Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1912-10-29

"A tremendous sensation has been
caused In Greenville by the arrest of
JEFF D. Gilreath, ex-sheriff, and now
inspector Of police, A. A. Phillips, ex-
jailer and Reuben Gosnell, a magis-
trate's constable, on the charge Of as
sisting Thurston U. Vaughn In his es-
cape from the county jail last June.
The arrests were made Sunday after
noon at the instigation Of Governor
Blease. 1t is said, and the men were
taken to Jail where they were held for
an hour until their friends could make
bonds for them in the sum Of $1,000
each. The arrests were made by Hen
dirk Rector, sheriff ff-elect. He first ar
rested Phillips, who is a policeman, and
later Mr.. Gilreath, and locked them up
while he and deputies searched for
Gosnell. News of the arrest spread like
wildflre and created great excitement.
Hundreds Of people followed the vehicle
In which the men were taken to Jail
and crowded the street in front Of the
prison, until bondsmen were secured
from the churches. Bonds were signed
by Avery Patton, Henry P. McGhee, j.
NJ. Geer, A. Lester Furman and G.. O.
Allen. These men are said to be worth
considerably over a million dollars.
The dispatch that carried the news said
that there was intense feeling over the
affair because of a belief that there
was partisanship behind 1t al. Gil
reath was defeated for sheriff in the
recent hot primary by Hendrix Rector,
and 1t Is said Is now identified with
the law and order party as against the
blind tiger element. At the Jail after
the arrests, in the presence Of the pris-
oners and a score Of prominent citi-
zens of the city, Sheriff j. Perry Poole
gave out a statement in regard to the
alleged confession Of Vaughan. He
stated that as he, Deputy Sheriff Hun
singer, Sheriff-e,ect Rector and ]. B.
Wasson were carrying Vaughan from
the court house to the train late Satur-
day afternoon for the purpose Of TAX
ing him to Columbia the prisoner made
an open confession to how he escaped
from the jail last June. Sheriff Poole
said In part as follows: We were go
ing along Hudson street when Waugh.
an made his confession. He said that
his brother gave Jailer Phillips SO to
transfer T. U. Vaughan from the main
cells to a cell used for women, which
has a barred window opening on the
Jail yard. The night before he escaped
Vaughan said, Reuben Gosnell came
to the Jail window for the purpose OF
Sd"ihS liiC Ddio buI IhoS
were unfavorable for the job and he
went away. The following night he
said Mr.. Gilreath came to the window
and did the actual saving Of the bars.
handing the saw through the window
to the prisoner just before the last bar
was severed. Vaughan said he finished
the job. Vaughan further said that he
would sit in the electric chair Itself
and make the same confession as to
who helped him to escape. There was
a lot of hysteria over the affair.
Friends of Gilreath denounced the
whole affair as an outrage brought
about altogether from motives Of ro-
litical partisanship and the Greenville
News printed an editorial yesterday
morning in which 1t characterized the
arrested men as among the most
prominent citizens of the town, and
stated that it would never believe them
guilty on the testimony Of convicted
rapist. The three warrants on which
the arrests were made were sworn
out by DR.. w. l. Mauldin, Of Green
vile, and each warrant charges the
defendant with aiding prisoner to es-
cape. The witnesses In each case are
]. Perry Poole, Hendrix Rector, John
S. Hunsinger and T. U. Vaughan. 1t Is
said that Vaughan Is writing a full
statement of the entire case and nu-
merous more or less impossible stories
are going the rounds to the effect that
he will make some more highly sensa-
tional disclosures.