The Bamberg herald. (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, December 31, 1908, Image 1
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Established 1891 BAMBERG, S. C., THURSDAY, DECEMBER 31, 1908, ' One Dollar a Year
i . ? '
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"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.
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