The Washington herald., 1911-09-10
By j. j. ONElLL.

! ny O' " HA1'
Chesterfield Court House, Va, Sept
9-Through a blue haze of cigarette
smoke at the window of his little cell
in the old colonial jail here, Henry
Clay Beattie, jr, who yesterday was
condemned to die for having slain his
young wife on the Midlothian turnpike
on the night Of July Is, this afternoon
talked quite frankly about his affairs
i EXPECTS NEW TRIAL.
I'm far from dead one yet" he
said, as he grinned in man-tO-man fash
| ion, at his interviewer There's many
legal battle to come before they send
me to the electric chair. I think I'll get
a new trial in another county. and with
an up-to-date jury, I'll be acquitted"
The rich young man was more inter-
ested in dispatches from New York tell
! ing of that City's protest against Beulah
BinfOrd's stage appearance than he was
in his own fate, apparently. He asked
to be shown the local papers containing
these dispatches, and not until he had
read them through would he go on and
discuss his prediCament.
I'll tell you, old boy" he said to the
interviewer, "a fellows up against it
when he is to be tried by a bunch of
Countrymen from the baCkwoods like
those that tried me. l never had a
chance from the beginning.
They get married young. bring up big
families: work around their farms. What
do they know about city or a city's
life? What do they know about how
easy il is for Young fellow nowadays
to get mixed up with girl like Beulah
Binford? In a city-you newspaper men
from the North all know this-it is al
most impossible for a chap with a
little bit of money and a motor car to
avoid getting mixed up with those wo-
men. He can't nelp it, Isn't that right?
BIames the Girl.
That's what they got me on-ths
Beulah stuff" went on the condemned
man. just as casually as though he were
telling why he had struck out in a base
ball game. These farmers back here
don't understand: that's all
Il want to say again that I'm inno-
cent, and that any jury of up-tO-date
young men, or residents of a live city
even of RiChmond-wOuld have freed
me.
by the way, fellows" Beattie added,
Il see lot of talk in the papers about
the possibility of me trying to end my
own life. That's all rot Believe me,
if l finally must go to the chair. I'm
going there like mum. No suicide for
mine
You all have said in your articles
that l was game. Well, I'm going to
be game right through to the finish,
whatever il is
Despite his declaration that he. would
not try to kill himself he was guarded
constantly last night and to-day by two
officers who watched his every move
ment. At the same time. two men with
loaded rifles walked sentry around the
outside of the little Jail. There has
not been a murmur of possibility that
the citizens of Chesterfield County
might decide to take the execution of
the law into their own hands. but the
officials were taking no chances.
Fried Chicken Sent In.
The nearest approach to a breakdown
which young Beatte has shown since
he went on trial came this noon. when
an old negro nanny who has been
selling fried chicken outside the court
house each day sent him big basket
of delicaCieS. He came near to tears
when he heard whence this came He
had just had his luncheon, 50 he dis
tributed the contents of the basket to
dozen or so negro prisoners who
share the little Jail with him. Thank
you. Mista' Beehty; thank you" they
shouted at him.
Go to it, boys" was his response
At the youths own request, he received
no visitors to-day. He sent word to his
father, brother. and sister that he pre-
1erred that they should stay away from
the JAIL explaining that they would only
suffer If they came out here. He said
nothinG about any possible suffering of
his own.
Wants to Go to RichmOnd.
Beatde's only worry was that he was
Obliged to stay in this little Jail out here.
He wants to be transferred to Richmond,
where he can hear the occasional honk
OF motor horn or the rattle of a trolley
car in front of the city Jail
Henry c. Beattie, ST., when approached
by correspondents and asked about his
hopes or fears for the future of his boy,
Droke down and wept and said, Sob
binsly: There is nothing I can say
nothing l can do
Paul Beattie, the cousin, who bought
the fatal gun for Henry. and told on the
witness stand of Henry's confession to
him. said:
I'm sorry for Henry Clay, but had
to tell the truth. God knows 1 didn't
want to swear to any lies. I'm going
TO stay right here in Richmond, get back
my old job as watchman on the Mayo
Bridge, and turn down all these offers
OF large sums of money to go on the
stage or pose for moving pictures. Beu-
lah Binford can do that IL she wants;
but have a decent wife and fine baby,
and I'm going to stick to them and keep
the respect of the people of my native
town"
Juror Speaks of Case.
One of the Jurors, A. ]. Fetterolof spoke
freely of the manner in which he and
his colleagues had handled the case
Prosecutor wendenburg made a
powerful argument. in, winding up. but
we did not need It." he said I'VE did
not even need the story of Paul T3eattie