The Bamberg herald. (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, June 17, 1909, Image 6

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' 1 0 ULU SUJUUiritt mssAiisruiu. 1 Anderson Veteran Says Old Soldiers' Home is a Rough Place. Because of lack of discipline among the inmates 01 the Soldier's Home, at Columbia, where he says they are allowed to do as they please, curse, and conduct themselves in an indecent and barbarous manner, Mr. Riley Rowland, ot Pendieton, who was one of those admitted to the home from Anderson county, has returned and says he will not again enter the institution until some great changes have been effected and the home is conducted on a higher plane. The 21 veterans who are now at the home, he says, have no regard whatever tor the rules that have been laid down for the conduct of the institution, and these are not enforced by those in charge, Capt. Starling, of Columbia, and Capt. Day, of Abbeville. This is due in part, he says, to timidness on the part of the officers, who wish to al low the inmates as much freedom as possible. From morning till night the place is in a turmoil, according to the statement of Mr. Rowland. There is m- swearing; smutty jokes are told in * J ? ennm fA IUUU VUICtJS, ituu liic luuiai^o g^vui i.v vie with each other in an effort to v-see who can tell the most immoral > .... and dirty stories. In the mess hall the condition is deplorable. The waiters are given no opportunity to serve the dishes. If a certain thing be had that appeals particularly to the appetite of any one veteran, he j??. ' promptly turns the contents out into his plate and begins to eat. No grace is said, and the meal is partaken of in wild disorder. The home, Mr. Rowland says, is [ >"- well situated, comfortably furnished, * i i and should be a place where the old h?i'< soldiers could enjoy their declining pv years. But, he says, if ,the present ~ condition is allowed to continue no veteran who tries to walk in the narIgpf row way should go to the place. It is no fit place for him. "I stood it as gp long as I could, and then left." He is |^P-of the opinion that the home, conpip ducted as at present, is more of a W&& curse than a blessing or a benefit to ? ; the inmates. Mr. Roland says he believes some Ife thing should be done at once. There are old, gray-haired men there whose years are few, and they should not conduct themselves in such a barbarous and uncivilized manner. The condition is deplorable, to say the least. [Pp-T ^ Mr. Roland spent nearly three weeks in Columbia, returning hoAe the middle of last week. He says he has no desire ever to return, but . hopes that something will be done that will bring about a change for the. better at the institution. Mr. Rowland lived at Pendleton for a great many years. He was a splendid soldier, and was one of the : few' who survived the explosion of -the crater at Petersburg. He is a man of fine ideals, and is the soul of honor, and has always been held in the highest esteem by all who know r him. All of his relatives are dead, > and for several years he has looked forward to spending his declining years in the Soldiers' Home, in Columbia. He has no other home now, the news that he found the institution in Columbia so badly managed that he could not remain in it will be distressing to his many friends. His old comrades, and the -people of the county, will not let him ^suffer, but it is not known yet what arrangements will be made for tak tag care of him.?Anderson Mail. ?11 if. Capt. Starling Makes Denial. Spfejf. Capt. W. D. Starling, the comBel.* mandant at the Confederate Soldiers' Home, was communicated with last JR'S;' night regarding a dispatch from Anderson declaring that a certain inmate had found the home unbearpk^ Capt. Starling indignantly denied the entire statement. "The truth of the matter is." said the commandant, "we had to call this Mr. RowBg&K land's attention to his unclean habits and his lack of ordinary cleanliness, glgo I did this after several complaints and Mr. Rowland finally announced that he was going to-, leave and go feaek home. He said before leaving that he had nothing to complain about as to the management of the home, and that he had already arranged for a petition to be prepared by several ladies that would increase his pension." Capt. Starling has had several years' of experience in dealing with K?: the arrangements for the care of veterans and he knows thoroughly every possible complaint that might ? arise and as a result he has enl deavored to conduct the home just as he would any place of like character. The atmosphere of the home jp?p Impressed all visitors as nearly like a South Carolina home as it could be, and among those admitted are some men of elegant manners, men of culture and refinement.?The State. p|f CAUGHT AFTER TEN YEARS. pplv Negro Preacher Wanted in Lexington Located in Washington. Lexington, June 13.?W. W. Barton, a negro preacher, who has been wanted in this county for more than 10 years, has recently been located in Washington by Sheriff Corley. Barton is now under arrest in that " city, and will be brought back here \ within the next few days. Mr. C. E. Corley, a brother of Sheriff Corley, sfv left here on Thursday for Washing^ ton, armed with requisition papers from Gov. Ansel, and a message & ;. from Mr. Corley yesterday stated Ko* fh?PA was some defect in the papers and that Barton had refused to return until the papers were put iv in regular form. The papers have been corrected and it is expected */ that the negro will be brought back in a few days to stand his trial. Barton committed forgery and Mr. W. P. Roof went on his bond, but when the case was called for trial he failed to put in his appearance, and P the officers have been looking for him ever since. Sheriff Corley first 5 learned of Barton's being in Washington during the inauguration of * * Mr. Taft as president and he immediately undertook to have him lojp|i eated. . m PUT IN CONWAY JAIL. ^ Melvin Watson Arrested Near Green Sea by C. M. Reaves. * Conway, June 13.?Melvin Watson, the negro who so fouilv murder- , ed Mr. John Watson at Green Sea on June 2, is now in jail. The commitment was made this morning about 2 o'clock, the negro having been cap- j tured last night by Mr. C. M. Reaves I on his plantation only a few miles | e rom Green Sea, the scene of the 11 killing. As soon as Mr. Reaves got j) the negro he rushed him to jail, i * driving a distance of about 25 miles. |c The negro made no resistance when > he was arrested. Yesterday after- t noon about dark he came to a ne- x: gro's house on Mr. Rsaves' place to e spend the night. The negro, though a his kinsman, became very much s frightened, fearing the whole crowd e would be lynched if Melvin were e found there and the woman of the ' house left. The negro man slipped c out over to Mr. Reaves' and told him e that Melvin was at his house. The t arrest followed. The negro begged t for his life, but when assured that he u would be carried to jail he submitted peaceably. Gov. Ansel last week of- li fered $100 reward for the capture of t the murderer. This amount was S supplemented by $50 by the father t of the murdered man. At no time b since the killing have the people of * Green Sea abandoned the search and e had the negro been found by the pur- b suing crowd he doubtless would have * been lynched. Now that he is jailed d it is thought that the law will be allowed to take its course. It is not ? thought, however, that the news of A the capture has yet reached Green t; Sea. The negro talked freely about 0 the killing, claiming that he did not t] intend killing Mr. Watson.' o He said the gun was so easy on y trigger that it fired before he aimed. 0 He states that he has been near b Green Sea all the time except the day tl after the killing, when he went to a c logging camp near Whiteville, N. C., 0 where a white man told him that the s; wires were hot and that he had bet- i] ter hide. He then returned to Green ? Sea. He claims that he has not slept tl but one night since the killing, ten e [ days ago. Sheriff Sessions has the a ! jail well guarded and is taking every c precaution. . * * j a ft Three Shot by Corporal. Des Moines, June 13.?Corporal Lisle Crabtree to-day probably fatal- b I ly shot Capt. John C. Raymond, commanding officer of Troop B, Second tl United States cavalry, at Fort Des ^ Moines, shot and seriously injured vt First Sergeant James H. Washburn cl and Corporal Elijah Such, who at- b tempted to disarm him, and then ^ shot himself, the bullet striking a rib b above the heart and crushing the b bone. He may recover. a' Crabtree had been reprimanded by ti Capt. Raymond because of failure 10 tl report when a leave of absence tad tl expired. He had spent the night in b Des Moines and was to have returned p to his barracks at 7 a. m. The cor- is poral insisted he had leave of ab- tl sence to 7 o'clock to-night. Capt T Raymond acecpted this explanation, et but later Crabtree demanded that he b be transferred to another depart- tl ment of the army. This Capt. Ray-| UiUUU ICiUdCU IU UUUOXUUl , VU^ corporal he could not do that as long as he was not a good soldier. r: Immediately Crahtree drew a re- ci volver and began firing. Sergt. i Washburn jumped to his feet and " grappled with the soldier, suffering a J bullet wound in the hand and another in the jaw. ? Capt. Raymond seized Crabtree's arm and was about to disarm him ' when' a bullet struck him in the 2, neck, lodging in the spine. The cap- * tain dropped to the floor, paralyzed. , A bullet also struck Corporal Such i in the left arm. Crabtree then fired * a bullet into his own body. . Capt. Raymond is the son of Brig. Gen. Charles W. Raymond, retired. ? He was 38 years old. He was com- T missioned from Pennsylvania. .Q * ai Central Texas Has no Cotton. ^ New Orleans, June 13.?The tt Times-Democrat, in publishing its tt first report on the cotton crop of ni 1909, will to-morrow summarize b< f?nnriitinns as follows: m "There has been a moderate de- r? crease in acreage, probably about 5 per cent. Taking the belt as a whole, 01 the condition of the plant leaves ki much to be desired. ro "The supply of labor is fairly ade- el quate, as a rule, though there is a good deal of complaint in some sec- C? tions." si Among the reports from cotton in belt of unusual features is the fol- st lowing from Austin, Texas: h< "That central Texas is without a cotton crop, with half of the month ki of June gone by, may be a state of m affairs difficult to imagine, yet such tt is the case, and to farmers of this w section it is a sad reality. tl "This is generally admitted ai throughout the rural precincts, and tl it is believed that the same condition exists throughout the State and most of the Southwest. The State department of agriculture in this city " confirms this statement. In fact, *5 there is so little cotton in the ground P( that a comparison between the acre- j* age of this year and that of last is next to impossible. About the only d cotton well grown at the present time is raised almost .exclusively by tl the 'hot house methods.' " m B tl Kills Bull With Stone. ? o Hastings, Mich., June 12.?Cleve- h land Strow, a teamster, killed a huge tl bull and probably saved the life of sj David Purchis, a farmer living near k Vermontville, by striking the animal w in the head with a large stone, frac- ii turing its skull. T Purchis and a neighbor, Bert Hop- f< kins, were leading the bull down the p road near their homes, when sudden- t( ly it attacked the former, knocking h*m down and trampling him. It ii had no horns and could not gore a him, but Hopkins was unable to tl drive the animal off. Purchis was be- p ing roughly used when Strow came along and picked up a stone, hurled V it, striking the animal between the s1 eyes, and the beast fell dead. Purchis tl will recover. r< YOMAN IS FOULLY SLAIN 50DY OF MPS. V. E. GRIFFIN FOUND IN A WELL. Jloody Razor and Axe Tell the Story of a Ghastly Murder. Woman's Three Sons Held. Columbia, June 11.?Another iiysterious murder has been added o the list which for the past lewcars have shocked this community, ccs-aliing in its cold-blooded atroltv the killing of Maude Allen a few ears ago was the gruesome find of ne body of Mrs. Victoria E. Griffin n tne well in her yard early this uorning. Her neck cut in two places nd a deep gash in her head told the tory oz tne foul murder, of which lo definite clue could be traced this Qorning, and which was surrounded /ith a veil of mystery and unusual ircumstances. A razor with bloodd blade and an axe with blood on he end and the blade showed that hese weapons were used in the killag. At 5:20 o'clock this morning Poiceman Salters, who has a beat near he union station, was called to 611 lumter street by Russell Griffin, he youngest son of Mrs. Griffin. The oy told Mr. Salters that his mother ras missing from the house and askd the policeman to come to the ouse and look around. Mr. Salters rent and made an examination. He escribes his search as follows: "Being shown into the kitchen I aw blood strewn on one part of the oor near the table. On the kitchen able was a razor which had blood all ver the blade. After looking all hrough the three rooms and kitchen f the house I started out into the ard to see if I could find any trace f Mrs. Griffin there. As I walked y the well I noticed some blood on fie side of the wall. The well was overed tip with the bucket on top f the covering. I looked inside and aw blood on the inner wall. Looklg down into the well I thought I aw something below the surface of fie water. I reached down and pulld up above the surface the body of woman. She was in her night lothes. I then went for a colored rell-digger and together we were ble to raise the body out of thevwa?r by tying a rope around the raist." Mr. Salters says that there was no o trorrrj frAm Kauca f a fViA OUVTTU li ViU cut- UV LU VU^ rell and the appearances were that le clothes had been placed upon the roman after she was killed. There as not as much blood on the lothes as would be expected had she een murdered in them. The axe hich he found had one corner of it roken off and it was here that the lood was on, running up the blade bout half way. There was no fraclre of the skull of the woman, but lere was a deep gash, showing that le blade end of the axe must have een used. A feature which is unexiained except by those in the house i that there were blood tracks from le kitchen into the other rooms, hie they say at the house was causi by the young boy tra6king in the lood, without noticing at first that le blood was on the floor. Snicide Theory Abandoned. When Coroner Walker arrived lere were a number of persons in le house from the neighborhood, o information could be obtained 'om any of those who lived on eithr side of the house or across the ;reet. The theory of suicide was at ace put up by the members of the ousehold, which included two lughters and three sons. This Corner Walkeer abandoned at once. her? was exhibited to him a twoiince bottle of iodine, which the lildren said was bought the day be>re by Mrs. Griffin. This bottle, hich was shown at police station 7 Mr. Walker, appears to be an old ae, and if the stuff was bought yessrday it was placed in the old bottle, here was about one-half of the idine gone. It is marked "poison," id the theory advanced by the chilren of Mrs. Griffin is that she drank le poison. Of course, this, while irowing some light on a possible lotive in the stating of it, has no taring on the killing, for the woan was killed with the axe and tzor. Naturally, the question arises at ice: "How could the woman be illed in her house while five other emhors r?f familv clpnt?" TVio dest daughter says that she did not sar anything during the night that lused her to awake. She says that le awoke at 5 o'clock this mornig, and thinking that it was time to ;art breakfast, went to the room of er mother and called to her. * Rejiving no answer she went to the itchen door and looked to see if her [Other was there. She saw someling on the floor, near the table, hich she thought was water and lought that her mother had been up ad cooking. When it was found lat her mother was not about the ird or in the kitchen her little rother was sent for the policeman. Mr. Salters says that when he arved the other t wo brothers were ing across the bed and did not apear much concerned over the killtg. The younger daughter, he said, carried on" some, but the others id not. Coroner Walker says that when le children told him that their lother must have committed suicide ley did show signs of grief, ut he then went to work and found ut some things, which, even if he ad had any suspicion beforehand lat it was suicide, dispelled the ime. A hat pin was found in the itchen, and the same kind of pin -as fnnnri outside the house. show lg that there had been a struggle, his was in addition to the things >und by Mr. Salters, the most imortant of which was that the well )p was on when he got there. The well was searched this mornlg to see if there could be found nything which might give a clue to le murderer, the water is being umped out of the well. Just after the coroner arrived G. 7. Medlin, who lives across the treet from the Griffin home, came to le house. He was placed under arsst on suspicion. He was a friend of the family, and is said to have! visited the Griffins. It was thought strange that he should come back to the house so early in the morning? | in fact, he was one of the first to ar-' rive a ter the coroner got there. Luke Lewis, a barter, was also placed under . nest. Lewis is sa,i to have been a / s.tor at the house also to see ^ eldest daughter oi Mrs. Griffin. Last night was Lewis's regular night to call, it is further stated, but tor some reason he did not come. Those placed under arrest this morning are: Jim Griffin, age about. 19; Russell Griffin, about 14 years' old, and Walter Griffin, the eldest \ son, all three sons of Mrs. Griffin, j the murdered woman, and G. W. j Medlin and Luke Lewis. Mrs. Griffin was about 50 years! old. She has been living here a, number of years. Her husband ran i a grocery store and later went to Georgia, where he was killed by his partner in the turpentine business. Mrs. Griffin was twice married. The razor found this morning was said to have been the one owned by the eldest son, but the razor case found in his trunk does not correspond with the razor. The police and coroner worked hard to-day to find some clue to the murderer or murderers. Still no Cine. Columbia, June 11.?After working all day on the case, running down every plausible clue that might shed some light on the murder, Coroner Walker announced this evening that he had learned nothing that would tend to place the blame upon the guilty person. The scene of the crime was visited again in the afternoon and a thorough examination made of the kitchen, where the act was committed, me well into which the body was thrown, and the lot at the rear of the house, but nothing was found that will materially aid the officers in solving the mystery. One theory is that the person who killed Mrs. Griffin, knew where her son's razor was kept, knew at just what hour she arose in the morning, and knew where the axe was to be found; in other words the murderer of Mrs. Griffin must have been very familiar with the place. Girl Marshal Makes Arrest. New Orleans, June 12.?Miss Dorothy Koch, 20 years old, recently appointed a deputy United States marshal by Marshal Victor Soisel, made her first arrest yesterday. Miss Koch, a pretty blonde, weighing less than 100 pounds, was formerly a stenographer and typewriter, working in a wholesale establishment. ' Armed with a revolver, which she carried in her handbag, she^cvent alter Anardo Miguel, charged with complicity in a violation of the immigration laws. She found him at his home and willing to go to court. On returning to her office she found that the revolver was locked in the handbag. Business Integrity. A man whose life until recently has been spent as a solicitor for South Water street house?, writes Forrest Crissey in Everybody's, recently said to me: "Nobody outside the street knows how rotten this business is. Of course there are some square houses and some houses that are squarer than others, but the business of the street as a whole is honeycombed with shameful and dishonest practices and rests on a basis of fraud, trickery, and crooked dealing. "Once I went with the boss to the Michigan grape district to solicit Dusmess," ne continued. ine crop was far enough along so that we could tell about what to expect from any vineyard we inspected. Prospects were good, and the boss was out for" a kiHing. "One day we came to a little house which was surrounded by a splendid vineyard heavy with growing fruit; it had been well cared for, and there was no doubt that the crop would be extra choice. A sad-eyed woman came to the door in answer to our knock, and the boss asked for her husband. She swallowed hard and finally managed to say that she had buried him the Sunday before. After talking sympathetically with her for a while the boss told her he'd like to handle her crop. " 'It's all I've got in the world,' she answered, 'and I must take care to get every cent possible out of it. I can't afford to make any mistake, you know?it isn't as if I still had Tom to take care of me.' "I knew that the boss was a mighty practical old pirate, but the way he talked to that poor widow completely pulled the wool over my eyes and convinced me that he really had a soft spot in his heart, and would give her a square deal, as he promised. Well, she sent the grapes to us, and they were fine?brought a rancy price. wnen me gin was making up the accounts and the checks for that week, she called out to the boss and asked 'how about Mrs. W ?' " 'Pay her at the rate of nine cents.' "I was simply astounded, for I had sold the shipment myself and knew that the price he named was a straight 'knock-down' of about twothirds. Then it occurred to me that perhaps he had forgotten the circumstances in connection with the shipment, and so I said: " 'Jim, don't you remember that she's the woman who buried her husband the Sunday before we called?' " 'What do I care?' he answered. 'Hain't her money just as good to me as anybody's?' And that's the spirit of South Water street and of the produce commission business the country over: Get the money and keep out of jail. I'm glad I'm out of it." The Lesser Evil. He?I see a recently enacted law in Nevada provides that applicants for divorce must be residents of the State two years, instead of six months as in the past. She?-Oh, well, a woman would rather put up with any husband for a lifetime than live in Nevada for two years.?Yonkers Statesman. . ' . " ; .V': . SEND YOUR DA C L* I FFORD For refined, home life, individual a with cultured teachers, full musical, acj PRICES LOW. Numbers limited, cli able, pure spring water, cold and hot; sewerage, fine sanitation. Twenty-sixth annual session begins S< apply to Rev, B. Q. CI UNION, gjllilPMlllllllII || On Top mI in the estimation of the pub- ^ lie is where your position ra$j will be if driving S? m * xt r r> r ?r.nv I Ail truu-JWAiL Litfini RIG ? from these stables. Our turn-outs are always "on ^ top" in the eyes of those who know. It's the height of the driving season. Have us book you for to-morrow. J. R. KINA The Liveryman. ~ f A Grand Opportunity T( and Alaska-Yuko The best and most inexpensive the Great Western Country this s Yukon Exposition opened June li PAY AS YOU GO, STAY AS LOI DESIRE." Why not spend your your own trip and go in comfort may be done by planning your ti Southern in connection with an individual ] 3rd, on the INDIVIDUAL EXPEI about half as much as a fixed exp July 3rd Southern Railway?Goldsboro Queen & Crescent?Harriman Southern Railway?Danville, K Wabash R. R.?St. Louis to K Union Pacific?Kansas City to Denver & Rio Grande?Denver S. P. L. A. & S. L.?Salt Lake Round Trip R Going via any ticketing route ticketing route as desired. Via Portland, Seattle and San 1 returning one way via Portland FROM Goldsboro $99.75 Greensboro 99.75 Durham 99.75 Spartanburg 97.45 Columbia 98.20 Orangeburg 98.20. Greenwood 96.65 Rock Hill 98.35 Rates quoted from other points Tickets limited to October 3 OVERS at all points west of Chi< sale daily to September 29th, : RATES TO and from CALIFORfl fore completing arrangements fox ity to talk with you about the de and tell you of the most intereu cheapest way to see them. Writ* i EXCURSION To Chester and Return i Account United Confedera South Carolina the Southei very low round trip rates to will be sold June 22, 23, and turn until June-28th, 1909. Round trip rates from princii Bamberg $2.45 Blacksburg 1.00 Blackville 2.30 DtiAnoTitrtll/i 2 fiO Ss Camden 1.40 Charleston 3.75 ^ Columbia 1.30 jjSjj Children between five an< A For further information, Southern Railway ticket ager 1 J. L. MEEK, kS> Asst. Gen. Pass Agt., * ATLANTA, GA. ' 8 EXCURSION I j Washington, D. C., and I 15 The Southern Railway 3* round trip excursion rate g 9 Tickets to be sold June 21 ** turn leaving destination < June 24th, 1909. ROUND TRIP TICKETS FRO? s | Barnwell $10.00 3 g Camden 9.00 g g[ Denmark 10.00 ^ Children between the a g 5 years half of the above fa mation, rates, tickets, etc Railway ticket agents or || J. L. MEEK, 12 Asst. Gen. Pass. Agt., Atlanta, Ga. f' :.7<r . /-- "t-v! -V. = UGHTER TO SEMINARY ttention, constant, personal contact idemic, and collegiate courses, mate unsurpassed, building comfortelectric lights, excellent system of : \ ^5MK* eptember 28, 1909. For catalogue ifford, D. D., s-c- ' ================================== Bamberg, 8. C. r-^WMI ^ See tbe Pacific Crast n Exposition way to see the iPaciflc Coast and ammer, and take in the Alaska- ffifj st, is to "GO AS YOU PLEASE, *G AS OCTOBER 31st, IP YOU own money? Why not plan * , and when it suits yon? This ip over the Railway pari; reaving iuc voruiuiBB ?iu/ S'SE PLAN, which will cost 70a tensive excursion tour. jfjw I, Route to Harriman Junction. Junction to Danville, Ky. [yM to St. Louis, Mo. Kansas City, Mo. H Denver. ' to Salt Lake City. City to Los Augeles. 4> ailroad Rates selected and returning via any Prancisco or vice versa, going or and Seattle. .; FROM " Anderson 96.10 y ' Raleigh $99.75 Salisbury 99.75 > Chariotte 99.75 Greenville ro.w Charleston 99.75 Newberry 97.45 Chester 98,85 Sumter 99.75 on application. 1st, 1909, and permit STOP- 4 cago or St. Louis. Tickets on 1909. LOWER ROUND TRIP ^ ttA quoted on application. Be? your trip give us an opportuntails of it, quote you best rates;ting points, and the best and n i to * J. C. LUSK, D. P. A., I Charleston, S. C. I m Southern Railway f J ,te Veterans Reunion of Ss ? *n Railway announces w Chester, S. C. Tickets A 24, limited good to re- X >al stations as follows: Gaffney $1.15 A Orangeburg 2.30 2K Rock Hill 50 Jg Spartanburg 1.15 ? 9AA A Winnsboro 55- Sg Yorkville..' 50 KM i twelve years of age ? tickets, etc., apply to A V. its or address, J.C.LUSK, ? | Division Pass. Agt^ A -M . CHARLESTONS^ C. X RATES TO |l tefarn via Southern Ry. || ; Igf it LLIIO UUIC3 VCi/ lun v v s to Washington, D. C. SZ st, limited good to re- js S >n or before midnight of g j I STATIONS AS FOLLOWS: j j Sumter 9.00 11j ges of five and twelve fiZ res. For further infor- 1 J apply to Southern 2 2 address, S 2 J. C. LUSK, g!