University of South Carolina Libraries
~rj *<r | ?bp StlUm ffpralb. ESTABLISHED IN 1895. DILLON, SOUTH CAROLINA, THURSDAY MORNING, FEBRUARY 23, 1911. Vol. 17. No. 2. BANDITS HOLD UP TRAIN DYNMRITE EXPRESS SAFE AND SECURE ABOUT $700. - NEW YORK-NEW ORLEANS TRAIN! "V \ "-oaKh <? Standstill WltJi ! Si|{nal. Kngineer, Firoman, Con- , luctor and ExpresH Hp?t*en(^T 'urcwl at. l'oint of Pistols to Obey, >rders of Outlaws. reenville, Feb. 12. ?Special: thern Railway train No. 36, New j 'aus to New York, which passes! envllle at 6:20 a. m. was held y>- five masked bandits one mile y of White Sulphur, Ga., and : 'piles from Greenville, at 2:15; rk this morning and the express! ^ dynamited. A bandit entered j express car and attempted to >open the stationary safe, con-! aig thousands of dollars, hut | ill uvmpi WtlS UUl MIL'CCKSIUI. \ then placed a stick of dyua-i 1 on a small safe, covered it , 1 dirt and touched off the fuse, j safe was blown tx> atoms and 1 ! $700 were secured. J Their Ruse Successful. fn a straight line of track just' jh of the 587 mile post. Engifr I). J. Fant was induced to j p his engine by the waving of a ! / light across the track, some j he or four hundred yards ahead; \the engine. He applied the! }zes and slowed down, picking up j Lan, who told him that there was: Iroken rail ahead and that the f'ie was being repaired. At the same time a bandit climb-. i up on the other side of the j igine and the two covered the en-; Ineer and fireman with revolvers, >rdering them to hold up their; aands. One of the bandits inform- j ;d the engineer that it meant a' told up. Leaving his partner to <uard the engineer, the bandit then . got down and went back to rob tbc express car, telling the engineer before he left that when a certain i rsr signal was given for him to start; t hr? pnfi n o Express Mess-ngei* Tlirewtvuert. The bandit attempted to eut , loose the express car but failed, j He then servered the air pipe and; went back to the engine, when he j ordered the engineer to get down, and bring along a shovel. Going back to express car once more, the' V express messenger was ordered to; open the door. When the messenger failed to respond to the order, the1 bandit threatened to blow up the entire car with a stick of dynamite which he had in his hand. The door, * was thrown open and the inesseu- j ger waB covered with a revolver j and ordered to throw up his hands. 1 A bandit then entered Lho car and , placed a stick of dynamite on the ^ stationary safe and touched off the, fuse. The explosion failed to accom-j plish the desired result. and he') turned his attention to a small safe 1 p close by. Small Safe Dynamited. ' A etick of dynamite was placed on 1 top of it and dirt piled on top. The,1 explosion completely wrecked the ' safe , damaging the car and ex- ! press matter. A number of pack-: ages were taken out of the demol-; V -.. ished safe by two bandits, a sec- ' f oud one having entered the car in the meantime. ( After having looted the safe, the ;' ^ engineer was told that he cold go. j1 He went back to his engine and : | pulled on to Lula, minus a fireman 1 and a flagman. The former, a col- ' * orcd man, was made to get down 1 ' from the engine and flee through j ^ . the woods, by the bandit who was!1 Hm I f left in the cab when the engineer j I m j waB carried back to the express car. 1 When the train stopped the flagman ; dismounted and went back to flag i1 later trains. 1 Conductor Also Helpless. When Engineer Fant was carried ^ back to the express car by the;T jy? bandits, he called to Conductor1 ' Mooney, who he thought was in a, BP coach a short distance back. The, conductor, however was under cover; R < of a bandit's revolver from the time f I the train stopped. When the train t fist stopped Conductor Mooney t ? stppped to the ground to see what, t 'A the trouble was and was immediate- I t ?1| ly covered by a bandit. Having loot- i ft ed the express car, the bandits 1 3W backed off, keeping their revolvers i < on the trainmen all the while. When; i 9 they had gotten into the woods they i ' turned about and heat a hasty fee- ' W * treat. ? At 7 o'clock this morning No. 36 t rolled into the Boatborn pa?eager . elation, on Washington street, only 4i minutes ilatc. Kxpitfis < 'ar lUully UaniafpH], Every window in the handsome express car was blown out and a j portion of the roof was torn off by the explosion. Arriving in Greenville engines were changed and a freRh crew with the exception of Conductor Mooney, took charge of the train and proceeded northward. Engineer Kant came down town about 7:30 o'clock and wa'kcd into office of the morning newspaper and told the story of <y the daring train robbery. Within a short time newsboys were crying "extra" upon the street and the entire city knew of the dynamatic occurrence. The engineer then went to the headquarters of the Charlotte division of ?he Southern Railway, in the Palmetto building, and made his reuort of the robbery. His report is as follows: Engineer Kant's .\cco\int. "I was engineer on train 3G, engine 1,315, Atlanta to Greenville, this morning. February 18. On a straigh line, just north of the 5S7 mile post, near White Sulphur, I saw a red light swung across the track, about. 300 or 400 yards ahead of me. 1 applied the brakes and stopped at the light, and picked up a man. He told me there was a broken rail ahead. I only saw one man at the start, hut as the train came to a stop a man got up on the engine on each side, with drawn revolvers, and ordered the fireman and myself to throw up our hands and then searched us. They told us it was a hold up. and one man stayed on the engine to guard me, while others went back to rob the train. They first attempted to cut the express car off, and told me as soon as I got a signal to go ahead. They worked some time trying to cut the car off, but none being familiar with the cutting loose, they failed except to cut tlie air off the train pipe. Forced to <? > Ahead. "One of the men eame back to the engine and told me they could not cut the train loose and made me go back then to the express car. The express messenger had not opened the door. They said unless he did open the door the train would be blown up with dynamite, a stick of which one had in his hand at the time. I began to call Conductor Mooney. hoping that some of them could come out to the rescue. The express messenfcor then . opened the door and they mado him j throw up his hands. They went inside and one put a stick of dynamite to the stationery safe and ex-I ploded it. The explosion did not' accomplish anything, lie then took another stick of dynamite and put it on top of the little safe, piled dirt on it, touched off the fuse and blew the safe all to pieces, damaging the car and express. I saw bandits being in the car this time. 1 After having taken all the money and packages out of the safe they i told me I could go. "I went to the engine and pulled ' an away to L?ula, leaving my fire-. man and the flagman. The bandits made the fireman leave the engine before before I was taken back, j uid I never saw htm any more. White Men anil Masked. All of the men were masked. The leader of the crowd was either a Western or a Northern man, but the i >ther two whom I heard speak were Southerners. All were white men, ind wore rags or handkerchiefs tied ibout their faces, below the eyes.! t only saw three of tbe men, but i ; tieard the leader call as high as lumber seven, in ordering the men Lo do something. He called th, m! jy numbers instead of by names. ( They appeared to be about medium size. "They had nothing but dynamite ind pistols, no tools. They only nado one attempt at blowing open he stationary Bafe. Only one shot | vas fired, which was at someone1 vho stepped out of the train. We vcre delayed about fifty-five ininites. Passengers Not Molested The bandits made no attempt to lo Into the mall or passenger cars, dating that all they wanted was he express car. All they got were imall packages out of the express lafe, which messenger stated would lot amount to over $1,000 in value, j did not see the bandits after they >rdered me to the engine and do tot know ii whet direction they vent. "There wero, apparently, bandit* ill akjng the ttain, holding up each nember of the crew. This is *11 I i (Continued on page four.) 1 TILLMAN MOVED TOTEW^ BREAKS DOWN IN MIDST OF EULOGY OF COLLJVER AND CLAY EMOTION PROVES TOO STRONG Sml TIiou^IKa of Departed JFrieuils Too Much for South Carolinian | in Hi-- Weakened Condition. Washington, Feb. IS.?So affected !>> his emotions and weakened by ilie illness with which lie was stricken during th?> last session of ' congress as to be unable to conitinoe, Senator Tillman, of South 1 Carolina to-day sank sobing into bis seat shortly after having begun | a speech in eulogy of the late Senators Alexandder S. Clay, of Gcor! gin and Jonathan P. Dolliver, of i Iowa. Senator Bacon, of Georgia, ! -iioved hastily ov? r and took a seat 1 y the South Carolinian. A few words from Air. Bacon in a measure n stored the control of bis nerves to Air. Tillman and soon thereafter lie feebly left the chamber. An Affecting Scene. The scene was aii affecting one. and mmebors on the floor and spectators in the gallery were visibly moved. The attempt to speak at length was the first Mr. Tillman had made since his return to his .duties, and bis friends had feared it might prove too great a tax on his J i impaired strength. Air. Tillman's concluding words ! were: I Great and Good. "Dolliver, as i recall him, was a I great man. Groat men are plentiful tin this country, but not as great as j Dolliver. Good men are plentiful I j in this country, hut not as good as jCIay. They both left us and we know not how soon our own time may come. I feel t hat with especial, force. Die?but?but I cannot go I , on, Mr. President. 1 have thought, hut the words will not come: so 1 | will sit dowu." Washington. Feb. 19.?Special: ! Reports, sent throughout the coun-; try last night, to the effect that' Senator had r.nffnpoH n ><*!i? I the Senate yesterday, while attempt* 1 ing to deliver a eulogy on the life , of the late Senator Clay, of Georgia, have caused considerable apprelien-' sion to be expressed 011 the part of Senator Tillman's friends In Wash-1 ington and elsewhere. While it is true that Senator Till- ; man is not near the same he was j physically before he suffered his i severe illness last year, and does! not attempt to exert himself in de- I bates, ho is able to transact his ordinary business in his office and to be on the floor at the sessions of the Senate. He is still a believer in physical exercise and Lakes his ae- ; customed walks from the Capitol to his apartments, at tho Hotel Nor-! maiulie, every afternoon, when the I weather is good. This gives a walk of about a mile and a half. Recently Senator Tillman has been very much affected by the facts of the Lorimer cubc, and being of the opiniou that the Illinois Senator wag being persecuted, showed his emotion by shedding tears durinir tho n-1 0 ... v in ^IIIIUII n?ll) it few days ago Yesterday's efforts to deliver the eulogies to Senator Clay were per-; haps more than Senator Tillman could stand at this time, lience his; statement that he would not talk further, after having uttered a few words. Recreation during the com-' ing recess of Congress may put him , in better condition for the next! session. Killed l?y Carolina Special. Fort Motte, Feb. 18.?8. Bland Conner, principal of Fort Motto; school, while attempting to get off: the Carolina Special, No. 7, this morning, was thrown under the1 train and against the platform at1 the depot and horribly mangled. He died at 3 o'clock immediately af-' ter his mangled arm was amputated by Dr. T. H. Dreher of St. Matthews U and Dr. Paul K. Switzer. H1h arn*^ was crushed to pieces and his head ' was cut in several places. The ac- 1 cident is deplored by his manv friends. Mr. Conner graduated ut Woffordi College last year and was elected principal of the Port Motte school. He left Port Motte this morning, going to 8t. Matthews to attend a meeting of teachers, and returned on train No. 7, which does not top here. It is suppoeed he thought he could safely get off the moving train. l ii. ii. 1 i / ^ ^mtA b riiiii 111 / iwtlu inS MILL MERGER ;. DILLON. MAPLE AND HAMER MILLS TO >>' BE IN COMBINE Hon liriti CAPITOL, HALF A MILLION;::, ~~ i <>n 1 IMi'cttoni of Yhm.' Concerns raI>,( Held Joint Mcciinn Wc?lnoMla.\ char , ami Ariw to Consolidate. Ilur It is officially announced that the ,l" 1 >i I Ion. Maple and Hatnev Cotton ' Mills will be merged into one bit; manufacturing corporation. Plans for the morjeor have been <?n foot for some time but no definite aeJ tion was taken until last Wednesday when the directors of the three ' corporations met in a joint session . m.I ROill and agreed upon the combine, I he ^ business office of the corporation will be at Dillon and the mills will u will be known as Nos. 1. 2 and At the directors meeting Wad I . . , , M i uesdry a committee composed of one director from each mill was apnonitid to complete the plans of the organization and to submit their re- h'u port at a joint stockholder's meet- " 1 ins to be held some time in tlie , ' near future. The committee will also determine the book value of the ^ stock of eadi mill and the stock J ' of the new corporation will be pro.i .liii r 20tli | rated among the stockholders of ! the three institutious on the book value of the old stock ! The capital stock of the new cor- {; porntion will ho $500,001*.00 and on(. the name of the corporation will Curl probably be the "Dillon Maiiufac- Wat< [turing <Jo." The coiiipany will con- Pen tinue to manufacture tin* same hoai grade of yarns the mills have been s< making in the past, and no changes droj will be made in the management of 1 the the mills. on The combination will not only de- T crease the operating expenses of ^av the mills but will put them on a equi stronger financial basis. Not with- j doe} standing the period of low priced stru yarns and high priced cotton t0 B through which the mills have pass- nav: ed the Dillon, Maple and Hamer j qmills have been running on full time1 hydi while other mills were forced to j^. j shut down in order to curtail their alon expenses. It is the purpose of the fev> mills in forming a merger to meet |chjn the situation by reducing their fjftr ojierating expenses to a jioint where pilot yarns cr.n be manufactured with aroK profit at the prevailing liigii prices Hri(i of cotton. ' i^s j SHOOTINt; AT HKXNKTTSVILLK. I .-.iiiiiii rvnis liiir a-yene lUVM* Myst "Double" Rmth<'i'>in-Lmv. M i ,n Bennett sville, Feb. IS.?Special: ( t\ LaFayotte Rivers was shot and j * ' instantly killed here this evening' M by W. Gary Smith. The homicide U? P occurred in a room in the roar of hold the Matheson building, on Broad old i street near the Bennettsvllle in 1* and Cheraw depot. No one else ' milei was in the room at the by 3 time of the shooting. Rivers was hadl; shot in the face, just below the eye, pnrtl the ball entering the brain. Smith whci was shot in the reck, the ball en-! the terlng from the front, slightly to Sutit the right, and passing through the ; natic neck. The testimony and circum- was stances indicate that Rivers fired deatl tlie first shot. '?bou The homicide was a deplorable af- j strea fair. Rivers married a sister of sunn Smith and Smith married a sister. whih of Rivers. cuug The deceased was aboui 37 years' Tli old and leaves a widow and two hy ? children. Anyt Smith was about 3D years old and negn Lis wife and three children ara, muni living. Dee. Smith was arrested and is in jail. | The coroner's iurv returned the .. formal verdict. Smith's wound la not regarded as! necessarily faial. The two men, 8,?c't with other friends, had been in the "'s'ni room several times during the day , and all had been drinking. A two- ! gallon Jug, partially filled with corn | " whiskey, was found in the room. v - ?Mr. W. A. Blizzard left Saturday \jOJ1 ( on a trip through the lower part of j st.]|O0 the State and into southwest Geor- woui< gia for the purpose of placing or- lhe c dors for the famous l^ewls plow | slock manufactured by the Dillon new Plow and Novelty Works. The lo-1 ^ r cal company is selling their product j over several states, and every year. ovcr uvinror i??ir piuws intTi'Hhes. While away Mr. Blizzard will spend n short while with Mr. R. P. Mr Staekhouat at Amorieug, Us. > Guill, mttim relati The Dillon Herald, $1-50 a Year.. *? C. .. rot irr ruorKi'DiNtis. ' i iuihIm-i- of Caws of outlay autl Tuesday. Tln? It. S. avis ? list- <Vmtiniied. iwrt icmvttied Monday with His or, .Judge Shipp, presiding. So-j ar Spears and Court Stenographlargau woro at their posts and | usual the large number of cases he docket were pushed through I illy. The case of It. S. Davis, god with the murder of S. 11. soy was continued until tieterm. Following are the cases used t;f up to the hour of going' ire ss: din Doekley, violating dispen- 1 law; plead guilty, ." months or ?. '' isper Spearsh, housebreaking. 1 out lis. larence tlreeii, murder; plead y to manslaughter, '.\ yours. 1 10. R. Miller and Martha C'arr: try; not guilty. acoy Powers; abduction; guil- I 2 years or $100. unsey David, assault and bat-!J , guilty: no sentence. ( It*x Adnius, assault and battery, ( Ly; no sentence, ni Alford, larceny; not guilty, an YVorley, violating dispells: ry guilty; no sentence. <uit will probably adjourn toTho court of common pleas convene at Dillon on March!' i. i Curtiss Alights <ut Water. in Diego, t'al., Feb IS.?Using j of bis liydro-aeroplancs (ilenn ! .iss alighted yesterday on the1 ?r alongside the armored cruiser. nsyUauia. and was hoisted on <1. ion afterward the aeroplane was t ipi-d hack into the water, and aviator flew away to his hangar S'orili Island. he test was made to show the! y Department that an aeroplane pped like that af of Cnrtiss's. i not need an especially con-, ctcd platform on a ship's deck uake it of practical use to the " lie trial was unannounced. His! ro-aeroplane was wheeled out of langar and he flew to the water1 gside the cruiser. Within a minutes Curtiss and his ma-: e were on deck. After a stay of en minutes the machine and its were lowered, the biplane e gracefully from the water, without incident, flew back to , taiigar ou North Island. :i ItODY POIND IN SWAMP. l i I criou.s anil tJi'iiesoine Pinil by I r. C. 1 'erettt Saturday Morning ? Pee Dee Swiunp. < ence Times. agist rate C. S. McC'laghaii wont j 'ce Doe the other morning to |. an inquest over the body of an 1 l inknown negro which was found . O' Dee river swamp about two t i north of the A. C. D. trestle f Jr. C. Perett. The body was fi y decomposed and had been 1, ally devoured by the buzzards r i discovered. Mr. Perett was ( only witness and Dr. l?. 11. _ h, of this city, made an examl- ( >n and the verdict of the jury ( that the negro had come to his j ti by drowning. The body lay t 100 jarir *from tfy main in of the watre and it is pre;d that lie attempted to cross { the water was high and was , ht in the current and drowned. I i ' ieit was nothing on his persoujj hich he could be identified, i. tody having any cluo as to the! d'h identity is requested to com- ^ icate with Mr. C. Perett. of Pee j , t ; y Die Advocate. ! . May lias wild out most of his t where he has been merchan- i t g in the store on Broad street, ' . tly occupied bj 1>. E. Odom, < will probably move to Society ' ir.ii nirm on the lands recently ;1 In <>\er there by L>. X. Fowler j ivlai> cumc from Dillon county I li st of the year with the inten- j c jf sc nding his little daughter to ? >1 here.. The Murchison school 1 not admit her, however, as w 'asses were in the middle of the ^ m, and there were not enough :>upilb to form a new class for Mr. May will enter her in the ; F 1 at Society Hill if he moves ^ there. a F ? j, a. J. L. Bridge* and Mian Essie fi after spend.ng some time with p vex and friends at Pour Oaks, ii , have returned home. M / SHOT OFFICER 10 DEATH GREENVILLE STIRRED BY DEED OF ON IDENTIFIED MAN GUNNEL DIES OF WOUNDS Im'licu-tl li) I'urty Itelk'vnd U> IJc I'mftwionHl Kurtilar. Affair ai Columbia ami iJreenvill? Passenk?t Siaiidfi at F?rl> liour Yesfertlay. Greenville. S. C.. Feb. 17.-- -Hp* cial: Scores of men, private citizens, policemen and deputies, armed to the to?*th, scoured the country be t weon (J re en vi 11c and the mountain* to North Carolina to-dav -and to night in search of the lone Strang er, lielievcd to he ;? profcaAtonai ycggmnn. who this morning bo Lw?'cn 2:30 and o'clock, crga&&?i in a desperate* pistol duel in the* passenger station ? !" tit. tfoluinbtn and Greenville Railway, with Offi per: it. V Johnson and Sergt. OH\ L*r 3. Gunnels received wounds from which lie died at !<:!? > o'clock whih Johnson was s'noi through the righ* leg Officer'* Story. Ai the coroner's inquest held thU: morning over the remains of Sergt Gunnels, at the undertaking estab iishment of das. K. Mackey &. Son, but one witness. Officer Johnson, war examined. His testimony telle. the story of the tragedy. "Gunnel*, and 1." said he, "were coming along Augusta street, beyond the inter section of Vardry street, toward th? city, shortly after 2:30 o'clock. I saw a man emerge from the railroad cut and th" Columbia and Green ville Railway, and uiove on down the track toward the passenger sin tion. some "0 jkards away. I could see a mysterious looking hag slung over his shoulcl r, but could not teit whether he was white or blaclj \ called Sergt. Gunnels' attention to the loue tramp and made the remark thai he was probably a chicken thief. Apprtsarfie.'l :;? Syvticn. "I watched him cloRely and saw him approach the door of the color ed waiting room of the passenger station 1 advanced to-ward tho station and when within a few feet of it I heard the man moving about on the inside. Gunnels and I approach de the door at the same time. He put his right hand to the door and pushed it open. At the sametime with his left hand, lie flashed liis electric flash light into the dark mom. The light revealed a tough looking white mau, short, thick set, tieavy. with a short, black mustache, md dressed commonly with a collar u tie, and wearing a slouch hat, Harding in the centre of the floor Tin* Fatal Shot. "Simultaneously with the llash of he officer's pocket flash light the nan raised his revolver and fired The first shot pierced Gunnel's ablomen and he fell back against tbo loor facing, exclaiming: 'John, I'm ihot, kill hint.' Before the stranger ould tire the second time, I had ny pistol out .and opened fire on lim. The second shot l.e firetl struck Gunnels in the thigh and Junnels needed .oward the south md of (he station. The third shoe vohi the man's revolver pierced my ight leg. Fires While Fleeing. "All the time the man and I wero exchanging shots with llghtning-likt apidity. 1 had a Smith & Wesson 18-eallibre pistol and I think he was rmed with a 32-cai'itbre Colt's magzino. 1 fired foil- tlnma onS ? ? V1UAVO uii u |iu IICU he trigger of my revolver again, jut the cartridge failed to explode. receded then and the man sprang hrough the door, firiug as he ran .Vhen on the ourside he wheeled ibout, ran backwards a short difiance, and fired several more shots, he first one being fired at Gunnels, vho was in the act of sinking to lie ground, und the remaining shots ircd at me. He then fled, aud 1 urued to assist Gunnels." ^ If Caught, Perhaps Lynched. The excitement throughout the lty is intense and should the slayer f Officer Gunnels be captured and rought hack to Greenville there rill undoubtedly be danger of a irncfiing. The l^adies' Aid Society of the 'resbyterian church will give a ieorge Washington birthday party t Dr. W. Stackhouse'a residence 'riday afternoon from 4 until 6, and i the evening from 8 until 11. Rereehmeata will he served and the roceeds will be used for making n prove meats on the Presbyterian