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.

12 NEGROES HELD FOR CONSPIRACY PLOT AGAINST WHITES DIS COVERED AT GREENWOOD. Blacks at Ninety Six Said to Have Conspired 1:o Kill Fot. Pr.mi nent White Citizea s. Greenwood. Sept. 14.- Ehren u groe_ were h -:ught here Sa turday, September 12, about noon from Nine t x-. , in the custody of Sheriff 3fe.Eilh'n and Peputy S: erift' E;iarles Duke , rnder a warrant charging 'them v. .h con.:pira y. T'e arr?t of these mgroes cas the oatcome of an inve.tination on :.e part of t~ e local author:hes and certain cituTeuts in Greenweod. Very littf was known in Ninety Six up to Satur-av morn ing of the proposed arrest or the cause therefor, but several of the leading citizens of Ninety Six were fully aware of the situation, and the bringing of the negroes to Greenwood was decided upon as the best method to proceed in a lawful and orderly manner. Saturday evening -.nother negro was arrested and brought here on the same charge. The negroes first arrested are: P. B. Dean, S. T. Jackson, a preacher, Jas. Stephens, Anderson Stephens, Ed. Harris, Tom iishop, Davego Williams, Wayman Jackson, John Calhoun, Zeke Chap pell. another preacher, and Wade Williams. The negro brought Sat -urday night was Press Goodwin. The investigation, which led up to the arrest of these negroes, started in Greenwood on Tuesday, Septem ber 8. On that day a certain negro in Greenwood received by mistake a letter addressed to another negro in Greenwood, and that letter, upon which t'he whole cause hangs, as it were, is the most important . doeu ment and development in th,e whole affair. The great question is, is the letter genuine or a fake? This is the letter: "Ninety Six. September '. 1908. "Mr. Hartie Harris. Greenwood, S. C.: We want you not to give us away in this me and Tom Bishop and Rev. Zeke Chappell is a committee to get up men to by Winehesters, to fix for white folks in a few days. We are going from <house to house at night and shoot in, and they will think it is Tolbert. Now, we want you to see how many at Greenwood will help. All of us who come up there to Tolbert convention is in it, but Joe. Don't know anything about this. It is us, who is S. T. Jackson there. We will be 'ready by Sunday -night to start if our men get back. Don't tell anybody of this, and burn this letter up.. Let me know who will come from there by Thursday. "(Signed) Wade Williams." As stated above, this letter by niis * ake was received by another party than the one to whom it was address ed. This party, a negro, states that hie started to put the letter back in the letter back in the postoffiee, but realizing the serious nature of its con tents, the turned it over to. Chief of Police McCombs. The chief of police immediately consulted with Sheriff MeMillan and these two with several other representative citizens began the investigation. 'The negro who had received the letter having himself been a resident of Ninety' Six,, was most closely questioned. He let it be known that he knew something of what was or had been going on among the color ed people at Ninety Six. Expressing fear for his own safety he was re luctant to divulge anything. Re peated questioning finally brought 'out the statement that two negro :societies a.t Ninety Six had been in -dalging in incendiary talk aiganst -the whites in their seeret orders for some time. These talks had been 'more frequent and more violent since 'the recent trouble at Ninety Six, as -the result of the, local election on .the matter of issuing bonds to build .a school house. The negro did not 'connect any white person at all with1 these talks, but stated that the talks -were original with the negroes and ~confined exclu'sively to their own secret orders. He stated that the ne gro Odd Fellows' Lodge at Ninety Six was taking an active interest in the matter as were the members of another seeret society among the ne groes, known as the "Knights of the Guiding Star of the East." He stat ed that a committee from each of these lodges had been appointedi to have a conference with each other to the purchase of guns. and to do certain other things, so he had *been informed. After considerable parleying he -consented to go to Ninety Six and attend the meeting of- the negro Odd Fellows on Thursday night, this be ing their regular meeting night. He .stae befor going that he did not know wht her lie would be allowed to get in the lodge or not, as lie was behind in .his dues. Money was given I him to pay up his dues and lie left Gireenwood for Ninety Six. On Fri day he returned and as proof of the fact that he had been to Ninety Six and had attended the meeting, he b brought back with 'him his member- n ship card on which the payment of c his dues had been receipted and o dated at Ninety Six the night before, t and countersigned by the regular of- t ficers of the lodge, who were resi dents of Ninety Six. n This negro reported to those who f had sent him that he -attended the meeting of the lodge and that after S the .regular business had been dispos ed of in the lodge an executive ses sion was ealled. That he asked o be allowed to remain to this executive session, but that he was not allowed to remain until he had made a fierce denunciatory speech against the whites. After that he was allowed to take part in the executive session. n At this session all of the facts con neeted with the proposed beginning L of the fight were discussed and four w'hite citizens of Ninety Six were t named as victims. As was suggested in the letter to Hartie Harris, pub- t lished above, it was stated that the n white people of Ninety Six would n blame any shooting that might take " place on the Talberts, and that the negroes would not be suspected. The s four men selected were well known citizens. of Ninety Six and it was stated that others might be chosen later. such developments depending on the outcome of the first venture. It was also stated that the Rev. Jack- e T son, mentioned in the letter; had raised a fund of $70 towards buying a dozen Winchester rifles in Savs i nah, Ga. The plan of getting these rifles to Ninety Six was also discuss ed. a Some years ago some little excite 0 ment was caused at Ninety Six by I the fact that some eight or ten ne- t groes had ordered Winchester rifles. t: These negroes stated that they wished them for protection against rowdy L members of their own race. They , readily gave them up when the white people demanded them and thus the matter ended. Having this episode in mind the negroes stated that it t) would not be safe to have any guns a shipped -to Ninety Six, so. it was pro- si posed to have a young negro, named d Davega Williams, one of those nowb in jail, and a son of Wade Williams, y the secretary of the Odd Fellows'n Lodge, go to Savannah to purchase a the guns. Ostensibly he would go to t Claflin University, carrying a trunk. t Instead of going to. Claflin he would s proceed to Savannah, buy the guns and return as far as Dysons, which is the next station below Ninety Six Stoward Columbia. He would get off 'there with a trunk in which the guns would have been safely packed, and in this way the guns could be distri-a buted without .any suspicion being h aroused. The floods interfered with 'his going to- Savannah and back at *h the time first appointed. Whether or not any other guns were secured t is not known. However. according to the negro informer. the first attack was to have al been made on Sunday night, septem- ti her 13. it being stated that the moton th would be about right so far as dark- k nese was concerned at that time. If all of this. be true it seems pro- st vidential that the letter addressed to b1 the Harris negro did not reach him, ei but fell into the hands of the sheriff s1 through the medium of another per- tr son, for Saturday morning Sheriff McMillan started out with warrants for all of tihe ringleaders, and by noon had them safely lodged in the b county jail. As sta;ted in the begin-A ning only a few people at Ninety Six knew anything about the ma.tter, ~ and it is possible that if all of the facts had been known the eleven ne- b groes might never have been allowed s to leave the town. However, the fi matter was well managed, and the 0 negroes were brought here and put e: in jail without any bodily harm be ing done to them. a Saturday afternoon one of them called to the sheriff and stated that " they did not want a preliminary hear- og ing then. This procedure if adhered ei to will mean that the whole dozen will remain in jail here until the next term of court of general ses sions. A large number of white peo- ti pie at Ninety Six think the whole thing is a fake. They think the in former is up to "spite work,'' and n is simply trying to gttewiet people worked up against certain nie .rro enemies of his. There is no ex- j eitement either here or a.t Ninety n Six whatever. The affair has caused t ed conside-rable talk, of course, butn there is no excitemen+ whatever. , The wife in Abyssinia always ownsa NEGRO CONSPIRACY A FA sE? 'eople at Ninety Six so Regard Af fair in Which Twelve Negroes Were Arrested. Greenwood, Sept. 15.-There have een no further developments in the latter of the negro conspiracy, so alled, at Ninety Six. The prevailing pinion here and also at Ninety Six is aftet-oon, as ascertained 1w in rviews. is that the thing is fake.'' a scheme hatched up by one egro to get revenge on other negroes or wrongs of his own. ENATOR TILLMAN SIGHS FOR HOME earched London Over For Some Real Corn Meal, and Got it, Too. A dispatch from Londan to the rew York Herald says Senator Till ian, of South Carolina, who is mak ig his first European tour, likes ondon very much, though he sighs i va;n for the .delicacies of the ibh of ''down South.' "Young man," said the senator zis morning, "if you will only tell ie where I can get some real corn teal in this town, you will make me our debtor for life." A friend who was standing near applied the information and the sen tor was effusive in his thanks. "Well, sir, I've had a hard time get something to eat over :here. ou know a man used all his life to ur Southern cooking naturally cray 3 for something that has corn in it. don't eat beef and T have the hard st time everywhere I have been try 1g to explain what I meant by break ast bacon, but as for-corn bread and ominy grits, why, sir. I haven 't been ble to ind a, trace of them any 'here. s; I ust thought if I could nly find somebody to tell me where could get some corn meal I would ike it to my stopping place and show he cook how to make a nice yellow one of corn bread or an asheake. rompton road, did you say? I am prtainly much obliged." She Collected. The clerk at a braneh post office in e city looked up in surprise the ther day when a pretty young Rus an girl appeared at the grated win ow and announced, in extremely roken English that he owed her ~$5. ainlv did he declare that he had ever seen her before; she was mild nd polite, but determined to have le money. Her father she said,- had >ld her not to leave the offiee until e obtained it. ''Where is your father?'' asked the auzzled clerk. ''In tFhe country.'' ''Then he wrote to you about it?'' ''Yes'' Finally, after more questioning, it speared that she had the letter with er. Reluetantly, with evident fear i.at some trick would be played upon er, she was persuaded to show the tter to the clerk. In it he found ie solution o the mystery--a money der on the offite for $5. ''Right you are,'' he said, smiling the perplexec} girl; ''I do owe you ie money, and here it is, but I cer inly thought first that it was some nd of a hold-up game.' The girl probably didni't under and one word in ten of -his remark, at she saw the money and that wasI iough. Beaming with satisfaction, ie put it carefully in her purse and ipped away. Sailor's Life Hard. Capt. Pritchard of the record reaking Mauretania told a group of mericans on a recent voyage that a tilor 's life was a hard one. ''It is not so hard as it used to be afore the coming of steam,'' he tid, ''but it is still fearfully h.ard, r all that. In fact, I never heard E but one man who had a decent tcuse for going to sea. ''And who was he, captain? said Chicagoan. ''Noah,'' the captain answered. For if the old fellow had remained .a shore he would have been drown i.''-Washington Star. Clean Food. it is a good dleal more important udt for.d shall not ea::v the germs f d1isease than that it shall be ehe i:dly raire. Table salt for examle, av contain some soda salts other an the chloride and still be perfect healthful. Corn bread is less eathful when made from pure corn teal than when it has some admix ire of wheat flour. But food that is ot clean may be more dangerous aan any adulterated food product >ld today provided the adulterated rticle carries no disease germs. oston Adlvertiser. CD. 4.4 CD' Mrs. Alice Robertson, TEACHER OF Voice, Piano and Harmony. Studio Over Mower's Store. Opens Sept. 1st. VIOLIN MUSIC: Miss Carrie Pool will give instruc tion on the Violin, beginning September the 14th. Address: 1727 Harrington Streef. Phone: No. 78. LANDER COLLEGE (Formerly Williamston Female College). GREENWOOD, S. C. Rev. John 0. Willson, President. 0 PENS Sept. 18. igoS. Comfortable, steam heated, electric lighted building, in city limits. Good food. Home-like life and oversight. Thorough teaching a'! training. Fine work in music and art. Cost reasonable. Send for catalogue. Due West Female College, With the best modern conven iences and equipment, and high standar s (f teaching and living, this is an ideal 1.hca i=r prepara tion for the great re-pon=ibilities F worn nhood. TERMS MODERATE. For attractive catalog write REV. JAMES !'OYCE. Due West, S. C. University of South Carolina Wide range of choice' in Scien tific, Literary, Graduate and Pro fessional Courses leading to degree of Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Licentiate of Instructions, Bachelor of Laws, Master of Arts, Civil Engineer and Electrical En gineer. Well equippea Labora tories, Library of over 40,000 vol umes. Expenses moderate. Many stu :ents make their own expenses. Next session (ro4th) begins September 23d, 1908. For announcement write to the Preside'nt, Columbia, S. C. WiI Clllgi if dhir1i:to 1006 harleston, S. C. 24th Year Begins September 25th. Entrance examinations will be ield at the County Court House n Friday, July 3, at 9 a. m. All andidates for admission can com pete in September for vacant Boyce Sholarships which pay $1oo a year. ne free tuition scholarship to each ounty of South Carolina. Board and furnished room in dormitory $p1. Tuition $40. For catalogue, address HARRIsON RANDOLPH, ,President. Piano and Organ Econoiny. If you are interested in the purchase of a PIANO or an ORGAN, we n ant to sell you one. Don't think you must go to some mail order ouse to buy a low priced piano or organ: nor otside of South Carolina to get the best piano r organ. We have a great variety of grades, and all styles, at prices which cannot tail to nterest you we are manufacturers' factory representatives for several of the largest and :ost famous makers of pianos and organs. We take old instruments in exchange and make most liberal terms of payment to those who wish to buy on 'time. No house-quality of Dianos and organs considered--can undersell us. wenty-four years of fair dealing in Columbia and throughout south Carolina is our reference rte us at once for catalog price and terms. Malone's Music House, Columbia, S. C. PIANOS AND ORGANS. SUMMER EXCURSION RATES Via Southern Railway. Round trip summer excursion tickets to seashore and mountain re sort points are now on sale via Southern Railway at greatly reduc ed rates. Tickets good returning un til October 31st, 1908. Asheville, Waynesville, Hendersonville, in the "Land of the Sky"; Lake Toxaway and the "Beautiful Sapphire Coun try," now in their glory. Apply to Southern Railway agents for rates, tickets, etc. J. C. Lusk, Division Passenger Agent. J. L. Meek, Charleston, S. C. Asst. Gen '1 Passenger Agt.. A tlanta. Ga. The Comme! NEWBERF Condensed from rel Examiner at the closE tember 1 1 th, 1908: RESOUR Loans and Discounts Overdrafts.... ... Furniture and Fixtur Cash..... .....-. LIABI L1 Capital ............ Undivided Profits-. Dividends Unpaid. Cashiers Checks Bilis Payable...- -- Due to Banks .... _ Individual Deposits_..... JNO. M. KINARD, O. B. M. President. Vice-Pi 4 Per Cent. Interesi ings Department. REPORT OF CO THE EXCHAI of Newber Condensed from report < iner September RESOURC Loans and discounts................ Overdrafts .................... Furniture and fixtures............. Cash on hand and in Banks.. ... ... LIABILITI apital stock......... .'....... rofits less all expenses paid (earned) npaid Dividens............... ashiers Checks................. e-Discounts................. . ills Payable................ ... .(Banks............... eposits' i Individual... .. .... ... Your business is what we want. W . D. DAVENPORT, Piesic'ent. EDW. R. HIPP,, Vice-President. GEO. B. CROME] NEWBERRY ETwo Courses: W 1 Bachelor of / B Languages a E. with Elect R 2 Bachelor of S R Mechanical a Y Engineering C HIGH STAN 0 GOQD SANITA L UNUSI 'AL EC( L Positive Moral Infi E OPENS SEPT.: G For Illustrated Cat E J. A. B. Scherer, l~ CHICORA C GREEN VIL Owned and controlled by the Presbyteries A high grade college for women. A Chris: Graduate courses in the Arts and Sciences nd Business. Large and able faculty, beautiful ground iences, healthful climate. L ->cation in Piea EXPENSES FOR THE A. Tuition, Board, Room and Fees B. All includei in proposition (A) and Tui Next session opens September 17th For es cial Bank, 1Y, S. C. >ort to State Bank of business Sep CES: ... $372.975.30 4,938.33 es 3,1 16.93 ... 40,393.01 $421,423.57 FIES: ..... $ 50,000-00 52,457.73 1,452.00 . 29.00 ...... 60,000.00 1,429.46 256,055,38 $421,423.57 AYER; J. Y. McFALL, es. Cashier. : Paid in Our Sav NDITION OF IGE BANK ry, S. C., >f State Bank Exam: 1 1 th, 1908. ES: .. ..............$214,655 05 3,143.18 .......--- --.---.--- 3,696.62 ......-............. 17,138.44 $238,633.29 Es: .........-..---.--$ 50,000.00 .................... 7,391.77 .... .... .... ....17-50 .... .... .... .... 1,476,87 .... .... .... .... 6,789.22 - -- -- -- -- -- -- 95,000.00 ... .. ..$ 3,075-91 ......,74,882.02- 77,957.93 $238,633.2. e pay 4 per cent on time deposits M. L. SPEARMAN, Cashier. W. B. WALLACE, Assistant Cashier. 1., Attorney. Co LLEGE ~rts ~nd Mathematics ives >cience ~nd Electrical' ;with A. B. English DARDS TION )NOMY uences 23. i~l~r~i~ ADDRESS THE .alOgue PRESIDFNT Jewberry, S. C. )OLLEGE, LE, S. C. of the Synod of South Carolina. :ion home school. ,Music, Art, Expression, Gymnastics s, elegant buildings, modern conve mont section, and in city of 25,000. ENTIRE YEAR. - - - - $183.0 tion in Music, Art or Expression $203.00 to $213 o talogue and information address YR D. D. D., President