The Camden chronicle. (Camden, S.C.) 1888-1981, June 22, 1934, Image 1
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"The Camden Chronicle
VOLUME 46 CAMDEN, SOUTH CAROLINA, FRIDAY. JUNE 22, 1934 NUMBER 13
MuismT Withdraws
prom Senate Race
T the Democracy of Kershaw
, Greatly to my regret, i am
01 i to announce my withdrawal
? the race for the 'State Senate.
|.m a Poor man; my practice is
that it requires practically my
M attention; the campaign
d cost me a considerable sum of
v and it has become apparent
'that 1 cannot continue in the
U meet my obligations. TTiese
and these alone, have
tpud me in my decision. My
regret in withdrawing is beof
those fTiends throughout the
tv who have been so generous,
I and true to me. I shall never
et their kindnes^ to me, and
I .stand always ready to evidence
appreciation in any possible way.
ow that there are those who will
that 1 am withdrawing because
m afraid that 1 would not be
ed My friend? know that this
ot true, but if the thought gives
me, satisfaction he is welcome to
I entered the race as a candidate
0 clique or faction and I am iwithving
In the interest of no candior
faction. I wish to publicly
ik my friends.and supporters, and
jcpress the Hope that the campaign
. be free from mud-slinging. Any
lidate who attempts to gain an
t by blackening the' character of
ther candidate proves his own unthiness,
and I am confident that
people of Kershaw county will
idiate any candidate who indulges
;uch tactics.
MURDOCH M. JOHiNiSON.
inister Urges
Full Enrollment
uly the 24th is the"last day to get
nrolled on the precinct club rolls.
Jnless one is thus enrolled he or sne
an not vote in the primary in Augst.
Do you expect to vote? Wny
rait to get ready? Enroll now and
0 to the polls on August the 28th,
nd vote against legal sale and for
tie best candidates in the race foT
ffice. Tax receipts and registration!
ertificates not required to enroll in
he primary. Qualifications, except
eachers and preachers, are two years
1 the state, one year in the county
nd sixty days in the precinct. Woicr.
must enroll if they are to vote
gainst legal liquor. They must vote
no if it is not to come back.
Remember the liquor ring
hat has done all it could to debauch
he electorate will be busy to get out
,1! the votes to vote for legalized
ale of liquor on August 28th. Unthe
drys?both men and women,
oung and old?turn out, the will ox
out h Carolina may be defeated,
t'omen. will you get ready ?
The drys in every county should
leet for a conference. They should
hen see that a dry is chosen to look
fter the dry interests in every preinct,
to get the vote qualified and
aformed and to urge the dry voters
ut for the election on August 28th.
Moreover, the drys should be urged
d look over the list of candidates for
ffice in the counties and in the state
nd be sure that they vote for the
riost men offering for governor, |
enate and house of representatives,
nd for sheriffs who will enforce the
iw.? .T. C. Roper, President Interenomi
national Conference.
New Books at Library
Among the new books at the Camon
public library are: "Nyinsky," a
iography of the great dancer by his
r'f(. Romola Nyinsky; "Tender Is,
Night." by Scott Fitzgerald;
Private Worlds" Phyllis BoHome;
While Rome Burns," by Alexander
lor.' ort; "Unfinished Cathedral," by
' > Stribling; "Mutiny On The (
lour.ty," by Nordhoff and Hall; "Life
I D'jr Lord," by Charles Dickens.
M's. Roscoe Bonsai has given a
'rgv olloction of biographies, books
f travel and novels. Mrs. Sallie
^yk:r. has presented a copy of
l*n. Remus" to the children's deartm<n.t.
Ph- library hours for the summer
^nth. will he: 9 to 11 a. m. as anour.rcd
by the librarian, Mrs. Donald
tarn-. <or..
Firemen To State Meeting
Members of the Camden Fire De8r'.m.r,t
attending the twenty-ninth
r.nua. convention of the South Carina
State Firemen held in Walhalla
it .Jur*- IS and 19 were: Buck Laney,
M Mayer, W. R. Denton and R. M.
OTincfly, Jr. Mr. Kennedy is presifr-t
of the South Carolina Fire Inirarver
Agencies and made a talk
(fore the firemen, which was esPCia'y
enjoyed by those attending
convention.
_ ^
Mr?. William Rogers, of. Norfolk,
4 < who has bean here on a visit
1 sister, Mrs. E. J. McLeod, has
^med home. She was accomjvan
by Mrs. McLeod and bar daughter,
??? Franca. McLeod. - * t
\
New Institution
Is Formed Here
At a meeting held Wednesday
morning the First Federal Savings
and Loan Association was formed
hero with about thirty-four taking
shares, representing around $30,000,
The new association will function
under the United Stated government
supervision and all funds will be protected.
It will be operated along the
lines of the state building and loan
association, and the Camden association
is just one of hundreds being
formed ail over the United States.
A location for the nowly-formed
association and other details will be
worked out at a later date.
The new association will be headed
by W. Robin Zernp, as president;
John T. Nettles, first vice-president;
R. M. Kennedy, second vice-president
and J. B. Wallace, secretary and
treasurer; with the following board
of directors: Henry iSavage, Sr., R. E.
Stevenson and John T. Nettles to
serve for one year; Henry Savage,
Jr., and R. M. Kennedy, Jr., to serve
for two years and W. R. Zemp and
H. D. Niles to serve for three years.
Henry Savage, Jr., was elected
torney for the association.
Ciivl Service Examination
The 'United States Civil Service
Commission announces open competitive
examinations for furnaceman,
laundry afid hoftsman, United States
Navy Yard, Charleston, S. C. For
further information apply at the post
office, Camden, S. C. Closing date
June 23, lb34.
Work Progressing
On Restoring Dam
Work is under way at thevold Hermitage
dam, which was' blown out j
several years ago. A force of laborers
are now replacing the earthen.
dam with the view of making this
property a recreational center.
A saw mill has been rented and j
operators are now sawing timber to (
be used on this project. The timber j
is .being secured free of charge from '
landowners through whose property;
the GCC boys have cut fire lanes, and
some huge trees haVe fallen this way.1
The commission wishes to "hear from
others who are willing to give tim!
ber to be used in this project. They 1
! wiD need approximately 60,000 feet
of lumber.
A combination flood gate and spill-:
way has been approved by the engineer
and it will be erected a slight
distance east of the old flood gates. j
j It is proposed at a later date to
I erect a pavilion with bath houses, j
' dressing rooms and a dance hall on
i the eastern shore of the lake.
Camden Rotary Notes
At Thursday's Rotary meeting J. H.
Osborne, newly elected club president, j
! read a list of the committees to j
serve for the coming year.
Rotarian Lotta Johnson, of Char-,
j lotte, made a short talk touching on1
the bond market. He stated that
South Carolina bonds were showing
considerably more strength and that i
they were 'being sold on the New |
York market to a better advantage |
than at any 'time during the past!
years.
Henry Savage will have charge of(
next week'9 program and he will
have as speakers of the day Dr. Fred
j C. Williams, a prominent Rotarian
and superintendent of the state hos-1
pital at Columbia; also Carroll H.I
Jones, former District Governor of i
the Fifty-seventh Rotary District.
Guest visitors were: Miss Sara1
Frances Wolfe, J. E. Robinson and
Tom Crowe, the last two being guests
of A. Stanley Llewellyn.
J. G. Richards, Jr., told of the efforts
to raise money for the high j
school band. A musical and ball j
game will be held soon for the benefit j
of the band. !
Rotarian J. H. Osborne leaves by,
train Saturday for the Rotary International
Convention at Detroit. Mr*. I
J. H. Osborne, Hamilton and Margaret
Osborne and L.- E. Graham will j
join Mr. Osborne in Chicago on j
Thursday. They will drive up in Mr.
Osborne's car, to the World's Fair.
A. Stanley Llewellyn has returned
from Washington where he went in
interest of the Santee-Coopor Power j
Development. He is a member of
the State Authority Committee. He j
told the club of the scope of the proposed
development, which will back
navigable water to within six miles
of Camden.
A
Jackson Bamett, 92, the world's
richest Indian, was found dead in his
home in Los Angeles. Cal., Tuesday.
The body was found by the white woman
whose marriage to him was annulled
by the government, but who
was permitted by the decree to remain
as his housekeeper. Burnett, a Greek
Indian, got hia wealth from oil well
return* found on lands he owned in
Oklehon*, "
DISTINGUISHED ATTORNEY AND
JURIST PASSES AWAY SUDDENLY
? I
Camden was shocked last Friday
to learn of the death of Judge Mendel
L. Smith, of this city, who died sod- j
denly at his home of apoplexy at one
o'clock. No man has ever made}
greater impress on the people of
Camden and Kershaw county than
had Judge Smith, and there is uni- j
versal mourning in Camden and Ker- I
shaw county. j
In his passing South Catolina loses I
one of its most useful and patriotic i
men and the Bar of the state loses [
one of its groatest advocates (*f all,
time.
Judge Smith was born at Smith- j
ville, then a part of Sumter now Lee
county, South Carolina, on July 5, t
1870. His parents were Lafayette J
M. Smith and Medora (Bradley)
Smith. His father, who was a highly
respected and successful merchant
and planter and a substantial and influential
citizen, died in January 188R.
His mother who, when the subject of
this sketch was thirteen years of age,
moved to Camden, died only a few
years ago. Judge Smith was educat-!
ed in the Camden schools, at WofTord
College and at the South Carolina
Military Academy, known as the Citadel,
at Charleston, where he graduated
in 1889. He received his legal
education at the University of Virginia,
among the professors there being
the great John B. Minor, and was
admitted to practice in the Courts of
Virginia on May 29, 1894, and in the
Courts of South Carolina on January
11, 1895.
In his nearly fifty years at the "Bar
Judge Smith was engaged in the trial
of more famous cases than any other
lawyer in South Carolina during that
period. He w&s engaged in 256 capital
cases; he defended 214 homicide
cases, and of these not one received
the death penalty, only 8 were con- j
victed of murder with recommendation
to mercy. A small fraction were
convicted of manslaughter, while the
vast majority resulted in acquittal.
While his renown at the Bar was
achieved to a large extent by his
brilliance in the handling of criminal
cases, he was one of the best civil
lawyers in the state. His records
show that he was employed in 647
cases in the Court of Common Pleas
and in the Supreme Court, 80 per
cent of which were contested and of
which he lost only 24. He was to the
time of his death the sole legal adviser
of hundreds of citizens througout
this county and state, and he was
always gracious and kind in giving
his time and advice to all those seeking
it, no matter however humble.
Judge Smith was a great student
and was meticulous in the preparation
of his cases. A list of the noteworthy
cases tried by him would be
too lengthy to print here. Suffice to
say that his help was sought in the
great majority of the largest cases
tried in the Courts of this state during
his service at the Bar- He was
widely known also outside fhe State
of South Carolina, and was engaged
in many large cases in the neighboring
states, his services being sought!
as far away as Texas.
As a young man Judge Smith was
a great athlete and he never over-j
came his fondness for athletic sports.
In his college life he was recognized
as one of the greatest college ath- j
letes in the country, being especially
prominent in baseball at WofTord, thej
Citadel and the University of Vir-(
ginia. He was a member of the
famous team that the University of,
Virginia sent as the representative
of the South to take part in the inter-1
collegia to tournament hold at the
World's Fair at Chicago in 1898. He
was thereafter sought by managers
of major league teams, but' declined
these offers. He was 'said by many
of the great professional ball players
to have been the best t\rst baseman'
they ever saw. He was president of
the South Carolnia State League for
two seasons and was often spoken
of as president of the South Atlantic1
League, but his practice and pubhc i
service made it impossible to givej
athletics more of his time.
Judge Smith was the first captain i
of the reorganized Kershaw Guards,
then Company A, Second Regiment
Infantry, now Company M. Upon
his retirement he was presented a
handsome gold and silver trimmed
sword by the members of the company.
.
He was the first Commander of the
James Leroy JBelk Post of the American
Legion and maintained always a
large (interest in Legion affairs, being
nfany times spoken of for State
Commander.
Always interested in education, he
served when quite a young man as
a member of the Board of Trustees
of the Camden city schools, and
throughout his long career he was
one of South Carolina's greatest advocates
of public school education.
He served as a member of the Board
1 of Trustees of the South QaroJina
Medical College in Charleston.
Almost immediately upon his becoming
a member of the Camden Bar,
he became the outstanding political
loader of Kershaw county. He has
firesided over all the Kershaw County
>emocratic Conventions for the past
thirty years or more; has been a delegate
to the -State Convention (nearly
always elected by acclamation) continuously
since 1900, and has time
after time served as the keynote
speaker of the State Democratic Convention
during the past thirty years.
He was elected to the Houee of
Representatives from Kershaw county
| in 1900 by the largest majority ever
given a candidate with opposition in
the county before or sinco, and he
served this county continuously as
i one of its representatives for a long
. period of years, with the exception
t of one term (1907-1909) when he did
not offer, and he was always elected
by flattering majorities, many times
without opposition.
i At the beginning of his second term
i as a member of the House he was
elected Speaker of that body by a
i tremendous majority, serving in that
I capacity for eight years between
11903 and 1915.
With his striking physique, com
manding voice and presence, his exquisite
patience and firmness, his
; spirit of absolute fairness and impartiality,
his polished courtesy and
his complete mastery of parliamentary
law and its usage, his brilliant
1 talents were largely brought into
play while acting as presiding officer
i of that body. South Carolina has
never had his superior as a parliamentarian.
I Obeying the repeated and continued
urging of his friends, he was
candidate for Governor in 1914, and
would probably have been elected had
it not been for the concentration of
the anti-administration forces on
another candidate. His campaign was
a vigorous and effective fight for law '
enforcement, but because of the sit-'
uation above mentioned, he was not j
elected.
In 1915, at the age of 44 years, he'
was unanimous-ly elected Judge of!
the Fifth Judicial circuit, being the
. first Judge from this county since
the la to Joseph B. Kershaw. He served
m this capacity ably and brilliantly
until the entry of this country
into the World War. His charges to
the grand juries and petit juries of
the Mate being masterpieces of diction
and law, in addition to being
among the most forceful ever given
by any judge in South "Carolina. He
made a wonderful reputation as a
brilliant, fair and impartial Judge,
and on leaving the Bench the Judiciary
lost one of the ablest Judges it
over had Since the World War he
has on numerous occasions been called
to sit as acting Associate Justice
on the Supreme Bench, and many of
he finest decisions of that Court are
the creatures of his intellect.
Upon the entry of this government
i into the World War he resigned the
J judgeship and served as Judge Advocate
with the rank of Lieutenant
Colonel in the American Expeditionary
horees in Franco throughout the
| period of the War.
, Judge Smith was ever in demand
| as a public speaker, and he was
. known as one of the very greatest
j orators of the South. While other engagements
would not permit his acceptance
of more than half of invitations
coming to him for public
speeches, he made more than 3,000
, public addresses.
I He ranked high in fraternal af.
fairs in South Carolina. After being
j el*cted successively to minor state
| offices in the Grand Lodge of
[Knights of Pythias, Domain of South
Uirolina, he was, without opposition,
elected Grand Chancellor, at Anderson,
m 1*907, and was Supreme Representative
from South Carolina from
from 1900 to 1020. He was elected
! Grand Master of the Independent
i Order of Odd ,Fellows, of South Caro:
nna, in 1914, and was elected Grand
Representative to the Sovereign
I Grand Lodge in 1915. He took a
I prominent part in the deliberation of
the Supreme Lodges of Knights of
Pythias in its meetings at Milwaukee,
Wisconsin, Denver, Colorado,
Winnipeg Canada, and Portland,
Oregon, - holding a number of the
most important offices in the Su-"
preme Grand Lodge during that
period He was a Mason and a Shriner
and a great student and lover of
Masonry, his lecture on one of the
degrees of Masonry having been
adopted by the Grand Lodge of MaRons
of the State of New York as'the
official lecture of that degree in that
State.
Judge Smith was a devout member
of the First Baptist Church of this)
city, which chgtreh ho served for a I
long number of years a* Deacon, 1
h,ar*\v,w 1>os,tion at the time of I
his death. He was, too, for a long:'
while Superintendent of the Sunday
v ? , for yeara taught the large 1
Men s Bible Class of that church I
In April 1895, Judge Smith was!
married to Miss Anna Dixon, of this'
y/ ,an<i tho,r hom* life has been a
model of gentleness and love. Their,
home has always been open to their,
friends, their hospitality has been
5 enjoyed by friends here and
3ver the state. To this union were
, ^ur children, who, with their
mother, survive. They are Mrs. W. W i
Bates, Jr., M. L. Smith, Jr., B M I
>m.th and Mrs. W. P. Heath. Jr.', all
yi t amden. He leaves one siater. Mrs.!
stuart Long, of Indianapolis, Indi-i
ina, and two brothers, W. F. Smith I
K, Sumter, and Sidney Smith, of I
Columbia Three grandchildren also
survive him.
funerA' service* were held in
^ amden on Saturday afternoon at
*ve oclock, at the First Baptist
Jiurch, interment at the Quaker
T^e Mrvices ^ere con*h^v?rend
J* B Caston,
Baptist church, assisted
L r ^T4ren<1 c- r. Wlmtwrly, of
LytOoton Stroet M?tho<ti?t
church.
The following were the honorary
pallbearers: Board of Deacons of the
Baptist Church, Supremo Court and
Circuit Judges, Kershaw County
Bar Association, James LeRoy Belk
Post American Legion, C. C. Whitaker,
Dr. John W. Corbett, Dr. S. C.
Zemp, W. L. DePass, Sr., Officers
of Kershaw County, and'J. S. Lindsay.
The following1 are the active
pallbearers: Arthur Clarke, I,ambert
DePass, J. B. Zemp, Gay Baum, Dr.
T. B. Bruce, Henry Nilea, J. H. McLeod,
Solicitor A. F. Spigner, and
G. T. Little, Jr.
A choir composed of members of
the various denominations sang "How
Firm a Foundation," "Sometime We'll
Understand," "Sweet Bye and Bye"
and "Rock of Ages,"
Prominent lawyers and officials
from all parts of the state mingled
with men of humbler walks of life in
doing last honor to Judge Smith,
whom they all bad known and esteemed.
The floral display waa one
of the largest ever seen heTe. ' -y?
Telegrams and messages of sym- '
pathy came fro mall sections of the
state and many from other states?
some from great distances. One -was
from Edmund (Bfgham, whom Judge
Smith eared from the electric chafe.
MENDEL L. SMITH (From Photo Tok?n in 1915)
k C..
Governor Extends
Hatfield Clemency
M. O. Hatfield, under M'ntence 10
spend the balance of his life in prison,
yesterday received clemency at the
hand of Governor Blackwood, the
balance of his sentence being suspended
during good behavior.
Hatfield, the records show, was
convicted in Kershaw in March, lfilM.
of murder with recommendation to
i mercy and was sentenced to life imprisonment
by M. L. Honham, now
an associate justice of the supreme
court. Hatfield was charged with
having killed Ernest Stokes; he
claimed self defense at the trial.
In May, 1932, a senate committee,
which made investigations at the penitentiary
of "forgotten men," that is
j men who had more or less been
! lost sight of and had no one to plead
I their cause, recommended that Hat|
field, now more than three score
j years of age, ibo released. The members
of the jury recommended clemency
as did a large number of citizens
of Kershaw county. Hatfield has
served a little more than ten years,
and during tihat time a niece has
cared for three of his six children,
according to information from the
governor's office.?Thursday's State,
Former Solicitor
Dies at Edgefield
John William Thurmond, 73-yearold
attorney of Edgefield, died at his
home at that place Sunday and his ?
funeral was held on Tuesday morn- ;
ing with prominent members of the'
legal profession attending from all
narts of the state.
Mr, Thurmond will be remembered
here by many of the older citizens
as having serves! as solicitor of the
Fifth Judicial Circuit which at that
time was composed of Edgefield, l.exington,
Richland and Kershaw. He
senved as solicitor for eight years
and took part jn the "prosecution of
many noted criminal cases then tried
in tho old court house on lower
broad street. lie also served for six
years as United States district attorney
for the western district under
appointment by Woodrow "Wilson.
Mr. Thurmond is survived by his
widow, tho former Miss Eleanor
Gertrude Strom; three sons, Dr.
John William Thurmond, Jr., Augusta;
J. Strom Thurmond, lawyer
and state senator, Edgefield; Dr.
Allen George Thurmond, Wilmington,
N. C.; three daughters, Mias
Gertrude Thurmond, Columbia teacher;
Miss Martha Thurmond, Grangeburg
teacher; Miss Mary Thurmond,
York teacher.
Returns Here For Visit (
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Marsh, of
Fort Myers, Fla., were here over the
week end for a visit to relatives and
friends in Camden. Mr. Marsh left
Camden about five years ago and this '
is his first visit back home. He has
become prominently connected with
the fruit and truck industry of Florida
and Georgia. Their two children
accompanied them.
Blind Piano Artist ^Tb^-flere
The people of Camden will have an
opportunity to hear one of South
Carolina's great piano artists?in the
person of John Ijandrum, of Greenwood,
S. C. Prof. Ijandrum will give
a recital on next Monday night at
I the high school auditorium under the
I auspices of tho High School Band
; Boosters. This will be an entertainI
ment of the highest type, and to hear
; the equivalent, would cost many
( times more than this will cost. Let
i every one patronize this worthy proposition,
as it will be a musical treat
and at the same time help boost a
much-needed high school band. Some
: one will call on you to buy a ticket.
Vesper Service Sunday Evening
A vesper service will be held on
; the lawn of the Presbyterian church
j Sunday evening at eight o'clock.
. Steriopticon pictures of the Bible
i will be shown. In case of rain the
1 service foe held indoors. The
public is cordially invited.
Methodist Church Servicea
j Services for next Sunday at the
! Methodist church will be as follows:
Preaching both morning and night
by the pastor. Morning subject will
| bo "Our Panacea for Time and EterI
nity." Evening hour "Do We Need
a Prophet?" Services will be at
11:15 a. m. and 8:15 p. m. We invite
the public to worship with us.?
C. F. Wimberly, Pastor.
Presbyterian Church Service*
Sunday, June 24. A. Douglas McArn,
pastor. Church school 10 a. m.
j Morning worship with sermon on
j "Hidden Manna" at eleven fifteen;
j anthem; violin solo by Miss Elizabeth
Smith of McKenzie, Tonn. Vesper
(Service with steriopticon pictures of
the Bible on the church lawn at eight
o'clock. Midweek open air service
I Wednesday evening at eight. Junior
j Club Saturday morning at ten. The
public is cordially invited to these
services.