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THE HATTIESBURG NEWS \ VOLII, -NO. 258 HATTIESBURG. MISSISSIPPI, TUESDAY AFTERNOON, DECEMBER 29. 1908. t SINGLE COPY 5 CENTS * 1 j i 0 Adam Lott is Seriously Wounded and Bedford Roberts is in Jail at Purvis. CHRISTMAS FIREWORKS PROVOKED THE DUEL; * BothMen Are Prominent and the Af fair Has Created Considerable Ex Citsment—Full Details of the De ptorable Shooting. s (By HARPER DUNN.) Sumrall, Miss., Dec. 29.—A sensa tional shooting affray occurred here at 7 o'clock this morning, when Bedford Roberts emptied the contents of a shot gun into the body of Adam Lott. The charge took effect in Lott's side and he is seriously injured, though the wound is not believed to be fatal. Rob erts was arrested and carried to the Lamar county jail at Purvis. The trouble is said to have arisen over the shooting of fireworks in front of Roberts ' barbershop last night. The parties to the tragedy had some words at that time, but it was thought that their differences had been settled. When Roberts cam£ to fyis place of business this morning, accompanied by his wife and children, from the residence of his brother-in-law, T. G. Johnson, he brought a double-barreled shotgun along with him, passing Lott's meat market. Lott, noticing this, went directly to Roberts' shop and asked him to come out on the street to settle the matter, using some offensive language, and Roberts opened fire. The charge struck Lott in the right side of his chest. It is said that the gun was loaded with bird shot, and it is to this fact that Lott probably oyg his life. The two men are highly respected citizens of this comnunity. They were, on he besNof *rms up to yes terday, when sX^al boys began shooting fireworks m front of Roberts' barbershop and Lott's market, the two buildings adjoining each other. Roberts complained that the noise was annoying and Willie Lott, a brother of the wounded man, continued to shoot fireworks, declaring it to bo the. privilege of the boys to use the streets for that purpose. Adam Lott defend ed his younger brother and he and Roberts had pretty warm words, it is said. Roberts was placed under arrest soon after the shooting this morning by Deputy Sheriff Robbins and was carried to the county Jail at Purvis to remain until arrangements can be made for a preliminary trial, which- is expected to be held in a few days. Before leaving for Purvis, Roberts said to a News correspondent that he was justified in shooting Lott and ex pressed the opinion that he would have no trouble in demonstrating as much to the court. Pr. J. R. Anderson dressed the wounds of Lott and says that he does not believe they will prove fatal. * » RAINS' WIFE NOT ON BOAT Flushing, L. I., Dec. 29.—John Tier ney, ashgather, in testifying in the Halns defense this morning, swore that Mrs. William E. Annis, wife of ,the victim of Capt. P. C. Hains, re volver, was not on the float at the time of the shooting. S. C. Reid, mem ber of the construction department of the United States navy stationed at San Francisco, told of the effect of the letters of Claude Halns to her hus band and said that Halns' conduct was not rational. / Frank H. Hitchcock & Summoned to Augusta to Republicanize South I j SR v Ayr ' * •• * 1 , I 8s£>rt I m 'Mit ram ' WMm mmM i it] vJJbK >•* il fj I & ft * f; / Krs FRANK H. HITCHCOCK. Augusta, Ga., Dec. 29.—Frank" H. Hitchcock has been summoned to Au gusta for a conference with President elect Taft to devise plans for the spread of Republicanism in the South. John Hays Hammond, president of ATLANTA TO ENTERTAIN PRESIDENT-ELECT TAFT Augusta, Ga., Dec. 29.—Atlanta is to possess President-elect Taft from 1 o'ctock Friday o'clock the next day. A big feature of his visit will be a banquet Friday night at which Taft will be the chief speaker. Aboqt one hundred representative Southerners will attend the dinner, January 15, until 3 ENTERPRISE ASSASSIN IS STILL UNIDENTIFIED Enterprise, Miss., Dec. 29.—The murderer of H. J. Brown is still known for certain, but the citizens and officers are still hard at work on the A negro by the name of Ad Hardaway was placed under about dark yesterday evening, and Deputy Sheriff W. T. Davis and J. H. Willis started at once with the for Quitman, where he could be plac ed in the county jail for safe-keeping. About three miles from this place they were overtaken by a crowd of known men, overpowered and the pris oner taken from them. During the night for some unknown cause, the was released, after having been put through rigid" questioning to elicit a confession. case. arrest negro negro There is a chain of strong circum stances connecting Hardaway with the homicide. In order to make a thorough investigation of the matter Judge Buckley ordered his arrest, and sent him to the county Jail. An investigation of the facts will t^ke place Wednesday before Justice the National League of Republican Clubs, will also take part in the ference. Taft clubs will be formed In many sections of the South. It Is said that Mr. Hitchcock will arrive today. that every section of the South may be represented. Thej^isit may be the occasion fot an eli rate celebration when it is hoped to give Judge Taft an oppor tuViity to give a message to the entire South under appropriate conditions. Taft said that his stay on the Is thmus is liable to be a week. , H. R. Ward. There are two parties now in jail, both negroes—Henry Tal Ar. Hardaway—who and | strongly spspicioned as being the guil ty parties. son a re PRESIDENT LEWIS ISSUES HIS CALL Indlaapolis, Dec. 29.—T. L. Lewis, International president of the United Mine Workers, has issued the official call for the twentieth annual tion of the- miners, which v#il] be held here, January 19 . ' conven CONVENTION MEETS. Atlanta, Dec. 29.—The first session of the Southern Educational Conven tion was held in the First Methodist church this morning with delegates presetft from every Southern state. ❖❖❖❖❖❖000000000000 * NIGHT-RIDER trial HALTED BY ILLNESS. ❖ ♦ ♦ ❖ ❖ ❖ Union City, Tenu., Dec. 29.— •> ❖ The sudden illnetk of Arthur C. •> ❖ Cloar, one of th® defendants In •> the night rider cases, caused a ❖ ❖ suspension of the trial yesterday ❖ j ❖ afternoon. •> The state had. completed its <• ❖ testimony and rested their case. * :• The defense put jt wo witnesses ❖ ❖ on the stand. ' ❖ Both dented apv connection t* ❖ with the night rM$i s and gave a 0 ❖ circumstantial ❖ whereabout on unt of their 0 night of the 0 ❖ murder of Captain Rankin. *•*. The defense l^d the founds- 0 ❖ tion for a complete alibi and ❖ the defend- •> ❖ proposed to put ❖ ants on the sta ❖ ❖ * * ♦ ❖❖❖❖❖♦❖❖ FE 'S Popular Railroad Conductor Whose Throats Was Cut By Negro Papsenger. STILL IN HOSPITAL; NEGRO HAS ESCAPED -t Rumor Is Current at Hr Was "Lost i bile Others Be- ! in the Swamp, lieve That Officers Have Spirited & • Him Away in Fear of Mob Violence. I Information comes that Conductor Sid Ferguson, who was *o seriously cut in the throat by a negro on a North eastern train the latter part of last week, is still in a precarious condition, though be is thought to be improving some. He is at the New Orleans Sanitarium and is-receiving the best of attention. The wound made waj, really more serious than was fj gash made by half around his' throat, but failed to thought. The negro's knife went prove fatal on account of being too high up, and striking the jaw bone. It is not now expected that Mr. Ferguson can possibly be out under ten days. His health was already bad, and he was just making his first after a stay with his sister, Mrs. J, W. Bolton, of this city, who is now with I him. run He was urged by his sister not to go back to work until he got spell of grip from which he was suf fering, but he knew the holidays were then coming on and that the would need its oldest and most experi enced men to take care of the large crowds that w r ould be traveling, and for this reason he went back to work, though he had not recovered from his indisposition. His many Hattiesburg friends hope that he will soon recover from the awful wound that he re ceived. over a road The whereabout of the negro who so nearly ended Mrj Ferguson's life is not definitely known, lhat he is at Slidell, and another place is mentioned where he might be in jail, but others affirm that the crowd that found him "lost" swamp. in Some say him in the ♦ ❖❖❖❖V0«0000<.®0® ♦ THE DAILY NEW8 ♦ , ❖ ❖❖❖❖❖00000000000 ❖ PROGNOSTICATOR. 0 % v\> x & Y t 0 Washington, D. C., Dee. 29.—Ffl Mississippi: Rain tonight and Wednl day. 75,000 DEAD IN 'QUAKE Greatest Disaster in History of the World Has Left Death and Destruction.-King Victor Leave For Scene to Render Aid. ❖ SALOONS MUST CLOSE ON DECEMBER 30. ❖ 0 ❖ 0 0 ❖ Jackson, Miss., Dec. 29.—Attor- ❖ ❖ ney General Stirling this after- ❖ ❖ noon rendered an official opinion ❖ ❖ interpreting the enforcing clause •> ❖ of the new statutory prohibition ❖ ❖ law, and declared that the s<* ❖ saloons must close their doors ❖ ❖ and quit business on the night of v ❖ Wednesday, December 30, in- ❖ ❖ stead of Thursday night. Orders •> ❖ for the enforcement of the law ❖ ❖ in accordance with his opinion ❖ ❖ have been issued. ❖ •j® •$» ••• ••• *$» .j. *♦« STEEL TRUST WILL BUILD i ! Hearst News Service. I Milwaukee, Dec. 29.—The United States steel corporation is planning to build a $10,000,000 town at head of Lake Superior, about six miles from Superior and Duluth, similar to Gardy, Ind. The corporation some time ago announced its intention of building steel mills near Superior at a cost of about $5,000,000, but since then it has decided to build a model town around the mills and construct a railroad to connect the corporation's Minnesota rnnge mines with the through rail road lines to Chicago and Milwaukee. By this plan, it is said, the concern will save the expense of shipping un worked ore to the Pittsburg region and will instead be able to ship finished s t ee l to the West or the East. About a year ago the company purchased several thousand acres of land for the I new Plant, TEN KILLED IN ENSLEY I Hearst News Service. Birmingham, Ala., Dec, 29.—Twa dead bodies have been recovered and eight more are known to be buried in the immense cave-iu of the trench at the blast furnace at the Ensley plant last night. Two foremen and several laborers were injured. The most of the dead were foreign It ers. The men were working in a ditch about eight feet below the surface when a mechanical carriage used to haul dirt from the excavation broke and the beam fell on the concrete retaining wall. The entire wall toppled over on the men and with it tons of loose •th. .escue was made difficult on ac nt of .the large quantity of gas Into the excavation a the gas flue which was broken n the-wall fell. !ch flowed t THREE MEN KILLED. Irthage, Ind., Dec. 29,-VThree men I killed and two badly injured ft two freight trains collided on Big Four Railroad near this place norning. ROME, ITALY, December 29.'- It is stated this afternoon the latest returns and best estimates that at least 75,000 lost their lives in yesterday's earthquake and tidal This may be increased. on per sons wave. King Victor Emanuel has departed lor Sicily to personally assist in the work ol relief. It is reported that hundreds ol men. women and children w 3 re buried alive. Thousands threatened by starvation. are now This disaster is said to be the worst in the history of the world. COPLON HAS FAILED FOR i f Doors ol Well Known Mercantile Establishment Failed to Open This Morning. ' J. EDGAR DAVIS IS NAMED AS ASSIGNEE _ . Stock Is Said to Invoice About One Fourth of the Liabilities—List of the j _ ... Creditors Has Not Been Made Pub I lie. Considerable surprise was occasion ed in Hattiesburg this mot !t 7 7 ned lhat S - "' Cop -^ ' a ! prominent dry goods merchants^.the citj, had made a general assignment. "VT' 8 ' n the CaSC Wer<? tileJ i «ith the chancery clerk this morning, and the schedule of liabilities was withdrawn temporarily. of t 8 Un ^ er8t00d that the liabilities . 2 '. OOO An n . are , T e s ,2 °'° 00 and 77 , A " 7 , S '° Ck haS not yet been taken, but it is believed i of h *5.1 l 00. Wi11 be ,he neiShborhoori I XT ' , „ ™ ' 8 of ,lle Indebtedness is outside of the city and two Louisville, j largest TeVo7-7eT M.'Robinson Xonoi, A Co., and a bouse J m,. t ip ™ v Mr. J. e. Davis has been named as the assignee-and has filed a bond of $5,250. ' | of a j ing when The assignment is a general one| and there are no preferred creditors. It is the purpose to have the stock sold in bulk if this can be arranged; otherwise it will go at retail. The assignment of Mr. Coplon entirely unexpected by the general public. He has been doing a fine busi ness, to all appearances, and he had fine location—the George building the corner of Main and Front streets. It is said that the purchase of land by Mr, Coplon, in which a judg ment was secured against him in the chancery court, greatly embarrassed him and but for this he might have continued business. was at some When Mr. Coplon came here a few years ago he started business in a l small way and afterwards moved to nis present stand where it was be lieved, until the assignment came this morning that he was doing a lucrative business. Hearst News Service. Romo. Italy, Dec. 29,-Yesterday' disaster was the worst in the history of Italy. Reports from the to the vessels, - coast are ffect that as many as 700 together with their crews, were lost. The Austrian steamer Buda i was among the number, having been pounded to pieces against the rocks. In several cities huge granite columns, which have witstood centuries, tot.ter support were the ravages of time for ' ed and fell as If their made of mud. The property loss will run into millions and destroyed placed. The nation is many orks of art have been which can never be re today bending effort toward the relief of th populace. every e stricken The Vatican is lending its aid. The dead are being buried in huge trenches and thousands of them will never be identified. Hearst News Service. j Rome - Dee - 29.—The three provinces of Cozenza. Cantanzaro and I Calabri Reggi d! m. comprising the Department of Calabria, which forms the south western extremity of Italy or "the toe of the boot," were devastated yester earthquake, the far-reachtng felt almost day by an effects of which ! The town of Messina, in Sic.lv was partially destroyed and Cantania was Inundated. i In Messina hundreds of houses have fallen.and many persons have been killed. Owing, however to the fac that telegraphic and telephonic com munlcatlons were almost completed des,roj - ei >' Impossible to obtain SVen an a PPro*imate idea of the vast i damage done I The fate of entire regions within the zone of the earthquake is unknown but reports received here j hour tonight Indicate that the hav iTlifoTnd 7 d ° RtrUC,lon ^ The uncertainty of the situation for many thousands has d „ , f with th a . 81 Itallans ' ,he dep P pst distress, for they still | have fear that the day may come when part of the country which seems to have been most blessed by nature will be destroyed by the blind forces of that same nature which nearly inie teen centuries ago overwhelmed Pom peii and Herculaneum. All reports show that the present catastrophe embraces a larger area j than the earthquake in 1905. w*ere througout the entire country. up to a late many years. that AMERICAN FLEET CANAL Hearst News Service. Suez, Dec. 29.—The American battle ship fleet, under the command of Ad miral Sperry, today entered the Red The fleet will arrive here on sea. January 3.