THE HATTIESBURG NE
HliOfflONl
EVERY INCH A
NEWSPAPER
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VOL. II. NO. 201
HATTIESBURG. MISSISSIPPI. WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. OCTOBER 21. 1908
PRICE FIVE CENTS
JUDGE TAYLOR
' IS STILL LIVING
Troops Are Rushed to Reelfoot Lake to Chase
Members of Murderous Mob.
Aged Lawyer Swam Lake
To Escape "Night Riders
Memphis, Tenn., October 21.—Judge Zack Taylor, taken from the
hotel at Walnut log, Tenn., the same night that Captain Quentin Ran
kin, his law partner, was lynched, has turned up alive near Tipton
ville, having escaped from the fishermen "night riders."
While the "night riders" were disputing as to haw he should be put
to deth, Judge Taylor tore away from the mob, plunged into the waters
of Reelfoot Lake and swam several hundred yards to safety.
A volley of shots was fired at the aged lawyer as he made his way
across the surface of the lake, but none of the bullets took effect. He
was completely exhausted when he reached the shore and says that It
was several hours before he could travel. He then made his way
through the woods toward Tiptonville, where he arrived this morning,
tired and sorefrom the long trudge through strange woods, to relate
the horrible details of his experience and the miserable fate of his
partner, Captain QuentinR ankin.
Judge Taylor says that he saw his partner swung up by the neck,
after which several shots were fired into his body.
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some time. Recently, however, they
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TO REELFOOT LAKE. ❖
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Sheriff Eastwood, of Ohion County,
and a large posse of armed men are
scouring the woods in search of the l
perpetrators of the crime and several
❖ TROOPS ORDERED
❖
♦
Hearst News Service.
Nashville, October
*> hundred militiamen, under com
❖ mand of Colonel W. C. Tatom,
❖ left this morning for Reelfoot
•> lake to assist in hunting down
❖ the "night riders" who lynched
❖ Colonel Taylor and Captain Ran
♦
21.—One ❖
<• kin.
•> •> <• •> •> <• ♦ o ❖ ❖ -j- <i •> <• •> o
Nashville, Tenn., October 21.—The
reward of Governor Patterson for the
capture and conviction of the "night
riders" responsible for the lynching
of Colonel R. Z. Taylor and Captain Q.
Rankin at Reelfoot Lake yesterday
morning will stand at $10,000. It Is
understood that a supplementary re
ward will be offered by the relatives
and friends of the murdered men.
Colonel Taylor was 60 years of age
and was one of the most popular mem
bers of the Tennessee bar. Captain
Rankin was also well known. Both
men resided at Trenton and excite
ment is running high in that vicinity.
arrests have already been made.
Manager Ward of the Walnut Log
Hotel, near Reelfoot Lake, says that
he can identify at least two of the
masked men who came to the hotel
and carried Colonel Taylor aqd Cap
tain Rankin into the woods.. It was
then directly after midnight Tuesday
morning and it is presumed that the
lynching occurred a few minutes
later.
The two lawyers had represented
a fishing club in contending for fish
ing privileges on the lake and It was
for this offense that the mob decided
to lynch them. They were carried to
the bank of Reelfoot Lake, where
Captain Rankin was hanged to the
limb of a tree and his body riddled
with bullets.
The lake separates Obion and Lake
counties in the extreme northwestern
corner of Tennessee. Numbers of the
residents In that neighborhood have
made their living for some time by
fishing in the lake and they became
indignant when what they claimed as
their "rights" were disturbed. They
made demands of the land company.
These were followed by threats.
Colonel Taylor desired the protec
tion, in some form, of the state, and
he secured the passage in the legisla
ture of an act regulating fishing on
Reelfoot lake. This act made it a
misdemeanor to fish in the lake with
out first paying a heavy penalty.
This only served to more thoroughly
arouse the fishermen.
Fearing trouble, Captain Rankin
and Colonel Taylor have remained
away from the vicinity of the lake for
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♦ THE DAILY NEW8
PROGNOSTICATOR. 4
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Washington, October 21.—For Mis
sissippi: Fair tonight and Thursday.
some time. Recently, however, they
heard that the feeling against' them
had somewhat subsided. There were
some legal papers at Walnut Log,
which needed attention, and the attor
neys went there yesterday to see
about them. Their presence w r as soon
made known to all of the fishermen,
and a band of men was quickly
formed. It is not known whether the
men were from Obion county or from
Lake county.
They lost no time, but proceeded
the hotel after the guests had retired
for the night, and quietly accom
plished their purpose.
A man named Powell, who hauls fish
from the "Log" to Hickman, is said to
have been forced to accompany the
mob which numbered about eighty
members. Powell had been stopping
at the hotel and when the riders called
everyone out and compelled them to
line up, Powell, Colonel Taylor, Cap
tain Rankin, and the surveyor, a man
named Carpenter, are said to have
been taken away, the others being per
mitted to return to their beds.
Powell states, it is said, that after
killing Rankin, a vote was taken re
garding the disposition to be made of
Taylor. During the dispute Taylor
made a dash and jumped into the
bayou, starting to swim across it. A
number of shots were fired at him, and
' n *be confusion Powell slipped away
:in u brought back the story of the es
cape, or attempted escape of Taylor.
Searchers found the trees on the
edge of the bayou clipped by bullets,
and there were deep footprints in the
mud along the shore. On the other
side of the bayou there was a single
footprint.
to
GULFPORT PLAN LIKELY TO BE
CARRIED OUT SUCCESSFULLY.
Believed That All the Railroads Will
Finally Join in An Agreement and
That Mississippi Will Have Export
Point of Her Own.
Daily News Special.
Jackson, October 21.—At its next
monthly meeting the Mississippi rail
road commission will again consider
the rates on cotton from various Mis
sissippi points to Gulfport, issued with
the view of making Gulfport an ex
porting point for the south's great
staple.
It is stated that the commissioners
have received a number of semi-offi
cial assurances from common carriers
that they will adopt the new rates
without protest and make them effec
tive at the time adopted by the com
mission.
Other roads, however, are very re
luctant about stating what they Intend
to do in the matter, but if a majority
of the lines agreed to adopt the rates
without legal protest, all will doubt
less do so.
The Gulfport Commercial Union has
given the assurance that it will have
ample, facilities provided for cotton
exports and if the plans now being
framed are carried to successful con
summation the bulk of Mississippi's
corn sold for export will doubtless go
to sea through her own harbor.
Herbert H. Henry, a prominent lum
berman or Gulfport, and now repre
senting Leatherburg & White, of Mo
bile, is In tl^e city today on business.
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Dr. William T. Bull, one of the most famous medical specialists who
is slowly dying of cancer.. Picture shows Dr. Bull as he appeared before
he was stricken. Mrs. Bull, who pas proven a tireless nurse to her dying
husband, is also shown in the picture
EIGHT LIVES LOST IN
SIMILAR ACCIDENTS
Chicago, October 21.—Four men
were cooked to death in the engine
room of the steam barge Maggie Mar
shal at a point on the lake thirty
miles east of Kenosha Monday night.
The men were in the compartment un
der the engine room when the steam
pipe burst. They were scalded to
death before the vessel could be towed
to land.
FUTURE LOOKS GOOD
TO THE LUMBERMEN
Almost every day brings cheering
news from the lumbermen of South
Mississippi. These letters have
reached our desk since Monday:
Gulfport—The Gulfport Sash, Door
and Blind Manufacturing Company
says: "We are running on full time
and the future looks good to us. We
have had 100 per cent, more inquiries
in thel ast fifteen days than in the
previous thirty days and have booked
50 per cent, more orders."
TORRO ADMITS THEFT\
PREFERRED TO STEAL
RATHER THAN DIE POOR
Hearst News Service.
Havana. Cuba, October 21.—La
Lucha, the leading Spanish paper of
Cuba, says: "Miguel De La Torro, ac
cused by Governor Magoon of the
theft of $190,000 from the treasury
of the Havana fiscal zone, admits that
IS UPHELD
Clarksburg, W. Va., October 21.—
Resolutions endorsing the stand of
Samuel Gompers in the advocacy of
the election of Bryan were passed
unanimously by the state convention
of the American Federation of Labor
in session here today.
Newburgh, N. Y., October 21.—Four
men of the crew of the Albany day
line steamer New York were burned
to death on board early this morning
and the vessel was totally destroyed
The fire started from an explosion
of a lamp. The pumps had been put
away in preparation for inspection and
it was impossible to stop the flames.
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Richton—Richton Lumber Company
says: "We are running and prospects
are improving."
Saratoga—A. J. Weems Lumber
Company: "The market is experienc
ing a gradual improvement and we
look for much belter prices in the next
thirty days. The present demand
is very good."
Bogalusa—H. A. Vaught & Co.: "We
are doing a fair business, but are
quoting higher prices."
he stole the money for his daughter,
and that he has placed it where it
cannot be recovered. Torro is suf
fering from Incurable cancer of the
liver and has not long to live. He
says that he prefered to steal rather
than leave his family in poverty."
TWO SENATORS
ELECTED TODAY
Montpelier, Vt., October 21.—The
Vermont legislature today elected W.
V. Dillingham to succeed himself in
the United States senate and chose
ex-Qovernor Carroll S. Page to fill out
the unexpired term of the late Senator
Redfield Proctor.
When a man isn't ashamed to talk
about earning his bread and butter,
generally it's worth earning.
BIG BUFFALO FACTORY
SEEKS BETTER LOCATION;
HATTIESBURG WANTS IT
Turks Do Battle
With Bulgarians
London, October 21.—A dispatch to j
a local news agency from Athens re
ports an engagement between Turkish
and Bulgarian troops at Djuina on the
HYDE
I
Suicide of Jeff Hyde Did Not Invali
date Insurance Carried
On His Life
SUPREME COURT HAS
RENDERED DECISION
of the Policy Must Be paid by the I
Verdict of the Jones County Circuit
Court Is Sustained and the Amount
Insurance Company.
Daily News Special.
Laurel, Miss., .October. 21.—Mrs.
Laura Hyde, of tills city, will be paid
$2,000 by the Home Life Insurance
Company in settlement of a policy
ried by her son, Jeff Hyde, who com
mitted suicide in a Meridian hotel a
year ago.
The insurance company contested
the payment of the policy on the
ground that it contained a clause re
voking its payment in the event of
the suicide of the insured during the
first year. The matter was decided
against the insurance company in the
Jones County circuit court and the
company appealed to the state su
preme court, which has just handed
down a decision upholding the action
of the lower tribunal.
car
HAINS EASE
Hearst News Service.
New York, October 21.—The
raignment of the Hains brothers was
delayed again today, when J. H. Mc
Intyre, . counsel for the defense de
murred to the double Indictment of T.
Jenkins Hains. Judge Garretson or
dered McIntyre and District Attorney
Darrin to prepare briefs which will be
submitted to the court Friday and he
will render his decision Monday, when
the Hains brothers will again be
brought before the court.
ar
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❖ POLITICAL POINTS
❖ IN THE DAY'S NEWS. •>
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❖ Three members of President <•
❖ Cleveland's cabinet spoke at Car- •>
❖ negie Hall In New Y'ork last 4
❖ night in the interest of Bryan ❖
❖ and Kern. They were: David 4
❖ Francis, of Missouri: Judson Har- 4
❖ mon, of Ohio, and Hilary A Her- 4
❖ bert, of Alabama. The enthus- •>
4 iasm was great. 4
❖ Taft will speak in New York. 4
❖ Ohio and Indiana from now until 4
❖ the election, according to an- 4
❖ nouncement of Chairman Hitch- 4
❖ cock. The Democratic forces 4
❖ will be marshaled in the same 4
❖ states.
❖ W. J. Bryan spoke at Louis- 4
❖ vllle last night after a trip 4
❖ through Indiana. He was given 4
❖ an ovation.
4 President Roosevelt will prob- 4
❖ ably make a speech for Taft and •>
❖ Hughes in' New York City on Oc- 4
❖ tober 30.
The New York World charges 4
❖ that Roosevelt granted an exclu- 4
4 sive franchise to the Standard 4
•> Oil Company to operate in the 4
❖ canal zone over the protest of 4
❖ Shonts.
4 Treasurer Shelton, of the Re- 4
❖ publican Committee, is said to be 4
❖ mixed up in the New York ice 4
❖ pool scandal. 4
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frontier. It is said that seventy Bul
garians and ten Turks were killed, !
No confirmation of this report can be
obtained from any source.
TREASURY
j
THIS IS THE UNPLEASING PROS
|
, , s
r Edwards has almost reached the ;
bottom of the treasury strong box, t
and unless coup, v tax collectors hustle !
e j
PECT PRESENTING ITSELF.
Jackson, October 21.—State Trea
v
!■"
up and send in some settlements th
nnual deficit will again become a j
troublesome question, and it will be i
on tile j
J
This prospective shortage is due to !
legislative shortsightedness in flgur
in S 011 Prospective receipts and expen- 1
ditures for the biennial period and, !
as no revenues of consequence can !
be expected from the various counties ;
until the latter part of the year, it is I
hard to see how a deficit can be
avoided. !
necessary to defer payment
state's warrants.
The county tax
opened their books for
year, but very few payments will be
made during the present month, a ma
jority of the taxpayers waiting until
the time limit has almost expired, and
this will be especially true this year
on account of the cotton holding move
ment among the farmers.
The recepits from county tax col
lectors during the early part of No
vember will probably be even smaller
than for the same month last year,
and even the December settlements
are likely to be very light. The heavi
est outstanding obligation to be made
before the close of the year is the an
nual distribution of the pension fund,
amounting to $350,000. The distribu
tion list has been almost completed,
but Auditor Smith will doubtless hold
up the issuance of warrants until ad
vised that there is a sufficient amount
of money in the treasury to meet the
warrants when they are returned from
the chancery clerks for payment.
Nearly all the funds now ih depos
itories in the various counties have
been withdrawn. The big volume of
tax payments will be made during the
month of December, settlements on
which will not reach the treasury un
til the first week in January.
In all of the counties the collectors
are issuing notices that they will visit
the various voting preeints with the
tax books during the next thirty days
for the purpose of meeting property
owners, but as a rule, these visits do
not accelerate payments, property
owners taking their own time about
it, and generally waiting until they
make their holiday visits to the coun
tv seats before squaring accounts with
the state.
collectors have
the current
SARATOGA
HOTEL
FIRE
Hearst News Service.
Saratoga, Miss., October 21.-—The
two-story frame hotel at this place
burned at 11 o'clock this morning. The
fire is supposed to have started in the
kitchen and the flames had gained
good headw-ay when discovered. The
entire structure, together with most
of its contents, was reduced to ashes
in less than thirty minutes.
Several guests were in the building,
but made their escape without dif
ficulty and none were Injured.
The hotel was erected by Captain
Rullis when the Gulf and Ship Island
Railroad was first constructed through
the town. On account of the splendid
mineral springs here he intended to
make the hotel a resort.
Owner of the Plant is Here to Con
fer With Citizens and the
Commercial Club.
TWO OTHER CITIES
ARE AFTER CONCERN
!
Boxes and Crates From Yellow Pine
May Be Manufactured Here—Con.
cern Also Makes Toys—Would Em
ploy a Large Number of Men.
On the invitation of the Commercial
Club, Mr. R. E. Williams, of Buffalo.
X. Y., is in the city today and is con
ferring with Secretary
Others with reference to the location
Larson and
of a large manufacturing plant in
the city of Hattiesburg.
The proposed plant
ture boxes, crates, and a large line of
novelties that are made from wood.
Mr. Williams owns the plant that he
|is thinking of moving to Hattiesburg
and it is now located in Buffalo, but
hp has found it necessary to move to
,!lP on account of the health
of his family. He first
manufacture boxes and
ill ntanufac
started
to
a
crates, but
novelty manufacturing plant
added, and now he is prepared to
afacture any kind of wooden novelty
that is used by the trade, such as dif
^ ort ' nt kinds of toys to some very use
' ll ' articles some of which are used
in building. He has modern maehln
H ■' aml wh< ' n a piece of timber is put
' n, ° a machine It comes out in a fin
| s b f, d state thereby, with labor-sav
' 11R devises, making the cost much
' css 'ban when the work is done large
Iy by- hand.
The plant will employ at least forty
hands. Mr. Williams is not asking for
a bonus and has fully decided to lo
cate in one of three places—Hatties
burg. Houston. Tex., or Sherman, Tex.
He does not intend to consider any
other locations and one of the three
places will get the enterprise,
stated that Houston, Tex., offers a
bonus of Jinn for each hand emploved
in a manufacturing concern that lo
cates there, but it is known that Hat
tiesburg's advantages will more than
offset this.
was
man
It is
For instance, the plant
can use a great deal of the refuse
lumber that is now burnt at the saw
mills and which can be obtained for
nothing at this place,
situated right in the midst of the
kind of timber—pine—that is mostly
used in the manufacture of the facto
ry's products, and sufficient hard
wood timber can be easily obtained.
Secretary Larson has had
respondence with Mr. Williams
when (he latter read of the advantages
that would accrue in locating the plant
at Hattiesburg, he decided
and investigate for himself and
he is well pleased with the outlook,
and while he hasn't said that he would
locate here, yet he is well pleased and
it is hoped that this will be his final
decision. He can be assured that he
will receive a cordial and hearty wel
come and that he will be locating In
one of the best and most healthful
places in the South.
It w-ould be
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some cor
and
to come
he
RAGING IN
OIL FIELD
Hearst New- Service.
Sault Ste Marie, Mich., October 21.
—Hundreds of residents of this dis
trict who have been fighting forest
fires for the past several weeks are to
day depending on predictions
rains to stay the flames.
A high gale has spread the flames
in all directions.
Sugar Island, with a population of
1,000, is reported to be on fire from
end to end and it is feared that many
lives will be lost.
Many small towns are surrounded
by flames.
of
OIL FIELD ON FIRE.
Hearst News Service.
Wheeling, W. Va., October 21.—A
terrific forest fire is sweeping over
a large area near Decker Station and
as the water iB scarce the loss' will
be enormous. The fire is in the oil ter
ritory, which it is feared will be swept
clean of all tanks and derricks.