tuagbdy of thk hills
> pardon To Alien Clafc Bfcalle Court
House Shooting 14 Year* Ago
Mount Airy, May 29.?One day last
vLVek a stranger, representing noma
monumental concern in VirgHna,
'mietly entered the little country
,<?netcry in the Wards Gap road in
the Virginia foothills where the remain*
of Flody Allen and his eon,
Claude Allen, have lain since they
" died in the electric chair in the Virginia
penitentiary more than a dozen
years ?K??'and ^th hardVnfr and
chisel ?t>??oved t?Vo tablec which bore
the inscription:
"8acred to the memory of Claude
Mien and his father, who were judicially
murdered in the Virginia penitentiary
March 26, 1913, by order of
the Governor of Virginia over the
protest of 100,000 citizen of the state
of .Virginia. Erected by a friend and
citizen of Virginia."
And in place thereof placed upon
the marker another bearing the following:
"In memory of Floyd and Claude
Allen, born 1867, born 1889, died
March 28, 1913. Asleep in Jesus."
It is not known who gav^rthe order
for thev change, but it is the opinion
here that some of the relatives of
Floyd and Claude jj^Uen had the
change made ?and so the marker that
voiced a silent protest of numerous
citizens of the Old Dominion has passed
from public view and is evidence
that the bitterness that once rankled
in the hearts of many has passed
.. .I, ..: u- ? ' .
away.
Mount Airy, May 29.?When the
name of Harry Flood Byrd, governor
of the commonwealth of Virginia, was
affixed to the pardons of Sidna Allen
and Wesley Edwards at Richmond on
April 29, the final curtain was rung
down in a tragic drama that began
;n the little town of Hillsville, Carroll i
county, Virginia, more than fourteen
years ago, when, like a flash out of a
dear sky, the news was heralded to
the country that Judge Massie hadj
been shot dead while presiding over,
the circuit court, that Attorney W. M. j
Foter had fallen a victim while walking
in front of the judge's desk, and
that Sheriff Webb and a woman in the-i
audience had been killed in a fusilade
that was turned loose in the little
court room on that tragic March 12,
pj 12, after a member of the "Allen
gang" had been convicted of an infraction
of the law.; o
V. For weeks following the tragedy
this' city?located just across the
,<tatv line from Carroll county and
Hillsville,?'-was the mecca of newspaper
correspondents and headquarters
for detectives who were on the
trail of the members of the gang,
who took to the fastnesses of the
mountains after the shooting in an
effort to escape.. For weeks headlines
in newspapers all over . the
country bore the Mount Airy, N. C.,
date line. The excitement was so intense
that-little groups of men could
be seen on the streets discussjng the
"Hillsville tragedy" for many days
after the shooting tpok pla-ce.
Floyd Allen and his stalwart son,
Claude Swanson Allen?named after
the present senior senator from Virginia?were
electrocuted following
their conviction for their part in the
now historic shooting/ Their remains
were brought back to their native
hills, a few miles north of Mount Airy
where they .now sleep in a little cem-v
etery on a wind-swept ridge nestling
dose to the Blue Ridge mountains, a
section of wonderful scenic beauty
that had Wen the home of the Allen
family for many and many a year.
A neat but modest granite monuVnent
marks the last resting placfi of father
and son. The graves are side by
side. There is a curbing of native
granite af b.und them,-and ^finished
granite' covers the mounds.
On the marker is a (marble slab
with the following inscription chiseled
into the tonef '
"Sacred to the mbihory of Claude S.
Allen and hife father, etlft were judically
murdered in the Virginia Wnltentiary
March 28, 1918, 'by order of
the Governor of Virginia, pver the
protests of 100,000 citizens .of
ginla. Placed here by a friend and
citizen of Virginia." .
The name "Allen" is on the front
of the monument, and on the left is
the name "Claude" and on the right
the name "Floyd."
This monument stands as a reminder-of
the fate these men met as the
result of being two of the actors in a
tragedy that left in its traih sorrowing
widowd, orphaned children, bare
a ved sweethearts, heart-broken
mothers, and cast a veil of sorrow
over a large section of two states.
Born in the hill and fearing no man,
and with the pride oLnncestry behind
them, the Aliens could not bear that
one of their clan should suffer the ignominy
of a term in -prison. They
came to court to rescue -him in the
event of his conviction. The shooting
followed.
About two years ago Governor B.
Lee Trinkle, of Virginia^ while attend'
ing a good, roads meeting at Mount
X - .** "
Airy, at which he and Governor Cameron
Morrison were both speakers,
after having met and clasped hands
across the Virginik-North Carolina
boundary line, visited the last resting
pljc? Qf the Aliens, and read the inscription
which voices a silent protest
against the taking of the lives of the
father and sop by the laws of the
Itfnd under a judicial decree.
,On account of a broken leg, sustained
by a shot from the revolver of
some one who was returning their
fire, Floyd Allen was unable to mounc
his horse in time to get uway, and
so was captured immediately.' Victor
Allen, who was acquitted of any
guilt in connection with the shooting,
remained with his wounded parent
and was also arrested on the day of
the tragedy. Claude Allen remained
in the mountains near his home for
several days, but finally sent for the
officers and gave himself up. The
younger members of the clan were
picked up one at a time, but it appeared
for a long time that Sidna
Allen and Wesley Edwards had made
good their escape.
It is said that in spite of the cordon
of detectives and deputies that
were keeping vigilant watch over tho
terrain surrounding the section in
which the Aliens lived, the two men,
after remaining near their home for
several days, decided to go west, and
that, after leaving* the mountains,
they passed within a short distance of
Mount Airy, and made their way to
Salisbury and there took a train for
the west, going at once to Da*
Moines, Iowa, where they remained
for several months, and in which city
they were finally apprehended.
It was said that Wesley Edwards
came back from the west oh two or
moie occasions to visit a sweetheart
in the immediate section of his home,
returning jn each instance - without
being detected. Finally, the young
woman' who had been the object of
his attentions, started for Des
Moines to join young Edwards,
where it is believed they intended to
be married, The officer^, learned that
she was leaving the mountains, and
the traia that bore her west also
caiiied detectives. The officers
trailed the young woman to the house
.where the two men were boarding.
They were placed under arrest and
taken back to OarrolL county for
trial.
Tho case was moved to Wytheville
for trial. It was one of the hardest
fought legal battles ever staged in
Virginia. Some of the ablest lawyers
in the two states were engaged. The
men were convicted of murder in "the
second degree. The case was taken
through the supreme court and finally
reached the supreme court of the
United States, where it was finally
lost. The-men were given long terms
in the penitentiary?equivalent to life
imprisonment, with their only remaining
hope of intervention on the part
of the governor:
Following, ?he conviption a movement
Was started looking to a commutation
of the sentences of the two
men who had been condemned to die
,in the electric chair.. It is said that
there had never before been a case
in the entire country in which people
were so active in trying to save the
lives of men under death sentence.
The dashing and handsome young
mountaineer, Claude Swanson Allen,
caught the popular imagination. Not
only friends in Carroll and adjoining
counties were interesting in securing
commutation for them, but men hnd
women throughout Virginia and in
\>ther states made earnest appeal to
the then Governor Mann, to spare the
lives of these men. But the
governor steadfastly refused to interfere
with"- the sentence of the
court.
?i.Qn the .day of. the electrocution
Governbr Mann was out of his jurisdiction,
being on a trip to Baltimore.
Lieutenant Governor Tyler became
the acting governor in his stead. The
acting governor ordered postponement
of the execution. The goverpor
was apprisdi of what had occurred,
and ho immediately started on hit
return to Virginia territory. Crossing
over - tne Potomac _ river from
Washington, he-sent a message frpm
Alexandria to the superintendent of
the state prison, in which he said,
"I am still governor of Virginia, and
on Virginia soil." After^a day of
much excitement and uncertainty the
two went bravely to their deaths
about 1 o'clock in\the afternoon.
The women of Richmond had presented
Claude Allen with a gold
medal for what they termed shooting
in defense of his father. His defense
was that he shot only in defense of
his father after shots were being exchanged
between the Aliens arid the
officers of the court. This medal was
given to hifn when he~~was in the
death cell at the state prison, and
was pinned op his breast. Before the
interment took place this medal was
taken off and presented to Miss
Nellie Wisler as she wept over the
I lifeless form of the man .to whom
she was engaged to be married.
1 Great crowds of people attended
;* * KtTjT* -v-V'v /w
the double funeral notwithstanding
the fact that it rained throughout the
day. Many were friends who came
to mourn over those whom Ihey had
known and loved. Hundreds of others
were lured by maudttn curiosity to
brave the weather of this gloomy
March day when the final curtain
fel) in the drama which had been
enacted by these two bold mountain
men and their kinsmen of the hills.
In a ceremony as simple as their
lives had been their bodies wore covered
with the soil of their beloved
mountains. And over them a granite
shaft tells the tale of their great adVenture.
About two years ago Governor
Trinkle pardoned two of the younger
members of the clan. Jack Allen,
brother of Floyd, was Jcilled between
Mount Airy and his home a few years:
after the Hillsville tragedy. Harnett'
Allen, son of, Jack, and a very excellent
citizen, died at his home ne#r
Galax, Va., last year. Victor Allen,
on of Floyd, and the only brother of
Claude, moved to some northern state
some years ago. Nothing is known
now of the later movements artd
whereabouts of the two women?
sweethearts of Claude Swanon and
of Bdwards?wKo figured in the terrible
event at Hillsville.
The Aliens had many friends in
this section of the country. They
were thrifty and industrious and were
always considered good citizens.
Bidna Alien lived just beyond the
Blue Kidge, and his home was among
the best to be found in Carroll county.
Those who know them say they were
ulways good neighbors, ready to help
out in any enterprise that was for the
advancernent of the community. Just
why men of the intelligence and
standing of these men should come
to engage in a tragedy that brought
ruin and sorrow to their own families
and to the families of many other
people is a question for psychologists
to ponder and criminologists to try
to fathom.
Perhaps it was the donnishness inherent
in the mountain poople. These
families, of the purest Anglo-Saxon
lineage in the world, lived in their
small communities a law unto themselves.
The Aliens, men of property
and standing, it is thought, could not
bear the stigma that would attach
to their names when one of their
number had been convict**} of u crime
and sentenced to jail. Perhaps they
.were convinced of the innocence ol
this kinsman. At any rate, it was
certainly in effort to affect his
rescue that the clan gathered at the
trourt house to await the event of the
'trial.
The Aliens have made model prisoners,
and no doubt will spend their
remaining days in peaceful pursuits.
Their intelligence and industry will
stand them in good stead to get on
their feet again in the world, They
have many friends and the years that
have pased have served to soften the
feeling that once existed. In the
light of the fine record they have
made for themselves as prisoners, the
general feeling is that they have been
punished sufficiently. Few can be
found in this section who knew them
who would not wish them well as
they set out in life anew.
Sidna Allen has -been invited to
come to Raleigh and enter business
there. It is expected, however, that
he will want to spend some time at
his . old home and amid his old surroundings;
to renew acquaintance;
with his old neighbors and to make
ii
i friends with his new ones. He bee
been out of the world for fowteep
' years, and fourteen years is a lasgu
slice to take out of a man's life.
Will Not Apply in South Caroline
Columbia, May 25,?President |
Coolidge's order for state, county and
municipal officers to bo allowed federal
commissions as dry agents will
not apply in South Carolina, it was
stated at the office of Attorney General
Daniel here .today. The s&ate
- constitution provides, that no person
can hold two offices, and in a number
of cases the attorney general has
ruled that sheriffs or other county
officers could not accept commissions
as state constables.* The attorney
general has ruled that whero a person
holding one office accepts another,
the first office is automatically
made vacant,
. ' *
Mosquitoes cause annual damage
amounting to one hundred million
dollars, or ninety-one cents for each
person in the United States. Three
million cases of chills and fevers were
directly attributa/ble to these peats
last year.
for Economical Transportation
?/ Ik ! -?
^^BB ^B B V ^ ^ I ^^^B lift
Improvement
-has mtuis this tteWUlldS
FiDest Low Priced Car
** ; *: . ~~ * ... . , ^ - ^ 'r .
For year after year, Chevrolet engineers
have been refining and improving Chevrolet's
time proved design* Examine the
Improved Chevrolet and you will discover
every engineering development
essential to finer performance, smoother
operation, more striking beauty and
greater economy of operationand ownership.
Quality features! Quality materials!
Quality workmanship! Come in! Get a<
demonstration!
So Smooth?So Powerful
. --
Touting- - *5io
"Roadster - ftlO
Coupe - - 645
Sedap - - 73ft
Landau - 76ft
Vz-Ton Truck 396
(Chassis Only) v
1-Ton Track 6SO
(Chassis Only)
' ||j
SmallJPown I^ymetrf
Welsh Motor Company
CLYBURN BLOCK CAMDEN, S. C.
V
QUALITY AT LOW COST