University of South Carolina Libraries
'? ? ? i ?. (% -XJ jii' ...i.. .,.!m j.jijii. CAMDEN, SOUTH CAROLINA, FRIDAY, JANUARY 11, 1824 NUMBER 41 VOLUME XXXV SENSATION IN SUMTER. Dr. Archie China Killed and Wife Said To Have Fired Shots. Sumter, J?*n. 7? Mrs. Lou China, middle aged society woman, will be charged with the murder of her hus band, Dr. Archie China, wealthy phy sician, banker and dairy promotor, as soon as she recovers from the appa rent coma into which she lapsod short ly before the finding of Dr. China's ?k?d body in his bathroom this morn ing. "The case for the state is com plete," Chief of Police John M. Bar wicjt declared late today in making this announcement. Dr. China had been dead nearly 24 hours before his body was found, Chief Barwiek asserted. The pistol with which, according to the officer's thaory# Mrs- china 8hofc ^er hu?band twice in the head some time before noon Sunday was found after several hours' search today in the woodshed in a next door neighbor's yard. Discovery 'Of the tragedy came early today after Louise, 11 -year old adopted daughter of Dr. and Mrs. China, found her foster mother lyipg on a bed apparently unconscious. The child ran next door, and called a nurse Miss Bessie Murray, who lives next to the China house. The nurse called Dr. II. M. Stuekey. After his arrival flf, Stuekey requested Miss Murray to f?e't him a towel ' out of the bath room. it was when she went to follow his instructions that she founcl the body. Mrs. China was taken to a local hos pital, where it was said late today .? , i? J !a. i - - l!!?t llUt tUUUltiUII uo Attending physicians declined to give an opinion on the cause of uncon ciousness, but the fact that they used the. stomach pump in treating her gave rise to reports that she ha<J< taken poison. She has not been in a condition to make any statement since she was in the stale of collapse, ac cording to physicians. Chief Barwiek advanced the theory that Mrs, China shot her husband while mentally deranged because of jealousy, but he declined to give his reasons for his opinion. Chief Barwiek said .that he regarded the chain of circumstances leading to the discovery of the revolver as the strongest link in the evidence upon which he plans to base a murder charge against Mrs. China. Members of the family of W. S. Fishel, who live next door to the China home, reported to officers today that they had seen Mrs. China go to the woodshed in the rear of their yard about noon of Sun day and suggested wTien a thorougTT search of the home failed to show any trace of the revolver with which the banker-physician was shot to death, that the woodshed be searched. Hidden back of a trunk in a corner of the shed, Chief Barwiek and other officers came upon the pistol with which they believe Dr. China was shot. It is a 32-caliber weapon, of standard make and apparently new. Two _ex-^ ploded cartridges and one empty chamber were in the pistol. ? The circumstances of Mrs. China having been seen in the Fishel wood shed Sunday about noon are said by officers to bear out the theory that her husband was slain before that hour. Another, reason they advanced for setting the time of his death as Sunday morning was the fact that blood had penetrated the floor of the bathroom and dripped to the floor below. Dr. China was 58 years olfl, and had lived in Sumter virtually all his life. Mrs. China id somewhat younger. They had been married more than 80 years but had no children, except Louise, the daughter who was adopted in her infancy. .He was graduated from the Citadel in the firBt class af ter the reopening of the institution following the Confederate war. Both Dr. and Mrs. China had been active in social affairs. She1 was known among members of the society set as "Aunt Lou." Little Louise declared she knew nothing of the tragedy until its dis closure this morning. A theory of suicide was advanced when Dr. China's body was found, but the absence of the weapon with which He was shot and the nature of the wounds caused authorities to abandon this theory.' Two 82 caliber bullets weft taken from his head at the au topsy. One had entered the left lfSg] of the face, fn front of the ear, and ranged backward -and downward. The other was found in the top of his head. It did not penetrate, bat was flattened out, indicating. Chief Barwick said, that it had .probably been flred with ' - * ".J" " --- -i SECRETARIES TO MKKT HKRK. To Hold Semiannual Convention February 4th mid 5th. All Chamber of Commerce secreta ries from South Carolina will meet in Camden at their semi-annual Con vention on February 4th and 5th. This is quite an honor for Camden and will result in much publicity for our little city. Mr. Sanders, acting secretary of the Chamber of Commerce hopes that all banks and business men of Camden will get a list of all secreta ries and write a personal letter to each one, assuring them of a cordial .welcomo and hospitable treatment. The following letter hfts been address ed to every commercial secretary in South Carolina by Mr. Frank A. Pier son, president of the South Carolina Commercial Secretaries Association: "Dear Brother Secretary: At a con ference yesterday with representa tives of the Camden and Kershaw County; Chamber of Commerce, Feb ruary -1th and 6th were named as the dates for the Semi- Annual Conven tion of the South Carolina Commercial Secretaries Association. "The President appointed the fol lowing committee to make up a pro gram for the convention: "Chas . W. Morrison, chairman, Florence; Geo. 1\ Barnes, Greenwood; II. B. Branch, Chester; Meigh B. Russell, Charleston; B. G. Sanders, Camden. * r b ? --W-e ivave- hIwhH ? month in whieh to work and I believe that the above committee can put over the best con vention in the history of the Associa tion. If you do not know Sanders of Camden,' you ought to. He is the best co-operajtor you ever saw and one of the mdst wide-awake Chamber of. Commerce men in the South. CJ am sure he will do his part toward mak ing the trip one to be remembered by all. . | ' "This committee should meet as soon as possible and I shall be glad to meet with you at the call of the Chair-* man. "Camden's invitation was accepted at the annua! meeting of the; Asso ciation and Mr. Sanders wants to give us a big time in tbc height of the tou rist season." Coldest Weather Since 19 Hi. Atlanta, Jan, 7.? With the excep tion of "Florida; the entire South was held ice-bound Sunday, but the fore cast indicated rising tempera?ure for today. South Carolina shivered in the coldest weather since January I 1918, the thermometer dropping to four degrees at Spartanburg. An aged woman was reported trowir~td -death -in- Atlanta Sunday morning when the temperature was a fraction of a degree above zero, North Caro lina experienced one of the coldest days since 1918, with the tempera- 1 ture eight degrees below zero iritfiej mountains. New Secretary Arrives Soon. Mr. Edward J. Trotter, who has been elected secretary of the Camden a\id Kershaw County Chamber of Commerce has advised Mr. Sanders, acting secretary, that he wiU be on hand to take charge on the morning of the 15th instant. Mr. Trotter comes to Camden very highly recom mended and from the press notices as appearing in the Atlanta Constitution, tho. Southern Banker, and other Geor gia papers, Camden should consider itself fortunate in securing the ser vices of such a capable man. The Chronicle believes the Chamber of Commerce has made a wise selection and stands ready to give its full sup port to the activities that will be un dertaken, and hopes that every indi vidual in Camden and the County will do likewise. Death of Mrs. Garris. Mrs. R. T. Garris, w'ho lived' about two miles northwest of Kershaw on Hobt. ?, Floyd's place, died at her home Tuesday, December 18th, aged 74 years, following an , illness of sev eral months and was buried in Laurel Hill cemetery on Wednesday after noon following, the funeral services being conducted by Rev. Woodrow War<l, her pastor. Mrs. Garris is sur vived by seven .children: four sons, James and David, at Lancaster; John, at Charlotte, and L. L. Garris, Ker-J shaw; and three daughters, Mrs Lizzie Rollings, Kershaw; Mrs. ..Thomas; Hunter, Heath Springs and Mrs. Fred Wright, Kershaw?lterihaw Jfcnt, the muzzle of the pistol pressing against the top of his head. The 6ther shot Was fired at-close range, it was said, as ^powder marks were plainly vistM* ?mhe-sWitr NT3WS OF KIRK WOOD SOCIETY Happeningd of Interest Among Our Northern Visitor*. AVith the return of the college stu dents to their respective duties and the passing of the cold spell, the very culdcst Camden has experienced in six years, the winter colony haft set tled down for its usual round of out* door sports. * Daily the number of tourists is tn eroasing, and cottages are rapidly ftwftjf; Good match games of polo during tho P?st week have attracted large galleries to the big fiold near the Kirkwood, which is in excellent shape. Saturday thVre were thirteen polo players here all of whom took part in tho match between the Camden teams and the Charlotte Quidnuncs. Captain Spencer Fish and Godfrey Ptecve who are managing the polo sensort are enthusiastic over the out look. i "... \ . ^ ' N. tu Snow of Detroit is one of the latent additions to the polo players, and italph W. Chase, who is at the Court Inn, and who has entered <so enthusiastically into the matches ex pects to leave this week for Califor nia. Mr. and Mrs. Chase are delighted with Camden and intend to return in the . near future. v The golf courses evidence the in crease of visitors. The two Kirkwood courses, Sarsfield. and the new Ker shaw-> County Country Club courses are alive with players morning and afternoon. On Lpe's Birthday. .Tnnnnry 19th, a golf tournament is scheduled to be played oyer the Kershaw County; Country Club, and as in past seasons ft is probable a contingent of Camden tt'olfux* will meet a picked team in an inter-club match with^the Ridgewood golfers. Arriving at the Court Inn for^golf are: John R. Bowker and F. p. Heat ling of Pinchurst, William H. Rupj>'of | BufTalo, and Maxwell Morris-; of Brooklyn. , . .fijii' - z&s " j Aunt Hannah's Cabin* the charming ; tea room recently opened by Miss El len Williams at Mulberry is proving f?0 popular that it will doubtless be a problem to accommodate the guests tit the tea hour when the rush of tou rists begins. Miss Williams and Miss Herring who have the tea room in charge serve delicious pop-overs, biscuits, cakes, and waffles, and as .the tea room is open on Sundays also it is an added attraction. r ' . J On the Oth Mm. J. W. Cantey open ed, the Holly Tree for the season, and. the number of guests showed the pop ularity of this tea room is undimin ished. The roads are now in such good condition that it is a very pleas ant drive to the Holly Tree and Mrs. Cantey's reputation for all sorts of good things will -induce many to mo tor there for tea, luncheon or supper. Mrs. R. M. Lisle of Paoli, Pa., is one of the latest additions to the cottage colony. She is in one of the Cook Bungalows for the winter. Mr. and Mrs. Phelan Beale and fam ily of New York, who have taken the Peake house are expected this week. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas West and Miss Frances West of St. Louis, who made many friends in Camden during their stay last season at the Kirk wood are spending this winter with Mrs. Julia Long Knapp. Mr. and Mrs. John S. Sweeney and Miss Mary Margaret Sweeney of De troit have returned to Hobkirk Inn for their annual visit. Also at Hobkirk are Mr. and Mrs. Kirk P. Lincoln of Pittsburg^ who are in the Rose Cot tage, Misses Elizabeth C. Parsons and Miss Isabella T. Tatham of Philadel phia, Mr. and Mrs. F. F. Sherman, Jr., of Unadilla, N. Y., Mr. and Mrs. Charles J. Wright of Detroit, and Mr. and Mrs. W. M. Loomis of Hew York. Mr. and Mrs. T, R. Van Boscjrirck and. family of Plainfield, N. J., are at the Court Inn, where Mrs. C. K. Pnch ett of N. Y. and Mr. and Mrs. W. S. Greene of Chicago are also recent ar rivals. < ^ At the Kirk wood recent guests are. Mr. James Barnes, Mr. and Mrs. J. C. Marscher, Mr. W. A. Lathrop, and Miss Elizabeth Griffln, all of New York, Mr, M. Burke, of Marlborough, Mass., Mrs. Frank H. Martin of Prov idence- Mr. J. W. Noble and Miss Rosalind Willard of Hempstead, L, I. AfWi Fleming of Boston, and Mr. and' Mrs. S. H. Voorhees of Plainfield. The Kirkwood grill opened for the aeaaon on January 10th. An excellent orchestra will furnish music for danc ing every, evening fr6w eight thirty f - ?.* ?? - ' BETH UN E NEWS NOTES. Happenings of IntcroNt Aa Tuld ll> Our Correspondent. Hethune, S. C., Jun. 9. ? Mr#. J. A. McCaskill left Sunday night for Kay City, Gm.( vyhere she will spend aonrte time with her daughter, Mrs. C. 0. Terry. Mian Mamie Lou McDonald .spent the week end in Hartsville with Mr, and Mra. Carl McDonald. Mr. and Mrs. George Kolluy ami children who are moving 1101*0 from Conway, are spending some time with Mr. and Mra. D, M. Maya. , I Kov. and Mra. German of the Meth odist church, entertained the stewards and their wives with a sumptuous din ner on last Thursday. That evening they weie again at home to the school faculty. Mr*. Charles MeKinnon returned Friday from Timmonsville, after upending several days with hor father. Miss Kathleen McCaskill left Mon^ day tor Marion to resume her wot?k aa high school English teacher. Mr. E. S, Co pel and of Bates burg, spent. Sunday with his parents, Mr, and, Mi ni fc, L. Cppeland. The. Auxiliary of the Presbyterian church met with Mra,' .J. M. Forhis Tuesday afternoon. Almost all the members were ' present and a very in teresting meeting was held. The second number of the Piedmont Lyceum was given here Saturday eve -ning. ? They gave ?t?~v**+ty-t?loowihg and enjoyable programme. The third and last number will be given Feb. 28th. Mjr. Paul Hester and family have ?iiGVtki iiitv the Jiuiiit* whicn nas re cently been occupied by Mr. L, C Parker. Mrs. 0. O. Stogner and child spept Monday iiTTJol utrfbTa with her daugh ter, Blekrth, who is in training at the Baptist hospital. Dr. E. Z. Truesdell made a business -trip to Columbia Monday. Annual Meeting Hank of Camden. ' The nnnunl meeting of the stock holders^of the Bank of Camden Wli held Tue*sd*ay and all of the Board ot' Directors were re-elected. The same officers were reelected and the person nel now is as follows: H. G. Garrison, Sr., president; C. H. Yates, vice pres ident; H. G. Carrison, Jr., Cashier; ^ B.. Williams and R. A. Boykin, as sistant cashiers; Mr. Williams taking the place of the late lamented T. B. Humphries. ? The finance board for the year is composed of H. G. Carrison, Sr., C. H. Yates, H. G. Carrison, Jr., Dr. John W. Corbett and G. A. Rhame. The Board of Directors are H. (J. Carrison, Sr., C. H. Yates, H. U. Car rison, Jr., G. A. Rhame, John W. Cor bett, W. G. Wilson, David Wolfe, P. M. Zemp, and L. Schenk. The bank's business showed sub stantial gains in all departments. It now has resources of over $1,28,9,000. Good Colored Woman Dead. Francis Blair, colored, the wife of the late Timothy Blair, died at the age of 78 years on January 3rd. She was a good and faithful member of the Hyco Baptist church from the year 1888 until her death. She is survived by five grand children and several great-grandchildren. The old woman was held in high esteem by both white and colored. Catholic Church Services. Services at the Catholic church on Sunday, January 13th, the first Sun day after Epiphany will be as follows: I Masses at 6:15 and 11 a. m. Sunday school at 10 a. m. Sermon at 11 o'clock, mass by Monsignor Murphy, of Philadelphia. The celebrant at 11 mass will be Father Larkin of Philadelphia. All are cordially in vited. Rev Benson Goes To Manning. Rev. and Mrs. M. M. Benson and children, recently of Palmetto, Fla, visited friends here last week, on their way to Manning, where Mr. Ben son has accepted the pastorate of the Baptist church there. Mr. and Mrs. Benaon have many friends here, Mr. Benson having served the Bishopville Baptist church as pastor for about seven years, leaving here about six years ago to go to Florida. ? Bishop villc Messenger. ? * p? until eleven. _ ? Mr, and Mr?, John R. Todd have returned to their Camden home. Of interest to Camden is the recent mar riage, of their daughter, Miss Francis Todd to Mr. Myron Converse Wick, Jr., which took place on January fifth in the first Presbyterian Church at Si?*jW?pr. J. 1 1 K A U I N ( ; 11KM> FRIDAY. Traffic Cane Against Mr, Shore Will Attract Attention. Quite a large number of i?i? friend* are anticipating going over to Cam ? den Friday morning to attend the trial in the recorder's court there of Geo. D. Shore, Jr., on chargea tiled against him by the Camden Chief of Police Whltaker. Mr. Shore, accord ing to his statement, was treated in a moat arbitrary and brutal manner re cently while passing through Camden on his way to Rock Hill. Mr. Shore and others went to Camden tft;e next day to attend his trial, but it was postponed until Inst Friday, and on that day it was again postponed until Friday of this week. Mr. Shore states that he was wearing a woolen shirt and cap at the time of his arrest and that he was evidently mistaken for a rum-runner, and Chief of Police Wh'itaker evidently lost his head in his anger. The treatment accorded him was simply outrageous, as he was not allowed to speak to friends, his bond was refused when sent to the chief of police, and* vile epithets wpru applied to him, in addition to his being | roughly handled. -^Monday's Sumter Item. Mr. Shore was arrested here New Year's day and while resisting arrest was bruised about the wrists. lie was first asked to put up a bond of $10, but after resisting the bond was ?pinccd nt ? The case wilt-be fully aired in police court this morning<and we l^ave no doubt that Mr. Shore will be given a fair deal according to the evidence in the case. Held Annual Meeting. The Loan and Savings Bank of Camden "held their annual rtieeting Tuesday and reported a fine business for the year just closed. Tho officers, T. J. Kirkland, president; W. K. Zemp, vice president; John S. Lindsay, cash ier; and J'. Whi, taker, Jr., assistant ?^hier, were re-elected* Tho board of directors were also re-elected with the exception of Mr. M. Baruch, vyho resigned, and Mr. John T. Nettles was elected as a member in his place. The board of directors consist of the fol lowing: T. J. Kirkland, W. R. Zemp, H. L. Schlosburg, John T. Nettles, James H. Burns, F. M. Wooten, Henry Savage, T. L. Little, John S. Lindsay, James H. Clyburn ^nd J. P. Lewis* * Sidewalks Being I'avcil. Lyttleton street fron/the corner of Laurens to DeKalb is now having paving put down. As soon as this is completed, thp work by tho Southern Paving Company will be at an end, and it is the intention of the city to carry oA the work of other sidewalks with their own forces. Just what other sidewalks to be paved has not been decided upon. : Friendly Scuffle Results in Death.. Ed. Harris, the negro who was ac cidentally shot last Sunday morning in a scuffle in a baggage car at the passenger depot with Butler GayV'a white employe on the Charleston di vision of the Southern, died Monday afternoon. Harris was an employe of the Southeastern Express company, 1 on one of the ? wagons, ? and was a ! splendid worker. ? Rock Hill Record. Gay is said to .be a native of the] Flat Rock section of Kershaw county The coroner of York couftty placed Gay under bond to answer to a charge of murder. It is said the negro man , stated at the time of the shot that it was purely an accident. Five Ix>et Their Lives. Two engineers, a fireman and a con ductor were killed in a head on col lision between a special freight en gine and a spccial freight train on the Southern railway near Orangeburg Thursday morning, January 4th, at 10:40 o'clock A1 Brown and L. K. Dantzler were the engineers; C. J. Youngblood the conductor and Oliver Hopkins, colored the fireman. C. J. Ulrich, conductor; B. C. Worthman, brakeman and Joe B. Witherspoon, fireman, were injured. Witherspoon will probably die. The cause of the collision is said U? have been the for getting of order? by Dantzler to pass the through freight at Orangeburg. He had been sent from Branchville with an engine and tender to take up ft dead enjpne and cars at Fort Motte. ?Ulrich d<ed later, bringing the total number of deaths up to five. ' - . ? - '< '? \ Engineer A. L. Brown was born and reared in Camden and will be re numbered by many of the olde<* citi zens. He left here a good many years t* go to make his homv? in Charleston. PI UK DfCSTKOY Kit STORK. l.urge ltuildinii at Wut?re? Milla Con sumed in Karly Morning Ware. Fire early Sunday morning destroy* ud the large community store of the \V h 1 1' if** Mills, located just cast of Camden, entailing n loss of around $26,01)0 on stock, furniture and ftx tuivs. , The store was mode ml y equipped , with heating and all equipments, in eluding a barber 'shop for the mill~ people. It is not known h6w, the flro originated a? when Hrst discovered U had gained such headway that nothing could be .saved. > Ifnf* ranee on the stock amounted to $17?f>00, with $1,500 on furniture and fixtures and $15,000 on tho build ing. Tho company immediately made arrangements and reopened th follow ing day in temporary headquarters in a small -building nearby. Tho com pa by will rebuild at once, it?? said. lvarcsh'a Grocery 8 thro, ? Mr. A. Kriresh, who has been con-~ ducting a grocery store in 'connection vcith Sc^osburgV department store, has purchased" the entire stock from Ir. S( hU>sburg and in tho future thl? department will bo run solely, by Mr. Karesh and will be independent from the dry goods department. Mr. Ka resh came to Camden thirteen years rcgo and has built up quite an exten sive wholesale and retail trade in this -territory.- Hr tfh* mrnd V u f LixgHMUil in today's Chronicle offering specials for next week, National Ce!cbr!t" Jicri. \ Tyrua Raymond Cobb, of base bull fame, was a visitor a few hd^rs in Camden yesterday. He was enroute tF6|ft '"Augusta to Charlotte. ' v" ? r ? y ? ? ? Damage To Plumbing. Quite a lot of damage was done to plumbing in ali^parts of Camden Qui ring Sunday and Monday of this week', and also numerous radiators on au tomobiles were frozen, causing dam?, age. There were several rcportB of c^ktngr,8t^ea explod|lng\ -but no one was hurt. The temperature during Saturday night and Sunday morning, is said to have registered as low an 8 degrees here.. Warning Signs Placed. Warping signs have been / strung across DcKalb street on each side of the crossing 'of Main and DeJCalb iilroeU warning motorists that this is a dangerous crossing and that they should slow down to six miles per. hour. ? Signs have also boon- plased? North Broad. Street, Camden fteighta. where Green street intersects Broad street. Here on both sides of the roadway largo embankments cujfcl|S| the view from the motorists, making; it a dangerous crossing and the warnp? ing signs at this place are very tame ly. nH Services at Baptist Church, Regular service will be held in the Camden Baptist church Sunday, Jan uary 13th.. Morning service at 11:15. Night service at 7:30. Rev. W. *H. Coleman, of Greenville, will have charge of both services. Woman Tries - Suicide. Columbia, Jan. 3,?Mrs. Rosa Shuttp 106 Madison avenue, this city, late to day sheft and probably fatally wound ed herself, according to information., from Sheriff J. Alex. Heise. She is the wife of J. Harvey Shull? former Co lumbia newspaper man, now said to be residing at Shelton. She is the mother of two children; Must Serve Six Years. Columbia, S. C., Jan. 5. ? Rtee B. Harmon, proprietor of Harmon's drug store in Lexington, must sorve six years in the penitentiary for the kill ing of Ollie Price. The homicide hap pened in the rear of the drug store tn May, 1922. Harmon is a son of God frey M. Harmon, for nearly half a century editor of the Lexington Dis patch, and himself was at one time engaged in the newspaper business. ?e is a man of rather attractive per sonality and of some, financial stand ing. The New York World building considerably damaged Friday by a fire g that was caused by a short circuit in tho cellar which fan up the e levator shaft to .the 12th and 13th floors, Dwight Harrison, -former offtciilS the R, L, 'Dolling*" company of ' has been sentenced to serve ' years in the Ohio penitentiary *^! a fine of $6,000 on conviction representing stock thatjie -