Edgefield advertiser. (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, March 29, 1922, Page TWO, Image 2
Safe Cracker's Wife Tells
About Her Life.
A walk through a park with com
panions from a girls' board school;
a meeting with an ardent admirer ip
a park, a quick courtship and an en
gagement; unyielding objection to
the match" by the girl's father; an
x elopement through a window from
the school; a hasty marriage and
then-well then, an awakening to
the fact that her husband was a safe
blower by profession. Did they live
happily ever after? The husband, J.
C. Moore, was shot to death at Tren
ton last Monday morning when he
was in the act of blowing open a safe
and the wife is a prisoner on the
third floor of the Richland countj
jail.
Mrs. Moore, who didn't care to give
her maiden name when seen yest?r
day in the county jail, is a d?cid?e
blonde of the stuidy type. She say;
.she is20 years ola and even af te]
having undergone during the pas
two days, close questioning at th(
hands of officers who have been en
deavoring to procure informatioi
from her, she does not seem worn no:
exhausted. She smokes incessantly
lighting one cigarette after the othe:
and inhaling deeply almost, all th<
smoke. There was no evidence of ner
vousness in her behaviour yesterday
but she had been given opportunit;
to rest during the day.
Talks With Freedom.
Mrs. Moore makes no objection ti
talking about her career with th
man who met death at Trenton whil
blowing a safe.
"I thought I loved him at first,
she said, "but I know now there ca:
be no real love unless there is re
spect"
"You see, I was just a kid when
met him. I was attending a boardin
school near Huntington, W. Va., se-v
eral years ago, and the authoritie
would permit the girls to walk ot
through a park.
"Once when we were in the park
met Mr. Moore. I was just a kid an
he seemed very fond of me-he wi
a prince to me. He wanted me 1
elope with him, but I told him to as
my dad and he would give me to hir
"I was the youngest in the famil
-and I guess I was spoiled. Well, da
nearly ran Mr. Moore off the plae
when he asked for me-he was su
picious of him from the first. I wi
taken out-of school and was kept ;
home.
"After some time I persuaded fat
?tr to let me return to schooi, ?i
spoke a cross word to me throughoi
our acquaintance- and while I won
sometimes get mad all overand fl
off, he always was kind and consii
erate.
Wanted to Leave Him.
"'My husband was always iindne;
itself, but I wanted to leave him.
tried to make him jealous-would le
him hear conversations over the tele
phone so that he would get mad an
leave. But he was so kind and cor
siderate that I could not make up m
mind just to quit him.
"I really was the cause of his be
ing arrested and serving time ii
Georgia. One morning when we wer
in Columbus ,Ga., he came into rn;
room and laid $38,000 in cash an<
bonds on my bed.
"I took some of the bonds to At
lanta with which to buy some clothes
I was afraid to try to cash the $1,
OOO bonds so I tried my hand on on<
for $500. It sold readily. I was al
puffed up over my success; see, I wa;
young and ignorant. Then. I tried te
cash more bonds, but these bonds hac
been registered and between my vis
its there had been investigation,
Word had reached the office to hole
me in conversation if I came back tc
cash more bonds. So. the clerk talked
to me-tried to flirt-and when ]
.came down in the elevator it seemed
like the whole detective force of At
lanta was after me. I squealed then
-there" didn't seem to be anything
else to do.
"So my husband was sent to the
Georgia penitentiary on a 20-year
sentence. He served two years of it
-you see, they kept changing him
from cell to cell so rapidly that he
could not get out. But he left the
prison after two years' and came to
me in Augusta.
"My husband came to me there
he did not upbraid me for squealing
on him-said there was nothing else
I could do, I being a woman. I urged
him to leave town, told him the offi
cers would surely be after him and
told him I would let him know how
things were. But I intended to be
somewhere else when he returned to
Augusta for me."
Without any more emotion than a
woman would display in showing how
a dress was made, Mrs. Moore told
of her husband's movements; of an
accident that happened to the car
she and he were riding in while in Co
lumbia, of his having to go to bed for
treatment while recovering from in
juries and of the low estate of their
finances when he recovered.
"He blew the Blythewood bank, and
got $1,165 from there" she said. "At
Roberta, Ga., he lost xhis car-had
to leave in a hurry. From Augusta
he did the Blythewood robbery and
them we moved to Columbia.
"I had j gotten him to promise1 thal
he would quit after this season. See
safe blowers do not work in the sum
mer-the winter is their season.
"After we had moved to Columbis
my husband did the Little Mountaii
job and then tried Blackstock, bul
lost out there.
"-Then he worked Gilbert. At Gil
bert he only got $15-he blew th<
wrong safe and did not have time t<
blow the other before he had to ge
away. The last job was at White Oak
Here he got about $5,000 in bonds
which were burned. He got abou
$200 in money, of which $12.50 wa
in gold.
Goes to Trenton.
"For the Trenton job, he got hi
dynamite in Brookland. He brough
it home and boiled it and told me h
was going in the country. He wen
to Trenton to get the bank. Wha
happened at Trenton is well known
"He always had confidence in m
|and kept nothing from me."
When saked what disposal wa
made of bonds and stamps, Mrs
Moore said "New cards would be gol
tne for the war saving stamps an
they would be put on these nei
cards. If the bonds were registerec
they were all destroyed. If not ref
istered, they could be disposed c
with considerable ease.
"Once after we had been awa
from Columbus, we returned an
found the house we had accupied ha
been burned down. Deep holes wei
dug all about the place where peop]
had been looking for buried money
they got it, too.
"Are my people living? Well, aft<
I had run away from school, my fat]
er was very bitter and forbade ar
communication with. me. I heai
from a sister occasionally, and on<
she Wrote that father had had
stroke of paralysis and was callii
for me. I went to see him and he as
ed me to stay at home. I told him th:
if he were sick I would gladly con
to see him but that /ny placp w
' husband awi c...ti ii
^ . - VV,1U>UI JU
_ which were large. He was a man i
little education, she said, though 1
^ had traveled over , the United State
She said he was 42 years of age. .
"My husband never killed anyor
3S in his work as a safe blower," sai
1 Mrs. Moore at the 'Richland count
:t jail yesterday. Mrs. Moore is tl
* widow of J. C. Moore who was she
d to death at Trenton last Monda
l" night when he was in the act of blow
y ing open a safe with nitroglycerin*;
She has told of numerous robberie
!" in which he was concerned and o
a her work in selling some of the bond
e which were taken from safes in dif
J ferent parts of the country. She ha
3 told of the "jobs" at White Oak, a
Little Mountain, at Blythewood am
at various points in Georgia. Ther<
. had been some talk that he migh
have been involved in a robbery ii
5 Georgia in which the night watchmai
was killed.
"He never killed any one," she re
peated. "I told him often that if <
man's life came in between him anc
the money or the bonds to let th<
money and the bonds go. I told him I
thought it was the worst thing a mar
could do-to take a life."
"I was often curious to know hov
he felt about religion," said this 2(
years old woman who was married tc
a man more than twice her age.
"I used to tell him that J. wished hi
would live a straight life and that 1
could lead a Christian life. He would
laugh and say, 'The idea of your be
ing a Christian." He didn't believe in
God. I used to ask him if he was not
afraid of being killed. He would say
that he was not afraid to die.
"Mr. Moore was not a jolly man
he was rather gloomy and was not
talkative. He would tell me things
but he was not the kind to strike up
acquaintances and ^exchange confi
dences.
Told bf His Youth.
"Once I remember he told me how
he came to take up safe blowing as
a profession. When he was a young
chap he got in with two other boys
and they were about broke. They
went into an Italian settlement in a
city and began looking for money.
The Italians all lived in a tenement
and they kept their trunks, in one
room and stored their savings in
these trunks. These three young'men,
one of whom was J. C. Moore, enter
ed the house and broke open the
trunks with a broad axe and secured
between $2,000 and $3,000.
"The Italians soon came swarming
out after them and 4caught up with
the three in a freight yard. They
were about to be hung when a freight
train passed. Mr. Moore broke away
from the ' crowd that had him and
ran right under the moving freight
train and got out on the . other side
and escaped into some woo'ds. He told
me the other two boys were hanged,
i I do not know in what city this oc
i curred."
t Mrs. Moore hSs voiced few regrets
over her stirring. past but yesterday
she said, "They say your father al
ways knows best. My father tried to
> I keep me from marrying Mr. Moore,
11 and if. I had listened-well maybe
things would have been' different. But
Mr. Moore was always very kind to
t me, with never ' a cross word and
s while we'were not millionaires, I al
ways had whatever I wanted.
"I used to try to get nim to stop
this business of safe blowing. He
was always lucky at cards, and for
amusement would often play, arid
nearly always won. I tried to get him
to quit safe blowing and take up gam
bling; I know gambling is not the
best life,* but it's better than safe
blowing. But he always said he didn't
like to gamble and so he kept at his
old business.
"I guess it doesn't matter about
using my picture," she said, when
reference was made to a photograph.
"I've had so much notoriety already
that when I go out from this jail ev
ery one will say, 'There goes that
safe blower's wife,' so I guess a lit
tle more publicity won't matter one
way or the other.
Promised Machine.
"When Mr. Moore went on the
Trenton jog, he and I were planning
to buy an automobile. He has prom
ised me a red roadster-we were go
ing to see it when he came back fron
Trenton. But he never came back.'
Mrs. Moore was more nervous yes
terday than she had been during th(
day previous and showed much mor<
feeling when talking over the fiv<
years of her life with the profession1
al safe cracker.
?She said yesterday that she did no
know Portland Ned. For some timi
'Mo >r?? wv ? ! .. mi '.;.!j?d i
.was suspects .- . **. irt'ers tha
wnen asireu /vmw,__
photograph of Moore, Mrs. moon
said she did not-that he would nev
er have a photograph taken of anj
kind.
It is likely that Moore wa:
known under other names to law of
ficers over the country and in inves
tigations now under way other fact5
with regard to his life may come out,
-The State.
Penn's spells quality.
.Why?
Because Penn's is packed air
tight in the patented new
container-the quality is
sealed in.
So Penn's is always fresh. Have you
ever really chewed fresh tobacco?
Boy Penn's the next time. Try it No
tice therine condition-fresh-Penn's.
CHEWING
TOBACCO
cn
HELP WAS URGENTLY NEEDED
. - 1
Darky (Evidently Had Troubles of His
Own With That "Possum" His
Partner Shook Down.
> Two negroes, Salvation Jones and
King Agrippa Johnson, living near the
Dismal swamp went 'possum hunting
one dark night A warm trail was
struck, and the dogs soon "treed."
Salvation, being the better climber,
volunteered to go up and shake down
the 'possum, whereupon King Agrippa
made ready to catch lt in the sack
they took along for that purpose.
Instead of an opossum, the dogs
had treed a wildcat. As Salvation
made his way to the topmost branches
the animal retreated still farther out
on the overhanging limbs, and emit
ted an angry snarl.
"Huh? How's dat?" exclaimed Sal
vation. "Never heard no 'Possum talk
lak dat befo'!"
*" "Go on, Salvation. Yo' ain't heern
nothln' but de dogs. Shake him loose I
Tse waltln'," urged King Agrippa.
Climbing a little farther out, Salva
tion gave the limb a mighty shake and
dislodged the wildcat. Suddenly a
chorus of yells, howls, screeches and
cuss words broke loose from below.
"Hey, dar, King Agrippa !" anxiously
called down Salvation. "Yo' want me
'ter come down an* help yo' hoi' him?"
"Naw, ' sun," yelled Agrippa. "Ah
wants yo' tub.'come down an' help me
ter tn'n him aloose!"-Judge.
I STRANGE MONSTER IN AFRICA
English Scientist Tells of Creature
Wlhlch He Thinks May Have
i Been Giant Python.
P. C. Cornell, Fellow of the Royal
Geographical society, who recently re
turned to England after spending
twenty years in "practically unknown
parts of South Africa, is author of a
story about an unknown monster that
; had been seen near/ the Great falls of
the Orange river. It has a huge head
and a neck ten feet long like a bend
! lng tree, it seizes the native cattle and
drags them under water. The natives
call lt "Kyman," or the Great Thing.
Last May Mr. Cornell, accompanied
! by two white companions, W., H.
' Brown and N. B. Way of^ Capetown,
- and three Hottentots, went to the
- jonction of the Oub and Orange rlv
i ere to see the monster if possible.
t He writes: "At the cries of the na
tives I saw something black, huge,
and sinuous swimming rapidly against
J the current in the sV'rling rapids,
? The monster kept Its . -rmous body
; under water, but the ne ;s plainly
- visible. The monster nr i/>ve been
a very gigantic pythr- it wae
. lt was of an Incredlu. 's rep
tile may have lived.!.. h. cds ol
B yerrf? Pythons approaching It in size
ijhsv. . . 'IH S*S thai
t
.<J a room
" people bending
e over tables.
_ ? "What are they doing?" he asked.
j "They are taking an examination
for promotion," he was told. "Don't
you want to.try?"
5 If they were trying to play a Joke
- on M. O. Chance of Illinois he called
? their bluff.
; He went in, took the examination
and later was told that he was the
only one promoted.
"I tell you, I felt pretty proud," de
clared Postmaster Chance, recalling
the time, "until they told me that the
others had taken the examination for
promotion to $1,600 and that I had
been the only one to take the exam
ination for promotion to $1,000."
Washington Star.
Eddie Knew!
Eddie is a high school freshie. He
ls enthusiastic over sports, and, with
his father, has witnessed practically
all of the wrestling matches held re
cently In Indianapolis. His teacher
had urged the pupils to attend at
least one of the Shakespearean plays
scheduled at a local theater, and
finally asked whether any of the pu
pils had ever seen Robert Mantell.
..Yes," put in Eddie without a mo
ment's hesitation, as he recalled the
name of Al Mantell, a noted wrestler.
"I saw him wrestle Jack Reynolds."
The sally was good for a big laugh
at his expense.-Indianapolis News.
Stung But Rewarded.
Patrons of a Long Island telephone
line complained of a buzzing on the
wires and a trouble hunter was sent
out to locate the difficulty. He lo
cated it and he did something oise,
for he found that a swarm of bees
had made a hive in the connection
box on a telephone pole. The trouble
hunter worked for* hours and finally
routed the bees with a fire extinguish
er. He was badly stung, but he was
rewarded by ten pouuds of honey
stored In the connection box.
Takes City Directory's Place.
How the telephone book Is displac
ing the directory is il Iv .ated by com
plaints in Brooklyn, which has no city
directory now, that lt is hard'to find
the address of persons living there
unless they have a telephone. Of
course everybody of consequence
ought to have telephone service now,
but all of these who can't are of con
sequence to themselves, and many of
them ar? of consequence to others.
Moral: Live out in the ceuntry,
where everybody knows you.-Boston
Daily; ??obe.
THE FARM
OF EDGEF
THE STRONGEST B
,.(??:?
SAFETY FIRST IS AND
Open your account with us :for
Savings Account with us, or invest
ING CERTIFICATES OF DEFOSI
Lock boxes for rent in which to
All business matters referred
handled.
WE SOLICIT \
.!<:><:>;<: ><!>:<: >< J>< . >:
I Barrett &
(INC01RP
COTTON
Augusta - -
ARRINGTON
Wholesale Groce
Corn, Oats,
Kinds <
Gloria Flour and DJ
Our I
Corner Cumming t
On Georgia
Augui
YOUR PATRON
See our representati
-^?filltioiL
. cion to offer for im
..ra from our August
very low prices on the follow
ing building materials:
Galvanized Corrugated Iron Roof
ing in all lengths.
Tin and Galvanized Shingles.
Composition Roofing.
Asphalt Shingles. ; ?
Builders' Hardware, Mantels, Tile:
and Grates. ' ;
We have complete stocks and car
save you money on1 anything you mai
require in our line. Write us to-da3
for catalogue and prices.
David Slusky & Son
' Augusta, Ga.
WEAK, NERVOUS,
ALL RUN-DOWN
Missouri Lady Suffered Until She
Tried Cardin.-Says "Result
Was Surprising."-Got Along
Fine, Became Normal
and Healthy.
Springfield Mo.-"My back was so
weak I could hardly stand up, and I
would have bearing-down pains and
waa not-well at any time," says Mrs.
D. V. Williams, wife of a well-known
farmer on Route 6, this place. "I
kept getting headaches and having to
go to bed," continues Mrs. Williams
describing the troubles from which
she obtained relief through the use cf
CarduL "My husband, having heard
of Cardui, proposed getting it for me.
"I saw after taking some Cardui
... that I was Improving. The result
was surprising. I felt like a different
person.,
"Lat.. I suffered from weakness
and weak back, and felt all run-down.
I did not rest well at night, I was so
nervous and cross. My husband said
he would get me some Cardui, which
he did. It strengthened me ... My
doctor said I got along fine. I was in
good healthy condition. I cannot
say too much for it" *
Thousands of women have suffered
as Mrs. Williams describes, until they
found relief {rom the use of Cardui.
Since lt has helped so many, yon
should not hesitate to try Cardal U
troubled with womanly ailments.
For sale everywhere. E.83
?ft.KING'S NEW ?JSSC?VEWS
Vsiii Surely Sloe That CouoJ?.
ERS BANK
lEfcD, S. C.
AN? IN EDGEFIELD
WILL BEIOUR MOTTO '
1922. At the same time start a
in one of our INTEREST BEAR
T.
keep your valuable papers.
to?[us] pleasantly and carefully
OUR BUSINESS
? Company
ORATED)
FACTORS
Georgia
ti ?l> < . > < . M . > < . >(
BROS. & CO.
irs and Dealers in
Hay and all
of Feeds
tn Patch HorselFeed
.eaders
ind Fenwick Streets
R. R. Tracks
sta, Ga.
AGE SOLICITED
ve, Cf E. May.
Abbeville-Greenwood Mu
m,l Inovurctaaoo- Ass O -
*-dation.
ORGANIZED 1892.
Propeler Insurred $17,226,00$.
WRITE OR CALL on the under
signed for any information you may
desire about onr plan of insurance.
We insure your property against
destruction by
FIRE, WINDSTORM, or LIGHT
NING
and do so cheaper than any Com
pany in existence.
Remember, we are prepared to
prove to you that ours is the safest
and cheapest plan of insurance
known.
Our Association is now licensed
to write Insurance in the counties of
Abbeville, Greenwood, McCormick*
Edgefield, Laurens, Saluda, Rich
land, Lexington, Calhoun and Spar
tanburg, Aiken, Greenville, Pickens?
Barnwell, Bamberg, Sumter, Lee,
Clarendon, Kershaw, Chesterfield.
The officers are: Gen. J. Fraser
Lyon, President, Columbia, S. C.,
J. R. Blake, Gen. Agent, Secretary
and Treasurer, Greenwood, S. C.
-DIRECTORS
A. 0. Grant, Mt. Carmel, S. C.
J. M. Gambrell, Abbeville, S. C,
J. R. Blake, Greenwood, S. C.
A. W. Youngblood, Dodges, S. C.
R. H. Nicholson, Edgefield, S. C.
J Fraser Lyon, Columbia, S. C. '
W. C. Bates, Batesburg, S. C.
W. H. Wharton, Waterloo, S. C.
J. R. BLAKE,
General Agent/
Greenwood, S. C.
Lombard
Foundry, Machine, Boiler
Works and Mill Supply
House
AUGUSTA _ GEORGIA
Cotton .Oil, Gin, Saw, Grist, Cane,
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Repairs, Shafting, Pulleys, Hangers,
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GASOLINE AND KEROSENE
ENGINES
Pumping, Wood Sawing ?nd Feed
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