Maxey, Lexington Herald-Leader, June 4, 1909

Nothing Likely to Be Done

About the Lynching of John Maxey, a Negro, By a Mob at Frankfort Thursday– Governor Willson Denounces Work of the Masked Gang, But the State is Powerless– Those Who Took Part in the Affair Are Believed to Have Been Composed of Young Men, But all Who Profess to Know Anything of the Affair, Say They Were Present as Spectators– One Man Shot in the Leg– No Inquest Held Over Body.

Frankfort, Ky., June 4– No steps have been taken by any officials of the county to bring to justice the members of the mob which lynched John Maxey, a Negro, here Thursday morning. No application will be made to the Governor for the offering of a reward for the capture and conviction of members of the mob and it is very probable that nothing will ever be done.

Governor Wilson issued a statement Thursday afternoon in which he said that he stood ready to offer a reward and do anything in his power to bring to justice the men who participated in the lynching. He denounced the crime and the men who were guilty.

Governor Willson’s statement was as follows:

“Between 1 and 2 o’clock last night, Governor Willson was wakes up by a telephone call and informed that a reporter in the office of the Kentucky State Journal wished to say to him that a Negro had been hung on the bridge in Frankfort, Ky., and wished to know whether he had anything to say about it. The Governor had heard nothing of the shooting affray which preceded this and knew nothing of the case, and thinking that the legal authorities, charged by law with the prosecution of crimes, should take the proper action, and that the Governor had no authority over the matter matter or over their action, except to offer a reward when applied for according to law, answered that he knew nothing of the case and had nothing to do with it at that time, and not knowing did not wish to say anything about it then.

“The duty of arresting and prosecuting those guilty of this crime is not reposed in the Governor by our law, and he has no control whatever over the police or court or prosecuting officers, but he is authorized by law to offer a reward for the apprehension and conviction of those guilty.

“The Governor, in speaking of the matter, said that there was no excuse, much less justification, for the crime of murdering this young Negro. If he had committed a crime there was absolutely certainty that the law would punish him in the proper way and at the proper time, with no possible chance to escape punishment. A mob took the law into their own hands, and murdered this young Negro. Every person who took part in it is guilty of the crime of a wicked, cowardly murder, with no legal defense if he did take part in it, and with no possible excuse, and the Governor will uphold the officers of the law in the prosecution of every person guilty of it, and will do all in his power to aid, encourage and extort the officers of the law to punish this crime and uphold the law and the honor of the State.

“The Governor stated that if he had any warning of intimation of any kind of the shooting of the white man by the Negro, or anything that indicated any danger of a mob, effective measures would have been taken to prevent it.

“There is no law or custom which subjects the Governor to being called up at midnight to express his views on a case about which he has no knowledge, but the reporter demanded such an expression, and the Governor felt that it was improper to say anything about a case of which he knew nothing except the bare statement that a man had been lynched, lest it be taken as a reflection upon the authorities who were entitled to confidence in their doing their duty.”

The mob, which, it is said, was composed of the young men of Frankfort, many of them whom probably never had a revolver in their hand before, took John Maxey, a Negro with a bad record, from the county jail about 2:30 o’clock Thursday morning and hanged him from one of the large girders supporting the St. Clair street bridge, shooting him to death after they had forced him to climb up the girders to his death.

R.J. Weindel, a well-known young man, who is in charge of a dry goods store in Frankfort, was shot in the leg by the accidental discharge of a revolver after the lynching. Weindel narrowly escaped bleeding to death before a physician could be secured to stop the flow of blood. He went to the bridge, attracted by the lynching, when a revolver was dropped and went off. The bullet struck Weindel in the left leg, near the ankle, and ranged upward.

No inquest was held over the body of Maxey. Lyman Graham, the Coroner, did not feel it necessary to hold an inquest, he being cognizant of the manner of the death of the Negro. He returned a verdict that Maxaw [sic] came to his death by hanging on the bridge, at the hands of unknown persons. The body was taken down shortly after the mob dispersed and is now at the undertaking shop of Graham, where it is being held for the members of the family, if there are any. 

Two attempts were made to hang Maxey but the rope broke the first time. The Negro was taken onto the bridge, the rope, which was a weak one, was placed around his neck and the other end run over a beam at the top of the superstructure. The Negro, pleading with the mob for his life, was swung up, but the rope broke and he dropped to the bridge. His hands had been tied behind his band with a piece of cord and he lay inert after his fall, moaning feebly.

Cries and advice of all kinds came from the crowd around the Negro. One sugestion [sic] was that he be thrown into the river and given a chance to escape if he could. There were also cries of “Shoot him” and other cries of “Hang him!” The mob leaders fastened the rope around Maxey’s neck a second time and to prevent the rope breaking again ordered the Negro to climb the iron girder. He obeyed and climbed up for a few feet, the men who held the rope giving him slack enough to permit him to climb. The main body of the mob, numbering, according to the best information, some two hundred, lined upon the west side of the bridge, the real lynchers being on the east side.

After Maxey had climbed up the girder several feet the rope was drawn tight and the Negro cried out “Lord have mercy on me.” Several members of the mob, it is presumed, then pushed the Negro loose from the girder to which he was clinging with his feet and the mob began shooting at him. About thirty shots were fired, but only four hit the Negro, one going through his heart. The body hung there after the dispersal of the mob until the coroner arrived when it was taken down. The rope was not cut but simply untied from the beam and the body lowered to the floor of the bridge and placed in the undertaker’s basket.

Mr. Weindel said Thursday morning that he was attracted to the bridge by the excitement and was mingling with the crowd when someone dropped a revolver. He felt a pain in his left leg and blood began to run down into his shoe. He sat down on the abutment of the bridge and removed his shoe and sick. He was bleeding freely, and someone, he does not know who, picked him up and carried him to the Jeffer’s House, where he was put to bed and received medical attention from Dr. Hill. The injured man was removed to his home this morning. The bullet is still in his leg, but no serious results from the wound are anticipated.

It is stated by those who were up at the time of the lynching that the circus had left Frankfort at the time of the hanging and that none of the circus men were in the mob. Only those who went to the jail, it is said, wore masks.

But little resistance was offered, the mob at the jail Thursday morning. About a dozen men, all masked, went to the jail and knocked on the door. The jailer was asleep, not having had any warning that a mob was forming. Although there had been talk of a mob earlier in the night but little attention was paid to it. Jailer Bridges went to bed about 10 o’clock. When he was awakened by the pounding on the door, he looked out the window and asked what was wanted. He was told to come down at once. He went, thinking that some one had a prisoner for him. As soon as he stepped outside he was seized by several men, who held him securely. The keys to the jail were in his coat pocket and they were taken by a member of the mob. While several men held Bridges, the others entered the jail. The [sic] found Maxey in the corridor, on a cot. He was undressed and had been asleep. He was seized, his hands bound and the mob then started for the bridge, joining the large body of lynchers who had remained in the street. The march to the jail was made silently and there was but little confusion after Maxey had been secured and the mob had begun the march toward the bridge.

Maxey had a bad record. He had been convicted of several thefts and was known to the police as a bad Negro. He was drunk and disorderly all day Wednesday, trying to pick a quarrel several times on the circus grounds during the afternoon. 

Bowers, the man who was shot during the process of the Howe circus Wednesday night, and whose shooting caused the lynching, probably will get well. It was found that the bullet did not penetrate the intestinal cavity and the wound is not now regarded as a serious one. He probably will be out of the hospital in two weeks or so. The Elks lodge at Valdosta, Ga., where Bowers is a member, Thursday telegraphed your the local lodge of Elks to care for him and do anything that is needed.

It is probable that the next grand jury will investigate the lynching, but it is improbable that anything will be done, as it will be hard to get evidence to prove the guilt of any one who connected with the mob, Those who profess to know anything about the lynching Thursday say there were there merely as spectators.