Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Sectiol 1 One+SeCtiont VOL. XLI MS2 N VO.XIMANNING, S. C., WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 24, 1921NO3 HUGE FRAUD SCHEME IS .NEARIED Banks, Bond HouseH, Brokers and Wealthy Men Victims of - Clever Band OPERATE IN KANSAS CITY Charles W. French and John W. Worthington Alleged to Have Been at Head Chicago, Aug. 23.-Millions of dol lars of worthless notes, stolen bonds, fraudulent deeds of trust and forged certificates of deposit have been flung on the markets of the country, fed eral agents declared today after in. vestjgation of a band alleged to havc been headed by Charles W. French and John F. Worthington. Banks, bond houses, investment se. curity brokers and wealthy businese men from coast to coast were de clared to have been the victims oi dupes of one -of the most gigantic swindlers ever unearthed by federal agents. Six million dollars worth of stoler bonds, nearly $3,000,000 in worthles notes and hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of trust deeds an forged certificates of deposit have been traced by Department of Justic< agents, it was said. The revelations resulted from c confession accredited to Alva W Harshman who was declared to hav< been a private secretary to Frencl and who surrendered today. He wa! alleged to have told of a deal ne gotiated by French for the purchas( of a bank in the Middle West thai involved the exchange of . How They Worked It A Washington, D. C. man, accord. ing to larshman, was to obtain cer. tified checks for $500,000 there. Thes< checks, he said, were to eb presentet to the bank owners and when th< band gained control of the establish. ment, they were' to cash all certifi cates of deposit the bank owned. Th< money, he said, would then* be for, warded to the Washington man wh< would deposit it before the certifie( checks on the original transactioi were cleared and returned. Man3 other similar deals were also de scribed. Tn another case, it was asserted, large amount of stolen securitief were placed with a small countr bank in return for a certificate o1 deposit. The deposit slip it, was said Weas cashed, and the bank left hold ing the securities which would b4 ideintified and reclaimed when it triet to realize on them. Among names of the firms allege( to have been signed to notes use( by the bank were: Curtis Printing Company, Akron Ohio, $9,000; MacKay Truck Compariy Akron, $18,000; Porcupine Mountaii Lumber Company, Cleveland, $10,000 Portage Market, Akron, $21,000; Hlen inger Plumbing Supply Company Akron, $25,000; Schwartzer Wrecking Company, Dayton, Ohio, $100,000; Mi wvest Automobile Sales Company, D~ay. ton, $50,000; Dayton Financing Com pJany, Dayton, $300l,000; Z. WV. Davis Akron, $50,000; Apple Financing Comn. pany, Dayton, $300,000; Americar Rubber Company, Chicago, $85,000 H. M. Strong Metal Products Cbm. pany, Cleveland, $6,000; Clevelant Home Manufacturing Company, $1 5,. 000; George B. Wickens, Loraine, Ohic $103,000 and the Portage Packing Company, Akron, $31,000. Notes Not Yet Found In addition about $500,000 in not-e 'su~pposedl to have been signed by th( American Rubber Company have not been found. The total notes knowr to have been issued was put at $1, 602,000 by federal officials today. It was ailso revealed that the h~an(l was operating in Kansas City. Ac cording to John V. Clinnin, actin~ district attorney, all of the notes is. suedl by the band were dIisposed ol by the securities company of Kansa5 City. According to the all'eged confessiok made by llarshman, the band madlc considerable money disposing of real estate mortgages. Another deal sa to have beeh~ made in Milwaukee b3 the band is being investigated b~ government agents. It was declarerl to have nettedl the swindlers $500,00( It was said that A. E. Strelzin, wvh was arrestedl today in Milwaukee, wil] be -questioned regarding this trans action. Worthington was arrested somr SCHOOL OPENS HERE ON WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14 On Wedrtesday September 14th, school will open for another year and the following teachers will be here to take charge: Miss Catherine Earle of Landrum, S. 1., and Miss Mary Thomas of Cope, S. C., will have charge of the first grade. Mrs. Bessie Lesesne pnd Miss Sallie Dixon of Blacksburgs S. C., the second grade. Miss Rives of Edge field, the third grade. Miss Rives is a view -teacher here but we hope she will soon feel at home. Miss Barn well Huggins, the fourth grade. Miss Elizabeth Coskrey, the fifth grade. Mrs. George Williams the sixth grade. Miss Roxie Dixon of Blacksburg, S. C., the seventh grade. The High School teachers are Misses Rosa Mahaffey of Honca Path, Marie Dunlap of Hone Path, Eucebin Shuler of Columbia, Mr. A. J. Rich ards of Heath Springs and Prof. Helms. The Domestic Science teacher will be Miss Nancy Coleman of Shelton; the music teachers will be Misses Sue Sprott and Carolyn Plowden. All children with back examinations will be given an opportunity to make them up on Monday, September 12. 0 HOUSE GUESTS ENTERTAINED Miss Mary Lou Bradley compliment ed her house guests, Misses Mattie Lee Land, Virginia Coffey, Leona Rigby and Mattie Horton with a Rook party on Tuesday morning. As the guests arrived they were invited to the punch bowl. Rook was played at four tables. Potted plants and ey) flowers were used for decorations. Those present besides the hostess and honorees were: Misses Gertrude Gee, Mildrgd Smith, Lucile Broadway, Frances and Louise Brown, Lillian Ervin, Lucy Matthews, Pearl and Ruby Bullard, Oliva Horton, Winnie Plowden and Hattie Breedin. -----0o ANOTHER OFFER MADE Shefield, Ala., Aug. 23.-An offer of 4 per cent, 9n an investment of $120,000,000 or $4,800,000 annually, was made for the Muscle Shoals plant by Herman D. Ruhm of New York city, he stated here today. Mr. Puhm declared thtat he had made the offer shortly after Secretary of War Weeks had asked for bids and that he had never received a cply. $100,000 bonds in connection with mail robberies totalling approxi mately $6,000,000. French, alleged to be his right hand man, was arrested yesterday with several of his asso ciates. Today C. K. Strobel was taken into custody in Akron, Ohio, and A. E. Strelzin was arrested in Milwaukee. Letter From Millionaire Begging the return of "at least a lit tle of the millions-to be exact $2,500 000," alleged to ha'f been 'obtained from him by John W. Worthington, Charles French, and their associates, a letter from Z. W. Davis, former president of the Winton Automobile Company, of Cleveland forms the let ter intercepted by government offi cials. It was addressed to French at a Chicago loop hotel where a suite maintained by French was raided yes terday. Federal oflicers say they re Covered sceurities value.d at $1,000,000 in the raid. Davis lette!r, of six pages, dated Au gust 5, was a plea for others who are entirely dlependecnt on him for a live lihood. Left without aid from those who ohtained his fortune, the Cleve land former millionaire dleclaredl he wvouldi be "forced to the only alterna tive-suicidle." Davis also was a for mer piresident of the Diamnond Port landl Cement Company andl the Globe Stove Company. The letter addressed to French Said: "Please d1o not take what I am writ ing to you as a whine. I am not in the habit of crying after I have lost. If I were the only onie to he conisidleredl, I would not care. "But there are others wvho are en tirely dlependlent on me for a lievl i hood. it is for that reason that I ami now forced to beg you to return at least a little of the mill ions--to 1)e exact $2,500,000--which you ando your associates have taken away from me in tho last two years. XWorthington, Frenceh, Owen TP. Evns andl Alva Hlarshmiain are undler indictment. Davis also is und(er indict menit buLt has protestedl that he was made a dupe by the rngw leaders of the ring. News to D~avis Canton, Ohio, Aug. 28.-"It is Tall news to me," said Z. WV. Davis, Can ton and Cleveland mainifacturer, when asked today rcdarding niotes hearing hiis nanie as presidlent of the Winton Aumtomobile Company, of Cleveland whtichi were used by Chicago men In nefrtto borrow $30,000 in that G[ORGIANS ARE BEATING THE BOLL W[EVIL Mr. A. L. Luce, of the Clarendon Motor Company, has turned over to us two letters which he has received from two banks in Georgia. These sections are in the boll weevil districts of Georgia and shows hov these peo ple are alive to the situation and are striving to their utmost to pull them selves "out of the hole," in which the weevil has gotten them. It would be well for our people to read these let ters carefully and each individual find just what crop to plant that he can successfully mar.ket. We do not agitate the non-planting of cotton, (as this is a cotton country) but we (1o believe that our farmers should cut the acreage and get the seel in at the earliest possible time. Moultrie, Ga., Aug. 13, 1921. Mr. A. L. Luce, care Clarendon Motor Company, Manning, S. C. Dear Sir: Replying to your inquiry of the 9th, we regret exceedingly that your see tion is suffering from a heavy infesta tion of the boll weevil. We, ourselves, are hit by them again this year, but we are not depending on cotton as we have in the past. Our.farmers have learned to diver sify, and are takirn advantage of the local enterprises which we are for tunate enough to have that will take care of their farm produce. We lhave one of the very best Packing Plants South of Omaha, Nebraska, operated by Swift & Company of Chicago. Our farmers have learnel to raise hogs and cattle, and they finl a ready mar ket the year around. We have a canning plant wihich takes care of the surplus stock of Sweet Potatoes, amnd at this season of the year they can quite a bit of Bell Pepper, which our farmers have learn ed to raise successfully and at a good profit. We also have one of the very best Creameries in this part of the state, furnishing ready market for their sweet. anl sour cream. They are just completing a tremendous CondenIsing Plant, and will in a very short time he prepared to take care of any milk they might be furnished. A gool many of our farmers have taken ad vantage of this opportunity, anl are putting in small Dairy Herds which they are finding profitable. Our Grain Elevatoars furnish a mar ket for their surplus corn, peanu-ts anl velvet beans, of which we raise a good crop each year. We also have several sweet potato curing !Iouases, and they are prep)arel to hanid le all the surplus stock of sweet potatoes which we grow, an(l which are sold by the pro(lucers at a good profit. We have many other advantages which help our larmers out, and m ith in a few more years we can farm suc cessfully down here without. planting a hill of cotton. We enclose herewith a little book let gotten out by the Moultrie Chaa.. ber of Commerce, wihich will vive you a brief ialea of our town and couniy. We should he very glad to have you and your party visit Moultrie, an'd I will assure you in advance that you will be accorded every cour tesy durinag your visit, and we believe it, will he voey beneficizl, and that you will re urn to voua r section with inforamation that will certainly help your commtlaum itsy. I. will aapreciate you droplping me lhne in advance of your coming, and we wil! he on t e lookout for voua. Yoars v\rv truly, C. H1. Wesvt. Cashier. First Natioal Bank. Quitmnan, Gla., Aug. 12, 1921. Mr. A. L. Luce, MTanning, S. C. De(ar Sir: In re(spoanse to your' let tea' of the 9th., if you come to South IGeorgia' and alo not visit Brooks (counitya andl Quitnman your trip will not haave been a succ'ess. W (do not deuendl on cotton, aIt hough saame of our' fa rmoers hav ~e a' few acares most every year. We shiipapedl from thIae coaant Iy 2,500 ears of' wa termelans thmis sea sona bring amg ama he tw~een $25t0 a nd $300 hundred thousmand dollars in Juane and .Juiv. We raise live stock, peaanuts, pota I oes, oats:, ciane and "Brooks1( Counaaty W.e have potato curine: hanses and hav.e ha~d two graini elevators, buit have land t he imisfoatune to( lose them by toe. He sure andl come to Brooks Couanty andio come to Quit lnain anad thae Firs't National Banak and C'hambear of Comn nierae :and we will take pileasaaae in shoawmag you w~hiat we hiave. Yours veary taraly, L. M. Braidf'ord, ('ashaier, T[he Fiarst Nationial Baank. 11OOK P'ARTY'~ Mrs. .Ja mes Di)cklson ('nter'tainedl last Thura saday evening at. a Rook Phartyv in hannor of her houas- guest s, Misses~ Myritl and 'aul inme Hum inph ries (of Lynchburag, S. C. A fter thla gamne Mars. Dickson ser'ved a lovelv ice ecaurse t~o her gauests, who were be-. sidles the hoste('s an hion ioroees: M isses Mary' D)ickson, Isabel ho Tlhomas, Lei la M~araga ret D)iekson, Mikh'l ed TPhomap.. son, Grace Nia aer, Georgia Sauls, L~ynan Dullant; Messrs. Tlhoamas Bag Billie' Pr~ince, Tkey BHagnel, 01.' cr L anmd, Gaene Un gnal, Dourgess Sprott, Scott Bagwna1. ChIara nu I)o sei,.h ai' HOSPITAL REPORT IS SAID TO BE EXAGGERATED Washington, Aug. 23.-Reports of conditions at the Johnson City, Ten., sanitorium for' disabled war veterans in many instances have been "grossly exaggerated," Charles M. Pearsall, in spector general for the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, has reported to the board of managers, under who-se auspices the sanitoriujn is operated. Mr. Pearsall's report of a personal investigation, made public today by Representative Anthony, Republican of Kansas, said "there was a strong feeling and resentment by the men be cause of the abuse which had been placed on the sanitorium as a whole, which would indicate to their fam ilies that every man there was either drinking, taking drugs or running around with prostitutes." "The men admitted," the report continued, that a small number of the men would get drunk, or drink, disregard their rest hours and ireat ment, that there were a few drug ad dicts who were being treated in the hospital and that some of the men were associating with prostitutes, but stated that it was a very small per eentage and they felt that they should not be humiliated by being classed with this small number of men, no larger in percentage than would be found ir other hospitals or of a like number in civil life. The further my investigation led and the more con tact I got with the men thoroughly convirced me that the men had the right picture of conditions. general stated, that developed in con nection with hi.s investigation was that a "number of men when closely questioned admitted that they had been in. other government hospitals and had been dismissed for disci plinary reasons and were later sent to -Johnson City by these hospitai. dis charging them." Great care has been exercised, the report said, not to dis miss from the sanitorium for disci plinary reasons any man whose 'ife or cure might be jeopardized by depriv ing him of treatment. The inspector general reported the food at the sanitorium was "most ex cellent, both as regardsi quantity, quality, Variety and service." "KID PIAlTY" Mis. S. Oliver O'Bryan and Mrs. . B. Cantey entertained at. the home of Mrs. O'13ya last Friday evening at a "Kid Party." The ladies were dsres ed in littlo girl dresses with their hair hanging in cur-ls anil with large bows of ribbon on it; the menl came in short, tiouse rs With middie blouses o. hoy blouses with Buster. Biown col. Iaris. As the guests a rrived they join ed m the game of "jitimpi'w rope" an'd later vailnes of "dlropping the handker chief," "go in ar1l out the wiindow" and thein had a little lance called "My Little Shoe Darling." '' The hos tesses then invitel the "ehlildren" in to the living room where several cOn tests were hlad ad amonjg theI wis "Ipinning the donLey's tail on;" Mr. Lucius Ilarvin and \lrs. Alln Braul hamt cameti the nearest to pinning if in the rig ht, phice anol they wer pre-ti senteod with a package of.' "Eat tMobres.'' The feature of the evening was the arrivalI otf "the hahby," who was .lr. .Joe Da v is, d ressedi in a long dre's.' andt calp. lHe ciame runnainrg d.own the street cryin g because his ''mna"' (Mirs. D~avis) left hinm at boon. TIhe refresh ments serived Iwere putnchi, boiled peanuts, aninial erai.-k <'is and)1 all dIayv suekeris. Thoi se enjoy.. ing tis lovely partyv were: M r. andi Mirs. Joe Rigby, Mr. and .\rs. I lorton fliighyv, Mr. andl Mrs. TF. F. ('otey, Mr. and Mirs. S. S. Richardlson, AliIr. and Mirs. Mich Wells, Mr'. and Mr is. II. C. Cturtis, Mulr. andl Mrs. Widh-rin, Mir. mod Mrs. Shaw, Dr. ail M\rs. Itrock mnton, Mr. and Mrs. Allan P H lbhamn Mr. and Mris. G;eratld, Mr. andl Mrs. C. lt. Sprott, S r., Mr. and MrI i . N. Sprot t, Mr. and Mrs. Wallac il'low ('handler, Mr. and Mirs. Stewartn I mar vin Dr. andl Mrs. Scott Itrvin, Mr. and Mr's. .J. It. Cantey, Mr. a: Mrs. S. Oliver Oi'Bryan, .lebmn I:toI'nal, M~ aloim Siith, Bessii t te,n Shelby D~avis, Wells of Wahinn ton and Mir. Luiust5 ltar'in. I C~K ONTl'l . s MSTlEM New York, Atig. 93.--.\ new. ~'S(em of torpledIo lire control by we ibh lie tiring of toli pedoes in a cur vedl course is automatically controlled, ha- been perfected by JIohn fait Hiatninimi, Jlr., he announicedl today. By nmeanis of this systemi Ih said, a battleshipt or stibmarine ''oubl fire' ai torpedlo it a target ini anty direct ion without changing the' courii'e of' the vessel. Suhmrinie equi;pped withI the amtite time. DR. LONG OF CLEMSON WILL BE HERE TOMORROW Dr. Long of Clemson College to be here and in Summerton Thursday. Mr. C. R. Sprott, chairman of the Board of Trade, has for sometime been en deavoring to get Dr. W. W. Long, of Cleinson College to come to Manning to address the business men of the town. Mr. Sprott has at last succeed ed and we will have Dr. Long here Thursday morning. Dr. Long has long been greatly ad mired by the people of the State, and we feel that we are very fortunate in being able to hear him at this time. Probably no one in the State is more capable of giving the people of the Agricultural communities sound couln sel an( advice than he is. Mr. r. B. Young of Florence, Dis trict Agent of Farm Demonstration Work will he with Dr. Long. Mr. Young is also President of the South Carolina Sweet Potato Growers' As. sociation and Secretar yof the South Carolina Tobacco Association. What Mr. Young has to say will be well worth hearing. These gentlemen will speak in the Court House at 11:00 o'clock Thurs day morning and at Summerton at 3:30 in th' afternoon. Every business man in each of these towns and other towns of the county is urged to be present at one of these meetings. Don't forget the time, Manning at 11 a. m. and Summerton at 3:30 p. in., Thursday August 25th. W. R. (ray, County Agent. -0 DRAFT FOR BIG SUM SENT BY STERING Chicago, Aug. 23.-Fred E. Ster ling, lieutenant-governor of Illinois, recently indicted with Gov. Len Small an( Vernon Curtis, Grant Park, Ill., banker, on charges of embezzlement involving $2,000,000 of state funds, today forwarded a draft for $391,386.28 to EdlwardE. Miller, his succes;or as state treasurer. In a letter Mr. Sterling explained that this suni was "all the interest collected by me on state deposits since 'May 31, 1920," and that it in eluded "interest to date :n such col lected interest items from the (late when the same cane to my hands." I ------0---~----. CIAlGE OF DYNAMITE UNDER OOOTIVE Talhotton, Ga., Aug. 23.-For the fifth time a charge of dynamite was touched off unde :r a A. B. and A. Ilocomotive driven by Engineer I. N. Downey, near here this imorning. No olne was injured and the trIil WaS not derai'ed. Trainmen who ran to the scene of the explosion, were fired uponl, they reported here. They said they saw six im en cli mh into an automio bile and drive toward Alan(chest. LOCAL HAPPENINGS Of TWENTY YEAR GO A lgust 28th, 1901 '1li-. X C.lhames has retunelied t Xanning f '1 Alah:ula. in ln:n1g161w visiting relativcs and fried(Is. '11r. A. Lw or'ya and Iaughter liss Annie, haive retuirnedi fro Hari Iriis Springs. Dr. C. B. Geiger, whow has been in a visit to his pmrents ini I e\ingiton cotyt ieturinedl homne Sunday ewe.w m g. Ais.- EdithI War'e iwi \dam onu n, af one time a resiident of Alanine- iii, heow on a visit to the family of .\. A. Iwink for Newv Yor~k andw ot her North i.rni Aa rket s whereiw h' will pur chiase his f-ill stock. ijed near- Silver, after a lang ill niess, oni Siolay 11thw, iinst ., .\lts. Ella ( hewVnin g, wife of Al r. Fl]ix C'hewni Iini e, agedi abouiit 27 yeair.. Xir. I). E. Tirhevlle of Tuirheville', ason of S. C. Tu'wrbeville, reeivedt the 1)iedi at S:dlem .vest'rdai, ait lth homwe oif his siwn, Xli. JohnrV cWiben the agedw faither owf iatiwhos. Wilsoni. Thei deceaised \Vwa. a na' tie ' f S'I ot I Cornii 'will seH] for I ''- p-r bu'sl throughel the grinii i:iow in: mt n ofi the West. I Judge- X WindiJ ~ sayso ' hei ha pftt the folloiw who paiiite- i nih :w true wowrd pii'tur of h( ' tis appie at ' the Salem pieni i, hbut on~ thait we iajon lie was a lit tlw wll, andi if the correspon i )vhait hei vwuld sayw vwen hii.- aipptite is goiilodwln striiiii. WVindham 0 wis nowt, th on- wly counlty v fliw-ir a (lint pijenie; the it hir fellow had tw go toi Glenn Spring-s rwit afte wardh:, so tlier< were wthter tbig ecatei -at that jilleiie. SEARCH FOR BODIES IN RINS Of HOTL Helived That Death List Will Be In. creased by Dozen When Inquiry is Comupleted-Four Known to Be Dead but, One Man Not. Yet ]deil.ified. Mlacon, Ga., Aug. 22.--Work of ex ploriig the ruins of the Brown) louse, which was completely (e stroyed by fire at ami early hour th is mtoring and where more thmi a dozen bodies are believed to be buried, stopped at sundown tonight. Building Inspector F. Joe Bishop, it charge of the hut for bodies, an nounced that the search will be re sumed at. daylight. tomorrow morn j4g with a1 force of 100 convicts from the county and city chaitigaigs. "We will koII'w before noon," he said, "Jun howv many bodies are in the d( bris. We expect to find at least 12, possibly more. I ean al most put my lingers on the spot where I believe there are tvwo bodies." Coroner Lee Waves amonneed this afternoon tha tthe coroner's jiry had concluded that an explosion of escaping gas inl the basement of the Brunner Drug compa.ny caus d the fire. The blast cut a hole through the hotel from the basemett. to theit roof, tore out the stairways and wreckod tile elevator after (I ving it upward. Fire escapes at the rear of the build mg were enveloped itn flames ant1 itn stant later and fire also was burst. ing from every window in t ht big brick structure. It is understood that the state lire marshal will arrive here it the morn ing t~o aid in the investigation that is uider way. Facts obtained by lo cal city and county officials aid the state fire marshal will be laid he fore the Bibb county grand jury at its ntext session. Four Bodies Found Tonight, when work of explorin the ruins of the burned hotel stop ped for the night, four bodies lay inl a local undertaking establishment, only three of which hal beenl iden tified. IEight persons Vere inl the Macott hospital suffering from eri ('us burns :i, broken bomies re'eivled from tlte tire and in jumlllpilg- from second amd third floor windows. Three other persoms, whose namles have not been obtained and who are known to have .umpell from the bhizintg structIre, were attelded by private physicint's and left on tht (niin for At la1nt:a durting the l*or - 11(1011. The list of known mlis4siltg louited toltitmIlf to sevent, but f t v re wter, manly bIlquiriesl from all1 parts of Georgin' for persons. who(m it, i. fe:red ..ere in the hotel. llorace Weemtts. elerk at the Brown llouse;(. so)n of the propritorm, :;aIId that. 88 of the 97 r'oomitl inl the hotel tertil,', d, famwt wIt t 1 eds I int! 111 I:n h rom . lie said that there wen methmn 100 --uests, r~ayof te the city. The touris t- an- the on that et ci ng'1 the moSt C(0n01rn l ca l ,for thent. is nll wayl to, (.b-1 in1 clt I n i e nitii, the ito ihtx r h.. in - stroYt d in lht.. 111) I I t I I IkI tI I I i ' 't l * i4-ttI''W Ire :1l viittd th titnW tChr - h- 1 i t t - it . hty r 1, i !, . i V I)I heI IltO i." t .( I ..I o I It~ I i. . St eir lie i ('ven~p fItt ath ui' I')orm br 1 oke iver them ,tn,i ratin h;, -a Il ' i nly i ll I.(f There wan noth letbt Iha (,Ill\~l~ (it' ll ti Iit Ltt t II t' i I t' r I et 1 V I I t h in id h n I tl n. ph-tel demolshed, y thef or .