Pwewport Daily Independent.
f VOLUME IV. NEWPORT. ARKANSAS, FRIDAY. SEPTEMBER 23. 1904. NUMBER 128.
GREGORY GIVES
JURY HIS STORY.
Swears That Mrs. Lightle Knew
Her Husband Was Not Dead
And Paid Money to Rob
erts, Also to Wit
ness.
' v -
Judsonia, Sept. 22.—The trial
of ex-May or John V. Roberts of
Searcy on a charge of violating
t grave may not conclude be
e Monday. A jury has been
*tluled and five witnesses for
the prosecution have been exam
ined, and much more remains to
be done, as there are scores of
witnesses.
Among those whose evidence
was given today was Walter
Gregory, who turned state’s evi
dence, upon whose testimony,
principally, Dr. R. G. Lightle
was convicted at Searcy. Gre
gory’s testimony was quite as
' sensational today as it was a few
weeks ago at Searcy. He was
on the stand more than two
hours, and detailed exhaustively
the circumstances which he de
clared attended the robbery of
Ed Pitts’ grave and the subse
quent palming off the remains
for the body of Dr. R. G. Ligh
tle, in order that insurance to
the amount of $21,000 on the lat
ter’s life might be collected.
Gregory swore that he collected
certain sums of money from
Mrs. Lightle, wife of Dr. Ligh
tle, ih Little Rock. His state
ment elicited smiles from Mrs.
Lightle, who was in the court
, room. Gregory also swore that
* Jie received letters from Dr.
Lightle When the latter was in
Georgia. vAll this was after the
disappearance of Dr. Lightle
from Searcy and the payment of
the insurance money on the poli
cies carried by him.
BIG CROWDS AT TRIAL.
Every boarding house and ho
tel is taxed to its capacity and
the farmers of this section have
quit their work to attend the
trial.
The defense has thirty wit
nesses and the state twenty-four.
A spirited colloquy between Gus
tave Jones and P. R. Andrews
took place as to certain wit
nesses being put under the rule.
Mr. Jones wanted the insurance
agents excluded from the court
room, as they were taking an ac
tive part in the prosecution.
OPENING STATEMENTS.
Mr. Brundidge made the open
ing statement for the state, out
lining what they expected to
prove and picturing in a pathetic
way the scenes around the grave
the day Doctor Lightle was sup
posed to have been buried. The
insurance companies were not
hounding the defendant but only
doing their duty to their policy
holders in a case of fraud like
this, and if they didn’t, they
l ought to be put out of business.
I Judge Stuckey outlined the de
tense in an eloquent manner,
saying that he did not want to
prejudice the jury by referring
to flowers and funerals. He did
not propose to establish how
Pitts' body came to be in Doctor
Lightle’s barn but the evidence
of a perjured villain (referring to
Gregory) was not to be credited.
GREGORY’S SENSATIONAL TESTI
MONY.
After several of the insurance
men had testified as to the poli
cies carried by Lightle and the
attempt of Roberts to get insur
ance payable to his friend, Wal
ter Gregory was called and came
into the court room laughing.
He said he knew Roberts and
Lightle. He worked in Newport
for some time. Witness said
Lightle told him he had $21,000
insurance, and if they could get
a body they would burn the body
and collect the insurance. Wit
ness met Lightle next in Roberts’
office. They figured on a body in
Little Rock. Roberts said Kirk
land thought a negro could get
them a body. Witness ’told of
how they went to the cemetery,
robbed Pitts’ grave, got the body,
put it in the buggy and carried it
i to the barn of Dr. Lightle, robed
in a quilt. A fresh grave was
prepared and the body buried in
the dirt and lime. The lantern
was under a bucket. Kay Deen
er met witness next morning and
asked what they were doing in
the cemetery, and witness re
ported it to Roberts and Lightle.
Witness and Lightle prepared
the body the evening of the fire.'
He saw Lightle at church, and
the doctor said he was going to
pull off the fire that night, and
was going to tell some one he
had to fill up the lamp. Witness
took a note to Mrs. Lightle from
Roberts in Little Rock and called
at Mr. Fones’ residence. Mrs.
I Lightle paid witness $240 and
i sent $1,000 to Roberts, wrapped
: in naDers.
“Mrs. Lightle knew her hus
band was not dead,” said the
witness, “and got letters from
him.”
Witness got a letter from the
doctor while he was in Clayton,
Ga., and Mr. Roberts also got
letters. The state made over
tures to witness and promised to
be lenient with him.
GREGORY CROSS-EXAMINED.
The defense then took the wit
ness, who said he had been in
Hot Springs, Little Rock and oth
er places, at the expense of the
insurance companies. Witness
remained in jail only one night,
then turned state’s evidence,
gave bond, and went to Hot
Springs with Burton, an insur
ance detective, until the Lightle
trial. Witness and Burton made
a trip to Lake Village and Arkan
sas City. Witness clerked at
Varner, Searcy and in Jackson
county.
Mr. Pace apd Mr. Andrews
had a warm codoquy regarding
questions concerning the occupa
tion of witness. Mr. Jones asked
witness why he went to Hot
Springs. Gregory said he went
I to see the state convention, and
| Mr. Jones asked him if he didn’t
i go there as a paid detective to
| find out whether Congressman
Brundidge rode on a pass, at the
| instance of W. A. Oldfield of
1 Batesville. Mr. Andrews object
i ed to the question, and twenty*
minutes’ wrangling followed,
Mr. Andrews saying he wanted a
subpoena issued for Mr. Oldfield
at once. Mr. Brundidge remark
ed that if Oldfield had asked him
he could have told him. Witness
said Deener paid his expenses to
Hot Springs.
“Is it not a fact,” said Mr.
Jones, “that you agreed to get a
body for Lightle for a certain
sum?”
“No, it is not,” said witness.
Mr. Andrews and Mr. Jones
engaged in some wrangling at
this juncture, and Judge Smith
said: “Go on with your examina
tion.”
“I want you to face the jury,”
said Mr. Jones to witness. Wit
ness said he went to Little Rock
to see Mrs. Lightle, who gave
witness $10. Witness called at
the postoffice and got a letter
from Dr. Lightle, who was in
Clayton, Ga. Witness said he
got $240 at another time from
Mrs. Lightle.
.
LETTER FROM GREGORY TO MRS. i
LIGHTLE.
A letter was read from Greg- j
. I
ory to Mrs. Lightle, which was
as follows:
“Searcy, July 23, 1904.
“Mrs. R. G. Lightle,
Little Rock:
“Dear Friend—I am expecting
to leave here some time next
week, and if you can I would
like to get our little business set
tled up before I leave. I will be
in Little Rock some time the first
of next week and will see you
then. One of the fellows that I
told you about has left, and I
think we are all right now.
“Your friend,
“Walter Gregory.”
Gregory was excused, after be
ing examined two hours and for
ty minutes.
Kay Deener was the next wit
ness. He said there were three
persons in the cemetery, but he
did not know who they were.
Witness saw Roberts on the
street next day and guyed him
about “burying a stiff” or get
ting a corpse, and Dr. Lightle
called him into his office and talk
ed the matter over with him.
Witness and Roberts had had
a conversation after the burn
ing of Pitts’ body and he had
asked him where his part of the
money was.
Mrs. Lightle was in the court
room this evening and listened
to Gregory testify. She smiled
at times when questions torch
ing her alleged connection with
the case were answered by him.
WORK FORESHADOWS
FUTURE GREATNESS.
The White River line is now
carrying freight as far as Yel
ville and the facilities of the Iron
Mountain at Newport are being
increased to prepare for the
opening of the White River line
to Joplin and then to Kansas
City.
Newport will then become an
important main line terminal
point for all business over the
White River road and also a di
vision point on that line.
Besides the $20,000 freight de
pot here which will have a cov
ered platform 1000 feet long, an
inclined track w ill be run to the
river wharf and the park prop
erty just north of the depot will
probably be improved.
TO ESTABLISH HERE
HEBREW MISSION CHURCH.
Rabbi Alfred T. Godshaw, of
Cincinnati, was in the city Fri
day and will make an effort to
establish a Hebrew congregation
.and Sunday school in this city.
Mr. Godshaw represents the
American Hebrew cpngregation,
which is establishing missions, or
circuit work through the coun
try, and these smaller congrega
tions may be supplied from the
city or larger congregations.
These schools and congrega
tions are organized and supported
by the American Board for the
purpose of holding the Jewish
people together, and those that
do not'have the privileges that
stronger congregations are able
to maintain for themselves.
MILLINERY OPENING
SPECIALS.
_
As usual the Ready-to-Wear |
Hats will be a strong feature for
early business. We only buy
them from the best makers, and j
when you get a hat from here, I
no matter what price, it is full of
style and void of all the cheap
factory look. Tuesday, Septem
ber 27 at
28d4d Mrs. Etta Merrill’s.
' Read the Daily and Weekly
Independent
___■
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Newport, Ark.
PROMPT SETTLEMENT
OF INSURANCE CLAIM.
Weldon, Ark., July 30, 1904.
To Whom it May Concern:
This is to certify that we had
our church house insured against
fire and wind in the American
Insurance Company of Little
Rock, Ark., and the house was
blown over in a storm. The
company very prompty put it
back at large expense in better
condition and stronger than it
was before the storm. We
thank the American Insurance
Company for its promptness in
replacing our church to our en
tire satisfaction, and we recom
mend the company to those who
have houses to insure.
Mount Hebron Baptist Church
By W. M. Green,
J. T. Rigge,
Wm. Barker,
Trustees.
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And it will be there when you
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money to us you may be sure of
every courtesy and that your
business will be handled by mod
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Arkansas Bank and Trust Co.
Capital $100,000.
•
OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS.
J. W. Grubbs, President. Nathan Graham, V.-Pres.
Chas. G. Henry, Cashier.
B. B. Bond, M. D. Campbell, S. D. Campbell,
G. D. Clements, R. F. Drummond, W. D. McLain,
F. D. Fulkerson, C. J. Saenger, Abe Heilegers,
0. D. Watson, L. Minor. L. E. Willis,
J. S. Wilmans.
THE BANK OF NEWPORT
I
Solicits the acccounts of depositors who desire
the accommodations of a first-class, well
equipped and reliable banking house.
OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS.
Geo. W. Decker, President. R. M. Johnson, Cashier.
A. D. Bailey, Vice Pres’t. T. D. Kinman, Ass’t Cashier.
Thos. J. Graham. Ed. P. Shoffner. J. T. Henderson.
Jos. M. Stayton. Dr. J. M. Jones. T. S. Stephens.
jack Herron
For Granitoid and Stone Walks,
Curbing, all kinds of Brick Work.
Don’t fail to get my figures
before contracting.
My Work Talks For Itself
Parties wanting crushed Lime
Stone Walks apply to me.
Henry Owen,
Physician, Surgeon
and Oculist.
Office - - Sells’ Drug Store.
p
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