The herald and news. (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, March 19, 1912, Image 1
TOLOIE L, NOIBER 23. NEWBERRY, SOUTH CAROLINA, TUESDAY, MARCH 19, 1912. TWICE A WEEK, $1.50 A YEAR.
THE HEAVY RAINS DO
VERY M'ICH DAMAGE
SOITHLKX RAILWAY A.NM'LS ALL j
TKALXS TO NEWBERIiY.
i
Injury to Bridges Not as Heavy as |
First TlioiierM?Steel Bridares Over
Saluda Had Narrow Escape.
The heavy rains on last Friday in
this county and in the upper section
of the State particularly, brought high
waters in all of the streams on Sat- ,
urday and Saturday night. It was al- J
most equal to the heavy freshet ot
August, 190S.
The last train on the Southern railway
from Columbia came in Saturday
morning and reached Newberry about
two hours late. The water had at that
time covered the track from just
oH/%vo Qiivortstrppt to Dvson, and the
a*/VV A A . vs/ v. vv? .
train could not get any further than
Silverstreet. An effort was made to
return to Columbia, but Broad river
had risen to such an extent that the
train could not get any further than
Pomaria, and it returned to Newberry
* and went to Columbia on the C., N. &
L. tracks. Ail schedules on the
South-ern between Greenwood and Columbia
have been annulled since Saturday
morning. The trains on the C.
N. & L. are being operated on schedule
fhnnorh thAv are running con
siderably late. The editor of The
Herald and News came from Columbia
on the train Saturday morning and
on either side of the track from Alston
to the Broad river wagon bridge
there was one sea of water, though
at that time it was about a foot below
the rails. The trestle about a mile
above Peak, the water was up to me
cross ties. At Broad river bridge it
was running just over the top of the
rock piers.
Information Monday afternoon from
Chappelis stated that the bridge across
Saluda river had not been seriously
I
damaged and the trains could only
operate between L>yson ana uia iuwu.
The bridge across Ninety Six creek
above Dyson having been washed
away.
The damage to the county bridges is
not as great as it was in August of
1908. The wagon bridge at Chappells
was standing and was being used on
Monday, though some damage had
been done to the approach on the Saluda
side. The steel bridge at Kinards
was not injured and the same is
true of the other steel bridges crossing
Saluda. Supervisor Feagle on
, Sunday bad the floor removed from
the steel bridge at Kinards and it
was saved and will be replaced Tuesday.
The bridge1 between Union and
Newberry counties at Whitmire over
the Enoree river on the Newberry side
has been washed away. The approach
to the bridge over Duncan's creek at
- Whitmire on the Whitinire side had
four spans taken away. Little damage
was done to the Keitt bridge over Enoree,
but it could be crossed on Monday.
The bridge over Little River at
Mr. David Werts' place just beyond
n - - + n m nil 1
Dead .b'aii is gone, some uluci swan
bridges in the county have been dam.
aged, but the damage is not near as
great as was at first thought.
Four persons had narrow escapes
from death at Chappells this after j
Irom death at Chappells Saturday afternoon.
Mr. George Xeese and Mr.
^ Hall, with two negroes, had come over
from the Saluda side in a boat and
?vere returning with a boat load of
-orovisions, when their boat capsized.
They-managed to catch hold of trees
in the raging waters, and they remained
clinging to trees for about an hour
before their peril was discovered.
Messrs. A. M. Chapman and Leo Hamilton
went out in a boat and rescued
them, Mr. Xeese was almost exhaust
ed, and would have been carried away
in a few minutes more.
? In tlie Broad River Section.
In the Broad river section of the
county, Broad and Enoree rivers have
been raging but the damage has not
been nearlj so great as in the memorable
flood of 190S. The abutments of
Keitt's bridge over the Enoree havebeen
seriously damaged, and the
bridge will be impassable until repairs
are made At *he ferry over
Droad river between the Xewlerry
(CONTINUED O.N PAGE 4;.
JUDCE SEASE MAKES
k STRONG CHARGE
SESSIONS ('OrKT <OXVEXED OX
310XI)AY >rOKXIX(i.
Docket Xot Very Heavy? Jmlgp Sease
" - * * ? - ..i VAnnn
Mrt'SSI'S JIIipui UtlU'i' "1 1,UIU,|- ,
tion and Roads.
The spring term of the general sessions
court, for Newberry county convened
on Monday morning with Judge
Thos. S. Sease pr siding. Solicitor
Cooper, Stenographer Aull and the
other officers of the court were in
their places.
The docket is not very heavy for
this term.
All the members of the grand jury
with the exception of L. 0. Stoudemayer,
who has moved from the county,
answered to their names. R. C.
Counts, who was present, but who has
moved out of the county, was -excused.
E. A. Griffin and J Y. Jones were placed
on the grand jury to fill the two
vacancies. Mr. E. A. Griffin was
elected foreman.
Several bills of indictment were
handed out by the Solicitor, and this
being the first term for the- year,
Judge Sease charged the grand jury
along the line of their general duties
1 Avr.An_
for the year, his cnaige WctS CAttj; |
tionally strong and forceful, dealing
with matters of importance to the
whole people.
He said he knew nothing better to
talk about for a short while than the
purpose for which the court was organized.
It was organized for the
purpose of suppressing crime. The
criminal was the greatest enemy to
organized society, he said, and the
rnnrt was organized for the purpose
of suppressing him. The grand jury
should be a terror to the evil-doer, as
well as a refuge to those unjustly
prosecuted or persecuted. This court
was here to protect organized society
against the marauder and wrong?
doer, to see that every citizen had
the right to live peacefully, and undisturbed
by a violation of property
or personal rights. A man had not
only the right to be safe from the molestations
of the marauder "and criminal
hut t.<-> feel safe, and that was i
what the courts were for, he said.
Sometimes, he said, petit jurors did
not perform their duty to the full, and
criminals proved guilty beyond a reasonable
doubt were turned loose upon
society. Wh^re was the fault? It
might lie in the witnesses. It might
lie in the fact that jurors were not
trained in sifting evidence. It did not
lie in any wilfulness or dishonesty on
the part of jurors in this State. Sometimes
jurors were carried away by
sympathy. H<? was proud to say that
"" 1;-\ve>rp not
in SOUlil Laruuua ^~
influenced by dishonesty or wilfulness.
He spoke of the duty of investigating
the county offices, directing special
attention to the offices of supervisor
and superintendent of education,
because it was through these two offices
that practically all the money
a ~ ? ~ r- t-ir\ mnro im
Was Speill. 1 Iici c ?aa nu rnviv,
portant office than that of superintendent
of education, because he was at the
hrad of the schools. The office was
Hose to the administration of justice,
because as the people were educated,
so would justice be meted out. Intelligent
jurors wrote intelligent verdicts.
Suppose we had had compulsory edu|
cation a hundred years ago, the difference
between what would have been
the result and present conditions is
incalculable. .".:o le.Jo'.uiure should
now pass a compulsory education law
the benefits wouia go 011 increasing
long after this generation had passed
away. There was no true progress
unless it took into consideration the
welfare of future generations..
The Newberry court house was an
example. It was a monument to the
right kind of progress. And yet, as
he remembered at the time it was
built, the people were opposed to a
bond issue for building it, and had
overwhelmingly voted down sucn a|
bond issue. Rut th-p then Xewberry
delegation in ihe general assembly
too1* t^e bit in their teeth and provider1
for the bond issue, and now he dared
say not a man could be found in
(CONTINUED OX PAGE 4).
GOVERNOR BLEASE ON |l
SEVERAL LIVE ISSUES
INTERVIEWED WHILE IN NEW- 1
15EKKY ON 310SI)AY.
Tlii. (Voicrliton Eiimlovment?Com- 1
inents on Dispensary Investigators.
!
Governor Cole. L. Blease came to
NVvvberry on Sunday to spend a few (
hours at his home here. This being (
court week, he stayed over in New- (
berry Monday morning to .shake hands i
with his friends who were here from ]
various parts, of the county. ?
Governor Bl-ease was asked this ^
morning for a statement as to several c
matters of general interest, with which
he and his administration are now be- 2
ing connected in the newspaper and *
in the dispensary investigation now (
in progress. His attention was first A
directed by The Herald and News to ^
the comments and inquiries of several
newspapers as to the $900 paid Rev. C.
wr proicrhtnn nf Greenwood. out of I
* ? V/A ? - ,
the- public funds. s
"Well," said Governor Blease, "in- ?
stead of Mr. Creighton getting nine 1
hundred dollars, I presume that by
now he has been paid twelve hundred t
rviintq Alr.n?r dnrine the first of my ?
UV/ii o W
administration I secured the services i
of Mr. Creighton for the purpose of s
giving me general information in re- (
gard to how the officers in different c
counties of the State were enforcing
the law, and as to violations of the
dispensary law and other laws \
throughout the State. Mr. Creighton ]
has made his regular reports to my (
office from different parts of the State, ]
and in those reports I have received j
very valuable information, and from <
"* - -?* -J -?^ ^TirVi
them i nave gairit?u tmunuciui/u ?mvu ^
I have transmitted by letter or other- <
wise to the sheriffs of the di-effrent (
counties, to my detectives, which I ]
have had working in the various coun- <
ties, and to other officials whose duty {
it was to enforce the law, and in this (
way I have been -enabled to have a ,
better enforcement of the law than 1^ <
"* 1 VioH Mr i
would nave uluci n iot uuu. i.**. j
Creighton's services have been very
valuable in the assistance he has rendered
my administration by securing ,
this information, and thus enabling {
me to keep in touch with the situa- <
tion throughout the State. His re- j
ports are on file in the office, and are ,
public property, and can be investigat- j
sd at any time by any one who wishes (
to see them. His vouchers were made }
out regularly and sent to the comp- ]
troller general's office. The amounts |
were deducted from the law and order <
fund, and not from the contingent j (
fund, as was falsely stated by the ]
newspaper reports. They are on file
in the comptroller general's office-.
The comptroller general then furnish- .
ed him a check, which he endorsed, j
and these checks are filed in the treas- j
urer's office. They are all public:,
property. Nothing has been secret or I,
under cover, and the public is entire- ,
lv wplfiome to the whole transaction.^
Mr. Creighton is still in my service in
this particular line of work, and will ,,
so remain, at the salary of $100 per ]
month, if he desires to hold the posi- (
tion, until his services become unnec- (
essary, or he tenders his resignation,
regardless of what any newspapers or
others may think or say or do. Of 5
course, his usefulness, to some ex- ,
tent, will be impaired by its now be- (
coming public property that, he is doing
the line of work, because, until it :
J ^ Vvli/% r>AnlH CQtVlPT*
WUS SO IlJitUti puuut, jut v/uuiu Duiuv> , j
much information which, of course, (
now, the world knowing his business,
will be a little more cautious in al- ,
lowing him to catch on to. l
"On Saturday I gave a like commis- j
sion to Col. Leon M. Green, who will i
perform a lik? service throughout the 1
different parts of the State. I presume t
the newspapers would like to have 1
this in order thar thev mav know that
I
Col. Leon Green is not starving, not- I
withstanding the fact the News and 11
Courier beheaded him. It. is true, I 1
am cursed for standing by my friends,
but I am continuing to do so, and am
doing business at the same old stand
?Room No. 1, State House building, f
Columbia, S. C., where 1 will be for | c
the balance of this and the next two's
' ' ~ "* ;
I
(COXTIXUED OX PAGE 4). |
COURT OFFICIALS PIE
BY ASSASSINS' BULLETS
PERRIIiLE TRAGEDY ENACTED.IN
VIRGINIA COURT HOUSE.
" "* "I !A
L'resiamg ,iu<ig:e, siicnn ;i:iu ounce
Attorney Shot Down Without
Warning.
Hillsvillo, Va., March 14.?A troop
)f mountain outlaws rode down out
)f the Blue Ridge today to the Carroll
lounty court house here and assassilated
the judge upon the bench, the
prosecutor before the bar and the
sheriff at the- door, while sentence waS
loin? nronounced unon Floyd Allen,
me of their number.
"Wlhen the crack of the rifles died
iway only one member of the human
abric of the court?Dexter Guard, th-e
jlerk?was alive, and he had been
vcunded. Jurymen and onlookers
vere struck in the fusillade and sev-j
iral wounded seriously.
Governor Mann has offered a $3,000
eward for the capture of the assassins
and holds State troops under
irms for orders at Lynchburg and
Roanoke.
Tho chnntinfr fprrnrizeri Hillsville to
he point of paralysis. There was not
i man to give an order or organize a
)ursuit. Citizens fled to places of
safety and mothers gathered up their
children while the assassins rode out
)f town.
Assassin's Aim True.
Judge Thornton L. Massie had risen
'?? u;_ ?e> +V10 Knllo+o ctrnplr
I LM II L11J5 UilCl JL 1 CL& UXJL^ U UliV/ Ml/ft w-w??
lim and fell dead across his desk.
Commonwealth's Attorney William
Foster, with half a dozen bullets in
lis body, crumpled down to the floor.
Sheriff Lewis Webb was shot and killed
as he reached for his revolved and
?Dran2 forward. Bullets grazed Clerk
joad and in the confusion he was reported
killed. Jurors, who had been
slightly wounded were reported dead,
md by that indefinable method of
communication which prevails in the
woodland country reports oi a wholesale
slaughter was spread to the coun
.rysiue.
Prisoner Awaitiner Sentence.
Floyd Allen was before the bar this
horning:, convicted oif taking a prisoner
from a deputy sheriff. Allen had
-truck the sheriff -over the head with
ho b:;tt of a rifle and the prisoner
escaped. Sheriff Webb had gone up
n,+/-k mmiT!tn.in.a and taken Allen.
It-spite dire warnings of what such a
renture might mean. Attorney Foster
lad prosecuted fearlessly and a mounaineer
jury gathered from the inland
ection, for no man in Carroll county
?ared to sit on the trial of an Allen,
lad convicted him.
Court Room Crowded.
This morning the sentence of Allen
utracted an unusually large gathering
to the quaint old red brick court
louse, which stands on a green square'
uroii in thp r>pntre of fhp village. Those
ivho could not get into the small room
peered through the windows, opened
:o the first days of spring.
Just as Allen was about to be called
ip for sentence his two brothers, Sidley
and .Tack, at the head of a troop
)f twenty mountaineers, rode up to the
ionrt house.
Outlaws Enter Court House.
The brothers and their companions,
;ome carrying rifl>?s and other armed
.vith revolvers, crowded into the small
jonrt room and stood behind the rail
md about the door. Floyd Allen, aged
iO, tall and gaunt, much the familiar [
:ype of the mountaineer, was in the I
lock.
Judge MassLe mounted the bench
md Prosecutor Foster moved sentence
ipon Allen, who stood up. There was
i shuffling of feet and a general moveomnnor
the mountaineers in th^e
CHiiViiQ
>ack of the room, but no sign to fore- I
ell the terrible tragedy then in the
ninds of every one of them.
The usual legal formalities over,
fudge Massie began pronouncing senence.
The last words that fell from
lis lips precipitated the tragedy.
Judge's Last Words.
' One year at hard labor '
Before the last word was cold, the
usillade began. Allen muttering an
>ath that lie would never so to prison,
iprang out of the prisoner's dock as
(CONTINUED ON PAGE C).
GOVERNOR WITHHOLDS
THE "T. B." LETTERS
BLEASE REFUSES REQUEST OF
DISPENSARY PROBERS.
"Will \ot Give Letters to Committee
Except on Order of Circuit Judge,"
His Reply.
Columbia, March 15.?"I will not
give the letters to the committee ex- j
| cept on an order from a circuit judge,"
was the reply Governor Blease made i
| to Messrs. J. J. Evans and Clifton !
when thev went, as a sub-committee >
.. ,. i
j from the dispensary investigating j
committee, to the governor's office and I
asked him for the "T. B." letters,
which H. H. Evans testified T. B. Felder
wrote him, and which he turned
over to the governor. The next move
is up to the investigating committee if)
th-ay want the letters, and they will
probably apply for the order.
Alleged Subject of Letters.
I
These letters deal with the alleged \
attempt that Felder made to get "Hub" I
Evans to go into a "frame up" to sell
liquor to the old State dispensary,
and the letters have been mentioned
frequently in the testimony this week,
by H. H. Evans, L. W. Boykin and i
John Bell Towill, who were members
of the dispensary board of control, the
* i%- 1 ^ x + isvyi
i next to the last Deiore mat urauiuuvu
was abolished. The refusal of the^
governor to let the committee have
the letters was the only feature of the
session today. ?'
3Ieet Arain Next Thursday.
The committee got down to work at
12 o'clock after the arrival of Senator
Clifton and took up the session in ex- |
amining L. W. Boykin and "Hub" Ev""c
At 9. Sn n. m.. the committee ad
aiw. ~ ^ - ,
journed to meet next Thursday morning
at 10 o'clock. Subpoenas for a
score of witnesses for next week have
been sent out by Secretary J. J. Evans.
? Boykin on Stand.
L. W. Boykin, of Camden, a former
-1 /KoTwoimecjrv hnard of
iueaiLuex ui uiu>h-iioiv. j ? __ ^
control, was the first witness this
morning. He explained how the li-?
quor for the dispensary was purchased.
Referring to the ordering of li- j
quor not specially authorized, witness J
said he heard some such complaint'
j just before they were out of office, in
None onri the Hoard adoDted a resolu
.lew, anu i/u\j
tion then that only orders "0. K.d" by
Mr. Tatuni were to be sent. Said he
heard Mr. Tatum say that the clerk,
G. H. Charles, ordered the liquor
which wasn't authorized. Said only
the complaint he had of this was dur-!
ing the last three months they were in
office.
t-? : J 4.V,rv,T V^n.' littlfk i
tSOV K.1I1 ScWU Uicj' uiutn-u ' j ,
liquor the first eight months they
were on the board for the reason that
they inherited some $400,000 worth of j
dead stock, some of which had been on |
j
hand ever since Tillman's time.
Questioned by Senator Carlisle, Mr.
?-> V>? AiMn't romdmhpr hnw !
tsoyKin saiu ixc uiuu u IVU1V1..W. ?..
much stock of liquor was on hand
when their successors took charge, i
Witness said there was no doubt but
that Charles ordered the large amounts
of liquor.
Met Felder in Hotel.
Witness said he met T. B. Felder
once in the Jerome Hotel on the occasion
referred to yesterday, when it
was alleged that Felder made a propj
osition looking to a "frame-up" and
I Tiro*. Qui*} h.o hflrl TP- I
| W 111U11 ? CLO ICJWtVU. UV*1U
ceived letters from Felder asking for
a conference, that he didn't know who
Felder was. Said that H. H. Evans
and John Bell Towill were with him
j at the time he met Felder in the Jerome
hotel. He substantiated the tesj
timony of H. H. Evans on this matter.
Thought this was in the spring of 1905.
thiQ mnfrtpr a.f
OctlU LIIO'L 111 Uisvuooiiitj ...
terwards lie said, referring to Felder.
"that fellow has a good deal of gall
trying to make a deal with the hoard." j
Mr. BOVKin said ne Knew ui nu wuuey
being given any State officer. Didn't
know of any member of board having
received any gifts of live stock
and didn't discuss the matter with any
of them. He said he was called befor ?
thp Blease commission but was excused
fr >m testifying as he was under j
CONTINUED ON PAGE 3).(
H. H. EVANS EXAMINED
ON DISPENSARY MATTERS
FARXO[ TESTIFIES BEFORE IXVESTIGATIXG
COMMITTEE.
Other Testimony From Yarions Witnesses.
Including Wilie, Rawlinson
and ToirilL
Columbia, March 14.?James S. Farnum,
Joe E. Wylie, Jodie M. Rawlinson,
John Bell To will, the last three
former members of the dispensary
board of control, testified before the
dispensary investigating committee
this morning.
The feature of the morning testimony
was the admission by John Bell
Towill, that while he was a member
of the dispensary board he knew very
little of what was going on, except
that a large amount of liquor not ordered
was shipped to the dispensary
and accepted. Who were responsiDie
for the large orders he didn't know
and his attitude was expressed in the
statement "1 knew very little about
the matter and wish to God I hadn't
taken as much interest in it as I did."
He was put through a rigid examination.
His attorney asked that he be
excused from testifying, on the ground
that it might prejudice the case
against him now pending in the courts,
but, after an executive session, the
committee refused to accede .to the remiQot
onH Tnwill tnr>V the <s.t?nd and
auu A V ' **4 vw w
was examined.
Tell of Alcohol DeaL
Drs. McGregor and McMillan, druggists
of Columbia, were the first witnesses
on the stand tliis morning when
the dispensary investigating committee
resumed its sessions at 10 o'clock.
They testified as to the price of alcohol
in 1907, when Dr. Murray sold a
quantity of alcohol which was on hand
when the Ansel commission took
charge of the old State dispensary.
They corroborated Dr. Murray's statement
as to the price of alcohol at the
the time the purchase was made.
Witnesses who h^l been subpoenaed
and who were present to testify were:
Jodie M. Rawlinson and Joe B. Wflie,
members of the dispensary board when
the dispensary was abolished; "Hub"
Evans, a former chairman of the dispensary
board; James S. Farnum, of
^,1 1?l ? - t nr d Atrti on/1 T/Vh.n
U Delrit^CS IUJLL , JL*. VV A.111 aiiu
Bell Towill.
James S. Farnnm on Stand.
James S. Famum, the next witness
on the stand, (testified that he had
lived in Charleston about 14 years;
had been dispenser and was connected
with a beer business; told .of being acquitted
in Richland court, of then
pleading guilty of "having paid rebates
to Joe B. Wylie ana paying a nne ui
$5,000; said no agreement had been
made with the attorney general prior
to his pleading guilty as to what his
fine would be as far as he knew;1 denied
paying any more than the $5,000
fine, and said any statement that he
paid more than this sum was untrue;
said he paid no sum for immunity as
had been insinuated; said the $5,000
fine was all he paid.
"Did the Blease commission make
any effort to investigate any phase of
the dispensary matters and did they
? ^ r^r^A OY-itr lT>fArm.O_
maKe any enuru> iu &-cx auj iuiw
tion from you?" asked Senator Carlisle.
Farnum said Mr. Wallace bad
asked him if he knew anything about
the dispensary matters and he said,
"No, and what I knew I have forgotten."
He said Mr. Wallace's conversation
with him was personal; said
he never recollected having been summoned
by the Blease commission and
that he never appeared before that
board; said he had been subpoenaed a
? ? 1~ ~ . lrn ATTf
good many uines ueiure ima, n.ucn
nothing about th-?i compromises in any
other criminal cases, and knew nothing
about the Ansel board, Blease
board or attorney general receiving
any other moneys than they were legally
entitled to.
Thought Ansel Hoard "All Right.*
Farnum said he had never appeared
before the Ansel commission and
that he wasn't in a position to give
or?ir ir>ff/\r?ma + i/"k? nrnvp nr diSDTOVe *
?.??? ..iLuiniauvu v.
the governor's charge; thought the
Ansel commission was "all risrht," but
\ had never had any dealings with
them and knew nothing against any
(CONTINUED ON PAGE 2)
? ? ? - . ?. ?