The Camden chronicle. (Camden, S.C.) 1888-1981, August 31, 1928, Image 8
PARDON HKVOKB UPHELD
Ben Jk-a* To Berve Remainder of IIim I
Sentence Bay* Judge
< . Aug. 23.?The revoking
by < n?\ i-rnor Richards of a pardon t
gi hiiu-iI lit ii Ben*., Florence negro, r
v,a:, sustained today in an opinion ?
liy .Judge \\ . J J. Townaend of l he 1
riTiiit tourt. The ruling of Judge 1
iovsi oend, gr.cn at the end of argu- t.
ii.nil of the eftbc before followed the t
- ibn itting to him by J. C. Town- 1
-end, master in equity of Kx-bland
oun'y, of "findings in fact" obluine I i
at .i recent hearing ' 1
lii argument today followed the \
njioit of the master which was ren- i
i;eit ? sever a) days ago, which held r
' oat no fraud had been practiced in t
oi.'a. nng the affidavit from the wo- (
man r. * he car \ which wa- used to (
m a. i a surtpenviorj of sentence and j
I a e i a full and complete pardon for i
Less, who was convicted in Florence I
(oun'y on a charge of rape. The t
victim, a white woman, when ?he t
learn (1 tha* she would probably face i
a charge of jierjury in the state 1
courts, after Bess had been pardoned, t
repuniated her statement contained (
in the affidavit in which she exoner- \
a ted Bess from guilt. i
Representing the state in the hear- I j
ing today was Attorney General J \
John M. Daniel, assisted by C'ordie t
Page N. J. Frederick, negro at- f
torney of ( olumbia, and A. L. King, .'
i?f Florence, appeared in behalf of ; 1
Bess. I t
The argument today centered 1 i
around two questions propounded by t
the court. Did the woman know the t
contents of the affidavit? This question,
said the' court, had boen iin- ]
sweietl by the master in the negative. !
The other question involved was . 1
whether the affidavit wu^ obtained by i
fraud or used fraudulently to obtain fraud.
If the payment of the $T?0 which
the woman accepted after signing the I
affidavit was for the purpose of car- .
rymg out the fraud, bribery would <
result, the court said. i
Counsel for Bess attempted to ;
s).i<w that ail efforts of the woman <
o\<: a period of years to obtain
money from Bess for assistance that 1
she might render in an effort to get i
a pardon for him, had come from
' h? w ??m.tn. and no offers were made
by Bess or members of his family, or
fiiends. No testimony to the con-j
liaiy \va- included in the record in
llm case. ,
In reviewing the testimony in the j
case. Attorney General Daniel point-j
cd out that John Timmons, Florence j
merchant, before whom the woman's'
alfidavit was made, testified that'
"Bess had suffered long enough for i
wnat he had done," indicating guilt i
on the part of Bess although the affidavit
over the woman's signaturestated
that Bess was not guilty. Mr.
Daniels also pointed out that Gover- '
nor Richards relied on the faith and
accuracy of the affidavit in par-,
doning him.
"If this case results in Ben Bess
going ha iC to the penitentiary for (
completion of service of the sentence.j
(T thirty years imposed on him at
time of conviction, it will result in an
abominable, impossible and insuf- 1
ferable condition in South Carolina," ,
safd A. L. King, in arguing that no
proof of fraud had been offered.
"The constitution gives the gov- j
ernor the right to pardon, but it does
not give h.m the right to revoke a
full and complete pardon and reincarcerate
In the state penitentiary
in a case like the one at hand," he
continued. "The executive depart-'
inert of the state government is attempting
to suspend the statutes." he,
declared, adding that "if the gover- j
nor of the state were not interested
in the case, it would never have
reached the courts."
At the conclusion of the hearing
today, Mr. King announced that the
case would be carried to the United
States supreme court if necessary in
order to free Bess. He also said that
counsel was prepared to file an appeal
to the state supreme court.
? i
Nine prisoners, one a convicted'
murderer, sawed their way out of the
jail at Newport, Ky., Friday night
Fight hacksaw blades were found in
the cells.
???_ I
Three persons were drowned and
between 300 and 400 were rescued in
boats when the waters of Rondout
creek engulfed a country club near
Fllenvillr. X. Y.. Sunday.
Following its policy of getting rid
of United States silver coins in Cuba,
the government will shortly ship to
the Philadelphia mint coins totaling
half a million dollars.
Miss Iu?ddie Sharp, 17, a London
girl, last week succeeded in swimming
the Fnglish channel from Cape
Gris Net, France, to Dover, Fngland.
She was 16 hours and 5 minutes in
tW water. Miss Sharp is . the!
fifteenth person to swim the channel.
1 | " *"
BUILDING OF THE 3'Ca
toad Surmounted Many Difficulties
Jjeforc Completion
ThU month of August, lt)28, inarktt
he end of the fortieth year since the
ails of the Charleston, Cincinnati
md Chicago ittilroad were laid into
t'oikville and from here on to Blacks- ]
>urg, where the line was connected!
ip with the rails that had already
jeen laid from that point to Marion,
S*. I .
The building of the Three G'a raiload,
now the Marion and Kiugtiville
>ranch ?>f the great Southern system,
ear .1 very precarious undertaking
ind "ne that wuh accomplished unler
very difficult circumstances. It
Aa^ largely financed by its proraot !-.
the Massachusetts and Southern
'o!,-w action company, a Boston corj?,:ation
formed for the purpose, by
meant- of bonds secured from the
:ownships of the several counties
hrotigh which the line was pryject*d.
Most of the townships subscrib d
bonds in various amounts for the
luildiiig of the line through its terriory.
The promoters of the Three
"s road, as it was then known, likevise
had u very large idea in mind
n its promotion. The line as projected,
according to its promoters,
vus to eventually run from Charleson
to Catlettaburg, Ky., but long beore
it got across the mountains of
s'orth Carolina, the eastern end of
Tennessee and the state of Kenucky,
the construction company had
cached the end of its resources and
he line was never carried further
han Marion.
One of the builders of the road was
Major John F. Jones, who came to
South Carolina from Springfield,
Mass. for that work, and* it was, it !
might be said, entirely due to the
wonderful executive ability of Major
Jones to get things done regardless
of almost uiisurmountabie barriers,
lhat the rails were ever laid to
Blacksburg. 'When the rails were
lown as far as Yorkville, the financial
resources of the promoters were
about at an end. Before certain
ither moneys could be secured from
bond issues the contract called for
the laying of tho rails into Blacksburg
and the actual running of a
train into that town by a certain date.
The contractor putting down the
rails was a man named Taylor. Taylor
knew that the funds were about
exhausted, but at the insistence of
Major Jones he proceeded with the
work and finally the rails reached
Blaeksburg, the state railroad commission
certified the fact and the
bonds and the money therefrom werj
fo rthcoming.
Major Jones sometime ago told the
reporter quite a funny thing in connection
with the laying of the final
rails inly Blaeksburg. The majors's
story was about like this:
"We were out of money and the
only way we could get any more
bonds was to get a train into Blacksburg
over those rails by a certain
(iate. I had notified the railroad commis
sion that we were about ready
for an inspection of the line and
'..anted a certificate to the effect that
a train had passed up bringing the
representative of the commission.
The rails were not all laid?they were
still being laid as fast as human
strength could do it. Finally the
train carrying the commission's representative
got so close up on the
rail layers that we had to stop the
train, and he was told that there was
a car off the track ahead. That hung
us up for a couple of hours. There
wasn't any car off the track, the
track wasn't there. But finally we
did run that train into Blaeksburg,
late that evening and ran it ovet
some rails that had only five or six
ties under them. But then we got
the certificate, though the commissioner
was inclined to hold out or
us, and only grated the certificate
after assurances were given that tht
proper number of ties would he put
under the rails within the next day
or two and they were."
As stated above the above is no1
quoting Major Jones verbatim, but it
is in effect what he said in telling the
story.?Yorkville Enquirer.
Charles A. Levine, Atlantic flyer
is preparing to attempt a flight fron
England to America. Miss Boll wil
perhaps he a passenger when th?
flight starts.
Authorities of Akron, Ohio, art
carrying on an intensive drise againsl
vice and the underworld in that city
An attempt was made Sunday r.ighi
to assassinate Kyle Ross, councilman
who is in charge of the drive againsl
vice.
A total of $3,000,000,000 was moved
through the street* of New Yorl
recr.niy in broad daylight. Th<
m? ney and securities were the prop
erty of the Chase National hank and
was moved to the new home of th<
hank five block* away from the ok
banking offices.
gcaagHsgr" timmmmmmaaammmM
Get* //is Living
Raining Snaken
in 9
Charleston. Aug1, 26.?*Many people
choose peculiar livelihoods, -but H. E1-'
liaon M .t< hell, who lives near here,
has one <>i the strangest. He raises
snake.> foi ,i living and likes his work.
"Thiough experience," he says, "I
have found that snakes are cleaner,
more k acoful, more beautiful in 1
color, :n design and in characteristics,
and more sensible than any wild
animal I have ever known?includ-1
ing the racoon and panther." ^
Alone in the swampy .woods of
Berkelcv county, Mitchell lives with
his snakes. He sells them to zoos all
over th. country, to scientific laboratories
and a few to people for pets.
Mitchell takes real pride in his
strange profession. A former student
of Kings College, Nova Scotia, ho
studies the reptiles and their ways.
And he invites the visitor to inspect'1
his stock in trade.
A rattlesnake will not bother you,
except its a last resort," Mitchell ex|
plains. "They make every effort to
avoid human beings. You see that
little fellow over there? That's a
cottonmouth moccasin but he's every
bit as dangerous as this big rattler
if antagonized."
"What do you feed them?" Mitchell
was asked. "Nothing," he replied.
"They can go six months without
eating, and I seldom keep them more
than two weeks. It isn't necessary
to feed them. Sometimes, however,
they catch mice."
George E. Brennan, late political
leader of Illinois, left an estate of
$.100,000. His wife and daughters are
the principal beneficiaries under his
will.
Death of Mrs. J. W. Kilgo
Mrs. Elizabeth D. Kilgo, aged 67,
I wife of Dr. J. W. Kilgo, pastor of
the First Methodist church of Lancaster,
died Monday afternoon about
2 o'clock in a Charlotte hospital after
a brief illness, where she had
j been taken for treatment a few days
previously. Mrs. Kilgo had been in
poor health for several months and
had been receiving hospital treatment.
Of late her condition showed
apparent improvement. Mrs. Kilgo
is survived by her husband, who 's
pastor at Lancaster; two sons, B. L.
Kbgo of Savannah, Ga? and Jas.
I P. Kilgo of Darlington; three daughj
ters, Miss Kate I). Kilgo of GreenI
wood, S. C.; Mrs. Emma West of
' Hendersonville, N. C\; Mrs. Martha
j ^j^>son of Gibson; a brother, C.
. N. Coppedge of Wadesboro, N. C.,
I and two sisters, Mrs. James Plunk|
ett and Miss Martha Coppedge, both
i o? \Y adesboro. I he funeral servic;
es and interment took place Tuesday
afternoon in Darlington from
the home of her son, James Kilgo,
I the Rev. R. L. Gunter of Columbia
and Rev. B. R. Turnipseed of Rock
| Hill, officiating.?Lancaster News.
! mmmm
L1MEH0USE LOSES OUT ;<
Enure Faction Beaten in Dorchester
County Tuesday
St. Geoige, Auk- -# ?"Bossy" j
LimehoU)? , for 12 years sheriff of I
Dorchester county and leader of the <
faction which has controlled the !
county's government for more than a i
d*et?>lc. swept to defeat along 1
with his entire ticket in the countj
election here today.
( andulates of the "1). K. L., u"
organization said by the Lirnehouse
f<i ion to be controlled by the Ku
KLix Klan, won every office except
th<*t of auditor. Tonight Lirnehouse
opponents are celebrating the end
of :.;s reign in all parts of the county
Herbert II. Jessen, youthful mayor
ot .Summerville, won the race wit.'i
I.imchouse for sheriff by a majority
of 393 votes. R. Lon Weeks, St.
George attorney, defeated State
Senator H. H. Grcss, of Harleyville,
by 3h5 votes. Jessen polled a total
of 1,925 votes to 1,(116 for Lirnehouse.
Weeks had a total of 1,955, while
Gross's total was 1,570.
Tonight "D. R. L." leaders are
proclaiming a new day for Dorchester.
Bossism upon which they had
based their fight is no more, they
say. They attribute the victory to
the Dorchester's growing discontent
of the dominance of the Lirnehouse
faction.
M. J. Moorer defeated W. H.
I'earcy 1,037 to 1,5G1 for the house
of representatives.
The biggest single group of voters
in the county cast their ballotes
at what is known as the Dorchester
poll in Summerville where approximately
775 voters were registered.
It was here that both Sheriff Limeihouse
and Mayor Jessen chose to
spend the day. It was the strategic
point.
Congressman Tom tlonnally has defeated
Senator Earie B. Mayfield for
the Democratic nomination for the
United States senate from Texas.
Congressman Blanton has also been
defeated for the nomination. i
!
Mayor Bossy Gillis of Newburyport,
Mass., having recently been
sentenced to jail for 330 days for
violation of city laws, is threatening
to publish a scandal sheet under the
name of "Bossyism." He says it
would take him fifty years to tell
al he knows about the people of ,
his town. ,
Resumes Tractive
Dr. J. H. Thomas, well known
colored physician ha? returned to the j
city and resumed his practice at 933
South Broad street. L)v. Thomas at- !
tended the National Medical Association
in Baltimore and also attended
clinics in some of the best hospitals
in Baltimore and Philadelphia, Pa,,
and he feels that he is better prepared
to give the service necessary
for the relief of suffering humanity.
?Adv.
Chester Colored Couple
Killed Bp Voltage
Edward Gladden, well-known and
highly esteemed colored cltlw#i and
hi* wift?? Perseiisa, met with instant
ieath last night in an outbuilding in
the rear of their home on Columbia
street by coining in contact with an
ordinary 110-volt drop iighi. The?V
bodies were not discovered until this
mo/nihg, A gash on the weman's
head, which had bled copiously, was
probably received when she fell and
her head struck a plank.
The Gladdens had attended preaching
services, and had left their automobile
on the street, owing to the
torn-up condition of the bridge that
leads into their premises.' They are
thought to have gone to the building
it) the rear to look after their chickens,
or on some other errand, and may
have gone together, or singly. At
any rate the woman must have reached
out to seize the light, and as she
turned on the current she probably
sank, and her husband, not realizing
what had occurred, probably seized
her, and as she was still tightly gripping
the wire the deadly current passed
into his body too.
From the position of the two bodies
others are disposed to believe that
the man was killed first.
Not until this morning when the
couple's ten-year old son, Hilliard,
who had spent the night at a neighbor's,
began a search for his parents,
was the awful tragedy known. In a
short time a considerable part of the
population of Chester had gathered.
The eyth floor of the out-building
in which the tragedy occurred is still
very wet from the recent rains, and
this condition may have been responsible
for intensifying the voltage. Mr.
J. V. Brookshire, Manager of the
Southern Public Utilities % Co., said
this morning that he was absolutely
unable to say what was responsible,
but would begin a searching investigation
at once. He called attention
to a number of tragedies of like character
which have occurred in bathrooms
when the floor happened to be
wet.
Chester has never been visited by a
more unfortunate and regrettable accident
than that of last night, which
snuffed out the lives of two hardworking,
highly thought-of colored
citizens. The body of Persessa was
badly burned on the left side, while
her hands were a mass of raw flesh.
The out on the head was profb&Jblf^ received
when she fell. One of Ed
Gladden's hands was burned, and his
coat was charred where he had come
in contact with the flames. In all
probability he had reached out to his
wife to protect her when he had
realized that something was wrong,
and died in that way.?Chester Reporter.
Misses. Loree and Cecile Truesdale
are visiting friends in Augusta.
9
i J -SHI
BimiUNBJUEWg N^fl
Hsppehlngs of l..t, ,,hl M t B
Our Regular Corr?.#po^J|j< 9
Bethune, Aug, 28. Thr"*JlB
of the local Ep worth 1 JN9
few invited guests jmnfcJ wiTB
delegates from the Sumter ' "J*9
ence leagues, who were f.lvJW
Bi* SurinK, in a
last Thursday evening. *9
The Boihune schools vm|| b*?t 9
fall session Mondny mornj V
tomber .'h<l with the follows. ^9
of teachers: J. C. Foster 5,?9
tendent; Mrs. K. K 'lumpkiSiBfl
pal high school and u-a<-|i,.r' T'?B
tory; H. B. Park,,,
Thelma Stroman, Knirli.k'
French; Miss Eloise Miller *9
emetics; Miss Eddie liradhsni i!fl
and English: Miss I'. ..y K ' ?9
economics. Grammui -xhool?R
sell Burns, princi j>;.T and athuB
coach; Miss Carrie Vurbroueh fcB
lish and reading; M Stella iB
tune, history and (ieogruphy lfl
Marie Horton, fourth grade- 9
Mary C. Grier, third grade- SB
Beulah Pennington, secoud ' tJH
Misp Helen Snelgrovc, ftr8t ^9
Tim rod grammar school, Mi?? 9
Miller, principal; Mis? Margie br9
assistant, Shamrock grammar sclufl
Miss Mamie Coker, principal- ttfl
Sue Hendrix assistant. '
The election passed off yen mB
ly here on Tuesday. Aljnotf *B
vote was polled. The results 9
given elsewhere in the ChronickB
The residence on South MsinitiB
owned by Mr. Frank Elliott and9
cupied by Mr. Askens and fsmH??
Hartsville, who had recently asB
here to open up a furniture btui^9
was destroyed by fire WedntiJ
afternoon. The family was awd^H
the time and very little of thsj^B
ture was saved. The origin #9
fire is unknown.
Mrs. Betty Clyburn and daud^l
Miss Orlena who have been ipB
the summer with relatives m9
thune left Sunday for their ho9<;-:<
Clermont, Fla.
Miss Stella Bethune and Mn^H
Z. Truesdell accompanied by
Katherin and Margaret TruesdnB
June Truesdell have been ?.9
mountains of North Carolina for 9
past week. 9
Mr. and Mrs. John Hosier initial
son Tom, of Epps, Fla., are vhitii9
relatives here.
Mr. Mayo Davis is in Detroit, Hi^B
where he went to purchase Chry?9
automobiles.
Mrs. Mayo Davis is visiting k9
parents at Dothan, Ala. - -(^9
Alvin ' Clyburn and Mack DnB
spent the weekend at Myrtle Bw9
Mr. and Mrs. Paul SmitVsMj^|
tie son John Watts accompanied 19
their sister and brother-in-law,J9
and Mrs. E. E. Austin from s9
Charlotte, are on a camping trip{9
the mountains. * |
Mr. John D. Sanders, Jr,
known young Chester boy, died il9
mosr instantly Wednesdasy^romjl
juries received when he
pole at Stuart, Fla., near b^9
while wdrking with a crew
men for the Florida Light ttf{j^9
Company. He was rushed tsj||9
pital at Stuart, but died iai9
after reaching the insbMH9
Sanders was a brother ofjMH
lyn Sanders, now ^I%B|
lace, of Gastonia, wb^|l9
^turof^^onne^
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I CITY FILLING STATION I
' I CAMDEN, SOUTH CAROLINA M