Newbern, August 1—Steps were taken today by the son of the alleged victim to secure a warrant for Herbert Wooten, superintendent of the county farm and convict boss, charging him with assault with a deadly weapon on J.P. Staut, 71-year-old white man at the county farm, it was learned here.
Mr. Wooten is alleged to have stripped the old man and beat him with a “bull whip” at the farm last Friday. The body of the aged man bore scars yesterday, one of them being considerable proportions, when his son Ferdinant Stant, visited him, he is rreported to have said.
Wooten Denies Charge
In a statement to the New Bernian last night, Mr. Wooten denied that he had whipped the old man “Unmercifully.” He stated that he struck him twice with a buggy whip. He di so, he said, because when he told him to go into the field and cut some potato vines, Mr. Staut refused, uttering an oath.
The aged man was for some time an inmate of the county home, it was learned. Often, however, he had come into town. This was laid to a weak mental condition, it was stated. On the last occasion of his escape from the home, he came to New Bern and was found one night on the back porch of a local residence.
A charge of trespass was made against the old man, it was stated, and he was taken before the recorder for a hearing. After investigating the case and taking notice of mind, Recorder G.A. Barden ordered him sent to the county farm for a period of not less than 30 days nor more than 12 months, and included in the order the instruction that Mr. Stant was to do no manual labor.
The alleged whipping occurred last Friday, and finally word of it reached Ferdinant Staut, son of the old man, who resided in Woodrow Place. He and others reported the matter to the authorities and yesterday steps were taken to bring Mr. Wooten into court.
Guards Sickened
E.L. Riggs, a rural resident of the county, is said to have been a witness to the alleged whipping. He was engaged at the county farm as guard, it was said, and quit his post after witnessing the alleged attack on Mr. Stuart. Mr. C. Lupton, former chief of police here, also was a witness, it was said.
The incident is described by men interested in the prosecution of Mr. Wootten in this manner: Mr. Woot- (a line missing in the original story) take Mr. Staurt into the field and have him cut some potato vines. the two went into the field, but the old man fell down across the rows. This was followed by the attack. Mr. Wootten, having seen what transported in the field, having him stripped and with a “bull whip” striking him to the ground with the first blow. He then struck his victim several times across the back and legs. Mr. Riggs was standing nearby and sickened at the attack, but did not interfere, being afraid to, he was quoted as saying, because Mr. Wooten was armed. He was quoted as saying that he quit then and there, declaring that he would not work around a place where that sort of thing was going on.
A representative of this paper interviewed Mr. Wootten at his home on George street last night. He denied that there was anything to the charge of brutality, asserting tha the did not whip Mr. Stuart “unmercifully.”
“I struck him twice with a whip,” he replied to a question. “It was an ordinary buggy whip.” In answer to another question he said: “I did not pull his clothes off until after I struck him.”
“I told him to go into the field and cut some potato vines,” the farm superintendent said. “He cursed me and said that he was not going. I struck him twice with the whip. Then I undressed him, gave him a bath, shaved him, and gave him a haircut. That’s all there is to it.”
Ferdinant Stuart is expected this morning to make formal charges against Mr. Wootten. He has consulted lawyers and has determined to press the matter in the courts.
From the front page of the Goldsboro News, Saturday, August 2, 1924. Names are spelled differently throughout the original article. Newbern/New Bern. Wooten/Wootten. Staut/Stant/Stuart.
newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn93064755/1924-08-02/ed-1/seq-1/#words=AUGUST+2.+1924
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