The Mathews journal. (Mathews C.H. [Court House]) 1903-1937, 1910-04-28


However painful it may be TO the
sensitive feelings of some, candor
compels the statement that Eddie Fay
and Little Dick" Harris will leave
this city today with no kindly senti-
ments for the Virginia capital and its
inhabitants.
1E truth they are as sore as a boil
yea. as sore as a ripening car
20. Although both confessed in
open court Thursday that they had
been guilty of the most gigantic post
office robbery in the history of the
-nited States. they are sincerely con-
'inced that they have been most
1arshly dealt with.
Their feelings, in n sense almost
makes them think they are martyrs.
Sut there is this dir iiierence-martyrs
10 not die resentfully. whereas Fay
md Harris are bitter against all those
Who helped TO bring about their un-
ioing.
They think the judge was pitiIess
md what they say about the newspa-
pers is far from complimentary
DR.. johnson or somebody has re-
marked that politics is the last resort
II fools and scoundrels. The same
perhaps may be added about abuse of
teWspapers. Fay and Harris exem-
pliied this today when they were Wis
ted-visited, mind YOU, not inter
.iewed-by the representatives of
our Richmond dailies.
The two convicts were as sullen as
Yoiar bears at bay when the news
paper men were finally ushered in
after long wait.
1t did not take the members OF the
press a second to see that there would
oe nothing doing conversatiOnally.
Lawyer Smith Saved the Day.
Lawyer II. NJ. Smith. attorney for
the picturesque crooks, was i'm the
time
And be it said in gratitude to him
nat he furnished 80 per cent Of the
ak that followed.
But for his diplomatic utterances
me frost would have been something
awful and the chill would have suf-
need to nip off the ears of Dr. Cook
tud Lieutenant PearN.
one could hear the thermometer
,alling when the quarJette of report
RS dropped in. The farthest north
stare they got froze the interrogatories
IN their lips. Journalistic throttles
became as dry as Sunday in a local
pption town.
Each timid reporter waited for the
other tp-Nbegin the quiZZ. Finally one
brave IsfNrit made some inane re-
mark.t 'bittle Dick" insipidly smiled
stAlO NS EOQle ray SCOWled and
knitted his eyebrows.
Neither man wore a collar. Mr..
Fay, without his neckwear, is not so
WlnScme as when he appears with
the starched output of a laundry
around his neck.
Indeed, he looked like a man who
could make himself intensely disa-
greeable.
The reportorial spokesman ex-
planned that the four visitors would
thankfully receive any statement that
might be given them. And then he
added something about the severity OF
the sentence
Mr.. Fay replied, in effect, that the
newspaper likewise had been dread
fully rough on them. The intent OF
his remark seemed to be that the pa
pcrs were largely responsible for his
troubles.
He was about to add something else
when Lawyer Smith soothingly in
jected a word designed to explain that
the two men necessarily were in q
most irritable state today. Ten years
| S an awful long tim e to stay in pris-
on" sympathetically explained the
lawyer.
Then another bold spirit explained
that however objectiona BILE the meth.
DDS of newspapers might be. thev al
least were not paid prosecutors whose
sole purpose in life was to hunt mer
down.
This feeble sally ELECTED no en-
thusiastic responses. One could still
hear the thermometer dropping.
Lack Material for a Column.
Mr.. Smith once more sought to re.
lieve the pressure. He Ventured the
surmise that this interview would
hardly yield up material for whole
| column.
Silence on the part of Mr.. Fay
Ditto on the part OF diminutive Rich.
ard.
Next one OF the reporters appeaf
ingly risked the statement that there
was no disposition to harass the prison
ers, but that anything they might SAY
on any subject would be acceptable.
Mr.. Fay again uttered some ugly
remark about the Richmond newspa.
pers-something too cruel to be re.
membered.
Still another reporter asked II al
the local papers were on the black
list The reply was that his paper
had treated them right. But alas
this writer must blushingly admit tha
The Evening Journal, the adored o.
| all thrOughOut Virginia. was not tn,