The Chattanooga news. [volume] (Chattanooga, Tenn.) 1891-1939, 1918-04-15
Charges His Pal, Bert Long,
With Actual Crime Of Cut
ting Soldiers Throat.
: MYSTERY OF PARK SOLVED
Charles L. Earle Killed for
Purpose Of Robbery.
Self Confessed Participant of
Murder Takes Officers to
Scene and Explains Deed.

Garden Sunday morning at the
Hamilton county jail that it was
his pal" Bert Long, who muir
dered Private Ch - L. Earle, Of
Camp Forrest, the early part OF
March and that he was present
and witnessed it, rings with that
deliberateness and absolute reck-
less disregard Of human life which
characterized tho plans for a
wholesale jail delivery on last
Thursday in which both Garden
and Long, together with Frank
King, are self -confessedIy impIi-
Gated and which was discovered in
time to prevent wholesale escape
at the jail with probable murder
it necessary.
Garden said he was present when
Long cut the soldiers throat with
razor and then robbed him of a
large bank roll. He claims that he
attempted to prevent Long from
killing the soldier while he lay
helpless on the ground, dazed from
blow that had been dealt him
with blackjack in the hands of
Long.
The two mon then left the SOL
dier before he was lead and caught
a car coming into the city.
Private Earle, IL will be rennen- =
bercd, was found in tire woods near
Camp Forrest with his throat cut,
and while he hovered between life
and death for several days he
never regained consciousness suf.
ficiently to reveal either the name
or give description of his assail-
ants and not until Sunday morning
was it known who his murderers
and robbers were.
The confession Of Garden was first
made to Special Agent J. w. Hoyle. OF
he department of justice, and Day
Taller Charley Whitcomb and later re-
1eated to News reporter and Night
Taller Aaron Ballew.
Again Monday morning Garden re-
,eated to News reporter the same
story he had related on the preceding
lay.
Goes to Scene Of Murder.
Sunday morning after the confession
If Garden, Judge McReynolds was no
.ified and he called at the county Jail
md gave his permission for Garden to
)e taken to the scene of the crime
where he said he could locate the razor
With which the murder was committed
md which Long had thrown under n
,ulvcrt near the scene of the murder
md robbery. Garden wasaccompanied
o the scene of the murder by Officer
Ioyle, Deputy Sheriff Charley Baker
md Sergt Ball, of the provost guard.
He directed the officers without hes
tation to the place where the killing
occurred but the razor could not be
ound.
Long, when apprised of the confess
ion of his pal" continued that air or
and GOODNESS which mas
his stay in jail. and said;
We'll, Gardens liable to tell anything.
nut didn't kill that soldier; but II ]
lid I wouldn't squeal."
Garden. further in his confession
aid 1t was Longs wife. with whom
,ong Is desperately in love. VINO SNUG =
lied the saws which were found IN MS
ell on last Thursday. into the jail.
Long and Garden, it will be remem-
,ered. were on last Thursday sentenced
q serve from six to twenty years in the
tate penitentiary for highway robbery.
After making the confession to the
nil officials. Garden wrote a letter to
lis mother in which he told her of how
BERT Long had killed a soldier and that
,e was with him at the time. Garden
n his letter, which he began with a
,iece of poetry. confessed that bad
ompany was the cause OF his being
n such deep truoble. but that he was
-oiny 10 take his medicine like n man.
-be letter was addressed to Gardens
mother. Mrs. Jennie Wolfe, rural route
10. 8. East Chattanooga. Both Garden
nd Long are natives OF James county
nd NJ the time of the murder of Earle
rere living near the midway on the
,ossvilIe car line. The confession OF
arden is as follows
"On the day of the murder Long
and his wife came TO our mouse
near Rossville to see my wife ana
me. They remained there unul
about 4 o'clock in the AFTERNOON
when Long and / walked to Ross
willie and caught a Chickamauga
park car. Near Park City Long
said, 'Yonder goes a soldier VITO
has some money; let's get on.
This we did and we caught up with
Earle who Long evidently knew.
Long always has been Jealous OF
soldiers because his wife firts with
them all the time. Anyhow. we
cought up with Earle and near
fence in the woods Long pulled
blackjack from his pocket and
felled Earle with IL. While he was
going through the soldiers pockets
Earle showed signs OF coming 10
and Long. pulling a razor from his
inside pocket. said. III fix him so
he can't squeal.' and whacked the
razor across the PROSTATE soldiers
throat. 7 hollcred. Don't do that
and turned my hack.
Lone then robbed Earle of
LARGE roll Of money and we left.