New-York tribune., 1911-01-16
LYNCH THREE NEGROES
IN KENTUCKY TOWN
Men Taken from County Jail in
SheIbyViRe and Hanged from
Same Railroad Bridge.
ONLY TWENTY IN THE MOB
Two of the Victims Were Ac-
cused of OBTAINING White Girls
and the Third Was Under
Sentence for Murder.
[Ry Telegraph 70 The Trihure. !

/ 10y leleBTdpn 10 Inc ITlbuEe.
Louisville, Jan. l5.-Wade Patterson,
charged with OBTAINING Miss Elizabeth
! Ruben. a white girl nineteen years old
| James West, charged with OBTAINING
| Mary Coley, a young white girl. and Eu-
gene Marshall, sentenced to life i'm
| prisonment in the penitentiary for the
! murder Of en- aged negress, We're taken
from the county jail at Shelbyviue at an
/ early hour this morning by a mob of
twenty men and hanged from the Chesa-
peake & Ohio Railroad bridge near the
city. All three men were negroes.
The work Of the mob was done quietly
and it was not known until this morn
| ing, when the bodies were discovered
that the lynching had taken place.
The mob was formed about midnight
and after raiding a blacksmith shop and
securing sledgehammers and tools for
cutting steel they went to the Jail and
demanded the three prisoners. The
jailer, Edward Thompson, at first re-
fused, but when he saw that resistance
would be useless he surrendered the keys
Lnychers Wasted No Time.
Not waiting to make use Of the keys
the mob broke down the jail doors with
sledge hammers and entered the corri-
dors. After finding the cells in which
the three negroes were confined, the mer
quickly cut off the tops from the bolts
on the doors and entered the cells.
BY the time the doors Of the cells had
been pried off the prisoners were nearly
unconscious from fright. Pleading for
their lives, they were dragged by TIE
mob out Of the building and across the
town to the railroad bridge.
Ropes were quickly adjusted about
their necks. and not even time was taken
to ask the men whether they were guilty
or not
One rope served for both Paterson and
West. but as they were dropped over
the end Of a railroad tie the rope snapped
and the two men were precipitated 70
the ground, some twenty feet below.
Both made a dash for liberty. Mem
bers Of the mob riddled the body Of Pat
terson. and he fell in the waters Of the
creek. The body was found this morn
ing. More than a dozen bullets had
pierced It.
II is not known where the body OF
West is at present. 1t is said. however,
that ne was killed.
Invitations to the Lynching.
The body Of Marshall was found swing
ing from the bridge this morning. The
bodies Of Patterson and Marshall were
taken to the shelbyville morgue, where
they will remain until after the Coroner
inquest is held.
That the lynching was planned ahead
Of time is shown by the fact that sew
eral members Of The Wolf company
were invited TO stay up and witness the
execution Of the negroes.
Governor Wilson said tonight that If
asked by the County Judge OF Shelby
County he would offer a reward for the
apprehension Of members Of the mob.
While there is 10 be an investigation OF
the lynching. it is believed that no ar
rests Will be made.
For the last few months the white cit
liens of Shelbyville have been having
trouble with the negroes Several at
tcmpts have been made by negroes TO
detain young white girls as they were
returning to their homes from work in
the Shelbyville stores.
The two negroes, Patterson and West.
had been held for safe keeping in the
Louisville Jail for several weeks on ac-
count Of the high feeling against them
al Shelbyville. They were returned two
nights ago 10 Shelbyville for their pre-
liminary examination. II was believed
by the authorities that all danger of
lynching had passed