Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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E ERY SFI1 I EW15. VOLUXE XLIX, NM~BER SS. -NEWBERRY, SOUTHT CAROLINA. FRIID.\T, OCTOBER 13, 1911. TWICE A WEEE, $1.50 A YEABS IMOWN PARTIES LYNCHED JACKSON CORONER HOLDS INQUEST OVER BULLET-PIERCED BODY No Further Excitement at Honea Pitil Except That Negro is Whipped For Insulting Remark. Anderson, Oct. 11.-"Willis Jackson came to his death from gunshot -wounds at the hands of an unknown mob" was the verdict retchel by the coroner's jury at Honea Path today. The horribly mutitatedt body was viewed by the jury, and then cut down from the telephone pole by Coroner Beasley. Tne mother of the negro refused to take the body, say ing she would not ha anything to ,do with a son of hers that would com mit such a crime. The negroes re -fised to allow the body to be interred In their burial grounds, so it was ~buried at tthe.expense of the county. Sexieral fingers of the negro had been severed for souv'enirs during the night, and the rope as' t fell to 'the ground, was -cut in pieces and distrib -uted among a large crowd that had gathered to sde the negro cut from the pole. Coroner Beasley and Sheriff King -arrived on the scene at 9.30 o'clock this morning, and after experiencing a little trouble in getting a jury will ing .to serve the inquest was begun. 'The body was viewed, and the jury then repaired to the office of Magis tiate Wilson to hear the testimony. Mive or six witnessed were examined, -but it was 'Impossible to locate any ;person who admitted seeing the lynch ing. Everybody in the c6mmunity was reticent, and the examinati7n of the witnesses required only a s'iort -time. Sheriff King forwarded a short ro -port from Honea Path to Gov. -Blease.. In the report he referred the governor to the newspaper accounts, which the sheriff stated were correct in ev -ery particular, as far as he could de termine. "Citizen" Josh Ashley was not a witness -of the lynching, and neither -was his son, Joe Ashley. These men 'left the mob with the negro before the 'crowd reached Honea Path. At Honea ?ath Mayor Sullivan last night plead 'ed that the law be allowed to dis -pose of the negro. He read a tele gram he had received from Gov. ~Blease, asking that the mob allow the law to take its course, stating that be would order a special term of cohrt to try the negro within two weeks. All of the pleading was of no avail, how ever, for afte.r taking the negro be -fore the little girl for a second identi fication the crowd, proceeded to the -scene of the attack, a'd there he was -strung up by his left foot. The negro's body was literally rid 1dled with bullets, not a spot as large ms 'a silver dollar - remaining where bullets did not pierce. Everything is quiet at Honea Palth, -and no further demonstration will oc cur. One negro man 'was dealt wi4dh for making an insulting remark to a man looking on the body this morn ing. The remark was about blocking the road. The negro was not injur ed, being only subjected to a light whipping. All Quiet at Honea Path. Honea Path, Oct. 11.-Stiff and -stark, riddled with shot, the liftless body of Willis Jackson was this morn ing hanging to a telephone post near the scene of the crime of yesterday morning. The crowd of angry men bas had its way. The tide of passion which swept all reason before it has passed, and this morning the town bad assumed its wonted quiet. Willis Jackson was arrested at first on suspicion, and because he met the description which the outraged girl gav-e of her assailant. When he was taken before her she .positively and -without hesitation identified him. The negroes have maintained a <1uiet and awed demeanor. A number of them went to view the body. The better class of them openly expressed thmnselves that the yhave no sympathy CLUXM TO -MILLIONS TOLD TO 200 WERTZS Rock island (Ill.) Times, 7th. A document bearing the date of 1758 aini said to have been written by King George II, of 'England, was received at the Wertz family reunion by "Uncle Eilly" Wertz, of Newberry, South Car olina, this afternoon. The paper is hahed as proof of the grant of 250 acres of land to Hans Jacob Werts in Holland. The paper is yellowed with age and parts of it can tot be read. The sig nature of the king of England may be distinctly read, however, together with the more important parts of the docu maent. With this came the deed. Addressing 200 members ot tne Wertz family in session at the Harper house, Mrs. Estelle Ryan Snyder 1' afternoon gave the family history and its claims to the Wertz millions. Mrs. Snyder said in part: . "Whether we ever receive any of the millions of dollars that are said to be held by the Holland government across the seas, is a question I can not answer, but I do claim that without a doubt our gathering of this great family conclave will surely bear good fruit. I trust we shall all depart to oui- homes after a delightful visit to gether, imbued with the determination to keep in touch with the various members of our own great family cir cle. "I am proud to be able to tell you this afternoon that in all my search for the Wertz family, during the:last seven months, I have never heard of one of our blood that had lived an un worthy life or was engaged in any thing but an honorable profession. You scarcely realize the significance of that statement until you stop to think of the -hundrelds of Wertzs that are in America. - On the contrary, I have found Weftzs occupying the highest stations in life commencing with the governorship of the State of New Jersey, which position was leld by a Wertz until his death. George Wer'z, Johnstown, Pa., is the senator of tltt State, While a Wertz occupies. the hoaorable position of doctor of law of Wale university. I found Wertzs bank presidents, judges, comn missioners, justices of the peace, post maste:s, lawyers, etc. I forgot to mention the Wertz who held the posi tion of assistant minister of the inter ior under President McKinley. We now havle a Wertz in the treasury de partment at Washington. One at the United States mint at Phildalephia; one of our number is a famous inven tor and lives at Olympia, Wash. We have State's attorneys and lawyers galore. In fact, I find the law a pro fession that seems to be paricularly favored by the members of the Wertz clan. Many of our cousins are well to do merchants. One is in the au tomobile business, and I was sur prised not to find any cousins in the flying machine business or aviators, but possibly that will develop later. How Millions Were Discovered. "To begin at the very beginning, for of course many of you are not famil iar with how I came to know of the Wertz millions, and what my motive was in searching for the various branches of the family whose where abouts were unknown. Sunday, Feb ruary 26, my mother, Mary Louise Wertz Williams, called my attention to a cable dispatch in the Chicago Sunday Examiner. This dispatch bore the date of January 14, and purport ed to have been a cablegram from Paris. I read the dispatch carefully and my mother and I discussed the probability of kinship between the General Wertz mentioned in the cable gram and my mother's family. Moth er recalled the story of the great wealth in the Wertz family which had been told her many times in her younger days by her mother, who stat e that if the Wertzs had what was coming to them, they would be enor mously rich. Upon being questioned why the Wertzs did not have the for tune spoken of by Grandmother Wertz (the widow Christopher Wertz) grand mother said that the estate was in the ands of the Holland government; that Holland had never relinquished it and would law the heirs to death, as they did not have the available fund to ontest and fight such powerJ FORMAL OPENING OF THE SEMINARY LUTHERANS FROM FOUR STATES ' GATHER iN 001XMHBIA. Handsome New Building Turned Over to Board of Directors-Interest ig Exercises. The* State, 12th. Yesterday was a notable day for the Lutherans of the Southern States. Hundreds of people gathered at the new seminary building at Eau Claire to hear the addresses and o witneSS the ceremonies connected with the de livery of the keys to the board of di retors, and the formal consecration of the building. Representative peo ple were here from at least four States. At the morning hour the dean of the seminary, Dr. A. G. Voigt, pre sided.- Dr. 0. B. Mayer, of Newberry, as the chairman of the building com mittee, delivered the keys of the building, with a copy of the plans and spEcifications, to Dr. M. G. G. Scherer, of Charleston," the president of the board. This Dr. Mayer did in a most appropriate manner. Dr. Mayer extended thanks to those who assisted in the erection of the beautiful administration building of the seminary. He said that the erec tion of the administration building was an important event in the history of the Lutheran church in the South. "There is," said the speaker, "how ever, an unavoidable responsibility that goes with this privilege and hon or, -nd, that is they present it to their denominatiop free of debt." as t.he government. This story, it seems, has been handed down -for sev eral 'generations. This clipping I just read to you recalls the old story of the Wertz fortune. Mother immediate ly recalled the almost forgotten story of the Wertz wealth which had b,en told her so often as a child. "After considerable thought on the subject mother said to me: 'Now, see here. If those French heirs are get ting together to try to recover that! property why can't we get our Amer-I ican heirs together and do something definite towards presenting a claim for this estate. You go ahead and see what you can do. Trace the various branches of the family and see if you can noQt connect our family with this G.eneral Wertz of Holland.' "I am going to call upon some law give their opinion from the profes yer cousins that are with us today to sional standpoint on the advisability of proceeding further in the claim to the Wertz estate in .:oliand and New York. That there is a.n estate in New York we have only the Oklahoma wo man's word for and sne nas undoubt edly given out the information to the best af her knowledge and belief. To really ascertain whether General Wertz really left such a will tying up his esate for fivle generations or not, or what that estate really consisted of, some one will have to go to Am sterdam, Holland, and find out. -Let ters will not do the work; the sum is too huge; the claim is too old. To interest people to do the square thing without robbing the WVertz heirs, if there is a possible chance tO do so. "We do not want to create a fund to send an investigator to Holland or Germany to look up the will and Ja cob Wertz's ancestry unless it is really practical to do so. .I have probably a hundred letters offering to share the expense of any legitimate1 undertaking. This is the whole prob lem in a nutshell: 'Is it practical to raise money to fight this claim, or are w chasing a rainbow?' Can we ac tually recover legally what is said toi be urs? That is the question." 1 Before leaving the city for the east Mayor Harry M. Schriver appointed Commissioner Jonas Bear of public< property to welcome the members of1 th Wertz family. Mr. Bear in a short address today bade the family wel-i cme, extending the hospitality of the< citizens of Rock Island.1 The following were present from Soth Carolina: Will M. Werts, Mount vie; D. B. W'erts, Newberry; C. C.1 Werts, M. WV. Werts, Newberry, H. M. * * THE IDLER. * "From the pen ana press We mortals owe All we believe, And almost all we know." Again-"There is no help for the man who does not read the news papers. No human use for him eith er." And yet I am told that there are some people in this enlightened age who do not even subscribe for their county paper. I wonder how they manage to get along. I reckon they borrow from their neighbors. And what do you think of the man who would borrow his neighbor's paper in stead of taking one for himself when the price is so low. And then another thing that puzzles me is how any one in Newberry can get along without my bits, of wisdom from week to week. -0 To be entirely frank it makes very little difference to me personally whether anybody reads what I write or not. When I have writ I have writ and I have discharged my duty to the community' and told the community what is for the best of the community ad if my admonitions are not heeded my. responsibility has been discharged. And as the editor does not pay for my living expenses I am as independent as the famous March hare. -0 Talking about newspapers and their subscription .accounts I read the fol lowing the other day from the Rich mond Times-Dispatch. You will see that I read the newspapers and I like to read those that are edited by men whom I have met or whom I know personally, and of course every South Carolinian has either met or heard of Major Hemphill. And by the way I see he is to leave the Times-Dispatch and come to Charlotte. But here is what I read: Who Wants An OwlT Is an owl good in trade for a year's subscription? That is the question which has worried the brain of the Bedford Bulletin, which says:. "We have taken wood, potatoes, corn, eggs, butter, onions, eseDnage, chick en, stone, lumber, 1 bor, sai,d, calico, sauer kraut, second..&iy' elothing, eoon skins, bug juice, scrap iron, shoe 'legs, rawhides, chinquapins, tanbark, fice dogs, sorghum, seed, jugware and wheat straw on subscriptions, and now a man wants to know if we would send the paper for six months for a large owl. We have no precedent for refusing, and if we can find a man who is out of an owl fnd wants one we'll io it. In the meantime, those sub scribers who pay in stovie wood are lotified that we are out of wood." But why does the Bulletin want wood when it has bug juice and sor ~hum? Those two things combined make a Virginian-Pilot cocktail that would make an ice man warm. -0 An owl is a very useful animal and [ should think would De of incalcula :e value to 'the average newspaper of Ice unless all that I have heard about :he animal is pure mytn. I have al says understood that it was the bird >f wisdom and if I am not badly mis .nformed such an animal would be of reat benefit to the average newspaper hop, for most of them are in great 1eed of the eommodity which the ani nal is noted for furnishing. Maybe, owevier, that wisdom is not necessary :o the average newspaper shop, though ny observation leads me to a contrary )pimon. -0 The editor has sent me the follow ng additional communication from Jncle Briggs. I thnk I have fully Lnswered all the points raised except ossibly as to the oher towns of the mounty. Of course I would be glad or all of them tO provide rest rooms or the ladies from the country and f the county has any property in any f them that is as well adapted to the urpose as the old court house build ng I will advocate the county turning t over to the town for this purpose. But you know the court house is the :apital of the county and everybody mome to the court house. Now I am a countryman myself and believe in sticking to the country and have ab solutely no interest in any mercantile business in the town of Newberry or for that matter in any other .town in the county. And if Uncle Briggs will guarantee that he can get anything like a sufficient sum for the old court house to build a jail I will join him in a request for it to be sold forthwith and immediately. Here is his last de liverance: -0 Well, Mr. Idler, I know you are much older than I am and of course you had the advantages of an old time college education of which you had something to say recently. I am an old country man and cant' see how my last letter answered itself. Yes, I say sell the lot if the county has that right. If it belongs to the Coats estate turn it over to them. Why should Newberry try to just simply confiscate the property. Suppose the property was in Whitmire or Pomaria. What would Newberry say? Mr. Idler, you would be the first to raise a howl. Why not give the proceeds of the farm at the county home to maintain a 'est room at Pomaria or Wihitmire. There are many, many women over the county that never get to Newberry. Then, do you think it right for the county to furnish building for a rest room for -a few. Wie did not have ref erence to the ladies of Newberry, for they will never use it. Now, Mr. Idler, do you catchmy point. You seem to hav'e a greasdeal of leisure time, su-p Pose you look up the deed to the property and publish the exact word ing in reference to the use of the lot. If it belongs- -to the. county I want to see it sold and- uge the proceeds in building and furnishing a jail and if any. surplus ..let. it be applied on new court house debt. If the deed says* lot must be used for court house then we have lost it. by moving court house to another lot and the property should revert to the Coats estate. Let it go where it belongs. i hope the next leg islature Will do something for us. They never notice us poor old country folks until election year. I bet you they'll be'out patting us on the back next summer. summer. Uncle Briggs. Uncle Briggs is getting restless. The editor has handed me the following from him. I did not receive his other in time to get it into the paper .before this issue. If Uncle Briggs can sell the old building for a sufficient sum to build a jail and pay off the debt on the new court house I say let him sell it at once and immediately. Further, if he can sell it for a sum sufficient to imild a jail I say let him sell it. As t looking up the title to the land I ave neither time nor inclination lacking mostly in inclination, because am '&derse to~ anything that resem bles labor.' Now I write as past time, because I loVe to write and it does ot require labor. There is one thing that Uncle. Briggs should bear in mind n the discussion of this matter, and that is that the people, of the town of ewberry are a part of the county and along about tax paying time they onstitute about one-:nird of the ounty. But a great many Newberry' people would like to see the old build ing go do.wn or up or in any direction to get it off the square. The follow ing is the addition from Uncle Briggs: Mr. Idler, you must have been sick or looking after Mr. Langford's goats this week. I sent you an article and asked you to have it printed, but it failed to appear, though you fired away answering my questions, or tried o answer them. I haven't said a word about tearing old court house down. I said sell court house, and the lot-the land the court house sets on, and whatever else is included, one !ourth, one-half or one acre. Now look p ny article and hand it to the edi tor. I know he will print it as I have seen so many editorials ne has written about newspaper men giving only one side. Now, Mr. Idler, lets be fair. rhere are hundreds that believe like I fo, but we may be wrong. Uincle Briggs. -o T think, however, that some years ia3sm of th lawyers of Newberry NlW RIUE U1 FOR CORN SHOW A. D. HUDSON, PRESIDENT, WORK ING FOR EXPOSITION. Over $10,000 and Several Trophy Cups Will be Given by South Caro lina People. The State, 11th. The prize list for the second South Carolina States Corn exposition to be held in Columbia during the week of December 11 is soon to be announced by A. D. Hudson, of Newberry, the president of the shoW. The prizes this year will aggregate $10,000 and it is expected that there will be several thousand exhibits sent in by the farm ers of this and other States of the South. It has been decided to model the ex position after the National Corn show. That is the exposition will be made more educational. To this end Presi dent Hudson has secured the promise of exhibits from the agricultural ex periment stations -of North Carolina, Georgia and South Carolina. Mr. Hudson was among the visitors in the city yesterday in connection with the business of the exposition. He is delighted with the prospects for the next corn show. The place of holding the show has not been de cided upon by the ufanagement It will very probably be. held at Craven hall. The -general assembly appropriated $3,000 for the exposition and Mr. Hud son has raised several thousand dol are for additional prizes and several handsome trophy cups will be given for the best corn to be shown. THE NEWS OF PROSPERITY. Auto Speeding Must Stop-Mrs. Kib. ler Ill-Missionary Union to Meet. Prosperity, Oct. 12.-Mrs. A. H. Kohn, of Columbia, spent Tuesday with Mrs. E. E. Young, en route to Atlanta for a week's stay. Mr. T. A. Berley has returned from Greenwood. Rev, and Mrs. L. S. Caldw.ell and Miss Minnie Boyd Brown have gone to Bradley to attend the Woman's Missionary union of the Second Pres bytery. Prof. J. E. Hunter spent the week end with Dr. G. Y. Hunter. iMrs. Lizzie Dewalt Is visiting in Newberry. Miss Bessie Lane spent Sunday with Mrs. C. T. Wyrche, returning on Monday to her home at Dillon. Miss Wyatt, who is teaching at Utopia spent the week-end with Miss Julia Schumpert. Prosperity Cotton Oil mill packed a bale of cotton for S. J. Kohn Wednes cay weighing seven hnndred. and twen y-three pounds. The following children have been called to the bedside of their mother, irs. Julia Kibler, who is seriously ill t the home of her daughter, Mi's. . A. Simpson: Mesdames R. F. Bryant and W. A. Kinard, of Orangeburg and Sumter; Misses Lilla and Gussie Kib ler, of Monroe, N. C., and Atlanta. Al so one sister, Mrs. M. L. Rawl, of Lexington. Autoist speeding through Prosper Lty will have to conform to auto speed limit wvhich is as follows: Ten miles an hour, five miles an hour at corners with horn signal. Revs. E. W. Leslie, S. P. Koon and Y. von A. Riser attended the opening >f the Lutheran Seminary in Colum bia on Wednesday. The Woman's Missionary union will meet Friday afternoon in Grace hurch. Communion services -will be administered in the same church on unday morning. St. Luke's school will open Monday, )ctober 16. were paid a fee to look up this title, 3.nd may be they can tell Uncle Briggs ibout it. Possibly Mr. Geo. S. Mow ir could enlighten him. The Idler. The Herald and News-Newherry's resn pner--21.5Q oer year.