Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

ESTABLISHED IN 18 DEATH IN RUSH For Seats at Entertainment in a London Hall. TRAMPLED TO DEATH. Sixteen Children Under the Feet of Excited Ainss of Human Beings, t "Who Became I^nic Stricken and Bushed for the Exits of the Build- J ings, and Forty Others More Or Less Severely Injured. At Barnsley, England, sixteen children were trampled to death and forty others, several of whom ?an not live, were injured in a mad rush for better seats at an enter tainment given in the public hall there Saturday . afternoon. There was a great rush to secure admittance to the entertainment, and when the ahow opened every seat, was taken and the gallery was literally packed with children, who filled the aisles and were danger ously massed against the lower rail ing. / With a view to relieving this crowding in the gallery, the attend ants decided to transfer some of the children to the body of the house and one of the ushers called out: "Some of you children, come down stairs." Immediately the rush started and within a few seconds hundreds of children were being trampled under foot. Even those who had seats in the--'gallery, doutless being panic stricken by the screams and strug gles c.w the crowds fighting to reach the staircases, joined in the stam pede. The scene was a terrible one, the cries of the injured and moans of the dying causing ,the greatest ex citement among those gathered in the nody of the hall. Police and ushers rushed to the fcead of the staircases, which were literally strewn with dead and dying, and by the most desperate efforts managed to "drag scores of the strug gling, children to the corridors below., It'was with the greatest difficulty that a panic among the children in the lower part of the hou.se was averted, all of these being eventual ly being taken to the street in safe ty. When the reserve police arrived they found the narrow stairway prac tically blocked with bodies which were crushed in some cases almost "beyond recognition. Scores of chil dren were forced by the pressure "by the crowd behind them to scram ble over those that had -fallen, wheth er living or dead, and.many of the Injured children were found later to "be snffering from fractured bones and severe lacerations, caused by tfie indescribable manner in which they had been tramnled upon. Soon after tho accident the ap proaches to the hall were crowded with sobbing women searching for their -missing children. NEGROES LYNCHED. They Assaulted a Fanner and His Wife Murderously. A dispatch from Hawklnjville, Ga. says a mufderouf. assault was made <on Mr. and Mrs, Martin Livingston at their home at Gcldsboro in the upper part of the county Thursday night at 9 o'clock by two negro farm liands on the place. Mr. Livingston was struck on the nead with a hatchet and his wife's throat was cut. Both were danger ously hurt, and at last accounts were ;not expected to live. The deed was ?committed, it is supposed, for tbe purpose of robbery. Sheriff Rogers started at once for the scene, but was notified that the negroes had been captured and shot to death. SWINDLER CAUGHT. Man Who Collected Money Under False Pretenses Held. G. A. Thurston, who operated in Sumter last summer, representing hfmself as an agent of the Knights of Honor, and who got a good little pile of money and heat his board bill, has been caught in Louisville, Ky., and is in jail there. A photograph of Thurston has been received in Sumter by Sheriff Epperson for iden tification. Warrants have been sworn out against Thurston, and when the 3>ouisville authorities are through with him, the Sumter county courts will deal with him. Many Idle Men. The committee of the Central Federated Union which is investiga ting the laying off of men by the national, State and city authorities, reports that there are at present 100,000 men out of employment in ]\Tew York city alone. Dr. Joynes Resigns. Dr. Edward S. Joynes who for many years has had the chair of modern languages at the University of South Carolina has sent in his resignation. He is one of the most distinguished educators in the South. 69. THEY ARE HELD. Party of Ftoe Alleged Yeggmen Jailed at Lancaster. They Were Found Encamped in the Woods Well Armed and Supplied With Explosives.' A special dispatch from Lancaster to The News and Courier say's a party of five good looking, fairly well dressed white men, suspected of be ing safe-crackers, arrested Thursday' night near Van Wyck, on the Sea board, were brought to Lancaster on the Southern and lodged in jail. The technical charge against four of them J is that of carrying concealed weapons and against the fifth of vagrancy. Thursday afternoon J. A. Hyatt, a merchant of Van Wyck, received a 'phone rressage from Waxbaw, N. C, to look out for suspicious charac ters. Shortly afterward two stran gers entered his store and bought some eatables. He watched the di rection in which they went and af ter nightfall he and eight of his neighbors, well armed, started out in search of the men. The .suspects, who proved to be five in number, were found encamp ed about a half mile from Van Wyck. They were surrounded and ordered to surrender, which they did without resistance, saying afterwards that they thought the woods full of men and resistance, therefore, useless. Every man, except one, who has on ly one arm, had In his possession a latest improved revolver. The party also had a valise or two filled with highly explosive materials, such as nitro glycerine, dynamite caps and also soap. They declined to state why they were In Van Wyck, but gave the fol lowing names and addresses: C. F. Shaw, of Norfolk, Va; Henry S. Hal Ian, of Atlanta, Ga; James Scanelan, Charlie Williams, J. T. Leonard, the three last named refusing to give any addresses. The one armed man is Hallan, who, with another mem ber of the party, is said to answer to the description of two men the postoffice depatment is looking out for. Immediately upon their arrest In spectors H. T. Gregory and M. 0. Halverstadt were wired. They ar rived , Lancaster Thursday night. They began the investigation about 10 o'clock p. m. Thursday, which continued till daylight Friday morn ing The men arrested are not predis posed to answer questions and not very talkative. When they were brought down stairs in the jail to be examined one refused to come and had to be brought down by force. Among the things found were money hidden away on the person of each. One had some hidden away in his coat which he sewed up; and had money hidden away in his under clothes. About $100 in currency was obtained from the five, knives and razors were also taken away. A razor was found on one man which was hidden in a little sack and tied around his neck, the sack being un der his clothes, which were removed only with difficulty. Mr. Gregory seems to know some, possibly all, of the men, though he is keeping quiet about it. However, when one man was brought before him, Frank Shaw, Mr. Gregory re cognized him and said: "Why, Frank I didn't expect to see you hero." Neither did I expect to see you," said Shaw. Shaw is just out of pris on since last February, having been sent up for robbing a safe In a rail road office at Peaks, Lexington coun ty, South Carolina. He had promised Mr. Gregory to turn over a new leaf but he was lead into temptation again. They are men of pleasant appear ance and 'wear good clothes. There is little doubt about them being pro fessional safe blowers and that they are the ones wanted in several places in this State. Their pictures were taken Friday with trouble. SCHOONER WRECKED. And Ail But One of Her Crew Perish. A dispatch from Norfolk, Va., says the schooner that went to pieces off Diamond Shoals last week has been positively identified as the Leonora from Round Point, Maine, loaded with fish scrap, and bound for Char leston, S. C. The rescued cook ve gaiued consciousness and confirmed the identification. Wreckage wash ed ashore bore the name Leonora. Four bodies were washed ashore during the day and one of the crew is still to be accounted for. The life I savers declare that not even a spar j of the wreck remains to show where the vessel struck. ENTOMBED ONE MONTH But the Three Miners Are Still Well and Hearty. A dispatch from Ely, New, says the six inch water pipe through which aii is fanned to the three miners that have been entombed for a month became bent by the pres sure of rock and earth at the 600 foot level and for a time no air could be sent to the men. Rescurers, by redoubling efforts, reached in a few hours the break and repaired the pipe. The men are still well, but I their rescue is yet far off. ORA2STGEBTJ [MANY STARVING. New York Children Without Food to Sustain Life. FUNDS VERY SHORT J Report the Hebrew and Other Be nevolent Societies.?Contributions Reduced, and the Worst of the Winter Ahead.?There is Worse Distress TJian Has Been Known in Twenty Years in New York. Twenty thousand children in the city of New York are starving, not starving to death, but living on less food than is necessary to sustain life. This declaration was made re cently by Cyrus Sulzberger at a meeting of the Jewish Communal institution. Inquiries that have since been made reveal that conditions are evn worse than he indicated, that the calls on public charities are greater than in 20 years and that the con tributions are less by one-half than ever before. The result is that all the charitable organizations are able to do Is to keep the roofs over the heads of the poor, but not to furnish them food. The deficit in funds has so crip pled relief work that thousands of needy persons must be turned empty away and New York, one) of the wealthiest and most charitable cities In the world, is called upon to wit ness distressing conditions on all sides. I Lee K. Frankel, secretary of the j United Hebrew Charities, declares his society has nothing to give.) Among his people 20,000 children are being supported, the offspring of ablehodied men who have been thrown out of work, the children of widows and those whose parents are either dead or do not support them. He says the budget of the society is too small and is alrady $60,000 short, with worse conditions to face as the winter advances. The Chidren's Aid siciety is feed ing 5,000 children daily. All agree there are thousands who are never reached. Mr. Brace, the secretary declares the distress is general and not confined to any one class. Mr. Bruere* general -agent for' the. Im provement of the Condition of the Poor,, Is equally worried over pre sent conditions. He declares that families who never before sought aid are now compelled to depemd solely on char ity on account of the lack of em ployment. Continued lack of work will cause the most dire kind of hardships as the winter advances. The municipal lodging houses have been doubled, but, while the home less and employed can be lodged, they cannot be fed. In such times the children suffer first, Mr. Bruere I says, and should be provided for Im mediately. PRETTY BOOK AGENT. A Miner Came Near Marrying His Own Sister. A dispatch from Englewood, S. D., says Albert Jackson and Miss Minnie Burton discovered just before the d'.:.y set for their marriage that they were brother and sister, and they have gone north to northern Minne sota to make a search for their moth er, whom they have not seen since they were little children. Jackson is a miner and has been in the Black Hills for several years. Miss Burton came to the hills six or seven months ago as a book agent. The young woman sold the young miner some books. Jackson fell in love with her and a few weeks ago asked her to marry him. ' She con sented, and they set a day for the nuptials. It came to light, jut before the date set for the wedding that Miss Burton's real name was Worthing ton, and Jackson's real name was also Worthington. They had been adopted when children, taken the names of their foster parents, and lost track of each other, neither even knowing the names of the other un til the developments which interrupt ed their wedding plans. NEGRO MOB LYNCHES NEGRO The Victim Had Sold Them Tickets to Fake Show. A message from Selnia, N C, re ports the lynching at Pine Level, Johnson County, of a strange negio at the hands of a negro moo. The strange negro, purporting to be an advance agent of a 'big show," faked the negro residents into what turn ed out to be one-man performance by the strange darky himself. Cov ering their heads with guano sacks, the mob entered the negro's board ing house early next morning, and took him forcibly to the wood3. His body was found at daylight on the Southern Railway tracks. His iden tity has not been established. Killed at Crossing. Mrs. John R. Reigel, of Kendai. N. Y., was Instantly killed, and two children riding with her were injur ed, while crossing the Lehigh Valley railroad tracks at Kendai. Their two horses were also killed. They were struck by an extra engine run ning light rRG, S. C., TUESDAY. JA NEW YEAR'S AT Tl There was a great procession of call day, even more persons visiting the hist Many new members of congress with th hundreds of persons who had come fr tunity to shake hands with the preslden FIRED THE AGENT. Railroad Officials Must Be Care ful How They Talk. How the Southern Railway Punish ed an Employee for Discourtesy Towards Its Patrons. "Generally citizens who have rea son to complain against the rail roads or tne telephone or teiegrapn companies do plenty of kicking and incidentally roast the railroad com mission pretty thoroughly for. not requiring better service, instead of taking the proper course and imme diately notifying the commission in writing, so that the proper remedy may be applied," says the Columbia Record. Not so, however, with five well known traveling men who happened to be a"f Blackvrlle' one'fright during the month of November. They prov ed a gratifying exception. The par ty were waiting at Blackvllle for a Southern Railway train, and the train was late, though posted upon the bulletin board as on time. The Southern's ticket agent and operator was asked for information but de clined to furnish it, his replies to the traveling men's inquiries being couched in ungracious language and delivered in a most discourteous way.. Instead of going their way and grumbling all up and down the divi sion about the arrogance of railroad agents toward a long-suffering pub lic, etc., these gentlemen promptly complained In writing to the Rail road commission. Each of them signed the letter to the commission. The Railroad commission took the matter up with the Southern at once, and the following letter recent ly received from Division Superinten dent H. A. Williams, of Columbia, shows that the Southern acted upon the complaint without delay: "Mr. B. L. Caughman, Chairman, South Carolina Railroad Commis sion, City. "Dear Sir: "I have your letter, together with complaint of several traveling men of the services performed at Black vllle by our ticket agent and opera tor. I had Train Master King go to Blackvllle and personally investi gate this matter and apply the prop er remedy to this agent. The inves tigation developed the fact that the wires on the Charleston division were in trouble and were not work ing on the date in question. But this could have been explained to these gentlemen, which would have been satisfactory, T am sure; but on account of no effort having been made on the part of this man at all to satisfy these people, T am, going to relievo him from the service. It is, however, a fact that the agent could not post the board correctly on account of wire trouble, and in stead of making an effort to satisfy these people, he posted the train on time. "Yours truly, "II. A. Williams, Snpt." This is not by any means the first time that Superintendent Williams Ibas disciplined his employees for | failure to treat the Southern's pa trons with courtesy. It is a known fact that he will gladly entertain and j patiently investigate any reasonable! complaint that may come from, any patron of the road, however, humble the person may be. This is directly in line with the Southern's policy to ward South Carolina, as outlined to Governor Ansel recently by President Finley._ Severe Storni. A storm on the English channel along the west coast of Europe and on the northern African coast last week causes the lost of many small craft. Two native passenger boats foundered off Morocco and forty per sons were drowned. Man and Wife Burned. At Auburn, N. H., James Moulton and his wife, each aged more than 75, were burned to death in a fire that destroyed their home last week. NTJARY 14, 1908, HE WHITE HOUSE. ers at the White House on New Tear'ai oric mansion than is usual on that day., eh* families were in the line, and many om afar took advantage of the oppor t. A SHORT CROP. Nearly Two Million Bales Less Ginned Last Year THAN YEAR BEFORE According to the Census Bureau Re port of Cotton Ginned Up to the First of January 9,055,427 Buleu Were Ginned Last Year Against 11,741,039 Bales Ginned The Yeai Before. The census bureau Thursday is sued Its showing that the number of bales of cotton ginned from the growth of 1907 to January 1, 190S, was 3, 955,427, as compared with 11,741,039 last year, and 9,715,42? for 1906. This counts round bales as half bales. The number of round bales included is 179,691 for 1908, 255, 566 for 1907, and 263,581 for 1906. Sea island cotton included is 73,621) bales for 1908, and 54,275 for 1907, and 98,942 for 1906. The number of active ginneries for 1908 was 27, 276. The distribution of sea island cot ton for 1908 by States Is: Florida, 25,214; Georgia, 37,129; South Car olina, 11,295. There were ginned 9,284,070 bale3 to December 13 last. The number of bales ginned to January 1 in the various States and the number of active ginneries are as follows: Alabama, 1,030,721 bales; 3,43 B ginneries. Arkansas, 627,725 bales; 2,093 ginneries. Florida, 50,136 bales; 4,244 gin neries. Georgia, 1,765;,273 bales; 4,531 ginneries. Kentucky, 1,329 bales; 2 gm heries. Louisiana, 562,477 bales; 1,835 ginneries. Louisiana, 562,477 bales; 1,83 5 ginneries. Mississippi, 1,228,446 bales; 3,495 ginneries. Missouri, 26,644 bales; 73 gin neries. New Mexico, 95 bales, 2 ginneries. North Carolina, 5 62,479 bales; 2,702 ginneries. Oklahoma, 745,796 bales; 969 ginneries. South Carolina, 1,065,690 bales, 3,167 ginneries. Tennessee, 225,245 bales; 660 ginneries. Texas, 2,092,73 5 hales; 3,968 ginneries. Virginia, 7,64 0 bales; 99 gin neries. STORES ROBBED. Part of the Goods Recovered and Three Negroes Implicated. The stores of half a dozen mer chants at Conway were entered one night last week and $40 or $50 1 worth of goods stolen. Par! of the stolen property was found in a sack underneath the office of Magistrate Jailor Bruton. Three negroes, brothers, were im plicated, two of whom have been ar rested. One was discovered by some small boys, the- other came to the jail to see about getting his brother out. The second negro fought hard against arrest and tried to shoot Jailor Brunton. When searched a quart, of whis key and a pistol were found on him. After his trial by the town and sen tence to $45 or sixty days, proof of his conviction with the burglary was found. Fatal .Mistake. In Jacksonville, Fla., two young men who ?vere cousins got their pis tols and r*v?it or. the in.:-; porch look for a burglar and In the search one was mistaken for the burglar and was shot and instan:'y killed by the other. SOLUTION OF MYSTERY New Jersey's Lampblack Swamp Case to Be Cleared Up. Her Husband, With Whom She Is Known to Have Quarreled, Has Been Charged With Her Death. Theodore S. Whitrnoie, of Brook lyn, N. Y., has been formerly charg j ed by the new Jersey courts with the [murder of his wife, Lena Whitmore, whose dead body was found half submerged in the Lampblack swamp, at Harrison, a surburb of \Tew York, and which case, until the identity of the woman had been established, was one of the most sensational New York city has ever known. It took ten days of ceaseless work upon the part of the entire police and detec tive force of the metropolis before the dead body was identified as that of Mrs. Whitmo- , hundreds of clews being run to earth and several iden tifications made. But with the one J great mystery as to who the woman was cleared away, the authorities can now set to work to find her slayer. Although Theodore Whitmore, her husband, is In jail chcuged with the crime, yet it was only by stretching the law a point or two that he was held. He was known to have quar reled with his wife a short time be fore her dead body was found Christ mas day, and It was known that oth-1 er men were paying attention to her. But as sure as the police are that Whitmore knows something about the death of his wife, they are just as certain that he had an accomplice, but the great question which con fronts them is, who is it? The pris oner had several mysterious visitors at that time of his career, between Dec. 24 and 26, which the police are trying to account for every minute of, but there is a great deal of spec ulation as to who these men were. PRIVATE BANKERS Should Be in Jail Says Attorney General Jackson. "I have never met, in a like per iod, so m?aj men who ought to be in jail, as in my recent investigation of the affairs of banks that got into difficulties in the recent panic," said Attorney General Jackson, of New York, in addressing the annual din ner of the Brownsville board of trade^'in 'Bi'iTOklyn, Thursday "even ing. Comptroller Metz, Bird S. Coler, and Senator McCarren were among the 200 Brooklyn business men who heard him. "The lawless methods of those pi rate bankers," Mr. Jackson contin ued, "through deliberate and flag rant violations of the trust reposed in them by depositors, the reckless use of other men's money for the] promotion of their own speculations,, constitute a chapter in the history of high finance In this city which properly can be conpared only to the operations of the Tweed ring, or the Traction gang, and which throws a great light-upon the question as to who Is responsible for the financial panic of 1907." A DIABOLICAL CRIME. Woman is Murdered and Her Babe Left to Be Bnried. One of the most diabolical crimes ever committed in Gwinnett county, Ga., was perpetrated in Cater dis trict, and as a result John Hudson and Henry Campbell, two negroes, are In jail at Lawrenceville, Ga., charged with murder and arson. The house of John Hudson was found to be on fire, and when neigh bors came In they discovered the bodies of Hudson's wife and-three months-old baby in the flames. The bodies were removed from the burning building, and it was seen at once that the woman had been mur dered by a blow on the head. She was also stabbed through the heart, and then also dismembered. The child was not killed, hut was left to die in the flames. Coroner H. J. Moon was notified, and after in vestigating the case ordered the ar rest of John Hudson and Henry Campbbel! as the murderers. Sheriff Brown brought the two negroes immediately to Lawrence ville and placed them in jail. FOUR FIREMEN KILLED By a Falling Wall in New York City j Friday. At New York four firemen were killed by f-illing walls in a confla gration which destroyed the Parker building, a 12-story structure, locat ed on Fourth avenue between Eigh teenth and Nineteenth streets. Twen ty-six others were more or less ser iously injured by the falling debris. The fire was never under control and finally burned itself out being with difficulty confined to the build ing In which it originated. The loss is estimated at $1,500,000. The fire was one of the most spectacular as) well as disastrous of recent years, being marked by heart-rending scenes, sensational escapes and flashes of heroic daring. Wants the Old Yets. At a meeting of the Confederate Veterans and Sons of Veterans of Greenville Thursday night an invi tation was extended to the Confed erate Veterans of the State to hold their next annual reunion In that city. -1-4 $1.50 PEE ANNUM. VERY SAD CASE Mysterious Disappearance of Miss bailie Shannon of Brookland. TERRIBLE SUSPENSE Has Nearly Driven Her Grief Strict* en Parents Crazy.?The Young Lady Was Lost to Sight on Dec ember 29, and Since That Day She Has Vanished from Sight and Her Whereabouts Is Unknown. A brother of Miss Sallie Shannon of Brookland, who has been missing from her home since Sunday after noon, Dec. 29, called at the State of fice and stated that, notwithstanding the numerous rumors circulated within the past week, not a single bit of authentic information concern ing his sister's whereabouts had been received. The girl's family is unable to de cide whether she is dead or alive. The last she was seen, so far as the family has been able to learn, wat' about 20 feet from the Gervias street bridge across the Congaree. She was then coming in the direction of Columbia. The police officers in Col umbia and Brookland do not think she has destroyed herself. Sallie Shannon was engaged to a young man in Brookland and the marriage was to have taken place within a few weeks, it is said. It Is known that they had a quarrel that Sunday afternoon, after which, she never returned to her home. She attended Sunday school at the Luth eran church, where she taught a class, and those who saw her going In the direction of the river bridge did not observe that she appeared morose or downcast. The keeper of the bridge does not recall having seen the girl cross the bridge that afternoon or evening. Mr. Shannon declared with feeling that his sister was a very mod-jst Christian girl and had always exhi bited a very deep interest in church work. She has been a member of the Lutheran church for about five years. While she was usually quiet and reserved in her manner, she pos sessed a happy disposition. While her relatives have a fear that she might have jumped Into the river while brooding over the misunder standing with her lover, they declare positively that nothing in her life would show the least tendency to sui cide. ? Her mother is grief stricken over her disappearance and the other members of the family have been In sorrow since the fated Sunday. How ever, they still have a lingering hope that Sallie will yet be returned to them, the same bright, cheerful girl that she has ever been. They look' by day and pray by night for her return and the public generally is appealed to to assist in every way possible to locate her. The police of Columbia have believed that she is in Columbia, but some think she isr in Charleston. Others Buspect sui cide. The following accurate descrip tion: Sallie Shannon, aged 19; 5 feet 3 inches In height; weight 130 pounds: light complexion, rosy cheeks; round rather full face; dark hair and dark eyebrows; blue eyes; hair pompa dour, usually tied with ribbon bow at back; small mouth; medium nose, round chin; stood rather erect pnd walked with a spring to heels; when last seen was dressed in light shirt waist, sky blue skirt; wore long gray cloak and no hat; had two rings on second finger of right hand, one plain, other with set; pleasant dispo sition, but rather determined; sel dom displayed any temper. Member of Lutheran Chu'ch. Was formerly employed at tin.ekeeper and book keeper in cotton mill, but has pro fessed desire to be trained nurse. Has relatives in Camden, Chester county, in Columbia and in Missis sippi. Miss SL.mnon's mother, father, two older sisters and three brothers are living in Brookland. Any Infor mation concerning her should be wired to the State immediately and the family will be communicated with as soon as any news is re ceived._ KILLED HIMSIil V. Said He Had Mere Children Than He Could Support. Despondent because of his inabil ity to provide for his family, Jos eph II. Sheppard, of Millerville, N. J? killed himself by firing a bullet into bis brain. Sheppard compltfned often he had more children than he was able to properly support and several times had threatened to commit suicide. This week r seventh child was added to the family and the man_ became distracted. Fire ni Ninety-Six. Ninety-Six was again visited by a very disastrous fire Thursday night. The alarm was sounded about 2.30 o'clock, when it was discovered that J. C. Hutchison's store was on fire. The Uames soon spread to the ad joining stores of Rev. A. J. Cauthen and Dr. W. H. Holland, together with the Ninety-Six telephone exchange, the K. of P. Hall and fixtures, Dr. D. j. McAlhaney's dental office and fix tures.