CHAPTER IX.

DECAY AND DISINTEGRATION.

From the very nature of things and the principle on which the White-cap organization was established it could not live long. And judging it by its fruits which is the moral and scriptural test, the only wonder is that it existed half as long as it did among a civilized and Christian people, such as live in Sevier county. But it had its day and run its race, and is now a thing of the past. It left in its track bleeding hearts and widows and orphans; the bitter fruit of an ignoble existence.

The origin, growth and progress of the White-cap organization as well as its connection with courts and criminals, have been briefly mentioned in the previous chapters. We now come to the most delightful part of our task and that is the disappearance of White-caps, or at least, White-capping, and the disintegration of the organization in Sevier County.

The murder of Wm. Whaley and wife, Laura Whaley, was the culmination of White-capping in the county. Murders and all kinds of outrages had been committed prior to that time; but none were so brutal and inhuman as this one.

The people who had tolerated and in effect excused the whipping of men and women, robbery, the murder of men in their houses, in the woods and along the public highways, but when it come to going to the humble little cottage home of a poor, but unoffending citizen of the county, breaking in on him, dragging him from his sick bed, and shooting his brains out in the presence of his wife, without even giving him an excuse for it, and then turning upon his wife, a new born babe in her arms, begging for mercy, where no mercy is to be found, her brains shot out and she falls beside her husband never to speak again; the life blood of the two, husband, wife, father and mother slowly ebbing away as the wicked and heartless assassins steal away into the darkness and make their escape: we say, when it came to this, it was too much for the people to bear. It was beyond toleration. They broke forth, as it were, in their fury, and were aroused as men seldom are. Every good citizen swore in his heart to assist in avenging the murder of the Whaleys and putting an end to the infamous White-cap practices in Sevier County.

This was the beginning of the end. People no longer felt over-awed by the intimidation of those bold bandits which so long held sway by closing the mouths of men and women controlling the public pulse, but they spoke out boldly and in no uncertain terms.

When the five hundred people who visited the scene of the murder, viewed the remains of William and Laura Whaley as they lay prostrate upon the floor of their cabin home in their night apparel and in pools of blood, and heard the piteous cries of the little babe that in so short a time had been rendered parentless and homeless, the smoldering fires that had slumbered in their breasts so long now broke forth like volcanoes and with such fury that it astounded the White-caps themselves.

Men, who heretofore had not dared express their sentiments, now spoke them freely and the talk became epidemic. Correct public sentiment began to reassert itself and in a short time a wave was started that has not yet stopped. The officers of the law are also indignant and are encouraged to take a stand against the red-handed murderers.

Attorneys are employed to assist in prosecutions, officers constitute themselves detectives, rewards are offered by the county by the state and by individuals. All suspicious persons and especially White-caps are watched in their every movement and a general plan of warfare, which meant a fight to the finish was set on foot against the iniquitous White-capping.

All of this, and more, was done within a few weeks after the Whaleys were killed in the tragic manner above pointed out. So bold a stand taken by the officers and the people, seemed to non-pluss the White-caps and especially the more timid of them. Only the boldest would show signs of counter warfare.

Public sentiment was now right, and the good and law-abiding people were determined to beat no retreat.

But to succeed in stamping out White-capping and especially in punishing those charged with crime, the people felt that they must have the full protection and hearty co-operation of the courts. Heretofore the White-caps had shown themselves masters of the situation in almost every case up to this time, where an attempt had been made to punish any one charged with White-capping.

It was felt that something must be done to exclude White-caps from sitting on juries, both grand and petit, for as long as this could be done there was but little hope of successful prosecutions.

The Tennessee legislature met on the first Monday of January, 1897, only a few days after the Whaley murder was committed, and continued its session some three or four months. It was therefore in session during the exciting weeks and months that followed the murder of the Whaleys and the general upheaval and reaction against the practice of White-capping in Sevier county.

Counsel was sought from every friend of law and order, and the conclusion was reached that the good people who were so heroically struggling for supremacy against lawlessness, should have some additional legislation to aid them in their efforts. This was soon accomplished through friends of the movement who went to Nashville and presented the matter in person to members of the legislature and others who at once espoused the cause of the people with a zeal that knew no limit short of success.

The result was that in a short time a bill was prepared, known as the anti-White-cap bill, introduced in both houses and became a law by the governor’s signature on the 24th day of March, 1898.

In as much as the masses of the people are not furnished directly with the published acts of the state, and for this reason many not having read the law in question, we deem it not out of place here to quote the first, second and third sections of this law, which reads as follows:

“Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Tennessee , That it shall be a felony, punishable by from three to twenty years imprisonment in the penitentiary and by full judgment of infamy and disqualification, for two or more persons to enter into any conspiracy or combination, or to remain in any conspiracy or combination under any name or upon any pretext whatsoever, to take human life, or to engage in any act reasonably calculating to cause the loss of life, whether generally or of a class or classes, or of any individual or individuals, or to inflict corporal punishment or injury whether generally or upon a class or classes, or upon an individual or individuals; or to burn or otherwise destroy property or to feloniously take the same whether generally of a class or classes or of an individual or individuals.”

“Section 2. Be it further enacted, That it shall be a felony punished in like manner as the offense described in the first section of this act for any person either directly or indirectly to procure or encourage any one to become or remain a member of any such unlawful conspiracy or combination as is described in the first section of this act; or for any person either directly or indirectly to aid, abet or encourage any person, to engage or remain in such conspiracies or combination or to aid or abet in the accomplishment of any purpose or end of such conspiracies or combinations.

“Section 3. Be it further enacted, That no person who has been guilty of any offense described in the two preceding sections of this act, shall be competent to sit or serve on any grand or traverse jury, and it shall be the duty of the court to carefully exclude all such persons from the juries, both grand and petit; and when he shall be informed or shall have reason to suspect any person presented as a juror, guilty of any of said offences, he shall call witnesses, if necessary and examine fully into the truth of the charge; he shall dismiss from the grand jury any person who has been selected and afterwards shown to be implicated in any of said offenses.”

These are the principal sections of the acts and show its purpose and scope.

The fourth section gives the grand jury inquisitorial powers, and makes it the duty of the judges to give it specially in charge.

It will thus be seen that the evil against which the above law was directed especially, was regarded by the legislature as one of the serious consequences to the people of that section where it existed, from the very fact that the law which was to up-root it was most radical in its provisions and scope; so much so indeed that many of its friends feared that it might be, by the courts, declared unconstitutional.

While the word “White-cap” is not mentioned in the act, yet the terms conspiracies, unlawful combinations, etc., fully cover the case and are general terms which will include all parties of this class whether they belong to an organization known as “White-caps” or “Grave Yard Hosts” or some other name of similar import.

The act makes it unlawful to even belong to such an organization. This is one of the provisions of the law which made the White-caps tremble in their boots, being conscious of the fact that they were not only members of such an order, but that it was well known in a general way that they did belong to it.

But possibly the most effective provision of the law was the third section which disqualifies White-caps from sitting on juries, and, if by chance they should be selected, gives the judge the power to discharge them.

It is said that this provision of the law worked like a charm in most cases. For when any person who was either a White-cap or accused of being one, was named by the county court to serve as a regular juror he was either too sick to attend court, and sent in his excuse, or sent a proxy in his stead; thereby avoiding the risk of having his White-cap record inquired into by the court.

So the mere existence of the law upon the statute books and the declared purpose on the part of the law-abiding people to enforce it to the very letter, did much to drive this lawless element from the county and juries where they had hitherto been so effective in shielding the criminal classes. The friends and promoters of this beneficent measure now felt that half the battle was won, and all that they had to do to achieve ultimate success over White-capism, and forever drive from the courts of the county an organization that for a time had rendered ineffective all law, was to demand of the Judge and Attorney-General that the law be strictly enforced, and no quarter what so ever should be given to those who sought to set it at naught.

For some reason, real or apparent, for on this point the writer does not speak advisedly, not being in a position to know, the people who had undertaken the task of putting down this lawless element had lost confidence in a large measure, in Judge Hicks, who was then holding the Circuit Courts of Sevier county and had been for a number of years. Most people gave him the credit of being an honest and conscientious man, but they claimed that he did not have the firmness and the moral courage to stand up in the face of these enemies of the people, who had so long infested his courts with such disastrous results, and administer the law with that firmness and vigor absolutely necessary at this particular crisis.

Public sentiment was now all right, and the law-abiding people were much encouraged. They had just succeeded in having a law enacted, the very thoughts of which and especially in its enforcement, struck terror into the hearts of their enemies, and it was felt that another and firmer judge than Judge Hicks, was indispensably necessary to deal with the White-caps and administer the law in Sevier county. So it was decided that the Second Judicial Circuit, presided over by Judge W. R. Hicks, should be so changed as to take Sevier County from said circuit and add it to the Criminal District of Knox County presided over by Judge Thomas A. R. Nelson.

The State legislature, which had already been enlisted in behalf of the good citizens of the section afflicted with White-caps, was now again appealed to for the change in the Judicial circuits as above indicated. Accordingly a bill was enacted into law, which detached the Circuit Court of Sevier county from the Second Judicial District and transferred and attached it to the Criminal District of Knox County, which imposed upon Judge Nelson the duty of holding the Circuit Courts of Sevier County.

Chapter X