Fitzgerald leader enterprise and press. (Fitzgerald, Ben Hill County, Ga.) 1921-1964, 1921-10-31
CASES UP IN COURT
SATURDAY MORNING
Large Audience Hears Commitment
Trial Before Judge VIM

A number OF the former EMPLOYEES
of the A. B. & A. motoped to Cordele
Saturday to be present at the COM
mittment trials of f. M. Bishop, +
X. Thomas, J. B. Russell, charged
with the burning OF trestle of the
A. B. & A. railway on the night of
May 10Th. Judge VIM of Cordele an
tlc1pating a large audience on account
OF the prominence OF the case, held
! his justice court in the large court
room of the county court house and
the move was fully justified as perhaps
two hundred spectators filled the aud
itorium.
Attorneys A. T. Mcdonald and H
]. Quincy represented the defendants
whilst the state was represented by
Solicitor General J. B. Wall and for
mer Judge D. A. R. Crum attorney
for the A. B. & A. railway.
O. c. Fairfield, the states main wit
ness. who has been in the Fitzgerald
jail for several month, charged also
with the murder of w. T. Reed and
serving a sentence for interfering with
the employees of the A. B. & A. was
put on the stand by Solicitor Wall and
to questions of the solicitor gave ap-
proximately the following answer: 81
was requested to drive certain parties
somewhere on the afternoon of Nav
18th. but am unable to state whether
Bishop or Hall, either or both made
the request of me- they or either told
me that should look for Thomas and
Russell somewhere on the streets of
Fitzgerald and bring them with me
in the car; I found them about 900
or $50 o'clock of May 2oth and with
them drove to the home OF \ K Hall
on west Magnolia street and Hal with
shot gun or two don't know h;ch.
in one hand and one or two oil cans
in the other came from his house and
got into the car. when drove to the
drive and drove to about one hundred
yards north of Bishops House, where
I took on Bishop and with the three
Bishop sitting in the front seat with
me, directing me where to drive. we
drove to a trcstle on the A. B & A.
railroad about two miles east of Hat
ley.
We passed through Rebecca. On
arriving near the trestle we left the
road and drove sevcnty-fivc yards in
to the woods and stopped the car.
which we turned around by hand. to
avoid making a noise. Hall then took
a stand somewhere with a shot gun
to guard against interruption, when
the three of us took the oil cans, don't
know just which one of us carried the
cans. and made for the trestle which
was about hundred yards from the
car. On arrival some of us or ali of
us took the oil and saturated the tres
tie with it and left, soon followed by
Thomas, and Russell and Bishop
slightly behind them.
Some one had fired the trestle by
then, don't know who struck the
match, but by the time we reached the
car, it was pretty well aflan1e.
We returned home via the Nation
al Highway, coming through Ashburn,
Sycamore and Irwinville. We reached
Fitzgerald about 800 o'clock; don't
remember where I put off Bishop. or
Russell or Thomas but I think I left
Hall at his home. On cross exami-
nation Fairfield stated that he believed
that his mother-in-law, Mrs. Chas.
Myrick would reap benefits from his
alleged confession through the rail-
road company, but denied that any
promises of reward or a safe passage
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