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KI? "TO THINE OWN SELF BE TRUE, ANO IT MUST FOLLOW AS THE NIGHT THB HAY: THOU OANST NOT THEN BE FALSE TO ANY MAN." By STECK, SHELOR & SCHRODER. WALHALLA, SOUTH CAROLINA, .WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 12, 1010. I COUNTY j ____ OFFICERS DIE I ASPHYXIA Bodies Brought Back to SoutI ncc Soil-Funerals Universal L - Oconee mourns th?? loss of lwo of the most eflicient officers who had ever served our people. j Sheriff John W. Davis and Super . visor William C. Foster lost their W lives last Wednesday night at Fliza miitt oe th, New Jersey, where they had gone in ollleial capacity to take into their custody John Walker, colored, wanted to answer to tho charge of murder in Oconee, and William Carr, .. i . also colored, a material witness against Walker. Walker shot and ?1\ almost Instantly killed Walter Dodd, v" colored, at the construction camp of Willard & Hoggs, near Madison, this county, on August S th, last year, and 1 succeeded In making good his escape. Sheriff Davis had been active in get ting information in the case, With de Q scriptlon of the negro, into the'hands Mr" of sheriffs and police officials all over the country, with the rssult that notice was received about two weeks ago to the effect that Walker \ was held at Elizabeth, N. J., and ' would be turned over to Oconee offl ?v? dals upon presentation of the proper I*? papers for his return to South Caro ji 1 nu. Acting with bis usual prompt J ness, Sheriff Davis soon had the nec essary requisition papers for both ?\ Walker and Carr, and on Christmas i afternoon he, accompanied by Super J visor Foster, left Walhalla on the way to New Jersey. Deatli Overtakes Doth Officials. Mr. Davis and Mr. Foster reached j Elizabeth Wednesday evening, going * 1 at once to police headquarters, where they conferred with officials regard * , lng their mission, but Chief of Police Mulcahy was not in bis office at the time of their visit. Mr, Davis and Mr. Foster, how ever, were cordially received by offi .! elals at the Elizabeth police head t.'iarters, and seem to have made a H? number of friends among the head ^ v. quarters men, who showed thom '..onrtesies In trips over the city and to is .'"ark l ? auto. The party re ') turned to Elizabeth late, according to accounts given in the Elizabeth Jour V nal, and it was about midnight when, v.;, tired out from their long trip to New W$ Jersey and their later pleasure tours, Messrs. Davis and Foster retired at the Mansion House. The story as told by the proprietor of the hotel , states that Mr. Davis and Mr. Foster were in high spirits nt the time he } lett them al their room door. This !JAT* was the Inst seen of the two men alive. Tho Elizabeth Journal, along with I thc police authorities, at first sus pected that Mr, Davis or Mr. Foster , \ had blown out tho gas, thus leaving the gas 'to flow. This theory has Uten abandoned, however, on an In ?vcstlgation of the room, where lt waB found-as was generally supposed hore-that the gas fixtures in the ho'el room were of such an antiquat n ed style and so badly worn as to have li made Just such an accident as occur? I" If* red liable to take pince at any time. With tho condition prevailing, as re ported from an investigation, the t wonder Is that it had not occurred before the horrible tragedy of last Wednesday night. I JL.. The theory of foul play has been (?U pretty well abandoned In the minds . ; of those who have thought deeply of i the case, though there are those who j ; wonder, and with reason, why thc '. door of the room was left unlocked. This act, If the door was capable of being locked, showed a throwing rt j, away of . the ordinary precautions v ' taken by travelers, though neither I Mr. Davis nor Mr. Foster was a stick /! 1er for taking over-careful thought of 'j * personal snfety. Whatever element li t. ot suspicion of foul play still re I ,' mains seems to rest upon the theory tj^, that some negro employee of thc FROM TION IN N. J. i Carolina and Interred in Oco Were Held Sunday. Sorrow, hotel, if negroes are employed at this place, might have been a friend ol' the negro Walker, ind thought that by making way with the two officers who bad come for him, Walker would be assisted or his official re moval avenged. We are inclined to the belief, however, that both gentle men lost their lives through the al most criminal neglect of the gas lix-, tures In the Mansion House. There may never be a clearing away of all the peculiar circum stances sufficiently to entirely relieve suspicion. There are those who will never be able to thoroughly and sat isfactorily eradicate from their minds the iden that the two officers met their deaths other than by accident. The fact remains, however, whether by accident or otherwise, that in the tragedy that took place In the small hours of last Thursday morning, Oconee lost two of the best officers that sho bas ever had. JOHN WY DY DAVIS was born April 23, 1873, being at the time of bis death In his 4-1th year. He was a son of the late Lawrence O. and Mrs. C. M. Davis, the latter still living. She resides with ber son, .loo N. Davis, near Walhalla. On December 2G, 189 6, Mr. Davis was happily married to Miss Fannie R. Adams, of Goodwill, Ga., and she, with three children, survives him. The children are Miss Blanche, aged 17; Frank, aged Lr?, and J. W.. aged 1 1. He is also survived by two bro thers. C. A. Davis, of Seneca, and J. N. Davis, of Walhalla; two sisters, Mrs. John C. Sanders, of this county, and Mrs. W. H. McClelllon, of Wood bury. Ga. Mr. Davis bad spent the greater part of bis life in Oconee county. Since entering life for himself be bad engaged in farming at times, but most of bis life had been spent in lollce service here and at Seneca. For a number of years be was chief of police of Walhalla, resigning this position at the chnnge of the admin istrations under which be bad served for some seven or eight years, going to Seneca, where be entered similar service. As the county campaign drew near four years ago he resigned as chief of police at Seneca, entering the race for sheriff of Oconee and winning in the election. He entered upon the discharge of his duties In this office with a splendid ground work laid through iiis long service in police circles, and it was not long be fore be was almost, uniformly recog nized as the best sheriff Oconee has ever had. 'He proved faithful to every trust, energtlc and efficient, quick to act, and never faltering where duty called him. He was al ways busy with county matters, and the service of the people who bad en trusted to him one of their most Im portant offices claimed much of his Lime in various parts of the county, in adjoining counties, and at times In j i Keren t States, near and distant. How well he performed his duties ls attested not only by his personal friends, who found In him almost the deal sheriff, but even those politi :ally opposed to him recognized his iblllty and tho excellence of the ser vice rendered by him. WILLIAM GRAFTON FASTER .vas born In Oconee county on Au gust-2C, 1867, being the oldest son of vir. and Mrs. Edmund D. Foster, of he Richland section of Oconee, both >f whom are still living. He Is also nirvlved by his wife, who was Miss 'annie E^JicDonald, of Richland, and >no . daughter ?nd two sons. The ?hibiron are Miss Edith, 14 years of ige; William, 12. and Harold, 16 nonths. Mr. Foster was one of a JOHN \V lAXie Sheriff of family of eight children, six boys and two girls. The surviving , brothers and sisters are J, W. Foster, of Man chester, Ala.; C. L, Foster, of Colum bus, Miss. ; J. S. Foster, an engineer on thc Southern Hallway; B. N. Fos ter, of Richland; IS. M. Foster, of Hreenville, Miss.; Mrs. H. P. McKey, of Camneucy, Cuba, and Miss Corne lia Foster, of Richland. He was mar ried in September, 1895. Mr. Foster had given a number of years in early manhood to the rail way service, residing for three years j h Atlnnta while an employee of the southern. For a number of years >rior to 'his entry into tho service of Dconee county as supervisor he had ieen engaged in the mercantile busi- | less at his old home at Richland. | ^our years ago he entered the race 'or the supervisorship, being elected 0 the olllce for the regular four-year erm, and again in the 1916 prima tes he entered the race for the same Wilco, being re-elected for a second erm of four years. During his four .ears' service he made a most capable dTtclal, receiving almost universally he credit of having been the most .a pablo, progressive and efficient lead the office has ever had. He had iven to Oconee, in spite of our moun atnous country and naturally difficult >roblems In road building, the name >f having among the best roads in louth Carolina. He did this, too, In 1 business-like manner, carrying on ns immense work without adding to he debt of the county. The finances >f the supervisor's department of the ounty government were so arranged luring his administration as to be il ways on a cash basis so far as the neeting of current expenses was eon erned. similar in Many Ways. Sheriff Davis and Supervisor Foster vere men of large build. Each reigned considerably lu excess of 00 pounds. It ls peculiar cirenm tance that each came into office in )copee In the same election, and that ach bore the distinction of tilling his fllce in a manner such as to stamp hem as pre-eminent in their respect ?e spheres. Each was re-elected for second term, and by an unfortunate urn of fate, they ciyfled their careers ogether in the horrible tragedy in he far-off New Jersey city of Ellza oth, both In permet health, each a pecimen of perfect manhood. Mr. Davis was a member of the aptlst church, Mr. Foster a member as a member of Walhalla Lodge, No. 7, Knights of Pythias, while Mr. oater was a member of Seneca odge, No. 36, of the same or er. Each belonged to Richland f the Methodist church. . DAVIS, Oconeo County. Camp, W. O. W. In tho im mediate families of the two mon there remain the wife, two sons and one daughter. Both men were iden tified with secret orders other than the Knights of.Pythias and the Wood men. The news of their untimely end came .is a shock to the entire county, and they are sincerely mourned, not only as county officials, hut ns good citizens of worth and merit. Funeral services were held last Sunday, the body of Mr. Davis hoing laid to rest in Mountain View ceme tery at Seneca, after services held in the Baptist church, conducted hy Rev. T. I/. Smith, of the Walhalla church. The body was preceded to the church by members of the Walhalla and Sen eca 'Pythian lodges, about sixty mem bers forming in the funeral march. From the church to the grave the same formation was preserved, and the Pythian burial service was used at the grave. At the church service not half of (those attending the fune ral were able to cet into the building. WM. C. POSTER, Dato Supervisor of Oconee County. The funeral of Mr. Foster was held at Rock Springs Methodist church, near Richland, the church to which Mr. Foster had belonged in young manhood. The services at the church were conducted by Rev. N. G. Ballcn ger, of Seneca, whose early life was spent In the Richland community. Here, too, a large number of those attending were unable to get into the church, {here hoing many more out side than the number within. The members of the two Pythian lodges participated in Mr. Foster's funeral, marching from tho church to the grave, where the Pythian service was read by a Prelate appointed for the occasion from tho Seneca lodge. Some six or sovon hundred people attended the funerals of these two popular officers and men, many going from the service at Seneca to tho later service at Rock Springs. Mr. Davis was burled at 1 o'clock, Mr. Foster's funeral taking place at 4 in the afternoon. The floral tributes at each were THE STORY J BY NEW J? Sheriff Davis and Supervisor Enjoying Hospitality of N Police Department i t IO lizabeth Daily Journal, Dec. 28.) j In a front room on the third iloor of the Mansion House, 1184 l?liza-1 beth avenue, John W. Davis, sheriff Of Oconee County, South Carolina, I and W. C. Foster, supervisor of the sanie county, were found dead short- ! ly before 9.30 this morning from the ' effects of inhaling illuminating gas. The men came to this city last night from their homo in Walhalla, S. C., to take back John Walker, alias Is rael Thompson, the negro who was arrested here recently and who is wanted In Madison, S. C., on a charge of murder. An investigation of the case made by Captain of Detectives Hiney with Detective-Sergeant Ward and Detec tive Manning led to the belief that the men blew out tho gas in their room when they retired shortly after midnight. Tho police also say that it might ..have been that the gas jet, which was found fully turned on this morning, was bumped against by one of the men last night and accidentally turned on in that way. in either case the police are satisfied that the deaths were accidental. Sheriff Davis, a jovial, heavily built man, ls thought to have been about 45 years old. His assistant was several years his junior. He, too, was a stout man, weighing more than 22") pounds, On their arrival here about 0.30 last night they went to police head quarters and got in touch with Cants. Hiney, Ward and Manning. Later they took a trip to Newark, returning to this city before midnight. Both men were typical Southerners, wcar , lng broad-brimmed black hats and flowing ties, and speaking with the broad. Southern drawl. The men were in high spirits dur ing all of last evening, and, accord ing to several who spent the evening with them, were joking about their trip North and of what they were going to do after they arrived back in their South Carolina home. They expected to leave hero with their prisoner to-day. On reaching the Mansion House, last night they were shown their room by William C. Campbell, the proprietor. Mr. Campbell says ho be lieves they went to bed very shortly after going to their room. They were laughing and joking then, and said they were very tired after the long trip from the South. This morning about fl o'clock, when the men did not appear at police headquarters as they had arranged last night with Detective-Sergeant Ward, a telephone call was sont in to the hotel by Ward asking that the men be called. It was then the pro prietor went to their room at that time that he detected the odor of es caping gas. The door was closed but not lock ed. He rushed In and raised the win dows and found Sheriff Davis in bed and Foster on the floor at the foot of the bed. Both men wore night clothes. The proprietor immediately noti fied police headquarters, and Capt. Hiney, Ward and Manning were sent to the hotel. In the meantime the ambulance of the General Hospital beautiful and numerous. At Mr. j Davis's funeral the sheriffs of Ander son, Plckens, Greenville and Spartan burg participated as active pallbear ers, assisted by others connected with the sheriff's o ill cos in adjoining counties. The Oconeo county officers acted as honorary pallbearers. At Mr. Foster's funeral tho Oconeo coun ty officers acted both as active and honorary pallbearers. There were many handsome floral tributes that came from far and near. \S TOLD ?RSEY PAPER Foster Were in High Spirits cw-Madc Friends of the ?f Elizabeth, N. J. hau boon summoned, but tho -meit, were dead when lt arrived. lt is the belief of the police that Foster awoke at an early hour thia morning, and, choked by the escap ing fumes, made for a window, hut fell exhausted to the | floor ns "he crawled ont of his bed.' Several peculiar incidents precoded .. the discovery of tho bodies Of the men. Shortly before calling the' hotel on the telephone to ask that the sheriff and Foster be awakened, "Ward said to Judge Mahon: "Well, Judge, 1 suppose my, friends from the South have overslept and I'll have to go up and get them out. Probably they blew out the gas last night. I think I'll 'phone Campbell and toll him to give them a call." In tho oflke of Chief ot Police Mulcahy, when the news of tho tragedy was first related by Capt. Hiney, the chief and Inspector Thos. H. Lynch, of the Boston police, had been talking of a case in which two Boston patrolmen not long ago went to another city on a case and how the. ,one was kept awuke nearly all'night, by the other, who, in a joking wViy, persisted In blowing out the gas. "lt wns a most peculiar thing," said Chief Mulcahy, "to think that while we were talking and laughing over the story Inspector Lynch waa relating we should get the news of this case." The chief did not meet the sheriff nor Foster last night. They arrived at headquarters shortly after he had gone to dinner and had left before he came hack. They had arranged to \ meet the chief thlH morning to make final arrangements for the extradi tion of the negro. Chief Mulcahy Immediately Bent a telegram to Richard t. Manning, Gov ernor of South Carolina, relating the circumstances of the case. Prosecu tor Stein and County Physician West cott also were notified. The bodies of tho men wore removed to D. J. Leonard's morgue, 1H3 Elizabeth avenue. From what the two men said at police headquarters last night lt is' believed that both of them have fami* Hes. Defective (Ja* Jet. (Elizabeth Journal, Dec. 29.) Tho bodies of Sheriff John W. Da vis and W. C. Foster, supervisor of Oconee county, South Carolina, who were found dead in n room in the Mansion House, 1181 Elizabeth ave nue, yesterday morning, from the ef fects of inhaling illuminating gas, wero shipped to their late homos at Walhalla, S. C., at 1 o'clock thl* af ternoon from D. J. Leonard's morgje, 1113 Elizabeth avenue. The author ities hore have been In communica tion with Governor Richard I. Man ning, of South Carolina, and also with the acting sheriff of Oconee county and the chief of police /Of Walhalla. A further investigation into the jaso made by the police under the direction ot Captain of Detectives Hlney has given rise to the theory that one of the men, presumably, the ?heriff, gave the gas Jet a quick turn before getting into bed and that the force of the turn caused the stop jock to spring back, or that it may dave been accidentally touched by tho hand of the one who turned lt j ff, turning it on again. According to the police, the ii a nd lc was so'.loose that this easily could have happened. The Jet, <wbich was found; fnUy turned on yesterday morning, waa; iirectly over the bod and so high that neither man, beth being rather f$<$f in stature, could have reached it from tho floor. Tho police "believe that ,tb.e (Concluded o? Font tu Page.)