Tom Barnes's Blog: Tom's 'RocktheTower' Blog - Posts Tagged "thomas"
Selznick International and MGM Make a Deal
Let’s Go to the Movies
Selznick and Sam Goldwyn Not on Same Page
During the month of February 1938 Selznick and Sidney Howard were working hard on a script that would use every prominent line possible from the book.
Overall film length was a concern, but they hoped to have a script, that would meet their expectations as to content and running time, ready when cameras rolled. Selznick was so concerned with the overall length that he admonished Cukor to be careful not to add extra lines during the shooting process. Those line changes at the time might give the actors something fresh to work with, however in the long run they would be counter productive as they would end up adding dialogue and as a consequence too much to the overall length of the film.
Gary Cooper was high on Selznick’s list for the role of Rhett Butler and he was trying to put a deal together with Sam Goldwyn that would have United Artist distribute the film – but only as a package that included Gary Cooper. Sam Goldwyn was traveling to Europe and left on his trip before Selznick got any kind of agreement. And as a consequence Gary Cooper was taken off the number one prospect list to play Rhett Butler.
However, the concern over losing Cooper was short lived. The search teams out looking for Scarlett and supporting actors were being peppered with questions by book fans that were asking for Clark Gable. As the chorus grew louder the press picked up the fans enthusiasm and it soon became obvious that Gable was the public choice.
Selznick had not overlooked Gable, but in the early going he had little luck in making a deal with MGM for the loan of their biggest star. It was also known to Hollywood insiders that Gable didn’t want to be the stand-alone star in the film in case it was a dud. And secondly he didn’t want to do a Southern accent.
Of course Louis B. Mayer head of MGM might have something to say on the matter. And sometime in May 1938 Mayer posed the idea to Selznick to allow MGM to buy the property from Selznick International and produce the picture at MGM. The positive element in that proposal was the certainty that Clark Gable would play Rhett Butler and satisfy public demand.
David Selznick gave Mayer’s offer considerable thought, but after talking it over with Jock Whitney, the original champion of the film, Selznick said no.
Of course MGM had opened the door to possible negotiations and within a week they began to work on a deal. Louis B. Mayer had mentioned two of the most important issues in his original proposition to buy the film, Gable and distribution.
At the time those talks were going on between Selznick and Mayer the public was growing more vocal in its demand that Gable to play Rhett Butler. And in the end they got their wish because with the help of Jock Whitney securing more financing a deal was struck where MGM would loan Gable to Selznick International along with a million and a quarter dollars and distribution rights. Selznick International would in turn give up fifty percent of the films profit. A terrible deal on the surface, but the finance situation being what it was with Selznick, he likely figured half a loaf was better than none.
(To be continued)
Another part of ‘The Story Behind Gone With The Wind’
By Sally Trippett Rains author of ‘The Making of a Classic.’
Creative Book Publishers International
(Continued from last week)
“I was very close to Mr. Selznick,” Marcella Rabwin said. “People always said, ‘what did you do?’ and I say, ‘anything he didn’t have time for.’ I was involved in every phase of the production of his films from the beginning when you bought the thing to the time when it was finished and you could breathe again.” According to her (Marcella Rabwin) the film cost “four million, eighty-five thousand, seven hundred and ninety dollars.” Selznick’s original plan was for a movie that lasted 2 ½ hours and cost about two million. At that time it was the most expensive film ever made or even imagined. As noted by Tom Barnes, Selznick had originally turned away from buying the rights to Margaret Mitchell’s very famous book, but his money-man Jock Whitney--urged on by Kay Brown-- told him that if Selznick did not buy it, then Whitney was going to. “We had no idea of the enormous task ahead of us when we took it on,” said Marcella Rabwin. “That book (Gone With The Wind) had become such a Bible to so many people---there were 20 million copies of the book sold in the first year. The first time we ran it as a consecutive piece of work it was five hours, and I didn’t know how he was going to cut it. Every minute of it was a beauty but still he had to get it down to what it was; 3 hours and 45 minutes.” The year 2009 marks the 70th Anniversary of Gone With The Wind's movie premiere in Atlanta, Georgia. Author Sally Tippett Rains has interviewed over 70 people involved with the movie including actors, historians, and other authors. She was fortunate enough to work with one of Margaret Mitchell's cousins who has a scrapbook full of stories from her own family. Many of the stories that had been passed down from Mitchell's relatives who lived through the Civil War were similar to stories in Gone With The Wind. In her upcoming book The Making Of A Classic, Margaret Mitchell and Gone With The Wind. Rains gives insight into how Mitchell may have come to write about her various characters and stories. She worked with Tom Barnes on a chapter where there was a cross-over from one of his books, Doc Holliday's Road To Tombstone with Gone With The Wind. It seems Doc Holliday was a cousin to Margaret Mitchell. He had a special relationship with another of her cousins, Mattie Holliday (who was also his cousin.) Barnes' research tells him it was love, but it was unrequited, for he left to go out West. According to Barnes' book, after the Gunfight at OK Corral she realized he was never coming back. She joined the convent and changed her name to Sister Mary Melanie and she was called Sister Melanie. Was it a coincidence that there were at least two storylines which may have come from this Mitchell family story. There was a woman named Melanie (Melanie Wilkes)who married her cousin (Ashley); and in another part of the book, a memory of Scarlett's mother Ellen falling for her cousin, who left for the "west." Barnes has researched his book for many years and stands by his story.
Writers Notebook:
Maxwell Perkins, one of America’s best-known editors worked for Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York and edited works of such famous writers as F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway and Thomas Wolf. Perkins wrote in answer to a letter, received from a young man in the Military, regarding the active pursuit of a writing career had this advice for the young man. ‘As to perhaps a couple of years in college, I should think that might be a great advantage, in the general sense, but don’t try to learn about writing there. Learn something else. Learn about writing from reading. That’s the right way to do it. But then it can only be done by those who have eyes and ears, and by seeing and listening. Very few of the great writers had that formal education, and many of them never mastered spelling or grammar. They got their vocabulary by reading and hearing. But the way they teach literature and writing in college is harmful…’
Writing courses have changed a lot since Perkins made those remarks, however much of his advice is still valid. Being a good observer and developing good reading habits will likely take you farther along the path to a writing career than anything else.
Tom Barnes -- Actor, Writer and Hurricane Hunter.
Check out my website for books, blogs, western legends, a literary icon, reviews and interviews. Also my novels The Goring Collection and Doc Holliday’s Road to Tombstone along with a non fiction remembrance of The Hurricane Hunters and Lost in the Bermuda Triangle.
www.tombarnes39.com
www.RocktheTower.com
Selznick and Sam Goldwyn Not on Same Page
During the month of February 1938 Selznick and Sidney Howard were working hard on a script that would use every prominent line possible from the book.
Overall film length was a concern, but they hoped to have a script, that would meet their expectations as to content and running time, ready when cameras rolled. Selznick was so concerned with the overall length that he admonished Cukor to be careful not to add extra lines during the shooting process. Those line changes at the time might give the actors something fresh to work with, however in the long run they would be counter productive as they would end up adding dialogue and as a consequence too much to the overall length of the film.
Gary Cooper was high on Selznick’s list for the role of Rhett Butler and he was trying to put a deal together with Sam Goldwyn that would have United Artist distribute the film – but only as a package that included Gary Cooper. Sam Goldwyn was traveling to Europe and left on his trip before Selznick got any kind of agreement. And as a consequence Gary Cooper was taken off the number one prospect list to play Rhett Butler.
However, the concern over losing Cooper was short lived. The search teams out looking for Scarlett and supporting actors were being peppered with questions by book fans that were asking for Clark Gable. As the chorus grew louder the press picked up the fans enthusiasm and it soon became obvious that Gable was the public choice.
Selznick had not overlooked Gable, but in the early going he had little luck in making a deal with MGM for the loan of their biggest star. It was also known to Hollywood insiders that Gable didn’t want to be the stand-alone star in the film in case it was a dud. And secondly he didn’t want to do a Southern accent.
Of course Louis B. Mayer head of MGM might have something to say on the matter. And sometime in May 1938 Mayer posed the idea to Selznick to allow MGM to buy the property from Selznick International and produce the picture at MGM. The positive element in that proposal was the certainty that Clark Gable would play Rhett Butler and satisfy public demand.
David Selznick gave Mayer’s offer considerable thought, but after talking it over with Jock Whitney, the original champion of the film, Selznick said no.
Of course MGM had opened the door to possible negotiations and within a week they began to work on a deal. Louis B. Mayer had mentioned two of the most important issues in his original proposition to buy the film, Gable and distribution.
At the time those talks were going on between Selznick and Mayer the public was growing more vocal in its demand that Gable to play Rhett Butler. And in the end they got their wish because with the help of Jock Whitney securing more financing a deal was struck where MGM would loan Gable to Selznick International along with a million and a quarter dollars and distribution rights. Selznick International would in turn give up fifty percent of the films profit. A terrible deal on the surface, but the finance situation being what it was with Selznick, he likely figured half a loaf was better than none.
(To be continued)
Another part of ‘The Story Behind Gone With The Wind’
By Sally Trippett Rains author of ‘The Making of a Classic.’
Creative Book Publishers International
(Continued from last week)
“I was very close to Mr. Selznick,” Marcella Rabwin said. “People always said, ‘what did you do?’ and I say, ‘anything he didn’t have time for.’ I was involved in every phase of the production of his films from the beginning when you bought the thing to the time when it was finished and you could breathe again.” According to her (Marcella Rabwin) the film cost “four million, eighty-five thousand, seven hundred and ninety dollars.” Selznick’s original plan was for a movie that lasted 2 ½ hours and cost about two million. At that time it was the most expensive film ever made or even imagined. As noted by Tom Barnes, Selznick had originally turned away from buying the rights to Margaret Mitchell’s very famous book, but his money-man Jock Whitney--urged on by Kay Brown-- told him that if Selznick did not buy it, then Whitney was going to. “We had no idea of the enormous task ahead of us when we took it on,” said Marcella Rabwin. “That book (Gone With The Wind) had become such a Bible to so many people---there were 20 million copies of the book sold in the first year. The first time we ran it as a consecutive piece of work it was five hours, and I didn’t know how he was going to cut it. Every minute of it was a beauty but still he had to get it down to what it was; 3 hours and 45 minutes.” The year 2009 marks the 70th Anniversary of Gone With The Wind's movie premiere in Atlanta, Georgia. Author Sally Tippett Rains has interviewed over 70 people involved with the movie including actors, historians, and other authors. She was fortunate enough to work with one of Margaret Mitchell's cousins who has a scrapbook full of stories from her own family. Many of the stories that had been passed down from Mitchell's relatives who lived through the Civil War were similar to stories in Gone With The Wind. In her upcoming book The Making Of A Classic, Margaret Mitchell and Gone With The Wind. Rains gives insight into how Mitchell may have come to write about her various characters and stories. She worked with Tom Barnes on a chapter where there was a cross-over from one of his books, Doc Holliday's Road To Tombstone with Gone With The Wind. It seems Doc Holliday was a cousin to Margaret Mitchell. He had a special relationship with another of her cousins, Mattie Holliday (who was also his cousin.) Barnes' research tells him it was love, but it was unrequited, for he left to go out West. According to Barnes' book, after the Gunfight at OK Corral she realized he was never coming back. She joined the convent and changed her name to Sister Mary Melanie and she was called Sister Melanie. Was it a coincidence that there were at least two storylines which may have come from this Mitchell family story. There was a woman named Melanie (Melanie Wilkes)who married her cousin (Ashley); and in another part of the book, a memory of Scarlett's mother Ellen falling for her cousin, who left for the "west." Barnes has researched his book for many years and stands by his story.
Writers Notebook:
Maxwell Perkins, one of America’s best-known editors worked for Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York and edited works of such famous writers as F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway and Thomas Wolf. Perkins wrote in answer to a letter, received from a young man in the Military, regarding the active pursuit of a writing career had this advice for the young man. ‘As to perhaps a couple of years in college, I should think that might be a great advantage, in the general sense, but don’t try to learn about writing there. Learn something else. Learn about writing from reading. That’s the right way to do it. But then it can only be done by those who have eyes and ears, and by seeing and listening. Very few of the great writers had that formal education, and many of them never mastered spelling or grammar. They got their vocabulary by reading and hearing. But the way they teach literature and writing in college is harmful…’
Writing courses have changed a lot since Perkins made those remarks, however much of his advice is still valid. Being a good observer and developing good reading habits will likely take you farther along the path to a writing career than anything else.
Tom Barnes -- Actor, Writer and Hurricane Hunter.
Check out my website for books, blogs, western legends, a literary icon, reviews and interviews. Also my novels The Goring Collection and Doc Holliday’s Road to Tombstone along with a non fiction remembrance of The Hurricane Hunters and Lost in the Bermuda Triangle.
www.tombarnes39.com
www.RocktheTower.com
Jacob's Turn and the Tombstone Lawyers
'We hold these truths to be self evident...'
Excerpt from 'The Goring Collection'
Jacob Meyers, a short balding man in his early seventies sat, before his living room fireplace, waiting for the others to arrive. The apartment overlooked the East River and the living room was comfortably furnished with wall paintings; a soft leather couch, chairs, and a large coffee table made from the hatch cover of a World II Liberty ship. Jacob glanced out the window and saw a small sailboat flying a large American flag and tacking to the wind. That flag somehow reminded him of his turn and how it all came together. It must have been during that prescribed course in citizenship, which turned out to be nothing more than an appetizer. For when he finished those studies, he began reading biographies on the Founding Fathers, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Federalist papers. Jacob believed that the most profound difference in his thinking was provided by a short phrase written by Thomas Jefferson into the Declaration of Independence. ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.’
And while those words from the Declaration of Independence rang loud and clear, it seemed to Jacob that the words of Karl Marx were now sounding hollow and thin.' (To be continued)
Cochise County political ring Fight's Back.
The ring and their cowboy's lost a round at the OK Corral, but they were by no means ready to concede defeat.
Coroner H.M. Matthews called for an inquest to begin Friday, Oct. 28th.
At the same hour the coroner's jury was being impaneled, ring lawyers filed papers with the Cochise County Court demanding the arrest of Wyatt, Virgil and Morgan Earp and Doc Holliday. Charging them with the wanton and willful killing of Frank McLowry, Tom McLowry and Billy Clanton.
Word leaked out regarding the ring's intentions and the would-be defendants began making plans of their own. Bogus charges or not, they had to be legally countered. Wyatt's personal attorney, Tom Fitch, hired their defense team. He selected Judge T. J. Drum to work with him in the courtroom and the law firm of Howard and Street agreed to do the legal research. That firm would also coordinate the day-to-day legwork of rounding up and interviewing potential witnesses.
Col. William Herring, a staunch supporter of law and order volunteered to work with the defense team on their overall strategy.
Doc and Wyatt attended a Saturday breakfast meeting with their lawyers at the Melrose Restaurant on Fremont Street. The group had just assembled in a small banquet room when Tom Fitch gestured for everyone to take a seat. He removed a letter sized paper from his pocket, cleared his throat, smiled and began to read, "Goodrich and Goodrich, Campbell and Robinson, Smith and Colby, J.M. Murphy, District Attorney Lyttleton Price, his chief assistant Earl Smith and that's just the ones on record."
“What's that suppose to mean, Tom?" Wyatt drawled.
"That's the group of attorneys the ring hired to prosecute a case called -- Arizona Territory Vs Earps and Holliday."
"Good God Almighty ... they do mean business,” Doc declared." Then he frowned and sipped his coffee. But he was heartened when he looked around the table and realized that there was not the slightest sign of intimidation on the faces of their lawyers.
Col. Herring leaned in and talked in a manner that would exclude the walls from hearing. "There is no way in hell that Ike Clanton could finance that gaggle of legal talent. It appears to me that the Cochise County political ring is still backing their cowboys.”
A good part of the meeting was taken up with Doc and Wyatt giving their accounts of the shoot-out. Doc did not volunteer that his shot to Billy Clanton's wrist might have been the opening round.
Col. Herring made it clear to the defendants that the prosecution would likely try and have them arrested.
T.J. Drum gave a report he had gotten from the coroner's inquest. And how the bias was running against the Earps and Holliday. However, the coroner was not swayed by politics and refused to add inflammatory language to his report. Dr. Matthews simply stated that Tom and Frank McLowry and Billy Clanton died from gunshot wounds. (To be continued)
Santa Anita and the Breeders Cup
Not since the days of Seabuscuit has more attention been focused on the Santa Anita race track and it's not really so much about horses as the track surface the horses will run over.
My idea to do a pro and con post on Santa Anita's Pro-Ride racing surface didn't pan out. Why? Because the only real opposition to the synthetic surface to go on record is Jess Jackson, a co owner of Rachel Alexandra. He has indicated that the only reason the super filly won't be running during the Breeders Cup series is because of the track surface.
Most racing fans, including myself, would like to see the filly run in the Breeders Cup, but apparently that is not to be.
However, at the present time we have two of the top 3 year olds Mine that Bird and Summer Bird (half brothers) that are expected to square off against each other in the 5 million dollar classic.And don't forget the added competition coming in from Europe. They'll give you handicappers a few anxious moments, but like they say, that's horse racing.
In the meantime I'll pass along what ever tid bits of information I come across regarding the run up to the Breeders Cup.
Writers Notebook:
You have committed to a project, finished the basic research and character prep work and you’re all set to begin writing. Suddenly you’re overcome with anxiety – you’ve got a knot the size of a baseball in your stomach. Stop!
You are not alone. It might give you some comfort to know that John Steinbeck experienced some of those same anxious moments. In one of his letters written in February 1936, which was included in his ‘A Life in Letters’ Steinbeck said, ‘I have to start [writing:] and am scared to death as usual – miserable sick feeling of inadequacy.’ Then in the very next sentence he said, ‘I’ll love it once I get down to work.’
Tom Barnes -- Actor, Writer and Hurricane Hunter. Check out my website for books, blogs, western legends, a literary icon, reviews and interviews. Also my novels The Goring Collection and Doc Holliday’s Road to Tombstone along with a non fiction remembrance of The Hurricane Hunters and Lost in the Bermuda Triangle.
www.tombarnes39.com
www.RocktheTower.com
http://TheHurricaneHunter.blogspot.com
Excerpt from 'The Goring Collection'
Jacob Meyers, a short balding man in his early seventies sat, before his living room fireplace, waiting for the others to arrive. The apartment overlooked the East River and the living room was comfortably furnished with wall paintings; a soft leather couch, chairs, and a large coffee table made from the hatch cover of a World II Liberty ship. Jacob glanced out the window and saw a small sailboat flying a large American flag and tacking to the wind. That flag somehow reminded him of his turn and how it all came together. It must have been during that prescribed course in citizenship, which turned out to be nothing more than an appetizer. For when he finished those studies, he began reading biographies on the Founding Fathers, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Federalist papers. Jacob believed that the most profound difference in his thinking was provided by a short phrase written by Thomas Jefferson into the Declaration of Independence. ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.’
And while those words from the Declaration of Independence rang loud and clear, it seemed to Jacob that the words of Karl Marx were now sounding hollow and thin.' (To be continued)
Cochise County political ring Fight's Back.
The ring and their cowboy's lost a round at the OK Corral, but they were by no means ready to concede defeat.
Coroner H.M. Matthews called for an inquest to begin Friday, Oct. 28th.
At the same hour the coroner's jury was being impaneled, ring lawyers filed papers with the Cochise County Court demanding the arrest of Wyatt, Virgil and Morgan Earp and Doc Holliday. Charging them with the wanton and willful killing of Frank McLowry, Tom McLowry and Billy Clanton.
Word leaked out regarding the ring's intentions and the would-be defendants began making plans of their own. Bogus charges or not, they had to be legally countered. Wyatt's personal attorney, Tom Fitch, hired their defense team. He selected Judge T. J. Drum to work with him in the courtroom and the law firm of Howard and Street agreed to do the legal research. That firm would also coordinate the day-to-day legwork of rounding up and interviewing potential witnesses.
Col. William Herring, a staunch supporter of law and order volunteered to work with the defense team on their overall strategy.
Doc and Wyatt attended a Saturday breakfast meeting with their lawyers at the Melrose Restaurant on Fremont Street. The group had just assembled in a small banquet room when Tom Fitch gestured for everyone to take a seat. He removed a letter sized paper from his pocket, cleared his throat, smiled and began to read, "Goodrich and Goodrich, Campbell and Robinson, Smith and Colby, J.M. Murphy, District Attorney Lyttleton Price, his chief assistant Earl Smith and that's just the ones on record."
“What's that suppose to mean, Tom?" Wyatt drawled.
"That's the group of attorneys the ring hired to prosecute a case called -- Arizona Territory Vs Earps and Holliday."
"Good God Almighty ... they do mean business,” Doc declared." Then he frowned and sipped his coffee. But he was heartened when he looked around the table and realized that there was not the slightest sign of intimidation on the faces of their lawyers.
Col. Herring leaned in and talked in a manner that would exclude the walls from hearing. "There is no way in hell that Ike Clanton could finance that gaggle of legal talent. It appears to me that the Cochise County political ring is still backing their cowboys.”
A good part of the meeting was taken up with Doc and Wyatt giving their accounts of the shoot-out. Doc did not volunteer that his shot to Billy Clanton's wrist might have been the opening round.
Col. Herring made it clear to the defendants that the prosecution would likely try and have them arrested.
T.J. Drum gave a report he had gotten from the coroner's inquest. And how the bias was running against the Earps and Holliday. However, the coroner was not swayed by politics and refused to add inflammatory language to his report. Dr. Matthews simply stated that Tom and Frank McLowry and Billy Clanton died from gunshot wounds. (To be continued)
Santa Anita and the Breeders Cup
Not since the days of Seabuscuit has more attention been focused on the Santa Anita race track and it's not really so much about horses as the track surface the horses will run over.
My idea to do a pro and con post on Santa Anita's Pro-Ride racing surface didn't pan out. Why? Because the only real opposition to the synthetic surface to go on record is Jess Jackson, a co owner of Rachel Alexandra. He has indicated that the only reason the super filly won't be running during the Breeders Cup series is because of the track surface.
Most racing fans, including myself, would like to see the filly run in the Breeders Cup, but apparently that is not to be.
However, at the present time we have two of the top 3 year olds Mine that Bird and Summer Bird (half brothers) that are expected to square off against each other in the 5 million dollar classic.And don't forget the added competition coming in from Europe. They'll give you handicappers a few anxious moments, but like they say, that's horse racing.
In the meantime I'll pass along what ever tid bits of information I come across regarding the run up to the Breeders Cup.
Writers Notebook:
You have committed to a project, finished the basic research and character prep work and you’re all set to begin writing. Suddenly you’re overcome with anxiety – you’ve got a knot the size of a baseball in your stomach. Stop!
You are not alone. It might give you some comfort to know that John Steinbeck experienced some of those same anxious moments. In one of his letters written in February 1936, which was included in his ‘A Life in Letters’ Steinbeck said, ‘I have to start [writing:] and am scared to death as usual – miserable sick feeling of inadequacy.’ Then in the very next sentence he said, ‘I’ll love it once I get down to work.’
Tom Barnes -- Actor, Writer and Hurricane Hunter. Check out my website for books, blogs, western legends, a literary icon, reviews and interviews. Also my novels The Goring Collection and Doc Holliday’s Road to Tombstone along with a non fiction remembrance of The Hurricane Hunters and Lost in the Bermuda Triangle.
www.tombarnes39.com
www.RocktheTower.com
http://TheHurricaneHunter.blogspot.com
Doc Holliday, Jekyll Island, Ghosts and Legends
Continue Excerpts of the Spicer Hearing...
Wednesday, November 2, 1881
To open the afternoon session District Attorney Price summoned Sheriff Johnny Behan to the stand. Everyone in the courtroom knew where the sheriff stood. He was a politician and when it came to a court of law he could tap dance around an issue with the best of them.
Once the sheriff settled into the witness chair Price asked, "When were you first made aware of a possible difficulty on the afternoon of October 26th?”
“I was in the barbershop when I heard there might be trouble with armed cowboys,” Sheriff Behan said, “and I took it upon myself to disarm the men."
"How did you go about disarming the cowboys?"
"I first ran into Frank McLowry, and told him he had to disarm, there is likely to be trouble and I've proposed to disarm everyone in town that has arms. He said that he would not give up his arms, as he did not intend to have any trouble. About that time I saw Ike Clanton and Tom McLowry down the street. I said to Frank, come along with me. We went down to where Ike and Tom were standing. I said to the boys, you must give up your arms."
"How many men were in that group?" Price asked.
"I saw five standing there and asked them how many there were of them. They said four of us. The young man Claiborne said he was not one of the party. He wanted them to leave town. I saw the Earp's and Holliday coming down the sidewalk on the south side of Fremont Street. I said to the Clanton's. Wait here I see them coming and I'll go up and stop them."
“Then what did you do?”
"I went up the street and met them at Bauer’s butcher shop and told them not to go any further, that I was down there for the purpose of arresting and disarming the McLowry's and Clanton's. They did not heed me and I threw up my hands and said, "Go back. I'm Sheriff of this county and I'm not going to allow any trouble, if I can help it."
Then the witness shook his head and gave an embarrassed sigh. "They brushed past me. Then I turned and followed them by a couple of steps. When they got to within a few feet of the Clanton's and McLowry’s I heard one of them say, I think it was Wyatt Earp, ‘You sons-a-bitch’s you’ve been looking for a fight and now you can have it.’ About that time I heard a voice say throw up your hands. At that point I noticed a nickel plated pistol pointed at one of the Clanton party, I think Billy Clanton."
"Could you say with any certainty, who was holding the nickel plated pistol?"
"My impression, at that time, was that Holliday had the nickel plated pistol. I will not say for certain,” he added. “When the order was given, throw up your hands, I heard Billy Clanton say, ‘don’t shoot me, I don't want to fight.” Tom McLowry at the same time threw opened his coat and said, ‘I have nothing. Or I'm not armed.’"
"What was the position of Billy Clanton's hands, at that point?"
"I couldn't tell the position of Billy Clanton's hands at the time he said, ‘I don’t what a fight’, my attention was directed just at that moment to the nickel plated pistol."
"Who fired the first shot?"
"The nickel plated pistol was first to fire and another followed instantly."
"Both from the nickel plated pistol?"
"No. Those two shots were not from the same pistol, they were too nearly instantaneous to be fired from the same weapon."
"What happened after the second shot was fired?"
"All hell broke loose." The sheriff mopped his brow. "Two or three shots fired rapidly after that first shot."
"Who fired those shots?"
"By whom, I do not know." Behan cleared his throat. "The first two shots were fired by the Earp party."
“I have no further questions at this time, Your Honor."
When Judge Spicer adjourned court for the day the defense team stayed in their seats to discuss the day’s proceedings.
Doc picked up one of his notes. “Here’s something Behan said near Bauer’s Butcher Shop, which he conveniently left out of his testimony. I can recall him saying, ‘don’t go down there, they will murder you.’”
Wyatt perked up. “Damned if he didn’t say that, Doc. He sure as hell did.”
T.J. Drum said, “Good point but I doubt that we could prove it. Behan’s pretty slick with his answers. You might have noticed that he did not say that the cowboy’s hands were in any kind of position to surrender. He avoided that lie by simply saying that his attention was on the nickel-plated pistol.”
Excerpts from Judge Spicer's hearing. (To be continued)
The Jekyll Island Club Part 3
A central bank system, later called the Federal Reserve, didn't crop up over night. Bank failures and panics in 1873, 1893 and again in 1907 brought the problen to a head. In the fall of 1907 the United States was in a rescession and there were runs on several banks across the country with depositors demanding their money. A run on the Knickerbocker Trust Company in New York got everyones attention and forced the banking industry to look at the problem. After anslyzing the situation, industry leaders realized that there was no lender of last resort. When an individual bank got in trouble there was no one to turn to.
Once the problem was identified several banking leaders including Jekyll Island Club members George F. Barker, President of the First National Bank, and James Stillman, President of National City Bank met with fellow member J. Pierpont Morgan and began examining the assets of the troubled institutions. In short order a decision was made to offer loans to any of the banks that could show that they were solvent. And with a little help from the Treasury Department the banking community skated through the 1907 panic without a disaster.
However in 1908 Congress established a National Monetary Commission to oversee the banking community. That was only a temporary measure and another group was formed consisting of the chiefs of major corporations and banks that began to formulate a new policy that would be similar to a central bank. The group worked in secrete but eventually they needed a large, out of the way, facility that would make it less likely for anyone to leak the group plans before they had a chance to work out the details and have a working model that could stand up to scrutiny.
The Jekyll Island Club was chosen because it was isolated enough, and had meeting rooms and sufficient office space for small groups to do their work.
The main group, ostensibly heading off on a hunting trip, boarded a train at Hoboken, New Jersey and traveled south to Brunswick, Georgia. They were then taken by boat to the island.
The National Monetary Commission had laid the ground work for the banking and currency legislation, which the Jekyll Island group would use as the foundation on which to write the new banking law.
It took the men only ten days to work out the details.
The plan would then be presented to the congress as the completed work of the National Monetary Commission.
The reason for all the secrecy was that it was imperative that the true authors of the bill remain anonymous because of the overpowering resentment of the public toward bankers, and at that point no congressman would dare vote for a bill bearing a banking industry or Wall Street label, no matter how much they might have contributed to his campaign.
In truth the Jekyll Island plan was a Central Bank plan and in America there was a long tradition of struggle against any Central Bank. That thinking goes back to Thomas Jefferson's thoughts on the matter and his arguments against Alexander Hamilton's scheme for the First Bank of the United States.
In any event, no matter which side of the Federal Reserve argument you take, it is still very much a part of the Jekyll Island Club's legacy.
The millionaires would hardly recognize their island today, there is a large retirement community on the island and summer homes occupy the land where sand dunes use to be. Streets had been laid out before ecologist realized that the dunes kept the beaches in place. Acres of dunes were scraped off to provide land for motels with views of the ocean. Steps are now being taken to prevent any further man made erosion and newer property owners are required to protect native vegetation and the gnarled trees, which are rooted in the sand and help to stabilize the barrier against sea and storm.
New state laws also protect the delicate salt marshes where so much of the fish life in Georgia's off shore waters spawn. Those laws also protect the alligator as well as wild turkeys that meander through the deep wood and the deer that feed at night on the grass of the island's golf courses.
The Jekyll Island Club was the most exclusive club ever known, one hundred of the worlds wealthiest men quartered on an island nine miles long and one mile wide.
The club lasted for about sixty years and that was quite a long time in a society where fade and whim were common place.
The Jekyll Island club as an organization colsed its operation in the early days of World War II and the island was purchased by the state of Georgia in 1947. The clubhouse still remains as well as some thirty cottages.
You can visit the island today and enjoy it's natural beauty and while you're there you might also hear a few ghost stories. The Georgia coast is peppered with islands and they all have their favorite ghost stories and legends. Among them are Cumberland, Sapelo, Saint Simons and Jekyll. The iron kettle off the deck of the Wanderer, a few haunted millionaires cottages and just across the sound on the southwest side of Saint Simons Island is the place where the famous ' Legend of Ebo Landing,' got it's name.
Writers Notebook:
The word has the strength of a bulldog, genius is guided by it, no difficult task was ever accomplished without a touch of tenacity. None of the following slogans mention the word but in each case tenacity was a silent partner.
'It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer.' Albert Einstein
'Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is to always try one more time.' Thomas Edison
'If people knew how hard I have had to work to gain my mastery, it wouldn't seem wonderful at all.' Michelangelo
Tom Barnes -- Actor, Writer and Hurricane Hunter.
Check out my website for books, blogs, western legends, a literary icon, reviews and interviews. Also my novels The Goring Collection and Doc Holliday’s Road to Tombstone along with a non fiction remembrance of The Hurricane Hunters and Lost in the Bermuda Triangle.
www.tombarnes39.com
www.RocktheTower.com
http://TheHurricaneHunter.blogspot.com
.
Wednesday, November 2, 1881
To open the afternoon session District Attorney Price summoned Sheriff Johnny Behan to the stand. Everyone in the courtroom knew where the sheriff stood. He was a politician and when it came to a court of law he could tap dance around an issue with the best of them.
Once the sheriff settled into the witness chair Price asked, "When were you first made aware of a possible difficulty on the afternoon of October 26th?”
“I was in the barbershop when I heard there might be trouble with armed cowboys,” Sheriff Behan said, “and I took it upon myself to disarm the men."
"How did you go about disarming the cowboys?"
"I first ran into Frank McLowry, and told him he had to disarm, there is likely to be trouble and I've proposed to disarm everyone in town that has arms. He said that he would not give up his arms, as he did not intend to have any trouble. About that time I saw Ike Clanton and Tom McLowry down the street. I said to Frank, come along with me. We went down to where Ike and Tom were standing. I said to the boys, you must give up your arms."
"How many men were in that group?" Price asked.
"I saw five standing there and asked them how many there were of them. They said four of us. The young man Claiborne said he was not one of the party. He wanted them to leave town. I saw the Earp's and Holliday coming down the sidewalk on the south side of Fremont Street. I said to the Clanton's. Wait here I see them coming and I'll go up and stop them."
“Then what did you do?”
"I went up the street and met them at Bauer’s butcher shop and told them not to go any further, that I was down there for the purpose of arresting and disarming the McLowry's and Clanton's. They did not heed me and I threw up my hands and said, "Go back. I'm Sheriff of this county and I'm not going to allow any trouble, if I can help it."
Then the witness shook his head and gave an embarrassed sigh. "They brushed past me. Then I turned and followed them by a couple of steps. When they got to within a few feet of the Clanton's and McLowry’s I heard one of them say, I think it was Wyatt Earp, ‘You sons-a-bitch’s you’ve been looking for a fight and now you can have it.’ About that time I heard a voice say throw up your hands. At that point I noticed a nickel plated pistol pointed at one of the Clanton party, I think Billy Clanton."
"Could you say with any certainty, who was holding the nickel plated pistol?"
"My impression, at that time, was that Holliday had the nickel plated pistol. I will not say for certain,” he added. “When the order was given, throw up your hands, I heard Billy Clanton say, ‘don’t shoot me, I don't want to fight.” Tom McLowry at the same time threw opened his coat and said, ‘I have nothing. Or I'm not armed.’"
"What was the position of Billy Clanton's hands, at that point?"
"I couldn't tell the position of Billy Clanton's hands at the time he said, ‘I don’t what a fight’, my attention was directed just at that moment to the nickel plated pistol."
"Who fired the first shot?"
"The nickel plated pistol was first to fire and another followed instantly."
"Both from the nickel plated pistol?"
"No. Those two shots were not from the same pistol, they were too nearly instantaneous to be fired from the same weapon."
"What happened after the second shot was fired?"
"All hell broke loose." The sheriff mopped his brow. "Two or three shots fired rapidly after that first shot."
"Who fired those shots?"
"By whom, I do not know." Behan cleared his throat. "The first two shots were fired by the Earp party."
“I have no further questions at this time, Your Honor."
When Judge Spicer adjourned court for the day the defense team stayed in their seats to discuss the day’s proceedings.
Doc picked up one of his notes. “Here’s something Behan said near Bauer’s Butcher Shop, which he conveniently left out of his testimony. I can recall him saying, ‘don’t go down there, they will murder you.’”
Wyatt perked up. “Damned if he didn’t say that, Doc. He sure as hell did.”
T.J. Drum said, “Good point but I doubt that we could prove it. Behan’s pretty slick with his answers. You might have noticed that he did not say that the cowboy’s hands were in any kind of position to surrender. He avoided that lie by simply saying that his attention was on the nickel-plated pistol.”
Excerpts from Judge Spicer's hearing. (To be continued)
The Jekyll Island Club Part 3
A central bank system, later called the Federal Reserve, didn't crop up over night. Bank failures and panics in 1873, 1893 and again in 1907 brought the problen to a head. In the fall of 1907 the United States was in a rescession and there were runs on several banks across the country with depositors demanding their money. A run on the Knickerbocker Trust Company in New York got everyones attention and forced the banking industry to look at the problem. After anslyzing the situation, industry leaders realized that there was no lender of last resort. When an individual bank got in trouble there was no one to turn to.
Once the problem was identified several banking leaders including Jekyll Island Club members George F. Barker, President of the First National Bank, and James Stillman, President of National City Bank met with fellow member J. Pierpont Morgan and began examining the assets of the troubled institutions. In short order a decision was made to offer loans to any of the banks that could show that they were solvent. And with a little help from the Treasury Department the banking community skated through the 1907 panic without a disaster.
However in 1908 Congress established a National Monetary Commission to oversee the banking community. That was only a temporary measure and another group was formed consisting of the chiefs of major corporations and banks that began to formulate a new policy that would be similar to a central bank. The group worked in secrete but eventually they needed a large, out of the way, facility that would make it less likely for anyone to leak the group plans before they had a chance to work out the details and have a working model that could stand up to scrutiny.
The Jekyll Island Club was chosen because it was isolated enough, and had meeting rooms and sufficient office space for small groups to do their work.
The main group, ostensibly heading off on a hunting trip, boarded a train at Hoboken, New Jersey and traveled south to Brunswick, Georgia. They were then taken by boat to the island.
The National Monetary Commission had laid the ground work for the banking and currency legislation, which the Jekyll Island group would use as the foundation on which to write the new banking law.
It took the men only ten days to work out the details.
The plan would then be presented to the congress as the completed work of the National Monetary Commission.
The reason for all the secrecy was that it was imperative that the true authors of the bill remain anonymous because of the overpowering resentment of the public toward bankers, and at that point no congressman would dare vote for a bill bearing a banking industry or Wall Street label, no matter how much they might have contributed to his campaign.
In truth the Jekyll Island plan was a Central Bank plan and in America there was a long tradition of struggle against any Central Bank. That thinking goes back to Thomas Jefferson's thoughts on the matter and his arguments against Alexander Hamilton's scheme for the First Bank of the United States.
In any event, no matter which side of the Federal Reserve argument you take, it is still very much a part of the Jekyll Island Club's legacy.
The millionaires would hardly recognize their island today, there is a large retirement community on the island and summer homes occupy the land where sand dunes use to be. Streets had been laid out before ecologist realized that the dunes kept the beaches in place. Acres of dunes were scraped off to provide land for motels with views of the ocean. Steps are now being taken to prevent any further man made erosion and newer property owners are required to protect native vegetation and the gnarled trees, which are rooted in the sand and help to stabilize the barrier against sea and storm.
New state laws also protect the delicate salt marshes where so much of the fish life in Georgia's off shore waters spawn. Those laws also protect the alligator as well as wild turkeys that meander through the deep wood and the deer that feed at night on the grass of the island's golf courses.
The Jekyll Island Club was the most exclusive club ever known, one hundred of the worlds wealthiest men quartered on an island nine miles long and one mile wide.
The club lasted for about sixty years and that was quite a long time in a society where fade and whim were common place.
The Jekyll Island club as an organization colsed its operation in the early days of World War II and the island was purchased by the state of Georgia in 1947. The clubhouse still remains as well as some thirty cottages.
You can visit the island today and enjoy it's natural beauty and while you're there you might also hear a few ghost stories. The Georgia coast is peppered with islands and they all have their favorite ghost stories and legends. Among them are Cumberland, Sapelo, Saint Simons and Jekyll. The iron kettle off the deck of the Wanderer, a few haunted millionaires cottages and just across the sound on the southwest side of Saint Simons Island is the place where the famous ' Legend of Ebo Landing,' got it's name.
Writers Notebook:
The word has the strength of a bulldog, genius is guided by it, no difficult task was ever accomplished without a touch of tenacity. None of the following slogans mention the word but in each case tenacity was a silent partner.
'It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer.' Albert Einstein
'Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is to always try one more time.' Thomas Edison
'If people knew how hard I have had to work to gain my mastery, it wouldn't seem wonderful at all.' Michelangelo
Tom Barnes -- Actor, Writer and Hurricane Hunter.
Check out my website for books, blogs, western legends, a literary icon, reviews and interviews. Also my novels The Goring Collection and Doc Holliday’s Road to Tombstone along with a non fiction remembrance of The Hurricane Hunters and Lost in the Bermuda Triangle.
www.tombarnes39.com
www.RocktheTower.com
http://TheHurricaneHunter.blogspot.com
.
Tom's 'RocktheTower' Blog
I do a variety blog and post every Wednesday. I am an actor, writer and hurricane hunter and my subjects are generally written about those fields. During Hurricane Season I do at least one story every
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