The weekly soliphone., 1915-08-06

ing up this place John Coats,
dive keeper, killed Deputy Sheriff
Bob Ferguson and severely wound
ed Bob Dean, now marshal at Os-
ceola. This crime was committed
at the edge of the water on the
Arkansas side, and no question of
jurisdiction could be raised. Coats
was tried, convicted and hung at
Osceola.
Newspaper Woman
Takes the Lead
Last summer the officers, follow
ing the lead of a brave and bril-
l.. Roussan of the Osceola Times
opened fire on the plantation
"Honka -Tonks," the FESTIVAL halls"
and dives on the plantations. At these
places the negroes congregated at
first on Saturday nights, and later
on other nights, held high carnival,
sold and drank whisky, gambled,
fought and killed. Prior to the
time Mrs. Roussan turned the white
light of publicity on these hell
holes Mississippi county was es
tablishing an average of a murder
week, confined almost exclusively
to the negroes who frequented the
"Honka-Tonks." The jails at Os-
ceola and Blytheville were running
over with men charged with felo-
MES. Judge Driver convened spe
cial terms of court at Osceola and
Blytheville last summer, and fol-
lowing his lead the trial juries
sent the guilty negroes to the PEN
itentiary. These terms were sue
ceeded by the regular terms of court
in the fall, and the dockets were
completed and the jails emptied.
From the middle of last summer
when the court and juries gave
tangible evidence of their inten-
ton to break up the plantation
dives, until the present time there
has not been single murder
among the negroes in Mississippi
county. The "Honka Tonks" were
closed up under threat of Mrs.
Roussan to publish the name of ev-
cry plantation owner who permit
ted one of these hell holes to OPP
crate on his place.
Crum Made
Many Threats.
There remained only Island 81
to slop it's filth and crime over on
to the Arkansas people. This
place, on account of the desperate
inaccessibility, was dreaded by the
officers Crum has for years sent
threats that no officer would be
permitted to set foot on the island
and escape unframed. He had
thwarted every effort and escaped
every trap laid to enmesh him in
the tolls of the law. He was
bad man, he surrounded himself
with bad men, and he went to some
trouble to let the people on the
Arkansas side know he would brook
no interference with his business.
Judge Driver was thoroughly ia
miliar with the conditions on the
island and he was reluctant to send
the officers to the place. But the
Tennessee authorities absolutely re-
fused to make any attempt to clean
up the island, and the Tennessee
general assembly having granted 20
Arkansas concurrent jurisdiction
over the place, the authorities in
Mississippi county felt it their duty
to put an end to the traffic in
whisky and the gambling and mur-
ders committed on the island. Judge
Driver and Sheriff Mauldin held
numerous conferences over the mat
ter and carefully mapped out their
plans. Both realized the gravity of
the situation, and ten days ago
they addressed a letter to the sher-
if of Upton county, Tenn, advis-
ing him of their plans to raid the
island and asking for his co-opera-
ton. This letter did not meet with
the courtesy of a reply
Improved Conditions
Looked For
Mississippi county has paid
dear price in blood and money to
bring about healthy moral condi-
tions, and it is the concensus of
opinion among the thinking citi-
zens that the death of sheriff Sam
Mauldin at the hands of a negro
widespread and determined revolt
against the liquor traffic and the