The Camden chronicle. (Camden, S.C.) 1888-1981, June 03, 1927, Image 1
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L Camden Chronici.f
. 1 ?-? ? camden, south carolina,^riday. june 3 .?? ~
? number 10
Iirder and Suicide
Incurred Wednesday
/rustic incompatibility and the
t of a woman to leave her
ed mate for another man is be]
to have been the culminating
r behind the tragic passing
id noon Wednesday of Sidney J.
g, :19, and his wife, Mrs. Mary K.
s, 4d, at their home on Rutledge
t in this city. The shooting ocd,
it is said, when Watts entered
igh a rear door at about the same
hi.s wife entered the front of
humble ho/ne,
e double killing was shrouded in
cry until physicians examining
body of Watts expressed the
on that his skull was crushed
a pistol bullet fired at close
e and not beaten with an axe or
instrument as it at first ap. d.
Following the theory that
Watts had been killed by her
and, and that he in turn had apntly
been fatally dealt with by
nknown assailant, officers placed
y Watts, eighteen-year-old son
he couple, in the city prison for
tioning. Here the young' fellow
ed freely and said, even before he
w of the death of either parent,
t he believed his father did the
oting.
yhefl questioned young Watts
ed that he knew of no enemy his
?r had unless it was a man named
ey who, until his departure from
:iiy earlier in the week, had
d here as a trader of horses,
iatts, the youth declared,- had
strangely for several days but
L'ver made any threats toward
The couple entered into an
ent Saturday night during
according to the boy, Mrs.
threatened to leave her husAt
other times the youth said
his mother had threatened to go away
;vith Huskey and recently had men;ioned
going to Washington.
The two blood-drenched and hor!
mangled forms of humanity?
vith bullet wounds in her right
dor and left breast and another
his skull blown open?each
red out within a hand's grasp of
thcr. The couple leaves survivbesides
the son who has been
?ed from custody, two daughters
fifteen and seven, and a wide
highy respected family/ connecinquest
before Coroner W. F.
e!l was held in the mortuary of
V. Evans Wednesday afternoon
a jury empannqlled as follows:
R. Hough, foreman, I. M. Mctill.
David Wolfe, W. H.' Pearce,
I. Kelly and W. F. Nettles. Their
pit verdict which in effect was
r-' a murder and a suicide was
ceded by the taking of testimony
eh was given by two physicians
a number of witnesses.
r- A. W. Humphries, being sworn
ified at the inquest as, folows-r?
was called in to examine the I
of S. J. Watts and Mary Watts,
*'ife. Sidney J. Watts had a bulwound
on the right side of the
1 about one inch behind the corner
he right eye. The skin wound
about two irtehes long and an
'ir.g in the skull about the .'size
bullet. On the left side of the
I begining about one and oneinches
behind the left eye was
trently the exit. The skull being
lured about three inches with a
al groove for a bullet on the
t segment. The bone to the
' of the skull was movable. The
1 "f these wounds were evidently
^ suit of force caused by explosThis
wound was sufficient to
< death. On the left hand befi
the thumb and forefinger were
ier burns. There were apparently
owder burns on the head. I know
s* a gun shot wound.
4ary Watts had a bullet wound
ring below the left shoulder
e about two inches from the
fll column. = On the front between
second and third rib about one
to the left of the breast bone
apparently the exit of this bullet,
the posterior surface of the left
8 ?ulder about three inches from the
toP was an opening apparently the
entrance of the bullet. On the arm
of the left side was apparently
( exit of a portion of the bullet and
out two inches higher up on the
*rni pit was a wound of similar
f Ure> The left arm was broken
tit two inches from the shoulder
tnts. TJjere was a wound of eni*nce
?n ^ right shoulder blade
ut inches from the shoulder
joint. Did not find exit for this. The
bullet passing through body was sufficient
to cause death."
Harry Watts, sworn, testified as
follows:
"1 was up to the cafe eating dinner.
This cafe belongs to Mamma
and Papa. 1 heard the report of a
gun but thought that it was the back
fire of an automobile. I went out
on the street and heard someone say
that a woman was dead. I went down
and saw Mamma lying inside the
front door. Mamma and Papa had
a fuss thift morning. She said she
was going to leave him. They quarreled
for about one hour. They never
came to blows. I do not know what
caused the fuss. I never heard him
make any threat to kill Mamma or
himself. I drove Papa's ice wagon
this morning and was going up the
country with Mamma after dinner to
get some wood from Blake Kelly, a
brother of my mother."
The funeral and burial of the unfortunate
victims of. this tragedy occurred
Thursday afternoon at three
o'clock in a family burial plot neai
Flint Hill church where several infant
children of the deceased couple
are buried.
Negroes Wreck ( ur
I wo iicgio nun uiid otic woiiiun
(ami- to grii-f late Sunday night when
the car they were driving failed t??
niukf a turn at the eastern end of
Laurens street. The ear was said to
he going at a pretty rapid rate und
was the culmination of a wild party.
The automobile went over the curb,
striking a water meter, and crashed
partly through the wire fence sur
rounding the Court Inn yard, striking
a tree and came to a stop with the
front part badly damaged. Police
officers came on the scene and after
looking the party over decided to run
them all in and at recorder's court
Monday morning a fine of $10 each
was placed on the men. The car remained
tangled in the fence until next
morning when it was removed by a
wrecking crew from a local garage.
The accident happened within forty
feet of where a young white man
from Sumter lost his life about a year
ago while making u rapid turn at this
corner. This is the fourth auto accident
to occur at this coiner within
one year and in most all cases was |
the result of wreckless or careless
driving.
Bar Association To Meet
The Kershaw County Bur Association
will have a meeting on Friday,
June 3, at 10 o'clock at the county
court, house All members are rej
quested to attend this meeting.
Police Court Fines
A total of $110.00 was collected at
recorder's court Monday morning
from various offenders. The fines
ranged from $10 to $35 and included
drunks, traffic violations and drivers
operating cars while under the influence
of liquor. One young whiti,1 man
drew a fine of $35 for the last offe
use and had an additional charge of
interfering with an officer.
Southern Changes Schedule
A change in schedule has been made
in arrival and dipaiture of the Southern
railway trains and went into effect
Sunday. Train 114 going North
formerly arriving here at 8:50 a.m.
now arrives at 9:50 a.m. Train 117
southbound formerly arriving at 10
a.m. now 'arrives at 9:50 a.m. Train
118 northbound leaving Camden formerly
at 2 o'clock, now leaves at 2:10.
Train 113 formerly arriving at 3:15
p.m. now arrives at 3:25. This latter
train makes connection at Kingvillc
for points toward Charleston with a
wait of about forty minutes. The
northbound trains make connection at
Rock Hill for trains to Charlotte and
the north.
The Spirit of Co-Operation
The Wateree Baptist church will
call off their evening services to attend
the revival that is to begin at
the Hermitage Baptist church Sunday,
June 5.
Rev. Mr. Morris will preach at the
morning hours at the' Wateree Baptist
church.
The Sunday School outing of the
two Sunday schools of the Wateree
and Beaver Dam churches last Sunday
was pronounced a-great success
by the many who attended.
The Camden Ice Pure
The City Board of Health has recently
sent off samples of the Camden
Ice company's product to be
analyzed and the chemist's report
states that the ice is pure and free
from contamination.
Large Brick School
House For Negroes
The Woman's Home Missionary So*
e t y of the 'Northern Methodist
Wiurch has let the contract for a modem
brick school building to be erected
on their property on DeKalb and
f ampbil! streets in tlus city.
ihe new building will take the place
<>f drowning Home and Babcock
( hapel, which will be torn down and
moved away. It will be three stories
with basement, containing gymnasium,
chapel, domestic science department,
sewing department, dormitory
for gills arid rooms for teachers, reception
rooms and parlors and will accommodate
one hundred girls.
The contract has been let to ('. C.
Wilson, a Columbia contractor, and
calls for completion by September
U28. \\ ork has already commenced
in moving the laundry building, but
Habcock ( hapel and Browning Home
will remain standing until the new
building is completed.
I he school had outgrown the anti-'
quated buildings and the Missionary
Society had to order the erection of
the larger building which it is estimated
will cost around one hundred!
thousand dollars.
The Missionary Society has in operation
several other negro schools in
the South, but also has a school o?
this kind for white children at Boa&,
Ala., Meisenheimer, N. C., and still
another for whites in Mississippi.
They also operate two schools for
Japanese children and one for Chinese1
children in California; one for Italians
in New Orleans; another in Boston
and New ^ ork. They also have an
orphanage in Illinois and an orphanage
in Nebraska. *
Miss I.ouella Johnson, the secretary'
in charge of the work here, left for
her home in Ohio where she will
spend the summer, returning upon1
the opening of the school in September.
Third Payment From Late Bank
Messrs. G. A. Rhamo, W. F. Nettles
and Dr. A. \V. Humphries, of the
liquidating committee of the late
Peoples Bank of Camden, announce
another 2.) percent payment to depositors.
1 his makes the third pay1
ment from this bank and this news
will be gladly received by those wh >
had money deposited there. Depositors
are requested to call at the furniture
store of W. F. Nettles and get
their check.
Watcree Won From Mollohon
The fans who witnessed the baseball
game last Saturday afternoon
between the Mollohon team of Newberry
and Wateree team of Camden
certainly got their money's worth.
It was a full dollar's worth of baseball
for the small admission fee of
twenty-five cents.
Jones was patching for Mollohon
while Attaway was catching. Clyde
Baker and Hawkins was the battery
for Wateree. The score was tied in
the first inning but Wateree made
one each in the next two innings. In
the fourth inning Mollohon made two
runs and again the score was tied.
In the seventh Wateree made another
run hnd in the eighth Mollohon
made two runs and forged ahead.
In the ninth with two out and two
strikes on Fagan he lined a drive
through deep center who misjudged
the ball and the score was again tied.
The game then went into eleven innings
when Wateree made another
run mainly through errors in fielding
and the score stood Wateree 6, Mollohon
5. Both teams played good
baseball and the fans enjoyed every
minute of the game.
The Wateree team goes to Columbia
Saturday to play Columbia Mills.
Oakland Mill team of Newberry will
play in Camden the following Saturday,
June 11.
Death Chair Law Declared Illegal
Montgomery, Ala., May 28.?Alabama's
electrocution law is held unconstitutional
in an opinion by the
attorney general's department. The
question arose over an appeal by
Clyde Reese Bachelor, sentenced to
hang for hiring a negro to kill his
wife's father.
The defense's appeal held that no
provision had been made for resen
fencing condemned murderers wher
' the new mode of execution became ef"
fective March 1, 1027. >
One negro and one white man have
i already been electrocuted under* th<
new law.
\
Section of Sand Hills
Suitable For Grapes
LAdV/r h"V" h, ? " n'1' 'v?'<l from
,ikt office of J. V McHrule, general
, Agricultural agent. Seaboard Air l.,ne
Hallway ul Savannah. that the
development department of that rail'fad
will inaugurate ln the late suman
extensive campaign throughthe
Carolina Sandhills the >n|^TRl
of growing. Fred I'.
A^bbott. development agent. with
I office at Hamlet. N. ( .. was in Camu-11
ur',a-v? accompanied by Mr
V Mc oy of McBy? in the intereat
ol the grape campaign and it is understood
that this campaign is the
result of experimental work in grapes
at tht Seaboard has been quietly
condoling for the past several years.
f,'w >'ear? "Ro. it came to the
attention of the Seaboard that European
grapes were not cultivated on a
commercial scale anywhere in the
United States except in California.
t, the industry is so firmly established
in that state that in the
nited States the common name applied
to^ the vineferous or European
ilTrape i> ' the California grape." Upon
jnoeavoring to determine the reason
Ifor confining the European grape industry
within the state of California
H appeared to he the general conaanlKus
of opinion that soil and climatic
Renditions prevented the culture of
th,s crop in other states of the Union.
> uch urr explanation did not appear
plausible and representatives of the
development department conducted an
exhaustive study of the European
K'ape industry determining the requirements
of this crop. Dr. George
Hussman, viticulturist of the
United States Department of Agriculture.
became interested in the effort*
iOf the Seaboard to prove or disprove
.their belief that European grapes
,Could be successfully cultivated in the
fraandhills of the Carolinas. I)r. Hussman
secured indirectly from Europe
a number of vines of a great many
vaneties and these together with a
number of American or domestic varieties
of grapes were planted at MeBee.
S. C., in the spring of 1023. The
test planting was made in co-operation
with Mr. W. 1, McCoy, one of
the leading farmers and business men
of the McBee section.
Tht iesuits of the test vineyard
have been watched very closely. Some
of the vines bore fruit in 1924 and
all the vines produced fruit in 1925
and 1926. The results gained iji-tftis
work have astounded all those who
are intimately acquainted with the
giape industry and have proved beyond
a doubt that European grapes
can be successfully produced in the
Sandhills on a large-.commercial
scale. A great future for these
giapes in this section is predicted by
those who are well informed in the
industry of grape culture. The vines
are even more prolific than in California,
while the size of the berries
and bunches, together with the flavor
and quality, are said to surpass the
California grown European grapes.
With the eastern industrial centers
i being the largest consumptive markets
for European grapes and taking
into consideration the fact that the
'entire Sandhill territory is Jqgg than
one-third the distance to these mar
ket? as compared with the California
grape growing centers; one can
readily visualize the possibilities the
Sandhill territory holds for grape
culture.
The six southeastern states, al
though large* consumers of botl
European and domestic grapes, pro
iduce less than six-tenths of one per
jcent of the grapes gfrown and market
led'annually in the United States
; During the year of 1020, 77,585 car;
of grapes were consumed in th<
(United States, with California pro
ducing 63,549 cars or approximate!'
85 per cent of the total yield for thi
I United States. The grape industr;
; in the state of California alom
amounts to a ?52,000,000 buaines
annually. A representative of the de
velopment department of the Sea
board was sent into the larger mar
kets of the northeast and middle wes
to investigate the marketing possibil
ties of Sandhill grown Europeai
grapes. The results seem to indicat
that, such grapes would receive
' hea'^ reception from the produc
trade and consumers.
1 Realizing that it is not possible fc
all the people of the Sandhill terr
tory to visit the experimental vim
! yard at McBee and believing that th
possibilities of grapes are of vital ii
terest to *11 those concerned wit
"[agriculture, it has been 0 decided to
" j carry the results of this work to the
| people in their own communities. Ar?
*: rangements have been completed for
s the operation of a special grape train
": over the Seaboard rails from Columv
| bia. S. C., to Sanford, N. C. This
e i train will be equipped with an^ exy
hibit car which will clearly picture
e 'he possibilities of European grapes
* It is expected that this car will con
tain exhibits of grapes, packed in the
* several Containers recommended foi
this commodity. It is further plannec
t to have entire vines of severa
" varieties of grapes,, together wit)
n their fruit on exhibit, and also a num
c bcr of other exhibits, charts and pic
a tures. It is planned to stop this trail
e a day at each of the principal town
in the Sandhills, at which time th
,r tfeneial public will be invited to visi
i- ihe car, look over the exhibits, liste
?- to the discussions and secure what ir
IC formation they may desire in conne<
tiop with, the culture of Europea
h and Ameiican grapes.
ZZC-Llii.-a*' 'its,
I W ?? ItomlHIlK Ships \ ImI t |(s
l'w" g- 'limn:! |1 If . t.f tfit- \lnr
tin hwmh.i.g t>(n u : :i i
aild IIH'II 1111' li*?i?l^ ^ ill n! .. iij 1 .tllldl li
having bei-n foiled to tutu bai k upon
ciicoujiU'i?11k sti?nn> at a point tvsnit\
miles northeast .if this nty yu.nterday
I he nmsMVi plain s are powered by
two motors nil h. I hey have a wing
spread of about seventy-five feet, u
cruising sped of ninety-five niies per
hour and in addition to their full
loads of men and hnggitgi* are eaeh
. capable of carrying two thousand
pounds of bombing material.
Landings were easily effected at
the Springdale Field which, accordting
to the flight commander, is the
lieat and safest non government field
along the entire route from San
Antonio, Tex., to Langley Field. Va.
| I he planes are under command of
\( apt. < . F. Rust who has in his possession
a chest of candy valued at
' one thousand dollars which hi* will
personally deliver to Mrs. Fvnngelino
.Lodge Lindbergh, mother of Amer!
tea*K New York to Runs flyer, us a
i gift from Virgil Hollingsworth and
j the citizens of Augusta. j
Other officers and men accompanying
are ('apt. 11. S. Steenberg, Lieut
K. N. Walker, Lieut. R. L. Williams,
Sergeant Peters, Sergeant Arnold and
Private King.
I The ships represent the last of the
Langley Field fleet returning to their
' home base from manouveurs at San
Antonio and are trailing 'as the last
guard of honor which remained in
. Augusta following the fatal erush of
four airmen of their company while
in that city last Sunday.
Jurors For June Term
1 he following jurors were drawn
Tuesday to serve for the summer
term of court of common pleas to
report for service on Monday, June
20, with Judge W. 11. Townsend of
'Columbia presiding:
L. M. Taylor, B. C. Truesdale, G. S.
Rodgcrs, S. S. Clyburn, H. H. Holland,
H. L. Robinson, R. H. Young, W. F.
Nettles, A. M. Rodgers, Joe Fletcher,
11. C. Hardy, L. J. Baker, J. L. Vincent.
John W. Truesdale, J. I). Bailey,
Lewis Rahon, E. W. Croxton, I). L.
McLaughlin, .J. W. Young, L. L.
Truesdale, J. L. Goff, Harry Ross,
L. 1). Holland, C. B. Smith, Lewis''
Gardner, Joe Coats, .1. C\ Horton,
J. G. Heath, S. L. Crolley, L. C. Shaw,
C. F. Munn, W. T. Truesdale, W. B.
Branham, J. J. Campbell, A. R. Catoe,
I). H. Coats.
Graduates at Winthrop
Among the three hundred and
forty-seven young women to receive
their diplomas from Winthrop college
on Tuesday night were the following
from Kershaw county:
Arts and science course with bachelor
of arts degree: Ethel Cor belt DePass,
Camden; Mildred Ann Richards,
Liberty Hill; Annie Heighten Rich
aids, Liberty Hill; Mazie Mildred
RolH'rts, Camden; Ernestine Taylor,
Kershaw; Martha Boykin Workman,
Camden.
Home economics course with bachelor
of science degree: Annie Marie
j Baker, Kershaw.
II Two-year business administration
course: Elizabeth Clarke, "Camden;
: Harriet Lipscomb, Camden.
'j
I HfefJ. Gassoway of Winston-Snlcm,
N. ( .y drove his closed automobile off
i, the roadway near Ix-xington Sunday
i ; afternoon and the car tumbled into
!, the water in an old abandoned quarry,
-! some HO or 90 feet deep. Mr. Gassoj
way managed to break a glass-out of
i the car and escaped .He was assisted
II out of the quarry by passing negroes.
Charlotte Thompson
Held Commencement
'f"iu ; !i annual * lunnu'iu ? nicnt
of tin- < hailotte Thompson High
school began on May 22 with the hue(uluureatc
sermon, which was delivered
by l)r. \V. A. Alexander of the
First Baptist chureh of Book Hill.
1 he l'isguh chureh was crowded to its
capacity with patrons and friends of
the school who hoard l>r. /Alexander
preach a masterful wrmnii Uo the
giaduutes. SjH'cial music wii/ rendered
by Mr. A. C. MeKain of (linden
and a number was also sung by tho
high school quartet.
( lass day evrclses were held at
the school < 11 Wednesday evening at
which time the following program wus
van icd out: Piano solo, Mae Burgess;
ulphubet, Clyburn Bruce; roll, Luclle
Smith; census, Hoy Baker; history,
Idolene l)avis; piano solo, Sura Bruce;
prophecy, VirginiaA&wcns; poem, Mae
Bi tC-.
urges*; Jokcs,?JvpPh "^Scarborough;
will, Alexander ( lark.son. The exercises
came to a dose with the singing
of the Alma Mater.
On Thursday afternoon, in the natural
setting of the beautiful gardens
of the Terraces the pupils of the
grammar school presenter! a pageant,
the primary department presenting
"The Wind Flower," and the intermediate
department "Ceres and Per
sephone." The ease and finish which
characterized the carrying out of this
program was just another indication
of the efficiency and finesse which
makes Charlotte Thompson an outstanding
school of tho state.
The closing exercises took place in
the gardens on Friday afternoon and
brought to a close the most successful
year in the school's brief but crowded
history. I he daisy chain procession
which was carried out by the seniors
and juniors was beautifully executed
in a series of drills, after which the
ovcrgreen chain was given to the rising
junior class that they might
Farry on the traditions and school
spirit of their Alma Muter.
A scholarly and forceful address
was made to the graduating class by
Mr. A. Stanley Llewelyn and state
high school diplomas were awarded
the graduates for the first time by
the superintendent. The following
program was carried out:
Invocation, Rev. Moultrie Guerry;
piono solo, Pollye West; salutatory,
Mae Burgess; student orator, Thomas
McLeod; piano solo, Mrs. R. E. Rembett;
address to graduates, Mr. A. '
Stanley Llewellyn; piano solo, Eva
It by; awarding me<lal, Mr. E. M.
Workman; awarding state high school
diplomas and certificates, ?Supt. N. M.
Huckabee; announcements; valedictory,
Alexander Clarkson; benedie
tion, Rev. Cook. ' *:
The class roll is as follows: Roy
Frank Baker, Sara Anne Bruce, Clara
Mat' Burgess, Mary Idolene Davis,
Virginia Lee Owens, John James
Scarborough, Lorena Lucille Smith,
Alexander Garden Clarkson, Jr.
Prof. X. M. Huckabee,'after being
with Charlotte Thompson since its tn^ ~
ception in 1923, leaves next September
1become principal of the high school
at BatesburgnLeosville. He will be
succeeded by Mr. B. B. Knight, formerly
superintendent Travellers
Rest, a successful schom man and an
excellent athletic coach. As Charlotte
Thompson has always endeavored to
present a well-rounded, balanced program
in all school activities, the trus- > J
tees feci that under the new superintendent
the, school will continue to
grow and prosper.
The medal awards and early report
follow:
The scholarship medal which is
" awarded that pupil of the eleventh
grade making the highest average for
the four years of high school is won
by Alexander Clarkson with an aver1
age of 93.25.
The English medal given by Mr. <J
! M. H. Heyman of Camden to that
pupil of the high school who makes
' the highest grade on English for the
5 year is won by Eva Irby of the tenth
r grade with a grade of 98.2. This be- xh
1 ing the third year this pupil has won
1 the English medal it becomes her
1 permanent property.
The orators' medal which is given
by the teachers of the high school to
the best speaker of the Cleveland
8 Literary society and determined by
e open competition is woft by Thomaa
[i McLeod.
The American Legion Auxiliary
medal given by this organization in
Camden to that pupil of the eighth
n grade who writes the best essay oft-v-sV""
(Continued on I^ast Page)
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