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DEMOCRAT PRINTINGCGO., Publishers. CAPE GIRARDEAU, MISSOURISATURDAY. APRIL 28. 19Q0. Vol. XXV No. 2 t '?--- " t V ASHDGKINB TRABEDY. George Dell, a Young Lad, is Fa tally Shot in the Breast. IT APPEARED Later all Made Clear and Those Responsible for the affair make a clean breast to the Jury The story serves as a fair illus tration of the danger of the Pistol Carrying Habit. Coroner Slomeyer held an inquest! Williams, but Miss McCleary drove today to fEdeavor to ascertain the 'up in a buggy jusr. then, stopped in circumstances of the mysterious koot-j front of Wilson's sttjre and Deli did ing of George Dell about 5:3ft yetcr-: not throw the ball back. De'.t walked " day afternoon in'the haUway on Mitiu toward the office dvor and stood there, street just south of the First .National . Justihen a pistol went off, amy have Bank. : bin .a gun. but ,n explosion took People in tbe vicinitr were startled : plane. The doors were doufcle doors at the time -designated by the report and one of then, closed. Duii of a gun or pistol. T'bey hocked to staiv.liug in the door looking- inside, the place wJiere the report -oc-eurred ; He :as leaning .against north part of and found Geo. Dell, the fourteen- door. He had been there but a minute year-old sen of Mr. .and Mrs.. John when I heard a -report of a gun cr a Dell, lying on the Cor with a gaping revolver. Saw She boy sfcigger back wound in iiis breast, and breathing- toward the par-sment and then he his last. A few moments boSore the seecued to rush aeto the hsli. 1 told shot was th-ed, George Dell and Al- Cha. Hainan I thought souie one was bert Williams had been playing ball hurt and ran over. When I got in the in the street just opposite where the hab! I found Laz-eence MuUuire sir.nd sad tragwly took plata. George was ing there with Deil in his arms. Took on the sidewalk in front of thewr-ntrance hiir out of McGwire's arms, and as fee tothehu!!, and Albert was on the was dying and tanking to .the floor I other sid. of the strtet in front of gently laid him down. Noticed Chas. Wilson's drug store ;hore he is em- Surton standing there and sold him to pleyed. At the satnft lime n negro ge'ora doctor. Shortly after tkjs boy nailed Lawrenv: McGuire, and Di . Portertield came and tprououned Charley Sutton, a Western Union life extinct. Del! lived probably lived Messengt-boy, were standing in the 3 or 4 minutes af-ar I arrived. He did door of Che hallway; talking. Tho not speak, a rubier ball rolled out of other twe boys stopped their game, his hand as I laid him down. Saw no Williams being callel to the -ttore to one in the. hall btt the two .boys. Mr. wait on customer.: Dell walked J Stock came in a.ad asked where the into the hell and had not disappeared : pb-tol was and I didn't knsw, told him from view until the persons on the one of the boys might kuoT.'. He asked outside he ird the report of a pistol, , McGuire where tho pistol was and he Dell- was een to stagger acd fall, said it was in the cellar. Mr. Stick and McGuCre caught.him. From all then told MoGuire'to go d wn and get the information whicii can be -obtain- it. He went dowi but said it was ed. there vs; re but turee persons in , dark he could not see. Suck then got the hall, Dell, Suttoc and MiSiuire. : a lantern and fon d the pistol. The It would seem to be aa easy macter to ; pistol was here shown to the witness locate the person who did the tboot- by the coroner and he recognized it. ing, but the .coroner's jury has not found it so. Poor Gtorge Dell who yesttrday afternoon was alive an2 en joying himself with hii young frvjnds is aeorpse, itad the onsy persons who were jpreseut hen he was shot eir:her can't tell or w.on't tell just how it ba pp&ned. ThHre is a mysterious atmosphere surrounding the case, and the atmos phere it so thick and dense that the most careful and painstaking investi gation by the authorities will be nec essary te unfathorn the mystery. Who fired the fatal shot? What were tbe cireumstauces unier whicb it was1 fired? The Coroner is endeavoring to reach a satisfactory solution of these two questions. The people wko heard the evidence given this morcing at the inquest, cn form but one conclu sion, and that is that McGuire and Sutton eo.uld clear up Uhe mystery if they would. There is only one reas onable solution of the trouble and that is that tbe boys in tho hall were playing with a pistol which was car ried by one of them, it went off acci dentally and killed Geo. Dell. See ing how matters stand, and being fearful of consequences, the boys fear to come out and tell the whole truth. This supposition may be an entirely erroneous one, but it is the only one a reasoning person of ordinary in telligence can reach. But, some of the evidence in the case will prove of interest. The evidence of the witnes ses quoted is not given verbatim, only tbe substance of it. The examina tion was continued until 12 o'clock to day when an adjournment was taken until 1:30. Here is what the , witnes ses say. Thomas Clark: Was standing on Main street talking to a man, and watching Albert Williams and Geo. Dell, the boy who was killed, playing ball. Sam Williams threw the . ball across the street to Dell, it missed him, struck the door at the entrance to the telegraph office and rolled in the gutter. Dell picked up the ball and started to throw it back to MYSTERIOUS. as th.? one Steofc had found. The weapon was a 38 caliber and contain ed one blank or exploded (Cartridge. Did net know how .pistol got into the cellar. Never saw the weapon before j When J went into the hall, McGuire said "'he's shot.'' .Never saw Dell or the other boys witfc pistols in their possession. Dell -was between the steps and door when he (witness) ar rived and was positi-ve the boy could not have shot himself. Dell was in my sight all the time, and be went no further into the hall It an he wat at the time he fell. The pistol could not, have been thrown from the front door 'into ; the cellar entrance. Fred Steck: Saw a crowd on Main street at First National Bank and walked down there. Found Tom Cirk wbo told I tie a boy was shot, and said it was the Deli boy. He did not know who did it. In the meantime a colored boy came in .McGuire) and Clark asked "what did you boys do with that gun." He said it was in tbe cellar .and I told biin to go and get it. He stayed in the cellar a minute or two and I called to him to know if he could find the gun. He did notanswer me. McGuire came up stairs, I asked him if he had found the gun and he said it was too dark.' - I then went and got a lantern and making a search found the pistol on a small platform at the head of the cellar stairs. Had seen none of the boys with & gun at any time. Don't know who owns the revolvers. The pistol could not have been thrown from the front to where it was found. . Lawrence McGuire: We were down there talking, standing in front ' of Western Union office when Dell joined Sutton and me. Dell said be had to walk back to the rear. He had hardly reached there when I beard a report of . a pistol. Was standing right at the edge of the door in front. Dell came up staggering with bis hands across his breast. I asked what was the ; matter and he did not reply. I grab bed him and jerked him back and be groaned but did not speak. Mr. Clark came over and said to lay Dell down which was done, and sent me after the doctor. I got Dr. Porterheld as quick as I could. Never saw the revolver before. Have stea Deli have a pistol a number of times, but did not see him with one yesterday. . There was no one in the rear end of the hall, and no one in the front end but me and Sutton. Hare no idea, how the shoot ing occurred or who did it. Don t know how pistol came there unless Dell had i,. Dell carried a pistol all the time but I never saw Sutton with one. Dr. J. D. Fortertield: Testified to having bten called to see the boy. Found him ou the floor in the h-tll Shirt was jpen at breast and wound was parallel to the fourth interspace at left edge of sternum. Made no close examination of wound, meivly looked at it casually. Ths boy was living and I did not probe the tround. He lived about minute utter I pot there. Tlie wound was an entrauco wound and was caused by a niissle. The boy died bv internal bemorrhge. Tne wound seemed to be a direct one. and do not think it could have been S-'if-inilic'ed. There were no powder burns, no discoloration ot the cloth ing no shivtis of clothing in the wound. Do not think the hot was tired in close co itact with the body. The bullet evidently went through the aorta or severed the upper portion of ih- heart, and in this event the boy could have walked only a few feet, and iii all probability would have fallen at once. Juo. b. Wilson: Know nothing of the affair of mv own personal know ledge. Was iu the back part of the store and heard a shot tired. That is ail 1 kuow. Tlie Isn-ry Kx pl;-.l u 1 The above was put in type shortly after the morning session adjourned. The afternoon s ;ion brought some interesting developments and cleared up the mystery completely. Chas. .1, Haiuai, Albert Williams a:id W. M. Stone lest? tied this morning but in tile light ot testimony brought out this afternoon it is uot necessary to pub lish it. The lii-fit thing on the docket this afternoon was a statement miide to the jury by J. D Wilson. He stat ed that late yesterday afternoon Chas. Suttoa came into the store a 'id admit ted to bim that McGuire bad acci dentally shot Dtl. Chas Sutton was placed oo the stand and made the following statement: rMcGuire. Geo. Dell and I were stand ing in the door. Dell had Jn try ing to get some leads out of his pis tol and.coulda't -tio it. He handed the pistol to McGuire and while the latter was trying to extract the load the pistol went off and shot George. McGuire was standing back near the steps, and George jvas standing near the door, the two were abo.ut three feet apart. McGuire asked George if he was hi, but srot no answer. He started to weaken, dropping to his knees. U'hen I fttuiid that .George was shot I ran over to Wilsoe's drug tore intecding to get Dr. Howard, but did not see him and got Dr. Por terfield. McGuire ran up the street with nie to the doctor office. Do not know what became of the pistol. Knew George for i or 8. years. He was in the habit of carrying a pistol. Don't know why he wanted to take the loads out of the pistol. Lawrence McGuire: Made the same statement as alove w.ith regard to the killing. Said- that when he found George was shot he threw the pistol back in the hall and when he returned from his trip after the doctor he went back and gave the pistol a kick but could not tell where it went. He add ed that he made his statement this morning under excitement and was badly scared. He decided later to tell the truth. J. H. Clodfelter: This witness stood diagonally across the street, heard tbe shot and saw the boy fall out of the door backward, be acted as if he had been shoved out. He fell down and threw his hands back as if to keep his head from striking the floor. Witness went into the hall, took hold of the boys hand and saw that he was dying. John Dell, father of George, was called to the stand by-request of Jur or Nunn to see if he could recognize the pistol which did the fata' work. Mr. Dell did not remembe"r to have ever seen it before. The jurors in the case were: W. A. Summers, G. W.-Cross, J. T. Nunn, H. S. Dean, Henry Meysteadt, Jr., C. Stehr. The following verdict was returned: We the jury find that the deceased came to his death by the accidental discharge of a revolver in the hands of one Lawrence McGuire. A WORD ABOl'T OI'R SCHOOLS. An Insufficient Number ol Teachers a Drawback lo Tueir l uelullncus. The DEMOCRAT has always been a friend to education, and it desires to see the public schools in this city per- j fected and made as efficient as pos sible. There is one thing which the Democrat considers impairs the efficiency of these schools at the pres ent time, and that is that tbe teaching force has not kept pace with the in crease in the number of pupils. The increase in the attendance in the schools during the past few years, has been largely out of proportion lo the increase in the teaching force, and the present force of teachers, no matter how competent these teachets may be, cannot do justice to the great number of pupiis that are crowded into the low.-r grades, no.' can a teacher do justice to herself when she has from (50 to 90 pupils to loon after". The opinion of the best teai-ln-rs in our cities, those who have had a Inifg and varied experience in the schoolroom; is that 41) pupils in a room are as many as one teacher can properly handle in the lower grades of school work, and yet some of our teachers have double that number uu der ttiera. The Democrat believes it would be wise policy on the part of the school board to employ at leat two mora teachers for next year, for there are plenty of pupils to make two more elementary departments, give each teacher enough work to do, and at the same time enable these teachers to do better work The Democrat has no disposition to nictate to tlie school hoard, but it hopes it will take this suggestion un der advisement and give it due con sideration. We firmly believe it is t!in honest desire of the board to do ihit is !st for the schools, and v.e are also of tlie opinion that the citi zens here do not want the usefulness of the schools crippled for luck of sufficient teaching force. Below is given some figures in re gard to the inadequate foi-ce of teachers: Pupils Pupils I:ooms March April 1 -.2 80 2 63 61 3 66 66 4 70 64 . 63 64 6 42 41 7 29 26 X " 24 24 9 24 24 4.-i2 i'Ai The list for March comprises 21 36 boys and 216 girls. That for April, 231 boys and 21! girls. Wulbrtdtfe for (Jovernor. We notice that some of our repub lican exchanges are talking up var ious men a candidates for the repub lican nomination for Governor. These men maybn all right.and someof them may not. liut be this as it may, the Democrat has a man in mind as its candidate about whose standing in the party there is not even a shadow of suspicion, he is known to be 18 carat gold- This man is C. P. Wal bridge of St. Louis. He is a staunch republican, is a line business man, is admired generally for bis honor and integrity, and is the man above all others in this state who deserves the nomination. His record as Mayor of St. Louis shows what sort of an ex ecutive officer lie is, and proves what he could do for Missouri were he to be placed in tbe Governor's chair. He is pre-eminently the man the re publicans would like to see nomina ted. Such a man as Walbridge would soon knock out this ring rule which has proven s'uch a curse to the state, ho could give the people a square, honest administration, lie would not ba governor alone of a few political bums and ward heelers but would be governor of the whole people of this great state. Missouri needs Walbridge at the helm of the state for "a few years, and if placed there he would inaugurate some won derful changes. Mr. Walbridge made the best and cleanest mayor St. Louis ever had, and he would do all right as governor. Missouri is a great state and it needs a great governor, a man who would not use the office merely as one of the rounds in tho ladder of his political ambition, hut would give us an honest, patriotic, business-like ad ministration, and C. P. Walbridge is the man to do it. Crouq and W Hooping Cough. Ballard's Horehound Syrup will promptly relieve Croup and Whooping Cough. It will cure the worst Cough r Cold It never disappoints. Try SIZED HIM UP WROu. Cairo Paper Has an Entirely Erron- ; j eous Idea Concerning Norman : !A. Mozley. j The Cairo Argus has heard that the j 1 republicans of this congressional dis- trict have nominated N. A. Mozley as their candidate for Congress, and gets off the following: "Congressman Vandiver of the Southeast Missoi-ri district, is con ceded nomination for re-election by nearly a unanimous vote of bis party convention. He is worthy of this sup port, for he has proven an. able Rep resentative, having secured rack with the foremost members of Congress. The republicans have nominated as bis opponent Hon. N. A. Mozley. He was formerly a school teacher in Johnson county, this State. He went to Missouri to teach school, and when the republican nomination for Con gress over there was seeking some body to accept it, he took it for the honor of being nominee and awoke the morning after election day to find himself elected. He was the most sur prised man in the district. He was never heard of or from during his term in Congress, but being the only republican ever elected iu the district, his party wilt test his luck again." The Argus would have it appear that the only thing which can be urged in favor of Mr Mozley 's candidacy is that he is the only republican ever elected to Congress from this district. This is a great deal, but it is not all. Mr. Mozley is a lawyer of ability, he is recognized as a man of weight in the district, and he has an excellant chance to be elected. It is not absolutely certain that Mr. Vandiver will be the opponent of Mr. Mozley in this race, but if he is he will have a hard fight on his hands. The Argus is evidently not aware thai many cf Vandiver's former friends have turned against him and that the) will not tear any of their clothing in order 10 elec. him even if he should receive the nomination. As to Mr. Mozley never having been heard of while in Congress, the people of his district regard bis record there as quite creditable, aud the are prob ably as well informed on tais point as th-3 Cairo Argus. The liot-ra and the British. Months have elapsed since the ripen ing of the South African war and still taose 300.000 troops which Great Brit on has massed iu this period from her Different colonies have not as yet suc ceeded in making the Boers bow in recognition to the British lion. The iju'jlie oDinion 'n America as to the right and wrong varies so that it has at iast become a very muddled affair, in fact, it has reached such a stage that it bids fair to become a political issue in the coming campaign. If we were to listen to some of our Demo cratic friends we would at once plunge ourselves into that South African af-f-iir regardless of the results that might follow. Not only the Demo crats, but many patriotic Republicans, bear malice toward President McKin- ley for not making a forcible inter vention in behalf of the Boers. If these will ponder for a moment and carefully weigh in their own minds the responsibility of such a course, they will cease this clamor. Has not Pres ident McKinley proven with satisfac tion to the American people that be is a man capable of standing at the helm and directing the course of this country to its own welfare, financially and otherwise? Did he uot show his discretion and sound judgment in our trouble with Spain? Has he not prov en himself one of the greatest rulers since the time of Washington or Lin con? Verily, we say that he has, and ultimately it will be proven to the American people. No matter what our private opinions may be ws must use discretion in all such matters. Whether the Boers are in the right or wrong, it must be ad mitted that their bravery lp bidding defiance to the most powerful of na tions, has won the sympathy and ad miration of the entire world. For months have they' bravely kept the field, throwing every barrier possible in front of the British advance. They say It is for home and country, and above all, that priceless treasure, lib erty, which cause them to take up arms against Great Britian. What ever be tbe cause they have at least won the admiration of almost every nation, and their struggle for borne, country, and independence, will go down in history second only to tbe Siege of the Alamo, when those brave Texans, Crocket, Bowie, Travis and others, laid down their lives' for a similar cause. U - v '. Glad Tidings to Asthma SalTerer Foley's Honey and Tar.' gives qnick and positive relief in llacases. THE ADMIRAL HESITATES. His Friends Thtnlt He should Come Out and Mafcs a Political niate ment to tbe Public Admiral Dewey i9 hesitating about ; issuing bis political statement. Men : close to the Admiral are urging him to speak, and to speak promptly, while others are impressing upon him the value of the rule "Silence is golden." . Admiral Dewey is inclined to re gard this rule with favor and to be lieve this is not the time for him to talk. His mail and his callers assure him that his candidacy is progressing favorably. What is there for him to gain, he asks himself, by issuing "a statement? Admiral Dewey rather favors tho policy of drifting. Ho thinks the time to act is when an emergency arises. The Admiral is particularly inter ested in Georgia and Texas. If the delegates in these States can be sent to Kansas Cily without instructions or with instructions to vote for the Admiral, the latter believes the Bryan South will be transformed into the Dewey South. . Admiral Dewey's friends are some what disappointed over the failure of former President Cleveland to mention him, either directly or indirectly, in--his letter of regret to the Thomas Jefferson dinnerof the Brooklyn Dem ocratic Club. Mr. Cleveland is rec ognized as favorable to the Admiral's- candidacy, and - some of the Dewey men tSfcik he might have given impet us to the- Dewey boom by inserting some referecc-3 to the Admiral's can didacy in bis letter. Another Candidate. The announcement of Judge AleS. Ross as a candidate for Judge of the oj Common Pleas Court appears in ihis issue of the Democrat. Judge Ross has been a citizen of this coun ty sii.ee 18(58, over thirty years, and is connected by marriage with -some of the best German families in tbe county. He is the oldest member of the bar of Cape .Girardeau county, and has served as Register in Bank ruptcy from 1867 to 1879, with juris diction over twenty-eight counties in Southeast Missouri, and is now serv ing as Referee in. Bankruptcy for the U. S. District Court. He stands high as a man and a cit izen with all who enjoy his acquain tance. The Judge has already served on the bench of the Common Pleas Court and is no stranger to the duties Of the position. Should he be nomi nated and elected fee can iiring to his aid tbe experience already gained in '.bat posltiou. and the exacting practical kt owledge acquired in the Federal Courts. Aside from the fact that Judge Ross !s a staunch Republican, he is a prac tical business man and has a charac ter above reproach. He is strictly conscientious in all his dealings, is a student and thinker, possesses a nat ural judicial mind, and is amply . equipped for theotnee to wnicn he as- pires. Card of Thanks. The undersigned desire to express their heartfelt thanks to the. kind friends who aided them o moch by their tender sympathy during the oc casion of the recent illness and death of their beloved daughter and sister. Fredericke Scheppelmann. Albert Scheppelmann. Edward Scheppelmanx. - William scheppelmann. Henry Scheppelmann. Bertha Scheppelmann. Mrs. Edward Willer. Let I's Put a Slop to Pistol Carrying. The carrying of a pistol is premedi--tated murder the ' idea is to shoot somebody, otherwise .the lugging around of several pounds of metal is useless. The dangerous dog is killed, but the municipal law provides that the pistol bearing man and boy shall only be put in jaiL, Let this law be enforced. There are hundreds here wearing guns; jerk up an average crowd and ten per cent will found armed. Give the officers a tip that a . certain party is vio ating tbe law against carrying concealed weapons, let them investigate and whan sure. that tbe offender has a weapon on his' person, swoop down on him, in the middle of the street or any public place, disarm him and march him off to jaiL Make no distinction further than to go for the intelligent offender first and wind up with the more ignor ant. Let ns stamp out this kind of cowardice right now. If , there had been lugging around of pistols that innocent boyish life would have been saved yesterday. . r.