Fort Mill times. (Fort Mill, S.C.) 1892-current, March 31, 1921, Image 1
^ if H/8ltftl)luli6fl 1S91.
Bodies of Sergts. Hall and B&ilfcs
%*' Interred in Port-Mill.^
*^,r iuu f^fnday afternoon to attend
^ w thfe iuneraV exercises .,ot4?Sergi.
r Tom.-IIall and; Sergtt Eli ,Pailea,
jfl Port Mill soldiers who lost their
p lives in the World war and whose
bodies . arrived ' Friday. v evening,
from Hoboken, N. J.t af^r lying
in the soil of France since October
9, 1916:- Hundreds..came .to
Fort., Mill > from-Bock ,Hil|, York
and across the line in North Carolina
to join the home folk1 in
honoring the memoryi v of.,>thp
two young soldiers whpBe .gallant^
conduct overseas shed luster upon
the record-of the company,-regi-.
mentand division,to ,which, they
belonged.
Both Sergt. Hall and Sergt.
Bailes were members of the .Fort
Mill company (G), 118th regiment,
30th , division, both were
mortally wounded on October 8,
1918, in . the engagement near
Montbrehain, France, and both
succumbed , t? their womids the
-^following day. Nof their bodies
lie side by side for all time in a
plot in New Unity cemetery pre-,
sented to the Fort Mill post,
American Legion, by,,the town
authorities.
Bergt. Hall had the distinction
of being one of the fifty of the
hundreds of thousands of American
soldiers composing the expeditionary
forces to whom the con-1
greaaional,medal of . honor .was
awarded for gallant conduct outaide
the line of dutv. Some time
after the death of Sergt. Hell
the medal was presented to his
father, "W. L. Hall of Port Mill.
The funeral services were held
in Confederate park Sunday afternoon
nt. 3 o'clock., after the
bo$es (had lain in .stat? ,in,..the
arraony of . the .Tom, Hall Guards
from Friday evening until the
hour for the exercises, during
which, hundreds visited the armory
as a tribute of respect to
the memory of the two heroes.
Throughouti ithe entire time-the
bodies lay in the armory a military
guard of honor, members of
thev Tom Hall, Guards, named, in
honor of Sergt. Hall, was stationed
at the foot of the caskets,
almost hidden from view by the
Amorinnn fl a era in whir>h thev
were wrapped and the floral ktributes
of the Fort Mill Legion post
an#l friends.,.of the young men
and their families.
The servioes were .under the
auppipea.pf Fort. Mill post, No..
43, American Legion, and were
begun, by an announcement of
Arthur .C. Lytle, .posts.adjutant,
to be followed, by prayer by,.the
Rev. J. B. Black, pastor of the
Fort Mill Preabytprian . church,
after whcih Thomas B. Spratt,
former, lieutenant., colonel of the
118ih infantry, paid,.a tribute to
Sergtr-Ilall and Sergt~.Bailee, Jn
] the course of which he spoke of
i the gallantry ofthe, twp young
j soldiers and described, as only
. one who knew the facts firsthand
could describe, the glorious record
of,.their company,,the;,118th
regiment,.and., the ,30tbMdivision.
The Fort MiR;) company, said
; Col. Spratt, lost more men in killed
and wounded than any other
, company in,,,the 118th regigi^nt,
wbiph.f likewise lost more,. men
1 A% ' , il _
Tnqq, ?ny cuier regnqont.. m me
3QHl. fdiviwon,, to which mu?t go
<$ the- credit for -breaking,, the Hin\
* dcnburg line. Col. Spratt said
he knew of his personal knowledge
of the courage an^ patripk,
ism shown, .by v Ser?U, Hall japd
Sergt. Bailee in that memorable
attack. He said that following the
death pfthe two Fort-M^V. soldiers
th^ regimqpt^l ,chaplgin,#aroo
to him and expresesd his sorrow
thgt .they should have gone down
in,..thq m^elstCfW!... "That, incident,"
said Col. .Spratt, "proved
thq, soldierly,,worth .of. thq two
men -whose memory we are- here
to honor, for had their records
v .... i: 1.1 u
noh h^YQtbeen knqpQ perspunUy
by, the, chaplain out pf the more
than 3,000 men who composed
the regiment.'*
In,,th,<> course,, o{, , his address
Coi? .Spflfctt quoted ap, English
commander as describing the 80th
diywoa- in,the??ali?nt, where the
Hindenburg Hue was broken as a
: ^ i ' ^
I'm F
' i - .
???t
DIED UNDER INDICTMENT.
Chester Dispatch Tells of Case:
Against W. A. Wilkerson.
. OpJanuary 11, last, the body
of W. Austin Wilkerson was
btbhght i to Fort Mill, his old
hqme> from Winston, N. C., ami
here interred in the city ceme->
-t6ry. About- three yearsago, Mrs^
Wilkerson, wife, of W., Austin
Wilkerson, was mysteriously
murdered in Chester and her
thody also . was interred . in Fort
Mill. , Some time after, the death
of Mrs: Wilkerson, her husband
vtas accused of the crime and
\yas tried in Cheater, the ease
against him having resulted in a
Iliistrml Hi? \\*nu tn Kotth utvflin
been tried lust fall, but his health
at the .time., was such that the
could not go to Chester from
"Winston.
j. j A .Chester dispatch of recent
date tells the following story
relative to the case against Willi
kerson :
"The death of W. ,A. Wilkerson,
who was under indictment
for murder in the courts of Chester
county, occurred at WinstonSalem,
N. C., on January 10. but
was not known here generally)
.until a day or two ago. Wilkerson
was tried about two years
ago, the case resulting in a mistrial,
but last fall, when it was
intended to try the case again,
ho was unable to appear. The
ca\ise of death is set down in the
death certificate as myocarditis.
At the time of Mrs. Wil kerson'?
murder the couple were occupying
the house at the city's Sandy
river water, station, Wil kerson
being in charge. Negroes were
at first charged with the criino
and hastened to Columbia to escape
possible mob violence; but
thpy were able to prove their innocence,
whereupon suspicion at
o r>V. .,,1 *l,? 1 1 J *
lu^iicu iu ute uuauiuiu, wno was |
arrested and charged with the |
crime. The jury, as stated, wasj
unable to agree upon a verdict."
The attendance of nearly 300
in the Sunday school, besides the
visitors, at the Kuster exercises
at the Fort Mill Baptist church
Sunday morning .was gratifying
alike to the pastor, the Rev. J. jW.
H. Dyches nt?d the superintend-,
ent- of the Sunday school. S. A.
Lee. "We were especially glad
to have the visitors with us,'J said
Mr. Lee, "and assure them an<!|
any others who may come to we.r- ]
ship with us.that they will always
find a warm welcome at the Bap-1
tist church.V
spear, whose head was the 118th j
infantry and the spear point the |
Fort Mill company, which went
into the attack with 165 effectives
and came, out with less than
40 itinwounded inen, with all of
the commissioned officers gone
along with practically all of, its
non-commissioned officers.
Col. Spratt's address was listened
to with marked interest
not,. only because of the tribute
he paid to the soldiers whose
memory the largo, audience had
itn linnnr 1?,?* oIoa
0 ? ?? ?v/ ?ivuui1 i/ut nmu
because of his contribution to thrt
history of the regiment and division,;
to which the Fort Mill
, company belonged.
Following the conclusion , of
the exercises at Confederate park
the funeral procession was formed
and marched to ..New Unity
cemetery. First came the buglers,
followed by. the escort of 28 men,
.members of the Tom Hall Guards;
ntxt the clergymen and then
the hearses, followed by the pallKnoeAw
U \\7 T> 1? /1 ?i
in limn, \ n|ll. IO. YY . rilTKH, Vaj)l.
George \V, Potts, W. S. Belk,: T.
I), Barrage, and Lloyd Varnadpr^
for Sergt. Hall, and Capt. P. M.
Mack, ('apt. Richard Pulp, W. H.
, Nims, Joe M. Belk, Herbert Harris
and ('allie A. Smith for Sergt.
Bailes, all being comrades of the
dead soldiers) members of the
families, the Tom Hall Guards.
Fort Mill post, American Legion,
ex-servioe men of Port-Mill, exaervicv
men of Rock Hill and
i York, about 80 in number, fol{
lowed by hundreds in automobiles
and,,other hundreds afoot.
At the cemetery the burial .service
was read by the Rev. ,T? W.
j H. Dychcs, Th. T)., pastor of the
\ ' Port Mill Baptist church, and at
i.tho,,conolusion,!of the Ailing of
i I tV.graves three, vol^ h were fired
! ; by the escort and taps sounded
, by the buglers.
CStxB
FORiym^^.^., THUS
NEWS OF YOBKiWOTTY
TQM) OH fWWtfW
Item* Concerning -People* and {
Things Briefly, WUMUfry>r
the Yofteville 38wp1wr?,
Thie mercantile stock ; of Mrs#
Minnie.. A. Ilood, at Hickory
Grow, i bankrupt, i was., .sold recently
.at pvtblic.auotion^i.to, the
Hart Grocery company of Yorkville.for
$925.'
Harry McCluney, Rob Taylor
apd . Corbett Hunt, ? white men,
who have been in jail- in Yorkville
for several weeks awating
trial, on, a charge of stealing the
trunk of Miws Myra Hunter, a
Winthrop college girl, were taken
to Chester Monday. They are
wanted in that county to answer
a charge of robbing a store near
Lando.
The worst stretch of. Road, bo
tweon Yorkville and Fort Mill
just now is at a point near Ca
mwu? river image Deiween ron
Mill niul the river, according to
persons who. were over., the road
n few days ago. Port Mill township
people, it is said, have plans
for, the building ...of .;a concrete
road from the main, square-, of
Fort Mill to the rivex.-bridge.
Robbery of the store of G. C\
Deese & To. some time last Tuesday
night was reported to the
sheriff's office Wednesday.. It is
estimated that- goods valued 'at*
about $400 was stolen. No money
was obtained for the rea8?n that,
i none was.left fin the cash drawer
at the close of he day's business
Tuesday. > Sheriff Quinn ..visited*
the store Wednesday, but was unable
to obtain any positive- clue..
There is a theory that the store
was , robbed by some passing,
tramp.
P. 0. Purvis, textile operative.
of Sock Hill, has been .bound
over to the court of genec*l.session#
under $500 bond by Magistrate
J. K. \Vingate of Catawba
township,, to answer a pharos oft
malieious mischief. According.Lo
testimony given the magistrate,
Purvis was intoxicated in Sock
Hill last Saturday night when he
was.accosted by.two.strange men
who wanted to give him a drink.
They invited him into a freight
caboose in the railroad yards and
there, it is said, they tried to rob
him of $7. Purvis is said to have
handled his two assailants rather
roughly and in doing the job he
tore up tilings in tfie eab quite a
bit.
Dr. D. H. Johnson, president of
Winthrop college, Tuesday declared
that Winthrop did not receive
a fair deal at the bands?of
x a A i rt i? ?
i ne reueni uiiuui inronna UWIt,
eral Assembly. - Th?- General As?.
sembly. ho charged, failed to provide
funds for the college that
are absolutely essential to its welfare
and progress. Although
Winthrop's property is valued at
$2,250,000. according to figures
presented by the college president,
the entire investment of the
State since the college was established
has been only $631,117.
The balance of the sum has been
secured from other sources.
Yorkville is to have a city hall
which will cost complete about
$15,000, according to plans drawn
by Julian S. Starr, architect of
Rock Hill. City council, already
has decided to builfll.the oityt h&U
and the proposition will l>e fin an*,
ced through a building and loan
association which has agreed to
furnish |the money. The, city hall
will be a two-story briok structure,
according to present- plans,
an auditorium with a seating capacity
of 500 occupying the second
floor. This auditorium .will
bo equipped, with a commodious
stage and dressing rooms. Quarters
will be,provided in,the bqilflr
ing for ,a large council chamber
in which police court will also bo
held, offices for the city clerk; and,
treasurer, chief of police and the
superintendent of the towq water,
light and power department.
Among the visitors to Fort j
Mill Sunday, afternoon to attend
the funeral exorcises H of Sergt.
Tom Hall and Sergt. Eli Bailee, <
whose bodies arrived i Friday,
from France, were Editor W. D.
Grist and Chief Reporter James
1). Grist of the Yorkville Enquirer
and Editor J. T. Fain and
City Editor Benton of the Jiock
Hill Evening Herald^
J. R. Merritt and AT 0, Sutton
are new county grand- juro^a-.
I
4Tift X '
^AY^MMtag 31, 1921.
DWSBMro?LOggOB*TH>N.
ort Mill Soldier Got Instead ,
\ Citation.
At least one member of the *
ort Mill company which served
verseas with the 118th regiment,
i Oth division, merited more * consideration
than, he received from
we army, authorities, in the opinion
of his army comrades. On
October 10, 1918; .in the engageflhen
near-?. Bohain, France, the
caotain of the Fort Mill company.
P.>W. Hudgeus. South Carolinian,
ikho had taken over, the command,
following the wounding of
Qapt. S. W. Parks. called for a
volunteer runner to carry a message
-.through a heavily shelled
airea to battalion headquarters,
dll of the company junnera having
been killed 6r wounded. Unhesitatingly
John S. Bavne of
I^ort Mill stepped _ forward and
Volunteered to make the effort to
get through with the message.
"How he ever managed to deliver
the, message, has almays been
beyond my undeatanding," yesterday
said another member of
the Fort Mill company, "for exploding
German shells were fall*:
ipg everywhere.between him and
battalion . headquarters. But. ho
got through' with the message,
notwithstanding the chances .appeared
to he ten to one against
Him. ami for his bravery was rewarded
with a citation. He de-v
Served the,,distinguished servicecross
and it wan a rank piooo of
injustice which withheld that
decoration ifrom him, in my opinion."
PLAN RAID*IN FORT MILL.
Office rsSaid to Have Eye on Lor.
cal Distilleries,
Yorkville, Enquirer.
Federal and county prohibition
officers, it was, learned Friday
morning, are making plans for , a
rgid on distilleries in Fort Mill
fownsb.ip .who, are aald to be
growing in numbers. Information
in i the hands of prohibition
officers, it was said yesterday, is
that there are no .lew* than, seven
distilleries in Operation in that
township and there is a proba-.,
bility that the number of booze
plants may be made more than
seven.
Fort Mill moonshiners, it is alleged,
are furnishing not oulyi
liquor to the thirsty of that township,
but are furnishing some spirits,for
Rock Hill and Charlotte
andi,,other, planes.
The distillers in that township,
it is said,, at the beginning of operations
some time ago were content
toi make-mean liquor in qunn.
tity and with swiftness. Put
now it has gotten to the point
where competition Is keen and
they are trying to see which can
make the best grade of llquqr,
A warrant has been issued for
a white man who blew into the
township some time ago and who
is known as the "Bine Ridgo.
Moonshiner," but who has takenhis
departure for parrs unknown.
AA? .1 - -l i* -1?
v/mcors say mat tnc section 01
Fort Mill township used by moonshiuera.
in .their. operations is in
a region almost inaccessible bccause
of the rough country, anil
that it is much easier to find distilleries
< in the country surrounding,
King's Mountain battleground.
4 However, a thorough
housecleaning in that seetion is
about,due, it is said,
m *
Quantity of Ginger Seized.
Police. Officers Potts and McManus
Tuesday afternoon seized
60 two-Qunce bottles of Jamaica
'ginger in the store of Meacham
Mooroy near the Southern freight
depot, in Fort Mill, and Moore
was required to put. up a cash
bond of $100 with, the town au
tnorities on the charge of violating
the. o i di nance. against, storing.
A half gallon of imitation rum,
which. Officer Potts said Moor?
brought from the passenger train
from Charlotte late Tuesday afternoon,
also was seized by the
officers. Recorder. Ott last night
paid no time had- been set for the
trial of Moore and that he might
not ask for a trial.
By a vote of 92 to 10 York citizens
Tuesday authorised a bond
iw.ue of $125,000 for the erection '
of a new school . building for
white pupils, pew building for
negro pupils:.and repairs to the j
twp buildiugp now.in use.,.
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FEMES
BROTHERS IN TROUBLE.
J. W. Fisher and Millard Fisher
Ran Afoul of the Law.
j. W. Fisher of Fort Mill and
his brother,, Millard Fiaher of
Charlotte, Saturday got themselves
into considerable trouble
as the result of ill feeling which
grew out of the attempt of J. W.
FiBher to collect one day Inst
week a board bill which he
claimed P. 0. llargctt of Fort
Mill owed him. Ilurgett is employed
at one of the local cotton
mills as is J. W. Fisher. Saturday
morning the two Fishers attacked
Hargett about the head
wi,th coca-cola bottles, it v*s
stated, and inflicted injuries he
found it necessary to have a physician
dress. The Fishers were
then arrested by the town authorities
charged with violating
the ordinance against disorderly
conduct* J. W* Fisher was fined
$26, which he paid. Millard Fisher
drew a $50 flue and did not
hove the money to pay it. Monday
morning ho wob taken to the
county chaingnng to serve a 00day
sentence. Subsequently h:s
fine was paid and he was released
from the ehaingang. but
not before u warrant was issued
by Magistrate J. R. Ilaile charging
him with assault and battery
with intent to kill. No opnortn
nity was presented to servo th<?
warrant, however, as Fisher eluded
the oflioor# after being released
from the chaingang.
A similar warrant was issued
Saturday by Magistrate llaile for
J. W. Fisher and he was bound
over under a $300 bond for trial 1
at the next term of criminal
eourt in York,
MIX OWN FERTILIZER.
Clemson .College Says Farmers
May Save $10 Per Ton.
An "information card" on the
home mixing of fertilisers is now
being isued by the extension service
of Clemson college which gives
the following reasons why the
farmer will find it to his advantage.to
mix his own fertilizer.
It makes an average saving of
$10, per ton or more.
It is the only means by which a
farmer may know definitely of
what his fertilizer is composed.
It has an educutional value
which leads to a more intelligent
fertilizer practice.
The information cuhI contains
a handy fertilizer test for home
mixing1, whereby the amount of
commercial fertilizer materials in
a ton to make up a particular formula
may be determined at. a
glance, ("opjes of the card may
bo hud from the extension service
of Clemson college. It is pointed
out that each t- farmer should
study his own soil carefully and
try to know what kind of fertilizer
will give the best results. "If
we do this we can buy the raw
materials and mix just the elements
.we need. - By so doing we.
get he,best fertilizer possible for
onr soils and save $10 or moro a
ton on the mixing. In addition to
this, we do' not pay for a lot of
fertilizer which onr crop does not
need, whereas in buying ready
mixed goods we frequently buy
large quantities of certain elements
which are. not needed
"We advise formers to see their
county agents and find out what
formula is best to use, and then
get one of the information cards
and mix their own fertilizer mis
year. It will pay."
raaae interesting Talk.
Decidedly more interest v.'iH
shown in the address Tuesday
evening by N. E. Winters of the
Clemson college extension service
by tho farmers who been; it
than .in any of the previous talks
on farming problems which have
reeetly been promoted by Mmiun
R. Smith, teacher of agriculture
in the Fort Mill high sch<*?l. Mr.
, Winters,. who is known as the
"Billy Sunday of Agriculture,"
held the close attention of his
audience at the high school uuditormm
for more than two hours
and- it was the common assertion
of those present that- the fanners
. of the , community had certainly
missed much of great value
to them at this time. This
was so strongly felt that arrangements
will be made for Mr. Winters
to return to Fort Mill at an
early date* probably, on a Snt?vday,
amj, make anpther address.
t [1
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$1.50 Per Year.
SPECULATION GOING ON
OVBR POSTMASTERSHIP
People Wondering Who Will Be
Permanet Head of Fort
Mill Office.
Who is to be the permanent
postmaster of Fort MillY This is
a question which lias received
mpre or less consideration locally
since the United States senate refused
to confirm the nomination
of Joe M. Belk. made by President
Wilson a few weeks before he
retired from office on March 4.
The Fort Mill i>ostni2i?t?>c?l>>r?
still being filled temporarily by
W. 11. Ardrev, who was appointed
lust July upon the resignation
of B. II. Massey becoming effective,
but Mr. Ardrey is said to
be anxious to be relieved of the
dpties of the office and some time
ago asked that some one he appointed
to take his plaee. lb?
was induced to hold the office a
while longer, however, thinking
that the appointment of a permanent.
postmaster would be a matter
of only a few weeks or a
month or two. But the weeks
are stretching out into months
ami there is no evidence of the
immediate intention of the authorities
at Washington to name
liis successor.
A few days before President
Harding was inaugurated four
weeks ago a story was sent out
froiu Bt. Augustine, where the
president-elect then was, by a
well known newspaper correspondent
to the effect that one of
the first official ads of Mr. Harding
would be to set aside the order
of President Wilson declaring
all the postmasters of ihe
country in the classified service.
No such action has yet been taken
by the new president. On
the contrary news stories have ap
peared under \Vjisliin?rt??n date
lines within the last three weeks
sayiiig that President Harding
had no idea of revoking the order
of President Wilson.
If this latter story he true. Joe
M. Belk doubtless will eventually
be renominated for postmaster of
Fort Mill, with his confirmation
by the senate u foregone conclusion.
He is a World war veteran
and this fact doubtless will have
weight in his behalf if the announcement
attributed only a day
or two ago to Postmaster (ieneral
Hays pans out. In the announcement
the postmaster general was
quoted as saying that former service
men would he -given the
preference in the selection of
postmasters. Following ilx resignation
last July of Postmaster
Massey. Mr. Belk was one of two
candidates who stood the civil
service examination for fhe office
and he was subsequently recommended
by the civil service commission
to President Wilson for
the appointment. His nomination
was sent to the senate along
with several hundred other nominations
for [tostmasterships, hut
.he senate ferused to confirm any
of the nominations.
Should President Hardin? <h'cide?and
il is recognized lha* he
yet has plenty of time, in which
to make such a decision?to annul
the order of President Wilson
placing all the postmasters
of the country in the classified
service, it is presumed that
the Fort Mill postmastership will
go to the one who can secure the
hacking of the South Carolina
Republican patronage bosses. In
the old days when federal patronage
was dispensed upon the
heorv that "to the victor belongs
the spoils." one of the tests of
the applicant's qualifications for
appointment was partv loyalty
and party activity. It it be in
the Republican program in resurrect
this necessary quadifiea?r.-.i
*?- ? *
i?v?i i\>i Klin ill OMie-'-llOUIIIUr. IIIC
bosses will have to import a postmaster
for Fort Mill, because
there lias not been east at this
precinct in the last oifrht years a
single Republican vote. There
are said to he living in Fort Mill
one or two men with Republican
tendencies, but. as was remarked
by a citizen a day or two ago in
discussing the local postmastership,
these men certainly have
shown an odd sort of interest in
'he success of the Republican
party by staying away from the
I vol 1 s on election day.
. John Burroughs, naturalist,
ldied in New York State Monday.