failed to see them. Thinking they had become frightened and ran away. myself and others searched the woods and fields for them"
 Later that night bodies were found in the fire.
 'The night after the fire a voice hol- Tered Hello In front of my house." Clements went on. T went out and saw no one. I thought the voice was Tom Edmondson's. We thought Tom had done the killing and burning and we were afraid he would come back and burn us out and we moved away the next day"
 Defendant Is Restless.
 Clements did not know whether or not the strip of sedge grass where Nettie Edmondson Is said to have been killed was searched or not. He didn't search there. and under cross-exami- nation questions propounded by the States attorneys as to this particular spot seemed to worry him. He moved restlesly about in his chair.
 A dozen or more witnesses testified. to the defendants good character. Sev- eral testified that Rufus Luker, de- fendant's brother-in-law, told them Luker would claim the reward.
 Lonnie Clements. the defendants brother, testified: Rufus Luker told me and my wife. I had Bob Clements