The Abbeville press and banner. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, August 26, 1921, Image 1
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Abbeville Press and Banner j
Established 1844. $2.00 the Year. Tri-Weekly Abbeville, S. C., Friday, Aug. 26, 1921 Single Copies, Five Cents. 77th Year." '
: l T ,
ZR-2 IS WRECKED
ON TRIAL FUGHT
GIANT DIRIGIBLE EXPLODES
OVER HULL, ENGLAND, AND
PRACTICALLY ALL OF BIG
CREW BELIEVED TO HAVE
' BEEN LOST.
.London, z%?me new aui*
erican dirigible ZR-2 was wrecked
by an explosion near Hull today.
It is known at least six survivors
have been picked up, one of them
with a broken leg and one severely
burned.
The two jumped from the blazing
bag in parachutes and came down
safely. I
The machine was nearing the end
of a trial flight trip, which was to
establish her fitness for a transAtlantic
trip to America.
Going up late yesterday the great
machine worked perfectly, responding
readily to the contro^ levers and
riding easily despite a high wind
which was encountered..
x - While over Hull at 5:45 p. m. today,
shortly after she had signalled
that she was going to ? make a test
flight for speed, the huge gas bag
exploded.
The derigible broke in two and
plunged into/tne iuver numroer. ,
Captain Maxfield, of the United
. ? States navy was on iboard.
Tie remainder of the crew was,
composed of thirty-one British air
service men who were instructing
the Americans in the handling of the
giant bag, preparatory to starting
the flight for the United States within
a few days. *
A dispatch to The Press association
from Hull says five men were
saved from the crew of forty-nine.
A ^message from Hull received
shortly before 7 p. m., said the airship's
captain had been rescued.
Some bodies, the message, added had
been recovered. <
'Following are some facts about
the ZR-2:
I.?ngVs f-et 095; diinreter, feet,
85; capacity, cubic feet, 2,700,000;
total life, tons, 83; engines 6; ceiling
or maximum altitude, feet. 25,
000; cruising radius at 60 miles per
hour 6,000; officers and crew, men,
42; gasoline supply, gallons 8,000.
/
^Tells of Tragedy.
Hull, Aug. 25.?Most of the British
and American members of the crew
of the ill-fated dirigible ZR-2, were
killed by the explosion which followt
ed the buckling and snapping of the
girders amidships, declared Flight
Lieutenant A. H. Wann, 'in command
of the craft as navigating officer at
:he time of the disaster in a statement
to the Associated Press today.
Lieutenant Wann said the ship had
run beautifully at 60 knots an hour
and that he had reduced the speed to
50 knots when there came a violent
cracking sound. He thought several
of the girders broke. The whole
*h:ng happened in five seconds.
There; was no sign of anything
wrong when we passed over Hull," he
added, "but everything happened afterward.
I was in sole control at the
:ime."
"Thfere was no sign of anything
vient," said Lieutenant Wann, whose
:juries are' not serious, "the craft
had been sailing perfectly. She had
I'een passing through various difficult
tests and the speed had been rpduc
ed, when suddenly, while crossing the
broad estuary of the Humber, I heard
the grinding and cracking of girders
and the airship pitched forward ncse
down, from an even keel.
"As soon as humanly possible, I
epiptied the water ballast to enable
the craft to resume its normal position
but at this instant, a tremendous
explosion occurred. The great ship
seemed to halt for a moment and then
it dropped like a rock. The concussion
threw me down in the navigator's
car where I was pinned by the
wreckage. The section of the craft
' in wh;ch I was riding remained above
SWINDLE SCHEME
INVOLVES BIG SUA
FEDERAL INVESTIGATORS UN
EARTH PLOT THAT MAY CON
CERN TWELVE MILLION DOL
LARS?(OPERATING ON NA
TIONAL SCALE.
Chicago, Aug. 25.?(Federal in
vestigators delving -into ^he affair
of Charles W. French, alleged hea
of a group of swindlers operatin;
on a natoinal scale, today estimate
that twelye million dollars might b
involved in the Iband's activities. It
manipulations, it is charged, wer
the most audacious ever uncovere
by federal agents and included a]
leged banking schemes (bond ma nipt
lations and stock transactions invoh
ing seventeen companies and thre
banks.
Three alleged confessions wer
in the possession of federal author:
ties today. Government agents hav
also recovered a million and a ha]
dollars worth of doulbtful notes an
have made eight arrests.
Alva Harshman, for the last si
years French's secretary, confesse
yesterday to John V. Clinnln, a?si:
tant United States district attorne
regarding the band's activities, Mi
Clinnin said. He was released i
$5,000 bonds and is expeced to b
the star witness for the governmen
11Von/>li tito a orrcafivl anmoHm
I ; Jfk | VjMVU f?C*U M&4VWVVW WVU4VVJUI
ago in connection with, the activitic
of John W. Worthington, allege
head of a group engaged in dispos
ing of securities Qbtained in ma
robberies.
French is held here under $25,00
bond. Besides French and Wortt
ington, both of whom are under ai
rest, Harshman in his alleged con
fession implicated a number of oth
ers. . K. Strolbel, Akron, Ohic
real estate man, Elmer Gerber,( o
Cleveland and A. E. Strelzin, of Mi]
waukee were yesterday taken int
custody in those cities as agents o
French. Today federal officials wer
said to 'be hurrying to Washingto:
to question the cashier of a ban
there.
MRS. JOSEPH L. JOHNSON
0
After a severe illness lasting tw
weeks, Mrs. Joseph L. Johnson, wif
of Chief of Police Johnson, die
Thursday afternoon at her home o
Church street. Funeral services wer
conducted at 3:30 this afternoon b
the Rev. C. E. Peele and the Rev. i
B. Hillhouse, interment following a
Sharon.
Mrs. Johnson, whose maiden nam
Woe Micc Minnio Hf pTTorryiQ woo A
years of age. She was the daughte
of the late Mr. and Mrs. W. M. M(
Kenzie of this county. Mrs. Johnso
spent all of her life in Abbevilh
having been born near the place o
her death. She was an active an
j zealous member of the PreSbyteria
i church and had a wide circle o
friends, as well as an extensive fam
ly connection, who join in extenc
ing sympathy.
Surviving Mrs. Johnson are he
husband, Joseph L. Johnson, chief c
police force, two daughters, Missc
Lena Belle and Frances Johnsoi
three sons, Maxcy, Fletcher and A
pheus Johnson; six sisters, Mis
Belle McKenzie, Mrs. Essie Nickle:
Mrs. Oscar Jackson, Mrs. Frank I
Jones, Mrs. Frank McNeill and Mr:
Motte Gilliam; three brother
Charles M. McKenzie, Kay McKenzi
and Robert McKenzie all of whoi
live in Abbeville.
the water after the ship plunged ir
to the Humber and I was rescue
after being imprisoned for 15 mir
utes. That is all I am able to say."
Lieutenant Wann denied local r<
ports that he had heroically plunge
the ZR-2 into the river rather than o
shore which was crowded wit^ thous
ands of spectators. The disaster oc
curred so quickly, he said, that an
such action was impossible.
CONGRESS RESTS .
I TILL SEPTEMBER 21
|. BOTH HOUSES QUIT WORK FOR
|. TIME WITHOUT VOTE ON BILL
PREVENTING MANUFACTURE
.. AND SALE OF BEER TO SICK.
HARDING SIGNS MANY BILLS.
i- Washington, Aug. 25.?Congress
s took a recess tonight until September
^ 21, without a vote by the senate on
a bill prohibiting the manufacture
5 and sale of beer to the sick. The
d senate ended its work at 11:34 o'clock*
e and the house at 11:58.
s President Harding was at the cape
itol late tonight to sign a number
^ of bills. The last to be put before
him was the dye embargo extension,
the last measure to be passed by the
i- senate.
r- The senate is expected to resume
? work upon reconvening but Representative
Mondell, the Republican
e leader, obtained an agreement to
i- have the house declare three-day re
w cesscs xrum ucptcuiuci ^x w ww
^ ber 3.
d Announcement1 of adoption by the
house of the recess resolution was
* made to the senate while Senator
d Stanley ( Democrat) of Kentucky,
J- was in the midst of a speech attacks'1
ing provisions,of the a^ti-beer bill.
r* After it had beeen laid aside temporn
arily, senators opposing it were on
e guard to see that it was not called
up again in an attempt to obtain a
quick vote. Prohibition leaders ear's
ly in the night abandoned their efd
fort to hold up the recess until it had
been passed, failing even to obtain
" an agreement fixing a date for a vote
on it by the senate, after congress
0 reassembles next month.
l" President Harding arrived at his
u officg the capitol while the debate
l" on a bill for three months' extenl"
sion of the dye embargo was under
way, ready to sign bills. Among the
* first to "be signed was the shipping
board deficiency bill with an amend0
ment carrying $20,000 for expenses
* of the disarmament conference.
e Objection by Democrats prevented
n senate consideration of a bill passed
k by the house imposing a duty of 90
J a. 1 * 1J 1-.- 11.^ I
per cent, on war supplies suiu uy tne |
government in France and shipped
back to this country.
o SUNDAY SCHOOL FIGURES
e ,
d University of South Carolina Bullen
tin Gives Interesting Facts.
e
y A bulletin recently issued by the
r. Department of Rural Social Science,
it University of South Carolina, enj
titled, "The Rural Sunday School,"
e' gives some interesting facts in reK!
tn this hran^h of Christian en
r J deavor. The following Is one paraj
graph of the bulletin:
n "In 1825, the American Sunday
School Union reported l,150*Sunday
if schools with 11,295 teachers and
d 82,697 scholars. In 1831, the semin
centennial of the founding of the
if system of Raikes, the American Suni
day School Union reported 600,000
1- scholars enrolled. In 1910 the Sunday
schools of the United States
!T numbered 193,495, with 1,749,894
f teachers and 15,380,694 scholars. In
is 1917 the Protestant 'and miscellai;
neous Sunday schools had over 19,1
000,000 scholars enrolled and the
js Roman Catholic schools 2,850,000.
s, The Protestant enrollment was dis}.
tributed as follows: Methodist, 7,s.
000,000 scholars; Baptist, 3,800,000;
s, Presbyterian, 2,000,000; Lutheran,
:e 1,000,000; Disciples, 940,000; Conn
gregationalist, 750,000; Episcopal,
Reformed, and United Brethren,
- 500,000 each."
l
d REPRESENTING THE TEAM
l- Billy Long and Bruce Galloway
leave Saturday for Columlbia
?- where they go to attend the pracd
tice school for coaches now in pron
gress in that city. The boys will reps'
resent the Abbeville team and will
bring back to the boys enough new
y stunts to put the team in the champion
class.
SOLDIERS' BODIES
SAVED FROM FIRE
FIVE HUNDRED * REMOVED
FROM PIERS?FLAMES REACH
SIDE OF GREAT LINER BUT
ARE DRIVEN BACK AFTER
STUBBORN FIGHT.
Hoboken, N. J., Aug. 25.?Five
hundred bodies of American soldiers
dead, awaiting shipment to the home^
of relatives, were removed,in safety
late today when fire of unkonwn
origin swept over the army waterfront
reservation here, destroying
pfers five and six and adjoining ar
my storehouse a/id barracks.
iPier foul:, at which the giant Leviathan
and the transport Wheaton
were docked, was saved with difficulty.
The flames licked the sides of
the Leviathan, damaging a small
section of woodwork on the bow and
! the forward mast, but a fire bofct
I wedged its Way between the liner
and the (burning pier and successfully
fought off the flames as they
spread to the huge craft.
When the fire broke out there
were 500 bodies in the large rooms
at the junction of piers four and
five. As soon as the alarm was sounded,
Captain Wilbur, officer of tta
day, called out the entire army personnel,
albout '150 men, who started
removing the bodies. Four hundred
longshoremen on duty at nearby
piers assisted.
One thousand other bodies were
lined up on pier four, Ibut inasmuch
as the flames did not came nefer them
they were not disturbed. The transport
Wheaton, which "recently arrived
here with 5,000 bodies, still had
2,000 alboard when the fire broke out
but it was on the opposite side of
the pier from which the fire was lo
cated.
ATTENDS POTATO MEETING
Hodges Farmers Interested In Production
of Tubers.
Secretary G. T. Banes of the
Chamber of Commerce, attended the
meeting yesterday at Hodges in the
interest of sweet potato production,
i He said there was much enthusiasm
j among those present and that steps
| were taken that will- lead to a full
I storage room another year.
There is already a potato curing
house at Hodges. Enough pledges
were secured yesterday at the meeting
to insure that the plant will be
taxed to capacity next year. The
plan is that the farmers will simply
store their potatoes and agree that
costs of storage shall be paid out of
the proceeds resulting from their
tale by a marketing committee or
manager. This plan eliminates the
necessity of having sufficient capital
to purchase the tubers outright,
and allows the owners the advantages
to be gained by large lot sale
ana cooperative enorr.
Mr. Barnes hopes that plans may
soon be perfected for the erection of
a potato curing and storing house In
A'bbeville. From appearances and reports,
he says, a substitute crop must
soon be found to take the place of
cotton. There were present at
Hodges yesterday a number of Abbeville
county farmers, who appeared
much interested in the proceedings,
and some of them signed up to
plant a definite acreage of potatoes
next year.
HUNTING SEASON BEGINS
Open Date Comes September 1 For
Some Game.
The open season for the hunting o^j
opossums, rabbits, raccoons, squirrels,
fox, plover yellow legs and deer
(bucks only) begins September 1,
Thursday of next week and continues
to March 1. There remains,
therefore, only a week in which to
secure licenses, oil up the old gun,
and acquire a reliable dog.
MOB AT WIN I
LYNCHES NEGRO j
SLAYER OF NOAH FRICK PUT S
TO DEATH?HUNDREDS OF
SHOTS FIRED INTO BODY OF
WILL ALLEN?REMAINS LEFT
BEHIND .
Chapin, Aug. 24.?Will Allen, negro
a'bout 60 years old, was shot to ^
death by a mo-b of about 150 men ,
two miles from Chapin at 2 o'clock
/?
this afternoon for the killing 'of
Noah F. Frick a highly respected far- t
mer, late Tuesday. Immediately af- E
ter Mr. Frick had been shot, a posse \
was formed and search for Allen be- t
giun.. He was known to have gone in- ..
to a swairfp after the shooting and
all last night and throughout today *
until Allen was found crouching in I
a ditch, the search was kept up:
Though armed with a Winchester 1
rifle, the weapon with which Mr. *
iFViW wnn Ifillpf?. AHpti maHp nr? prf- C
fort to resist the officers. He came *
out of the ditch with his hands up. ^
Helber L. Meetze, found Allen in a ?
ditch about ten feet wide and eight *
feet deep. The negro was hidden by 11
undergrowth. Officers Foy of New- '
berry county and Rural Policeman i
Koon of Richland county took charge
of the prisoner. They were jftined '
immediately by Sheriff Roof of Lex- c
inort.nn nr>H Qovprnl nfhp-r nn/1 t
j ?o?.
private citizens. These were on their
way to their cars in which they intended
to tafte the negro to the penitentiary
for safe keeping when the
moib with masks on their faces took
the negro from them. Allen was led
a quarter of a mile fcway and killed.
An inquest was conducted later in
the afternoon by Coroner Weed of
Lexington. The verdict declared
that Allen came to his death fcrom
I gunshot wounds at the hands of un
known parties. ^
c
Late today the body of Allen was
still where it fell.' Negores are said
to have declared their intention to |(
let it remain unmolested.
(Hundreds of shots were fired into
Allen's body, the head and chest be- ^
ing largely shot away, while the
entire body is literally snot into a ^
shapeless mass. {
Allen's rifle was jammed, and but ]
foV this people here!1 believed that .
members of the searching party
might have been shot. One cartridge I \
had been snapped but failed to ex- {
plode. The rifle then had refused to .
eject the snapped cartridge.
Allen had with him a bag con- <
taining a pone of corn bread and a i ]
glass of jelly. He bore a bad repu- <
I tation in the community, even with <
his own race and is said to have 1
once been tried for killing another i
negro.
Coroner Weed this afternoon also <
held an inquest for the killing of
Mr. Frick, the verdkrt of the jury 1
being that Mr. Frick came to his '
death from gunshot wounas at the i
hands of Will Allen. i
The funeral of Mr. Frick will be 1
held at Mt. Helbron Lutheran church 1
Thursday morning at II o'clock, 1
conducted Iby the Rev. J. M. Senter. '
Interment will be in the church
vorH 1
Deputy Sheriff H. C. Oswald stated <
today that the report printed in the 1
morning papers to the effect that 1
Allen had remained on the porch of J
his home for several hours after the 1
shooting yesterday afternoon with 1
a gun in his hands defying the offi- i
cers was incorrect. Mr. Oswald says s
that he arrived on the scene in about 1
an hour after the shooting and that 5
Allen had already left the house *
when he got there. R. W. Eleazer, c
T. 0. Stoudmire. J. L. Eargrle and ^
George Hiller made the same state- t
ment.
1
POSTOFFICE CHANGE t
Lucien Lomax is now an assistant
in the postoffice, taking the place of
Fred Minshall, who resigned.
G. A. Neuffer, Jr., clerk at the
postoffice, is taking his vacation.
(ENNETH GOSSER
| GIVEN NEW TRIAL j
UPREME COURT ORDERS RE- '
HEARING OF CASE?ACCUSED
MAN FAILED TO GET FAIR
SHOWING AT SPECIAL TERM,
DECISION SAYS.
News was received in Abbeville
oday to the effect that the Supreme
Jourt has ordered a new trial in the
ase of Kenneth Gcfesett, who was
ried at a special term of court held
lere in April, 1920, and after coniction
for crhnin'al assault, senfenced
to serve 40 years in the pententiary.
Gossett is now in the penientiary
where he has been held
>ending the decision of the court.
?Clerk of Court J. L. Perrin says
hat as soon as the court's order has
>een received the case will again be /, !
locketed here. He could not say wheV
N ^3
;her it was probable that the case -
vould come up in the term of court '
:onvening Monday, September 5,
rat it is not thought likely that it .wi|l
>e taken up before the February
;erm of criminal court. Appeal for
i change of venue was denied.
Associate Justice Cothran wrote ^ j
he opinion and the entire court con:urred,
the new trial being granted
m the grounds that Gossett was not
jiven a fair trial by the special*
:ourt. Justice Cothran severely oritcises
the statute under which special
:ourts are called and cites a number * j
>f incidents to show that an accused
las no showing under the present
jolicy of special courts.
The court also severely criticises
he spirit of mobs and' says that
vhere trials are held under condi- -?j
;ions similar to those obtaining at
.v~ r> ?...
.lie uusdeut ttt^c iv ao a /uuivuu
ynching." vThe AJbbeville court -Was
:alled to try the Gossetts alone.
* a
The Gossett case has attracted.?
:onsiderable attention for more than
i year. Two borthers, Kenneth, and
fohn Gossett, were charged with ./ J
iriminal assault upon two young
white women of Abbeville. Feeling
igainst the men was said to have
>een bitter at the time and a special
:ourt was requested by Solicitor
Fifteen cents was being offered
for best cotton today, but
none was sold.
Blackwell. This court was ordered
md held early in April of 1920.
"The defendant is entitled to be *
I;'
;ried in an orderly manner,, however
guilty he may be, in a calm judicial
atmosphere," the opinion says. The
rvature of the crime, time of trial,
:ircumstances of the trial and th?
public mind are all of the gravest
concern to the accused, it is pointed
>ut, and will have a bearing on the
verdict. "What was the reason for
a special pourt at Abbeville?" the
court asks. There was apparently no
:ro\vded docket, as the Gossett case
was the only one tried and this could
lave waited untrl the next term.
"Circumstances of this trial demonsrate
beyond a doubt that Gossett
inder the operations of the section
.ve are now considering was con- V
/icted by due process of law and
ivas denied equal protection of the
law."
The fact that ten days' notice is
required by the law for the drawing
>f the jury and only five were given
it Abbeville was not allowed to stop
;he trial, it was pointed out. If the
statutory notice had been given, the
:rial could not have been held at
ihe time, the court says, '^but a
slight statutory regulation must not
itand in the way." The condition of
^Ibbeville at the time is clearly
shown, Mr. Cothran says, when af;er
a verdict of not guilty had been
lirected as to John Gossett the defendant
had to be slipped out of
;own for fear of violence.
In conclusion, the court says that
to reflection whatever is meant to
>e cast upon Solicitor Blackwell.
SPOT COTTON