The Dillon herald. (Dillon, S.C.) 1894-????, March 25, 1909, Image 1
L V OitCoti Kerafd.
r ^ABLISHLD IN 1895. - DILLON. SOUTH CAROLINA, THURSDAY, MARCH 25,^09. VOL. 14, NO. 8.
OME FACTS ABOUT ^
| WOODBURY PETITION
PMr JiL C. Sellers Corrects
\ Mr. Jas. W. Johnson in
Pf^v^egard to the Woodbury
. J Matter. Effort to Cut off
/ '^odbury Almost Caused
(iot. Proves that New
>unt> did Lack only 45
otes of Winning. A
j tatement of Fact Which
I iL. ii 1 ? 1
r. vicars me mmospnere
and Ought to Give the
People of the State a
0 Clear Understanding of
Conditions as Theyj
Exist in Marion County
Today.
Some time ago Mr. Jas. WJohnson
took the Dillon correspondent
of the News and Courier
to task for some alleged "errors'*
in his reference to the Woodbury
Township matter. Mr. Johnson
N chareed that the corresoondent
id "fabricated." Mr. Jno. C.
ellers, who seems tobe in possession
of the facts bearing: on the
/ matter, publishes the following:
y reply in the News and Courier to
' Mr. Johnson's attack on the Dil\
Ion correspondent:
I To the Editor of The News and
1 Courjp^
1 ''s' 1 seeny good friend, Jas. W.
Johns' out an article in
The ?ws an(* Courier, in which
^xjscs "to correct a few of
j i the most glaring errors" in refj
/erence to the new county question
/ in Marion County, and the Mari
ion Star of this week publishes
' the letter and makes very favorable
editorial comment on same.
\ In the first place the question of
J whether the new county was defeated
at the last election by 45
votes or 133 votes is a mere juggling
with figures. The first is
based upon the admitted fact that
") there were 1,223 votes east, and
/ ' the second, on the assumption that
I there were 1,356 votes cast?133
y,more than were actually cast. If
Mr. Johnson was running- for
Judge (and he would make a good
one) 160 votes were cast and he
. was to recei ve 80, would not he
and everybody else claim that he
lacked only one vote of election,
and in the ballot he would have to
get that one vote from some one
L, vwho failed to vote for him and not
from one who had not voted at all,
before he could be declared elected?
Just so in the new county
. election, the new county would
V rfWye to have gotten 45 votes from
those voting against it before the
required two-thirds majority could
have been secured. And if those
4.5 votes had been forthcoming the
new county would have carried,
just as Mr. Johnson would have
been elected, in the supposed case
if that one vote had been secured
to him. But what is the use of
arguing so plain a proposition? It
is like a case ot splitting the hairs
so as to befuddle the jury?a trick
for which Mr. Johnson's profes
sion is famous. An experience of
[ '(i unty years at the Bar in active
cjice and often, in the nature
ofxfce case, forced "to make the
worse appear the better part," I
fear has disjointed my friend's
logical powers and made him a
sophist for the time being.
My friend is "away off" when
he tackles the second "error," so
called. After quoting from The
V/ News and "Courier about the Wood;
bury and Britton's Neck Town1'
ship proposed election fourteen
years ago. he says: "The election
in question was ordered and held
and was defeated at the polls."
, My friend is greviously in eri
r. . No election was ever orderL.
therefore, no vote was tioi
ever taken. In order to refresh To'
tny friend's memory, let me relate pre
a little history, only fourteen Bri
years old, whieh some of the poii- ho\
ticians at Marion Court House bet
would prefer to be buried in ob- the
-livion. nev
It was in the years 1894-5, dur- Att
inj; Governor John Gary Evan's '1
administration, that the new Jol
county was first talked about in ed
the new county, and petitions j^ot- der
ten up for an election. In order Jol
to thwart the new county the poli- fro
.lcians at tne uourt House got up wo
a petition purporting to be signed tioi
by citizens of Britton's Neck and pas
Woodbury townships, in the ex- ed'
treme lower sections of the coun- net
tv, praying that those two town- fici
ships might be annexed to Horry :
Connty. The idea was, by kick- sor,
ing those two townships off into "ci
Horry, the area of Marion County one
would be *o reduced that it would livi
forever be impossible for another sec
new county to be formed in the mil
upper portion of the county. ual
The idea was a brilliant one, thi
truly Machiavelian, and was wor- vin
thy of a better ending. Ur. for- tak
tunately for the schemers, the he
pcopic o i nrmon s incck me! I ian
Woodbury had not been con si; ted the
in the matter at all. It soon got t>" 1
noised around in those two to.vn- of 1
ships the job that was proposed to see
be put on them, and indignation R?
was greatly aroused. Curses not bet
loud, but deep and full of mean- con
ing were heard on every hand. I
The schemers at the Court House Lai
became alarmed. A mass meet- cou
ing was held at Nebo, in Britton's froi
Neck, to pacify those Denighted woi
people, and make them see things anc
as the schemers saw them. It ha\
was proposed to build theni a cou
bridge free of cost across the Lit- ty,
tie Dee Dee so as to enable them con
to get to Conway more easily than mil
to Marion, and thus to bribe them nat
to go to Horry and stay there, con
The most brilliant orator of the wil
Marion Bar was engaged to make vot
the principal speech at the meet- citt
ing at which he proposed to show of 1
those misguided people at Brit- lint
A. ? _ XT 1_ 3 1IT -It ?
ions aeiK anu vvoooniirv now I affs
unreasonable they were in wish- yer
ing to remain in Marion, when it" 1
the Court House crowd was so hin
anxious to be rid of them. The onl
day of the meeting came and with din
it a large outpouring: of the people, Fir
including: a small contingent of mil
speakers from the Court House, sea
An enterprising: citizen of Brit- the
ton's Neck who don't mind "talk- I ^
ing right out in meetinV' his
took charge of the meeting: and *ra
proceeded to "read the Riot Act, sbc
a geod portion of the Declaration var
of Independence and a rough hn<
chunk of his own mind." The the
crowd became excited and bribery c011
and forgery could be heaid on ev- wh
ery hand. The Marion crowd in- wa:
stead of making speeches as was I
expected, was as harmless as ne\
doves and mute as mice. A free tioi
ride on a fence rail and a coat of plit
tar and feathers was not an invit- lis!
ing prospect. That speech, pre- ien
pared with so much care, and ov- we]
er which so much midnight oil of 1
was burned, was not delivered, not
and has not been delivered up bui
to date. f are
The Court House crowd return- tov
ed oosthaste to Marion, and 'hat To1
night one of their number took an^
the night train for Columbia. Ear- the
ly the next morning, he walked 'n J
into the Governor's office and ^01
asked for the Britton's Neck and ta i
Wodbury petition in order to carry Per
it as usual to the Attorney Gener- P611
al's office to get his legal opinion h-'r1
as to its form and execution, but lea'
instead of doing so the emissary lar!
"sucked his teeth,"- walked out C?i
of the Governor's office and put yea
the., petition in his povket, and is *
there it has remained until this an<
good day unless?unless it was re- fire
cently ressurected when the peti- no'
i for an election in Woodburv P
ivnship was a few weeks ago c<
sented to the Governor. That w
tton's Neck petition "some- ^
v or somehow else" "got lost"
ween the Governor's office and
office next adjoining, and has t>
rer been in the hands of the h
orney General. a'
Phis is no "fabrication" M r. ^
inson, but the plain unvarnishtruth.
The Governor never or-! ?
ed the election, and I defy Mr. t(
mson or any other man to show
m the record that he did. He 11
uld not even consider the peti- ^
ii until the Attorney General *l
ised upon it, and it "disappear'
before it reached the Attor- Cl
r General's office, and that ofal
never saw it. u
Ci
\nother mistake of Mr. Johni
has made in his correction of
rrors" is in saving that, "at "
. <ji liic ciecuons, uie people
ng in the extreme northern
tion of the county, thirty-five
les from the Court House, act- j
ly defeated the scheme." I
nk a little reflection will eon- *
ce Mr. Johnson that he is mis- a
en. The Judson poll, to which ^
evidently refers, has been esC"
hshed only a tew years, and
re never has been a new counL'lection
since the establishment .
that poll. The people of that 1
rion formerly voted at Little ^
ek, and Little Rock has always
n practically solid for the new l(
inty.
g
t is generally conceded that
:ta has always defeated the new
inty, and hence, hxiking at it
m a new county standpoint,
uld it not have been suicidal
1 the height of foolishness to E
re included Latta where it
lid easily be left in the old counand
still have the required
istitutional area of 400 square
es. With the Latta vote climied,
it looks like a foregone
iclusion that the new county
1 carry by an overwhelming
r\ I notice that Mr. Johnson
rs no law against the direction
;he line around Latta, but con- ^
;s himself to a simple protest
dnst such a line. Able law- tj
as he is, I am sure he would, ^
ic could, but unfortunately for ^
i the Constitution of the State ,
Si
y puts two limitations on the ^
cction of a new county line: ^
st, it must not run within 8
es of an established county ^
t; and secondly, it must not cut
S1
lines of an incorporated town.
on't believe Mr. Johnson, with ^
splendid legal ability, could
?**W V*. tv/iioi Itllliv/ll LIIUI LUlllVi *
SJ
cifically define in advance the ^
ious directions of a survey cd i<
i, and still retain the right to
people of a county or parts of
inties to form new counties
enever, in their judgement, it
5 to their interest to do so. t(
have always been in favor of d
v counties, where the constitu- ftal
requirements can be com- ^
;d with. Counties are estab- ^
led primarily for the conven- E
ce of all the people, country as p
11 as towns, in the transaction
\
he public business. They are *(
formed lor the purpose of 0
lding up a county seat, neither s;
they the great advautage to a 1'
m that some seem to think. 1
vvns spring u p , increase
1 grow, and even rival C)
county seat, as witness, Easly ii
Pickens County, Rock Hill in
rk and Mullins, Dillon and Lat a
n our own county. The prosity
and growth of any town de- ^
ids more largely upon the en- t1
prise, energy and money of its P
ding citizens than the few dol- r
> that may be spent in it by the c
irt and juries three times a
ir. So that if the new county n
ormed, Marion will not be hurt
1 Dillon will not realize the ^
at advantages as a town she
iv expects, but the country peoh
in. iiii
1c in the upper section of/n
junty will he benefitted by w/fr
ithin a convenient distance <
tcir county seat.
Mr. Johnson and I had the dis
notion of opening the now conn
,* campaign, thirteen years ayr<
e on one side and 1 on the othei
nd it looks now as if we were a
out to close the debate. We hot
iccl to appeal to the reason <
ur audience. The spirit <>t" in
jleranee and prejudice had n<
ten begun to manifest itself, hi;
nfortnnately the wise councils <
Ir. Johnson have been set asid
nd for years the new countv que;on
lias been injected into ever
Dunty campaign and will be tint
ie new county is formed. Th
pper and lower sections of th
Dunty have been almost solidl
frayed against each other to
ears. Politicians of the base
nrt have taken advantage of th
ituation and have been elected t
tlice to the disctedit of them
elves and their constituents,
eard a prominent candidate a fc
ears ago make this astoundin
ssertion: "Character and com
etency to the winds. There i
o issue in this election but ol
ounty against new county." Am
e was elected. By such tactic
* this our people have becoin
libittered and reconciliation i
o\v out of the question. I'ndt
tese circumstances. is it not bet
ir to follow Horace (Ireeley's at
ice and "let our errin.tr brothei
o in peace1" John C. Sellers
^ ' ?
FIRE AT OIL MILL.
destroys, or Badly Chare!
250 Bales of Linters. Disastrous
Fire Narrowly
Averted by Good
W a t e i Supply.
Two hundred and fifty bales t
nters were badly burned at tli
\:i Mm mm 1 r
/u ??iu 1 uursuay aiiernoon. i 11
rigin of the fire is unknown an
le flames had gained consider;
le headway before they were di;
overcd. The cotton was under
hed adjoining the Dillon Storag
ompany's warehouse and at on
me it looked as if there might b
serious conflagration, but the <)
fill is equipped with an exceller
/stem of water works and whe
ie hose was turned on the flame
'ere quickly extinguished. Thci
'ere 260 bales of linters under th
hed but out of that number te
rere saved from the flames. Th
jss will agregatc fully S3,000.
Notice Primary Election.
By virtue of the authority ve!
;d in the undersigned as pres
ent and secretary of the Whit
>emocratic Club of Dillon, not.e
i herebv given that on Wednes
ay, March 31st., 1909, there wi
e held in the vacant store in th
iracy Block, the usual votin
lace of said town, an election a
'hich there will be nominated
layor and six Aldermen to be vc
;d upon in the general eleetio
rdered by the Town Cotineil c
aid town to be held on April 6t>
909.
The quali; cations for votin
tia.11 be two years residence in th
tate. 12 month's residence in th
aunty and four month's resident
1 the town.
The polls will open at 7 a. n
nd close at 4 p. m. on the day c
aid election.
Each -candidate is required t
le with the secretary of said clu
hrce days before s.dd election
ledge that hp will abide by th
esult of said election and suppoi
he nominees thereof. No vot
ast for any candidate who has n<
iled his pledge or paid his asses:
nent shall be counted.
The managers appointed for sai
lection are: D. N. Oliver, W. I
lethea and W. E. James.
W. T. Bethea, Chairmai
A- J. C. Cottingham, Se
1 _
/surveyors complete/
5 their work.
And Report will Probably
be Made to the Commissioners
this Week. Comh
missioner Mace Holds that
t Survey is Illegal on the
Ground that Mr. Beatty
t had been Dismissed as
>f Old County Surveyor and
Matter will be Heard Bev
fore the Governor.
Tin siirvi'vurs, Messrs. Maine
by and lieatty, representing the
c now and old county respectively.
V completed the survey of theamen''
ded lines Thursday and will make
r their report in full this week,
e The Commissioners will then pro0
bablv have a hearing before the
i- governor as to the legality of the
1
' survey Commissioner Mace
a* holds that tlu- survey ;s not offieia!
because he had dismissed
i- Mr. Heatty as the old county suri*
veyor.
d Tile Saturday before the govcr1
nor ordered the surveyors tc
s proceed in the survey of the amenc
tied lines Commissioner Mact
s wired Mr. Heatty that he was dis
missed as his work had beer
* completed. Commissioner Dillor
I" took the ground that Mr. Hearty's
"s work hail not been completed ant
ordered him to join Mr. IIamb\
at Latta ?ui the Monday following,
While the survey was being nVUlt
around Latta Commissioner Mact
again wired Mr. Heatty not tt
. proceed, but Mr Heatty ignorec
' the demand and proceeded witl
Mr. llambyto make the survey
In the meantime Commissionei
M.w... ...; 1 M.. I an t
UIKU .MI. i MIK'II null IK
had employed Mr. Wiswall to take
up the uncompleted work ant
thai he would not recognize Mr.
Beat ty's work as official. How'
ever, the surveyors completed
the work Thursday and are now
1C working on their final report
1C which will be made this week.
^ At the hearin.tr of the Commisl"
sioners tie fore the governor. Gov.
Ansel will decide whether or not
a Mi. Beatty was acting in an ofc
fieial capacity when lie assisted
c Mr. llamby in the survey.
Mr. Dillon holds that Mr. Beatty
was actinjr under orders from
11 the governor when he assisted in
n the survey of the amended lines
>s as the governor in his decision
e granting the amendments said:
"" "It is therefore ordered that the
survevors do proceed at once to
lc survey the new lines hereby allowed
and make a plat of the
proposed new county, as per the
lines set out in the original
petition as amended by my fits!
T order of amendment, and by the
c amendment now allowed, and
that as soon as the same is done
the commissioners do make theii
11 report to me upon the survey and
c the Other matters required by law
to be made by them."
From the foregoing it is very
j_ clear that the surveyors were actn
ing upon orders from the gover>f
nor and no doubt their report will
K H^e accepted as officialg
\ "
,e ^ Little Bly.
c (The following is dedicated to
'C l> 11T..1 !_ I .1 ?I
i?ii. r. wautins uog wno came in
j collision with an automobile Sat)f
urday.)
Now I'm sad and lonely,
My tears forever flow,
My little bob-tail doggie,
ie I never s?e any more.
rt Like Casar, was ambitious,
e Would chase the automobiles,
3t
s. But alas, unlucky day;
Lost the nimble in his heels.
An awful crash, a howl of pain,
The doggies end was nigh,
n Now around his hat he wears,
c. A band of crape for Bly.
1 xN.
' j>^i'
^WANTED TO BE HUNG
IN HIS OLD HOME.
Extraordinary Wish of an
Old Negro.
(ireenville, S. C., March 14 ?
"Mister,(please don't try me here
for breaking into the store. Send
me back to (ireenville. S. C.. and
let 'em try me there, 'causi 'hey
want me for killimr a m i' 14
rather be tried 1*?>r killing a ' i .11
there than stay here and be tried
for robbery."
This was the startling plea
made by Sam Cray, a negro arrested
in Kast Bouehe, Miss., to
an officer who had him 111 charge
"Whom did you kill in South
Carolina and when did you kill
him?" queried the Mississippi official,
visions of a reward for the
apprehension of a murderer perhaps
floating before his vision.
"Oh, 1 don't know the nigger's
name but I killed him all right.
You just write to the people down
home and they'll tell you all about
it," answered <?ray. the robber-murderer.
Sheriff Poole received the letter
i
last week. It gave in substance
the conversation between the officer
and the arrested thief. It
^ also said that Cray along with
t three other men. broke into a
. store, robbing it of almost everyj
thing in sight, and that three of
. the thieves were in custody and
would be tried at an early date.
The letter also staled that if the
Greenville authorities wanted the
) man for murder he could be seen
j in the jail at East Bouche.
j There was an immediate hustling
in the office of the sheriff'
and deputies went to work on the
, case. They found that five years
k ago that ^am Gray had lived in
I Greenville and that he is supposed
to have killed another negro by
the name of "Slick" Robertson
I near the conuty jail here. They
r also found that two negroes were
. killed while the work on the new
reservoir was under way, and as
Gray worked there for a time, he
ttiav have been the man to end
the earthly life of one of these.
But as all the witnesses in either
of the cases are not to be found,
Gray will have to be tried in
Mississippi for just the plain
robbery.
m ,?? m ?
Child Dies from Burns.
Mr. S. A. Owens of Fork who
was here Saturday tells of a distressing
affair which occurred in
his community Thursday. Mr.
Luther Carmichacl, a prominent
, citizen of the Fork, went over to
a neighbor's Thursday and left
! two children aged 3 and 10 at
uuiiic. emnng uie latncr s au,
sence the youngest of the children
L got hold of a match and attempt,
ed to make a tire in the stove.
When the little fellow stooped
[ down the blazing match ignited
- his apron and in a few moments
he was enveloped in flame. His
' 10 year old brother ran to his
rescue and succeeded in smothering
the flames but the little fel|
had been so badly burned
/ tnat he died a few hours aft rward.
The accident is peculiarly
distressing in that Mr. Carmichael
was bereft of his wife some
months ago and had been caring
for the little fellows himself.
He has svmpathv of everybody
in his bereavement.
On the same day another child
was burned to death a few miles
from Mr. Oarmichael's home. The
name of the child nor the circumstances
surrounding its death could
not be learned
WANTED?At once, five firstclass
canvassers for big money
making proposition. Apply at
A. C. L. ticket office between 8 '
and 9 a. m.
\ \ - - i'