The Lancaster News
LEDGER 1852 REVIEW 1878 ENTERPRISE 1891
VOL. I. NO. 4. SEMI-WEEKLY. LANCASTER. S C., OCTOBER. 14. 1905. PRICE?FIVE CENTS PER COPY _
Court Proceedings.
Prompt Acquittal in the Case
of Policeman A. Jeff Gregory,
Charged With the
Killing of Ex-Policeman
Thomas Catoe in the Town
of Kershaw?Synopsis of
the Testimony?The Heath
! T~> ?
opnngs rjurgiary ^ase.
When The News went to press
last Tuesday evening the court
was engaged in the trial of Chas
McFadden, a negro charged with
arson?the burning of Dr. Nisbet's
barn in the Van Wyck sec
lion. The result was a mistrial
Wednesday.
The c ise of Mr. A. Jeff 1
Gregory, chargid with the i
Killing of Mr. Thomas Catoe in i
the town ol Kershaw, was taken <
up Wednesday afternoon and was
not concluded until Thursday
night, when a verdict of not i
guilty was rendered by (he jury. '
The defendant was represented i
by Mr. E. D Blakeney, of Ker. i
8haw, and Solicitor Ilenry was
assisted in the prosecution by i
Messrs. Green & Hines. The 1
case attracted unusual interest, ]
the court room being crowded 1
throughout the hearing.
The jurors were as follows: J. 1
M. Nisbet, foreman, J. T. Barton. I
W. D. (Jauthen, J. W. Mc.Murray, i
Jas. II. Horton, .1. II. Neely, R. 1
T7t IT ! I '
r .union, I. J. DaDney,K. H. I
Alassey, Frank Kobinson, J. li. t
AloCiintock, Charlie Parks.
TESTIMONY.
The following is a synopsis of
the testimony: <
Dr. J. E. VV. Haile : Was J
called to see W. T. Catoe o'n i
flight of 8th August 1905 in 1
guardhouse in town of Kershaw.
Found Catoe suffering with J
th ree wounds in scalp on top of I'
head. Wounds slight. DeceasIed
seemed considerably intoxi- {
cated. Later saw him at his '
home and found him shot in (
abdomen and extracted bullet. '
Abdominal wound caused '
, death. <
Dr. S. W. Pryor testified to (
operation performed by him to f
relieve deceased and described '
location of wound ;n abdomen. !
Intestines perforated in eleven 1
places. VVou id ,tl nost jneeos- 5
fi)"' sarily fatal. {
,J. T. Davis: Was with Catoe (
on night of Aug 8th. M?t him '
lirst time at Carson's store while
witness and Hud Watson were i
corning u,> stroot together. Do- I
n ? n
co tsed joined tiem a id they i
wont to his store to got a man? s
dolin. Catoe proposed a sni; e <
hunt and they took some ne i
groes, three, along. Catoe got !
sac: and gun and said he)would ?
shoot snipe if he couldn't catch 1
them in bag. Party went 70 or 1
80 yards boyo ul Carson's stere
v on way out of town when rain i
. came up. They returned to (
icon's store to got out of rain
ti i r piazza, a had soni?* inn t
Lie by uogro ?. While there 1
witness saw Mr. Gregory pass .
I by and go up^ street. Witness,
K
i
1
Catoe and Watson then went
back to Catue's store and Catoe
took gun in store. Didn't have
it when he came out. Don't
know what he did vith it.
There was no guu outside the
door. Door w.is double door.
Catoe opened the upper side of
do'?r next to Floyd's store.
There was no light in storo.
Witness and Wat on stopped on
outsi le of door, witness on upper
side an 1 Watson on lower
sule. Catoe came out and pulled
door too. Mr. Gregory came
up , sidewalk. Catoe says:
"Hurrah for Kershaw." Mr.
Gregory was up about even with
witness. Witness was on upper
side. Gregory stepped
back a little piece and shot Mr.
Catoe, shot twice. On cross examination
witness said first shot
struck Catoe. Knows it because
Catoe fell between 1st and
2nd shots. Mr. Blakeney rigidly
examined witness as to position
of parties and his ability
to see Gregory and Catoe at one
3 ? *
luiu saiuQ nme, tne witness
seemed to get a little confused.
Witness went off immediately
after helping Catoe into store
to look for help and when he
returned found Catoe in Guard
house. Saw wounds on head
when he saw him in guardhouse,
but didn't know where
body wound was. Catoe had
no wounds on head when he
left him at store. Witness had
taken but one drink with deceased,
and that was before
witness went to supper. Catoe
was sober.
H. H. Truesdale: Went to
Oatoe's store after shooting.
bound Uatoe lying across the
inside of door and Watson sitting
down by his side. Told
Watson to go for doctor and
isked Oatoe it he was shot. Catoe
said yes he was shot twice.
A.hked him where lie was shot.
Jatoe sai 1 : I am shot in the
jreast. I open shirt bosom and
wouldn't see any wound and
thought be was mistaken. W.
n. uiroat ana I'Al. lilackmon
; me in. We got liim up to
counter an i ho still said lie was
?hot in breast. I again tried to
find wiieie wound was and
ihout that time policeman Gregory
and Krantf Hough came in
uid carried him to gutrdhonse.
Saw no wounds 011 head of deceased
while loo dug lor wounds
11 store.
1). Ed. Blackmon : Saw Caioe
at Carson's store before dif
lenity, with uun. After shootng
went to Catoe's store and
>nw Gregory and Hough arrest
leceased. Gregory pulled Ca00
and Hough hit i.iin. Don't
low how many times. Saw
hitoe afterwards in carrying
lim home, and saw blood on
lead.
D. A. linker testified to metis <
iremonts in regard to front of |
Jatoe's store.
Dr. W 0. Twitty : Saw Cao
at his ho ? on hrh. llullet
lad been previously extracted <
]
(Continued on dlli page.) I
Newsy Georgia Letter.
Comments on Lancaster's
Dispensary Election?Georgia
Farmers' Like Their
South Carolina Brothers,
Now Holding Tight to
Cotton?Other Matters of
Interest.
Mr. Editor: With considerable
regret, we filed away the
last is-ue of The Review, never
more to receive its welcome
weekly visits. But The Nkwsi
is all right. Bright, clean, neat
and newsy, with the same editor
who made The Review so
interesting and so popular, as
editor, The News will meet with
great public favor, no doubt.
A*s we, with a great many
others, hoped, the dispensary
election in Lancaster county reQ
11 1 ill Oil afta^tttu a! .% 1 ?
uuivv V* ill Ull V*Oi > V IIC1 llllll^ V 1Utory
for "no dispensary." And
so the dispensary must go and
we believe that if everyone will
work hard and pull together for
a strict observance of the prohibition
law, there will be less,
considerably less liquor drank
in the count}' than ever before,
notwithstanding the prevalence
of "blind tigers."
The great slump in the cotton
market during the last few
days, came as a thunder-clap
from a clour sky to a great
many people, who were confidently
expecting to see the market
steadily advance, with little
f U All rfl* f A f OIAIT
vuv/u^ut kjl aujr ucv^lilltJ W1UUU'
ver. But the farmers have
shown their wisdom by holding
their cotton off the market,
since the price went below 10
cents, and we believe, with
Harvie Jordan, that if they will
hold a while longer, good prices
will come later 011, for there is
110 questioning the fact that the
crop is small and the demand
for cotton goods as great, possibly
greater than ever. But as
a Macon cotton buyer says,
t,\r 1 ?
" i oil can never ten about horse
races, women and the cotton
market."
President Roosevelt, on his
trip South in a few weeks, will
pass through Macon, but mt
ortunately for those who would
like to get a tilimp^o of liiin, he
will pass through at night and
will not stop over any length of
time. 1 he band has promised
to play as much of "Rushing
though Georgia" as possible
during his very brief stop here.
Mail} people are attending
the big State Fair in Atlanta
now. In two weeks more, our
big fair here will b-gin and for
two weeks wo expect to have a '
tiim* I* 1111111> i*'? ll-Mi'
Smith Day, Circus Day and
arev; 1 ,y will be i'uii of inter
est t > vi iiors who etijoy a good ,
live, up to date fair.
Mr. W. II. Burns, a former
Lancastrian, who is traveling!
>a esinan for a large tobacco
house, is making his lieadquar
ters in Mscon now and has
! moved his family here. Many
Carolinians are located in Ma
con and throughout the whole
I State. But they all think Car
olinaisa great State and never
fail t<> speak a good word for
their native State when an opportunity
presents itself.
The rural free delivery svs11ein
is meeting with great favor
! ill (ieoinrisi ;l11< 1 rlmihtloaa in <>11
parts of the country where they
have this system, it enables
the farmer to get the daily paper.
to get all his mail more
promptly and saves him a great
deal of time, besides, it also
furnishes fairly remunerative
employment for the carriers
employed in carrying the mails
over the routes.
Former Lancastrian.
(irand Juries.
A Plea for a More Thorough
Investigation Into the Financial
Affairs of Counties.
From Newberry Observer.
"We find the books of the
county treasurer neatly kept,"
etc., etc.
So say the grand juries. So no
doubt the grand juries have been
saying in Greenville and Richland
and Edgefield and Dorchester
for lo these many years. And
the confinding public thought it
all right. Rut investigating cc mmittee8
have found that in the
last six years about a hundred
thousand dollars have been stolen
in Greenville, that Richland is
$50,000 out of pocker, Edgefield
$4,000, Dorchester $2,000.
What does a grand jury investigation
amount to anyway?
In these cases it seems they
amount to nothing, lor it we are
not mistaken not one of the
shortages named was found by
that body. And why inn? There
ought, to be men with sense
|enough on every grand jury to
asceitain positively whether a
county otficer is short?whether
there has been extravagance or
theft or graft or carelessness?in
short, whether the o.'Iice is finan
eially straight. 'Neatly kept"
books <lo not always mean a
clean" record. The committees
appointed by the grand juries!
have plenty of time to ascertain
the real condition ot afliairs in
tin1* county offices, to examine
every claim and voucher and
bank deposit, and to lind out to a
certainty whether there is any
shortage?if they would on *
take time for it and not tie afraid
of offending their friends in ollice
Hut it is no i?tl etion on ttie
honesty of a public officer to liol
ititil on a strict account and t
investigate his olfi ie tloronh!v
?in fact if he i? the right kind
of ollieer h" will I?? glad to hav
ii done.
Glati.l j irv ; j>i?i i s'noUid * 11: i n
in ire than ihev i m<?n
- Would > ' i' ii ' n lo :.
pi: blic ;i i 1 r;: < ?i f li?* t ruo <?i
difion of conn; v financ \s i
is now tV?re is room Jo sir:pro*
111at o! nor counties?nn.'i nob ii?r
ran tell which?are in Ihr oo> (lition
of Itichlaud, E Icefield hi; 1
Dorchester.
Grand Jury's Report.
A Strong Paper?Condition
of the Public Roads?Law
in TPprrorrl 4-r\ \X7,^-1 -
AAA AXV/gMl VA IVJ JLXUC1U VV UI K"
ing Must be Strictly Enforced.
The grand jury, having concluded
its labors at the present
term of court, made its find report
Wednesday afternoon aud
was discharged. The report is as
follows :
To ilts Honor, 0 W. B ichanI
an, Presiding .Judge.
We, the grand jury of Lancascaster
county, beg to submit the
following report :
We have examined and passed
on all bills ot indictment handed
to us by the Solicitor.
We have examined the books
and papers of Hie county olficers
and find same neatly and proper
ly kept. Our foreman was present
and saw (he annual settlement
between the Auditor and
Treasurer and the Comptroller
General of the State, as required
by law, and said settlement was
perfectly satisfactory.
Wo have, by a committee of
our body, examined the Poor
House and find it in as good condition
as can be expected.
In a former report we have referred
to the bad condition of the
roads of our county and we deem
it our duty to again ca!l the attention
of the court to their condition.
We held an extra meeting
of our body in September last
to consider I lie roads and found
that they were in a deplorable
condition and not well worked.
We conferred with the County
Supervisor and in accordance
with our demand, he agreed to
give notice to the r> ad overseers
'o warn out hands and work the
various roads at least lour days
let ween ihat true and the present
term oi court. Wo now find
that tiie roads have not been
worned as agreed upon. In our
I opinion to see that the roads are
ic ...??> ..t '
mii>c in wiic m i ur must important
duties ol the comity super
vi-or and we I eel sine thai "he
customary methods employe 1 in
working the roads ot this county
are totally iut Ifi dent. Wa there
tore urge that ihe law in regard
to road working ho strictly enforced
and that anyone who is res
pon-i'de tor their present
c muith o he tiel 1 'ccountnhie for
his neglect, ol duty.
We present 11. If Mackev, J.
A liridg s, L L. Cant hen, Andrew
Rollings a id Rieil Thompson
tor u.oog dyn .m le or other
t-x plo-1ve ill <ie .>. ro <n c t lie o<, dn?
ot Levis R. oerlsop on oi nlinnt
Kc?iiv 1st l'.M)") Wi' opuses to
i|- iVP 'HIUP ! ') no I1' Ii<>; > ' n, I,
V. It .ben s-.ii, i> 1' II 11,
.Lures K'lberison n o B,>vd.
We orvsi M. I) ], vo inr
. ik'.>i1 i??ir t i:e ci j ?m >? ] w.
W ji noftses '< i ' i \ e !-oMw : \V. (J.
(Mvlmrif. W. 1. Trsnllviv. Smn
I > \V> -i, ;Mo"! ; , ft!.
,n>n (J ,i |n , > ! J
A I O ? I* i :i i , ,vi;w ly
submitted.
E Ii. Luulv,
Foreman.
'