Senator VAN NUYS. You got out of the picture show when? Mrs. THOMPSON. About a quarter or 20 after 9, I think, when we went to the drug store. I looked at the clock, I remember, and Mr. Deshiel (?) asked Mr. Thompson if anything was going on down at Princess Anne. He said a lot of people and left Salisbury about an hour ago to go to Princess Anne. He had an idea there was going to be a lynching down there. Senator VAN NUYS. From whom did you hear that? Mrs. THOMPSON. It was a Mr. Deshiel (?). I don't know him. Senator VAN NUYS. Where did you meet him? Mrs. THOMPSON. It was in the drug store. Mr. Thompson told him no, that when we came through the town was very quite. This was about a quarter or 20 after 9. Senator VAN NUYS. You learned when you got back to Princess Anne that there had been a lynching? Mrs. THOMPSON. We met these cars, I suppose about 15 or 20, coming from Princess Anne. Senator VAN NUYS. Toward Salisbury? Mrs. THOMPSON. Leaving Princess Anne; yes, sir, toward Salisbury. Senator VAN NUYS. Did you know any of the occupants of those cars? Mrs. THOMPSON. No; I did not. Senator VAN NUYS. Did they have masks on? Mrs. THOMPSON. No; we didn't notice. We couldn't see; it was too dark. Senator VAN NUYS. Were they all in one bunch or scattered out along the road? Mrs. THOMPSON. Scattered out as cars would be leaving a town. Senator VAN NUYS. Was it an unusual number of cars on that road at that hour? Mrs. THOMPSON. About like you would see if they had been held up at a train crossing or something like that, and the cars were coming along then. Senator VAN NUYS. When did you first learn there had been a lynching, and from whom? Mrs. THOMPSON. From two State police. Senator VAN NUYS. Where? Mrs. THOMPSON. Out in front of the hotel. I asked them what had happened. There were three standing there. One walked away. I asked the other two to please tell me, that I had just gotten in town and lived there, that I had a baby at home and I was very anxious to get home. Then he told me there had been a lynching. He told me what had happened. He said I couldn't get through, that all the streets were blocked up, and I couldn't get through to get home; that I would have to wait until the crowd got through. Senator VAN NUYS. What picture was it you saw over at Salisbury? Mrs. THOMPSON. I can't remember. I did know, but I can't remember now. Senator VAN NUYS. You cannot remember? Mrs. THOMPSON. I do not remember. Senator VAN NUYS. Did you frequently attend that same picture show that you attended that night? Mrs. THOMPSON. We usually go up there one night a week, every week. Senator VAN NUYS. Did you have any intimation before you left that there would probably be a lynching that night? Mrs. THOMPSON. No; when we came through town there were only 2 or 3 people on the street. Senator VAN NUYS. No crowd was assembling? Mrs. THOMPSON. No crowd at all. The town was dead. Senator VAN NUYS. Did you meet a number of cars going into Princess Anne on the way to Salisbury? Mrs. THOMPSON. No. Senator VAN Nurs. You are quite sure you were with your husband during all the period of time you have testified. Mrs. THOMPSON. Absolutely, until about a quarter of 10. Senator VAN NUYS. Do you wish to ask any questions, Senator McCarran Senator MCCARRAN. Did you, in going out of Princess Anne, go past the courthouse or the jail? Mrs. THOMPSON. We did not pass the jail. We passed the court house. Senator MCCARRAN. The jail is separate from the courthouse? Mrs. THOMPSON, Yes; it is about a block from the jail. The courthouse is on the main street. Senator MCCARRAN. And the jail is off of that street? Senator MCCARRAN. You did not have occasion to notice whether there were many people around the jail at that time as you went out? Mrs. THOMPSON, No; we could not see the jail from Maine Street. Senator MCCARRAN, Had there been any whisperings or discussions of the possibility or probability of a lynching? MIS. THOMPSON. No; I had not heard any. Senator McCARRAN. Did you know that this colored man had been returned to Princess Anne from Baltimore! Mrs. THOMPSex. I heard that he had. Senator MCCARRAN. When did you hear that? Mrs. THOMPSON, 1 dent know whether it was that day or the day before. I really don't know when they brought him there. Serater McCarray. At that time d'i yi hear that there might be trouble! Mrs. THOMPSON. He works for the telephone company. Senator MCCARRAN. He was there in the drug store? Mrs. THOMPSON. Yes; he was there in the drug store. Senator MCCARRAN. Did he ask questions about the lynching, as to whether the lynching had taken place? Mrs. THOMPSON. No. He just asked if there was going to be one, that he wanted to go to Princess Anne, but he did not want to take a trip down there if there was nothing going on. Mr. Thompson told him he was quite sure there was not going to be any lynching or any excitement. Senator MCCARRAN. When you entered the town of Princess Anne and saw the unusual crowd there on the street, you immediately recalled what had been stated to you in the drug store, did you not? Mrs. THOMPSON. I hardly had time. When we got in Princess Anne we saw the mob of people. Senator MCCARRAN. Did you and your husband discuss then the possibility of a lynching? Mrs. THOMPSON. We didn't have the time to discuss anything. He didn't have time to discuss anything with me. He left me and went to the drug store. He wanted to get to the store. He had left it with two girls, and he didn't know what had happened and what the mob of people were doing in town. This man had asked him that and he didn't know. He wanted the information himself. He didn't know there was going to be any lynching. He had just heard it. Senator MCCARRAN. Did Mr. Thompson tell you to drive home from there? Mrs. THOMPSON. He said he would go to the store and "you drive the car home." Senator MCCARRAN. Was it necessary for you to get through that street in order to get home? Mrs. THOMPSON. That is what these officers told me, that I could not go around by the back street, because, he said, it was all blocked up down by the jail and around by the other street. Senator MCCARRAN. Did you see any parties there wearing masks or disguises of any kind? Mrs. THOMPSON. No. Senator McCARRAN. None at all? Mrs. THOMPSON. No. Senator MCCARRAN. How did you finally get home-by driving through that street? Mrs. THOMPSON. I had to drive through that street. Senator MCCARRAN. You had to wait until it cleared? Mrs. THOMPSON. About 20 minutes or half an hour, and then the mob all cleared away. Then I drove on up to the drug store and stayed a little while, and then went home. Senator MCCARRAN. You first went to the drug store and then home? Mrs. THOMPSON. I stopped at the drug store and then went home. Senator MCCARRAN. HOW late does that drug store keep open, as a rule? Mrs. THOMPSON. Usually around 10 o'clock or 10:30, Senator MCCARRAN. Did it close that night about the same time as usual? Mrs. THOMPSON. About 11 o'clock. Senator MCCARRAN. From the time your husband arrived at home that evening for dinner until he left the car to go to the store, after your return to Princess Anne, he was continuously in your company? Mrs. THOMPSON. He certainly was. Senator VAN NUYS. Were you raised in that community, Mrs. Thompson? Mrs. THOMPSON. Yes. Senator VAN NUYS. Were you born there? Mrs. THOMPSON. Yes. Senator VAN Nurs. You saw people in the crowd there, after you got back from the picture show, that you knew, did you not? Mrs. THOMPSON. I saw Mrs. Lee Hayman. Senator VAN NUYS. Who else did you see? Mrs. THOMPSON. And Mrs. Morris. Senator VAN NUYS. Where were they? Mrs. THOMPSON. In front of the hotel. Mrs. Hayman came over to the car and talked to me just as Mr. Thompson got out. Senator VAN NUYS. What was the temper of the crowd around there when you got home? Were they angry or excited? What was their temper? Mrs. THOMPSON. They all seemed surprised and shocked, the people whom I saw in the drug store. Of course, I did not see anyone else. Senator VAN NUYS. Was the crowd milling around or standing still, or what was it doing? Mrs. THOMPSON. Standing still. Senator VAN NUYS. Were the members of the crowd strangers that you did not know? Mrs. THOMPSON. Yes; they were most all strangers. Senator VAN Nurs. Did you see any business men among the crowd? Mrs. THOMPSON. No. Senator VAN NUYS. Were the business houses closed generally or open? Mrs. THOMPSON. Really that is the only business place I noticed, to go to the store to get some medicine to take, so I don't know whether the others were open or not. I was so nervous and upset. Senator VAN NUYS. Was there any discussion in your presence as to who were the members or the leaders of this mob? Mrs. THOMPSON. No. Senator VAN NUYS. Does not that community discuss that question yet today? Mrs. THOMPSON. They do not to me, because they all realize I have heard so much of it and seen so much of it that I do not want to hear much about it. Senator VAN NUYS. I do not understand the mental attitude of the community, the reputation of which would be blackened by a lynching of this character, and no seeming desire upon the part of the community to prosecute the leaders of the mob. Mrs. THOMPSON. I do not think the people there approve of lynching. I know I do not. Senator VAN NUYS. Is it the desire of the community to apprehend and punish the leaders of the mob? Mrs. THOMPSON. Really I do not know about that because I never talked much about that part of it. Senator VAN NUYS. That is all; you may be excused. (Witness excused.) TESTIMONY OF MRS. LEE HAYMAN (The witness was duly sworn by Senator Van Nuys.) Senator VAN NUYS. Will you state to the committee your name and residence? Mrs. HAYMAN. Mrs. Lee Hayman; Princess Anne, Md. Senator VAN NUYS. You are the Mrs. Hayman mentioned by Mrs. Thompson who just testified? Mrs. HAYMAN. Yes. Senator VAN NUYS. Where did you first see Mrs. Thompson the night of the lynching. Mrs. HAYMAN. In front of the hotel. Senator VAN NUYS. Where is the hotel with reference to Mr. Thompson's drug store? Mrs. HAYMAN. About a block away from his drug store on Main Street. Senator VAN NUYS. How far from the jail? Mrs. HAYMAN. About two blocks and a half. Senator VAN NUYS. How far from the lot or office space where this lynching occurred? Mrs. HAYMAN. I don't know. Senator VAN NUYS. Do you know where the lynching occurred or where the body was found? Mrs. HAYMAN. No; I do not. All I know is what I heard. Senator VAN NUYS. From the spot where you heard the lynching occurred, how far was the hotel? Mrs. HYMAN. That was at the jail where it all started. Senator VAN NUYS. I know it stated there. The man was hung, was he not? Mrs. HAYMAN. I do not know; I could not truthfully say. I did not see it, and I could not say that. Senator VAN NUYS. Is it not a matter of fact that they point out the spot where Armwood was hung, and have there not been great crowds there? Mrs. HAYMAN. No, sir; not to my knowledge. I never heard of anyone going there just to look. Senator VAN NUYS. You are a married lady? Mrs. HAYMAN. Yes, sir. Senator VAN NUYS. What business is your husband engaged in? Mrs. HAYMAN. The hardware business. Senator VAN NUYS. In Princess Anne? Mrs. HAYMAN. Yes, sir. Senator VAN NUYS. You have known Mrs. Thompson a considerable time? Mrs. HAYMAN. Yes; quite a number of years. 42640-34-PT 2——3 |