The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1914-10-13
REAL name IS BLAZER
MISSISSIPPI OFFICERS SHED NEW
LIGHT ON OLIVER'S CAREER.
Requisition Is Still Pending, But Will
Probably Hold Him Until Charges
Here Are Disposed of.


swindling, and who is claimed by the
Mississippi authorities to be L. c.
Harding. an escaped convict, may or
may not be extradited to that state.
At hearing before Governor Sla-
ton on Thursday of the requisition
OF the governor of Mississippi for IL.
c. Harding alias A. D, oliver" sew
eral unique points of law were devel-
oped. Governor Slaton held that I'M
der the laws of Georgia even should
he grant the requisition the delivery
of Oliver to the Mississippi authori-
ties would have to be suspend
ed until he was tried on the charges
pending against him in Lee county,
and if he was convicted until after
he had served his sentence.
Certain questions of law were re-
ferred by the governor to Attorney
General Grice, and at a date to be
named later a second hearing will be
held.
Resists RequisitiOn.
Through ais attorneys, w. A. bod
son of Americas and Claude Peyton
of Sylvester, Oliver is resisting extra
dition on the ground that he is not
Harding. He insists that his iden-
THY was established some months ago
by the Mississippi courts after he had
been extradited from Georgia on
requisition similar to that now be-
fore Governor Slaton.
He cites the Mississippi chancery
court record 20 prove that last Sep
TENDER, after he had completed
sentence in the Georgia penitentiary,
he was extradited to Mississippi by
Governor Slaton. He was put in
the penitentiary to complete an un-
finished sentence of one L. G. Hard
ing, who he says is his twin brother,
and who had been convicted of OBJ
tanning money under false pretenses
and had broken Jail; that he brought
habeas corpus proceedings to obtain
his release on the ground that he
was not Harding and that the judge
in chancery had entered a decree
sustaining his claims and releasing
him.
Georgia Court Differs.
During the hearing it was brought
out that before Harding's first extra
dition to Mississippi he brought SINH
lar habeas corpus proceedings while
in the custody of Mississippi Off
GERS at Albany, Ga, and that court
held he was the man wanted in Mis-
sissippi. 1t was urged that two
courts having rendered contrary
opinions on divers identity the
question was still an open one. This
and other points were referred to
the attorney general.
The state of Mississippi was repre-
sented at the hearing by Assistant
Attorney General G. H. Etheridge of
Jackson, Miss, and four witnesses
were introduced to prove that Oliver |
and Harding were one and the same
man. They were J. D. Duvall, war F;
den of the Mississippi penitentiary; |
J. D. Cooper, sheriff of Monroe coun-
ty, Miss; T. o. Jones, ex-sheriff of |
Monroe county, Miss, and Raymond |
Easter, citizen of Monroe county.
A Native of West Virginia,
Warden Duvall says that divers |
real name is Charles Blazer, and that !
he was originally from West Virginia, |
where his family are well known and |
respected people Oliver, said the
warden, has only one brother and |
that he is a resident of West Vir-
ginia and a good citizen. He also |
said that Oliver served three years in |
the Ohio penitentiary for obtaining |
money under false pTetenses before |
turning up in a Mississippi town as
L. c. Harding, where he resided sew |
eral months before he got in trouble |
there. The Mississippi sheriff who |
him and a citizen of the |
town in which Harding lived and who |
had frequent business transactions
with him were present at the hearing
before Governor Slaton and stated |
positively that Oliver is the man
wanted in that state as Harding.
Warden Duvall further said that |
when Oliver was released by the Mis-
sissippi court he took advantage of
the absence ofsthe penitentiary au-
thorities and Governor Brewer from
the state to bring habeas corpus pro-
ceedings and the state was not rep
resented at the hearing. and that Oil
ver's witnesses were negro convicts
who swore that they were in the
Georgia penitentiary with Oliver and
that he was not Harding.
Card of Thanks.