The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1910-10-08
MURDERERS Of WILLIAMS.
TEN CIRCUS EMPLOYEES HELD IN
AUGUSTA JAIL.
augusta CHIEF Says He Has Indispu-
table Evidence Which Will Convict
Each OF the Eleven OF Being I'm
plicatcd i'm Robbery and Killing OF
Paul Williams.

Augusta. Ca, Oct. 3.-"I have in
disputable evidence" said George z.
Elliott, chief of the Augusta police
department, which will convict each
of the IL employees of the Hagenbeck-
Wallace circus, whom / now have
under arrest, of being implicated in
the robbery and murder of Paul A.
Williams of Columbia
Chief Elliott gave out his state
ment tonight after a busy day spent
In ferreting out the facts connected
with the murder of Paul Williams,
the 1S-year-old report clerk at the
freight depot Of the Southern rail-
road in Columbia, who was shot and
robbed while riding on the Hagen
beck Wallace circus train between
Columbia and Augusta early Sunday
morning.
II admit" continued Chief Elliott
that / have been up against one Of
the hardest propositions ever
tackled. The circus employees know
each other merely by nicknames
and sometimes three or four men
have the same name. Their ignor-
ance Of each other Is astonishing.
Trying to find a circus man Is like
going down into an ant hill and
searching for particular ant"
Chief Elliott has practically all the
facts about the riot on the circus
train, but could give out very little
for publication tonight on account
of the peculiar character Of the situa-
tion with which he ls dealing. He
now has In the Richmond county
jail ten employees of the circus, throe
white men and seven negroes. He Is
convinced that one OF them fred the
shot which killed Paul williams.
In regard to the part which the
Augusta police played In the capture
of the ten suspects. Chief Elliott
said last night:
"The first intimation of the affair
which I had was a telegram sent
from Warrenville and signed by J.
c. Weekley. telling me to search the
first section of the circus train for
the body Of Paul A. williams. I got
a list of the men on this train, which
showed where they slept When the
train arrived I had 2i men arrested
who had slept Sunday night on the
fiat cars. on one Of which young Will
liams was murdeded. After an ex-
animation I let all the men except
eight go free. I wanted three more
men. two Of them white and the 9TH
er one negro. I located one Of the
white men In Aiken and the other be-
tween Aiken and North Augusta.
They We're arrested this afternoon.
expect to get the negro"
Both Of the two white men ar
rested had blood on their clothing
One wore battered and blood
stained straw hat. One of the pair
was a smooth-shaven man, with a
pointed nose and chin, which corre-
sponded to the description given by
j. G. Weekley Of the man who in
vited young Williams and him to 20
to Augusta on the circus train.
p. II. Corley. sheriff Of Lexington
county. with his special deputy, K. e.
Corley, Is in Augusta. Sneriff Corley
will bring the prisoners back to
Lexington tomorrow afternoon.
A white employe Of the circus
named Harrison, who was knocked
on the head by a negro in the riot
on the circus train, is being cared for
at police headquarters He claims
that he was robbed Of $12.5O.
The circus officials and the special
agents of the Southern railway have
all assisted the Augusta police de-
partment in drawing the drag net.
One Of the employees Of the circus
said today that the negroes in a riot
similar to the one Sunday morning
killed a railorad man at Greensboro.
Ind. while he was protecting the
property Of his company from the
marauders.