The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1910-06-26
ACTORS WORK FOR CONVICTS
~. RWARNER ~ TRYING To GET
Federal PRISONERS FREED.
Not Publicity scheme. We Insists. bat .
Real EHOrt 10 secure Pur'ions for
Two Nrn Who He Thlnks we're Tn
Iusth Convicted % Murder at sec.


thorn Is little appearance Of those vices
a. Alias Jimmy Valentine puts cream
and sIsar m his tea.
YES. ! am he repeats, and have
probably had more call to take care Of
my temper IN the last two months than
for a number Of years before
The wav II II is this About two months
ago. you Anow. from a newspaper report
that was published at that time I received
. letter sent from an Atlanta prison and
signed BY two prisoners Who after de-
scribng the murder % a captain and two
men in a mutinv Oh the high seas, the
subsequent hanging Of man Scott Tor
the murder their own narrow escape
from tho gailows and subsequent inn
prisonment on a life sentence, asserted
thsir entire innocence and implored nv
help n get them out Of their difficulties.
This was bv no means the first letter
I had received with a prison headline
but this was difersnt so'ne way. and yet
{ cannot describe how read if over
and over and later IN che day sent Il
downtown q my lawyers once and
merely scribbled on a sheep OF paper
that would like % know what he thought
OF Il. In course Of time Joseph Blhlcr
wrote me that he believed the letter vas
straight. this confirmed nv own imrrv--
sion. and after rejecting about the oase
Tor a few DAYS ! determined that | would
Ind ny aid to see hat these two. " inno-
cent. should be- restored to liberty and
citizenship
after putting the matter IN prslimi-
nary shape spoke to a few Of my friends
and acquaintances about IL. expecting
that they too would he interested IN help
ing tho good work along; but were they
4 cannot think for the momcn: 81 one
exception All With one accord patted
mo on the hack. literally ~ metaphor
cally. and said. Good advertising. old
hoy; it's fro for you. but what 30 get
out OF tT
Probably there isn't one Of the lot
At this moment that believes or will ever
BE- convinced that ! went into the thing
for any other purpose than a. a cheap
and novel method q advertising. II a
lawyer. a doctor or a minister should re-
ceiye in h's mail a similar request and
give his time and money 10 the cause
Of obtaining another mans freedom his
profession would no, he thought Of;
but once an actor. always an actor
People are soeptiCal about actors; they
think everything they do j. put up game
20 arouse public attention. to gain a
momentary notoriety. They won't allow
him 20 be a plain man out 81 working
hours
Il am quite sure that tho release ~
these two men already imprisoned
number % years, Il secured. will he fol-
lowed by Offers from a score at vaude-
vile Managers 20 give them employment
az hundreds Of dollars a week but would
any o. them help me now 20 secure that
release wish you could hear what
they say on the subject
Having failed 70 enlis, my friends
determined 20 continue the matter on
my own responsibility A you say in
America. won't no a piker. and having
gone % far without fear or favor intend
20 carry II through Il Tor no other reason
than TO satisfy the sporting instinct I
believe We have a big case here and that
we will win out
80 far our metlr~t has been q interest
people in the case. We have not at
tempted - ~ up a petition in the South
OF herr. for IL h. - easy - get up petit
ton. Stand On street corner and
hundreds will sign anything II you are
persuasive enough and in consequence
IL seems - me that gIch documents have
practically lost their value, but individual
letters and testimonials signed by the
writer's, VIII are willing u stand for what
they say. are n different thing and these
We have IN plenty from citizens ~ repute
h the city where the two accused mutt
nssrs and murierers were tried and con-
Vkted. whore they were brought without
knowing anybody, Strangers convicted
practically beforehand by public senti-
ment A. the present time this public
sentiment has changed and officers Of the
-court. witnesses citizens Of reputs and
even Judges IN the bench assert that they
believe a m0nstrous mistake has been
made Mr. Buhler has just gone n the
South o. follow up the matter. and when
he has secured all the affidavits he needs
will take than u the Department q
Justice.
The mu'snv, - described in the letter
n Adams who seems % he the more
Intelligent ~ the two prisoners. rsads
~ n leaf from one Il Clark Russalrs
e. st1ries According q u the captan
wa q brute, little better than the man
mo aftsrwaTt swung for shooting him
= his acromrlicss but. naturally. that
can hardly b. CONSIDERED eztanuatinR
Circumstances All that il important n
ne IL whether az believe. the rogue
Scott VAS entirely responsible and that
the two men were powerless until they
managed q break loosa from their i'm
prisonment and 0verpowaT the wretch:
a. they claim One thing IL certainly IN
their favor. a very big thing that Scott.
who was proved % h. d liar ~ well "a
murderer, was the enc eyewitness n the
alleged crime. and his testimony was cor
tainly worthless Il might bc said thar
Ms confession made before the hanging
IL open % the same criticism, but this j.
- strictly In line with the story told by
the prisoners themselves that. In con
junction with the fact that the prison
psople themselves believe the men guilt
les. { think Il goes far N remove distr,Ist
that Il WIS q cooked up document
In due course ~ time. says Mr. War
ner. 4 sent tho bitter from Adams %
q. W. -Bonemann. justice - the neaos
az Wilmington. y q WHORE the case was
tried and who took Sc1tt's deposition. In