The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-01-19
ACQUITTED AFTER
 TWO-HOUR TRIAL Columbus Mans Name Is Cleared of Murder Charge IS ACCUSED BY A NEGRO Negro Will Be Hanged For Murder and Tried To duplicate White Man
 But His Testimony Was
 Too Weak.

Columbus, Miss, January 1S.-(Special.)
 The case of the state of Mississippi against W. s. Muslin, the prominent and
 wealthy liveryman and farmer of Column bus, who was indicted at the last Sep tember term of the circuit court, charged with murder" 1t being alleged that he
 was an accompice of Henry Betts, con- demneo murderer of J. W. Smith, was disposed of this afternoon in less than TWO hours. Judge John L. Buckley or dered the jury to render a verdict of
 mot guilty" The verdict is in accord wish the sympathy of every one cogni- zont of the facts in the case.
 Tte murder case aroused the people of this section last September very much. ]. ". Smith of Columbus disappeared from his plantation, 10 miles south of Columbus. one day last September. Parties secured the adjacent territory and located his mangled remains in a half-covered grave in a cane thicket: Wholesale arrests of negroes soon fol- lowed. Smith was an unpopular man and the negro tenants around his belong ings were especially disloyal to him. These negroes, 10 in all, we're carried be- fore the grand jury.
 After several third degrees" Henry Betts confessed to the killing. His trial followed. speedy conviction with early sentence to hang was next, but on ac- count of his testimony before the grand jury in which he implicated W. S. Mus tion, stating that MT. Muslin offered him money to kill Smith. his execution was stayed in order to get his testimony against MT. Muslin at the trial.
 MT. Muslin was arraigned and the case continued until this court term The case was called at ? o'clock today. Zack P Landrum represented the defendant. whil0 District Attorney Curry was assisted by
 W. c. Meek of the local bar. No special venire was asked for. The first 12 men examined by Judge Buckley and seated in the box were accepted by both de- fense and state.
 Henry Betts was the first state wit ness His testimony was not plausible and was disconnected. His statements were vague. His memory along trivial lines was too good and along other lines, when he should have remembered, it was perceptibly a convenient one. He ac- cused MT. Muslin of placing the murder of Smith in his mind with the promise of 500 blood money. J. G. Wood. con- stable from beat No 2, testified that Smith was killed and found buried two days later. The state offered mo further testimony.
 Robert Austin and John Fields, both negroes, who have known Betts many years, were introduced by the defense. The former said he was with Betts all of day when Betts claimed his final plans with MT Murtin were arranged at Mustin's stable in Columbus Austin said he knew positively. Betts did not see MT. Muslin that day The day in oues- tion was a circus day here.
 Fields. the other witness. was one of the negroes placed in jail under sus-
 pcion. He stated that Betts told him, while they were in jail, that he was the one who had killed Smith and he was going to duplicate Muslin because Muslin wouldn't help him. He said he had worked for Muslin. knew of a bad feeling between Muslin and Smith and
 would make it as hard for him as he could"
 P. T. Noland, a deputy sheriff, who
 accompanied Betts to Meridian for safe keeping. said while on the train Betts said in answer to a question:: The reason l accused MT. Muslin was be- cause he was the first man I thought of and 1 wanted to get somebody else into it'
 The defense rested here. MT. Landrum asked that the jury be retired and urged an instructed verdict of mot guilty calling attention that the only frag-
 ment of testimony against MT. Muslin ] was the word of a convicted negro, who, 1, by his own statements, made himself 1 an accessory to the crime. Mir Curry
 stated his willingness to accept the yer dict and said: "It was on this ruling
 that Guy Jack was acquitted in the
 Lipscomb case" e
 i The trial was largely attended. MT. ! Muslin is an unusually popular man and l held an impromptu reception as soon l as the verdict was announced by Judge 1 Buckley. There was some gossip yes
 terday that the case would be thrown out of court without trial but MT. Mus l tin insisted upon it's hearing in order 1 that his name honor and reputation
 could bear the same untarnished record
 it always has borne wherever he is known