The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1914-09-22
LARGE CROWD PRESENT WHEN
.p.NKER" OLIVER WAS AR
R4IGNED AT LEESBURG.


LAWYER Peyton, of Counsel for De
PENDANT, Was Struck by Relative OF
Prosecutor. Irregularities Shown
Rv All Parties Connected With Oil
yer's Transactions.
The preliminary hearing Of the
charges against A. D. Oliver, former
Climax banker, at Leesburg Friday
were enlivened by an attack said to
have been made upon Claude PeytOn,
of Sylvester, one of divers attor-
news. by A. NJ. Howell, county super
7ntapdent of education of Lee county.
Mr.. Howell took offense at the argu-
ment made by the lawyer in Kidding
fbe testimony of Roy Black, prose-
cutor in the case and relative of
Howell. When Peyton left the court
house Howell, without a word of
warning. it is said, struck the lawyer
in the face and knocked him down.
The blow delivered by Powell created
a commotion among the large crowd
at the hearing, who quickly inter
vened.
After lengthy and heated argu-
ment by both prosecution and de-
tense Oliver was bound over on one
of the four charges, and the bond
was fixed at $4,000. Larceny after
trust was the charge. The other
three charges were dismissed. Oil
yer will be held in the Lee county
Jail awaiting trial at the fall term
of the Lee superior court, which will
convene the first Monday in Novem-
Der.
divers Statement as Climax.
A dramatic statement by Oliver
furnished the climax of the trial, held
before Justice A. W. Goodwin. This
was the preliminary hearing that
had been twice postponed and which
finally furnished many thrills to the
large crowd present. divers state
ment was heard with breathless in
terest by every one of the spectators,
who maryeled at the calmness and
self-possession of the man.
Oliver claimed that he was an in
nocent man who was being perse-
cuted by those whom he had be-
friended. In the very beginning he
denied any knowledge of the certifi-
cate of deposit on the Bank of Whig-
ham for $4,000, which, it was claim
ed, he had used to secure money from
Roy Black, one of the prosecutors.
Il not only deny having showed
any such certificate, but l deny that
any such certificate ever existed" he
said. Il did not use any such certifi-
cate 1t was not necessary for me to
use it. l secured money from Black
without any such showing. Mr.. Black
came to me voluntarily and asked
that he might go into business with
me He said he liked the way l did
business, and that he wished to go in
with me.
"On May 10, 1909, at the time
when the claim is made that the GER
tificate was issued, | had in the Bank
of Whigham about $12, 900 or 3d.
600. This money was due the Whig-
ham Bank and Lumber Company, of
which J. L. Barrow, deceased, and
myself were at that time the two
owners. But | didn't show either a
certificate of deposit or a check to
Mr. Black. AS l said before, it was
unnecessary. Mr. Black at first
wanted to put his money into the
Peoples Bank and Trust Company,
my bank at SmithVille, but later he
came to me and said he would not.
Then he wanted to put his money in
to the Union Supply Company, mail
order concern We were establishing.
This he did, and he was made man
.ager of ii and kept the books.
Black Repaid, He Says.
''Mr. Black and three or four other
boys were with me in the banking and
mail order business, and they were
well paid. Mr.. Black got back all
the money he ever put into the bust
ness. Lately, however, hard times
came, and the boys thought they
ought to get money as plentifully as
they had been doing. When they
could not they had me arrested on
account of my board bill being I'M
paid, as there was nothing else they
could arrest me for. | never gave
him a check on the Hartman bank
Of New York.
| have already proved that l was
innocent of the charge of bigamy for
which l finished serving time on the
Lee county changing, as you all
know. When l was arrested on that
charge I was forced into bankruptcy
from which l have not been able to
free myself, though there is property
tied up in that way that belongs to
me. l think | have been prosecuted
enough"
At the conclusion of his statement
Oliver read a letter from the court
IN Aberdeen, Miss, granted after q
habeas corpus proceeding, which