The Bamberg herald. (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, April 03, 1913, Page 7, Image 7
ALLENS PAY TUB PENALTY
FATHER AND SON PAY EXTREME
PENALTY FOR MURDER.
x Eleventh-Hour Appeals to Lieutenant
Governor Stopped when Gov.
Mann Returns.
Richmond, Va., March 28.?Mumbling
a prayer and crying half audibly
that he was ready to go, Floyd
Allen, lawless product of the Virgini
la mountains, whose refusal to ac
cept a short prison term for a minor
offence led to the wholesale Court
murder in Hillsville, one year ago,
limped to the death chair in the
State penitentiary here to-day eleven
minutes ahead of Claude Swanson Al*
len, his son.
.? ' The sentence of the Court, held up
^ lor six hours while desperate and dramatic
efforts were being made to save
\ the condemned men by eleventh hour
appeals to the Lieutenant Governor,
was speedily ordered to proceed when
I Governor Mann hastened back to Virginia
soil to take charge of the situa
\ tion which was sensational and exciting
to a degree.
The prison superintendent, acting
entirely within the law, agreed at 2
o'clock this morning to defer the execution,
giving Attorney General Wil*
liams an opportunity in the mean
if while to pass upon the constitutional
right of Lieutenant Governor Elysson
tc interfere.
But the young son of Governor
? Mann reached his father in Philadelphia
by 'phone less than an hour after
the delay had been ordered, and
hv K n VI nek to-dav the Governor was
" > " - ~ ? ? again
on Virginia soil.
Hastens Back to Richmond.
Incensed, as it afterward develop>
ed, by the unexpected effort to take
advantage of his temporary absence,
"when he had repeatedly refused clemency,
the Governor boarded an early
r morning train, arriving in Richmond
at 11.30 o'clock.
On the way he telegraphed the Secretary
of the Commonwealth that he
would be in Virginia by 8 o'clock, this
information suddenly checking the
plan of Allen sympathizers in further
urging the Lieutenant Governor to
? interfere.
While every proceeding had halted
pending the Governor's arrival, word
reached police headquarters that a
crowd had assembled at the station,
patrolmen, detectives and plain
clothes men being hurried there ;o
prevent any demonstration. When
the governor stepped on the platform
he was quickly surrounded by officers
y who escorted him to a taxicab which
took him quickly to the Capitol.
In his office at the State prison Sjperintendent
Wood was pacing ihe
floor nervously as he awaited develops
^ ments. The situation there had be
come more intense. Precisely at nocn
the superintendent was called to the
telephone.
.
-- *
Notified of the Governor's Return.
"The Governor of Virginia is at his
desk," was the message he received
'from the Capitol, and instantly preparations
were made to obey the mandate
of the Court. The witnesses who
had assembled at 7 o'clock, the hour
announced for the execution, had left
1 1 the prison with instructions to return
L'* , ^ , ,
at i o ciock.
Just after sunrise the Aliens practically
collapsed when informed that a
half-day respite had been granted by
a combination of legal and technical
circumstances as strange as any that
had ever been presented to a Court of
* . justice.
?
'Claude Allen, who had retained his
nerve throughout the trying ordeal in
his behalf, gasped and trembled, but
he regained his composure as he
noted the hopeless and dejected appearance
of his aged father in the
cell across the corridor. As the
morning hours passed they sat with
their spiritual advisers, but they
v nerved themselves again for the end
when they heard that Governor Mann
*
/ ' had returned to Virginia.
Men prominent in official circles of
the State, who waited in the Capitol
for a final plea to the Governor, were
turned away as his secretary handed
out this statement from the Executive.:
Doesn't Doubt Their Guilt.
"Hearing at five minutes to 3
o'clock this morning of the action
taken in the Allen case, after I left
the city, I considered it my duty to
hurry back. I simply desire to repeat
that after the most careful examination
of the evidence in this case, I
have not the slightest doubt of the
eniiit. of Flovd and Clar.de Allen, and
. . 0
I will not interfere. The law must
lV
take its course."
I What brought forth the greatest
indignation from the Governor was
the reported fact that the plan to
appeal to the Lieutenant Governor
was agreed upon a week ago.
While there was no intimation
* from Lieutenant Governor Ellyson
that he would interfere, his willingness
last night to await a written
opinion from the Attorney General,
who had already ruled verbally that
he was without authority, was accepted
outside to mean that the life
of Claude Allen might be spared.
Monn Vi nn-ovor Ollt tVlH
\jikj y . .uaiui, uvhv.v*, ? wv0~
maze of uncertainty and doubt by
hastening home.
The jury, which, under the law, is
required to witness all executions,
assembled outside the penitentiary
gates shortly before 1 o'clock, mingling
there with the crowd. The programme
as originally announced was
carried out without change.
While two ministers, who have
been unfaltering in their loyalty to
the condemned men, were telling
them good-bye, the prison superintendent
stepped into the corridor,
which separated the cells of father
and son, and read the death warrant.
riow They Met Death.
Floyd Allen, still limping from the
wounds he received in the Hillsville
Court battle, said the last tearful
farewell to his boy and went with the
prison guards to the death chamber.
A groan escaped him as he sat in the
chair, while the straps and electrodes
were being fastened about him. The
current was turned on at 1.22 o'clock
and in four minutes the surgeon mo
tioned to the superintendent that he
was dead. The body was speedily removed.
Again the chair war tested, while
Claude Swanson Allen, namesake of a
United States Senator, was being led
through the corridor to the chamber
door. Though a trifle pale, he marched
with measured stride, his head
held high, his wonderful nerve with
him to the end. As he took his seat
he moved hisarmsto assist the guards
who were adjusting the straps, and
like his father he went silently and
unafraid.
When the autopsy had been performed
the bodies were given over to
Victor Allen, Floyd's son. by whom
they were taken to the mountains of
c- xi _x tr:
OUU til W t??>l Vllglilid 1U1 uunai.
History of the Case.
The execution of Floyd Allen and
his son, Claude Swanson Allen, marks
the first blow of justice upon the notorious
Allen clansmen, whose lawlessness
for years held the natives of
the Virginia mountains in terror and
culminated early last year in the
L-hootir.g up of the Carroll County
Court, when five persons lost their
lives. The news of the crime sent a
thrill of horror throughout the nation,
and the shocked Virginia au
ihorities moved expeditiously to
bring the criminals to justice.
On the morning of March 14 Floyd
Allen stood before the bar of the
Carroll County Court House, at Hillsville,
to receive sentence for his part
in aiding the escape of another mountaineer
from the custody of the sheriff.
A crowd packed the little court
room, for the character of the prisoner
was well known. Members of the
Allen family were known to be in
Court and trouble was thought imminent.
The Murders.
The jury having announced a verdict
of guilty, Judge Thornton L.
Massie sentenced the prisoners to one
year at hard labor. With the last
word of the sentence a crash of firearms
broke from the spectators'
benches. Floyd Allen, the prisoner,
with a smoking revolver in his hand,
leaped from the prisoner's dock and
joined the rush of the gang toward
the door.
When the court room was cleared
the body of Judge Massie, riddled
with bullets, was found lying over
his desk; Commonwealth Attorney
William M. Foster and Sheriff L. F.
Webb lay dead on the floor; Augustus
Fowler, a juror, and Elizabeth
Avers, a spectator, were bleeding
from wounds which proved fatal the
next day, and Dexter Goad, clerk of
the Court, lay shot through the neck.
Goad was one of the principal witnesses
for the State at the conviction
of the prisoners.
When the court room was examined
later it was found that more than
200 shots had been fired. Twentyseven
shots took effect upon those
killed or wounded.
Search Begun for Fugitives.
An army of detectives and newspaper
correspondents soon was scouring
the muddy roads of the mountains
in search for the prisoners. Floyd
Allen, the cause of the shooting, who
had been wounded by Sheriff Webb in
the Court room, was taken the day
of the crime, together with his son,
Victor Allen, and his nephew, Bird
Marion.
Oi'rlnn TTMn-orrlc a nonViow r>? tVio
kjiuua UU?U1UW, M, ilVJ/WV ?f v L
Allen brothers, was captured in a hut
in the mountains, March 23. Edwards,
who is lame, had eaten nothing
for several days and was very
weak when found. Claud Swnnson
Allen* another son of Floyd Allen,
walked up to a posse in the mountains
and surrendered himself on
March 28. The next day Friel Al1?
j. 1~
leii, .vuuxigesL meuiuei LH me
was taken at his father's home.
Floyd Allen, charged specifically
with the killing of Commonwealth
MAIL DELIVERY AT BLACKVILLE
Experimental System Obtained by
Representative Byrnes.
Aiken, March 29.?Congressman
Byrnes has received a letter from the
first assistant Postmaster General in
3 KAAn
iormmg 111x11 uiueis nc^vc
issued establishing experimental mail
delivery service at I^lackville, S. C.,
effective April 15, 1913.
In his letter Mr. Roper states:
"The amount appropriated for this
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otl ? ivt U L U XiilllbUU U <W V* wa. V ...
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office, and at Branchville, Lancaster
and Woodruff, it is doubtful if it will
be practicable to try the service at
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Congressman Byrnes has been very
anxious to have the experiment made
at one point in his district, and made
special efforts to have Blackville selected
in addition to the three towns
first named.
High Buildings That Rock.
By day or mgnt a moaern city is
never wholly at rest. A hundred disturbing
factors are constantly setting
up curious vibrations which travel in
every direction. The tracing out of
these vibrations and their accurate
measurements is a new problem
among builders, which has* a peculiar
interest for the layman as well. This
problem of feeling the pulse of buildings
is not limited to great cities, but
often arises in comparatively small
towns throughout the country. Let
a train rush past the foundations of a
high building, or even a low one, or
a powerful wind storm beat against
its wans, ana tne enure siruuiuie
may vibrate like a giant tuning fork.
Incidentally, the problem is so well
understood that accidents from excessive
vibration are practically unheard
of. The cradle may rock, but
it never falls.
The measurement of the pulse-like
vibrations is made much the same as
that of an earthquake, and almost as
accurately. The marvellously delicate
instruments which are depended
upon for these records trace curious
pulsing lines, which show at a glance
just how wide an arc the building
swings through and how regular is
the recurrence of the movement.
These readings are accepted in Court
as absolutely conclusive, and it is not
uncommon for damage suits involving
immense sums of money to be de
cided by these delicate tracings.
Public opinion is all wrong, Or
nearly so, as to the amplitude of the
vibrations of buildings both large or
small. Every one has felt such vibrations,
but one's sensations are apt
to be very misleading. It is a surprise
to many that the most violent
vibrations are not felt in the extremely
high buildings, as is commonly
supposed, but in the comparatively
low office buildings, and as a rule
those of solid' construction. A vibration
of three sixteenths of an inch
is extremely violent, for a movement
of one hundreth of an inch is readily
noticeable. As the records show,
there is a peculiar method of rythm
in these movements, the buildings
swaying back and forth through a
given arc with the regularity of a
penu^lum.?Christian Herald.
Lp-to-aate line or siauunery ju&i
received at Herald Book Store.
Attorney Foster, was found guilty
of first degree murder on May 17,
and sentenced to death. Claude Allen,
his son, was tried on a charge
of killing Judge Massie, and convicted
of murder in the second degree.
The jury recommended a sentence of
fifteen years in the penitentiary.
The State demanded a new trial and
a verdict of guilty in the first degree
was returned on July 27 and he
was sentenced to death.
Three Pleaded Guilty.
Friel Allen pleaded guilty of murder
in the second degree, and on
August 14 was sentenced to eighteen
years in prison. Three days later
Sidna Edwards pleaded guilty to a
like charge and was given a sentence
of fifteen years. Victor Allen
was acquitted of a charge of .laving,
participated in the murders.
Sidna Allen, brother of Floyd Allen,
and recognized leader 01 the
clan, and his nephew, Wesley Edwards,
eluded pursuit for rnanv
weeks, and eventually escaped out of
the Virginia mountains and made
their way West, rney were capturen
at Des Moines, la., September 14, as
the result of a love affair of young
Edwards. A letter from him was
lost by Maude Iroler, of Mount Airy,
N. C., and detectives followed its information
and captured the two men.
Sidna Allen was placed on trial
November 11 at Wytheville, Va.,
charged with the murder 'of Judge
Massie, convicted and sentenced to
thirty-five years in prison.
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LODGE MEETING.
&
Bamberg, Lodge, No. 38, .Knights
of Pythias meets first and fourth
Monday nights at 7:30 p. m. Visiting
brethren cordially invited.
GEO. F. HAIR, ' %
Chancellor Commander.
A. M. DENBOW,
Keeper of Records and Seal.
.
J. F. Carter B. D. Carter
CARTER & CARTER
AttorneysAt-Law
BAMBERG, 8. C.
Special attention given to settlement
of estates and investigation
of land titles.
FRANCIS F. CARROLL ||
Attorney-at-Law
Office in Hoffman Building V
GENERAL PRACTICE.
BAMBERG, S. C.
Happy New Year to AD j
xnose wno wisn it> ouy iresn weuu*
such as pork in season, beef the year
round, will do well to call at the
Peoples Market on Church street
near colored graded school building,
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Meats delivered anywhere in town
free. We also repair shoes and /; Jg
harness, try us when you have anything
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A. W. BRUNSON, Prop.
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Attorneys-at-Law
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