The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1914-03-03
NORMAL STUDENTS
Are not GUILTY
y. sAl5L.l.fuRlEY
UNEXPECTED vsev,MoNv or An
THoNY MulLIN Ie MOST IN
TEREsTiNe FEATURE.
EXONfRATIOk is COMPLETE
Merest Chance Led Young Telegraph
er to Discovery cf Real Robber-
Bought Gun From Him-Joy at the
Normal.

With the court room and galleries
crowded with Normal students and
friends of both sides, Justice of the
Peace ]. G. Farley last night dis
missed the charges against II. o. Nc !
Rea and George Thatch, charged with
robbing Motorman NJ. L. Norman at
the end Of his last run, Feb %.
AT the beginning OF this trial. said
Magistrate Farley in rendering his
decision ut seemed to me that a
very strong case had been made out
But after the evidence of the defense
had been introduced | came to the
conclusion that without doubt these
young men are innocent"
Cheers and applause broke forth in
stantly, but Prof. Joe Cook, President
of the Normal College, waved for ST.
lence.
Y want to caution all you boys, and
girls, too" said President Cook, mot
to say anything that will in any way
reflect on this motorman. / believe
this motorman was held-up and that
he thought he had found the guilty
men. He has placed himself in a
rather bad light, but probably he did
it through mistake and l do not want
anyone connected with the Normal
College to be heard saying anything
against him. 1t is all over and we
have no quarrel with anyone"
Complete Exoneration.
When the defense began introduc-
ing its witnesses things looked rath-
er gloomy for the students. The
prosecution. had made out a strong
case Of Identification and cross-exam
nation by Vice-President T. P. Scott
who conducted the case for the de
Tense had failed to shake Motorman
Normans testimony or that of his
witnesses in any essential detail.
But Thatch and McRea not only es
tablished alibis on the testimony oi
two professors and number of stu
dents at the college, but introduced
as additional evidence the testimony
of Anthony Mullin. night telegraph
operator at Richburg, whose state
ment proved a boomerang to thu
prosecution aud was the most inter
estine as well as unexpected testi
mony Of the day
Mullin testified that few hour
later than the hold-up occurred, h
heard a knock at the door Of his offic
at Richburg.
who is IT," he asked, and the an
swer came "A stranger"
Mullin opened the door and younl
man whom he did not know entered
They engaged in conversation in tn
course of which it developed tha
the stranger was considerable OF
daredevil and liked to boast OF hi
lawless pranks He told of how h
had been driven away from home 10
misdeeds in his youth and OF HOY
those deeds had multiplied as he gre'
older.
Mullin recognized in his ccnP"nlo
an interesting if not somewhat daI
gerous character. and in order I
draw him out further, himself assume
the role of petty outlaw The straI
ger believing that he had found
Mullin a man of his own inclination
and habits, then eonfided to him hoy
in company with another boy, who's
mother, he said, is employed ct III
Court House, here, he had, only fe
hours before, held upa motorman at III
end of the Normal College line an
relieved him Of something Ike 80
change He produced the gun VII
which the deed had been. commit ed
AfterI further conversation A9
purchased the gun for 81. III
brought into court yesterday, and
the introduction of the gun ancj
N(jlin story, together with the e [,
NNbved by the two students, all q
H CONTINUED on Page Four)
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