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VOL. XL. NO. 86. NEWBERRY, S. C., FRIDAY AUGUST 19, 1904 TWICE A WEEK. S1.5O A YEAR THE PROSPERITY CASE BEFORE GRIEF JUSTIC REFEREE APPOINTED TO TAKE TESTIMONY. Strong Answers Submitted By Town Council and The Bank of Pros ity. The hearing in the supreme court in the case of R. L. Luther and oth ers against the town of Prosperity and the Bank of Prosperity, to en ioin the town council from paying a note of one thousand dollars held by the Bank of Prosperity, and which is a debt incurred by the town council in the erection of the town hall now being used by the town of Prosperity was held before Chief Justice Y. J. Pope in the court house here yesterday The plaintiffs. Messrs. R. L. Luther, J. B. Simpson. W. A. Moseley. J. P. Bowers. T. A. Dominick. and J. D. Quattlebaum were represented by vlessrs. Bellinger, Townsend and Haskell. of Columbia, and the defen -dants by Messrs. Hunt. Hunt and Hunter. of Newberry. After hearing the complaint of the -plaintiffs asking for an injunction to restrain the town council from paying the note in question and the answers -<i the defendants, an order was pass ed by Chief Justice Pope appointing H. C. Holloway. Esq.. to take testi mony and report the same, together -with his conclusions thereon, to the November term of the supreme court. The order is as follows: The defendants, by way of return to the order to show cause herein, have submitted as their return their sworn answers in this case, and as -said answers raise issues of fact, IT IS ORDERED, That all issues -of fact be referred to H. C. Hollo way. Esq.. to take the tesimony and report the same, together with his .cor.clusions thereon, to the supreme court at its regular November term 1904. It is also ordered. that until the further order of the court the status if the matters and things in this case remain as they now are. It is further ordered that the ref eree be. and he is hereby. authorized to call to his assistance the services i_ a stenographer in the taking of said testimony. Y. J. Pope, At Chambers, Chief Justice. August 18, 1904. The chief justice listened with a great deal of interest to the proceed ings. While there was not a large crowd in the court room, there were several bankers present who watched .every move on either side. The case has excited a great deal of interest both on account of the local interests inivolved and on ac -count of the important question iai volved of the right of a town to re fuse payment of a note incurred for building purposes. The substance of the complaint has already been published in these col umns. It will be recalled that some time ago the attorneys for the plain tiffs appeared before Chief Justice Pope in Columbia and obtained a temporary order restraining the town from paying the note until the hear ing here today. The note does not mature, however, until the 7th of next January. The answers of both the town of Prosperity and the Bank of Prosper ity were very strong. and on account of the great interest which has been manifested in the case and the im portant questions involved, a full re port of both answers is herewith giv en: Mr. Walter H. Hunt. for the firm of Hunt. Hunt & Hunter attorneys for the defence. read the answers sub mitted1 by the town council of Pros perity and the Bank of Prosperity. Answer of the Town. The answer of the town first de nies that the defcndants are threaten ing to pay said debt out of the taxes of said town. "as it is their purpose to pay the same out of the income of said* town from whatever source derived." The second paragraph of the an swer admits so much of the com plaint of plaintiffs "as alleges the pur chase of a lot. the erection of a build ing and the cxecution of the notes in said >aragraph described. but they deny that there was any attempt to create a debt beyond the income of the town for the year in which the same was created: and they further deny that the same was created for the erection of a town hall exclusive ly, as well as the allegation that the entire income of said town for said year was consumed in the current expenses of said town. if by 'current expenses' is meant the expenses oth-1 er than the expenses of said lot and building." The answer further alleges that the town u Prosperity is a flourishing town of 8oo people, and cites the con clusive evidences of its ' prosperity, and continues: "That up to the year 1902 the town of Prosperity had no guard house or market house of its own, nor had any council chamber or place where the town council could meet. The make-shift of a guard house which was used was a little wooden shanty on a vacant lot belonging to H. C. Moseley, which shanty was absolutely unfit for guard house purposes. It was -simply an insecure, vacant cabin. And it was impossible to detain prisoners in said cabin unless having apoliceman or mar shal to guard them, and frequently when a policeman or marshall would lock a prisoner in -said building by the time the policeman or marshal returned to the public square' the prisoner himself was walking the streets of the town. The said town was also without market facilities: that ;. a place in which fresh meats could be sold and kept under the po lice supervision. as requiied by the ordinances of the town: and they were driven to the necessity of pay ing ground rent on which they could put a small wooden shanty not large enough for the demands of the town, and this ground rent amounted to ten ($1o) per year.. "And so far as a meeting place for the council, the arrangement prior to Igoa was for the council to pay a part of the rent of the room oc cupied by the magistrate of the town ship. And at the time of a regular meeting or a call meeting of council if the magistrate needed the office for his purposes. the council had to adjourn or go out upon the street or any place they could find, and on oc casions they were driven to the ne cessity of going into the waiting room of one of the railroad depots to consider important matters and to try offenders against the ordi nances of the town: and at times they were forced to apply to some merchant for the privilege of meet ing in his store to consider the af fairs of the town. "That it had been the custom for y'ears of the citizens of the town of Prosperity to assemble in mass meet ing in the spring to nominate an in tendant and wardens -to serve for the ensuing year. Due notice was given of these town meetings and they were generally well attended and at the meeting in the spring of 1goa. at which at least sixty-five or seventy voters were present, a resolution was passed without a dissenting vote. re (juesting the town council nominated at that meeting to erect a building to be called a town hall. so that the town would no longer he sub.iect to the inconveniences mentioned in the foregoing paragraph."' The answer then goes on to allege that in acc-rdance with the wish of citizens expressed the council pur chased a lot, centrally and conven ientlv located, for $i5o. and borrow ed from the Palmetto Bank and Trust company $i.ooo. which tranastion was authorized by resolution of council pledging the income of the town for said year to secure the payment of the note executed to the said bank. And with these- funds the council went forward with the erection of a building. That afterwards council de termined to make the building larger than originally contemplated, so that the council chamber could be used as a town hall for the convenience of the citizens of the town for the pur pose of holding public meetings. the exercises of the school. or for any ither purposes of a like nature look ing to the educational advancement of the citizenship of the said town. And they also determined to equip the guard house in said building with modern equipments such as iron cells. etc.. and also a room to be used by the police or marshall of said town, which was absolutely neces sary for their convenience and com fort: and also a place in which to keep the tools of the said town . . . . and by reason of this said enlarge ment or increase of the original plan it was necessary to put more labor and material into the said building. which increased the cost beyond the amount originally intended. "That the funds received from the Palmetto Bank and Trust company w-ere put into the common treasury >f the town and paid out as neces sity required to run the ordinary or :urrent affairs of the town, as well as to pay for material and labor in said building. And at the time said iebt was contracted it was within the ncome of the said town for that year and would have been paid at maturi ty but for the increased cost of said building and other unlooked-for ex penses. which the town council had to meet. depriving them of the funds necessary to pay said debt: and in :rder to satisfy the Palmetto Bank and Trust company the town authori ties arranged with the Bank of Pros perity for funds sufficient for that purpose, and the note now held by the Bank of Prosperity represents, as alleged in the complaint, the original :ebt to the Palmetto Bank and Trust :ompany." The complaint further alleges that as s usually the case in building the cost was more than originally contemplat ed, even though the most rigid econo my was practiced, and that altogeth er the hall, furnish-ed, cost $2,291.or. And that part of said building used as a market brings an income to the town of' seventy-five dollars per year. "That an itemized statement of the receipts and expenditures of the town, including the cost of said lot and building, were duly published to the citizens of Prosperity by posting said notices in public places in the said town, and especially at the post office, where every citizen of the town at some time is likely to go and see the notices there posted. The no tices posted during the years 1903 and 1904. in addition to containing an itemized statement of thel receipts and expenditures of the said town, also contained a statement of the in debtedness of the town and to whom said indebtedness was due. The plain tiffs knew, or could have known, of the exact condition of the affairs of the town by reason of said notices or by application to the clerk and treasurer of the town for a statement. as was done by other citizens. And that the plaintiffE knew, or should have known, of the existence of the cdebt of the Pr'imetto Bank and Trust company before it was transferred to the Bank of Prosperity. "That unid~ the charter of the tow n the council could levy' a tax of nyve mill.s. but duriing the time this buildin wa being erected, and since, the council felt. that. by economy which they rigidly practiced. the said property could be paid for without levying a tax to the full limit. and they contintied to levy a tax of only two and one-half mills. whIh was no greater than had been levied be fore this expenditur,- was undertaken. and that under this plan the curr-Int affairs of the t -wn have beeIn met and the lot and building more than half paid for. and they believed but for this liquidation the whole debt could be liquidated out of the income of the town for the present year. "That the building, as erected, was an absolute necessity for the accurate and convenient transaction of the .)isine-ss of the town: and for the pur pose of public meetings and educa tional gatherings. and is in constant use by the town council in the trans action of its corporate duties. That the citizenship of the town, as well as the constituted authorities, have used and enjoyed this building, and, while the town is in debt. which debt was occasioned by the erection of this building. still the debt could have been paid long before the com mencement r this proceeding had the council xercised the powers giv en it und,-. its charter and levied a tax to the full limit as provided in said charter. That the debt to the Bank of Prosperity-the only debt of the town-is a just and honest debt. every dollar of which has been expended for the benefit of the town in procuring for it an actual neces sity, and the plaintiffs. as well as all other citizens, are reaping the bene fit of the funds so obtained, and are now using and enjoying the benefit of this building which this money helped to erect. "Wherefore, they pray that the complaint be dismissed and the or der staying the payment of this debt be set aside." The answer is sworn to by A. H. Hawkins. who has been a member of the town council for a long term of years. Bank of Prosperity. The Bank of Prosperity answer along the same general line as the town council. stating that the town authorities failed to apply the income o Jhe i)wn for the year 1903 to the pyi:n: of the note in question as agreed, "applying the same, as this defendant is informed and believes, to other and urgent demands, and induced this defendant to extend the payment of said debt to the 7th of January. 190.:;. etc. The an.swver concludes as follows: "That this defendant is informed and believes that the money advanc ed to said town, and which is evi djenced by the note, the payment of which the plaintiffs seek to enjoin, was used in the erection of a build ing which was absolutely necessary for the corporate purposes of said town, and which the corporate au thorities and the citizens generally are now using and enjoying and ac tually reaping an income therefrom: and the-plaintiffs cannot, in good con science, continue to use, enjoy and reap an income from the very prop erty. which the contraction of this debt helped in a large measure to create, and at the same time ask the court to enjoin the constituted au thorities of said town from paying said debt, when said authorities rec ognize not only their legal but moral obhligation to pay the same. "This defendant. further answering. says, in case the court holds that the dlebt originally made to the Palmetto Bank and Trust c ompany and now~ held by this defendant, is invalid on account of the want of power in the co uncil to contract the same, then and( in that :vent., this dlefendant re spectfullyv submits, that the town of Prosperity is, and should be held,. liable ti the defendant to the extent to which its tunds wvent into said lot ,nd building." STATESBORO NEGROES RURNED IT THE STIKE REIGN OF TERROR IN STATES BORO, GA. Two Negroes Burned at The Stake Promiscuous Whippings of Negroes. Savannah. Ga.. August i8.-The situation at Statesboro is still quiet. Serious r-:ports are coming in from all parts of the count,-y of promiscu ous whipping and shooting of ne goes. The blacks are thoroughly ter rori-:ed. and it is impossible to pre dict the outcome. It v '1 be several day: hd--ore the situation -(empIetely qniets down. The - whpr ing of negroes seems to have become general. and the ne groes are leaving the country. A number of organizations have been formed by the whites throughout the county with the avowed purpose of driving bad n.-groes out of the com munity. This will probably lead to more bloodshed. A message today says that. the eM-rred remains of one of the ne groes burned at the stake have been placed in a box and addressed to Roosevelt with the following note: "You will never eat with this nigger." Level-headed men went to the ex press office however. and took the box out and the president won't re ceive the gruesome relic. The governor has been cofficially notified of the name of the leader of Tuesday's mob. Burned at Statke. S'atesbor,i Ga., Atig 17.-With clothing saturated with kerosene, writhing and twisting in their agony, screaming to heaven f1,. the mercy that the m-z[ would not show. Patil P:-ed and W' Cato, negroes. two of ,he princ:o1- in the da.-delv murder and burning of Henry Hodges and wife and three children six miles from Stateboro three weeks ago, were burned at the stake yesterday after noon. A determined mob charged upon the court house, overpowered the mil itary guard. secured Cato and Reed, who had been found guilty after a legal trial and sentenced to be hang ed. took them two miles from States boro and there exacted the fearfuT penalty. The forenoon passed quietly, the trial of Paul Reed, the ringleader in the mu-der, being concluded and a verdict of guilty rendered. Sentence was imposed upon both him and Will Cato, convicted the day before, and September 9 was fixed as the date for th~e execution. With fixed bayonets but unloaded rifles, the guards stood. The mob surged toward them but were repuls ed several times. The determi- ' ef fort was yet to be made. At tae rear stair way the gravest danger threatened. Prominent in the crowd was Rev. Mr. Hodges, broth-er of the murdered man, who sprang to the front to address its members. He begged them to disperse. Sheriff Kendrick was in the crowd He cautioned the crowd against vio lence and pleaded with them to dis perse. Before they could~ be prevent ed a crowd caught two of the guards, wrestled their weapons from them and thrown open the breech locks. The weapons were empty. That was what the crowd wanted to ascertain. The troops had been given orders not to load their rifles. The captured soldiers held pris oilers. The same policy was followed with others ofi the soldiers. Man at ter man, caught isolated, was relier ed f is rifle after a struggle. Reed was taken down one stairway -:ith a rope about his neck and Cato do'wn the other, both pleading for (Continued on Fifth Page.)