Court Quashes
License Publication
On Ground That Published List
of Petitioners Did Not Con
tain all Petition Signers.
At 3:15 o’clock Wednesday af
ternoon, after nearly two hours
of argument by counsel, Judge
C. II. Coe quashed the proof of
publication in the petition for
license in the city of Newport
and thus ended the court contest
upon the present petition unless
another publication be made set
ting forth all the names in the
license petition.
What course the applicants fo
license will pursue, is not known,
but the action of Judge Coe
will probably mean that Newport
will continue dry, unless the Go
ing act is held unconstitutional
by the courts .
The validity of the publication
of the license petition had been
attacked upon several grounds
chief of which was that some of
the names of petitioners, who
were found to be living outside
of the city limits, had not been
published in the list of signers.
The result came as a surprise
to the crowd present, who were
cautioned by the court not to
manifest their approval or dis
pleasure. Attorney Grant ask
ed for a re-hearing, but the court
refused to entertain such a mo
tion and stated that he could
only proceed further upon re
publication of the petition in ac
cordance with his construction
of the law.
The petitioners for license won
first blood in the ruling of the
court that the addresses furnish
ed in the various petitions con
form to the requirements of the
law, which has made the con
test for license a spectacular
fight in all the leading cities of
the state.
Every inch of the way was close
ly contested by opposing counsel
and the interest taken in the is
sue is plainly shown in the
crowd of men and women, who
attended the opening session ot
court Wednesday morning.
Court was convened promptly at
9 o’clock by Judge C. B. Coe and
to accommodate cousel and spec
tators, the hearings are bei
held in the circuit court room.
G. L. Grant and Judge M. M.
Stuckey represent the petition
ers and for the prohibitionists,
Phillips, Hillhouse & Boyce,
Jones and Campbell are attor
neys.
The first move made was a de
murrer entered by remonstrants
to the petition, comprising foui
points:
1 That, net it ion does not
comply with the law ns to signa
tures of witnesses, where party
could not write his or her name
2. That postoffice addresses
of petitioners are not given.
3. That the forty-one peti
tions do not contain affidavit,
that each petitioner signed in
presence of witnesses, who car
ried petitions.
4. That pet itioners’ names as
published do not give postoffice
address of signers and witnesses.
Judge Phillips opened the ar
gument in support of the demur
rer, reviewing the various points
of same and giving the author
ity which lay with the county
judge in granting or refusing li
cense.
C,. L. Grant replied in a spirit
ed manner, contending that re
monstrants had established none
of the grounds upon which a de
murrer must stand.
Gustave Jones followed with
the contention that the law in
requiring the publication of the
postotfice addresses of petition
ers presupposes the same re
quirements for the petitions.
G- A. Hillhouse stressed the
point that the law and common
sense demand street addresses,
be given and that in refusing to I
comply with this requirement,
petitioners merely sought to
throw the burden of proof upon
remonstrants.
Judge Stuckey stated that un
der the law all petitions were re
garded as one petition and that
one petition in following the re
quirements of the remonstrants,
removed their ground tor demur
rer. He further attacked the
constitutionality of the Going
act, as violating Amendment
XIV of the federal constitution,
because a negro’s right of peti
tion is abridged and other citi
zens are disqualified as witness
es because the law would give
this privilege to a special class.
He further argued that nine
tenths of the people of this city
get their mail addressed to
Newport, Arkansas.
Judge E. L. Boyce made a
strong argument for contention
of remonstrants, declaring that
the county judge being an ad
ministrative officer in a case of
this character, must follow the
letter of the law, that this court
had no right to pass upon the
constitutionality of the law, and
that petitioners had no right to
attack it, when their proceeding
was brought under its provis
ions. He held that three-fourths
of our people get their mail at
our people get their mail at their
their homes or stores and that
this constitutes thepostoffice ad
dress. He cited the publications
made in Pine Bluff and Little
Kock, as snowing tnese address
es must be given and declared
that the failure of petitioners to
do so, was because they did not
dare to give the addresses of
many of the signatures.
Mr. Grant answered the last
speaker upon the right of the
county court to pass upon the
constitutionality of the act, to
which Judge Phillips replied
Judge Coe then made his rul
ing that Newport, Arkansas,
constituted the postoflice ad
dress of the petitioners and
complied with the law in a city
of this class, where most mail is
addressed to residents that way.
The court in overruling this
part of the demurrer, upon which
remonstrants had centered their
attack, did not pass upon any
other issue raised or contain
ed in the demurrer.
With this much progress made,
the next point raised was as to
the validity of the publication of
the names of petitioners. At
torneys for remonstrants filed a
motion to quash the purported
proof of publication, on grounds
that the pubished list did not
contain all the names upon the
petition and that it also con
tained names not upon the peti
tion. P. II. Van Dyke, as pub
lisher of the Independent, in
which paper (he petition had
been published, was used as a
witness to establish what list
of names had been published.
T. P. Umsted and R. T- Sim
mons were also examined upon
the points involved in this mo
tion to quash the proof of pub
lication and before the issue had
been argued, court adjourned for
the noon recess until 1:510 o’
clock.
Attempt Made At Wynne.
Wynne, Jan. 27.—An unsuc
cessful attempt to enter the
vault of Wynne Bank and Trust
Company was made last night.
It is supposed that the would-be
robbers were frightened away.
The only thing missed from the
bank is a revolver. The robbers
gained entrance by prying open
the front door. A small hole
about seven inches deep was
drilled into the wall beside the
vault door. A print of a finger
and of a palm was left on the
wall, the only clue. The escape
was made through the back
window. A small watchmakers’
shop was entered also but noth
ing of value taken.
Blew Safe
Secure $5,000
Bob Bank At Humphrey And
Get Away In Mysterious
Manner.
Stuttgart, Jan. 27.—Five men
blew open the safe in the bank
of Humphrey, Arkansas, with
nitroglycerine early this morn
ing and escaped with nearly $5,
000. Humphrey is 15 miles west
of this city on the Cotton Belt
railroad. The vault was wreck
ed.
T. J. Carr, proprietor of the
hotel, and Dr. Bunn were arous
ed by the explosion- They were
ordered back to their homes at
the point of a revolver and kept
under guard until the robbers
were ready to leave.
Before blowing the safe, the
men broke a window in the sta
tion and cut all telegraph cables
and also cut all telephone wires,
leaving the town without com
munication. In addition, they
had made a barricade between
the bank and the business sec
tion and would have been able
to hold off other citizens had
they been aroused. The build
ing, a one-story brick, was bad
ly damaged.
The robbers made a clean “get
a-way”. It is not even known
which way they went.
The bank was left without any
funds. Cashier E. B. Stbkes to
dav made arrangements to se
cure money from Pine Bluff.
This was delivered to him this
afternoon and the bank will con
tinue business.
The loss was covered by in
surance- A reward has been of
fered for the capture of the rob
bers.
This robbery is similar to that
of the bank at Gillet, Arkansas,
several weeks ago.
A Thief In Matter of Love
Special to Independent.
Little Rock, Jan. 27.—“You are
quite a thief, for you stole my
love from Frank before I knew
it." This is an excerpt from
one of the numerous love-letters
introduced in Federal court in
the trial of the suit brought by
Frank Withers of Memphis a
gainst James H. Pryor, Sr., the
president of the Ashley County
Bank at Hamburg, for damages
in the sum of $60,000 for the a
lienation of the affections of
Mrs. Withers- This letter was
dated July 29, last, after the
separation of Mr. and Mrs.
Withers.
Mrs. Withers is a beautiful
woman of about 25 or 30, while
Mr. Pryor is more than twice
her age. The letters that pass
ed between them, many of
them read in court, are full of
the most endearing terms, and
she is frequently addressed as
“My Darling Myrtle.”
One of the lines of the defense
is an allegation that Mr. Withers
and his wife entered into a con
spiracy to extort money from
Pryor. The case is being heard
by Judge Trieber without a
jury.
Texas Nine To Tour.
Austin, Tex., Jan. 28.— The
University of Texas will make
its first invasion of the Missis
sippi Valley during the coming
baseball season, it was announc
ed today. Scheduled games in
clude: April 27, Westminister
College, Westminister, Mo.; A
pril 28-29, University of Missou
ri, Columbia, Mo.; April 30, Wa
bash College, Crawfordsville,
Indiana; May 1-2, Illinois Uni
versity, Champaign, Illinois;
May 4, University of Oklahoma,
Norman, Oklahoma
W. A. Rutherford and George
L. Bevens of Batesville were
here Sunday evening en route to
Little Rock.
Volunteers Build Roads .
Special to Independent.
Adelaide, Jan. 27.—This sec
tion of Jackson county, under
the leadership of our popular
and progressive overseer is tak
ing an active interest in better
roads and many citizens of Bai
ren township have donated sev
eral days to the building of bet
ter roads.
Rock was hauled for two days
each by W. H. Ileffiington, Char
ley Western, E. G. Winchester
and for one day by Mr. Bosteen,
John Owens, Mack O’Brien, Mr.
Donahue and Samuel Dawson.
Each man hauled an average of
about ten loads per day and a
bout two hundred yards of good
rock road was built over what
had been a very bad section of
road.
This good roads work was
contributed to by B. II. Heffiing
ton, H. Blevens, A. J. Winches
ter, Henry Scoggins, Bud Whit
low and R. C. Winchester, each
of whom hammered rock for
two days and R. G. McCall, W.
H. Hayes, Miles McCall, Charley
Loady, Bill Taylor and Mr. Sims
put In one day each at this pub
lic work.
Public Speaking.
The candidates for prosecut-^
ing attorney of the Third Judi
cial District of Arkansas will
address the voters of Jackson
County, at the following times
and nlaces:
Swifton, Monday, Feb. 23d at
1:30 p. m.
Battle Axe, Tuesday, Feb. 24th
at 10 a. m
Tuckerman, Tuesday, Feb.
24th, at 1 p. m.
Hickory Grove, Tuesday, Feb.
24th at 7:30 p. m.
Newport, Wednesday, Feb.
25th, at 10 a. m.
Grubbs, Thursday, Feb. 26th
at 1:00 p- m.
Eight Mile, Friday, Feb. 27th
at 10 a. m.
Tupelo, Friday, Feb. 27th at
7:30 p. m.
Weldon, Saturday, Feb. 28th
at 10 a. m.
Auvergne, Saturday, Febru
ary 28, at 2:30 p. m.
Everybody is cordially invited
to attend these meetings. The
iadies are especially invited.
Each candidate is urged to be
present and will be given a fair
division of time
Very respectfully,
Candidates For
Prosecuting Attorney.
Want Fowl To Roam.
Special to Independent.
Little Rock, Jan. 28.— One
hundred and six citizens of Rus
sellville objected any curtailing
of the rights and prerogatives of
their domestic fowls to roam
at will over the streets and lawns
of the community. January 8
the city council passed an ordin
ance forbidding chickens, ducks,
geese and other fowls from run
ning at large, the same to be
come effective February 15. Up
on the advice of Attorney Gen
eral Moose that the ordinance is
subject to reference under the
Tniative and Referenndum a
mendment, the citizens who op
pose the prohibitory legislation
secured enough signers to sub
mit the ordinance to a vote of
the people. The petition was
filed Tuesday with the Secretary
Attempted To Wreck Fast Mail.
St. Louis, Jan. 27.—An ob
struction of ties was placed on
the track of the St. Louis, Iron
Mountain & Southern Railway,
in the suburbs of this city early
today in ‘an attempt to wreck
the southbound fast mail train,
No. 7.
The engineer applied the e
mergency brakes and stopped
the train as the pilot of the en
gine touched the pile of ties.
ESCAPES EROM
STATE HOSPITAL
Herbert Coons “The Brass Kid
Rivals Harry T«aw In
Spectacular Escape.
Special to Independent.
Little Rock, Jan. 20.—The es
“The Brass Kid” from the State
cape of Herbert Coons, alias
“The Brass Kid” fro mthe State
Hospital for the treatment ' 0f
Nervous Diseases Saturday, re
sembles very much the escape
of Harry K. Thaw from the asy
lum at Mateawan, N. Y. jn
Ihe case of Coons, however those
who made his escape possible
are under arrest, and the city
officers expect soon to have him
back in prison.
Shortly after dusk Saturday
evening county and city officers
in Little Rock were notified that
Coons was missing, and the on
ly trace that could be found was
automobile tracks on a road
near the state asylum, where
Coons had been incarcerated. No
one apparently saw the man es
cape, nor could account for his
absence.
On Sunday morning the Little
Rock police took into custody
two attendants at the hospital,
who admitted they had permit
ted Coons to escape, and had as
sisted him in covering his
tracks until he had a chance to
get away from the grounds. The
young men, who have served as
attendants in a number of other
state institutions, confessed
that they allowed Coons to go on
his promise to visit the home
of an attorney in Little Rock and
to send them an amount between
$300 and $400 which he had
there. The men declare they
never heard the name of the at
torney, but Coons offered to
take them along and pay them
as soon as the house was reach
ed, but declined in order to allay
suspicion that they were impli
cated in the plot to escape.
It is thought by the officers
that Coons was met on the out
side by confederates who spirit
ed him away in an automobile.
The men under arrest state that
they know nothing about out
side aid, as Coons had never
spoken of any.
Coons is one of the most dan
gerous criminals the Arkansas
authorities have been forced to
deal with for a number of years.
He was arrested in Hot Springs,
charged with being implicated
in the swindle by which Frank
P. Fox, a Terre Haute, Indiana,
millionaire, was relieved of
$20,000 by a crooked roulette
wheel. He admitted his guilt
and was sentenced to serve a
term in the Arkansas penitenti
ary. After serving several
months Coons appeared to be
come afflicted with a strange
malady which apparently affect
ed his mind. He would remain
motionless for days, refusing to
talk, and apparently hearing no
one. He was finally ordered re
moved to the state hospital in
Little Rock, where he has since
been incarcerated. On account
of his desperate character, he
was closely watched at the asy
lum, but he apparently was
watching every opportunity,
grasping it when it came Sat
urday.
It has been asserted that
Coons is a member of a daring
band of criminals which operate
in all pars of, the country, and
he was no doubt assisted bv
them in escaping after he scal
ed the fence of the institution.
Some officers believe that Coons
is in hiding in, or near LHte
Rock, but those who have stu
ied the case are of the opinion
that he is already out of t e
state. Coons was arrested in
Illinois for his crime, and had
to be kidnapped to get him back
to Arkansas to stand trial.
tuckeJ
;>ch500^
.,t^si: Tim
•“Bradford,
r MrS' K. £
/0ck sPent a
town last *
and friends,
, Alr' Davis, o
lanis°n & ])
spent one day
nut Hidge on
Will be in j
(la-vs at Stride
trf^
’ furs, \\rj
Jackson Co,
Pany of this
P'ece of wood)
t<Wn Property
$5 reward]
dai’k roan cow,
ofr- marked^
right and cri
wop off left „
Tuckerman, A
Deputy Shei
this place spe
last week in
j locate the Hi
wanted in thi
When you f
you want, it
see Jackson)
as they willfi
They have ai
man.
Bro. Ttfihpr
at the Method
port Sunday,
Sister Talki
for Little Ro
have her eyes
If you have
try or eggs t(
Bowen, who p
prices.
See Judson
Jackson Coun
(piit paying r
Miss May SI
in Newport v
They are i
ture in the I
at this place
two strong
man. 1
Mr. Henry
township spe
town on busi
Mr. Pope of
town for a fe
the week, i
Aunt Mary
the week in
relatives.
Mr. and 5
and Mr and
moved to thi
where they w
in the future
Ed Parrott
last week in
r.ess.
The schoo
county will i
Saturday.
_I.Imm i
I arc Iiianw'6 ’
big meeting.
L. W. McC
road agent i
several monl
hours in towi
on business.
We have
stock farms
sale. I* 's
See Jackson
Tuckerman,
Doctor H
Wynne, Ja
Hare, a phys
ty and pres«
Wynne, will
tor from this
Cross and _
Friends insis
a candidate*
terests of *
gt. Francis
which this
Walter W.«
the other»
says that
make an a
friends have
for him.