Greensboro, Feb. 19—There was another dramatic moment in federal court here today during the trial of Mrs. Florence C. Varner’s case against her husband, H.B. Varner, Lexington business man, for “reasonable subsistence,” when George W. Petty, Lexington, testified that he saw Mrs. Varner and the negro, Baxter McRary, enter an alleged house of ill repute in Greensboro during the summer of 1915. Court adjourned shortly after noon until Monday morning.
Petty, who was the seventh witness to take the stand today, said he saw Mrs. Varner and McRary board train No. 36 at Lexington and watched them get off in Greensboro. He followed them along Elm street, he said, and saw Mrs. Varner enter a building just above Clegg’s hotel. McRary, he said, who was following her, also entered. Petty said he was walking about five steps in the rear of McRary, and Mrs. Varner was about 15 steps ahead.
“They went upstairs in a building just below Clegg’s hotel on stairs adjoining the street,” Petty said in reply to a question.
“What did McRary do?”
“Bax passed on by the steps, looked up, crossed the street, stared up at a window in the building and, about two or three minutes later, crossed over again and went upstairs where Mrs. Varner had gone.”
“Did you see them again?”
“No.”
“What did you do?”
“About a minute or two later, I went upstairs myself and looked about.”
“Did you see anybody?”
“Not a soul.”
“Hear anything?” he was asked.
“Everything was perfectly still.”
To corroborate Petty’s testimony, Policemen Wray and Jeffreys of the local police force were placed on the stand. They testified that, during the summer of 1915, when this incident is alleged to have occurred, Petty came to them and pointed the house out. Both men stated that at the time, it was known as a house of ill-repute and the “worst of men and women went there.”
Important developments of the case so far this week follow:
Tuesday: Mrs. Varner testified, maintaining absolute innocence, denying all allegations of the opposition.
Wednesday: Anna Miller, negress, Varner servent, making poor witness. Fred O. Sink, Varner’s business manager, star witness, for defense, gave enormous amount of damaging evidence to plaintiff. Plaintiff rested case.
Thursday: O.P. Dickerson, Lexington, superintendent of public works, revealed startling stories of watching McRary enter Mrs. Varner’s house three nights in succession.
Friday: Four telephone operators swore they had heard McRary and Mrs. Varner hold mysterious conversations over the telephone in Lexington during the past four years.
Saturday: George W. Petty, contractor, declared he had seen McRary and Mrs. Varner enter a house of ill-fame in Greensboro during the summer of 1915.
Mr. Petty’s testimony featured the morning session of the trial. The jury, which has been “locked up’ since the trial began, will be allowed to go to their homes over Sunday.
Exactly 27 witnesses, all for the defense, were examined and most of them cross-examined this morning. A majority of the witnesses were called for the purpose of testifying to the character of the material witnesses.
Judge James E. Boyd, who has presided throughout the trial, spoke a few words to the jurymen and charged them to hold in strict account testimony heretofore introduced and not to allow themselves to be hindered or prejudiced by opinions of others or two be influenced by the stories appearing in the daily newspapers throughout the state.
“We’re trying this case in court,” he told the jurymen.
The capacity of the court room was taxed again today as has been the case during every day of the trial. Mr. and Mrs. Varner entered separately with their respective counsel a few minutes before the trial began.
Attorney Cansler of Charlotte, who is firing the big guns for the defense, assisted by a number of other attorneys from Lexington, stated immediately before adjournment that the defense would put on three more witnesses, not including Mr. Varner, who, he said, would very likely be examined Monday afternoon.
Mr. Sapp, counsel for the plaintiff, stated that he had a number of witnesses to testify in rebuttal next week.
Carlos Watkins of Lexington stated that he had seen McRary enter the premises of Mr. Varner about midnight three or four weeks before he was dragged out of the Varner basement. He said that he saw McRary going in that direction and followed him to the alley n the rear and stood near the barn and watched.
“Did you see him enter the house?”
“I did.”
“Did you hear anything?”
“I heard the screen door open and close just after he had disappeared in the darkness before me in the rear of the Varner house.”
“What did you do next?”
“I waited.”
“How long?”
“An hour and a half.”
“Then what?”
“I got tired waiting and left. It was about 1:30 in the morning then,” he said.
C.F. Caudle, formerly deputy sheriff of Davidson county, who had been ruled against several days ago by Judge Boyd and not allowed to testify until further facts pertinent to the legality of the case had been brought out, swore that he had found McRary on the premises of Mr. Varner at 12 o’clock on the night of August 26, 1916 while hunting for a negro who had that day knocked a man over the head with a bottle in Lexington and he had been deputized to make thorough search for the criminal.
“Why were you in that neighborhood?”
“It was rumored that the negro who had hit the man over the head with a bottle during that day, was hiding in the lumber yard immediately to the rear of the Varner lot.”
“What were you doing?”
“Searching for him.”
“Why did you go on the Varner lot?”
“We heard a suspicious noise in the alley of the Varner premises and, thinking it was our man, I went in deeper into the alley and there I found Bax.” “What did you say to him?”
“I asked him what he was doing.”
“And what did he say?”
“He gave me a common excuse. We had let him go. He left the lot and we continued our search.”
From time to time, character witnesses were put on the stand. H.B. Fries of Winston-Salem said H.B. Varner’s character was good. Hoyle Hinkle of Greensboro testified to the good character of Mrs. Hildred Anderson, former Lexington telephone operator. Dr. F.C. Hiatt of Greensboro also declared that Mrs. Anderson’s character, insofar as he knew, was good. L.L. Barnes of Lexington said Jack Wilson’s and H.B. Varner’s character were above reproach. S.L. Owens, Lexington grocery, said Robert Redwine’s character was good. Dr. J.M. Riley, dentist, said he knew H. B. Varner and Jack Wilson and that their characters were good. C.M. Ward of Lexington corroborated Petty’s statement that he had seen McRary and Mrs. Varner enter a house of ill-fame in Greensboro. Joe Cecil, John A. Young, D.A. Shoaf, J.H. Peninger, all of Lexington, swore that H.B. Varner’s character was good and that Petty’s character “for truth and honesty was good,” each making the qualification that he “would drink.”
From the Charlotte News and Evening Chronicle, Feb. 20, 1921
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