The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1913-12-06
both SIDES silent
AS TO IDENTITY
Of WITNESSES
PREPARATIONS ARE BEING MADE
FOR STRUGGLE AT VICks-
BURG MONDAY.
STATE READY FOR TRIAL
Thames Denies That Miller and Powell
Will Assist In Prosecution of Bilbo
and Hobbs-Lieut. Gov. May Try to
Establish Alibi.

prosecution and the defenSe in the
case of Lieut.. Gov. Bilbo and Senator
G. A. Hobbs, indicted on charges of
soliciting and accepting bribes, are
preparing for the struggle that will be-
gin in the Warren county circuit court
Monday. Neither side will disclose
the names of their witnesses. A re-
quest for the list met with a fiat re-
fusal from both.
81 am sorry that l cannot furnish
you our list of witnesses" was the
reply of District Attorney J. D.
Thames.
eve do not propose to permit an
espionage to be established over our
witnesses through the premature pub
lication of their Names" was the an
swer from one of the attorneys for the
defense.
The state will announce that it is
ready for trial when Lieut.. Gov. Bilbo
and Senator Hobbs are arraigned Mon
day, and Judge Mounger will be asked
to fix date for an immediate hearing.
This much was admitted in the camp
of the prosecution. None of the plans
for the defense could be ascertained
from an authoritative source here, but
1t was reported on the streets that one
of the first moves would be an attack
on the validity of the indictment. 1t is
said that the defense believes some
serious flaws in the bills have been
located.
District Attorney Thames will con-
duct the case for the prosecution. He
will be assisted by the county attorney
but the identity Of the associate coun.
sci that will be employed by Gov.
Brewer has not been disclosed. Dis
trict Attorney Thames Friday author
lied the statement that neither Judge
R. N. Miller, of Hazlehurst, nor Judge
Robert Powell, Of Jackson, would be
employed to assist the prosecution, but
declined to state who would be his as
sociate attorneys. 1t was reported
that w. ]. Voller and R. M. Kelly,
prominent members of the Vicksburg
bar, would assist the district attorney
Representatives of the defendants
were equally as reticent about the iden-
tity of the Vicksburg lawyers who will
handle the local end of the legal
battle. The defense admitted how
ever. that ]. M. McBeath and R. F.
Cochran of Meridian, George Mitchell
of Tupelo, ]. Groom of Jackson, D. e.
Sullivan of Hattiesburg and Potter,
Easterling & Butler of Jackson would
be lined up on their side of the case.
May Try to Establish AIibi.
1t was said that Lieut.. Gov. Bilbo
would bring witnesses from Poplar
vile to Vicksburg to testify that he
was at his home at the time that the
alleged bribery negotiations occurred
here between Stephen Castleman and
Senator Hobbs. The negotiations be-
tween Mr.. Castleman and Senator
I1ODDS, IL 10 odiu, tOOh pidSO III iooih
in the National Park Hotel here in
November, 1912.
The prosecution, it is said, will in
troduce witnesses who will testify
Z that Mr.. Castleman paid Senator
Hobbs s1OO at this conference, and
that an additional 800 was paid to
the Lincoln county Senator at con
ference held in the Hotel Royal at
Jackson in January, 1918.
The negotiations for the alleged
bribe of $4,000, it is said, were broken
off the latter part of January last
Shortly after the last conference al
Jackson, it is reported, there was 8
'1eak" that abruptly ended the dea
for the payment of money to secure
the passage of the bill in the legisla
ture creating a new county in thu
delta. l. R. Sample, formerly of Chi
cago, who, it is alleged, was employees
by Gov. Brewer to assist in trapping
Senator Hobbs and Lieut.. Gov. Bl l4
is charged with having "leakRQ,
L. C. Dulaney of Issaque
whose name is well known