JOHN WYSONG CONFESSES.
The session of the Legislature came to a close, leaving the separate
coach law and the bill for dividing the school funds buried under
adverse votes. During the session Erma had won the esteem and friendship
of persons high up in business, social and political life, and she felt
that she could rely upon them to do all within their power to give John
Wysong a fair and impartial trial, and felt that they would co-operate
with her to secure for him the very lightest sentence possible.
Erma had John to come to her room. She told him of the long list of her
influential friends, and showed him how each one could be of service to
them in the time of need. She then told him that as he had violated the
laws of organized society, which laws the Bible commanded him to obey,
he ought to suffer for his crime. She told him that by going to the
authorities and surrendering he would commend himself to their sympathy.
She felt, too, that the Master Workman's treatment of John, if brought
out in court, would serve to mitigate the heinousness of the offense in
the eyes of the jury. Thus John, willing to suffer many years'
imprisonment for a crime which his soul had so long since repudiated,
hopeful of a merciful sentence, having faith in Erma and her friends,
trusting in God, went down to the police station and electrified the
nation with the full confession of his crime. He was placed under arrest
and remanded to jail for trial.
At first the tone of the daily press was somewhat sympathetic; and
thereupon the various Labor Unions became enraged. The printers
belonging to the Unions and working for these newspapers refused to set
up articles calculated to create sentiment in John Wysong's favor. They
even threatened to strike and boycott the papers showing friendliness to
the Negro that had murdered their Master Workman. The newspapers,
finding the current of public sentiment too strong to breast, turned,
and their columns began to be filled with inflammatory articles. Even
the vicious element of the city was aroused and Erma's group of personal
friends became powerless. Mr. Lanier, the Speaker, worked like a Trojan
in a quiet way, but his efforts were of no avail. The case drifted into
a race question and not one of justice and mercy, a happening that so
often occurs where two distinct races live together.
At length the day for the trial of John Wysong came. He was duly
arraigned, tried and convicted of murder in the first degree, the jury
(nine of them being Union men and all being white) not leaving its seat.
The penalty was assessed at death on the gallows and sentence was duly
passed that John Wysong, thirty days from that date, be hanged by the
neck until dead.
Poor Erma.