Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1912-12-05

place where the trial would be
held and Mrs. Thornton was told
to appear there. Especially was
she invited to produce to the COM
mittee, notes which she said had
passed between the pastor editor
and the secretary, and which she
had said she had in her posses
sion.
Instead of reporting at Deacon
Ringoe's Mrs. Thornton sent word
to the committee that she was con-
Quoting an independent inquiry at
her own home and that if the COM
mittee wished to take part in it,
they might come to her house.
Later Mrs. Thornton issued a
statement in which she declared
that her real reason for not appear
ing before the committee was that
she did not believe it intended to
act in good faith and she did not
trust its membership. She said,
however, that she had some con-
fdence In Deacon Ringo and that
she would show him the letters
and notes she had, but would not
let him have them to be submitted
to the Trial Committee.
81 went over che letters" Deacon
Ringo said, ''and | was firmly con-
vinced that they were not genuine.
The young woman who~was sought
to be implicated was an exception
ally fine young woman, and nei-
Their | nor other members of the
committee could find a shred of
evidence against her. We &C.
cordingly reported back to the
church generating both her and
the Rev. Fuller Swift"
Mrs. Thornton, however, was
not satisfied with the work of the
committee, and circulars dealing
with the case and signed with her
name, we're scattered broadcast
over Ironton and the n~eighboring
town of Arcadia one night. These
circulars contained what purport-
ed to be excerpts of notes which
Mrs. Thornton said had passed be-
tween Swift and his secretary. 1t
was explained in the circulars that
the excerpts were mild in COMPARE
son to the other portions of the
notes.
About the same time the Rev.
Fuller Swift began to receive vile
anonymous letters and the Baptict
Church at night was regularly
placarded with what were called
calendars of the doings of "Fuller.'
These calendars were profusely
illustrated with drawings of a
scantily clad young woman.
The town was soon in ferment.
The pastor had enemies in the
church, Deacon Ringo says, and
some of these were active against
him. One evening there was a
prayer meeting at the church. 1t
was a warm night in August and
all the windows were raised
The Rev. Fuller Swift was in the
pulpit. Eggs were hurled through
the church windows from the
outside.
THAT incident alone might have
caused some lynching around
here" said Deacon Ringo Tues
day. 81 rather believe | would be
in favor of tarring a fellow that
would do a thing like that None
of the eggs hit the pastor but they
did strike members of the congre-
cation. One of the best women
in the church received one of those
rotten eggs full in the forehead.
"Barbara Gladys Arnold never
appeared in connection with any
of these events but q relatives
name was mentioned to me in con-
nection with the egg throwing.
did not know the girl we'll and she
was not at all conspicuous the time
she was here. Once afterwards
shd visited a family here that has
a good standing.
"The girl seemed very quiet.
don't remember ever having talk
ed to her. If | met her on the
street I would speak to her, but
that was all.
"The girl and her mother and
brother left here soon after the
commotion in the church, and it
was currently reported that they
had gone to st. Louis. We didn't
hear much more about them until
we read in the newspapers of Bar
bara burning the Berlin Hotel.
"Fuller Swift continued as pas
tor of the church until the spring
of this year, when he resigned to
take employment with Col. j. I.
Torrey, a fruit man. Before he
left Ironton l had tried to get the
grand jury to investigate the
trouble here, but for some reason
the county authorities didn't seem
to want to take it up.
"TMany persons came to me and
said, Sim willing to tell the grand
jury who threw those eggs.' And
though their identity seemed that
certain the prosecuting officials
would not act. Fuller Swift told
me that the woman who was writ
ing him the vile anonymous letters
frankly admitted her identity to
him.
"However, things have Gained
down now, and if it had not been
for the burning of this hotel, |
don't think our troubles would
have been publicly revived"
1928 models of corsets at
B. N. Browns.