The Camden chronicle. (Camden, S.C.) 1888-1981, April 25, 1930, Image 1
| : The Camden Chronicle wr
i camden, south carolina. FR.n.v ^ *
1 ? NUMBER 5
I'rison Fire Takes
I Heavy Toll of Life
1 Columbus, Ohio, April 21.?Mor^
I 300 men, confined in Ohio pen untia'y
here, met death tonight
Khen a disastrous fire swept four cell
Knocks in the prison yards. Most of
Ku, dead were convicts, who were
rapped in the ill-fated tiers of cells.
Blorc than 100 others were affected
^Etriously by Bmoke. It was feared
^Hnore would die. i
I Regular Army troops, National
Bjuardsmen, prison guards and Co umbus
police were on duty in the
ftfison late tonight attempting to
B, iaintai n order umoug than
convicts loose in the prison
Krd?, who, it was. believed, had set
Several fires in the prison cotton
BUii , had cut fire hose and had
Bhioatcned firemen.
I The penitentiary yards resembled
B, urmed camp after a pitched battle.
Byiug on the grass were the bodies
f some 200 victims of the blaze,
Kiost of them killed by dense smoke.
In the prison hospital basement lay
imost 100 other, dead. A few dead
^?ere known to be in G and H cellH''
I * where the fire burned fur oudy
for several hours after it had
Started in an adjoining block and
B>pread rapidly under a stiff west
^Mind.
I The loose convicts were being drivBn
i|to the dining-halls. Troops
Mime having trouble controlling the
Hnen, who, earlier in the excitement
had pitched in and aided in rescue,
| Later in the night, some of the j
convicts, cornered in dining halls, a-1
gain got loose in the yartl^ and at1
B hi., it was estimated that
about 2,000 of the more than 4,000 j
men in the prison still were milling 1
^R. r inclosure.
Fire department officials believed j
Hall the fires were incendiary. The 1
first fire, on the I and K cell-block i
was near the spot where men I
had been working during the day (
i Iwith an oil preparation to repair
This, it was believed, was
jHused to start the blaze. Other places,
| Ifired with oil-soaked cloth, included
^ '.he Roman Catholic chapeL cotton
jBmill and woolen mill,
j The fire was started in a manner '
^Bmuch the same as thfe Junction City
prison brick plant blaze, when some
20 convicts were burned to death,
j I Convicts slugged three firemen and
. injured another, while the men were
attempting to get a line of hose on
| Ithe flames. All four injured fire- j
^ men needed the attention of a doctor,
j I The great toll of life was not re-|
{ fleeted in the estimate of property)
damage by the fire. Prison officials J
Band fire department heads said the (
damage would be about $11,000.
j I Chief Ijams of the Columbus fire I
department was among the first out-j
siders to get into the blazing cell- j
^Bblocks. Ho said the fire spread so
^ r?pidly that guards on duty there had
^ little or no opportunity to unlock the
il^ell doors. Warden Thomas rushed
!?f(>ur guards into the blocks with cellbut
before they could get to
*ork on the doors, they were overBorne
by t,he dense smoke and car^ ied
out by convicts.
^B^ The fire chief said there was no
Bectrio wiring in the block, and he
e t confident the blaze was of in-!
^^ *ndiary origin. I
H T?rvices at FHnt HiI1 Church
ere will be preaching ^?jrvices at
I !*>Tnt. church .Sundaj^jAftemoon
I > '' ! re? 0 c^ock. All t^Hpnembers
^Hcnt f are urged To be pres||s
,1 / the reoT8Tanization of the
^ hus'ir/'^ (^00' Also other important
m.Ci 'r''/s matters are to be attended]
1' a"d bring nil the family!
; lv _ , ' " * r',v'- The public is also in-^
| mme and worship with us.
, important Hob Meeting
^ :n the interest of hog
^ i^'the development of
^ 5 . - no^s in Kershaw county
j.- ' *n Court House in
Ev07 nday* APril 25th, 10 a. m.
' urir .V'"0 interested in hogs
I l^ent w ill \att?nd A Car load ship"
BC I* trotT ma<1<? if enOUKh h?*S
Bing to K Also anyone desirBattcnd
"n ^Ur? ^red ^?KS please
W h' . ' ,g desired td develop the
(I ? | 11 f* C e i i V
B^n shinm county and beI
?r Cp "I " ^tld.
|ASent for th ? ^ U' Agricultural
|"'J" in the R*ilWa7' 'i"
'^k^nClnUr^. *h?M ""
Young Man Charged
With Homicide
New York, April *19.-James Mutthew
Maxon, Jr., a Komewhat bruised
and dishevelled young man, who followed
with curious and troubled eyes
the activities of the repprters whose
company he hud hoped some day to
join, was arraigned today in West
Side court on an affidavit, signed by
u policeman, oharging him with homicide.
Young Muxon, son of the right Rev.
James Matthew Maxon of Chattanooga,
bishop coadjutor of the Protestant
Episcopal church in Tennessee,
has been accused by fellow lodgers of
having killed David Paynter, aged
73, while in a drunken frenzy. The
killing occurred in a shabby rooming
house.
Muxon, according to his attorney
Martin W. Littleton, admits that he
had been drinking, but denies that
he killed Paynter. Paynter's death
occurred, according to the story told
his lawyer, during a general melee
that followed when he went down
to the basement kitchen, adjoining
the landlady's room to investigate
the cause of a gas leuk and was evidently
mistaken by his fellow lodgers
for a burglar.
Hearing on the charge against
Maxon was adjourned until next Wednesday,
April 23. No plea .was entered
today, until Wednesday. He
wfll be held in the jail attached to
West J*jide court.,
Maxon had several bruises and
scratches on his neck and face when
he appeared in the police lineup and
later in West Side court today. There
were cuts on his hand. His well
cut grey suit was wrinkled and his
shirt and collar rumpled. He is a
short, rather stocky youth, good looking,
with hazel eyes, thick dark hair,
apd an olive skin. He looked sallow
and tired today.
Apparently with some effort he
maintained a sort of composure. For
nearly half an hour before he was
arraigned he sat on a bench in a
room adjoining the court room his
grey hat pulled well down over \ his
eyes, smoking cigarettes and gravely
going through the morning p&pers.
To Make Home in Connecticut
The friends of Mr. and Mrs. Harvey
R. Davis and family, with Miss
Ardrey Arrants, will be pleased to
know that they arrived at Suffield,
Connecticut, April 6th, and they are
well pleased with their new home.
Mr. Davis goes to Connecticut to
take charge of a large game and
fishing preserve.
City Officers Elected
At the regular meeting of the city
council held Monday night the following
officers were elected for the
ensuing term respectively:
F. W. Chapman, superintendent of
the Water and Light Department,
j W. H. Haile, city clerk and treasi
urer.
W. D. Whitnker, street commissioner.
H. D. Hilton, chief of police; Alva
Rush, C. C. Brown, L. E. Barnes and
H. T. Horton, policemen.
W.. F. Nettles, chiecf of fire de
partment.
J. D. Zemp, assistant chief fire
department.
D. J. Creed, foreman; F. C. Mayer,
driver.
L. A. Wittkowsky was re-elected
city attorney and I. C. Hough, recorder.
Presbyterian Church Services
Rev. A. Douglas McAm, Paster,
announces the following services at
Bethesda Presbyterian church: Sermon
subject: "Our Need of Patience."
Beginning next Wednesday evening
at thp midweek service the pastor
will begin a series of talks on the
distinguished men and women of the
early Christian chur"M>?^These talks
will offer a splendid oppoiTmuty^to
gain knowledge of the great Christian
loaders and of early church history.
This church was represented at
Presbytery in the New Brookland
church by Mr. J. T. Mackey and the
pastor.
Sunday morning last the Cradle
$611, under the leadership of Mrs. E.
E. Sill, gave a very interesting program
of songs and recitations after
which there w*s a baptismal service
for the infants of the church.
iSlmday'school-K> a. m.; morning
worship 11:15 a. m.; midweek service
Wednesday evening 8 o'clock. You
are invited to all these 'services.
~ <" * - fsdfi ??- , m
Knights To Meet * |l
o At Ilobkirk Inn'
The state convention of the Knights
of Columbus wall meet this year at
the Ilobkirk Inn, Camden, S. C., at
the same time the retreat for Catholic
men of the Diocese of South Car- ]
olina will assemble in that city.
The convention will be called together
at 11 o'clock, April 27, by !
State Deputy Edward D. Buckley, of
Charleston. The members of the
state convention from Columbia who
will be in attendance arc John J.
Cormack, state advocate; Charles F.
J. Suit man, treasurer., and Joseph R.
Allen, district deputy. The delegates
who will represent Bishop England
council of Columbia are John II.
Park, grand knight, and Thomas N.
Fickling, past grand knight.
The following news story from the
Charleston News and Courier gives
details of the exercises of the Catholic
Laymen's Retreat association of
South Carolina which takes place at :
the same time ami place. This is the
sixth retreat of the association which
is growing in interest each year.
"This will be the sixth retreat,
held under the direction of the Catholic
Laymen's Retreat association of
the Diocese of Charleston, whose of-'
ficers are W. J. Leonard, of Charleston,
president; J. R. McR. Barbie,
of Florence, vice-president; H. KIx?a,
treasurer and M. A. Condon,
secretary, both of Charleston, and
President Emeritus F. B. Moran who
originally organized the retreat association
in 1924, at the request of
the late bishop, the Rt. Rev. William
T. Russell.
"The association was honored Inst
year at its fifth retreat, also held at
Camden, with the presence of the Rt.
Rev. Emmett M. Walsh, bishop of
Charleston, for the final exercises,
who at that time accepted the office '
of spiritual director.
"A retreat means a retirement I
from the world and had its origin
in the early days of Christianity, it
is pointed out. The religious ones
who sought the deserts or the monasteries,
or, in general, those wishing
ta lead a contemplative life retired
from the world in order more readily
to draw nearer to God and to apply
themselves to exercises of Christian
perfection.
"The ordinary layman is so much
engrossed with his relations with his
fellow men and with his well being
in this world tjiat he fails to give
God the thought and service that are
due to his Creator and last Judge and
to interests .that are eternal, it is
pointed out by those an charge of the
retreat.
"A retrea^. master of the Jesuit
Missionary band, of the Province of
New Orleans will Conduct the exercises.
Application of a reservation
to attend may be made .through Matthew
A. Condon of Charleston, secretary
of the Retreat association."?
The State.
Services at Methodist Church
Services for the week at GLyttleton
Street Methodist church, are announced
by the pastor, Rev. George
Pierce Watson, as follows: Sunday,
April 27, Bible school 10:00 a. m.,
Mr. L. C. Shaw, superintendent; Epworth
League, 7:15 p. in.; Public
Worship, 11:15 a. m. and 8:00 p. m.,
conducted by the pastor. Morning
theme: "The Financial Power of the
Church." Evening theme: "Lessons
Taught by the Spring Season." Midweek
service Wednesday 8:00 p. m.
The public is most cordially invited
to all the services of this church.
Visitors are especially welcome.
Come and bring your friends.
Bank of Camden
Bids Highf.For Bonds
The county hoard of education hold
a sale of $10,000 worth of high school
bonds Thursday, the bonds to be used
in erecting n high school in District
No. 14 of Kershaw county. All were
sealed bids and after all bids were in
the Bank of Camden was the successful
bidder, paying a premium of
$500 for the bonds. The list of bidders
includod: Bank of Camden, $40,500;
Peoples State Bank of Charleston,
$40,420.50; J. H. Hillsman & Co.,
of Atlanta, Ga., $40,301.00; Robinson,
Humphrey & Co., of Atlanta, Ga.,
$40,390.00; First National Bank of
Camden, S. C., $40,380.96; Caldwell
& Co., Atlanta, Ga., $40,152.50; Walter
Woody & Heimerdinger, Cincinnati,
$40,369.63.
Mr. and Mrs. Sam -Cvana are spending
this week in Oxford, N. C., at th?
home of the latter'a parents.
} * lr 'VT-V :"^y' "
Sumter's Airport J
Opens Saturduyj
Sumter, S. C., April 22.?The first!
Ioiir distance air race ever held in n
South Carolina will be staged on Sut- j t
urday, April 26, when a large num*
her of planes will race from Colum-1 t
bia to Sumter, this event having been ! |i
arranged as the first'of a number of ! \
events to be held that day in con- u
uection with the dedication of Sum- ! 1
ter's splendid new airport. Other ; (
avaiation events arranged for the ! (
day are u dead stick lunding, a
bomb dropping contest and u 16-mile: \
free-for-all race. | j
A tremendoys crowd is expected
here to witness the finish of the Co- t
lumbia-Sumter race and the other t
features of the day. An Official ihvi- j t
tation has been sent by Mayor Raf- I j
field to Gov. John G. Richards, the i 1
mayor and city council of Columbiu i
and members of the airport dedica- j <
tion committee of Columbia, and the j i
mayors of other surrounding cities!
and towns. The general public is invited
to tho celebration.
Sumter is staging its airport dedi- I <
cation on the day following the con- j
clu.sion of the great air derby to be !
j)eld in Columbia April 24-26 in I
which planes from all over the county
are expected to participate. The
Sumter airport committee will extend
an invitation to every aviator
at the Columbia meet to come over
to Sumter for the events here on '
Saturday and is already assured that
a very large number of the planes
will be here.
Mrs. C. L. Dye Passes
Away in Kershaw
Mrs. Cornelia Perry Dye, wife of
C. L. Dye, passed away Saturday j
morning at her home on South
Cleveland street at five o'clock I
and was laid to rest in the
IC&shaw cemetery just At the close j
of day. The service was conducted
by Rev. T, M. Stevenson-, pastor of !
the Kershaw Presbyterian church,!
assisted by Rev. W. S. Patterson,'
pastor of the Associate Reformed i
1 resbj terian church of Lancaster.)
i 1 he bank of beautiful flowers took!
the place of the freshly turned clay ;
and was a fitting tribute of the high j
: esteem in which Mrs. Dye was held.]
; Mrs. Dye was seventy-two years of |
i age and was born and feared in Kershaw
county. For a long time prior
to her death she had been in declining
health, but bore her sufferings
with patience and fortitude. In her
departure she leaves surviving her
husband and the following children:
D. P. Dye, Kershaw; Mrs. R. E.
Thompson, Lancaster; Mrs. J. M. i
Morgan, Asheville, N. C.; and Mrs. j
i B. J. Truesdale, Kershaw; eight i
grandchildren and one sister, Miss j
Lois S. Perry. The friends and
neighbors of the sfirviving relatives
sj mpathize with them deeply in their
bereavement.?Kershaw Era.
Midway High School to Preesnt Play
The senior class of Midway high
school presents "Patty Makes Things
Hum," a three-act comedy, Friday
evening, April 25, 1930," at 8 o'clock
in the Midway school auditorium.
Patty, a vivacious school girl of sixteen,
livens things up a bit in the
household of her sister, Mrs. Greene.
Expelled from school on account of
some bold prank of -hers she finds
refuge under the shelter of her sister's
abode. Taking the role of a
waitress at n dinner party to the
astonishment of the guests she captivates
a gallant and dashing young
officer of the English army and he
has a hard time taming her. See
j and hear her conversation with Hya!
cinth, the loquacious colored maid,
| who gives Patty advice out of her
j own thrice matrimonial experiences'
: and watch her "make things hum."
j Admission 10c and 25c.
Stewart Re Named
Camden Postmaster
A special dispatch to the Columbia
.State from its Washington correspondent
under date of April 21, says:
"The president today nominated
William T. Stewart as postmaster at
Camden and Mason C. Stroud at
Great Falls." This will be good news
to Camden people as Mr. Stewart is i
popular with our pepole. UndeV his
cupervlsfon and with an able corps
of assistants, this city gets postal
service unexcelled.
V ' ' v-'">,v"
Last Man's Club is 1
Down to Last Man 1
~?~f*r
At water, Minn.,'April 1??.- The furious
Last Man's4Club today is down a
o the last man.
Originally there were fiX members |
'ivil War veterans from 11. Com pa- n
ly, hirst Minnesota volunteer infan- |
ry. Death took them, one by one, j.
intil only two remained ?Peter (). 0
lull, 91 years old, of Atwater, and t
buries Lockwood, 89 yea-s old, of ,
hamberlain, S. 1).
Today there remains only Look- (
vood. His comrade of war and of j
>eace died last night. (
Thus to I/Oek wood alone is left ,
he sober ceremony of drinking a (
.oast . to the 32 who have gone; |
ousting them in the bottle of Pur- ,
fundy wine purchase<l July 2!, 188d, \
A'hen the club was organized.
./uly 21 of each year has been the >
late on which the last man's club ,
met. It was on that day that 11. |
Company went under fire at Hull '
Run. Each year the club has met, |
and each year the membership has '
dwindled. j
At each annuul gathering the hot- |
tie of Hurgundy has been brought
from the bank vault where it is kept, '
and placed on the banquet table, a ,
reminder that the day would come
when one of them would one day sit
alone at that table and drink the
toast to the dead men.
The last man is Charles Lock-'
wood. Yesterday he was up and
about the farm, doing his chores as
usual. He is suffering from a slight
cold, but plans to attend the funeral
of Hall here Tuesday.
Whether he will fulfiill the original
intent of the club and drink the
toast to tjhe memory of the dead has
not been made known. Three years
ago, when only three members of the
last man's club were left, the bottle
of Burgundy was opened.
One of the three put the bottle
to his lips, .and the bottle was last
touched by Hall.
James^P. Wesberry
Honored at Mercer
Friends of Rev'. James P. Wesberry,
pastor of Soperton Baptist
church at Soperton, (la., but formerly
of Columbia, will be interested
to know that in a student political
campaign held at Mercer university
he was unanimously declared
the "Ideal Mercerian of 1930."
Mr. Wesberry was manager In 1925
of Columbia high school's championship
football team. As a senior he
was athletic manager of Columbia
h^h school and editor of. "The Columbian,"
high school annual. He
left Columbia to enter Mercer university.
He is now working for his
master's degree at that institution,
and preaches at the Soperton Baptist
church, which will soon dedicate
a new building.^
Mr. Wesberry plans to enter the
Newton Theological Institute at Newton
Centre, Mass., next year.' He
was married last summer to Mias
Ruby Lee Perry, daughter of Mr.
and Mrs. J. D. Perry of Columbia,
Mrs. Wesberry is a graduate of Winthrop
college.
Mr. Wesberry is the son of Mr.
and Mrs. W. M. Wesberry formerly
I of Columbia, but now of Camden.?
Sunday's Columbia Record.
Welcome Service at Baptist Church
The following services are announced
for the week at the First
Baptist church: Sunday school at 10
o'clock, Mr. W. G. Wilson, superin- I
tendent. Preaching by the pastor at
11:15 on the subject: "The Importance
of Work." Prayer meeting at
8 o'clock on Wednesday evening; B.
Y. P. U. on Sunday evening at 7
o'clock.
On Sunday evening at 8 o'clock a
j welcome service will be held welcom.
i^S the two Baptist ministers, Rev.
P. E. Blaeknion and Rev. J. T. Littlejohn
who have lately taken up
work in the city. Rev. Mr. Blackmon
is the new pastor of the Hermitage
church and Rev. Mr. I.ittlejohn
has accepted the Watereo church.
The public is cordially invited to
worship with us.
~ ... ,, ^
Chamber To Meet Tuesday
There will be a meeting of the
Board of Directors of the Chamber
of Commerce on Tueeday evening,
April 29th, at 7:i5 at Palmetto, Tea
Room. A number of important matters
will be brought up. Mr. Lewis
E. Staley, State Forester will be a
guest at this meeting.
" r-.- . ;.v. ""LL
Two Negroes To Die
For Murder Of Two
Allendale. April 2?2.-?~Ausic Moor?
nd George Washington, negroes,
.hose sensational murder of Frank
larley, white man, and Shan Bates,
ic-gro, on the night of Januury 20,
irought them from ol>s<'urity into
rief limelight, will pay with their
wn lives for the Lives of their vieims
in the electric chair at the state
K'nitentiary in Columbia May 10.
1 his, ut least, was the sentence
tussed upon tbern this afternoon by
Special Judge Mendel I* Smith of
auulen following a verdict of guilty
?turned by a jury which icmained
>ut only 15 minutes. They are the
'irst persons sentenced to death by
.'lectrocution in Allendale sine? it
Jocamo a county in 1919.
The negroes, who have been in the
state penitentiary since their capture,
Acre brought to Allendale for trial
last night and kept under guard.
They were returned to Columbia immediately
following their sentence.
The prisoners were defended by R.
1*. Searson, Jr., who was appointed
by the court.
The negroes pleaded self-defense.
They were the only witnesses for the
defense, whale the state's witnesses
were Dr. F. H. Boyd, I>r. A. J. Barter,
Deputy Sheriff N. E. Barter,
.Justin McMillan, State Detectives
Richardson and Foster,, Annie Mae
Moore and Bernetha Washington,
wives of the condemned men, Frank
Moore, brother of Ausie Moore, and
Mrs. Frank Barley, widow of tho
murdered white man.
The men were shot and their bodies
thrown into the Savannah river at a
point about 11 miles from Allendale.
For a week the bodies were undiscovered.
Washington was at large
for about two weeks, successfully
eluding searching parties until hunger
drove him into communication
with some of his race and resulted
in his capture.
Both negroes confessed their guilt
following their capture thus freeing
several white men whom Moore had
previously involved in the murder.
Sheriff Flees His County
Donaldsville, Ga., April 19.?Discovery
of evidence that Sheriff L. K.
Born, whose bloodstained automobile
was found yesterday near Tallahassee,
Fla., has fled to Louisiana to
avoid a shortage of $12,000 to $15,000
in his accounts was reported today
by Deputy Sheriff C. L. Chandler of
Seminole county. The Florida State
News of Tallahassee gave the authorities
information that the disappearance
of the Seminole sheriff was a
"plant." The State News made an
investigation following reports that
the Georgia sheriff's car had been
found' abandoned and containing a
bloody blanket and brick and with
a pair of handcuffs located to the
steering wheel. Members of the paper
s staff followed the situation
closely and informed officials that
tho parked car was a "plant." - The
State News also obtained a confession
from Dick Bolton, a deputy to Born,
of his part in the hoax.
Horse Runs Wild;
Jumps On Auto
A spirited horse belonging to Jimmie
Carlos, became frightened last
Saturday evening and broke loose
from his hitching post on the vacant
lot back of the poatoffice. Making
a wild dash toward the Chronicle office
he suddenly changed his course
and shaking the road cart loose from
him made a jump and landed on
the back of Frank Maynard*s -Dodge
coupe. The animal laid down on his
right side and1 was perfectly still
until several men attempted to get
him dpwn. In his struggle to get
off the car the back glass in the
coupe was badly shattered and some
of the glass cut jagged holes in the
horse from whtch it bled profusely.
Dr. T. B. Bruce, local veterinarian,
was called and soon had the animal
sewed up and it was led to its home.
It was a most unusual accident?
one fraught with an element of danf?er?f?r
had the frightened horse
kept on its mad dash with cart attached,
several may have been seriously
injured.
Junior Order Initiates Candidates
DeKalb Council No. 88. Jr. O. U.
A; M. will confer degrees upon a
class of candidates on. next Thursday
night, May 1, at 8 o'clock. All
members are requested to be present:
Visitors welcome.
o
Mrs. IL G. Newhall, Mr. D. V.
Nefwhall and Mrs. J. A. O'Meara
who* have occupied th? McLeod cot- '
tags on Green siwsi for th? past
season Will leave on Saturday for
their how? teWw YarJU