The Marietta journal and courier., 1917-12-07
On the last Day OF July Tern

DEAR SIR:
On the last Day OF July Term
Cobb Superior Court 1916 the Grand
Jury returned a bill of indictment
against me charging me with buying
a lot of land that one of the deeds
to said lot was a forgery. 1t charged
that the witnesses names to said deed
were forged and that / knew it when
bought the land. The next day
after the bill was returned your pa
per and the other paper in this town
had long pieces in which it was stated
that the Ex-Mayor, J. E. Motley, of
Marietta had been indicted in connec-
ton with land fraud. During the
November Term of Cobb Superior
Court 1916 there appeared in your
paper, and also in the other paper
in this town, long piece in which
you stated that the bond of j. T..
Motley, Ex-Mayor of Marietta, had
been forfeited and that j. E. Motley
had absconded. Your paper and
the other paper of this town gave
these two matters a great deal of
prominence. / now as you to do me
the justice to publish this, my ex-
planation, of the matter.
This bill of Indictment having been
returned on the last day of the July
term of court and after the jury had
been discharged, it was impossible
to get trial at the July Term, 1916.
Just before the November term 1916
of said Court my son, who was then
sick in New Mexico, and had been
there for over a year wrote me that
he was not doing well and requested
me to come to see him at once.
arranged with lawyers to try all of
the cases that | represented at that
term of court. then went to Judge
H. L. Patterson and told him of the
serious illness of my son and that |
had made arrangements with counsel
to try all of the cases l had in Court
and requested him to give me leave
of absence in the case of the State
against myself. Judge Patterson
told me in the presence of the Depu-
ty Clerk of the Superior Court that
he would grant me leave of absence,
and for me to go ahead and see my
sick son.
/ Immediately left for Las Cruces,
New Mex After l had been out
there a short time / learned that
Judge Patterson had stated to news
paper reporter here that he had given
me leave of absence as an Attorney,
but not as defendant. Immediately
after receiving this information | re-
turned home. | got here before
Court adjourned. | Immediately went
into Court and announced ready for
trial A trial was not granted ma
during that term of Court. At the
July term, 1917, l again demanded a
trial, and the Judge ruled that l was
entitled to a trial unless the Solicitor
General could make a showing why
he should not go to trial. Mr.. Clay
the Solicitor General was then sworn
and stated that he was not ready for
trial, for the reason that witness
D. Abercrombie, who had been sub.
peonead had left the State and had
gone to the State of Ohio. He stated
that if he had said witness that he
would be ready for the prosecution
That said witness was a married man
that his wife and children had just
returned from Ohio and that they
had informed him that d. Abercrom
bic would be back within a shor
time. This statement was false il
that D. Abercrombie is not married
that he was not on his way home, bu
was here during November tern
1917, and the Solicitor did not ever
have him in Court. He then stated
facts that he could prove by this wit
ness. The Court then continued thu
case until the November Term, 1917
During the last week said case came
up for trial. At the request of So
licitor General Clay in open Cour
the jury trying said case returned
the following verdict: eve the jur!
find the defendant not guilty, anC
we find that there was no foundation
for the prosecution" Whereupon
was discharged.
Now l want to state this fact, tn,
deed in question was witnessed b!
Miss Florence Nuckolls and Astol
Merritt, N. P. with his notary publ,
seal attached. The Solicitor Genera
charged in the bill of indictment tha
the deed was witnessed by Asto
u -