The Bluefield Daily Telegraph, Bluefield, W. Va.
Sunday, September 22, 1912

DELAY IN TRIALS OF SIDNA ALLEN AND WESLEY EDWARDS

Pressing Business in Judge Staples’ Own Court Will Cause Postponement.

TIME AND PLACE WILL BE DETERMINED TOMORROW

Possibility of Defendants Being Unable to Retain Attorneys Because of Sidna Allen’s Estate Being Involved in Damages Suits Suggested—Baldwin Gets Check for Rewards.

Roanoke World: Sidna Allen and Wesley Edwards will be taken from the Roanoke jail early tomorrow morning. After a breakfast at some restaurant the 4:05 train will be taken to Pulaski, where a change of cars will take place and shortly afterwards the last two to be tried for being implicated in the Hillsville tragedy will be taken on a branch line to Galax or some nearby point where private conveyances will be used to carry the prisoners to the scene of one of the worst tragedies ever enacted in Virginia, and in which they are alleged to have been principals.

The prisoners will be guarded by Baldwin detectives. At Hillsville they will be arraigned for their crime, on Monday morning, but there is little likelihood that they will be tried at once for the reason that it is understood that Judge Staples, who has been designated to try the cases and before whom they will have to be arraigned, will have to return immediately to Roanoke on account of pressing business in his own court. In fact, is stated that Judge Staples will return to Roanoke Monday night.

Judge Staples will leave here tomorrow morning and at Pulaski will be joined by Hon. J. C. Wysor and Attorneys J. S. Draper and W. B. Poague and together the judge and attorneys for the prosecution will make the trip to Hillsville in the automobile of Deputy R. Richardson.

The time and place of the trial will be determined Monday at the arraignment. It seems to be a general impression that the defense will not ask for a change of venue, desiring to have the trial take place there. However, in the event it is held at Hillsville, there will be a change of venire. Nothing new has developed in regard to attorneys for the defense. It has been suggested that it may be possible that the Allens will be unable to get attorneys in the case for lack of finances in view of their property being involved in the civil actions, which are pending against Sidna Allen in suits for damages by the estates of Judge Massie, Attorney Foster and Sheriff Webb. In the event they do not secure counsel Judge Staples will designate counsel to defend them, which may be Messrs. Cocke & Coxe, the Roanoke attorneys who defended the Edwards boys by appointment. The attorneys would naturally want some time to arrange for the cases and inquire into the evidence and the court is likely therefore to designate the time of trial for a later time than next week, following the arraignment. It is understood that Messrs. Coxe and Cocke will go to Hillsville tomorrow.

Chief W.G. Baldwin returned to Roanoke this morning from Richmond, bringing with him the checks from the state auditor for the reward offered for the capture of Allen and Edwards. The warrants were for $2,300, and were drawn payable to the Baldwin-Felts Detective Agency.

Mr. Baldwin stated this morning that he would tender $500 of the amount to Frank Iroler for information furnished, but declined to say to whom the rest would go. He said that there were others who furnished clues besides Mr. Iroler, the father of the sweetheart of Wesley Edwards. A letter was received this morning by the detective from Frank Iroler on some matters pertaining to the case, but he said nothing at all about claiming the reward or any portion of it.