Fort Mill times. (Fort Mill, S.C.) 1892-current, December 15, 1910, Image 1
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The Fort Mill Times.
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VOLUME 19?NO. 37. )FORT MILL, S. C., THURSDAY, DECEMBER 15, 1910. $1.25 PER YEAR
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ASSASSIN'S WORK ENDED LIFE
OF E. P. H. NIVENS MONDAY
E. P. H. Nivens was shot frorr
ambush at his country- store, twc
miles north of Fort Mill, at (
o'clock Monday afternoon and
almost instantly killed. The killing:
is considered one of the most
cold- blooded affairs that ever occurred
in Fort Mill township.
Mr. Nivens was sitting: in the
rear of his store with the front
door open when the assassin
called to him from the opposite
side of the road to come to the
door. When he reached the door
a charge from a shotgun was
poured into his body and he fell
to the floor, dying in ten min11
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V.WVWJ TT I WI1VIUV/ IIUUM 11^ tl blctlt'"
ment to those who reached his
^ side before he expired as to who
he thought the assassin was.
News of the assassination
reached Fort Mill within a few
minuses after it occurred and a
number of persons quickly hurried
from town to the scene of
the crime, but none of these
learned anything tending to implicate
anyone in the murder.
Tuesday morning Coroner Louthian
came to Fort Mill and held
an inquest over the body of the
dead man. Three members of
the Griffin family, including the
father, W. E. Griffin, and two
of his sons, were put upon the
stand before the coroner's jury
as was a negro named Adam
Edwards in an effort to place the
blame for the crime, but all were
released*and the jury returned
a verdict that the dead man
came to his death from gunshot
wounds in the hands of some one
unknown to them. There had
long been ill feeling between Mr.
Nivens and the Griffin family,
who were rival merchants, their
respective places of business being
close together on opposite
sides of the public road. Sheriff
Hugh G. Brown and Deputy Sanders
visited the scene of the
crime Tuesday and both spent
several hours tracing clues which
may result in arrests
The donrl mnn wahk lioro
had a number of enemies. On
Christmas eve, 1908, he was fired
on from ambush while sitting in
front of his store. A negro was
charged with the crime and given
a hearing in court, but was not
convicted. While in Yorkville attending
the court at which the
negro was tried, Mr. Nivens'
store was burned. He claimed
that the fire was of incendiary
origin, and the governor ofi'ered
^ a reward for the apprehension of
the guilty person, but no one was
ever arrested in connection with
the burning.
I The body of Mr. Nivens was
/ brought to the home of his sister,
J Mrs. A. B. Parks, in the village
J of the Fort Mill Mfg. Co. Monday
r afternoon and from there was
taken to Fint llill cemetery Wed
I nesday morning and interred.
L Mr. Nivens was ahnnt JO
ft of age and was a son of the late
Jos. Nivens, who died near Yorkville
about ten years ago. He had
never married and his home had
V always been in Fort Mill tow riff
ship.
L Merger Suit Dragging Along.
|||. Correspondence Fort Mill Times.
B Columbia, Dec. 13.? A resume
of the Southern railway merger
%)B case shows two things: The utf'w
ter insufficiency of the State's
'M evidence, and the futility of com$B
bating a corporation whose plans
||B are as deep laid as the SouthKgkp.
It is debatable if the dissoluW^k
tion of the Southern would be
> be jeficial to the State. A prominent
railway official in spewing
of the merger case said:
"Since the formation of the
Southern railway under the ge?{
? U l 1 -r n
inuo ui nit; icauersnip 01 aanillt'l
Spencer, it lias grown in corporate
and commercial supremacy
until now it traverses and permeates
our whole beautiful Southland.
A greater blow to commerce
and the industries of our
State can hardly be conceived
than the breaking up of this great
corporation. The terminal facilities
of the Southern are daily
increasing and improving and
Nthis railway has been bending
every energy to the improvement
of its service and its roadbed.
There has been a wonderful improvement
in the last score of
years." W. J. C.
Ibi* ""
FORT MILL. 0. C.
Fort Mi" : vo be given a great
I 1 advertising through the
II agency of a souvenir envelope,
> several thousand of which have
I been printed for local business
- houses. On the address side of
the envelope is printed a half.
tone picture of the electric plant
of the Southern Power company,
near town, the high school buildinp,
a view of Main street and
' Confederate park, with space in
1 the upper lefthand corner for
' | the return address. The work
' is beautifully done. On the re'
| verse side of the envelope is the
; following sketch of the town:
"Fort Mill is a progressive,
growing town of 2.000 in the
heart of the far-famed Piedmont
region. It is located in the centre
of a rich agricultural country,
; where lands which return profit;
able yields of cotton, corn, oats,
hay, garden produce, fruit, etc,
can be bought at reasonable
prices.
"The town is three miles from
the great hydro-electric plant of
the Southern Power company,
affording economical power for!
all kinds of manufacturing indus- !
I tries.
"Here there are good cnurches,
the schools are unsurpassed, the !
; streets well kept and electric
lighted. A new high school building
is just being completed at a
cost of $14,000 and waterworks
are in prospect. The town is on
the main line of the Southern railway,
17 south of Charlotte (N.
| C.) and 89 miles north of Columbia.
There are 25 good stores
in Fort Mill and the lines of the
local and long distance telephone !
systems cover the town and
country like the wires of a sieve.
There are two large cotton mills
and a great brickmaking plant
here, and the town has one of
the best weekly newspapers, The
Times, in the State. The health
conditions are always good and
1 me climate is mild.
"We want you here and if you
would live in a wide-awake com-,
munity,* among a kind and ho?fpitable
people, come to Fort,
Mill, S. C."
Succumbs to Accidental Gunshot.
James Hoke, 11-year-old son i
of Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Hoke, '
who was accidentally shot in the j
right leg while hunting Saturday
morning, December 3, a few
miles south of town, died in a
Rock Hill hospital Saturday evening
at 7 o'clock from the effects
of the wound, after suffering
intensely for a week. For a day
or two following the accident
(there was hope for the recovery
of the wounded boy, but his condition
grew alarmingly worse
Friday and it was then seen that
his life could not be saved, although
everything medical skill
could suggest was done for him
up to the last.
James was a bright boy and |
was a tavorite with his schoolmates
at the graded school. He
was in the eighth grade and was
a member of the Presbyterian
Sunday school. His body was i
i brought from Rock Hill to the
home of his parents Sunday
morning and Sunday afternoon
was interred in the family plot
in the town cemetery. Universal
sympathy is felt for the
stricken parents and sister and
brothers in their sore affliction.
The funeral of James was attended
by many friends of the boy
and his family.
Suspects Arrested for Robbery.
Two young white men who
( claimed Rock Hill as their home
were arrested Saturday afternoon
bv the town nnliff* ?>? outs.
pects of the robbery of McElhaney
& Co. 's store Sunday night,
December 4. Close questioning,
however, failed to indicate that
they were connected with the
robbery and both were released.
One of the young men was wearing
five shirts when he was
arrested and this circumstance
was considered suspicious, but
an inspection of the shirts did
1 not show that they were stolen
from McElh&ney & Co.
Assisting in Clover Meeting.
The Rev. S. F\ Hair is in Clover
this week assisting the Rev. Mr.
Ix>we in a meeting at the Baptist
i church.
>
L
LETTER OF THANKS FOR TIMES
FROM WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN
William .Jennings Bryan has
written a letter to the editor of
The Times thanking him for the
editorial which appeared in this
paper two weeks ago under the
caption of "Mr. Bryan 'A Theorist!'"
It will be recalled that
the editorial was in reply to a
criticism of Mr. Bryan by Congressman
George S. Legare, of
Charleston, who went out of the
way, in an interview which he
gave The News and Courier the
day following the November
elections, to say that the great
Democratic leader is "a theorist."
Mr. Bryan's letter to the
editor of The Times, written
from Mission, Tex., where Mr.
Bryan is spending the winter on
nis iarm, is as tollows:
"Mission, Tex., Nov. 3. 1910.
"W. R. Bradford,
Editor Times.
"My Dear Sir: I thank you
for the very kind editorial which
appeared in your paper of Nov.
17. The criticism of the Eastern
press is so constant that it is
refreshing to find a word of commendation
in the West and South.
With good will I am,
"Verv truly yours.
"W. J. Bryan."
Better Mail Service Wanted.
Recently there has been some
talk among the business men of
the town of petitioning the postoffice
department for Sunday
mail service to and from Fort
Mill on train No. 27, southbound.
Mail is handled for the local postoffice
on train No. 28, northbound,
on Sundays, and Fort Mill is the
meeting point for these trains,
but for some reason unknown to
those whose business would be
facilitated by like service on No.
27. the southbound train neither
puts on nor takes off mail here
on Sundays. It is claimed that
the service would necessitate
very .little additional labor in the
local office, as the mail would be
handled "With that of No. 28 as is
done six days in the week. Con
siderable inconvenience, it is,
further claimed, is often oc-!
casioned patrons of the Fort Mill
ornce uy letters and other mail
matter for southern points lying
in the office from Sunday morning
until Monday morning, because
No. 27 does not handle
Fort Mill mail on Sunday.
Pastoral Assignments for 1911.
The following pastoral assignments
for the Rock Hill district
for 1911 were announced by
Bishop Hendrix at the Monday
session of the South Carolina
Methodist conference:
T. C. O'Dell, presiding elder;
Blacksburg, J. P. Patton; Blackstock,
H. B. Hardy; Chester,
M. \V. Hook; Chester circuit,
R. A. Yongue; East Chester, F.
E. Hodges; East Lancaster, VV.
B. Justus; Fort Mill, T. J. White;
Hickory Grove, G. T. Rhoad;
Lancaster, M. M. Brabham; Lancaster
circuit, J. T. Macfarlane;
North Rock Hill, J. A. White;
Richburg, W. S. Martin; Rock
Hill, St. John's, E. K. Hardin;
West Rock Hill, C. P. Carter;
Rock Hill circuit, H. W. Whittaker;
Van Wyck, PL P. Green;
Winnsboro, I). Arthur Phillips;
Yorkville circuit, J. F. Anderson.
Many Liquor Circulars.
Never before perhaps since the
Fort Mill postoffice was established
half a century apro has
there been received here in the
same number of days as many
circular letters soliciting orders
for liquor as have come to the
patrons of the local office within
the last month. Most of the circular
letters are sent out by Virginia
liquor houses, but not a few
of them come from Jacksonville
and Chattanooga. A day or two
atro a Fort Mill man received
three liquor circulars in one mail.
School Closes for Holidays.
The Christmas holidays are to
be observed at the Fort Mill
graded school by the suspension
of all class-room exercises on the
afternoon of Friday, 23rd inst.,
and the work will not be resumed
until Tuesday morning, January
3. The several teachers of the
school who do not live in Fort
Mill will spend the holidays it
their homes.
uiiai <1 ..fiv I
I FORMER ROCK HILL PASTOR
SUSPENDED TWELVE MONTHS
Following: the report of the
committee appointed to investigate
the charges of domestic
I differences with his wife, the
; Rev. H. R. Mills, former pastor
of St. John's Methodist chureh,
Rock Mill, was suspended from
: the ministry for a year by the
South Carolina Methodist con;
ference in session in Charleston,
Saturday. The findings of the
committee were unanimous, but
do not reflect upon the moral
character of Mr. Mills.
Following his suspension. Mr.
Mills stated to a reporter that he
has been employed by the Southern
railway as ticket auditor
since the action of the investi- 1
: gating committee of the Rock
| Hill district, which sent the
charges against him to the full
! conference. When asked con- 1
cerning his plans for the future,
he replied: "I shall remain with '<
the railroad until Time, with its
kind, oblivious shades, shall for- ]
get. unlesss more mistakes are 1
made."
The case against Rev. Mr. Mills
had its origin in his action in I
September, when he asked to be 1
relieved of his duties as pastor of
St. John's Methodist church. It
appeared that his domestic rela- '<
tions were unhappy. Rev. T. C. 1
O'Dell, presiding elder of the
Rock Hill district, with the fol- !
lowing committee, investigated 1
the matter: Rev. L. M. Brabham,
of Lancaster; Rev. S. D.
Barber, of Rock Hill; Rev. D. M.
McLeod, of Chester. The verdict
was to the effect that Rev. Mr. 1
Mills had not been unkind to his
wife, but in the language of Pre- 1
siding Elder O'Dell, in The
Southern Christian Advocate,
"the committee could not dismiss 1
so grave a matter without send- 1
ing it up for trial at the annual
conference."
Livery Stable Fire in Clover.
A disastrous livery stable fire
occurred ki Clover Monday morning
resulting in a loss estimated
at about $2,000. The burned
building, on which there was j
$150 insurance, was owned by J.
M. Adams & Son, but the greatest
loser from the fire was A. J.
Quinn, proprietor of the livery
I business. Nine horses, a quantity
of feed, harness, etc., be- i
longing to Mr. Quinn were destroyed
and his loss is placed at
$2,000, with $1,000 insurance. ;
Two other horses were destroyed
in the fire, these the property of i
I)r. \1. B. Neil and Wade Pursley,
U. F. D. carrier on route A,
Clover. When the fire was disj
covered it had gained such head,
way that it was impossible to
get any of the horses from the
j burning building. Clover has no
fire-fighting facilities and nothing
could be done to check the
| flames.
Violating Game Laws.
A number of Fort Mill farmi
ers residing in the Flint Hill section
of the township have been
considerably annoyed by hunters
from across the State line since
the open season for partridge
began on the 15th of November. !
A few days ago two Charlotte j
hunters who did not have the
I non-resident, license were discov|
ered on the lands of Joe Bennett |
snooting oiras. They were ordered
oir the place by Mr. Ren-j
nett, but paid no attention to his
warning of possible prosecution
for trespass and violating the
game laws.
Reduced Holiday Rates.
On account of the Christmas
holidays the Southern railway
j announces low round trip excur;
sion rates from all points on its i
lines. Tickets will be on sale ,
December 15th, 16th, 17th, 21st,
22nd, 23rd, 24th, 25th, 31st, and
| January 1st, limited good toll
reach original starting point re- | j
I turnintr not later than mirlnio-ht
I of January 8th.
Tammany Hall Gutted.
Tammany hall, the "wigwam" 1
home of the famous political or- !
j ganization known as the Tarn- jj
many society, in New York, was j
partly destroyed by lire Monday. Jj
Torrents of water poured into the j
big structure and the greater !
part of the damage was caused !
1 by this deluge. I j
v.
k n.
BAPTISTS LEAD.
Hats off to the Baptists of
South Carolina! exclaims The
News and Courier. The zeal in
educational work manifested by
them at their recent convention
in Laurens must kindle general
admiration among the people of
this State irrespective of denominational
lines. The responsibili- ,
ties they have assumed are not
light ones, but the spirit in which
they have been undertaken leaves no
doubt as to the result. The i
generous provision made for Fur- (
man university and the Green- i
ville Female college, where ex- ;
tensive betterments are to be j
made, is as good a guarantee as |
could be desired that the new i
institution to be established at j
Anderson will be adequately supported:
while the erfneatirmnl .
commission created for the pur- ]
pose of assuming general over- .
sight of all the Baptist institutionsof
learning in South Carolina <
gives assurance, both in the ]
declaration of its purposes and (
in its personnel, that these schools
will be conducted with intelli- ,
gence and will be a credit to the |
denomination, to the communities s
in which they are located and to
the State. The numerical leader- ]
ship which they enjoy in South j
Carolina is recognized by the ;
Baptists as imposing upon them
large responsibilities, and they in- <
tend to measure up to them. ]
<
Keller Gets Contract.
The Rock Hill commissioners 1
of public works Monday afternoon
awarded to Wm. M. Keller \
of that city the contract to erect !
the power house for the municipal
electric light plant at his bid
of $5,565, he putting up a bond
equaling 20 per cent, of his bid.
The other bidders were: A. F.
Hester, Rock Hill, $5.680; A. D. <
Holler, Rock Hill, $6,668; J. A. 1
Gardner, Charlotte, $5,635. This i
completes the award of contracts I
for this purpose. I
? 1 ~ " '
jj=ll II
I Let Me Suot
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COMPOSITION R
METAI ROOF SI I
TERRA COTTA W
T
DRAIN Tl KINO
= SASH, DOORS, RL
CEMENT, LIME,
V. B. Blanken
A?'I II II 1 H E
I GOOD C
qr; Christmas will not 1
S * good Coffee on your
your selections from
known brands:
White House, Gol
French Opera, Jubile
jack, Old '76. High
I C. M. Fit<
Witt M JLvr- >-fv..
MR. HOLLIS QUICKENS PROSPECT
OF CHILD LABOR LEGISLATION
Mr. John Porter Hollis, ol' Rock
Hill, member of the State child
labor committee, m de an address
before the South Carolina
Methodist conference in Charleston
Saturday asking that action
be taken to memorialize the Legislature
to enact some law to decrease
the evils of child labor in
the mills. He said that the working
of children under 12 years of
age in the mills for more than
ten hours a day injures the future
citizenship of the State, and that
Christian people cannot afford to
allow it to continue. Following .
is the text of the resolutions \
passed by conference in regard
to the child labor situation after
hearing Mr. Hollis' address.
"Whereas, we have heard with
pleasure the address on child
labor by Mr. John Porter Hollis;
and
"Whereas, the employment of
childie.i of tender age is a serious \
menace to the future citizenship \
if Ssfllltll fo?v*l?r?o ..?#!
- v?ioun?, itnu
"Whereas, the premature toil \
uf children disintegrates fami- \
ies and 'depreciates the human I
stock:' Be it 1
"Resolved, 1. That this con- *
ference go on record as heartily
favoring the programme of the
South Carolina child committee.
"2. That we memorialize the
general Assembly of South Carolina
to carefully consider this
question and give us such laws
is will decrease as far as possible
Lhe evils of child labor.
"3. That the secretaries of this
conference be instructed to for>vard
copies of these resolutions \
:o the proper authorities of the \
Legislature of South Carolina."
Fort Mill Loses Football Game. \
A suflicient number of 15-year>ld
Charlotte boys to compose a
football team came to town Saturday
and won a game from a
like number of Fort Mill boys A
by a score of 20 to 0. A ?
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POKING
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1NI)S, MANTELS
LATHS, ETC.
ship, Ft. Mill.
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OFFEES. ?
>e complete without
dining table. Make B *
the following welld
Medal, Luzianne, dj fi
;e, Caraja, Cracker
grade loose Coffee.
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