Fitzgerald leader enterprise and press., 1922-02-23
Strike Leaders Fight
To Regain Documents
eases On Trial Today In Federal
Court In Atlanta

attorneys of the headquarters of tn,
Striking employees of the A. B. & A
against U. S. District Attorney Hager
j. B. Wall and Receiver Bugg, is be
ing heard before Judge Sibley of tn,
U. S. Court in Atlanta. The case i.
the outgrowth of an effort on the par
OF district attorneys to secure evidence
tor the U. S. Grand Jury for which
they secured possession of all docu
ments in the office of the Strike head
quartersin Atlanta and which the de-
fendants' attorneys contend were Sc
cured illegally and enjoined the tres
passers from making any use of.
Judge Sibley granted temporary in
junction last week and the trial was
begun Wednesday. Attorneys Hoop
'er Alexander, former U. S. District
Attorney and Howard and Branch
are the attorneys for the former EN-.
ployees of the road
Hearing Wednesday
The legal fight of the A B. & A.
Strike leaders to regain documents
and records seized in the Piedmont
Hotel headquarters Feb. 18th by a
deputy United States marshal on a
grand jury subpoena duces tecum be-
gan in earnest Wednesday before
Judge Sibley in federal district court
1t was contended by the leaders
represented by Hooper Alexander
former district attorney, that the seiz-
ure was illegal. Emphasis was placed
on the fact that the seizure was made
while ]. B. Larissey and J. B. Hogs
he'd, the leaders, were at the Federal
Building under subpoena before the
grand jury.
Larisey as he began testifying, Of
Tered an apology to Judge Sibley for
sitting with his back to the court.
Il know Mr.. WALL" he said, refer
ring to Solicitor J. B. Wall of the
Cordele Circuit, who was conducting
the cross-examination, "and I want to
keep my eye on him"
The audience roared in laughter and
a bailiff raped for order.
The hearing was on the leaders ap-
pllcation for permanent injunction
and for the return of all documents
and copies and photographs of them.
The records sought were in the custody
of the court clerk under temporary
injunction granted by Judge Sibley.
The defendants are District Attorney
Clint Hager, Solicitor Wall, B. L.
Bugg, receiver of the road and Depu-
ty Marshal Walter Akerman.
Larisey told of the circumstances of
the seizure and said he went to the
fctral building to teinand of District
Attorney Hager the return of all doc
uments.
81 am not afraid of the character of
any of the documents" he declared.
"'There is nothing in them to cause
me to be fearful, but I have no way
of knowing what may be put in them
Under cross-examination of Mr..
Wall, he said some were of private
character and others were not, but
that he was unable to state which
were which.
1t was asserted that Miss Margaret
Mccain, the stenographer from whom
the deputy obtained the records, was
not their legal custodian. 1t was also
declared that the subpoena for the seiz-
ure listed the ones wanted, by the
deputy, who took all records in the
room
- Mrs. Mccain, following Larisey on
the stand, declared that the morning
of the seizure was the first time she
had ever been alone with the records.
She said she had no key to the room
and was in no sense their custodian.
"When the marshal came with the
subpoena" she said, I thought I had
to give them to him, and 1 did"
Solicitor Wall was the first of those
accused to testify. He was sworn with
Hager and Akerman. 1t was brought
out that in addition to being solicitor
general of the Cordele circuit he was
also local counsel of the A. B. & A.,
and a special assistant district attor-
7ney m the strike case.
He said he had conferred with R.
l.. Bugg, receiver, number of times
but only about prosecutions in effect
or in prospect. 1t was admitted by the
witness that the documents were copi-
ed rapidly after being seized.
Every available stenographer was
put to work on them, he said. But
the copies had not been completed
when the injunction was issued"
Some of them were sent to Fort
Mcpherson to be photographed, he
said. The witness said that he tried
in vain to locate district attorney Ha-
ger on the day the injunction was
granted to have the photographing
stopped. His belief was that the dis
trict Attorney was at Fort McPher.
son.