The Bamberg herald. (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, December 28, 1922, Image 1
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(Ultr ffiatitfafrg @ n*au)
$2.00 Per Year in Advance. BAMBERG, S. C., THURSDAY, DECEMBER 28,1922 Established in 1891.
Murderous Bu
Prohibiti
r
Chas. B. Parmer, in ihe New York
World.
"The nose of Cleopatra?if it had
been shorter, the history of the world
would have been changed."?Pascal.
If "Angel Dune" Cooper's head had
been covered with thick, waving
locks, one might be able today to buy
a drink on Broadway and Main Street.
Bat "Angel Dune's" head was bald,
and because the late Senator Edward
Ward Cannack ridiculed that poll we
enjoy the manifold blessings of prohibition.
Col. Duncan Brown Cooper, "a
spark from the smouldering ashes of
the old South," died recently in
Nashville. Tenn. His death forever
- - ^ ^ -1
closed tne L."ooper-\_arm?i:n. ua6tu..
that split the south a decade and a
half ago. But the Xation-wide prohibition
that sprang from the ashes
of the tragedy, we have with us.
When the South issued its call to
the colors in '61, Duncan Brown
Cooper, seventeen years old. of one
of Tennessee's most aristocratic families.
entered the Confederate army. I
The stacking of arms in "6." found j
Cooper a battalion commander in j
"Hell Roaring" Forrest's cavalry.
Onlv the bravest of the brave wore!
I
epaulets in that outfit, commanded
by one of the most intrepid cavalry
leaders America has ever produced.
"Dune" Cooper had lived up to the
traditions of his race and caste. He
had fought the good fiaht. But the
spirit of wanderlust, which seeps into
many an ex-soldier's veins, entered
his. In the early TO's he mined in
Mexico. He built railroads in Honduras.
He made and lost fortunes in
the true cavalier spirit.
Back to the States. He began contracting
in Washington. The founda-j
tion of the Washington Monument, i
left unfinished in IS76, was turned!
' ! x ? I'll i"? a r> t Tl a I
OV0T 10 mm IU cuiiiyicto. ^ nuvi .
1
supervision of army engineers he
twisted the structure around to
square with the compass.
While the gay young cavalier wasbecoming
intimate with Washington I
politicians and learning ways that are
useful to men who would control the'
destiny of states, a little tow-headed. |
chap named Xed Carmack was struggling
through Caesar's Wars at
"Sawney" Webb's famous preparatory!
school in Tennessee. j
Supported His Mother.
Xed Carmack was the son of a poor
Primitive Christian preacher who
spread the Gospel near Castillian j
Springs in Summer county. Xed'sJ
father died when the lad was three j
years old. When he could hold the(
reins Xed ploughed for neighbors at!
25 cents a day and supported 'his;
mother through bitter years of poverty.
Carmack was one of Sawney's most
brilliant pupils. The schoolmaster
predicted a great career for him. Sawney
was not disappointed. Carmack
soon was reading law, and then prac-j
ticing it in a small town.
One night in the SO's, Cooper, to
whom poker was the elixir of life,
joined a group of friends in Mooney's
saloon in Xashville. Mooney's was
Mooney's"?and no ordinary saloon,
it wa3 the hangout of the gentry,
where gentlemen gamblers (there was
such a breed once) consorted with
plain gentlemen.
The stakes ran high that night. Old
Lady Luck began to hover over
Cooper's shoulder. Once she smiled
quickly, and Cooper raked in a jackpot
that would have bought Man o'
TVar as a two-vear-old. Cooper smiled
easily, and asked if the gentlemen
wished a chance to get some of it
back?
Play Through Xlght.
They did. Throughout the night
thev played, with varying luck. Lawyers,
doctors ,judges, merchants, the
cop on the beat, and a few journalists
dropped in from time to time to see
how matters were going.
"Dune's raked in another pot.''
would be the word carried out to the
front of the house, where the brass
rail was being pawed by the night
birds.
"Dune lost the last one." would be
the next message, as another whisky
straight was h'isted. The bartender
woum smiie lncrrananngiy.
Dawn approached. A group of
bleary-eyed mmi shuffled their cards.
The gaslight was flickering in the
thick tobacco smoke. Duncan Cooper
looked at his cards. There was not
the slightest change of expression on
his face. But old Lady Luck, still
hovering over his shoulder, smiled
broadly. Every one anted-up. It was
llet Upholds
on Amendment
ihe last pot of the night. When that
hand was played Duncan Brown Cooper
would be either a wealthy man or
| dead broke.
Somebody raised. Without tlicking
an eyelash Cooper nonchalantly pushed
a stock of chips toward the center
of the torn green cloth?and yawned.
Some one called.
Cooper threw his cards down carelessly.
"You win. Dune," a hoarse voice
said.
Chips worth thousands of dollars
t/~, Cnonor'c ?.,fto One nlaver
IV/ WV/|'V. 4 ^ V.W. 4 ,
owed $17.'.000?and didn't have a
cent left with which to liquidate his
indebtedness.
"I own the controlling stock in the
Nashville American?it's yours," he
said, or words to that effect.
And that was how Col. Duncan
Brown Cooper became the publisher
of one of Tennessee's most prominent
dailies.
Cooper had already served in the
state legislature. But he found more
| fun in pulling Hie string that made
political puppets dance than in being
a puppet himself, lie became a political
bos.Q of gigantic power, his paper
his chief instrument.
Prestige of l-'amily.
lie had. not only the prestige that
went with intiuence but aiso that of
I family, ills wife was u cousin of
[President James K. Polk. One brother,
Edmund, had been private secretary
to Andrew Johnson; another,
William, was Chief Judge of the
Tennessee Supreme Court, and Harry ,
Cooper was aiso prominent in politics.
Cooper knew the intricacies of the
counting room, but he was no man of
i the study. The American, a hourish'ing
daily, needed new blood to enliven
[its editorial pages. Some one snoweu
! tlie colonel a few editorials written
; for a paper by a country lawyer, Xed
Carmack.
Cooper was quick to spot talent in
tliem.
"Get that man on my paper," lie
ordered.
; L'p from Columbia came the gawky
i lawyer, clad in homespun. That was
in 'i>6. His editorials attracted attenj
iion. So did his clothes. A brother
worker gently hinted one day that the
! man who could write such powerful
editorials should dress the part acc-ordingly.
So Ned Carmack went to
a tailor, and under careful tutelage
soon flowered like the lily of the field.
I Cooper and Carmack became boon
! companions. The older man admired
! the mental traits of the youngster,
i who was beginning to ripen. Carmack
[also 'had served a term in tha legislature,
and his tongue was running his
' pen a close race for laurel wreaths.
Cooper became a national figure in
inner political circles. He spent much
of his time in Washington, where he
I was admired by President Cleveland |
and Democratic leaders, who realized J
the power he held down South. The
years were beginning to tell 011 the
cavalier. His locks began to t'hin.
i Duncan Cooper was becoming bald.
i
I Carmack was blossoming into virile
1 T T ~ Arl t li n. TTiiVC
; manuouu. ne uau lcum^u
of the world. In 1 S81? he founded the
Nashville Democrat, and when it wa9
merged with the American he became
editor-in-chief. In 1S92 he was made
editor of the Memphis CommercialAppeal.
Carmack was another Henry Watierson?with
a bit more vitriol in his
ink bottle, and less of the milk of human
kindness in his bosom. Where
Cooper was the suave cavalier, Carmack
was the dominating master of
men. Cooper let other men carry out
his wishes. Carmack began to carrv
out his own.
Wins Congress Seat.
In 1S96 Carmack defeated for conprrpCC;
i-n t'hp -j pfh Cons:res
sional district Josiah Patterson, another
famous old warhorse of the reconstruction
period. Carmack's flights
! of oratory made him famous through|
out the state. But where Cooper made
j only friends, and those the kind that
j clung to him with tentacles of steel,
! Carmack made friends who would die
j for him?and enemies who would j
readily have killed him.
The wheel of political fortune turnled
and Carmack was sent to the T*ni-|
! ted States senate. That was in lOOI.j
' Roosevelt had just thrown his hat on
jthe White House sofa, and was bei
ginning to show his teeth. Carmack
| had just tasted real power, and was
I beginning to discover the lash hidden
beneath his tongue.
And Col. Duncan Brown Cooper
[was becoming a little more fat. a little
i
more opinionated, and?a little more
bald.
Cooper loved a man who was a
fighter. That may have been one of
ihe reasons for his attachment to Xed
Carmack. It also accounted for the
admiration that he began to feel for
Theodore Roosevelt. Roosevelt was a I
Republican?but also a fighting gen-i
tleman. Cooper expressed his admir-j
ation for him openly, and eventually
put his legs under the president's
hospitable table.
Down at the other end of Pennsylvaliia
Avenue. Carmack watched
Dune fiirting around the White
House." lie couldn't stomach Roosevelt.
and for Dune to go salaaming in
that door was too much for "the
Hot-spur of Tennessee politics." No
doubt he told Duncan just what he
thought of ir.
Every one know?) that Carmack
didn't hesitate to say in the senate
what he thought of the president.
One day. he arose and said dryly:
".Mr. Roosevelt reminds me of a
horse which T owned as a young man
down in Tennessee. In some respects
he was a pretty fair kind of a horse.*
Rut he had only one gait?that of
running away."
Roosevelt's skin was as tender then
as it ever was. The barb sank deep,
and the man who shot it was never
forgiven.
But he wasn't the only man to feel j
the lash of that tongue. Carmack said
this of Gen. Funston, "He is the jay-J
hawker brigadier of the windswept
plains, the mightiest Sampson that j
ever wielded the jawbone of an ass as:
a weapon of war."
Foraker. Dolliver. and even old
bull-roaring Tillman began to fearj
that tongue whose words cut like a
black-snake whip. The Tennesseean
become the delight of the galleries,
and the dread of the opposition. When
the McCumber Civil Service bill termed
the war of '60 the "War of the
Rebellion" Carmack fought until the
title. "Civil War," was officially adopted.
Xame Anathema.
From one end of Pennsylania Avenue
to another his name was anathema.
He was the one senator who
never attended presidential functions.
He wag the one man, possibly, before
whom Roosevelt quailed. Carmack
i s i i r. : _ i f/-,/-. frnniiQtitlv
11II CI it^L 1115 lUIIgUC ? CIS LV/U 11 .
He had spoken out of his time. He
seemed to delight in making others
squirm. At last he realized his power.
He knew he was the mental superior
of many men around him?and he
didn't hesitate to show it. He waved
his peacock feathers too frequently.
He was the product, not of a class,
but of his own mentality.
''Back home" politics was being
talked again. The direct primary svsten
had been inaugurated. Former
Gov. Taylor, the brother of "Alf"
Taylor, who was Tennessee's governor
last year, became infected with
senatorial itch. Nothing could be done
for it except to let him run against
Carmack.
In the meanwhile Cooper had lost
and regained control of the American
a couple of times. Now he no longer
had it, but he was 9till a power in
politics. Ho had grown dignified, more
emphatic in his opinions?and bald!
The slight rift that had appeared
between the two friends when "Dune
began flirting around the White
House" now was a chasm. Cooper said
Carmack was building up a powerful
political machine?a machine that
was menacing Cooper's political power.
Cooper said it was a machine the
like of which Tennessee had never
seen before.
Cooper was right. Carmack was
building up a machine. But it was not
a machine in the ordinary sense of the
wnrrl The man's dauntless idealism
appealed to the masses, his heroic
oratorical gestures brought to his
side men who had never taken particular
interest in politics before.
They were primarily for Ned Carmack
and not especially for the things
for which he stood. It was a case of
a leader making a cause.
Against Whisky Ring.
Those who were closest to Carmack
said he knew Cooper's ways all too
well, and was brocking the older
man's schemes. Then the whisky ring j
began to poke its head into politics
too frequently.Carmack may not have,
cared for a drop when the spirit called.
but he didn't fancy the breed that
peddled it. Cooper had the whisky J
crowd ot his hack, and never made
any bones about it.
This was in 100 0. Cooperspoused j
lie cause of Taylor with a mighty
splash. That was the unpardonable i
sin in earmark's eyes.
Carmack and Taylor went campaigning
through the hills and vales
of Tennessee, anf. Taylor won.
(Continued on page 2, column 1.)
vjQCSfiBNHt
^HAt the Christmas Party |
y r r*% / : Govornor Parker, of Louisiana, who
Urges Kestetor he said, had asserted at the reeeii
? / / governors' conference at Wuiile &ui
Pv^hihiffnn I mitph".SpHngt.w,\ Va" lhat prohib
X I L// L LUl L LKJi l JU>utv | uun is a lauui tj.
| "I can not," he said, "close this
. . , T. 0ll honest, desperate Christmas exho>
\\ ashmgton, Dec. 20.?High gov-: , ...
?... I tation to the governors of America
eminent officials, governors, judges, _
, . oc.i. i and all otner high offiqials withand
members ot congress, were ask-, - ^
, , , , ? ? i out the inevitable observation that
ed toaav ov Representative Ipsmaw,;
V * ,, . . 0 the conference of governors will be in
Democrat, of Georgia, in a speech I v ^ ,, ,
. . , f? a bad fix and will leave the pre-.iln
the house, to emulate Marshal, 1
. . ,. .. . tnnn. dent and his cabinet and the whole
Focli, who retused to touch mtoxi-|
... . . ? ., ?.lt .country in a bad fix if they are all
cants while on American sod out ot
.i , ? down with the same complaint
respect lor the dry constitution.
,.x- , * which afflicts that visionary hero of
"No longer must the lngher-ups
, , . j ,i r?ev windmills, the fantastic govornor of
say 'go , shouted Mr. I pshaw. They ' ?
* fi,Louisiana. Hitherto holding him in
must sav 'come. Anything less than ?
.i i * high esteem, we have seen him
this will be a farce and a scandal. -
-ii^ in,ni,aj plunge trom his high pedestal of
Timorous souls have ne\er inspired - 1
. . 4; r,,icc.,._. state and national conhdence by
anvuoav. 1111s 19 nu muc i-u?j
. ^ nvtA o?f;rt?c rushing to the nation's capital for
footing utterances and actions 011 3 1
_ nnA ?nfi.no, help to free his state from the tuthe
part of our state and national 1
leaders " multuous reign of goblins and wizT
v. j ards.' when his own representatives
Mr. Lpshaw urged that the pre9i- l
. , . .. r>i,vi?tmos in both branches of congress, Prodent
issue a ringing Christmas pro- 3
1 n-..~ estant and Catholic, rise up to disproclamation
calling every citizen 1
, ,1 ?rrin n-i tn , count his flaming follies, declaring
and especially every official to to & . &
. . * .. * ?nnA .. that Louisiana is beautifully trantal
abstinence tor the common good.
_ , quil and grandly able to take care
Referring to the recent governors 3
i. ,<t ?n9. of her own police powers. And
conference, he said, Let these go^ 1 1
... ., ., , ? , now, Governor Parker comes forth
ernors, led by t'he president and vicepresident
of the United States and!lvith the dismal n'ords t0 *?? S?T"
all members of the cabinet walk outlernors' meetins 0,1 We3t Virglnia
in the open and lift their hands be-|soil that Prohibition is a flat failfore
hiah heaven and take a new oath! ure-' Thl,s he indicts ^e majority
? n ,?,lt.tti? l?f citizens of his state as lawof
allegiance to the whole constitu,
. . o,, breakers and liars. I do not believe
tion and the American flag.
(1X * n ai a it. Shade? of American heroism!
Let them sacredlv declare, said
Mr. rpshaw, "that regardless or what | Paraphrasing the words of the judge
their tastes and practices have beeni'0 the ma" wil? is "ohlg t0 h,,ns
thev will never again build up a hoot- -Ml?y tl,e Lord have mercy on his
leggers' barbarous business by drink- timorous soul! If prohibition is a
ing any form or anv amount of illicit railure in Louisiana or any ofher
liquors at any dinner, at any function, s,a,e u is berause the women inade
or in anv 'ballroom or any back a mi5,ake when the-v got married
and the neonle made a mistake when
allev.' Let every member ot congress i * and'every
United States Senator fol- they elected a governor:"
low suit. Let every state and federal FILE JEFFORDS'S WILL.
judge and every prosecuting attorney
stand up like patriotic men and de- Mothep and Wi(low Get Bulk of
clare thev will never again personally
. . , , Belongings,
trample the constitution which they
have sworn to obey and defend. ja9t and testament of
Begin at Home. Frank M. Jeffords was filed yesterDeclaring
the "plain people" laugh day with the judge of probate for
at high sounding pronunciamentos, Richland county. The paper was exebecause
they believed that "many cuted last Thursday, the day before
high officials believe in that 'h-falutin' his execution and was witnessed by a
autocracy which claims the privilege lawyer and two officers of the state
of buying and drinking illicit liquors prison.
themselves while denying the privi- Jeffords bequeatherd his belongings
lege to the poor devils down among to his mother, widow and other relathe
masses who are foolish enough to tives. TTe asked that his body be given
want the opportunity to buy and drink | a proper and Christian burial and
illicit liquid damnation." Mr. Upshaw j that his widow choose the spot for his
said t'hat if these governors who put last resting place. The will provides
tb":r feet under the president's ma- that his mother have all his interests
liogany at the White House really under the terms of his father's will
wish 10 get anywhere in their con- during the term of her natural life
ferences for law enforcement let them and at her death the property is to
remember what the beloved and im-{ he equally divided between surviving
mortal Sam .Tones said: "'If vou i brothers and sisters. Various pieces
want to reform the world begin on of personal property such as rings,
yourself.' " pins, cuff buttons and watches are
Mr. T'pshaw commended Com- bequathed to relatives. Jeffords nammander
Alvin Owsley, of the Amer- ed liis widow as executrix of his esican
legion, who. he said, had de- tate.
clared he would not touch a drop The funeral of Jeffords was held
of liquor while head of the legion at 10 o'clock yesterday morning at
and t'hen launched an attack on Elmwood cemetery.?The State.
Jeffords Dies in
Electric Chair
Columbia, Dec. 22.?The death
cells in the South Carolina State
prison tonight were empty.
The sole occupant since prison officials
decided to remove all prisoners
not under sentence to die on a definite
date to the ordinary cell blocks,
today paid the penalty for his offense
against the laws. Shortly after
10 o'clock this morning, Frank M.
Jeffords, one of the slayers of J. C.
Arnette, his partner in business,
marched out of the cell which he -had
occupied since early last summer.
At 10.17 o'clock he sat in the chair
of death and at 10.20 the electric
current that snuffed out his life was
turned on. The current was gradually
increased from 500 to 1 900 and four
minutes later attending physicians
announced that the State's claim
against Jeffords had been collected.
This afternoon Jeffords's wife
claimed his body. Xo announcement
was made as to when or where it
would be buried.
Jeffords, according to prison officials,
was one of the calmest men
that ever went to the electric chair
in this State. He stood with his hands
behind his back, his legs spread
slightly apart and leaning slightly
forward, while Capt. Roberts, of the
prison guard, read to him the death
warrant. Xewspaper correspondents,
who with Capt. Roberts were the only
persons present in the cell when the
warrant was read, with bared heads.
All felt the tensity of the situation.
But Jeffords, the man most concerned
in the whole affair, showed not a
trace of emotion.
Wants Grip Sent On.
"Have you anything to say?" the
captain of the guard asked the condemned
man.
"Yr\fhincr ovnorit tVir>f vfill sop
* ? V tili t ?J1A ^ VAVVy V VAAM V ^ V V%/V
that my grip is sent on," was the reply.
He added that his belongings
were in his grip in the cell except his
Bible, which he 9aid, would be there
when the prison officials came for the
hag.
Two letters in his pockets he asked
be turned over to his brother. This
was done without the contents being
made public.
Entering the chamber where his
execution was to take place, Jeffords
again was the calmest person
present. He walked firmly and
as he neared greeted the two score
witnesses with cool "good morning
gentlemen." Seated in the chair, he
said that he wanted all to see in
his execution an example and that he
was ready to go. Then he repeated
the Twenty-third Psalm and as he
added the word "Amen" the current
was turned on ending his life.
While Jeffords was being executed,
Ira Harmon, confessed slayer
of Arnette and under sentence to
die on February 16, unless the
! Supreme Court interferes, lay in a
state of semi-consciousness in the
prison hospital. Harrison has been
in this condition for more than two
weeks. He was sentenced to die today
along with Jeffords but an appeal
to the Supreme Court resulted
in a stay of execution and Governor
Harvey reprieved him until February
16.
HARRISON WANTS SHAVE
But The Request of Prisoner Is Not
Granted.
Columbia, Dec. 23.?Ira Harrison,
who has apparenfly been in a state
of coma since being resentenced on
Dec. 9 to die in the electric cihair on
Friday, December 22, for the murder
of J. C. Arnette today asked prison
attendants to give him a shave and
hair cut. His request was not granted.
Harrison apparently relapsed into a
state of coma after making the request
and paid no attention to remarks
directed to him.
Harrison was reprieved to February
16, by Governor Harvey on
December 21, after his attorneys had ,
appealed from a decision of Justice
Cothran declining to issue a 9tav until
the Supreme Court can pass upon
a request for the appointment of a
lunacy commission.
< m i ?
I
Authorizes Bridge.
Washington, Deo. 2.?,.?The Senate
today passed Senator Dial's bill authorizing
the counties of .Marlboro and
Darlington to construct a bridge
across the Great Pee Dee river at
Society Hill, S. C.
Lady Astor recently gave $1,000 to
Radcliffe College as a contribution toI
ward a hall of political discussion.
1