Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1922-06-15
ANOTHER TRIAL BEGINS.


I.Ferson county began in our Circuit
/ roprt in Charles Town on Monday last
s5en lanes e Wilburn, coal miner
',i Baptist preacher, was arraigned
- the charge of murder. Judge J..
woods. who presided at the Biz
.,.5 trial. is again on the bench. The
~. attorneys for the prosecution and
...erse who appeared in the Blizzard
.,i,I are representing the two sides in
/ his case. -,
o1nel Of twenty jurors was call
., ,o- Monday morning, and the work
- selecting twelve men to try the case
ass herun with but few preliminaries.
, nation 10 duaSh the indictment be-
n ,rss /, had not been signed by the
,-osecuting attorney of Logan county
vas made by the defense, but was
4 oyerruled by Judge Woods. Wilburn
yas then arraigned, and entered a plea
n nm, guilty. The accused man, who
I. a. years old, was indicted with
s;,b, other men on the charge of
~Tr5.r two of those indicted being his
4 ,,ns. Iohn and Frank, young fellows
i seventeen and eighteen years of age.
4 Vil1urn has been in Jail ever since
i he was arrested in Tennessee last win
Il Ter. bail having been refused for him
4 and his associates. He showed the
y effects of his Imprisonment, being pale
! from his long confinement. His whole
4 family is in court attending the trial,
4 including his wife and a baby boy.
II The prosecution says that Wilburn
n took charge of a body of 1000 miners
i curing their armed march last August
4 and led them to Blair Gap, in Logan
4 county. where they shot and killed
H three deputy sheriffS, John Gore,
. John Cottage, and George Munsey.
Il Wilturn is quoted as having said that
= il was time TO lay down the Bible and
Il take Ut the sword. They used the
& most deadly rifles, however.
4 The Jurors we're examined separate
n .y as 10 their qualifications, being kept
4 r the Jury room until one at a time
d they were called upon to answer the
Il questions. The defense was inclined
a 70 probe the jurors much more deeply
Il 'N3n Judge Woods would stand for,
S and he limited the Jurors considerably,
Fl remarking that if objections of the sort
& suggested should prevail it would be
a very hard to get jury. He declared
Il '1d' the trial would be concerned onlv
n win the question. did Wilburn kill the
E 1e0H" or was he party to the kill
k Ing, ana u so, to what extent did malice
n actuate him?
4 Inc argument of Wilburn's attor-
81 neyS was for closer scrutiny of the
Fl qua.lhcatlonS Of the jurors, closer than
II neAt ne actually required by law.
Il -i'NeS VI. Mason, .lr., told how Charles
& own itself was disturbed by intense
n iee!ne, even to the extent of complete
n 'uN'urts m families, over the differ
4 GnscS 'et"een miners and operators.
q Se'era. OF the jurors admitted they
were opposed to labor unions, either
b en'reIy or as they we're conducted. Two
q men VINO EXPRESSED these sentiments
are included in the Jury finally agreed
y g.o'. '"' declared that in spite of
81 .yr .H.1"9s they felt they could rem
ee' 'd!r verdict, based entirely on the
= 'n.-ehle Nothing like the individual
4 1..''.'.-' o' Jurors and the long de-
q silC over their qualifications took place
H curing me Blizzard trial. Defense at
q .',V's' II Is indicated, are not salts
q het with the iurv list '' '''''
4 -, p ,or The matter of self-defense
q ,...- .,.. .'~ 7een suggested by Wilburn's
....'-ss Judge Woods EXPRESSED
d himself ,c-7'ically. He commenced
4 ga. i.a UT, UT. n.e3 o.; sclf-defense would be
i .-0.t i'm the case of a man who
started o.- from Marmet with % q @"O s,U
i 'g D.. Hcnt" Iudpe woods al.
50 iehnci -mDhaticaliy his Gttt attitude %i
or w" i'- III. armed march by the miners
i m. N,I37 ,I, county, which resulted in
4 % .. challenged Z Juror wh1 a..
q - ,o..-- 'h' b. once said somo5o5,, 3,l adv
s. IN r- runishaa for IN, r,orci, SpC
'..t T. h.''evcd the miners, "i,.ti ioaJ.
q Ecencv. Mooney I'rg,S ,yar, v,ar.
8 ' 're trouble
q r. ,. -9 .a saws somebody ought 70
i a.t. 81. 'o- the march" said Juaee %
'r.- The march was Contra 70 Tor ~,
4 -- md .-i-- and was not iustifeJ
o,. # ri.aons. The more "S',icSI rrieyl