INDEPENDENCE IN ALL THINGS.
VOL. VII.
COLUMBUS, N. C, THURSDAY, MARCH 27, 1902.
NO. 50.
i
WILCOX
GUILTY
The Judge Sentences Him to Die On
April 25th
WILCOX SHOWS INDIFFERENCE
A Brief Review of a
Argument of the
State and Defense.
Famous Case
Attorneys for
Elizabeth City, Special. The jury
rendered a verdict of murder in the
first degree against James Wilcox, at
10:30 Saturday night. G. F. Dernck
tson acted as spokesman. The prisoner
I heard the verdict without apparent
emotion.
After the verdict was received Judge
IJones said: "It is sadder to me than it
lis to vou. Mr. Wilcox. The jury found
the facts and I laid down the law. I
I have tried to see that you had a fair
I trial. 1 go not believe that some of the
f people wanted you to have it. Part of
I the public seemed to be afraid for the
I jury to try your case. I am informed
f that the movement in the court house
I Friday, when several hundred people
went out, was pre-arranged and for a
I Durnose. I hope it is not so. If it were
JAMES WILCOX.
true and the guilty ones were brought
before me I should send the last man,
woman and child to jail for contempt.
If it was wilful and with a design it
was a disgrace to the fair name of the
county. I hope it did not influence you
gentlemen. I refrain from saying any
thing else: I would not wound the feel-
ings of any one.
- "The judgment of the court is that
the prisoner be removed to jail and bo
hanged, until dead, by the neck on the
25th day of April, between 10 and 12
o'clock." This said, the court adjourn-
- ed. Lawyer Aydlett wept while the
.judgment was being read. He will tike
an appeal.
: satisfied.
All is quiet; the people are
The trial of James Wilcox, charged
with, the murder of Miss Nellie Crop
sey, began at Elizabeth City, N. C,
last Thursday a week vand . ended,
closed on Friday. The case went to
the jury on Friday afternoon.
The story of the disappearance of
Miss Cropsey from her home last fall
rand the long search for her; the
ultimate finding of her body in the
Posquotank river; the arrest of
-James Wilcox, charged with- her mur
der, and the beginning of the trial.
are all familiar to our readers. The
grand jury of Perquiman's. county
found a true bill against Wilcox and
the. court trial followed. The evidence
I
was circumstantial. The defense in
troduced no witnesses. The pleading
of the attorneys was on a high plane.
; Speaking, for the prosecution Solicitor
Ward said:
"This is the most important trial
ever held in Pasquotank county, and
Ho citizens have ever had more re
sponsibility than rests- on you gen
tlemen. I have never had such a task
.before. I stand here for the State,
without the hope or desire of more
than the usual compensation. It fs
fcot my purpose to lecture the jury
nor shall I paint pictures. What I
rsay will be in plain , English and
;about a murdered girl and the man
f
Duck Combine.
Trenton, N. J., Special. The United
States Cotton Duck Company has filed
"certificates decreasing its outhorized.
-capital stock from $50,000,000 to $30,
1 000,000. The certificate was' signed by
'T. L. Park, president, and David H.
Jarroll, secretary. .
i at St. John N. F., went on strike for
more pay.
who murdered 1 her. I will not try to
prejudice you. I would not in the fear
of God help convict an innocent man.
If I go outside of the evidence I do
not want you to consider what is not
right, fair and just. If you do not find
Wilcox guilty from the evidence do
not, convict him. But we shall con
vince you.
"What is the evidence in the case?
All, authorities say that in 49 cases
out of 100 there is water in the lungs
where a person is drowned, in the
other 51 the pleural cavities would
contain water. There was none in
either, organ in this case. There was
no bloody froth. The stomach was
free from water and fthe right side of
the heart from blood: None of the
symptoms of drowning were found. I
would rather believe what Drs. Wood
and .Fearing said about this case
than Taylor or Reese or anybody else
who was not here. Why did Dr. W.
J. Lumsden fail to testify? It is not
for me to say that he did not. have
the courage to face the examination
from the books of medical jurispru
dence. I know this, that if he had
not agreed to corroborate what the
other doctors said about the death of
the girl he would never have been
subpoenaed here as a witness. Dr.
Wood said that the girl was stunned
by the blow on the head and put in
the water while in that condition.
That contusion or bruise on the left
temlpe was made by a blow. It was
full of fluid blood. If the blood had
left the heart by exuding, as Mr.
Aydlett would have you believe, why
did it not go from that place on the
head?
In the progress of his argument he
said:
"Wilcox told. Tom Hayman that he
would hunt the -girl, but if he found
her they would say that he killed her.
Mark his words. They were said when-
everybody else thought she was in Bal-
timore, Wilson or somewhere else. But
he knew that she was dead. Wilcox did
not, help search for the girl. If I had
been innocent of that crime when I was
charged with it I would 'have spent
every dollar I could get toward finding
the girl. I have never heard or read of
a man who conducted himself under
similar circumstances as Jim Wilcox
has done. He has sat here throughout
this trial without a sign of an emotion.
He is guilty of that foul murder. His
conduct shows it. You need not tell me
that the conduct of that man is not the
conduct of a criminal.."
Mr. E. F. Aydlett. leading counsel for
the defense, made a forceful argument
in which. he said in part:
' "The Cropseys have my sympathy. 1
have" before extended it from my own
lips. I do not blame Mr. Cropsey for
trying to ferret out the cause of the
death of his fair daughter. The peo
ple of North Carolina are noble, just
and law-abiding. They would not want
anything but what is right. They want
an honest verdict. Any criminal has a
right , to have an attorney speak for
him'. ' When I secured my license to
practice law I promised to do my duty
1 have been criticised ,for my part in
connection with this case. I have done
nothing by my honest duty.
"Let us look into the evidence in this
case. The doctors say that there are
but three certain tests of drowning and
; that' they do not apply in cases where
the body has been dead for any length
of time. The doctors admit that they
did not examine the windpipe and oth
er tubes to the lungs. That is one of the
three certain symptoms. The second is
that of the lungs. They say that there
was no water there, but they found
bloody froth, which is one of the usual
tests of drowning. They found no wa
ter in the stomach. The medical au
thoritiesisay that these symptoms can
not be relied upon when a body has
been in the water five or six weeks.
The books do not lay down the ab
sence of blood in the right side of the
heart as one of the tests against
drowning. It may be that if the body
had been found within one or, two or
three days water would have ueen
found in the pleural cavities but long
er time than that would have given it
a chance to get out by natural causes,
the endosmosis process. The - water
could have left the stomach in the
same way. The doctors admit it. We
want the light."
"If you believe that the girl was kill
ed you must decide who did it. Did Mr.
Wilcox do it? You. axe a3ked to con
vict him because he has been indiffer
ent. Chas. Reid testified that Wilcox
was indifferent but that it was his na-:
ture. I agree with the statement of the
gentleman who said mat no better man
lived in Pasquotank county than Mr.
Reid. He would not be unfair. They say
Wilcox is indifferent because he hsiu
not wept in the court house. If he had
Washington, Special. The chief of
the life-saving service, Kimball, Sun
day morning received a telegram from
Kitty Hawk, N. C, stating that the
keeper of the Inlet life-saving s'tation
reports a vessel on fire about 15 miles
southeast of the station. The keeper
of the station further reported that he
,saw a steamjdr pass the station at day
light and this U believed to be the -vesr
sel that is on Are'.." ' "
sned tears they would have said that
he was guilty. He is accused of being
indifferent because he would not take
part in the search for the young lady.
Pat yourself in his place. One moment
they charge him with beine indifferent
and the next they say that he is guilty
oecause he showed emotion oh tto oc
casions- when he thought the bodv of
the girl had been found. His face turn-
en paie and nis hand trembled. Mr.
Hayman said he told him that he wish
ed to. God the girl could be found.
No, gentlemen, he has not been in
different. Consider his position. Every
move, of his was watched. Everything
he. did was criticised. To go further.
There was no motive. He had been at
tentive to the girl for several years.
We find no trouble between them till
last September. Then Miss Ollie heard
her tell him that if he was going to act
that way he might stay at home. All
lovers have quarrels. They claim that
Miss Nellie told him to 'pull 'to go.'
She meant nothing by that. He went
to the fair with Miss Nellie and Miss
Came. He kept going to the, Cropsey
homo. He went to the buggy as U
passed. He was frequently in the'
kitchen. He patted Miss Ollie on the
back and put smut on her face. She
tried to put some on him. It was all
for merriment and in play. Becau30
Miss Nell refused an. apple that the de
fendant had bought is no evidence that
she was mad.; I don't believe any mem
ber of that family thought tncre wa3
anything wrong. Mr. Cropsey could not
have thought so or he would have re
mained in the room. There was no mo-
MISS NELLIE CROPSEY.
tive for the crime. I do not say it, but
could not the girl have been jealous?
She might have felt that her former
friend was slipping away from i her. I
cannot say what a sweet little girl
would do under such conditions. It is
possible that she committed suicide."
JUDGE JONES' CHARGE.
In making his charge to the jury
among other things Judge Jones said;
"Gentlemen of the jury, your problem
is to find the facts in this case. You
have heard the testimony of the wit
nesses and the argument of the at
torneys. Now the case is with you. It
must be tried by the evidence, if you
should let any impression you may
have had, public opinion or anything
else, influence you, you do violence to
your oaths.
"A few simple rules must govern
you. You start out with the assumption
that the prisoner is innocent. If you
should find that he slew the deceased
unintentionally," without just cause, it
is murder in the second degree; if in
tentionally, wilfully and with delibera
tion and premeditation, it is murder in
the first degree.
"Therefore, you must first assume
that the prisoner is innocent. If the
State satisfies you beyond reasonable
doiibt that the defendant killed the de
ceased without cause it is murder in
the second degree; that he did it wil
fully, after deliberation and premedita
tion, it is murder in the first degree.
If the State does not satisfy you, be
yond a resonable doubt, that the de
fendant killed the deceased you must
find that he is not guilty. The evidence
must not only be conclusively consist
ent with the prisoner's guilt, but must
be Inconsistent with his innocence. -
"You are sworn to try the case by,
the evidence, and that alone; Trythe
case as men. Rise above public cpin
ion," ' ' r , . - .
The reading of the evidence was then
begun. ' -There .was ; 200 typewritten
pages of it and the task of reading it
required the hours from 10:30 to 4:30.
Mr. Bryan Moves. ' -
Lincoln, Neb., Special; W. J. Bryan
is no longer a resident df the city of
Lincoln: This wa3 Mr. Bryan's forty
second birthday, and he celebraed the
event by moving to his farm four mile3
from the city. Until a handsome coun
try residence which he is building shall
bec6mpleted, Mr. Bryan and his family
will live i 'in the barn. . ; 'V fc
i ' s
$10,000,000 PROMISED
v !
! '
Park Appropriation to Be Larger
Than Was Expected.
ADVOCATES OF THE PARK ELA
ED.
Drs. McGee, Ambler, Profs'. Plncliot,
Holmes and Others Presented
the
Need of the Park Forcibly.
A special from Washington Wednes
day night says: There- is a feeling to
night that the hearing on the i Appa
lachian Park bill today will be produc
tive of results that the friends of the;
measure hae hitherto hardly dared to
hope for. In an entertaining, liicidi yet
scientific manner the purposes of the
proposed reserve were explained tp the
committee by Dr. McGee, of the Bu
reau of American Ethnology;:. Prof.
Pinchot, of the forestry division of the
Agricultural Department; Dr. Ambler,
secretary of. the Park, Association;
Prof. Holmes, Representative Brpwn-,
lee, and Mr. Chas. Seymour, of Knox
vllle. After the hearing Represntktive
Moody asserted his belief that the com
mittee would make an appropriation of
$10,000,000 instead of $5,000,000,' saying
that Chairman Wadsworth 1 fayored
such an appropriation, and thatj the
proposition for an increase also jmet the
approval of Representatives Henry and
Connell, the -first named gentleman
being chairman of the sub-committee
to which the matter has for the time,
being been referred. Not only this, but
rt was stated after the executive session
of the committee which followed the
public hearing, that Representative
Williams would make no further, ob
jections to the passage of the bill. The
Rearing developed but a single disap
pointment. The North State delegation
was not well represented at the Shear
ing. Representatives Moody andKluttz
being the only members of the delega
tion from the State who were! present.
Even the sister State of South jCaro
jllna was -better represented. It is fair
to state, however, that Mr. j Bellamy
was out of the city,. Mr. Pou was ill du
ring the forenoon and could not leave
his hotel, while Mr. Small was busy
preparing a speech against the river
and harbor bill. Others may also- have
had good excuse for the absences
By careful and tactful questioning on
the part of Messrs. Kluttz and Moody
many important and -valuable points
were- brought to the attention it the
committee. Once the former interrupted
to ask if it were not a fact that! many
mountain land owners were at this time
caring for forests in a way that would
have the approval of the government,
to which Prof, Pinchot gave an affirm
ative answer, calling especial attention
to the Vanderbilt estate. The sub-committee
is expected to report to the full
committee very soon. I
Independent Telephone Company.
Charleston, S. C, Special. The
Southern Independent Telephone As
sociation was formed here at a meet
ing of representatives of j indepen
dent telephone companies from: North
and South Carolina, Georgia,' Florida
and Virginia. About 100 j delegates
were present F. V. L. Turner, of At
lanta, was elected president; W. A.
Barrien, of Tampa, vice president, and
Paul Langdon, of Augusta, secretary
and treasurer. Further conferences
was held Thursday. j
- r
Dangerous Wreck Sighted.
New Orleans, Special. The Morgan
Line steamer Albia, from. New York.
March 13, reports that March 14, lati
tude 36:29 north, longitude" 71:30
westr the Albia saw the wreck of a
schooner of about five or six hundred
tons. She : wasvfloating : -awash; her
m ' j . iVn main
stern was cut on. just auau
main
channel plates and the two
masts were floating alongside,
vessel is a dangerous obstruct
navigation.
lower
The
on to
V Defense Closed;
New York, Special. The defense in
the Patrick trial closed its case Thurs
day afternoon. David L. Short, one of
the witnesses to what is known! as the
1900 wlll,said today on cross exami
nation r that Rice showed the will to
him and to iiorris Meyer ; and then
said: "This is my. last willi I want you
to promisehiot'to say one word about
this until -after I am dead and gone "
SOUTHERN INDUSTRIAL
New Enterprises That Are Enriching
Our Favored Section.
South to Work Right.
In his speech at the last meeting of
the Progressive Union of New Orleans
John H. Kirby of Texas, a successful
worker for the South, in addition to
stirring his hearers to activity n be
half of their city and prophesying quite
clearly the greatness of the South, ancf
particularly of that portion of the i
South bordering upon -ne.Gulf, dwelt
upon the honor of work as a means to -
the fulfillment of the prophecy, he
said:
"We have determined to make the
South the seat of busy industry, as
well as the home of the most lovable,
hospitality that exists in the world.
We are, not only going tobe planters
and merchants, but we are going to
be makers of all the products that
come from our natural resources. We
are not only going to grow cotton and
cane and rice and timber, but we are
going, to get the great advance in val- .
ue which comes through transforming
these products of the soil into every
conceivable form devised for the use of
mankind. In this way we will keep
idle hands busy, and if those who wish
to do sometning for cha-ity,, benevo
lence and philanthropy will put their
money Into factories they will do man
kind more good than in any other way.
There is no charity so well directed as
that which furnishes a means to keep
the people employed, I am one of thoss
who believe Andrew Carnegie is a bet
ter manias an ironmaster than he is a
builders 6f libraries." .
,The common sense, which has made
Mr. Kirby a leader in Texan prosperi
ty crops out all through his speech, but
it is nowhere more apparent than in
the sentences quoted. But while it is
true that practical philanthropy gives
employment to two pairs of hands
where but one pair was employed be
fore, it may go a little farther in pro
viding the means whereby the now
hands employed may be trained to do
work to the best advantage. The South
as a whole, does, not lack unskilled la
bor. Here and there in the shifting of
population consequent upon ; the in
ception of developmental enterprises '
in new fields, a stringency of even un
skilled help is felt. But that, difficulty
will be overcome in the natural order
of things. Meanwhile there is an In
creasing demand for hands and heads
trained to labor requiring more than
ordinary skill or to direct the mass ox
every-day-labor. This demand -may ba
supplied only through the encourage
ment, either through legislative appro
priations or through Individual gen
erosity on a practical basis for the en
largement of the scope and equipment
of the Southern institutions whera
young men, rid of the notion that
honest work of any kind may be off
color, are receiving technical ' educa
tion. Several States are awakening-ta
their responsibilities in this direction.
notably Mississippi, which has recently
been most liberal with its public funds
toward, its industrial institutions, and
public sentiment seems certain to lead
to similar legislation by men of other
States. The adoption by men of the
South who have amassed independent
fortunes of some such plan for the aid
of Southern boys anxious to know how
to work right, as that urged by th9
Manufacturers Record, will not only
increase the immediate facilities of ex
isting institutions,- but will go a long
way toward the i promotion of the
much-needed public sentiment voiced
by Mr. Kirby in his sctriking address.
Baltimore Manufacturers' Record.
Textile Notes.
M. B. Council contemplates establish
ing bobbin factory at Americus, Ga. ,
It is reported at Augusta; Ga., that
Warwick Cotton Mills will establish a
bleachery in connection with that
plant. :
The establishment of a knitting mill
is contemplated at Dorthan. Ala., and
W. G. Robinson, is masking for informa
tion and prices on machinery from
manufacturers, .
' A movement is on foot for the erec
tion of another cotton factory: at 3par-
tanbure. S C. and Mayor Arch B. Cal
vert is Promoting the enterprise. . A
capital .of $500,000 Is proposed. t
Massachusetts Mills in Georgia: ot
Llndale, Ga., telegraphs that it does
contemplate enlarging plant mentioned
last week in'the future, but has not de
cided upon any plans as yet.
J.' A. Smith of Bessemer City, N. CL
has made a, proposition to establish a '
Konn-snindle cotton factory at Taylor.
Texas. The proposition is made through
E. M. Aderholt of Taylor. r -
Will M. Smart, of Manchester, Tenn.,
contemplates establishing plant for the
production of 200 dozen pairs Qt
women's and children's hosiery daily.
He asks makers of : knitting machinery
to send him estimates on cost of plant.
together with, other pertinent informa
tion.