The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-05-24
Preliminary Hearing of Con-
n0rs, johnson and FOs-
ter Before Watts
ACTION DEFERRED
PENDING BRIEFS
Charged With Robbing Columbus,
Miss, Postoffice Safe-Stewart
Says He Is Trying to Make
an Honest Living

After they had made pathetic personal
plea for freedom before United States
commissioner r. b. Watts yesterday aft
ernoon. the three young men charged
with robbing the Columbus, Miss. post
Office were returned to the county jail
until their attorneys. Address & Ewing.
can cite some legal authorities to the
commissioner on the case. The hearing
yesterday was preliminary proceedings
10 determine whether or not the defend
ants were the three men named in the
warrant
The three boys charged with the blowing
of the postoffice safe and securing a
large sum of money are R. G. johnson,
alias Georgia Slim; j. NJ. Connors, alias
Chic Connors, and Clyde Foster, alias
Walter Stewart. The warrant for their
arrest was sworn out by United States
Postal Inspector ]. c. Allison of Chatta-
nooga.
Johnson claims to be a cripple through
rheumatism, Stewart states he is an cpl
leptic and sells shoe laces TO make a liv-
ing, and Connors stated his business was
subscription agent for farm publica-
tion. Johnston and Stewart especially
the latter. made pathetic pleas to the
court for their freedom maintaining their
innocence of the charge against them.
Arrested by City Detectives
The postoffice at Columbus was robbed
May II and the three boys were arrested
in room upstairs on First avenue be-
tween Seventeenth and Eighteenth streets
May 16 by Birmingham City Detectives
Goldstein, Cole, Nation and Gray. They
were placed in the city jail charged with
being suspicious characters, and yester-
day the formal warrant charging them
out against them, and they were removed
to the county jail.
The hearing yesterday took the form of
a long debate between counsel for the de-
fense and the court in regard to the ma
ture of the case. Judge Watts held that
the only object of the hearing was to as
certain whether or not the three defend
ants were the three men named in the
warrant for arrest. Attorney Frank An
dress argued that he had right to intro
duce evidence showing that the three de-
PENDANTS were not the men wanted. and
that they could prove an alibi. When the
case was recessed until briefs could be
filed by the attorneys, the defendants
made the personal pleas to the judge, AS
sistant District Attorney Kennamer con-
Quoted the case for the United States.
Judge, I'm not bad man." said Stew
art, land l didn't rob any postoffice and
couldn't if | wanted to. | haven't any
father and mother and no close relatives
A few years ago / fell off a barn and
fractured my skull and ever since have
been subject to epileptic fits. Ask DR..
Wheelan. He can tell you about me.
Trying to Make Honest Living
II cant hold a responsible position on
account of this affliction, and I'm trying
to make an honest living by selling shoe
strings. I've sold them in this very build
ing. It's awful to lay in that jail, judge.
They got lice and all kinds of bugs up
there, and its the dirtiest place in God S
world. Don't make me go back to that
place, judge. I'm not bad. The only
trouble with me is that | get drunk. |
admit that.
And now I've got a band stand in with
the police, and that's the accidental cause
of all my trouble. The whole thing start
ed not long ago when ] was drunk and
got with a bad fellow. | didn't know he
was bad, judge. But the police was
huntin' him, and they arrested me an
him together. They turned me loose, but
that's where they got the notion that
I'm bad. And / amt They've been
watchin me every since and every chance
they get they arrest me again."
Many witnesses were introduced by the
defense. all the testimony tending to
prove that the three boys were in Bir-
mingham al the time of the robbery. They
included Mike Bremen, a special officer
for the Mark Construction company;
Vesta Harris, boarding house keeper
at l7O6ib First avenue; Mrs. Flora ThonNs-
son, a boarding house keeper at Avenue
B and Twentieth street Mrs. Jennie Pow
ell, w. j. Schewing, a bartender; Edmond
Sherrod, drug clerk; Robert Harris and
others.