Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1921-04-09
Williams
Statement
HUBERT r. BAUGHN
(Staff Correspondent of The Journa1)

Stan Correspondent or The journal
COVINGTON, Ga, April T.
Following is the statement of
John S. Williams to the jury here
today:
Gentlemen: If I live until next
October I will be SIS years old.
I have a wife and twelve chill
dren and I am a Woodworking
farmer. I have always taught
my children to do right and have
tried to do right myself. This
is the first offense I have been
charged with.
There are two sides to every
question. You have heard the
other side of this case, and now
I want to tell you mine. And L
want to start by telling you that
I am an innocent man.
l was born in Meriwether coun-
ty, lived in Monroe county seven
teen years and have lived on
what the newspapers speak of
as the murder farm" for the
rest of my life.
TheRe are men in this court
room who know me and who
know I am not guilty of such
charges as this. My farm is rath-
err large, but not as large as
the newspapers make it appear.
The papers have had lots of hot
air about my case all the way
through.
Treated Hands Right
But in order to operate my
farm I had to bail out Some ne
groes from Atlanta and Macon
and use them as laborers. I al
ways treated all my negroes
right. l could not have kept farm
hands to do my work unless 1
dealt fairly and Justly with them.
May God search my heart and
bear witness that L am telling
the whole truth. Clyde Manning
was in charge of the negroes on
the place. At times l had much
trouble with Clyde. He was a
hard-headed niger. Once he tried
to kill his wife and brother. and
another time he threatened his
wife's life,
When the government agents
first came to my farm to make an
investigation | did everything I
could to help them. They thanked
me for the way I treated them,
l told them everything they
wanted to know and, showed them
over the farm.
The federal officers told me
they found conditions all right
on my farm. but one of them
lhere he indicated Agent G. w.
Brown. who sat near him) =usaid
was technically guilty of peon-
age by bailing out negroes.
asked him what peonage was and
told him I would watch myself
closely in the future.
The agents questioned several
of the niggers, 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 I had done him right. I
asked him what was the matter
liar before the officers. ] told
him he was an ignorant fool and
to go on back to his work.
Not wealthy Man
Manning was a different negro
from that time on. The federal
agents talked 20 my boys and
Agent Brown said the worst
thing he saw on the whole place
was pistol in LeRoy's pocket
After the agents left I called
my negroes together and told
them they could leave if they
wanted to. There was no re-
Spouse then, but later Otis Free
man said he would like to leave
and I made arrangements to
take him to the train.
l am not a wealthy man; right
now my farm is mortgaged.
Gentlemen. there is not word
of truth in Manning's state
ment. Goodness alive. if l had
been guilty of these charges I
would have cleared out while the
grand jury was investigating the
finding of these bodies.
Williams was not connecting
the events N the case but was
along, making such
statements as entered his mind
from time to time, it appeared.
1 know nothing about the way
Continued on Pace 6. Column ~