1L 0 TO 1Y I01D IB
BEFORE il BOfil Ifl!
f- Jv, y , v " ' 'i- ' ' V r' ''' '
Ending Up This Afternoon Scores fan .lay Die
in Stephens' Case (Inderpnnd
rV " : ,v "
All Evidence In the Murder Case in
the Superidr Court Closed This
Morning by 11 , O'clock Ail
Speeches Made, But That of Solici
tor Before Two This Afternooh
Verdict Expected Tonight Other
Higher Court Matters.
All" of the evidence in the Joe Steph
ens case was in this morning by 11
o'clock and F. ' Brooks,' Esq., - who
is assisting the Solicitor; began ' the
opening speech, for the prosecution:
The case will be given to the jury
late this afternoon; and : the .opinion
seems to be even stronger than it was
yesterday that! the prisoner will be
' acquitted; maybe convicted pt man
slaughter. - Stephens , was" ! corroborat
ed as. to what took place at the actual
time of the tragedy by- John Webber
who was, as far as has been shown,
the only eye witness to the occur
rence. When court adjourned a few
minutes before 2 o'clock all attorneys
t had spoken except the Solicitor.
' Perhaps the most important evi
dence brought out' by 'the -State In re
buttal was the fact that on the very
morning of the tragedy Shields had
sworn out a peace warrant against
Stephens and It was In the hands of
an officer to be served when the shoot
ing took place. - .
John Webber, colored, was the first
witness called to. the stand this morn-'
ing. He told f seeing Stephens at
Sixth and " Campbell streets on the
morning of July 9th, 1909, and talk
ed with him several minutes relative
to the collection "v of. : : twenty-five cents
due Stephens fo, work . done. ; Said
that after the" conversation Stephens
-walked towards . the " door,- of Millar's
store and, be .sawaman standing. In
the doortwfttilscoii offT they.be
gan talikng, when lie noticed Steph
ens step back a step or two and the
man followed him.' Witness testified
that something on the street attract
ed his attention -and when he $gain
looked towards the two men Shields
had Stephens head under-his arm and
his fist drawn back but did not see
him strike; that the pistol fired and
Shields turned loose and went back
in the store. Stephens stepped to
wards the store with something In
his hand but could not fell for cer
tain whether it -was a pistol or not
and appeared to, be saying something
to some one in the store. During
the tussle Stephens back was against
a post. Witness was of the opinion
that Shields welshed 180 or 190
pounds. Webber said the only pub
lic office he ever held was once a
member of the Wilmington Board of
Audit and Finance.
S. D. Bryant said he knew the char
acter of Shields for violence and, that
it was bad. .- . .-
Judge Peebles asked witness If he
ever knew the deceased to snoot, cut,
strike with a stick or have a -fight
with any person and he said he knew
of no instance of this kind . He mere
ly knew Shields could not get along
with the, men .with whom he worked
and quarreled a great deal." .
Son Lof tin, colored, said that tltree
days before the shooting Shields! was
at his house to collect dues and when
asked why he came so soon in the
morning replied that he wanted to get
there before Stephens Later he told
Stephens about this and that
Shields said he was going to
beat hell out of him. Later
Stephens and Shields met there
about the collection ; of money aqd
SteDhens told Shields that he was
larger than he was and could whip
him but he had a man down town
who could do his fighting, to which
Shields replied that he could go but
he would get mm. ,
Hueh Fov. colored, told of an occur
several days before the' tragedy
of a somewhat similar, nature. Shields
was at his house collecting when he
saw SteDhens across the street and
witness said deceased made the state
ment that If Stephens came over tUere
he would give him hell. ' He after
moro tniA fltpnhpna about what
ti ui u a . vviu p fcw-. -t m)
Shields' said. .
J. D. Brantley, a carpenter, testified
that Shields formerly worked for him
and gave him a! bad reputation for
violence. Said he had to discharge
him on account of the complaints
made by other workmen who cpuld
not get along with him. When ques.
tioned oh cross examination said he
knew of no Instance where Shields
had soht, cut or had a fight with any
one. . . . -. : " . . r - ', ,
With this evidence the State est
ed.
The Solicitor then identified a copy
of the evidence taken at the fomer
trial by Mr. Meares Harriss, who took)
Fire Breaks Out in Pennsylvania Mttie
and Many Are Entombed Desper.
ate Efforts Being Made to Resque
' the Meri-rFrantic Scenes Around
the. Mouth of h Mine. .
Scranton, Pa.; April 7. Fifty to
seventy men employed in the Pan
coast : MJne of the Scranton Coal Co.,
at Throop, are entombed in the Inner
workings, with all chances of escape.
IV Is believed, cut oft. A fire is rag
ing; along the entire vein, owing t?
the .engine house having been set
ablaze - The mine is equipped with
two openings. The location of the
burning engine - room is such as to
cut off the escape by these routes.
The fire Is' In the . workings, 750
feet below the surface. Officials, scorei
of workmen, volunteer firemen and
the Throop fire department are work
lng to get to the Men supposed to
be in one part of the mine. The fire
It' Is reported, started in the engine
room - at the head of the slope v from
an unknown . cause. Three hundred
men were in the mines when the
alarm was given. ' Because ': of great
excitement it is ' impossible to learn
how many escaped. At 1:30 o'clock
this afternoon it was learned it was
impossible to reach the nien for some
time owing to smoke and . the great
distance, they are below the . surface,
News of the fire spread rapidly.' Hun
dreds flocked to the mouth of the
shaft Women were frantic and tore?
their hair and clothing in despair. An
emergency car was sent to Throop
with a crew. They carried oxygen
helmets and other equipment to "fight
'the fire.v It. is saM a "majority pf tkq
men in the "mine are foreign labor
ers. . .
'Hospital Day at the. Grand." It
the evidence of the former triat and
Is also reporting this 'one. He then
placed in evidence the testimony of
W. A. Russ at the former trial fo?
the purpose of corroborating -him.
. Deputy. Sheriff Harvey , Cox ' was
then placed upon the stand. He said
he knew the deceased for some !timc
before .the 9th of July, 1909, and visit
ed 'him frequently during a spell of
sickness shortly before Shields' death.
That he was sick for about a month
and had only been out two or three
weeks when the trouble occurred. He
knew his character and it was good.
"Jndjre" Bornemann was placed on
the stand and told of the Issuance of
a peacef warrant the some morning
that Shields was killed. upon the ap
plication of the deceased, who made
affidavit that he feared bodily, harm
from Stephens. This warrant, he said,
was placed in the hands of Constable
Savage but had not. been served when
Shields as shot. Witness said ne
placed the Warrant ;6n the desk in his
office and went-in the back room with
Stephens to wash his face and when
he returned - the peace yarant ,r was
gone: He was of 'opinion that it was
stolen.- , ' -
The State endeavored to bring out
a conversation Shields had with May
or .MacRae-on the .same morning of
the tragedy but it was ruled out. "
Messrs. J. Niggel, W. R- Dosner ana
Joe Yates testified to the good char
acter of Shields. 1 Mr. Dosher on cross
examination said that Shields former
ly worked" for' htm ' and he had known
him to carry a cast, iron Datn tuo
across a room alone and that it weigh
ed about 360 pounds.
With the permission of the solicitor,
the "defense , was allowed to place in
certain evidence by a witness wno naa
17rwr- relfttivo to' threats made by
Shields and which Information the
witness imparted to Stephens. ,
'This " closed 1 the evidence ana- Mr.
Brooks began his speech to the Jury.
William J. Bellamy, Jonn u. Bella
my and Herbert McClammy, Esq, ad
dressed, the jury in the order named
and all these speeches were conclud
ed before 2 o'clock, and in a murder
case in New Hanover were record
breakers as to brevity,, and, Solicitor
Shaw will speak this, afternoon. It Is
not believed that the judge's charge
will be very long, so there is a very
strong; probability of a verdict this
evening, . ' " '''' ' .'
Yesterday Afternoon.
As stated in yesterday's Dispatch,
Stephens wnt upon the stand imme
diately Rafter .'court convened in the
afternoon in his own behalf.
7 Stephens Wd ' he was 27 years of
age - and had resided in Wilmington
practically all of his life; that he
knew Shields only by reputation and
had only seen him three times .oeiore
the morning of July 9th. That, on the
night of July 8th he' met Shields and
Fiftieth 'Anniversary;; of " Fort Sumter's -Fall.
' .'And the Shot That V-as; Heard-"Round the World."
(I
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,Y t.-rt v
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11 r 1
April 11 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the fall of Fort- Sumter. This was the occasion of the -firing of the
first gun of the civil war, the "shot heard round, the worldVT - It was also the first and only bloodless battle xf the
war. Short of ratlQns, Major Anderson and his Uttle par4i "died game,? and their gallant defense-of thK!orteS?'
did Ihey surrender. : The outccme might better be termed an honorable evarcuatiohTT since it washeraf-alure
Card's terms, the same as offered prior to the commencement of hostilities, that were accepted. .-. ? '--.w -j.t. ,.
POLITICIAN TO JAIL
Defeated; Candidate for Congressional
Nomination Sentenced to Prison In
Milwaukee Convicted of Fogery.
Milwaukee, Wis., April 7. William
A. Stuart, the defeated candidate for
the Democratic nomination for Con
gress in the Fifth Wisconsin district
last fall, was today found guiltyt of
"utering a false document," and sen
tenced -to - eighteen months in the
House of Correction. He fainted, fall
ing at the feet of his wife, as he was
being led from the court room. Stuart
was arrested in Cincinnati two months
ago.. He was .charged- with procur
ing $300 . from EH , Secor by forging
the signature " of the secretary of a
mining company. .
his two. men' at the corner of Seventh
and Hanbver streets and that Shields
went into' two places and relimed
them when his" (Stephens') men had
already '.litaed. the places; that is,
Shields' ; men covered the pink lime
with" white" lime, it being pink lime
used rby him (witness.) The witness
said he asked Shields if he did not
think it wrong to do that way, and
asked him not to do, so any more. Two
firms, he said, were engaged in the
scavenger business, Furlong &. Com
pany, and Edge & Company, - and he
worked "for Furlong & Company. Said
hemerely asked Shields not to re'lima
the places and that Shields resented
it in a ; f orcful manner and said he
had a list of those places, to which
witness stated that he replied -that
he also had a list, and Shields said
one was . a duplicate list.
; Later in. the night met Shields; at
corner1 of Sixth and Campbell streets
and Shields said he (Stephens) .was
infringing on him -and spoke about
the duplicate , list ; that - Shields ; had
a stick in his hand and made at i him
as though to strike him with the stick.
Witness" said he told him, It ws
wrong to ' take the work from the scav
engers as fit -Was as bad as robbery.
thestlck'Shields .'had was about ' five
.feet in length and-about. 2 '1-2 by 3
feet in - size. The- witness said ' he
merely istei)ped ui? rin fron of Shields
in order to prevent him fr'om striking
him as h5- was .holding the "stick in
front- of 'him int a -striking attitude-.
f(H,ere ! the witness demonstrated the
mahner in -which ..the stick was held.)
Went in that ; jwsitian for ; several
yards and then Shields ; turned and
said:! "Stephens, we wont have -any
more trouble about this. You collect
for "the pink and I will collect for the
white."' He said lie then": left, think
ing" the matter was "ended;' ; ; - f
I,- Stephens nest told of the onversa
(Continued on Sixth Page.)
bbii mm
Not Personally Opposed ' to: Martin,
But Wouldn't Vote for. Him if He
Was a Senator Wont .Discuss Pres
idential Situation. '
Washington, April ' 7. William Jen
nings Bryan explained at the White
House today that he was not opposed
to the selection of Senator Thomas
Martin, of Virginia, as minority leader
of the Senate, but that he personally
would not vote for Martin if he were a
member of the Senate. -'Tf I were a
Senator," said Bryan, "Martin would
not be my first choice for minority,
leader." Bryan spent almost an hour
with President Taft Before leaving
he met' practically every- member of
the President's cabinet. He refused
to say what subject he ,discussed with
the President.-" "Its safe 'to say we
talked about the weather and " that
there were no differences of opinion
on that-subject," said the Nebraskan.
Bryan would not discuss the ayaila:
bility of prominent Democrats for the
presidential nomination in 1912. . .
WASHINGTON TEAM TO LOSE
ITS BEST PITCHER
Washington, April ; S.--Walter ; John
son, premier pitcher of the American
Baseball League will' not play with
Washington this season. The news
came from Atlanta last night that he
would not sign up under the Washing
ton's . team's ' terms of $6,500, but was
holding out for ?7,506. Manager Mc
Aleer finally told him to. quiU ' John
son in addition to' demanding an in
crease ta-. ?7500 ; this ,,'y.ear,-. served
notice that next,year he would insist
upon a 3-year'contract at $9,000. a year)
the same salary received by Ty Cobb,
season by establishing a new strict;
out record. . :;: ' -',:: . ; . '
,
'O Unless lyou Register tomorrow Sat
urday y6u will be 'sorry, f 6r you had
better prepare for war in time of peace;
so arm yourself to - fight the battle , by
registeriug'Saturday-r-las.t day.- ; :
' J Assistant Circulation ' Manager. . ;
. Mr. LaFayette King, has been added
to The Dispatch's force, accepting' the
position of Assistant jCirculatibn Man
ager. He wil7he associated with ; Mr:
Li. -Larkins, wi6 has chargeqf this de'
partment. . r Mr. King is a ; clever, affa
ble--gentleman,; and vig2weUi known, o
hundreds of folks in Wilmington
"Hospital Day at the Grand.'
it.
III
Strain Too Much for Priest On Trial
.i As Member of the CamOrra Again
Court Had to Suspend, ': i '
; Viterto, Italy,', April 7. Again the
trial of " the Camorrists was interrupt
ed today when Ciro Vitozzi, the .ac
cused priest, weakened by " a self im
posed fast, fainted. He was under
interrogation and 'worked himself into
a state of mental and physical exhaus
tion, until he tumbled over against
the steel bars of the- prisoners' cage.
Lawyers and others "rushed to
his assistance. In the confusion Pres
ident Bianchi declared the sitting susr
pended. The' proceedings -openedNyith
the recall, of . Vitozzi. The prisoner
described attempts made to .make him.
appear guilty of 'complicity In imur
dering Gelnarb Cuoccolo. ahd the. lat.
ter's " wife; While in prison: -be said
he was . confronted with a man ' who
offered him 2Q to denounce certain
persons . as guilty pf the. Cuoccolp ' , as
sassinations, adding that Jf it wasj nec
essary he wbuld send ( the : priest, to
America as . Erricone had been;sent.
The' prisdneri told of. alleged abuse, of
him by examining judges during his
preliminary examinations j and "while
he - was in prison. Judged Detilia, he
said, '- had, insulted him, calling , him
a "Camorrist Pig." . "This," . said ; Vi
tozzi, '"was , cowardly,; savage tahd; in
human." Giovanni ' Rapi was nbf -"pre&
ent when the trial was resumed? this
morning. . His. physician- certified' he
was suffering from sore throat, as the
result of having "cried too much dur
ing his interrogation." - , ... .
' Everybody's going
Hospital Day today.
to
i the - Grand,
it:
. Nine, busy milliners make freslThat
show on Gay lord's tables each day.. ;lt
. :--V - : T " . . ,
"Hospital p&y at the Grand."- "It.
IN SOUTH CAROLINA
- Greehvillis, :;S.d. April j;8.CapItaI
ized at', two hundred thousand .-dollars
the Clayton "Linen Mills has made ap
plication to the ..Secretary of State! for
a charter. "--The concern will manufac
ture - towels,-, curtains, and- - tapestries
from Russian linen wastes v. s - -y'
FA IS
rnup
Oil III I1IIIG TU
HEll TOIEI!
DemoGratiG Caucus Bill H oi Transferring
Select Vav Senator Passengers at Sea
This Is Conceded By , the Progressive
Democrats of the Senate, But They
1 Are Opposed " to Martin Assert
They Want a Younger and - More
Aggressive-Man. -
i Washington, April 7. A caucus of
the. Democratic' Senators will "be held
this afternoon for the purpose of se
lecting : the caucus chairman, i .which
position carries with V it thef mmority
floor leadership.' . The ' prediction is
that it will "continue for ... many "hours.
There appears a' sharp split overthe
eligibility' of Senator Martin', of Vir
ginia, f6r the leadership. V The oppo
sition to the Virginian, whose election
h'ad-heen conceded, iirior, to the recent
tisit to , Washington of William .Jen
nings Bryan, Ibjmes ' from the -progressive
delegation, ted by Senator Stone,
of Missouri. 'At noon about a -dozen
Democrats, warm" admirers of Bryan,
met in Senator Owen's office.' -They
canvassed the situation and itia un
derstood, it was agreed to place ;some
one in nomination against: Martin,
probably Stone, or Culberson, of Tex
as, the latter having resigned the
leaaersnip a year agov on - account joe
ill health. Practically . all tjae Demo
crats who attended the meeting have
declared.- they have . no personal ob
jection to Martin and they regard him
as' their friend, but they want for the
caucus -.chairman " a r. younger man,
whose progressivehess has been estab
lished. Martin's friends ; are , urging
that he is not reactionary and that
the fight against.nhlm is unfair.
At 1 : 05 o'clock . this vaf ternoon the
second conference.-of Democratic Pro
gressive Senators" ad journed. It. was,
announcea tnat ine eiecuon,. aiiw
noon of Senator Martin as the minority
leader- W4ts?ctmcededv' Senato1 Jyp
iarids," it iSiSald will -he nominated Jtt
the : eaucua against - Martin." .Neither
Culberson, nor Stone would- jconsehto
the presentation t of their names as
candidates.; ; . ... - i : -
" ' stocks- Today. '" : ! '
; New York, . April 7. The '-only tea
ture of the stock? market at the open
lng was-' a ' rise in - Canadian Pkclfic
of over a 'point 'following a' gain of
a similar amount in" London. The
rest of the list was virtually unchang
ed from, yesterday's closing figures,
Speculative interest in the stock .mar
ket demanded steadily until there
were prolonged intervals, when ;th
ticker did noU even register a sale.
None of the iavorite stocks yaried
more than one' fourth from Initial
prices'. ' f ' ' ' ' '
Stock prices receded slightly in the
mid-afternoon, he- usual 'market
leaders held at about ir- yesterday's
close.- ' , 'j-- f '
PRISON COMMISSION SAYS
iPARDOHHPUlLIGE CHIEF
-: i
Atlanta, Ga., April 7. -The Georgia
Prison Commission has recommended
to Governor Brown that he1- gfahtah
unconditional pardon to Thomas Ed
gar Stripling, the former police chief
ot Danville, Va. who' killed a :man in
this State fourteen years ago and es
caped. j " . " '" ' '
At Gaylord's you find new flowers,
new hats,' and new, faces to wear them
each day. y , .it
ANNUAL INSPECTION TQN1GHT
Wilmington Light infantry; Wfll (3ive
' RnlonriiH Ar.r.nunt nf Itself. -' 5
The ( annual inspection of the Wit
mington Light infantry as nas Deipre
been noted in The pispatchV Will; take
place tonight .The inspection will , be
made by Capt. R. V. D. Cdrbett, .Unit
ed. States Coast. -"Artillery Service,- to
which the Light Infantry belongs, and
by Lieut.-Col. Henry Harper,' of the
North Carolina Naval Reserves. ' Of
course, 'the Light Infantry will score
its usual high mark. -
RE FRESHING A NNOUNCEMENT
Some Cooling News Given by the Inde
pendent Ice Cqmpany. . -
In The Dispatch this afternoon the
Independent Ice Company makes an
interesting announcement. It calls at
tention to the, fact that its product is
fin and pure and its service the equal
of the best It has made big prepara
tions to well take - care of the trade
tlrls" summery its corps -being large,- ex
pert and obliging. It solicits patron
age." 'J" , '
Giant North German Lloyd Liner is'
" Still Fast In the Sand, With Over
' Thousand Passengers Aboard Net
Work of Tugs and Revenue Cutters
Surround Her to Protect Life No
Fear Felt for Passengers and Crew.
Lone Hill Life Saving Station, Long
Island, April ; 7, Trans-shlpmen, of
pHssengersCfromt the. rmzess Irene
, began" this . Afternoon, '.twhen a '.: surf
: boat, bearing, fifteen; ;women , left . the
Irene lee. side headed away foe: the
relief , ship ;Princ FrieMch Wilhelm.
.-"'; : l?;-; . g .;... .
?t Lone Hill Life" Saving Station, Long
Islandi April 7. The' giant North Ger
man ; Lloyd liner, . Prinzess Irene, was
still lying helpless In gripping Sand
Keys off' here today, with 1720 "passen
gers aboard awaiting transfer to Prinz
Friedrich' 'Wilhelm, sent to her, assist
tance from the New York. The Irene
rolls slightly in the swelling, sea and
is deeper, in the sand than when she
strtick shoal in the - fog, lyesterday.
A breeches buoy connects the, steam
ship with shore, where three life pav
ing, crews stand by' life saving hpats.
Near the Irene, swashing about in the
sea,, are -ine. revenue cutters sensca
and Mohawk, with a little fleet of tugs
awaiting to aid in ! the trans shipping
of passengers. Ther&was "a'smarf
northwester blowingJbis morning,
which stirred- up a lumpy sea and the
life saving crews thought that unless
the. wind and water moderated it would
be dangerous - to transfer the passed
gers.T There is absolutely net fear for
the safety ot the; passengers who, in
fact,shbw mS apprehensloder their
enforced stay on the' shoals. Some of
the ocean voyagers flayed bridge whist
laanmegrt Jitigt'-yaptM.uoa.
dard,iif r the; Eone Hill station, spent
aM"night aboard the Irene and Came
ashore tis''rltivg;.'in.'., the station's
surf,.laL,G6ddard says there is not
,the. sjijg;htet sisn. f a panic or 'excite
ment. among the passengers. Prepara
tions to take off'passengers' went for
ward .- expeditiously all the morning.
The Irene looked, like ; an immense
spider in a web ot tow lines radiating
from her ' stem and. stern' to' the bob
bing fleet of revenue cutters and tugs.
Near, noon, as the tide began to flood
strongly the Irene's big propellers be
gan churning the sea; while the tugs
strained laboriously to free the steam
ship from the shoals. The sands, how
ever, held the big ship fast. Captain
Baker, of the , Point of Woods Life
Saving station, says that a northwest
wind will knock the sea down and flat
ten out the ground, swell.1 Baker does
not think" the ship" will spring a-leak,
while embedded in the sand.
I - At davlord's i vou" find newJ flowers.
new hats, and new faces to wear them
each "day," ' .' ' .' It ;
V,. t' "7, Thwarted.: Vengeance." .
.'Something .new, - don't miss It
Grand Tneatre toaay;
It.
t ASSOC (AT ED PRESS MEETING.
' """ V : L.
Representatives In Session This Morn
fj. J.1 .lng' In Ashevlfle. ; V- ';
Asheville, N1. ' C, April .---Representatives
of the Associated Press and
newspapers on the Washington-Atlanta
-"circuit7 and ; Washington-Richmond
circuit met this.: morning in a called
circuit meeting at 11 o'clock, at the
Battery Park Hotel. Representing the
Associated Press are Paul Cowles, su
perintendent of the Southern division,
John P. Gavit, . chief of ' staff of the
Washington Bureau, and Thomas F.
Edmunds, of the Washington ofllce.
Matters affecting the service on the
two circuits are being considered.
ROUGH HOUSE LAST. NIGHT
More Shooting in East Wilmington and
Woman .Seriously Wounded. '
Last night in East Wilmington two
sisters,. Rebecca and Flossie 'Brown,
got into "a 'row," and a rough house fol
lowed. As the result,- Flossie waB shot
about the right shoulder, and is" now
in the hospital, while Rebecca; who did
the shooting, Is in Jail awaiting trial
in Justice Harriss court She will be
tried as soon as her sister Is able to
leave the hospital. . : ' -V - :
The woman was arrested by Deputy
Sheriff A. L. Kelly, who lives' about a
mile from the scene of the shooting.
The people of East Wilmington have
been much annoyed -and in some In
stances' terrified by the general disor-:
der that .has occurred In that .vicinity
here of late.
- 'A" Thwarted) Vengeance."
Something . new,- r don't miss it
Grand Theatre today. it
' Gaylord's hats please the eye, satis
fies the pocket and' makes more beau
tiful the-ladies who wear them.: "lt:
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