Rensselaer Republican, Volume 23, Number 18, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 January 1891 — THE FATE OF HIS FATHER [ARTICLE]

THE FATE OF HIS FATHER

It la Alleged that Ha Tries to Shoot Out the Town and Gets the Worst ot It. A tragedy occurred on the principal business street of Cannelton, Miss., Christmas day at noon, in which John Prentiss Matthewes, the Republican postmaster at that place, was killed by W. S. Mcßride, a wealthy and. prominent young druggist of Cannelton. Matthewswascomingdown the street toward the drug store of McBride and armed with a Winchester rifle, when Mcßride met him and fired the fatal-hot while Matthews had his gun uplifted and was preparing to shoot. A dispatch says: The murdered man 1 was the son of John Prentiss Matth-' ews, who was killed at Hazel-hurst in 1884, and it a brother of J. M. and S. S. Matthews, the latter of whom is now U. S. Marshal for tho southern district of Mississippi. He has rendered himself very odious to the people of this community by his offensive conduct while ho has been here, as the carpet-bagger postmaster of the present administration, He has been before the officers here almost every week on various charges of drunkenness, profanity, carrying concealed weapons, assault battery and other offenses. He took possession of a passenger train en the Georgia Pacific railroad while drunk, and was only conquered by the porter and conductor boating him down and disarming him, for which he is notv under indictment in the courts of Webster and t this (Carroll) county. His administration of the postoffice here has been miserable in the extreme and public sentiment is highly inflamed at him. Mcßride is a very peaceful and quiet young man, industrious and pojplar and public sentiment is highly 1 in hisfavor,because he was goaded into the difficulty by Matthews’ conduct Boti the sheriff and mayor had remonstrated with Matthews Friday morning, but to no effect