The Durant news. (Durant, Miss.) 1882-1985, 1949-03-03
THROUGH
HAZEL
EYES

Elsewhere in this newspaper is
carried a story with pictures
picked up from Mondays edition
OF the acknowledges.
We will not attempt to try the
cases of the men involved in this
series Of attempted murders, rob-
berries, car thefts, safe-cracking,
kidnapping and various other
crimes.
The courts will try those cases
ana make disposition of same.
Nor is this an attempt on the
part OF your editor for self-justi-
fication or vain or conceited II
told you so" on her part.
This is just to keep the record
straight.
For several years now this
newspaper has been carrying on
campaign for better law-enforce-
ment in Holmes county - espec-
ially the laws against whiskey
and gambling which for SO long
were completely ignored.
We ventured to warn the peo-
pie Of Holmes county and Of
Durant especially, that if the laws
weren't enforced by the man
then sheriff that Holmes county
was going to become the mecca
Tor every gangster in the state and
surrounding territory.
At the same time some of our
people in high positions of author
ity said: Holmes county is no
worse than any other county in
the state"
Many Of our lesser citizens
agreed.
Today our present Sheriff of
Holmes county, Mr.. Ellis E. Wynn,
Il making the lot of the bootleg
ger 20 hot and uncomfortable that
apparently some of our erstwhile
b0otleggers have had to start
cracking safes to make living.
One law-enforcement official
said: I'VE have a gang here that
will commit murder or do any
thing before they'll 60 to work
for a living"
The notorious Luther Bone,
wanted in Georgia on charges of
safe-cracking, kidnapping and
having explosives in his posses
sion Is now in Kinds county Jail
1T Jackson charged with intent
to kill and safe-cracking. He was
In Durant one day with enough
explosives to blow up the town.
When he wanted a hide-out
where did he go?
To DuraEt.
Why?
Apparently MIR. Bone came to
Durant because he could find re-
fuge with his kind Of folks, a |
crowd that we have been fight
ing here for years while they were
nothing but bootleggers and
gamblers.
OF the persons involved with |
Bone, Red Brooks was a bar
tender and worked at the crap
table at the Rainbow Garden, the
real nice place in Durant where
only the best people 60" Brooks
is in jail charged with intent to
kin.
Stanley Woodall, arrested in
connection with safe-cracking
job in Duck Hill, is out on $4,000
bond on that charge. For several
years now Woodan has operated
one Of the places" near Durant.
Most of this kind of people
came to Holmes county because
here they could operate without
being molested. !
Tommy Bevill, the only one ne
portedly involved In this parti-
cular gang who is a Holmes coun-
ty boy, is in Jail at Gulfport charg-
ed with car theft and is also want
ed in Poplarville.
We are not offering any alibi
for young Bevill we do not
even know him. But he might
never have been wanted by the
law had he grown up in a county
where laws were enforced and the
role Of the criminal made a hard
one.
This newspaper is not respon-
sible for this latest publicity pic
turing our county as haven for
gangsters and criminals of all
kinds.
Well let our readers be the
judge of whether we've ben ex-
aggerating conditions in the past
or talking through our hat;
whether we were wrong in want
ing their kind driven from Holmes
county before they became solid
~ entrenched. |,
And II you're looking for some
one to blame for this latest bad
publicity of our county we sug-
gest that
You blame our ex-sheriff for ,
letting this group get entrenched /.
so solidly in our county, or
a