BjT<^^KNO. 51 ? - . LEXINGTON, SOUTH CAROLINA, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 1921. NUMBER 48.
I &RAND JURY PRI
DEALS WITH
Rural Policeman Asbill Scored!
|| jfor Alleged Shooting on!
V f j
| Fourth of July RecomImend
Abolishing Holidays j
;1 / for Coiivicts. [
. The grand jury of Lexington county J
g^T" last. Thursday brought in its present-f
^ ment to the court. The presentment
r torched upon mkny matters of imji^
portance to the county, including the
|; recent lynching of Will Allen near
Chapin, the prevailing system of aly
% lowing some convicts on the chain*
? 1 gangweek-end holidays, impro^eIt
ment of matters at the county poor^hoase
and others- The grand jury
v- was v particularly severe in its conC
demnation of Rural Policeman Asbill
f;:--. for his alleged shooting at the autor
f. mobile of Dr. Rice B. Harmon on the
Fourth of July last and asked Judge
v Sease to publicly reprimand the offi'I'
cer. Judge Sease stated that this
was out of his province, but said that
g the presentment of the grand jury
' _1 U
was correct ine omcer sxiuuiu ue ic?m
, mqved
from office. He directed the
j^^cler? of court to transmit to the leg?
islative delegation a copy of that portion
of the presentment dealing with
: ') that matter together wih his comm5*>i
4tV* % . v r "K *
. " ?
>ment'thereon. f
V The presentment in full was as folWv1
vV.
Presentment . ,
^ ^Hpr.. Thomas S. Sease, Presiding
pvV We beg leave to report to this hon- i
sgr^feable court that we have considered |
acted, upon all bills jof indictment:
j^/$jc8toded us by the solicitor. Our en-!
^^|fe?sements will be found upon all of j
&3faid indictments and thus speak for.
|8?i^As to the lynching that ,occurred in !
cov.nty near Chapin, upon which '
Hwipur honor has spoken to us. we begj
j^fpreport that the solicitor has inform- j
^pdthisjury that a detective is row en-!
hi investigation of this matter.!
Ksl&nd that^ this will be followed by j
|>er action by the proper authori-j
In this connection, we wish to:
>n record as strongly condemning i
violence.. , i
iirough our committees, we beg.
eport that we find the c-haingang
he county in good condition: but:
as been, called to our attention j
certain "trusties" of the gang!
i repeatedly been seen riding on j
public highway dressed in ordi- j
- civilian clothes, and that these j
e persons have been seen in Co-,
bia dressed in the same manner. \
particular case of this sort is that;
Vill ("Shine") Meetze, now serv-.
time on the gang. We recom- j
d that the proper officers be reed
to discontinue such privileges'
ach convicts.
e find that there are some repairs |
ed at the county poorhouse. We!
amend that these repairs be'
e at once. We also recommend I
mi present steward of the poor- j
^-Jkouse be removed and that a man of
Smaller family be put in his place,
jgkjfo that the expenses may be reduced.
Bpys^ftarther recommend that the farm
the county poorhouse -be so mant+iat
th?? institution mav become
I^SeJf-sustaining. and provide provisIfesons
for the county chaingang.
j^\ W? recommend that all mail route '
^ r?a.d# be kept in a good state of rep^;
paiand that the county supervisor
p. . take in all unused tools and machines:
^ ery and properly house them, or sell :
them.
We .present Jim Jones and Elsie
'jr. Jones of near Swansea, for living in
adultery, and recommend that thej
solicitor take- the necessary steps in j
|?. this case.
It has been reported to us that
Magistrate Scnn of Swansea, did. on
or aboht the 12th of September, 1021,
^ settle a case of violation of the prohibition
law, for the sum of fifty dol/
- lars. We think that this action is be^yond
his authority, and recommend
that the matter be investigated at
i,
once. I
The fiat at Hope's Ferry crossing}
is in baJ condition for use. We recnm-j
|j&v.
SENTMENT [
[ MANY AFFAIRS!
mend that this fiat be repaired at
once.
Upon investigation, we find that the
repairs which we previously recommended
to be made on the county jail
have not been made. We again
recommend that these repairs be
nt nnr-p bv the proper authori
ties.
We recommend that our officers be i
more vigilant in the proper enforcement
of the prohibition laws: and,
also, the law regulating speed of
motor cars on the public highways.
We xwish to call the attention of
this court to an indictment handed
us charging Rural Policeman George
W. Asbill with assault with intent
to kill. We thoroughly investigated
this bill of indictment, and for reasons
best known to this jury, returned
the said indictment with our endorsement
of "no bill" thereon. In this
case, Policeman Asbill was charged
"with having fired his pistol into an
automobile which was being driven
on the public highway of the county
by Dr. Rice B. Harmon, on the 4th
of July, 19,21, when the said Dr. Harmon
failed to stop his car at some
insignificant signal of the said policeman.
This grand jury desires "to
heartily cooperate with all of the
peace officer^ of th$ county in maintaining
law and order, but all of such
peace officers should act with due j
caution and discretion in the perform-!
ance of their duties. In this case,
we think that Policeman Asbill flagrantly
abused his high authority, and
acted carelessly and wrecklessly, and
needlessly endangered the life of an j
innocent person who was riding in j
the car at the time. The rural police j
system was established in Lexington
county during the last session of the i
general assembly, and such careless- j
ness and indiscretion an the part of J'
the. police will 'quickly throw the |
whole system into disrepute and
greatly minimize the wholesome effect j
the system was intended to bring. I
V i
This jury has not the appointing nor i
the removal power in connection with !
the rural police, but we desire to go .
on record as condemning, in the:
strongest measures possible, the fool- j
ish. wreckiess and dangerous act of!
Policeman Asbill on the occasion \
above referred to; and we hereby re-i
spectfully request this honorable!
I
court to administer to Rural Police- |
man George W. Asbill. a public rep- j
rimand for his careless, wreckiess and
wanton act while in the discharge of i
his duty.
We have examined the various |
county offices as required by law, and J
we beg to report that we have found j
all of them in good condition, with j
the exception of some contention be-1
tween the present county superintendent
of education and his predecessor
in office as to the filing of the annual
report of that office. We are not sure
as to the law governing this matter,
but suggest that it be done promptly
and by the proper person.
We des;./e to thank the presiding!
judge, the court .officials, and thje
various county officers fqr the many j
courtesies extended us in our work, j
- Respectfully submitted,
J. H. ROBERTS.
f
Foreman of the Grand Jury.
September 15, 1921.
SOX OF MR. AXD MRS. H. A.
ROBERTS CHOKED TO DEATH 1
i
Marion O'Xoil Roberts, little son of j
Mr. and Mrs. Harry A. Roberts, was i
choked to death by a pindar Satur- J
day last. September 16. The little |
.fellow was playing with his little j
brother and sister at home. The j
'little girl gave him a pindar, which |
in some way lodged in his throat. !
When his critical condition was j
known he was rushed to the office of !
Dr. G. F. Roberts, but died before!
reaching the doctor's office. Little
Marion was a bright, winsome boy,
just six years, two months and 15
days old at the time of his death. He
had endeared himself to ^-all with
whom he came in contact. He had
just entered school this session for
the first time. Funeral services were j
held Sunday afternoon at St. Steph- j
en's Lutheran church, conducted by
the pastor, Rev. Arthur B. Obensehain.
One of the largest congrega- j
tion.s ever attending the funeral of one j
so young was present. Mr. and Mrs.
Roberts have the sympathy of the entire
community.
LEXINGTON M
The Dispatch-News/ hs
subscriber in Washington C
low which should prove of s
folks. The writer of the lei
(who still retains her interest
ter is as follows:
1472
The Lexington Dispatch-?
Gentlemen:
Please find enclosed
subscription to your pape
I was much intereste
ers are organizing. I re
the peach industry began
a native ofGonnecticut, si
y a nursery man, that peat
Northern markets, and s<
dustry has resulted. I bi
all the resources that oth<
have, and only needs a li
forward. Not long,ago
here at 50c per qifart, shij
. I was wondering if Calif
from our Lexington figs,
finest yever ate, or if the
only a little more progre
fancy prices here all the 3
Grapes are now 20c and
HISTORIC COURT TERM
CAME TO CLOSE SATURDAY
With, the conclusion of the Rawl
case Saturday, one of the most historic
terms of court ever held in Lexington
came to an end.
it has been a very trying week on
oilicials and attendants. The extieme
heat added materialy to the
discomfort, interest in most cases
Xas keen and the court house was
packed practically every day. ;
As a result of this term of oun '
three white men were sentenced to I
I
the electric chair, two white women!
and three white men were sentenced!
to lit'e imprisonment, while various
other sentences of smaller penalties'
were imposed upon white and black. I
Both the chaingang and penitentiary
will have their populations swelled, I
while the county jail has been temy
porarily almost depopulated.
Every important ease on the docket
except that against Kelly and Goft
and the Swj^gert case was disposed
of. Owing to the death of Mr. Swvgert's
fcroyier on Wednesday the case
against him was deferred, while the
Kelly case was postponed on account
of a technicality.
/
i JudgevSease was on the job all the!
week and dispacthed the business of
the court as rapidly as possible. Judge'
Sease is a firm judge, a man of positive
convictions and fearless expression
of them, but he is also just and
fair. During his stay in Lexington
he spent the time at the home of
Dr. P. H. Shealy, who is connected
to'him by marriage.
. As a result of this term of court
$S00 in fines were paid over. There
remains $60J) which other persons
hope' to raise.
KELLY CASE POSTPONED
TILL JANUARY TERM.
Upon the motion of Cole L. Blease.
attorney for the defense, the case
against "Newt" Kelly and Frank
Goff, charged with the murder of
David Shull, was postponed until the
February'term of court The grounds
for continuance were that the clerk of
court had affixed his seal at the
wrong place on the paper summoning
the grand jury which handed out the
indictment against the defendants
and further that the minutes of the
clerk of the court did not show that
,the grand jury had ever ben sworn.
As the case would have been appealed
in any event it was continued until
the next term of court, which might
possibly save two trials. When the
next term of court meets in January
there will be a new grand jury. It is
presumed that at that time the deI
THR FARM
A AAM A A AAMII
Come to Batesburg, 5
2 o'clock at the band stan
Official has an important <
County Farm Agents will a
in this for you farmers so b
a
I
i
>
iS RESOURCES
is received from a valued
'ity the communication be;ome
encouragemenj; to our
tter is a native of Lexington
in the old home. The let!
Monroe St., N. W.,
Washington, D. C.,
/-? j .1. r* 1
beptemoer o. iyzi.
^ews;
check for renewal of my
r.
d to read that the truckmember
very well wThen
in Georgia. An old lady,
iggested to her grandson,
mes might be grown for
ee what an enormous inelieve
that Lexington has
er sections of the country
ttle push and pluck to go
I saw figs in the market
iped from California, ana
fornia figs were different
which seemed to me the
people of California were
ssive. Asparagus brings
fear round it seems to me.
25c per pound.
Truly yours,
ANNIE S. HOLLAND.
fects claimed by the attorneys will
"be remedied and a new indictment
will be handed out. It is said that
no case bearing on this point has ever'
been decided by the supreme court. I
^ ? >9 ? ^
"KIIJ/' RAWL EXONERATED
BY JURY SATURDAY
L. Killian Kawl of Batcsburg was
Saturday cleared of a serious charge,
when the jury in his case brought in
a verdict of "not guilty" on a charge
; of assault with intent to ravish and
| assault and battery of a high, and ag|
gravated nature. The jury remained
| out only about an hour. The case at|
tracted considerable attention. The
j trial consumed all of Friday and ^.mtil
1 the dinner recess Saturday, the greater-!
I part of the Saturday session being dej
voted to arguments of counsel. The
defense was represented by George*
Bell Tinrmerman, f!. T. (Iraham and
E. L. Asbill, while .J. Wni. Thurmond.
former solicitor of this circuit
and until recently United States dis-j
'trict attorney, assisted Solicitor Callison
in the prosecution. This was thej
last case tried and the. only one at this
term of court in which an acquittal
was secured.
SHERIFF it OOF POURS OUT
SO GALLONS OF LIQUOR
Sheriff E. Austin Roof Monday
dumped SO gallons of alleged corn
whiskey into the garden adjoining the
jail. The booze was captured from
various persons at different times until
the sheriff thought a sufficient
stock had been accumulated, so on
Monday morning he called to the
mourners' bench some sad-eyed and
solernn-visaged "tussicKites ana
proceeded to give them an ocular and
olfactory demonstration that the
drought which had settled over the
land was purely a weather drought.
An interested crowd of spectators
watched the performance.- The odor
of the liquor was plainly to he detected
for some distance.
NEGRO WOMAN SENTENCED
FOR VIOLATING LIQUOR LAW
Annie Workman, a negro woman of
Cayce. pleaded guilty in court last
week to a charge of violating the prohibition
law and was sentenced by
Judge Sease to 10 months in the
county jail and payment of $?"00. Sentence
was suspended during good behaviour
upon payment of $200.
BOX HEI R CLUB
The Bon Keur Club will meet Friday
afternoon at 4:30 o'clock with
Mrs. K. C. and Miss Fthel Dreher.
IERS' CALL
t
Saturday, September 24, at
d. The First National Bank
mnouncement for you. The
ddress you. There is money
e on time.
E. C. RIDGELL,
M. E. RUTLAND,
D. E. ETHEREDGE.
LIFE TERMS
FORCOOKS |
AND BARFIELDS
1
James Earrieiu. Sr., Mrs. Julia Cook. !
her sun. Ira Cook, her daughter. Min- |
me Cook, and Henry Wheeler were j
Thursday sentenced by Judge Sease t<> j
life imprisonment for the murder of i
\To |. ? .. J. -
.'iun.cnu.-< ?. licai OLfUUIlian SCV- j
eral weeks ago. By direction of j
Judge Sease the jury rendered a ver-I
diet of "Guilty with recommendation I
to the mercy of the court."
Attorneys appointed by the court last!
Monday to defend the prisoners stated tThursday
that the defendants admitted
their guilt, but inasmuch as experts
agreed that they were of such
low mental calibre that they were not t
i as responsible as persons of a higher (
order #of mentality, they should be en- j
titled to some consideration. Evi-1
dence as to their mental development!
was the only evidence introduced.
G.' Croft "Williams, secretary of the
State Board of Public Welfare, was
the first witness, and he stated that
he had examined all of the defendants
and had found Ira Cook and Mimiet
Cook to be very low in mentality, with 1
minds of a normal child of seven;
years The other three, Mrs. Julia j
Cook. Henry Wheeler and James Bar- j
field, Sr., of a little higher mentality, i
but considerably below normal. Mr.
Williams also read report of Dr. Arabella
Feldkamp of New York, repre- !
i
senting the national committee ot j
mental hygiene, who had examined I
all of the defendants and found them j
to be mentally deficient.
aliss i^ouise jbisnop, neia agent for
the State Board of Public Welfare,!
v/as next placed on the stand and tes- j
titled that she had examined all of the i
defendants and found them to be con-;
siderably below rhe average mental- [
ity. Mrs. Julia Cook, 4S years of age,'
had a mind of a normal child 9 years'
old; Ira C. Cook, 19 yearst old, aj
mind of 7 years: Henry Wheeler, 20,
years old ,a mind of 9 years: Jamo^
-Garfield. <33 years old, had a mind of
S years; Sar^hi Mimie Cook. 1G years
old, a mind of 7. .She explained iIn
difference between, the physical age!
and the mental age. and said the (! -!
ft ndau.ts were normal physically but
their minds had been retarded, caused
no doubt by the surroundings under1
which they had been brought up.
The State did not introduce any!
witnesses, and at the conclusion of
the defense testimony Solicitor ("alii-;
son asked the jury, to find a verdict I
of guilty with recommendation to'
i
mercy. He said he did not feel that j
the State of South Carolina should j
ask for a more severe sentence under :
the circumstances. The attorneys for j
the defense also asked for life senI
tences.
At the conclusion of the arguments!
Judge Sease said that since all parties'
had asked for the same verdict the!
only thing for him to do was to direct
a verdict, which he did, and sentenced;
them to life imprisonment in the state
penitentiary. None of the prisoners J
at bar seemed to care what happened !
to them, and Wheeler smiled after!
sentence was passed.
The five defendants were represent-'
ed by E. L. Asbill, John D. Carroll. |
Cyrus L. Shealv #nd G. T. Graham, J
being appointed by the court.
The crime for which the five defendants
was sentenced was a partic- j
ularly shocking one. It occurred near ;
Steadman. According to the confessions
of Ira Cook and Wheeler, which
were substantiated by th? two women, j
the plot was hatched by Mrs. Cook
and her alleged paramour, Barfield. A
previous attempt had been made to
poison the old man with calcium arsenate.
but on the day in question
Mrs. Cook, summoning to her aid her
son and daughter and Wheeler, a
wages hand, instructed her son to
cut his father's throat with a razor.
This was done by the boy, his mother
holding one arm, Wheeler one arm
and the daughter the old man's legs.
The old man's head was nearly severed
from his body. The guilty people
then placed the razor which was the
instrument lV which the aged parelytie
came to his death in the hands
of tlie dead man. holding it until the
j rigor of death l^rmly fastened.it there.
They prepared dinner and later went
to the field to work, according to their
confession. Some time in the afternoon
they phoned Sheriff Roof that
the old man had committed suicide.
Rut, murder will out. They had overplayed
their hand when the crhastlv
wound was inflicted, and Dr. J. .T.
COUNTY FAIR
LESS THAN MONTH
FROM TODAY
The Lexington County fair is now
less than a month off and Secretary
Leaphart is busy with atcive preparations
for what promises to be a
good fair The dates on which the
fair will be held this year are October
is. 1!) and 20, a little less than a
month away now. Mr. Leaphart be
lieves that from the interest already
manifested prospects for a fine showing
of exhibits are good for this year.
Every effort will be made to make the
fair as good if not better than any
ever held. Attractive premiums are
offered for displays of all kinds of
farm products and household stuff,
fancy work, etc.
Plans are "being developed to lay
stress at the county fair upon better
farming methods and closer" cooperation
in the marketing of farm products
c*nd it is hoped that at an early
date an important announcement
along this line can be made.
There will be plenty of good music,
several free shows and plenty of
amusements of all kinds to while
away dull care, and the fair authorities
are anticipating a good crowd on
all three days of the fair.
*
LORICK?BATEMAX
Married at the Methodist parsonage
in Lexington, Thursday, September
15th, at 9 a. m., Miss Marguerite Lorick
to Mr. Courtney Bateman.
The bride is the eldest daughter of
Mr.i and Mrs. W. A. Lorick. For the
past two years she has been the efficient
bookkeeper in the office of
county treasurer. She was one of the
most popular of the younger social
set of Lexington and numbered her
friends by her acquaintances.
Mr. Bateman is a native of Columbia
and for the past year has liel 1
the responsible position of pay-master
for the Lexington and Bed Bank cotton
mills. He is a popular young
man with a bright business future.
They left immediately after the
ceremony amid showers of rice, for
Asheville, X and other points ia
"The Land of the Sky". I
The young couple will make their
home in Columbia.
NEGRO ARRESTED OX CIIARGIj
OI VIOLATING LIQUOR LAW
Special to tne uispaicn-.\ews.
Irmo, Sept. 17.?Early last night
as P. G. Freshley, rural policeman,
was coming into Irmo. he passed on
the road Henry Eichelberger, negro.
The policeman noticed that the negro
carried a bundle in his arms. He
passed the negro, and when the
negro got to Irmo. he did not have
the bundle. The policeman was suspicious,
having been apprised of the
fact that this negro was handling
whiskey. He called Magistrate Hook,
who went with him to search for the liquor,
which was soon found hid
aen unaer ine ena 01 me juohck
seed house. Magistrate Hook then
sent for his constable, W. C. Koon,
and the rural policeman retired. Constable
Koon, armed with shot gun
and pistol, stood watch over the
liquor. In less than thirty minutes
he had Henry Eichelberger arrestee,
having arrested him when he was in
the act of removing the liquor from
its hiding place. The negro was placed
in the guardhouse for the night. This
| morning he was brought before the
magistrate, waived preliminary and
was sent to Lexington jail to await
trial.
| ( OTTOX MARKET GOES UP
AFTER CONSIDERABLE SAG
After a considerable sag in the cotton
market, which carried the price
down several cents per pound there
! has been considerable recovery. A
I price of 19 3-4c., was offered on the
! local market for good cotton today.
The crop will be very light in this
county owing to boll weevil damage
! and unfavorable weather.
i
j Wirgard who "* examined the body
i found from the nature of the wound
! that it would have been impossible
; for it to have been self-inflicted. Soon
1 after the coroner's inquest Barfiebl
was arrested. He had not been in jail
! long until he implicated the boys,
; Cook and Wheeler, who in a confesi
sion soon after.being locked up im>
- plicated the two women and Barfield.
t
'v'' M