The New York herald., 1921-04-08
SAYS FARM BOSS
SLEW II NEGROES
Georgia Plantation Owner
Denies knowledge of
'Peonage' Deaths.
CASE is NEARING END
Williams SWears He Paid
Off Victims So They
Could Go Home.
MURDER TALE REPEATED
Manning, Chief Accuser, I'm
shaken by Severe Cross
Examination.
MURDER TALE REPEATED

Special Despatch to THE New YORK HERALD
CovINGToN, Ca. April John s.
early Friday afternoon. Charged with
the killing of eleven negroes, the prom
inent Jasper county planter for two
days has faced the court in his trial
for the murder of Lindsay Peterson,
one of the victims of the murder
farm" Cylde Manning. a negro boss
on the plantation. has told the jury a
terrifying story OF how he knocked
some of the employees on the head
and drowned others under the orders
and with the assistance Of John Will
Jams. The negro withstood the cross
examination Of Greene Johnson. and
the State has attempted to corrobo-
rate with both white and negro wit
nesses a greater part of the circum-
stantial evidence surrounding his tes-
timony.
John williams took the stand in his
own behalf this morning and denied
any knowledge of how the eleven
graves on his farm and in the Yellow,
South and Alcovy rivers were filled.
He declared Manning was a bad hard
headed niger"
When he had given his version of the
case to the jury Williams returned to
his seat--the only witness in behalf of
his case and his testimony admitted
without oath. The defence then rested
It's case.
Welcomes United States Agents.
when the Government agents first
came to my farm to make an investiga-
ton I did everything I could to help
them," said Williams. '"They thanked me
for the way I treated them. 1 told
them everything they wanted to know
and showed them over the farm.
'The Federal officials said they found
conditions all right on my farm. but one
of them (here he indicated Agent G.. w.
Brown, who sat near hm) said / was
technically guilty Of peonage by bailing
out negroes I asked him what peona ge
was and told him would watch myself
closely in the future.
THE agent questioned several OF the
negroes. and one of them told Manning
he was a sorry scoundrel and ought to
be killed for telling lies about the farm
. to Government men.
"When the agents left Manning came
to me and said he didn't think 1 had
done him right. asked him what was
the matter, and he said l made him out
a liar before the officer. I told him he
was an ignorant fool and to go back to
his work. Manning was different negro
from that time on.
1.-THE Federal agents talked to my
boys and Agent Brown said the worst
thing he saw on the place was a pistol
in my son Leroy's pocket. After the
agents left ! called my negroes together
and told them they could leave IL they
wanted to. There was no response then.
but later Otis Freeman said he would
like to leave and I made arrangements
to take him to the train.
II am not a wealthy man; right now
my farm Is mortgaged. Gentlemen.
there is not a word of truth in Man
ning's statement. Goodness alive. IL
had been guilty of these charges would
have cleared out while the Grand Jury
was investigating the finding of these
bodies.
Denies Any Knowledge.
"T know nothing about the way any
of the negroes were killed. At the time
Manning says / was with him and
Charley Chisholm on the way to drown
willy Preston / was In bed In my home.
had been to jackson that day to take
a negro home and I was mighty tired
returned early, and / would to God
my wife could take the stand and bear
me out. The law don't allow her to
speak. but she knows I'm an innocent
man.
Harry Price came TO my house one Sat
- fttot xf Nar rCh md
asked for s. apiece. saying they wanted
TO go back to their homes l told their
II was all right and l gave them the
money.
"They left my farm that night and
have never seen them since. I did not
leave my home that night. I missed the
negroes next day and asked Manning
where they were. He said they left foi
home the night before. I told him thai
was all right.
"The next day had company. While
we we're all in the house another negro
named Fred something came up anc
said he wanted TO go home. I gave hin
some money. l later heard that some
negroes had been found In the Yellow
River. I heard n negro named Ebcr'
hardt Crawford had said he could iden'
tify them as my negroes. 80 1 went
straight TO see Crawford and he denied
II.
could about who these negroes were.
"They later got me rs witness be-
fore the Grand Jury and told the jury
all I knew. II was then three or -four
days before they arrested me. Don't
YOU know I wouldn't have stayed around
n 7 had been guilty? ! don't know
what made Clyde Manning get so mad
with me as TO tell all these stories anc
lies, but II you Jurors will ask Deputy
Sheriff Hays. who Is now In court, he
can tell you Few things about that
Accuses Plantation Boss.
II have been In Jail n good while now
and haven't had much chance to ge
out and get up evidence to fight m,
case. have a wife and children, ant
love them too much to do such things
as Manning charges me with. The trutf
is, I believe, he did them himself and I:
now trying to shift the blame to an In
nocent man.
II ask you jurors to look at me ant
see II look like q wholesale murderer
see IL you think I'm ceiling the truti
God knows am. know nothing about
V,e killings. Manning lied when he saic
I told him to get rid OF them. Every
thing he told was a lie I am not guilty
Now. as far as the killings in Jasper
county are concerned these cases ar,
separate, and I understand this cour
has no right to look into them. I will
explain the cases against me for tht
other killings at the proper time. A.
Ear as the casee In this court are con.
cerned am absolutely innocent. l an