The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1913-12-04
STATE WANTS
TRIAL OF
HEARING WILL NOT BE coNTINU.
ED UNLESS BILeo AND HOBBS
SHOW GOOD REASON.
GOV. BREWER WILL RETAIN
= COUNSEL TO AID THAMES
Understood He Will Employ Two Of
..AbIest Lawyers in state-BeIieved
That Governor and Detectives Have
Documentary Evidence.
Special to The NetDs.

DpectUt 10 Inc NStOS.
Jackson, Miss, Dec. 4.-Unless the
defendants can offer very valid rea-
sons why continuance should be
granted, Lieut.. Gov. Theodore G. Bilbo
and State Senator G. A. Hobbs, in
dicted by the Warren county grand
jury for alleged bribe-taking, will be
placed on trial when their cases are
called next Monday at vicksburg.
Subpoenas for the Jackson witnes
ses, including Governor Brewer and
the Burns detective agency men who
have been working on the case, were
Warren county, and will be served
early tomorrow morning.
The state wants immediate trial of
the two officials, has all Of its testi-
mony in readiness, and District At
torney ]. D. Thames, who will be in
active charge, can see no present rea-
son why there should be any postpone
ment. ~
In accordance with the policy adopt
ed at the beginning of his crusade
against grating among public officials
Governor Brewer will retain special
counsel to aid the district attorney
with the prosecution. The identity Of
the counsel to be employed has not
been announced, and may not be for
several days, but it is we'll understood
that Gov. Brewer will employ two of
the ablest lawyers in the state.
Aside from the facts developed by
the Warren county grand jury on
which the indictment was based, it
is generally believed that Gov. Brewer
and the Burns detectives have in their
possession documentary evidence 9th
er than the detectophone records of the
conversations of State Senator Hobbs
with S. Castleman, promoter Of the
new county. These detectophone rec
ords, according to report, are now safe
ly stored in bank vault in this city.
Governor Brewer declined to COM
ment on the characteristic interview
given out by Lieut.. Gov. Bilbo in
Vicksburg yesterday. He is maintain
ing an oyster-like silence concerning
every phase of the case, and it has
been impossible even to learn with GER
tainty If he obtained confession from
Senator Hobbs during their two-hour
interview Tuesday afternoon. How
ever, those who know the Governor
best, and are acquainted with his meth
ods of cross-examination, are confident
that those two hours were not wasted
Alleged grating of Bilbo in connec-
tion with new courtv legislation is by
no means new stcry. 1t will be re-
called that during the celebr"-'1 nN-
laney trial at Yazoo City, in which Bill
bo's alleged trapping of L. c. Dularay
into giving a $645 bribe during the
senatorial caucus of 1910 was fully
aired a witness named T. R. James
was placed on the stand and question
ed regarding a payment said to have
been made by him to Bilbo in return
for the latters influence in behalf of
the new county of George, with Luce
dale as the county seat. James re-
fused to answer, taking refuge behind
the constitutional exemption that an
lAswer might incriminate himself. The
Kinds county grand jury made an ef-
fort to get to the bottom of this story,
but could not find evidence sufficient
to convict.
Again, when Bilbo was on trial be-
fore the bar of the senate in 1910 un-
der a resolution providing for his ex-
pulsion, evidence was brought out at.
tempting to connect him with pay
ment of money made to him by parties
who were urging the creation of new
county from portions of Amite, viii.
kinson and Franklin counties, and il
was charged on the floor of the senate
that Bilbo had intimidated the princi
pal, witness, warning him over LONG
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