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-A lambmj ^ralb Established 1891 BAMBERG, S. C., THURSDAY, DECEMBER 31, 1908, ' One Dollar a Year i . ? ' ? i * "GRAFTERS" IN PITTSBURG EQUALS PHILADELPHIA IX EX? TENT OF CORRUPTION. Shocking and Sensational Testimony but a Preliminary to Disclosures Which WUl Stir Nation. Pittsburg, Dec. 23.?With a suddenness that startled Pittsburg from * end to end, this city to-day moved * into first place in the role of corruption and municipal graft Late to-night, many hours after thunderbolts in the shape of sensational testimony had fallen, citizens ? of Pittsburg were dumbfounded. It is stated the shocking developments here to-day are mere preliminaries 1 and subsequent steps against additional councilmen and business \ien will not only startle Pittsburg, 1 ut the whole country. $ It was intimated strongly in tho testimony in court to-day that over three score councilmen are "easy to reach" and the "reaching" necessitated only smaii sums ranging from & S1O0 to $5. In the passage of one ordinance alone it was testified that 60 councilmen had divided $45,000. Sensations followed one another in rapid succession during the heara ing of the seven councilmen and two former bank / officers arrested on Charges of bribery, corrupt solicitation, and conspiracy last Monday night. W. W. Ramsey and A. A. Vilsick, former president and cashier of the I Gerffian National bank, were firjst placed on trial. It was testified that they had been approached by Councilman John Kleine, one of the accused, who stated the bank would be made a depository for the city funds in the event "the German National bank would do as other banks have done." After several conferences the bankers placed $17,500 on a tat ble in a room of the bank. Councilman Klein and companion entered the room and a short time later left the bank. The bankers then visited the room and the money was gone. ' " - -o IV. At tflc retjucsus ot uic uucviwo wi the bank, both men resigned last S Saturday. They were held for court in the sum of $14,000 bail each. Trial of Councilmen. The seven councilmen, President Brand and Members Kleine,/ Soffel, J ' Wasson, Melaney and Ferguson of * common council, and Atkinson, of select council, were then called for trial. The single witness was Rob. ert Wilson, a private detective and , superintendent of the Municipal League of Scranton, Pa., who is employed by the Voters' League of * Pittsburg, which brings the prosecution against the nine defendants. Mr. Wilson's testimony was sensational. Aided by an assistant, Wilson engaged a room in a local hotel and, he testified, cut holes in the door and $ walls of an adjoining room. Then a I series of meetings were arranged with councilmen. His asisstant, Herbert Jones, posed as a business man desirinsr certain ordinances passed and during his conference with the councilmen, Wilson and a stenogu rapher were stationed in the next room making a full record of the transactions. During these conferences Councilman Kleine had a great deal to sav regarding how complete councils were controlled by the accused men, the detective said. It was 4 also testified that 'Kleine and Brand each accepted $500 from Jones in payment for securing the passage of an ordinance. At a meeting held in another local hotel Kleine, it was testified, told Wilson how hard it was to divide $ money among the councilmen. Councilman Kleine told of how $45,000 had to be split between 60 councilmen. This money was received in t connection with the construction of filter beds at the new filtration plant of Pittsburg. & Councilman Kleine, Wilson testified, said that the councilmen had different prices. Some councilmen, Kleine told him, wanted $100, some $75, some $25, and some $5. According to Councilman Kleine, Wilson testified, the $5 men were known 1 as "hoodlums." It was also possible to secure some councilmanic votes on some meastn wvHirn for a suit of clothes Ul^O AU AWM*? ? . or for street car tickets. With the exception of Kleine and Wasson, all of the different men immediately renewed their bonds for appearance for court trial and were released. In the aggregate the bonds amounted to $118,000. Kleine and Wasson succeeded in i- securing $30,000 bond with friends ' as security. Mistakes Man for a Bear. Chattanooga, Tenn., Dec. 26.? t Mistaking a drunk man clad in a long Buffalo overcoat for a bear, Thomas Deckmar, a well known farmer, last night shot and instantly killed Thomas Andrews, near LaFayette, Tenn. Andrews had been in jail, but was paroled by the sheriff that he might go home for Christmas. Instead of going home he got * ?A -a ? ? oliion in tha ' drunk ana sat uuwu IU xu vuv doorway of a house occupied by a widow. Deckmar was called, the family thinking Andrews was a bear. Deckmar prodded the form with his gun, and getting no response, fired. f A coroner's jury rendered a verdict of justifiable homicide. A Branchville Failure. Mr. W. M. Warren, of Branchville, has filed a petition in voluntary bankruptcy. Mr. Warren was a contractor and builder, and his failure will be a great surprise to his friends who thought he was prospering. It is reported that his liabilities are something like $25,000. \ DESTRUCTIVE FIRE IN SUMTER. Flames Sweep Through Inflammable Frame Buildings. Sumter, Dec. 26.?The most destructive fire that Sumter has had within nearly 10 years started at 6:45 last night in the large sale stables of the Booth-Harby Live Stock Company, on the corner of west Liberty and Sumter streets, and for two hours and a half the fate of the business section hung in the balance, while the flames raged through a half block of old and inflammable frame buildings. The fire was the result of the carelessness of a crowd of several negro boys who were shooting fireworks on Sumter street alongside the Booth-Harby stable. A firecracker fell through a crack in the side of the stable, ignited the hay in the loft and a blaze was started that was instantly beyond control. The buildings destroyed included the stables, buggy house, farm implement house, building material warehouse, wagon shed and other buildings of the Booth-Harby Live Stock Company; livery stable of C. W. Smith & Co., Monaghan No. 2 WoBfl Comnanv house: W. J. Ard, plumber; building owned by H. J. Harby and occupied by Western Union Telegraph Company; Stoe Fruit Company and Trexler Lumber Company; office building owned by H. J. Harby and occupied by Horace Harby, George D. Levy and others; Copeston's dye works; office of county dispensary board, owned by H. T. Edens; two office buildings owned by estate of J. A. Renno; office building owned by Mark Reynolds; 1wo office buildings owned by Mr3. C. F. McFaddin; office, stables and feed house of W. M. Graham; paint shop and repair workroom of Von Olsen & Shirer. The office of Harby & Co., building of W. J. Andrews, occupied by Dr. C. W. Birnie as a drug store downstairs and offices upstairs on Liberty street and the rear of the buildings occupied by Everybody's store, DuRant's confectionery, Carolina Hardware Company, Sumter Book Store and Schwartz Bios, and the Farmers' Bank and Trust Company's building were damaged. The office of the Darby store on the opposite side of Libertv street from the fire had a narrow escape, the glas3 In all the four windows having been broken by the heat. With the exception of the BoothHarby Live Stock Company, C. W. Smith & Co., H. J. Harby, estate of Horace Harby, W. M. Graham and the Carolina Hardware Company the * ?1,1 1? ?J Vir +><a inonron lOSS Will Ut; UUYC1CU UJ I.U& iuoutuuw. The Booth-Harby Company's loss is the heaviest, being at least $S,OQO to $10,000 above the insurance. Tho total loss is estimated at about $100,000. Negro Escapes Lynching. Little Rock, Ark., Dec. 26.?A startling story of an attempt at lynching was told to-day by D. F. Jones, negro of New Gascony, Ark., labor agent for the Gracie plantation. Jones is in the hospital at Pine Bluff, where he is recovering .from the effects of what he declares was an attempt to lynch him near Gilliam, La. He says a number of white men who were enraged because he was preparing to take out of the district a number of negro laborers, placed a rope about his neck and drew him up to a pole, with the intention of hanging him. The pole broke, he said, and he managed to escape after being badly whipped. Jones is in a critical condition. Wanted to Lynch Negro. Darlington, Dec. 27.?Sheriff J. C. Blackwell went to Florence yester day afternoon and brought back Robert Johnson the negro arrested near Effingham yesterday, suspected of being the one who, it is alleged, raped a woman in Hartsville last week, and landed him in jail about dark. About mid-night Mayor Charles W. Coker, of Hartsville, telephoned the sheriff that quite a crowd had gathered and were excitedly discussing the affair, threatening to move on Darlington before day and lynch the negro in jail. Sheriff Blackwell called Governor Ansel over the long distance telephone and explained the situation. Governor Ansel ordered the sheriff to procure an automobile, take the negro to Florence and there take the 3:21 train for Columbia, and the sheriff obeyed the orders of the governor. Mayor Coker was notified that the negro had been sent to Columbia and the mayor notified the people of Hartsville, but there were some who were not convinced that the negro had been spirited away from the jail, and this afternoon a constable from Hartsville appeared here with a warrant, which had been issued by Magistrate Frank A Miller, of Hartsville, and wanted ?" ??T>,,+ n# nnnmsa Vla didn't lilt? UCglU, JJUl, ui Viuuigv, u\. utuu V get him. With the constable were several others, among them the husband of the woman whom it is alleged was raped. It was reported that the negro was taken to Hartsville last night and fully identified by the woman, but there is no foundation in fact for the rumor. Tragedy in Crowded Street. Johnstown, Pa., Dec. 27.?John Stromer, a blacksmith, on a much traveled street to-day shot his wife, her brother, William Kurtz, and the latter's wife, and then blew out his own brains in plain view of a crowd of horrified bystanders. Stromer had not been living with his wife for several years, and domestic troubles is assigned as the cause of the tragedy. It was ascertained at the hospital that the Kurtzes are both dangerously wounded. Mrs. Stormer was shot in both legs and sustained a scalp wound, but will recover. Stormer was dead when the officers arrived. STATE'S INCOME THIS YEAR CHANCE TO BREAK EVEN WITH APPROPRIATIONS. ! Despite Increase in the Levy There Seems to be No Let Up in the Loans. j Despite the statement made at the last session of the general assembly that a raise in the State tax levy from 4 Vz mills to 5 % mills would i enable the State to get nearer a cash basis and possibly do away with borrowing money, it is shown this year that the appropriations overlap the income, although the assessments of property have been increased and property values raised much higher. The State has also borowed the full amount allowed by the legislature? $500,000?upon which interest totaling up several thousand dollars x 1- - 2J must ue pitiu. The official figures obtained from the comptroller general show the total taxes received by the State since the 1-mill increase to be $1,492,523.75. The appropriations made by the general assembly last year for 1908 amounted to $1,640,000 in round numbers. This leaves a very large deficit, but fortunately there are other sources of income that will make up a good portion of this. The license fees will, according to the estimate of the comptroller general, made in his report, amount to $20,000; the tax levied for the support of the railroad commission to $10,700; the income from the fisheries commission to $10,000; the income tax to $12,000, and the corporation license tax to $80,000. The last named item ran $4,000 over that estimate. The interest on the money borrowed this year, however, will amount to about $10,000, so that there is a chance for the State coming out about even and a chance for & deficit. The total taxable property in South Carolina this year is $271,367,956 and an increase of $3, | 929,819. | The following are the figures showing State taxes by counties now being collected to pay the appropriations made by the last general assembly for the present fiscal year, 1908, as certified by the comptroller general to the State treasurer and to be charged to the several county treasurers: Abbeville $ 33,039,300 Aiken 60,388,603 Anderson 72,466,240 Bamberg 15,959,570 Barnwell 31,953,350 Beaufort 20,200,784 Berkeley 21,663,829 | Calhoun 13,049,245 Charleston 128,570,860 Cherokee 26,620,468 Chester 35,346,760 Chesterfield 19,255,720 Clarendon 20,978,512 Colleton 28,465,800 [Darlington 30,795,836 (Dorchester 16,367,422 Edgefield 22,588,104 Fairfield 26,011,350 Florence 31,712,264 Georgetown 22,715,132 Greenville 71,385,570 Greenwood 34,809,130 Hampton 23,528,230 Horry 15,573,811 Kershaw 24,011,490 Lancaster 18,924,678 Laurens 36,259,580 Lee J 15,665,089 Lexington 29,148,400 Marion 33,371,910 Marlboro .... 24,800,314 Newberry 38,858,800 Oconee 25,669,160 Orangeburg 40,004,140 Pickens 21,618,840 Richland 93,778,120 Saluda 14,193,912 Spartanburg 99,330,460 Sumter 39,667,991 Union 38,301,898 Williamsburg 27,576,423 York 47,898,663 I Total $1,492,523,758 j AN ALABAMA TRAGEDY. j Deputy Sheriff Shoots and Kills His Assailant. I Seale, Ala., Dec. 25.?John W. Chambers, deputy sheriff of Russell county, shot and killed George H. Thompson, 50 years old, this morning. Thompson and several others were beating a negro who had cheated a merchant out of a dollar, when the deputy sheriff came up and asked them to desist. Thompson, it is said, resented the interference of the officer and drew a revolver on Chambers and fired, the ball passing through the officer's hat. Chambers took the pistol away from Thompson and started to walk away, when Thompson cursed the officer and threatened his life. At I this point, it is alleged, Thompson attempted to draw another revolver when the officer shot with the pistol he had taken from Thompson, killing I the latter almost instantly. Chambers was released at once on bail in the sum of $1,000. New County Badly Beaten. There seems to have been a decided reaction from the new county craze that was on some time ago. The proposed new county of Edisto was badly beaten all along the line. It only got nine votes in Orangeburg county out of a possible hundred or more. The vote in Aiken county was nearly evenly divided, while in Lexington county the proposed new county got only eighty votes out of a possible three hundred votes. Instead of getting a two-thirds vote in its favor, as is required by law, there was recorded against the new county nearly a two-thirds vote. This election puts Edisto county to sleep for all time. TOWX OFFICER REMOVED. Proceedings to Be Instituted Against Col. George Tapper. The people of Summerville are much concerned over the alleged shortage of funds by former Town Clerk and Treasurer Col. George Tupper, and his removal from office with the consequent decision to be instituted to proceed against the official. At the meeting of the town council a few days ago, the report was submitted by the committee, embodying a report of Special Accountant E. O. Hall, setting forth an alleged shortage and on this report the town council adopted the resolution, directing the town counsel, Legare Walker, to proceed against the deposed official, aff follows: Resolved, That the report of E. O. Hall, special accountant, and also the report of the committee on ways and means in reference to the treasurer's books and the affairs of his office be spread upon the minutes, it having been heretofore acecpted and received as information by council. Resolved, further, That the corporation counsel be, and he is hereby instructed and directed to institute such proceedings and take such steps as might be necessary for a criminal prosecution of Col. George Tupper, the former clerk and treasurer, and further that a civil action be also instituted against him for the amounts due by him to the town.? Charleston Evening Post. HENEY GOING TO PITTSBURG. Reported that 'Frisco Lawyer Will Help Probe Alleged City Scandal. Pittsburg, Pa., Dec. 27.?Officially there were no developments in Pittsburg's > municipal scandal to-day. That the Voters League has evidence to warrant other arrests and that these would be made when the time was deemed propitious was all that any officer of the League would say. There is a rumor tonight that Francis J. Heney, who uncovered the Oregon land frauds and was conspicuous in the San Francisco graft prosecutions, is coming here shortly at the request of President Roosevelt to investigate the alleged bribery so far as it is connected with Federal institutions. According to Washington reports Mr. Heney was in conference with the President yesterday on the Pittsburg situation. If he comes here it will be in the capacity of a special examiner, it is said, to investigate the alleged use of money by officers of national banks to have their institutions made de - - J _ 4 M. posltorieB or tne cuy s iuh^b. a statement was made at the preliminary hearings of the men under arrest that $175,000 had been thus expended. While there was no official development to-day the alleged corruption in municipal affairs was forcibly brought to the attention of thousands of citizens. Nearly every minister, at either morning or evening services in his church, either devoted all or part of whole sermon to the subject. Accidentally Killed. Cartersville, Dec. 27.?Mr. Wade Langston, a prominent farmer of the Sardis section, accidentally shot and killed himself while hunting near here Christmas day. * As he was climbing over a fence his gun was discharged in some way, killing him almost instantly. The accident has cast a gloom over the entire community. Mr. Langston leaves a wife and one child. SON SHOOTS FATHER. ? ? 1 . *1-1 III- U-n Willie unit rang auucyiuc uum advances on Wife With Knife and Son Opens Fire. Abbeville, Ga., Dec. 28.?Leon McDuffie shot his father, D. S. McDuffie, through the left lung and directly under the heart Sunday morning. The wounds are serious, possibly fatal. McDuffie had been to Rochelle Saturday and come home at night drinking, it is claimed. It is charged that he ran his family off from home and they spent the night in a cotton patch. It is charged that McDuffie told the neighbors if his family came to their houses and spent the night with them during a family row he would shoot them. It appears that they stayed out all night rather than go to any of their friends homes to spend the night. As they were running off McDuffie shot at his son, who is about 17 years of age. When they came home the next morning McDuffie began to abuse his wife, and drew his knife. Young Leon McDuffie warned him if he did not quit he would shoot ' - * ? ? - 1 J him, telling him that ne nau mu from him his last time. It is said the young man walked off whistling after shooting his father, going to his sister's and telling her the news. D. S. McDuffie is the father of Orrin and Pete McDuffie, who were killed at a frolic about three years ago by Joe Watts. Watts was acquitted after three trials. McDuffie, the father, was considered a dangerous man when drinking. Negro Arrested. Roanoke, Va., Dec. 28.?West Grubb, a negro, wanted for attempting to wreck passenger trains on the Norfolk & Western road on three different occasions within the past three weeks, was arrested yesterday near Wytheville, not far from the scene of the attempts. Grubb was brought to Roanoke, on account of anticipated violence at the hands of a mob. IN THE PALMETTO STATE S03IE OCCURRENCES OF VARIOUS KINDS IN SOUTH CAROLINA. State News Boiled Down for Quick Reading?Paragraphs About Men and Happenings. The State Teachers' Association is in session in Columbia this week. There was a meeting of stockholders of the Seminole Securities Company in Columbia Tuesday, and a resolution was passed directing that evidence be collected against all parties concerned and that this evidence be handed the attorney general for purpose of .^criminal prosecutions. The trustees were bitterly censured by the meeting. Gen. R. R. Hemphill, editor of the Abbeville Medium, died at his home in Abbeville Monday. He- had been in failing health for several months, and his death was not unexpected. The immediate cause of his death was heart failure. He was a brother of J. C. Hemphill, editor of the -* "? -a n x n i\ews ana touner. \_rcu. xieiu^uui was sixty-eight years old, and had been a prominent man in affairs of State for a number of years. For the last several years he has been clerk of the State Senate, but was not a candidate this winter on account of his health. He was a prominent member of the State Press Association, and his presence at the meetings was always looked forward to by his newspaper brethren. E. W. Screven, United States revenue agent, who has had his headquarters in Greensboro, N. C., will move his headquarters to Columbia on January 1. This move will be one of great benefit to Columbia and is made possible owing to a redisricting of the revenue agents in the South Atlantic States. Since the prohibition movement has affected North Carolina and other States, the distilling of liquor has been watched more closely by the United States government. In the former district South Carolina was with North Carolina and part of Virginia, under the revenue agent at Greensboro, N. C. Under the new arrangement Columbia will have the headquarters of a district composed of South Carolina, Florida and east Georgia. JURY DISAGREES. ~~< THoohaiioMi hr Jiiricp on Failure to Decide. Irvine, Ky., Dec. 26.?The jury in the case of Beach Hargis, charged with the murder of his father, Judge James Hargis, this afternoon reported their inability to agree and were discharged. The jury stood nine for acquittal and three for conviction. Beach Hargis had been drinking heavily for a few days before the killing of Judge Hargis aqd had finally been brought back to Jackson. For some days, the neighbors declared, Judge Hargis had been dragging the. boy through the streets of the wild little mountain town. As told in the trial Beach entered his father's store and after a few words with the judge, engaged in a grapple with him. They fell to the floor, Beach on top, and with the judge's own pistol the boy fired several shots into the body of the prostrate man. The State, in the trial of young Hargis, contented itself with the facts of the case. The defense, one of the lawyers for whom was United States Senatorelect W. O. Bradley, former governor of Kentucky, based its strength on the testimony of the boy and that of his mother, Mrs. Louellen Hargis. Mrs. Hargis testified that her husband had early taught the boy bad habits, and when Beach was a child had given him whiskey and buckled a pistol on the child. Beach (or Beauchamp, his right full name) is 23 years old and has always b?en what in the Kentucky mountains is termed "feverish." He had given his parents much trouble. No Further Arrests. Pittsburg, Pa., Dec. 26.?Contrary to expectations, there were no additional arrests to-day in the councilmanic bribery cases, which have furnished Pittsburg with a number of sensational developments since the arrest Monday night of seven councilmen and two former bankers on charges of corrupt practices. However, an authoritative state' " -1 ~-i-1?? ?a?h/\t?o will ho nr. ment timl umci yciouuo nw uv rested was made by Attorney A. Leo Weil, president of the Voters' League. These additional arrests (the number is estimated at from 17 to 40) are not expected to be made now until Monday and probably not until the first of the year. According to the officers of the Voters' League they have plenty of evidence against many other persons who, it is stated, will surely be taken into custody, but when this will be, investigators are reluctant to say. Many rumors were in circulation and a few interesting developments occurred to-day. Among the rumors was one to the effect that a number of national banks were undergoing a thorough examination in connection with the report that certain financial Institutions had paid $176,000 for the privilege of handling the city's funds, but the government officials refused either to confirm or to deny the story. It was also claimed that the accused councilmen knew they were being investigated and were simply playing the game of politics for the purpose of seeing how far the detectives would deal with them. This, it is said, will be their defense. NEGRO BRUTE CAUGHT. Man Named Johnson Arrested for Committing Criminal Assault. Hartsville, Dec. 27.?It seems that the negro brute who committed the outrage at this place on Monday night last has been apprehended and is now within the penitentiary walla. It has been a terrible week of wait* ing and disappointment to every good citizeii of Hartsville as the days passed and the many clues gave no results and the many suspects failed to be identified by the lady. Enraged and determined that the crime should not go unavenged it any human agency could accomplish the detection and arrest of the criminal, every man has felt more and more hopeless and baffled as eadh succeeding day was fruitless. Every instrument of the law and every means that could be employed with any hope of success have been used > to get to the bottom of the outrage and quietly, but constantly, the town and county authorities have worked -pa puy *jnoq jCiaAa iq2ju pun Arp ded to the efforts of the authorities . has been the voluntary work of many persons in their private capacity. Through this latter source came the first clue, which has finally led to the arrest of a brute against' whom the evidence is very positive. A negro named Johnson was arrest* ed at Effingham Saturday morning by Sheriff Burch, of Florence, acting with Policeman Seegars, of this 1 r:j place, and Mr. Ed Perry, a brother of the victim's husband. The negro was taken to Florence and thence to Darlington, where he was turned over Saturday night to Sheriff Blackwell at 8 o'clock. It was proposed to bring him here for identification* but the authorities here feared trouble and advised Sheriff Blackwell to keep him at Darlington. Later on* acting on further advices from .hero that a threatening crowd was waft- ' > ing to get sight of the negro, Sheriff Blackwell drove to Florence at 3 > o'clock' in the morning and t&ere took the 4 o'clock train for Columbia. A crowd met the train coming in here at 9 o'clock Saturday night and it is pretty certain would have made short work of the negro at once. In? deed, many of them believed that the negro had been taken off the train on **- - ?onrt war some tne UUtsn.ilwo yji wnu where around, and all night and all day Sunday crowds of men have been congregated around town awaiting a developments and anxious to locate the brute. There was never any intention on the part of the town authorities to allow the man to be brought here. This is the first crime of its kind . ^ committed at this place and, indeed, one of the few in the county. It . . M fairly staggered people by its enormity, but left no doubt as t6 the f ^ short work that would have been made of the criminal had it been possible to lay hands on him. The citizens of the town look for . the governor to order an early trial . of the negro. Capt. J. C. Minus is Retired. Washington, Dec. 26.?The war department to-day announced the re- >' y tirement of Capt. Josiah C. Minna, ??nf padets at Clem- , j HOW cumiuauuu>i? - . _ son college. Capt. Minus was pro- nounced incapacitated for service by an army retiring board appointed to sit upon his case. The disability un% ^ der which he suffers was incurred in the service. The finding of thia board was today approved by the president, and now the commandant1 * at Clemson is on the retired list. The order adds, "He will proceed to hit home," this being "for the good of the service," which indicates he will receiv^ transportation expenses to his home. Capt. Minus is a South Carolinian and belongs to the well known Minus family of Dorchester, although he ^ was born in Texas. He was appointed to West Point from South Carolina. Just prior to tnis apointment he ' # was a cadet at the Citadel. No successor at Clemson has been i Tf ia likely there will be | uarncu. xv ? any haste In this matter as It is un- ga derstood that Capt. Minus' health lfl not such that he will be willing to remain until he is relieved by his successor. There have been, in fact, , a number of retired officers doing regular duty at military schools throughout the country, but, as re* , tired officers get only three-fourths pay, the institution would have to ^ make up the difference between retired pay and the full pay. Negro Hanged for Murder. I Perry, Ga., Dec. 28.?Fletcher , Willis, a negro, was hanged here be~ tween 10 and 11 o'clock this moming for the murder of Mr. James , I Hall, of Houston county. I Willis would eat nothing and on leaving the jail, in company with Sheriff Cooper and a deputy, from Houston county, said: "I am damn glad this thing wil soon be over with, but they are hanging an innocent man when they hang me." I Negroes Killed by Train. I Aiken, Dec. 26.?Information reached the city yesterday afternoon of the killing of David Zephan, colored, and his wife at Ellenton last night by a train on the Charleston & Western Carolina road. It appears that Zephan and his wife an<J son had been at Ellenton shopping I wori-nesdav and had started CklL \JJL ? i w home at night, walking down the railroad track. They had got only a short distance when they were overtaken by a freight train. The boy jumped off the track in time to save his life, but the man / dnd woman were caught beneath the wheels and crushed to death, mangling their bodies. The engineer states he did not see them until upon them. ' m ' sVyll ' ' ?k-i'-W