THE MAYCOMB TRIBUNE
This issue of the Maycomb Tribune is dedicated to a review of many of the articles found in past issues. This is simply a select group of articles from various times.
THE TRIAL OF THE DECADE!
Guilty. That's the verdict from the trial of the decade. Almost a year after the event actually occurred, Horace Gilmer and Atticus Finch faced off in an attempt to argue this groundbreaking case. Never before had a black man's word been taken by that of a white woman's, but there's a first time for everything. This was not the time.
The day began with the jury selection, which lasted most of the morning. As usual no town folks were a part of the jury, but plenty of Cunninghams were.
After lunch the trial began. Mr. Gilmer presented his first witness, the sheriff of Maycomb, Mr. Heck Tate. Mr. Tate testified about everything he saw when Mr. Ewell came to fetch him. Mayella was badly beaten, and he was told that Tom Robinson did it, so he arrested Mr. Robinson. The surprising fact that came about during cross-examination by Mr. Finch was that Mayella's injuries were to the right side of her face.
The prosecution called their next witness, Bob Ewell. This filty scum of a person continued on telling the story as he saw it. He appeared at the window, and Tom Robinson was raping his Mayella. After he raced around to the door, Tom was gone. He did a lot of running by the time he contacted the sheriff.
Atticus Finch cross-examined Bob Ewell, implying that he might be the one really at fault. Mr. Ewell never called a doctor, which points out that this case never should have gone to trial. When Mr. Ewell wrote on the back of an envelope, it showed that he was left handed, which means he could be the one who beat his daughter.
Mayella Ewell came next. In the short nineteen and a half years of her life, she had never been in a court and was not treated with courtesy. Although she should have been charged with contempt, Judge Taylor had pity on her and let her go. She testified as to what she thought happened, but she was very uncertain of the events.
The prosecution rested, and a ten minute break insued for all in the sweltering ninety degree heat of the courtroom. The defense began their case next. Tom Robinson, the defendant, was the first and only witness called by Mr. Finch. Being a cripple and unable to use his one arm, he could not place it on the Bible to take the oath. Out of the goodness of his heart, he testified that he had helped Mayella many times doing lots of little chores. Mr. Robinson testified that it was really the other way around, that Mayella had technically tried to take advantage of him. When Mr. Ewell appeared in the doorway, he took off running.
His fatal mistake was that he admitted he felt sorry for her. How dare a black man feel sorry for a white woman! After very eloquent closing arguments, the case was sent to the jury. Even though the verdict was still guilty, the case was out for the longest any case of this nature has ever been.
Court Docket
The Cunninghams from Old Sarum from the northern portion of the county along with Mr. Arthur Radley "came before the probate judge today on charges of disorderly conduct, disturbing the peace, assault and battery, and using abusive and profane language in the presence and hearing of a female." This alledgedly is because they locked Mr. Conner in the courthouse outhouse.
Arthur Radley attacked his father today with a pair of scissors. While cutting things from this very newspaper to paste into his scrapbook, he was in a state of insanity. He shoved the scissors into his father's leg, wiped them off, and continued cutting. Mr. Radley refuses to send him to an asylum, so he was placed in jail even though he was not charged with anything.
Arthur Radley was released from the courthouse basement today. He had not been formally charged, so he was free to be taken back by his father. If he didn't go back, he would probably die from the mold.
Tom Robinson was charged with disorderly conduct after a fight with another man, who remains unidentified. The other man paid the fine, but Mr. Robinson was unable to do so. He will serve thirty days.
November 21, 1934
Mayella Ewell was raped today. Tom Robinson allegedly was walking by when she asked him to come into the yard to bust up a chiffarobe for her. It was supposedly his first time inside the yard, and when Miss Ewell went to get him a nickel, he was standing over her. He hit her, beat her, and took advantage of her. Allegedly Mr. Bob Ewell, Mayella's father, showed up at the window and started yelling. Mr. Robinson ran off, and he is now charged in the case. A court date has not yet been set.
Editorial
As most people probably realize by now as this town is very small and word travels fast, Tom Robinson was shot last week trying to run away, as they are saying to cover up this horrible incident. During an exercise period, he supposedly took off running.
But did that really justify his brutal death, even if it was true? It's a sin to kill cripples, be they standing, sitting, or escaping. Tom did not have a fair chance, and he was shot to death for no reason.
Tom's death is like that of the senseless slaughter of songbirds by hunters and children. This respectable man went to work every day, being a very reliable worker, and this is how he's rewarded! There is never a reason to kill a man, especially not in this case.
Atticus Finch did the best he could, but Tom really didn't have a chance. It was a simple matter of black verses white, and white usually prevails. The Civil War was fought to give blacks their freedom, not allowing anyone the right to kill them whenever they wanted.
Tom was a free man, but was he really free? To be free means that you not only aren't controlled by another living, breathing, human being, but you must also have justice. The court sought to give justice--justice for the wrong party involved.
Mayella Ewell was just a lonely nineteen year old girl, and Tom was in the wrong place at the wrong time. That cost him his life. It is time we take a stand on the prejudiced attitudes in this county!
Obituary
Mrs. Radley died of natural causes during this very harsh winter. Occasionally she could be seen going to the edge of her porch, but she was rarely heard from. She is the mother of Arthur Radley and Nathan Radley.
Mr. Radley passed away today. The road was blocked as he slowly passed on. Every day he could be seen walking to town at precisely 11:30 with a bag and returning around 12. He was unemployed, but he had his hands full with his family. He is the father of Arthur Radley of Maycomb and Nathan Radley of Pensacola, Florida.
Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose died today a free woman. Approaching 100 years old, she leaves no relatives. She was considered the meanest woman who ever lived, but that was with the morphine addiction. She was in great pain, and the morphine saved her from the pain. Slowly but surely, she managed to break the habit, showing what real courage is.
Social
Mrs. Dubose is at it again! This little lady continues to just sit on her porch and bother everyone. She's still addicted to that horrible drug. What is this world coming to?
Calpurnia took the Finch children to church with her today. These two young white children attended the First Purchase African M. E. Church instead of their own. They attend their church every Sunday, but they obviously did not attend today!
Jeremy Atticus Finch, Jean Louise Finch, and Charles Baker Harris attended the trial of the decade as of 1:18 PM. Despite their father's comments, they showed up in the colored balcony. What is this world coming to? Calpurnia came to take the children home, but they returned to hear the verdict.
The Rosetta Stone is a black basalt slab that has the key to many of Egyptian hieroglyphics. This was found by French troops in 199 near the town of Rosetta, hence the name. It contains the same inscription in three different languages.
The Legend of Arthur Radley
The Cunninghams from Old Sarum are legendary as the closest thing Maycomb has ever had to a gang. "They hung around the barbershop; they rode the bus to Abbottsville on Sundays and went to the picture show; they attended dances at the county's riverside gambling hell, the Dew-Drop Inn & Fishing Campe; they experimented with stumphole whiskey." If only someone had warned Mr. Radley that his son Arthur was involved with this group, things might not have been so bad for him.
They were charged with many things for locking Mr. Conner in the courthouse outhouse, everything from assault to using abusive and profane language in the presence of a female. Mr. Conner said, "We added the last charge because they cussed so loud I'm sure every lady in Maycomb could hear them."
Everyone was sent to a state industrial school and received a wonderful education, but Mr. Arthur did not go. Mr. Radley took his son home, and he was never heard from again. The legend of this mysterious man will continue well into the future.
HITLER'S CONTROL CONTINUES . . .
Adolf Hitler has continued to persecute the Jews. He takes away all of their belongings and puts them in prisons. His brainwashing techniques have been working, washing the feeble minded. He plans to make anyone who is partially Jewish register incase of trouble.
9 OLD MEN STRIKE IT DEAD!
The National Recovery Act is now dead. The bumper stickers can be seen everywhere, but they will now be coming down. In the case Schecter V. United States, the Supreme Court has now ruled that the National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933 is unconstitutional.
The NRA was part of Franklin D. Roosevelt's plan to empower the President to set up a code of competition for businesses, attempting to regulate interstate commerce.
It was found unconstitutional because it excessively delegated legislative power to the President, and because it involved the federal government in regulating intrastate commerce.
Colored News
OBITUARY
Tom Robinson
Tom Robinson died today. He was shot 17 times when he tried to escape. Everyone probably knows him as the innocent man convicted of raping Mayella Ewell, but he is much more than that.
Tom Robinson lived in the little settlement beyond the town dump with his wife Helen and his three children. He was a faithful member of the First Purchase African M. E. Church since he was a boy, and he was a law abiding man. He was crippled, having gotten his left arm caught in a cotton gin when he was younger. Mr. Link Deas was his employer for eight years, and everyone will miss him dearly.
The Maycomb Tribune is solely written, edited, and published by Mr. B. B. Underwood.
