TWE STJMTKK WATCHMAN, KetJ CONSOLIDATED AUG. 2,3 JEFFORDS i PAYS PENALTY1 OF MURDER ? Leader of Columbia! Garage Murderers! Put to Death in Elec-j trie Chair Columbia, Dec. 22?Frank M. Jeffords, was electrocuted at the -state prison here today for the murder last. May of his business partner, J. C. Arnette. The/ current was turned on at 16:24Kaxid He was pronounced dead four minutes later. Only one appli cation of the current was made. Jeffords made a few requests about the disposition of his personal property,. He entered the death chamber with a firm tread. He greeted thej ! witnesses with "Good Morning, gen tlemen,** then calmly took his place in the chair. The straps adjusted i and Superintendent Sanders asked Jeffords if he had anything to say, "Only thing I want to say," said Jeffords," "is that all in here and outside see an example in this, I have made my peace with God and am ready to go. I want to say "a litle prayer too." Then he repeated the 23rd Psalm adding to the Biblical text the words, Amen. As he ended the cur rent was applied. His. brother and brother-in-law visited him,prior to the execution. ^ Ithe law can I be ENFORCED The Firm Stand of Governor Harvey Has Produced Gratifying Results ? ? - ? ? - "i Columbia,- Dec. 22.?The whole sale effect which; Governor Harvey's lirm stand for law-enforcement is, having on the state is illustrated ? by a report made to the chief ex ecutive today by one of his special a' deficiency estimate of $25, 000.000 for the department of ag riculture for cooperative construc tion of post roads under the Good Roads .Act passed at the last ses sion of congress. Expehdtiures of $50,000,000, in cooperation with the states, was authorized for the present fiscal year and the department of agri culture estimated that obligations of $25,000,000 of this amount would be incurred before June 30, next. The remainder of the authorization will be carried over. In addition to the $25,000.000) deficiency appropriation asked, the agricultural appropriation bill now pending carries an appropriation of $32,000,000 for road construction under the Federal Highway Act. Prominent Cotton Man Dead Frank M. Crump of Memp Passes Away Memphis. Dec. 23.?Frank Crump, aged 54. one of the souths leading cotton buyers and export ers, died here today. He was ill several months. He was a mem ber of the federal committee nam ed in 1009 to establish United States standards of grades and classifications of cotton. There are many new faces among the boxers this winter and also some new faces on the box ers. "Be Just and Fear ENGLAND INTERESTED IN NEW PLAN Proposed Adjustment of German Repara tions by American Commission Revives Hope iii London London, Dee. 21 (By the Associ ated Press).?Some form of inter vention or mediation by the United States in the reparations problem, as now reported in .authoritative Quarters, has revived strong: inter est in London and has not failed to attract the attention of the Brit-, ish public generally, owing to the confirmed belief that only through a satisfactory settlement of this problem can England hope to sur mount its unemployment difficul ties. ? ,V ?-.<;; Since the disappointment recent ly ' experience when hopes had been aroused of a loan to Ger many being promoted in America, there has been; less disposition to indulge in sanguine speculations based on the present unoffcial ,and informal pour parlers. For this reason also, it may be supposed, the British government is- disinclined to make any open pronouncement on the subject at least until the new move has attained a more defi nite form, but it is known the Brit ish, like other ; European govern ments, would be only too ready to welcome the slightest sign of the American government or people taking any active interest in the problem. ; Key Remains in Paris. Here, as.always, it is recognized that the real key to the problem lies in Paris. It is understood the conversations between the French and British governments are con tinuing in an endeavor to find some ground ofj agreement for the adjourned conference of the' pre meiers to be" held in Paris January 2. Premier Poihcare's speech in the French senate today seems to show but little change in attitude on the part of the French govern ment, but the general belief in Lon don is that should the" prospect again rise of inducing America to interest herself in Europe's prob lems, the French chamber would", perhaps, be willing to yield some what in its heretofore intransigeant attitude on reparations. Recent speculations here and in Paris hare turned mainly on the possibility of reconvening some sort of international bankers* confer ence, but the proposal now made of an international commission to visit Germany on a "mission of in-' vestigation has received even a warmer welcome., The Times' financial column, ap proving the project, says: "At best. the fixation of the definite sum Germany is able to pay will be largely a matter, of . guess work, but we ought to take pains to get the best possible guess. The work of the commission would be great ly facilitated if Germany would put into operation her plans to stabilize the mark. So long as inflation con tinues any estimate cf her capac ity to pay must necessarily be a wild guess." - Discussed In 'Editorial.-. The Times, in an editorial dis cussing the Baldwin mission, al ludes to its statement relative to the proposed visit, of an "American commission to Germany and says there is ho doubt that British gov ernment would not disapprove of the proposal to summon an inter national bankers* committee to determine Germany's capacity to pay; the suggestion that the rep^ arations total should be fixed by a committee composed entirely of American .business men does not warrant serious consideration. The Times argues that such a time could only approach the ques jtion of Germany's capacity to pay from the point of view of an is [ suing house invited to raise a loan I for Germany. On the question of the Baldwin mission to the United *States. The Times suggests the desirability of the funding being arranged on the basis of an annuity of a fixed amount payable to the government and that it should not be converted I into a marketable loan. It would also be an advantage if arrange ments could be made under which England could anticipate redemp tion of the debt from time to time by payments under a dis i count. NEW CHARTERS ISSUED Columbia. Dec. 22.?The Cornish Co., of Hartsville, has been char tered by the secretary of state, with capital stock of $25,000, to manufacture brick. J. K. Dunlay is president: J. G. Cornish is vice I president; J. E. Dunlap is secre tary and treasurer. The Peoples' Brokerage Co.. of Ehrhardt, with capital stock of $1,200 has been chartered also. H. T. Cdle, J. T. Herndon and W. H. Grayson ore its officers. Authority has been grnnted the jPee Dee Furniture Co.. of Harts I ville, to increase Us capital stock from $10,000 to $75.000. The White Motor Truck '"o.. of Charleston, has also been charter ed, with $5.000 capital. T. E. Con don is president and treasurer: J. P. Condon is vice ptesident and sec retary. \ Not?Let all the ends Thon Aims't 2 Sumter, S. C, Wednesd? ANOTHER CONFEREMC j Senator Borah Ene^ny of League of JSfgfe, tions Now Want! United States . jjm : Take Hand in F6&j eign Affairs j j. Washington. Dec. 21.?Extenr| sive discussion of international af-j fairs is expected to develop in the] senate as a result of a proposal to-j .day by Senator Borah (Republican) : "Of Idaho for an international con-j ference to consider economic,, fin ancial and business probfems, in-| eluding German reparations./ as 1 well as reductions of land, sea and ? aerial armaments. ' * . j Senator Borah offered his plan as j an amendment to the $330,000 naval' j appropriation bill, which* was re- j [ ported to the senate today for pre-1 .liminary consideration tomorrow. I He proposed that the president be asked to call an economic and dis armament conference instead, of a conference merely to deal with ftm jitation of naval vessels under. 10. 000 Ions and military and naval j aircraft, as provided in the bill as j passed by the house. In offering his amendment as a. substitute for the house provision; Senator Borah-declared world eco nomic conditions required imme-} diate action, ariit he proposed thatj ? President -Harding be "authorized [ and requested*' to invite such.gov~j ernments to send representatives j to the conference as he should (oeem "necessary and expedient"} I with the object of arriving ?t "un- ! 1 derstandings or arrangements"/ |' looking "to the restoration of trade :and establishment, of sound fin?n- ! jcial and business conditions." !.. With reference to armaments, ' the Borah amendment includes the house bill's provisions as to naval j vessels under 10,000 tons and air craft, with its provisions for con sideration of land and\sea arma I raents. J Senate "leaders do not expect the Borah proposal, nor the*-house provision,, to be reached during to-; morrow's consraerati?n of the bill, j These and an amendment by. Sen- j j ator King ^Democrat) of Utah, call- j ! ing for a land -and, sea disarma- j Jment conference, which is pending, j are expected to go over until" after I the Christmas holiday. ] Senator Borah's 9 amendment ; caused general surprise, Specially in view of his ^strong position, }n ' past in reference to American ^par ticipation in European problems. J 'He..was one of the strongest Nop-j : ponents of the league; of nations 1 j and treaty of Versailles, but in > his ! ! statement .today, he made it clear j j that he believed action was needed j i to solve pressing economic prob- j ' lems "aftecting American trade, j German repiarations, he rsaid, j I were the "key to the Europea?*sit-1 juation," and he thought his pro? j I posed conference might "break' ! the deadlock" on that subject." j "We are traveling in a viqious circle," Senator Borah declared. 1 "We enacted an emergency and j ?also a permanent tariff bill. Nev- j ertheless, the cry of distress from) the producers of the country is j even more piteous than at any time since the war. The farmer:. can find no markets- abroad for his isurplus product* and'without a market for his surplus products.it is impossible for him to realize the value of that which he pro duces. "We now propose to enact a ship subsidy bill but there are. no^ cargoes to" carry and no markets to' 1 supply. . If we should give our \ ? millions in the way of subsidies, it j would not open a single market nor supply .a single cargo. These things' 'are' hot produced by sub sidies. Tli?fce are. millions of ship ping tonnage lying 4dle now wait ing to carry the cargoes which' do 1 not# appear. Markets are opened ! arid cargoes are produced, by men] going back to work and settling | down to.business, not by imposing \ more taxes in the way o? subsidies. "We had a disarmament confer ence a year ago. We are now ad vised by a committee report of the other house that unless these agreements heretofore made are extended, competition in naval armaments will be on again in the direction to which the Washington conference agreements do not ex tend. The committee further says that if it be allowed to go un checked, this government must be constrained to launching a new program to keep abreast of other powers. There couldn't be any thing more destructive of all hope of recovery in economic affairs than a reopening of a competitive race in armaments." BANDITS KILL PAYMASTER Bold Murder and Robbery Near Pittsburg Pittsburgh. Dec. 23.?Four ban dits today shot Ross Dennis, pay master of the Pittsburgh Coal com pany, and escaped with twenty thousand dollars. The holdup occurred in the hills behindj,Mount Lebanon, near here, while the of ficials were taking the Christmas pay to mipers at/glading. [ it be thy Country's, Thy God's and y, December 27, 1922 VOTE OF CONFIDENCE FOR OTCARE French Premier Tells Senate That France No Longer Forced to Wait Upon America Paris, Dec, 21 (By the Associa ted Press).?France is no longer "forced to wait upon America for a solution of ^the interallied Eu ropean debts, which are" closely bound up with the question of rep-' arations," Premier Poincare ' told the senate today in a restatement of the country's position. Interallied debts, he said, would he discussed at the resumption of the .premiers' conference here on January 2. France has found a freer field in this, respect than be fore, as she is no-longer met with a j"lat refusal from her allies to dis cuss the question. It was for this reason that she was 'no longer forced fo await action by the Unit ed States. The premier began his declara tions after a question by Senator Japy, whovsaid occupation of the Rhur. district of Germany as a guarantee for payment of repara tions would ?be useless, as it would be sufficient merely to prevent , anything leaving the. Ruhr without the permission of the Allies. M. Poincare asserted that Ger many had persevered in her faults and had obstinately continued to abuse her opportunities, the great industrial magnates had become wealthy at the expense qf the na tion. Germany had systematically ruin ed herself to escape the payment of reparations. She; had failed to fulfill her engagements and the schedule of payments, agreed upon in May, 1921, had become a dead letter. ' , ? Must Have Shelter. "We can not continue to leave our fellow., citizens; without suffi cient shelter,** - exclaimed the pre? meir, raising his voice. The work ordered .ought to be continued and finished and. for this. Germany must j>ay :us. She had state property which the .Versailles treaty sanc tions being allotted for repara tions under an article -.which forbids her to ?ehd any gold from the country, without, the authoriza tion of th3M. Poincare treated, the idea that France, desired -to stifle Germany as ridiculous. , "We have- no wish to ruin. Ger many.'' he-said;}.''but we are not willing that", "sheltered today behind her apparent poverty, she may "jeer at our real poverty in a few years' time." ... He added that France welcomed the idea of Germany raising loans internal or external; "but it is de sirable for Germany to pay mor sels of her capital Instead of crumbs or annuities." "This," he continued, ? "does not mean to say that payment of repa rations should be" put in the hands of bankers.' It o?ght to be regu lated b ythe. governments interest ed aided by the reparations com mission. This question will t be treated with January 1." * Expense of War. M. Poincare recalled that, war expenses left to the belligerents, France's amounting to 145,000, 000,000/francs. "But," he added, "reparations were a privileged debt and therefore would be inadmiss ible if France were summoned to pay her debts to England before receiving payment for the damages she has suffered." The premier closed with refer-, ence to the feeling of mutual con fidence which marked the recent London conference of the premiers. "If divergences ?f view exist," he said, "we shall watch to see that they are never transferred into dis agreements." . M. Ribot, former premier, said he would view with a certain un easiness France entering the Ruhr alone, but there" were other guar antees besides the Ruhr. "L have'named none?the Ruhr no more than any other," inter rupted M. Poincare. The discussion ended by the sen ate giving a vote of confidence in the government by a show of hands. . - TWO BODIES FOUND IN LAKE Believed to Be Men Kidnapped Last August Baton Rouge, Dec. 22.?Govern or Parker has received a message from Mer Rouge, saying that two bodies, believed to be those of Daniels and Richards, have been found. Shereveport.^Dec. 22.?The bodies found in Lake La Fource Is be lieved to be those of the men kid napped by masked men in August. 1 Their limbs were tied with wire, j according to the Journal's special 'correspondent and came to the sur face as the result of a big charge of dynamite exploded last night by unidentified, persons. Only their belts .and. a portion of their trous ers remain. One man's head was gone. It is believed the slayers tried to destroy the bodies. Truth's." PROOF OF CRIME BROUGHT UP FROM LAKE Two Mutilated Bodies Found at Bottom of Louisiana Lake by Divers Mer Rouge, La., Dec. 22.?Bodies of two men blown from the bot tom of Lake La Fourche early to day by unidentified dynamiters were lying at an undertaking es tablishment here tonight, while military men stood guard pending the arrival of additional troops from Alexandria and New Orleans, ordered here today by the adjutant general. The bodies, badly mutilated and bound with wire, were believed by the authorities to be those of Watt Daniels and Thomas Rich ards, members of a party of five prominent Mer Rouge citizens, who were kidnapped last August by white robed and hooded men and who have been missing since and then the, object of three days' rak ing of the lakes of Morehouse par ish by National Guardsmen, fed eral agents and professional div ert ?>;. . "V ; Authorities here state they are satisfied the'bodies were the ones sought. ? 'Relatives and close friends oft missing men viewed the bodies during' the day and tonight arid It was reported bits of cloth ing of the riien were recognized. The coroner announced tonight an inquest f would be held over the bodies, probably tomorrow. The arrival of the attorney general of the state and fwo prominent patho fegists of New' Orleans is awaited. It wa=? not known tonight wheth er the inquest would be held here or at Bastrop, the parish seat. In the- absence of official Infor mation, the next move on the part of the state, was not known here, but it was the concensus of opinion the inquest would be followed by the arrest of at. least 20 persons, al leged ringleaders, of the August mob. The name of these men will be. presented to the military or civil ai^^rltie*''J?y--the: four de partment of justice' agents, who for four mohths have been conduct ing secret- investigations, it was stated here. - - Martial Law Expected. Mer Rouge r citizens expressed themselves tonight as believing martial law' wijl be declared here and the arrests rnade by troops. Everything; was quiet and peace ful on the' surf ace here tonight but those, informed are authority for statements-that there is an under lying feeling of bitterness. Some resistance is. expected when the. state's warrants calling for ar rest of a rjumber of men believed to have been the. ringleaders of the hooded men are served, it was indicate*! here. The presence of an addticnal body .of, state troops, it was' believed, however, will serve as a precaution against a probable Outbreak. . Special investigators of the de partment of justice working under the direction of the governor are said to have a partial list of mem bers of the kidnappers. Many names were obtain ed several months ago When the investigators reported an attempt was made dur ing the night by a group of men to reach a spot on La Fouche lake guarded as the probable resting place of the bodies. The opinion ;s advanced' that these same men returned in the dead hours of last night and placed the i charges Of dynamite that wrecked a part of the bank near the eastern ferry landing and re leased the decapitated, wire bound bodies from the weight that for four months had held them to the bottom of the lake. Divers spent the afternoon trying to locate the rusty wagon wheels that were missed from the hanks of the lake simultaneously with the disappear ance of the men. said to be the only missing link th the chain of evidence the investigators had sub mitted to the governor as their solution of the mystery. While L?* Fourche was being blasted, wjiat.was believed as a de coy of eight or ten men were active in Lake Cooper, 20 miles away, drawing the fire of the state guards and bringing the entire military company from'Mer Rouge to the banks of the lake. Inquiry into Blasting.1 The military captain announced the investigators were not responsi ble for the blasting last night and a search is under way to identify those responsible. With diving operations concen trated chiefly on the ferry landing where a Chart indicated the bod ies of the missing men most like ly were hidden, it was declared the guilty men feared the bodies would be eventually located and decided to recover them and remove them to another burial place In the in terior. The dynamiters evidently became frightened or failed to find their quarry and ran away, the story goes. A ferryman who heard the blasts re-ported the finding this morning. With the arrival of additional state troopa tomorrow the--strength in the parish will be more than 200 men. The troops have a large complement of machine guns. It is generally believed open THE TRUE SOU' 'CHARLESTON ! INS STATE CHAMPIONSHIP! - j Gaffney Defeated in Hard Fought Gamej 48 to 0 I Columbia. Dec. 23.?Defeating! Gaffney, 48 to 0r Charleston yes-j terday afternoon won the high j school football championship of j South Carolina for the third time in J as many years. The better team \ won and the game leaves no argu- \ ments, "alibis" or second guesses * in its wake. The Bantams flashed ? a dazzling offense and -sturdy de- j fense and result of the game wasf not in doubt after the second pe- j riod got its second wind. Gaffney! fought. The Cherokee ladar were! in there battling at the close with? as' much determination as at the start and, although they had been swept off their feet and almost annihilated, they never quiC" Theyj lost ' to a better team -but seven j touchdowns and six extra points j added thereto failed to destroy j the Indians'" morale. They ended the game as they began with a driving first down. But Charles ton made many such in between. The winners outran, outpassed, outthought and outkicked the los^ ers. The last item was one of the most important of the day. Gaff ney's kickers did not get much distance and "twice they failed to get any. This was a big help tu Charleston. With all the poor! kicking contributed jtrr Gaffney, however, Ivy Badger got the iongest kick of the day on one of his efforts when he put his foot into the ball for 44 yards. KILLED UNDER ! ENGINE Rock Hill Boy is . Strock by Locomotive Rock IlilL Dec. 22.?Herbert Lowery. aged 12.. the sop of Mr. and Mrs. James Lowrey, of East White street, was run over and. instantly killed this afternoon at 4:30 o'clock by . a switch engine. In company with a smaller brother, Gfarnett' had been visiting his grandmother in the western part of. the city, and were returning down the railroad track; One switch engine was tak ing, on sand while another engine' was. pushing cars of coal, up the chute, alongside* main track. The boys stopped to watch cars pushed j up steep grade and Herbert was standing just inside the cross ties.' The switch engine backed up and struck the lad, knocking him di rectly across the rails and cutting off one leg and hip. Besides his parents the little fel low is survived by three small, brothers and one sister. Coroner McCorkle held an inquest tonight and the verdict was that the lad came to his death as a result of being struck by the local switch engine, which , was in charge of Engineer H. L. Tal ley. Coroner McCorkle decided after hearing testimony that inquest was I unnecessary as the death of the lad was purely accidental. POPE MAY CALL COUNCIL Catholic Episcopacy May Be! Called to Rome i - Rome. Dec, 23. ? The papal encyclical issued today announced the possibility that the pope would call a meeting of the entire Catholic episcopacy in Rome during next jpbilee year. It would be a con tinuation of the ecumenic council held in 1870. The letter enumer ates the present world evils, say- j ing the remedy lies chiefly in a re- j turn to Christ, which means peace, j justice and love among ail peoples,! j respect for order and authority and . combating materialism. 5 . 1 J hearings will be instituted following; the anticipated arrests. All persons will be free to come] into this court of justice, under the Louisiana laws, and tell what they j know of the case. Prominent persons in Mississippi and Arkansas, as well as Louisiana,1 are believed by the state as having; been members of the hooded mob.j Arrests in all three states are anti-( cipated. Mer. Rouge. La., Dec. 23.?One [ of the wirebound, mutilated bodies j of the two men taken from Lakej La Fourche yesterday by state j troops, was today identified as that; of Watt Daniel,* who was kidnap-j ped last August by masked, white- J robed men. Initials on the belt; on the body completed the identi-1 j fication. The other body is believ- ? j ed to be that of Thomas Richards,! j who was also kidnapped. Relatives j I of the missing men viewed the < [bodies pending an inquest late to-j ! day. The attorney general is com-1 jing to hold the inquiry. Twenty, or more arrests are expected on the j evidence gathered by federal agents, j Additional troops, with machine, guns, are coming from Xew Or-j leans and Alexandria. Divers nrej to seek the remainder of the; bodies of the men today. The con-! ditions were found unsafe for the' search yesterday. ' THRON, F^Mfehed June U tX%*. TOL.LHL NO. 39 Union Miners Blame; Army Guards For" Massacre of Non Union Miners arid; Marion, Ills.. Dec. . 22 (By the^ Associated- Press).?The killing ^of|| the first of three -. union xniheri?| slain during theHerrin Hots .-?f|sg| described, today by Edward Gjr$h?'l shaw. one *>f. the first' witness^ for the defense at the trial of/tt^-f men charged with murder in conr| nection with the slaying, of twej^yl^ non-union workers during the out-"^ breaks. The defense began Introd?ei^iv its testimony -at the openh^To^rJ the morning: session after forBha,^; Imotions, asking that all the. ev i dence iutToduced* by the 'statej'f^^ excluded and that the court ^uSect.JJ a) verdict of "not guilty" had been ^ overruled by.,Judge D. Tv'H?'t-p well. A number of the first witness^ >: Called testified, that the ter>H4o^g irroundihgj the mine xcasj-p^ii^^ i'ul and-. quiet until- ,afterr iM&0i union workers-had been discharged"| and non-union men and ^ gxBjte&zi guards sent into the pit byv^fcc^ coai company. . - ; . ^ Several of the. witnesses tes?j"1*? fied thaf the guards had ridden^p:-j and down the p?bhc higlr^yvnenr^3 ! the mine ;n ? motor truck. eacih: one carrying two pistols and a j rifle: th^t they held up and searched peaceful travelers, shout j ed at .women and. warned every one" j to/.stay, off the road after stm-* down. ' .> Other witnesses told of hiding tin their cellars when the shootmg: began .at the mine between 1:2ft and 2 p. m. the afternoon of Junt; 121. and of having their stock killed by shots from "the mine. [ l:Tt was during this shooting_#i3t \ \ Edward Gren&aw, who testified [ tnat -he.was a. former union m&er I and had liyenVa half mHe from$2?>'$. I-Lester strip mine all his life; said he -was In front of h? home w&^frVe saw/"-^ Hendergor^ jj^oy^ hulKts t>egan^acome frcyn.tfce direction of .^e.ntirie. "Did you'see any one shot?** r "Tee; .they-' said his name-.'-tras Henderson and he fell ?about one hundred yards from my house.' Tie must have , been- killed insrantly.'*^ The .cross-examination " of Gren-. shav was. postponed ?nt? iomdf row; Edna ^onroy testified she 'lWe4 with her father, about half a y?nTe from the Tester mine. She told: of, seeirg trucks loaded with armefo guards wearing stars pa ?"her home several times a day on. the'' public highly. The witness declared she 4iad \ jseen a ?eigliborr J. Hugh Gibbs," 1 held up and searched by :the 'guards m the. high way. j She saw Superintendent Mc j Doweli^m the mine with a. gun j strapped tb :ht? back several days j before th* riots. ; Mrs.-Mary Conroy, mother ? Edna Gonroy.- testified she lived near the mine and had seen' the trucks filled with armed guards on the road biinging water to' the s mine and-that the guards had shouted at her and her daughter; John G. Conroy, t>S years;;oTd, i^orrohbrared the testimony givf^v [by his .wife and daughter regard ing the shooting at the mine and ? j the events tphich preceded it. He '_: said, the guards in the mine trucks - f-each carried two pistols and a. rifle across their knees and that some'pf his stocic had been killed by buNeK On cross examination, tbe vcit- a j ness said, he had been a mine? f?r^/ ; fifty years before becoming a .; f farmer and: had held petty-officer in the miners' union. "Have you any feeling agamst these men in the mine?" j "Sure I have: Didn't they; kill ! my stock ?"' ( "The elder Conroy then testified be had not seen a single man fir ing into the mine or going toward it. ? ' ' John,Conroy, a son, testified that the firing at the mine began about 2 o'clock oh the afternoon of June 2K He declared he saw a white flag raised at the mine about ? o'clock and that about an hour later he saw two men firing from the pit near the flag. ..On cross examination Conroy said he had been a miner for 27 years, was a member of the United Mine Work ers* and ha.d contributed to the miners' defense in the present case. He declared he had been told lie would receive $70 a day from the union defense for the time he spent as a jritness. WIFE SLAYER CONVICTED Abraham Becker Sentenced to Death New York, Dec. c23.?Abraham Becker^ who was convicted of the murder of his wife here, today re ceived the death penalty. His wife disappeared last April and h<-r bodyfwas found in a lime-filled pit months later, where, it is alleged she was buried alive.