Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-12-08
Letters For and Against the
Aliens Reach Gov. Mann.
MAJORITY FOR CLEMENCY
Virginia Executive Declines to Hear
Further Arguments.
ENFORCING THE LABOR LAWS
Richmond Bar Association Planning
to Entertain Chief Justice
White in January.
Special Correspondence OF The Star.

Special Correspondence OF The Star.
RICHMOND. Va, December .. 1912.
Letters, petitions. appeals, requests,
prayers and pleadings are the order of
the day in the cases of Floyd and Claude
Allen. Every mail brings letters to the
governor bearing on the case, and 1t must
be said that while the vast majority ask
clemency for the stalwart young noun
taineers, there are great many who are
urging the governor to hold hands off and
to let the law take it's course. No one
has been able as yet to get word out
Of him as to what he will do. He has
taken the papers in the case and refuses
to hear any further discussion Of the af-
fair in any way. He says he has heard
enough, that he assumes full RESPONSE
bility for whatever action is taken.
There are those who have followed the
case with great care. and they declare
that the utteranceS of the governor af-
ford no reason for the least hope for
Floyd Allen, the father, and very little
for Claude Allen, the son. The governor
was for time a member of the judiciary
Of the state. and it is hard for him to
completely divorce himself from the rec
objection of that time. Then, too. the
fact that the court, the officers and the
law We're defied. shot down by gang of
men who have for years defed and
nullified the law, is a fact which no one
can dodge.
At this time it is believed the chances
are that Gov. Mann will grant respite
to the men till after the trial of Sidna
Allen is completed-that is, the second
trial. He has already been given fifteen
years for the murder of Judge Massie,
and Claude Allen got the same sentence
for the same crime.
May Benefit Claude.
There are those who believe that if
Sidna Allen is sent to the death chair
the chances for the Communication of the
sentence of Claude Allen will be bright
err. Sidna Allen is described as the
cold, deliberate and shrewd member of
the gang; Floyd Allen as the victim of an
ungovernable temper.
There is another chance: Wesley Ed
wards, young desperate, is yet to be
tried. He is the last of the gang to face
the courts. If he gets a prison term in
stead of the death chair that may have
bearing on the petition for Claudes But
the outlook is anything but encouraging
for the condemned men.
Verdict Against Southern Railway.
Joseph F. Mosby has been given a YER
dict against the Southern Railway Com
pany in the law and equity court for
5000 by a jury. Mosby was for a long
time the shipping clerk in the local
freight Offices Of the company. Some time
ago there was discovered big and sys-
tematic robbery of the company by a
corps of drivers and freight handlers, the
American Tobacco Company and the rail-
road company being the victims. Cigar
cites to the value of many thousands of
dollars were stolen from the freight
sheds. Detectives We're set to work to
run the gang down, resulting in the ar
rest of several men, among them magis-
trate of the city and a storekeeper. The
dragnet brought MOsby to the front, but
it was soon proved that he had no part
in the affair and no knowledge of the
robbery. The charge was dismissed in
court, but he was unable to get employ
ment He has suffered from the arrest.
and he sued for $1,000. The first trial
of the case resulted in a verdict for S., 800
for Mosby. which the supreme court of
appeals reversed and ordered new trial.
This time he got $1,000, subject to de-
murrer.
Getting Under Cover.
Officials of the government are losing
no time in getting positions which are
protected by the civil service. One of the
latest Of these was the resignation of a
deputy United States marshal who got a
place in the internal revenue service.
That position is under the civil service,
whereas the former is not. incidentally,
other men have been promoted and moved
up under the internal revenue service to
better positions than they formerly held.
This scheme is not to the satisfaction of
the men who have for years been doing
the voting and waiting for the time to
come when they would have a chance at
the pie counter. Unless there are many
changes for the good of the service
after the advent Of the new President
there will be much wailing and disSatis-
faction. The list of those who are to
make applications for pos lions is being
augmented daily, and when the distribu-
ton takes place the list will embrace a
formidable and imposing array of stall
wart democrats.
Labor Commissioner Doherty is max
ing life a burden for the merchants who
are undertaking to have their woman
clerks work more than ten hours in any
one day. Several cases have alraedy been
reported to the commissioner and there
have been convictions for that offense,
the latest being that of Solomon Mach
man of Newport News, who was fined on
two charges. The commissioner found
that the merchant had not complied with
the law in the matter of providing seats
for the women, the laws of the state re-
quiring that this shall be done in all the
stores. Other cases are being reported
by the agents, who are going around for
the purpose of enforcing the regulations
of the state, the law being mandatory on
the department for rigid enforcement.
Want Army Officer for v. P. I.
Col. Rivers of the United States Army,
cavalry division. now on duty in the
is being supported by many
of the members Of the board of visitors
of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute as
of that institution. The
name of Col. Rivers was suggested and
an investigation Of his qualifications
training. accomplishments and fitness re-
suited In the placing of his name among
the list of eligibles Those in touch with
the situation say that Col. Rivers will
be placed on the retired list at an early