The herald and news. (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, March 26, 1912, Page SIX, Image 7
DISPENSARY AFFAIRS
STILL UNDER PROBE
DISPENSARY PROBERS REPLY TO
"WHITEWASHING" CHARGE.
Notilie: Governor's Criticism in Newberry
Interview, Committee Renews
Invitation.
^'ninmhin 21.?To the cliarse
Governor Blease made against them
in his Newberry interview, that they
were "whitewashing" their friends
and devoting their time to attempting
to find something to discredit him and
hi? administration, tho dispensary investigating
committee made reply late
this afternoon. Arter receiving the j
governor's refusal to appear before j
the committee and submit Ms proofs j
and evidence, which he says he has,!
and of the governor's refusal to turn j j
over the Felder letters, the committee |j
says that the "governor can hardly be
serious in his statement that the com*milte-c
is attempting to 'whitewash.'"
Blease Again Invited.
They recite the governor s repeaiea
ref'.i.sa? to assist the .committee, butj
ivneV their invitation to him to come j
forward and give out what he knows, j
The committeetsays it is attempting to !
probe without fear and without favor. |
To this end the committee invites any i
citizen of South Carolina, who has j
any knowledge of any one who has
had criminal or unquestionable connection
with the late dispensary, or.
who saspccts any one of any knowledge
of unlawful acts to come for- |
"v\yrd arc assist the committee in]
probing into everything.' Governor
Blease is included in this invitation,
end the committee states that they
"would be very glad to have the governor
present any proof or -evidence he
L\ty have.
"Show Down** Has Come.
The "show down" has come and the
committee issues the invitation
boardcast. Their next meeting will
be on April 3, at 11 a. m., in the State
house library, and any one who can
throw light on the dispensary matters I
is asked to be on hand tl^en and be |
ready to give the committee his in- I
formation. "The investigation is go- j
ing to be thorough and will be with- I
out fear and without favor" was a !
statement which sums up the attitude I
of the committee.
Sext Session April 3.
The dispensary investigating committee
has taken a recess until April ^
3, in order to allow the Blease wind- ,
ing-up commission to make their final
report, which must be in by March' ^
28, so that the committee can examine
them at their next hearing. An expert ,
acountant has been employed to check .
the books of the Ansel commission
and the Blease commission, and the
i j
v report of th-e accountant will be considered
at a later meeting of the investigation
committee. The decision
to take a recess for two weeks was
decided 011 at an executive session of j;
the committee this afternoon, following
the examination of witnesses. ;
Agreement With Blocks.
The chief feature brought out at the'
session of the committee this morning
was the statement by Mr. B. L. Abney
that the Blocks, of Macon, Ga., had
paid $12,500 as their part of the overcharges
of the Richland Distiling company,
in which they were stockholders,
and of their agrement to pay $12,500
more when the indictment against ;
them, now pending at Chester, was1
r.ol prossed. Mr. Abney was employed
by the Blease commission to collect
the overcharges due the State :
from the Richland Distilling company
on a basis of the Folder contract, 50
i
per cent, of the amount collected to
go to Mr. Abney as his commission.
Other witnesses examined at the
session today were Henry Samuels, of
Chester, a former liquor drummer who
escaped prosecution by turning State's
evidence; W. 0. Tatum, former dis-j
pensarv commissioner who is under1
indictment in the "label case;" Senator
W. J. Johnson, of Fairfield; and
former Editor Edmunds, of the Fairfield
News. All of the members of:
the investigating committee were,
present with the exception of Sena-;
tor Clifton, of Sumter.
Ex-Editor Edmunds oil Stand.
i
Ct. P. Edmunds, of Ridgeway, a for-;
mer editor of the Fairfield News, was :
the first witness. Mr. Edmunds said
that while he was editor 110 statement i
appeared in his paper that Jim Far-;
num paid more money than the $-5,000;
fine. It has been stated that the
Ridewagy paper published the statement
that Farnum paid $45,000 more |
than his fine and the committee wanted
to know all about the statement.
H. D. Rantin wilt be subpoenaed to
tell about the paper, as he was editor j
at the time the paper was alleged to
have published the statement about
Farnum. Mr. Rantin is now a resident
of Clinton.
Mr. Abncy Testifies.
Mr. L\ L. Abney, of Columbia, was
iJCWU
11
Our first
bought of tl
berry and si
26th, 1912.
and will be
Hat a mode
W
e
;he second witness. He assisted the
ittornev general in the prosecution of
Farnum and the other dispensary
'graft" cases. Mr. Abnev related the
:acts of the trial of Farnura, and of
lis subsequent plea of guilty and the
fine of $5,000, which Farnum paid.
Witness knew of no other money paid
by Farnuin. Mr. Abnev was asked if
tie thought the Felder contract a reasonable
one, and he stated that under
the conditions he thought the con
:ract a reasonable one.
Mr. Abney said he represented the
Blease commission only in the Richland
Distilling company case. He said
he had reached an agreement with th;
Blocks, who were stockholders in the
Richland Distilling company; that t
Blocks had paid $12,500 and were to
pay $12,500 more when the indictment
against them was nol prossed.
The Richland Distilling company'
had been adjudged guilty of overcharging
the State some $500,000 by the
Ansel commission. The Bernheims,
one-third stockholders in the com- j
panv, paid $34,700 back into the State j
treasury before the Ansel commission .
IijZ 3 m r* ^3 + V* ^ D1 AOOQ />Am iYlic
ciS lii eu, anu. iuc
sion employed Mr. Abney to collcct
the balance of the overcharges on
basis of 50 per cent, of any amount ;
he could collect. The Blocks were
stockholders in the Richland Distilling
company, and Mr. Abney stated
that he had affected an agreement |
with the Blocks whereby they had j
paid $12,500 and were to pay $12,500 j
more when the indictment now pend- j
ing against the Blocks in the Chester
county courts was nol grossed.
Mr. Abney said the Ansel commission
was competent and zealous in j
their work for the State, an 1 praised j
them highly.
I
Mr. Abney was subjected to a run-'
uing fire of ueqstions from almost j
every member of the committee. Sen-1
ator Carlisle conducted the examina-;
tion, basing his questions on the j
charges made in the governor's mes- |
sage, No. 4. Mr. Abney thought the!
prosecution of the criminal cases j
could not have been more vigorously |
or zealously handled. Mr. Abney was ,
associated with Attorney General i.y-,
on in the prosecution of the dispcn-;
sarv " graft" trials, along with Mr.,
W. *F. Stevenson, of Cheraw.
Henry Samuels Testifies.
Henry Samu-els, of Chester, a former 1
liquor drummer, who turned State's
evidence in the "graft" trials, was
next examined. He testified that he
commenced selling liquor to the State
dispensary when the last dispensary
board took charge, viz., Rawlinson,
J
opening was a \
hp Rpantiful Ha
IAV <b?.a &
irrounding coun
Hundreds of
on display in 01
J of spring 1912
/
t
fhe Sto
t
I
Black and Wylie. He named the liquor
houses he represented, saying that he
did all his business through Joe B.
Wylie. Said he had no business transactions
with Rawlinson and Black. He
then gave a resume of his dealings
with Wylie and of <the payment of
graft" to wyne. jne saiu ms> uuusw
paid Wylie some $5,000 or $7,000
"graft" and he knew of other payments
made to Wylie. His testimony
was a resume of the rebates Wylie received
which was told of in the trials
of Black and Farnum. Samuels was
put through a grilling examination at
the hands of Senator Carlisle, who
did the questioning. Samuels gave a
history of his connection and dealings
with the old State dispensary.
Samuels told of having7 been employed
by Farnum to visit the county
dispensaries to sell whiskey for the
Richland ? Distilling company. Said
Farnum paid him $300 per month and
travelling expenses; that when an
order was secured from a county dispensary
a copy of the order was sent
to Mose H. Mobley, the clerk of the
dispensary board, and a copy to Farnum.
Said he never used any undue ,
influence in securing orders from |
rnnntv disnensers. Said that on ac-,
count of disagreement between Farnum
and the dispensary board none
of the goods sold the county dispensaries
was ever shipped out.
Senator Johnson Questioned.
After a fifteen-minute recess, dur- j
ing which the committee was in exe-,
cutive session, Senator W. J. John- \
son, of Fairfield, took the stand, Sen-1
ator Johnson is a resident of Ridge- j
way, and Senator Johnson was asked j
if he recalled seeing the article in the j
Fairfield News that Farnum had paid I
I
~ ** ? ^ ~ i
some $45,000 more tnan ms uuu. .vn.,
/
Johnson said he heard some such ru-,
mor and remembered having seen it j
in some paper, but did not recall what j
paper printed it. He did net recall i
seeing it in the Ridgeway paper. Said
he saw the article in some paper intimating
that Farnum had paid a large
*
sum of money for his immunity.
Senator Johnson said he had criti- j
cised the Ansel commission on the,
floor of the senate and bis criticism
was aimed at the large amount of
money paid the attorneys. He said
his main criticism was aimed at Felder,
and he thought the contract the
commission made with Felder was an
unreasonable one.
I Senator Johnson was asked what he
i
thought of the contract the Blease
i !
; commission has with Mr. B. L. Abnev
in collecting the overcharges from the
I. J
1
AT
fifiiH aau Kiur.
great success,
ts, and again w<
ties to our secoi
new hats have
ir Millinery Pa:
! newest. Com
\
>re of 1
Richland Distilling company, and Mr.
Johnson said he thought it an unreasonable
contract. This contract is a
duplicate of the Felder contract and
on the same per cent, basis. Senator
Johnson said he thought 10 per cent.
of the amount collected would have I
been a reasonable fee for Felder.
"I was not consulted by Governor
Blease prior to his message Xo. 4, and
in fact I saw very little of the governor,"
said Senator Johnson, replying
to a question by Chairman Carlisle.
"Can you suggest any persons going
to prove charges in Message No. 4,
or of the name of any persons having
knowledge of rascality in the dispensary
affairs," asked Secretary Evans,
of S-enator Johnson, to which the latter
replied, "Xo." Senator Johnson
knew Dr. Murray and Mr. J. Steele
Brice, of the Ansel commission, ana)
he considered them high toned, honor- j
a'ble men. He did not know the other
three members of the Ansel commission.
W. 0. Tatum, of Cope, commissioner
of the State dispensary from March,
1904, until the dispensary was abolish
ed, was the next witness. He explained
that the duties of dispensary commissioner
had nothing to do with purchases.
He made no requisitions for
purchases while he was commissioner.
Said the board or their clerk ordered
whiskey. He had nothing to do with
it. Mr. Tatum stated he was under
$75,000 bond, had nothing to do with
ordering goods and he only took
charge of goods after they arrived. He
told of the large amounts of whiskey
which came in, and often he had no
room to store the whiskey and would
refuse to receive the goods He explained
what his duties were.
Mr. Tatum is one of the defendants
in the "label case," an indictment in
which is now pending in the Richland ]
county court against W. 0. Tatum, j
John Bell Towill and L. W. BoyKin.
' What reasons did the board give
for ordering so much liquor," asked
Chairman Carlisle. "They gave no rea- j
son, but seemed to be in sympathy'
with my protest against such large orders,"
replied the witness. He knew
of no money paid by any one to influence
purchasing of liquor.
Mr. Tatum held the position of com"
tli? dienonsarv nhont ten
JillS>E>Iimci <1 1,
months afrer Dr. Murray and th? Ansel
commission took charge, and he
spoke of Dr. Murray's ability and his
efforts to do all he could for th? State
, in winding up the affairs of the disi
p::i?J:iry. He spoke highly cf Dr.
Murray and of his hard and earnest
work.
' 4
W (2&
, ww w&a,
hundreds cam*
3 invite the Lad
tid opening Tuei
i been received
rlors on that d
e? you are welc<
Tie Bes
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XEWBERRY OPERA HOUSE FOB
REXT.
The City Council of Newberry, S. C.,
I invites sealed bids for the lease of the
i \Tewberry opera house for a term ol
three (3) years, beginning April 25.
1912. House has a seating capacity of
900. Only theatre in Newberry county.
I Town has population of 6,000. Bids
! must be filed prior to April 1, 1912.
Rent to be paid monthly in advance
\11 bids to be accompanied by a certified
check for $50, as evidence of*good
*'aith. Checks will be returned to unsuccessful
bidders. Successful bidder
will be required to give surety bond
for five hundred ($500) dollars tc
guarantee performance of conditions
of lease. Right reserved to reject any
tnd all bids. For further information,
iddress, and file bids with Jno. R.
Scurry, C'.erk and Treasurer, Newberry,
S- C. 1-19-tf.
>OTICE OF FI>AL SETTLE Jl E 31.
Notice is hereby given that I will
make final settlement of the estate of
I. H. Dominick, deceased, in the Probate
Court for Newberry County South
Carolina, at 11 o'clock in the forenoon,
on the fourth day of April, 1912, and
will immediately thereafter apply for
i final discharge as administratrix oi
'he estate of *the said deceased.
Mrs. Alice Dominick,
Administratrix.
i i ? iMM-nrrm
M* "$2*0? Ma gggHB
5, saw and
7 }
ies of Newsday,
March
I by express
ate. Every ' <
)me at > ,
t"
k
I
I I ?.?abb *%aa ufkAIIM
! STUMAUH IHUUHLtS
Cured By Vinci?Here is Prc??
Seymour, Ind.?"I was troubled with
a chronic stomach trouble, and five
weeks ago it got so bad I had to give % f
up work. I bad tried various medicines
without relief, and was finally
induced to try Vinol. After taking the
first bottle I was greatly benefited.
Am now on the third bottle and ready
to resume work. Am rapidly gaining
in weight and strength." Edw. Nieman.
,
It is the curative medicinal ele- M
| ments of the cods' livers, combined
j with the strengthening properties or h
! tonic iron contained in Vinol which -fl
j makes it so successful in restoring
j perfect digestion and at the same
i time it builds up the tired, overworked
and run-down system. f
Try a bottle of Vinol with the onderstanding
that your money will be
returned if it does not help you. ,
For sale by Gilder & Weeks.
STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA,
COUNTY OF NEWBERRY.
By Frank M. Schumpert, Esquire,
Probate Judge.
WHEREAS, Mrs. Jane C. Whitman ^
and Mrs. Sallie Eargle made suit to
me to grant thert letters of administration
of the estate of and effects of
t->
r^. r. tvuuuiau,
THESE ARE THEREFORE to cite
and admonish all and singular the kindred
and creditors of the said E. P.
Whitman, deceased, that they be and
appear before me, in the Court of
Probate, to be held at Newberry, S. C., ' .
on the 30th day of Jlarch, next after
publication thereof, at 11 o'clock in
the forenoon, to show cause, if any
they have, why the said administra- (
tion should not be granted.
( GIVEN under my hand, this 14th
day of March, Anno Domini, 1912.
Frank M. Schumpert,
J. P. N. C.
4
NOTICE OF FINAL SETTLEMENT.
Notice is hereby given that the undersigned
will make a final settlement
of the guardianship estate of James
Bernard Shackleford, minor, in the of
fice of the Probate Court for Newberry
county at 11 o'clock a. m., the
' j 20th day of April, 1912, and immediate
j ly thereafter apply for a discharge as
! such guardian.
Ordessa Shackleford,
Guardian of James Bernard Shackleford,
minor.
March 19, 1912.
I * " ~ T
>o>v is tlie time to subscribe to The
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