Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1912-12-03

HAD EXCITING TIME.
Reach Home Today at Noon After Bad
Accident on Southern Railway Last
Night.

After experiencing more thrilling
adventures than occur in the life time
of the average business man, In these
prosaic times, all but thirteen of the
yeniremen who were summoned from
the northern part of Virginia, five Of
whom were from Alexandria City, to
Wytheville for service on the jury II
the case of Sidna Allen, one of the
ringleaders of the famous Hillsvllle
tragedy, returned home today at noon
Although they were away from Alex.
andria less than 40 hours they trav-
eled over 600 miles, spent two nights
in a Pullman, suffered untold anxiety
as they faced stern judge and some
of the most brilliant lawyers of the
south who put them through a severe
grilling, sat for hours behind one OF
the most desperate criminals in the
United States, saw one of their num-
Der drop dead in the waiting room OF
the station in Wytheville and finally
escaped death when the train on which
they were passengers plowed its way
through freight train near Char
lottesville at four o'clock this morn
ing.
But the jurors from Alexandria ant
the immeiate vicinity were thankful
to go through al their adventures
as they were all excused from service
on the jury.
The party which left Alexandria or
Sunday night at 1927 in a special
Pullman consisted of 20 well-knowr
residents of this section of Virginia
among whom were Arthur Herber5
George L .Appich, and Robert S>bar-
rett of Alexandria city; M. E. Churc'
andThomas A. Williams, of Falls
Church; Franklin Williams, jr, anc
John C. Hunter of Vienna, R. R. Buck
lev and Humphrey Ford, of Clifton;
w. N. Lipscomb, J. A. Nicol, d. j
Arlington, William P. Meredith, Ed
ward A. Brand, George R. Taylor, ane
. J. A Hooker of Prince William coun-
ty, D. N. Rust, Frank Upman, w. c
Wibert, Harry R. Thomas, and I. )
De Lashmutt of Alexandria county
Two of the Alexandria city jurors
John w. May and Virgil Balm left here
on Sunday morning. At different
places along the Southern and Nor
folk and Western additional members
of the party were picked up until OF
arrival at Wytheville yesterday morn.
ing seventy-five men were present tf
be examined.
When court opened at ten o'clocs
all the veniremen were excluded from
the court room and as they stood IL
the corridors, awaiting examination
at the hands of the judge and the at
torneys. it would have been difficult t
have picked out more representative
looking body of men in Virginia
Nearly all of the circuit Judges wh'
had been asked by Judge Staples t.
select the veniremen from their re.
spectiye counties, had picked men O.
considerable ability and it was statef
in court that no better looking set O.
men had ever faced the court.
The general character OF the me
was also to be seen by their manne
in undergoing examination.
Although service on a jury IN sue
a case means weeks from home an
the most disagreeable duty that ca
be imposed upon man not slngl
man on the panel made any effort t
escape and seemed to be willing to q
their duty if they were found compe
tent.
AS the name of each juror was calle
he entered the court room and wa
placed in a chair facing the judge
and flanked' on both sides by the OF
posing counsel. Back of the counst
for the defense, guarded by two Bale
win detectives, sat Sidna Allen an
everyone was surprised at his youth
full. intelligent looking face. He doe
not resmeble in any way the picture
that have been printed of him but
a man VINO would be mistaken any
where for quiet business man bs
tween 80 and 35 years old. Besit
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