The Bamberg herald. (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, March 04, 1920, Image 1
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$2.00 Per Year in Advance BAMBERG, S. C., THURSDAY, MARCH 4, 1920. Established in 1891
COUNTIES TO PAY 1
LYNCHING CLAIMS
HOUSE TURNS DOWN RESOLU- (
TION BY BUCKINGHAM.
Hot Debate On Issue.
Constitutional Principal of Law and I
Order Sustained by Overwhelming
Vote.
Columbia, Feb. 27.?The house
last night by a vote of 51 to 23 voted 1
to continue the resolution by Mr.
Buckingham, of Aiken, to have the 3
constitution amended so as to relieve i
counties in which a lynching occurs j
to damages to the amount of $2,000 to
relatives of the victim of the mob.
,This action kills the resolution. The 3
measure precipitated a warm debate <
at the morning session. Only one ;
speech was made when the resolution <
was called up again late last night. <
This was by Mr. Stone, of Anderson. I
\ Those voting for the resolution
were: Ashley, Barnwell, Berry, Buck- i
Ingham, Coney, Dreher, A. C. Ellerbe, i
Evans, Fairey, Fulmer, Gray, Hall, ;
Harmon, Hart, Kelly, Leopard, Miley,
Oliver, Orr, Pursley, Sprott, Stone ]
and Turner. i
Mr. Stone, of Anderson, said human
life was cheap in South Caro- (
iina. "We can lynch a man and $2,- ;
000 is all we are called on to pay."
Tljis was too small a premium .or a <
human life and the law was a dis- :
grace to South Carolina. v J
Some Commend Measure.
Mr. Buckingham said he had re- .
oeived many letters commending the
measure and a few which were of an
opposite character. He knew the peo- |
^ pie of the state were against the sec- ;
tion of the constitution and would
support the amendment if it were referred
to them.
Mr. Hanahan, of Fairfield, opposed 1
the resolution and made a strong .
plea against it. This section of the ,
constitution embodied the basic prin- 1
ciple of law and order. To vote for
the resolution would be for the mem- 1
hers of the general assembly to put {
the stamp of their approval on law- ,
lessness in the state. The section j
was not made for negroes or for ^
whites, but to protect the families ^
of any man who had been the victim
, of a mob, regardless of race or color. '
The only question at issue was that ^
of right and wrong. Everyone would .
admit that lynching was wrong, and
' he wanted to uphold the principles of
right, of truth and of justice.
Mr. Hart, of York, which county
last year was made liable to $2,000 .
because of a lynching, was for the
resolution. The $2,000 was an at- ]
tractive fee for lawyers, who always j
got one-half the amount and the rela- tives
of the man killed the other half.
It was not right to make the taxpay- <
ers foot the bill for the mob's action <
ana ne waniea me peupit; tu vuic uu
the amendment.
Would Oppose at Any Cost. I
Mr. Davis, of Barnwell, said that
for the representatives to vote for
the resolution would be saying to the]
mob, "We, your representatives, ap'
prove your conduct." The provision
in the constitution was to protect the
families of men killed by mobs,
many white men had been thus
slaughtered, and the supreme court
had held that three persons constituted
a mob. He would stand there and
oppose the resolution in the name of
righteousness and in support of the
constitution if it cost him his right
arm to do so.
Mr. Belser, of Sumter, thought
those who framed the constitution
were wise in putting in this section to
preserve the law. To strike out the
section would encourage lynching.
No county was liable to damages unless
it made itself liable.
I
Mr. Bellamy, of Beaufort, said he
thought it was time to discard this
principle of the English law and to
enact a law that would De moaorn ana
In keeping with the economic conditions
of the present.
Dreher Arouses Members.
Mr. Dreher, of Lexington, was hold j
to say that he favored lynching for'
some crimes, and he thought citizens
were negligent in their duty when
they failed to lynch in some instances.
His statement brought several representatives
to their feet.
Mr. Wingard, also of Lexington,j
called on Mr. Dreher to givs the house
the benefit if his observations in this
direction. Mt. Wingard asked what
crime would have to be committed in
whmh he thought the man ought to be
killed before he had been tried by a
Jury, before which conviction all men
are presumed to be innocent. Mr.
I
POSITION AT HEAD
LOST TO AMERICA
COUNTRY WAS MORAL LEADER
OF WORLD. But
"Lost Its Nerved
Secretary Baker Says Adhesion to
League of Nations is Only
Chance for Service.
New York, Feb. 28.?The position
vhich America held at the close of the
war as moral leader of the world was
relinquished when the country "lost
its nerve," said Secretary of War
Baker at a luncheon today at the
Brooklyn chamber of commerce.
UWT * MPQWOtiftTlc Until ttlP
YV C Luauc ItOUl 1 ULlUiiJ UUV1A v-v
moral leadership passed," he declared.
"Reservations have no sense of
proportion. They forget they are
Sealing with the fate of mankind.
Dur adhesion to the league of nations
is what will save the world."
"On March 4, 1921," Mr. Baker continued,
"I expect to be inaugurated?
in private life, and what I say is said
as one who is leaving public life."
The secretary said that while he
had no complaint to make of committees
investigating war expenditures
"it would not be wise to take too seriously
some of the things emanating
from that source."
"When they assault the reputation
of men who have faithfully served the
republic I am forced to hope that the
grateful sense of Americans will prevent
these shafts, aimed by malice,
injuring anyone," he declared. "I
have in mind John D. Ryan, who
vorked so faithfully for the Red Cross
and who later was director of aircraft
production. I can not speak too
highly of Mr. Kyan."
Mr. Baker said the war department
will reclaim by sales of property in
France and in this country nearly
$3,000,000,000 and tliat the money
will be returned to the treasury, to
"ease the terrible burden of taxation."
Considerably more than another
billion dollars, he added, had been
saved'by adjustment of 23,703 of the
27,374 contracts existing at the close
Df the war. In urging military
preparedness, Secretary Baker
said: "In the next war,
and I trust there never will be
one, no other group of nations may
hold the front lines for a year and a
half for us until we are prepared."
His Choice.
"Any particular choice of cut?"
asked the butcher.
"Yes^" replied the customer, "I'd
like a cut of about 50 per cent, in
price."?Boston Transcript.
Dreher answered that he would join
i mob to put to death one who had
committed criminal assault on his
neighbor's daughter, if he "knew the
man was guilty." "That's just it,"
tfr. Wingard retorted. "Who is to establish
that guilt?"
Another who jumped to his feet
was Mr. McDonald, of Oconee, who
continued to press the constitutional
right of a man accused of crime to a
trial by a jury. When Mr. Dreher
stressed his attitutde toward lynching
for certain crimes, Mr. McDonald replied:
"Then, you say, 'To hell with
the constitution,' that constitution
which you in the oath you took right
there where you stand to uphold."
Would Defend Home.
Mr. Dreher said he did not mean
"to hell with the constitution," but
he knew when things were brought
home to people they sometimes
their minds. He would join any
party to lynch the person who committed
criminal assault on his relatives.
Mr. McDonald said he himself
would defend his own home, "but I
would not ask my neighbors to dip
their hands in blood."
Mr. Hanahan again took the floor
and echoed the same sentiment. It
' * ? * i-x X _
would De a personal mauer iu uefend
one's home. No one blamed a
man fot defending his home, but he
would not want his neighbors to become
a party to mob violence.
Mr. Dreher did not see why the
county had to bear the burden af
damages for mob violence when the
person put to death was guilty of
such heinous crimes.
At this point motion was made to
continue the hill. This was withdrawn
when it was contended by supporters
of the measure that so many were
absent and they wanted all to have
the right to vote on this question. Debate
was then continued until the
evening session.
/
\ /
THE DETAILS OF
DOUBLE KILLING
\
ALLENDALE CITIZEN FURNISHES
FACTS OF HOMICIDE.
Two Cones Killed.
Defendants Calling on Girls When
The Cones Arrive on The
Stvne.
The following account of the double
killing near Allendale is clipped from
the last issue of the Allendale Citizen:
Allie Cone, aged 20, and Aubrey
Cone, aged 17, were instantly killed
and John Brant, aged 22, was slight
ly wounded, in a gun battle in tne
parlor of the hopie of E. P. Phillips,
a well-known white farmer, residing
four miles from here, about 8 o'clock
Sunday evening. John Brant, and his
brother, Earl, age 17, are under arrest
and confined in the Barnwell jail, in
connection with the shooting. The
shooting occurred in the presence of
Miss Ruth Phillips and Miss Sadie
Phillips, upon whom the young men
were calling. Mr. and Mrs. Phillips
wrere in the dining room at the time of
the shooting.
Details as to the cause of the shooting
are quite conflicting, and, indeed,
the views of those present at the/time
of the shooting as to who fired the
fatal shots differ. John Brant, in an
affidavit submitted with his application
for bail, swears that he killed
both the Cone boys. However, Miss
Ruth Phillips testified at the coroner's
inquest that John Brant killed Aubrey
Cone and that Earle Brant killed Allie
Cone. Both of the dead men were
shot through the heart, with, apparently,
the same calibre pistol. It is
said that revolvers were found upon
fVio nororv-n r>f tha fnnp hnVS when
tUV OUU V/ A. wuv xy w?V
searched after the shooting.
It is declared by men who went to
th? scene of the killing Sunday night
that a witness to the shooting said
that the killing occurred over the fact
that John Brant iintimated that he
smelled the feet of Aubrey Cone. This
witness said that the following conversation
immediately preceded the
shooting:
John Brant: (to Aubrey Cone) "I
smell something; it must be your
feet."
Aubrey Cone: (to John Brant)"You
don't smell my feet, because I've got
on father's new shoes. It must be
your own feet."
To this the witness said Sunday
night, John Brant replied, "Don't you
say that to me," and began shooting.
Miss Ruth Phillips testified at the
inquest, and later told the editor of
the Citizen, that, without preliminaries,
John Brant walked over to
' ^ - J . UT M 4 wam f A
AUDrey vjone, saiu. i waui juu
understand that I am here too," and
began shooting.. This version, however,
|s contradicted in the affidavits
made by Roy Brant and Ben All, who
accompanied the Brant boys to the
Phillips home. They swear, according
to their affidavits attached to the application
for bail for the Brant boys,
that one of the Cone boys cursed
John Brant and that Allie Cone shot
at John Brant twice and that John
Brant then began shooting.
Mogistrate W. L. Brant, Ulmers,
was informed of the shooting after it
occurred and he arrested the Brant
boys and held them until the arrival
j of Sheriff L. C. Bennett and his deputies.
Magistrate Brant, acting coroner,
held an inquest at the home of
Mr. Phillips early Sunday morning,
and the following were jurors: T. J.
Deer, foreman, John Goodson, Jake
Deer, Percy Lyons, C. B. Dukes, J.
W. Allen, Ed Harter and Ira Bowers.
" "* ' - 1--? -1
Tne 13ranis are ineiiiuero uj. mo
large and well-known family by that
name residing near Ulmer3 and the
Cone boys were members of an equally
large and well-known family residing
in the Jenny section. Both families
are mostly composed of substantial
and highly respected farmers. The
Cone boys were buried at Hickory
Grove cemetery on Monday afternoon,
a large crowd attending.
Extracts from the testimony of E.
P. Phillips and Miss Ruth Phillips,
I given at the coroner's inquest, and
| affidavits by the men under arrest at[
tached to their application for bail,
j are printed below. Messrs Harlev and
( Blatt, Barnwell, and R. P. Searson,
! Allendale, have been employed by
j the defense.
; According to a copy of the proi
ceedings of the inquest Mr. Phillips,
in whose heme the shooting occurred,
testified as follows:
"I live in the above state and county
and know the boys that were killed.
FUEL CONTROL
TO BE CONTINUED
EXECUTIVE ORKDER ISSUED BY
PRESIDENT.
Will Divide Powers.
Director General Hines Exercises
Joint Control With Howe, Peale,
Whittaker and Fisher.
Washington, Feb. 28.?Coincident
with the signing of the railroad bill
tonight, President Wilson issued executive
orders providing for continuation
of the powers of the fuel administration,
but dividing them between
the director general of rail
roads and a commission or tour, jjirector
General Hines will retain jurisdiction
over domestic distribution,
while the commission will handle
bunker and export coal matters.
The commission will be composed
of A. W. Howe, Rembrandt Peale, F.
M. Whittaker and J. F. Fisher. It
will function through the Tidewater
Coal exchange which is restored for
that purpose, having been suspended
before the resignation of Dr. Garfield
as fuel administrator.
The order creating the commission
is effective until April 30, next.
The order said the action was taken
"because of the present emergency
and in order to insure an adequate
supply and equitable distribution and
to facilitate the movement and to
prevent locally or generally, scarcity
of coal. It directs specifically that the
order issued by the United States fuel
administration, November 6, 1917,
"relative to tidewater traus-suiymeuu
of coal at Hampton Roads, Baltimore,
Philadelphia and New York, and for
the emplyoment of and cooperation
with the Tidewater coal exchange, as
a common agency to facilitate transshipment
and to reduce delays in the
use of coal cars and coal carrying vessels,"
suspended by Dr. Garfie/ld, February
20, 1919, be reinstated. The
commission named are authorized to
)"exercise the power reserved to the
United States fuel administra by said
order of November 6, 1917, and they
are further from and after 12.01
o'clock on March 1, 1920, vested
with the authority now vested in the
director general of railroads relative
to the export of coal from the United
States."
It happened in my house Sunday
night, February 22, at about 8
o'clock.
"About dusk John Brant, Earl
Brant, Ben All and another boy, who
I understand is Roy Brant, came to
my house. The came in and in about
,15 minutes time Aubrey Cone drove
up. I was standing at the foot of the
steps with Ben All and this young
Brant when Aubrey Cone and Allie
Cone came up. They spoke and shook
hands with all of us, and I told them
to go in and I heard them speak as
they reached the door. The three of
us then came into the parlor. I stayed
in there about an hour and a half
talking, when my wife called us to
supper. I asked them all to supper.
Allie Cone refused, saying he didn't
r? ?^ Rronf coifl
t'ctl tJ iUl" CLLiy d IIU. UUllii JL/i uuw mv?av?
"No, Mr. Phillips, we had a late dinner
and don't care for anything." I
went out to supper; had said grace
and started to help myself when I
heard pistol shots. I jumped up from
the table, ran in the room, grabbed
my pistol; just as I turned from the
mantel-piece somebody ran aginst me.
I heard one other shot. I had heard
five before this last shot. I ran out
to the cars, knowing they had to both
be cranked and expected to catch whoever
did the shooting at the car. I
wraited there a few minutes and called
to my wife to bring a light. I
heard someone toward the big gate
and asked who was there and Ben
All answered and said this is me, Mr.
Phillips, I said all right who is that
with you and he said "Roy Brant."
I told them to come on and stay with
me. That I had sent for the sheriff
T 1-. J 11.
and they said all rignt. i asneu uieui
%
who had done the shooting, and they
said they were sitting in the car and
they said they were in the car when !
the shooting began and that they
jumped out and ran toward the gate. J
I told the boys to come in the house.j
Ben All said yes he wanted to see
j who got shot. I told him my daughters
sai-d Ally and Aubry Cone and
we came in and Ben struck a match |
and looked at Aubrey Cone and said j
"Yes, this is Earle Brant." "No, man,
you can see better than that, that's i
Aubrey Cone." He stooped down and j
caught hold of his scarf pin and said j
this is Earle Brant; turned his scarf j
, j pin over and said yes, this is Aubrey j
GOVERNMENTTURNS
BACK RAIL LINES
RELEASED FROM WAR-TIME
REGULATIONS.
Labor Heads Silent.
Hines Advocates Continued Development
of Inland Waterways.
Washington, Feb. 29.?America's
rail transportation systems, operated
as one great public utility since December
28, 1917, again will be divided
among their 230 respective corporate
owners when the government re
leases control at midnight. Director
General Hines, as the agent of the
President, will hand o*er the properties
and equipment, valued at approximately
$20,000,000,000 to their
old direction free except for the jurisdiction
retained by the government
in the new railroad reorganization
bill.
While all arrangements for formal
restoration of the carriers to their
owners were completed yesterday by
Mr. Hines, instructions went out today
to operating representatives of
the railroad administration informing
them that they would "report to the
proper officials of the corporations
which resume control at 12:01 a. m.,
March 1."
Organization Gone.
Of the gigantic organization created
by former Director General McAdoo
as a war time expedient, only a small
part will remain. Regional officials
federal managers and treasurers and
many high officials comprising the director
general's staff, will cease to
function as such at the designated
hour. Some of these have gone baci*
to their former places as officials of
the corporations while others have
entered into new lines of endeavor.
Mr. Hines will continue in his
present capacity until about May 1.
Although without any railroads to direct,
he still faces the settlement of
literally thousands of claims, contracts
and grievances. Only 147 of
the 230 compensation contracts with
the corporations actually were signed
during government control and the
remainder will continue to be subject
of negotiations. Damage claims have
arisen of which many are still pending.
Labor has several thousand cases
before the government wage boards
and Mr. Hines has assured the labor
spokesmen these will be concluded.
Some will req.uire the payment of retroactive
wages, if decided in favor of
the workers and others- will mean
the establishment of interpretation of
agreement which labor, of course, will
reiuse to nave axiexeu uy iuc wi^uiotions.
Many affect general labor policies
and represent vitally important
questions from the labor views.
Cone. Then he turned around and
said "Who is this over there. He is
not dead is he?" I said yes, he is
dead; his pulse is gone. He caught
hold of his wrist, felt his pulse and
said, "Yes, he is dead." Ally had
fallen on his knees with his head
down between the hearth and graphophone,
when Ben caught him by the
wrist. He rolled over on his back
and a pistol was under his hip-pocket,
whether it fell out then or not I
don't know. I told the boy then to
sit in the hall while I put a lock on
the car. Ben and young Brant went
on the back porch to get some water
and disappeared. I have not seen
either of them since.
"E. E. PHILLIPS."
Miss Ruth Phillips, one of the girls
upon whom the young men were calling
wrhen the killing occurred, and a
witness to the shooting, testified, according
to a transcript accompanying
the application for bail for the Brant
boys, as follows:
"Johnnie and iuarie were smmg uu
the sofa. Allie, Aubrey, Sadie, my
sister, was up at the fireplace. We
were all joking, laughing and going
on and never even thought of no such
and Johnnie Brant jumped up and
said, please remember, Aubrey, I'm in
the room, and Johnn:"e pulled out his
pistol three or four times, I don't remember
which, but he is the first one
done the shooting, and he threw his
pistol down and ran out the hall back
door, and Allie jumped up to help
Aubrey and I jumped up and got between
Allie and Earle, and Earle shot
Allie over my shoulder twice. Earle
turned around and ran and when he
got to the door, he turned around and
shot at me. Ally did not shoot. Aubrey
d'd not draw his pistol, both of
them had a pistol each.
"RUTH PHTTXTPS."
Roy Brant, who in his affidavit sub
HARD COAL DIGGER
WANTS MORE PAY
SIXTY PER CENT, INCREASE ASKED
BY UNION.
To Work Six Hours.
Also Week'of Five Days for Men on
Regular Basis is Among
Demands.
k ' 1? J n 1 M U A L1 /v Vi O Q I Y rt o T*
r m, rcu, un. jl/cmouuo
for a 60 per cent, increase in wages
for contract miners, $2 a day raise
for day men, and a six hour day and
five day week for men paid by the
day or month, will be presented to
the anthracite coal operators in New
York on March 9 by the union representatives
of the hard coal diggers.
These demands were formulated at a
convention of the anthracite miners
in Wilkes-Barre, last August and ratified
by the national convention of
the United Mine Workers of America
in Cleveland in September.
The conference of operators and
mine workers next week will endeavor
to negotiate a new agreement to take
the place of the contract now in
force.
The present general wage agreement
covering the anthracite industry
was entered into in May, 1916,
for four years, ending March 31 this
year. Because of war conditions,
wages have been since readjusted by
supplemental agreements between
the miners and operators.
Large Number affected.
About 170,000 mine workers will
be affected by the new contract to be
negotiated. The miners' scale committee
which will meet the operators
will be composed of the new officers
t and executive board members of the
three districts comprising the anthracite
fields, .the three international
board members in the hard coal regions
and three mine workers from
each district. No apnouncement has
been made as to the number of men
who will represent the coal mine
owners. It is expected, however, that
after the demands are formally presented
and views are exchanged between
the two sides a small subcommittee
will be named to carry on the
actual negotiations.
When in final form the agreement
will be presented to the full committee
for adoption. In the case of the
miners, the agreement will have to go
back to a convention of the mine
! -i- c? i
wuiReib iur xaimcaiiuu.
Whether the mine workers will re-*
main at work, if an agreement is not
reached by March 31, will depend
largely, it is said, how strenuously
the operators oppose the demands.
No opinion has thus far been given
by either side as to the outcome of
the negotiations. The opinion was
expressed, however, that the nego- \
tiations probably would not be taken
up seriously until the bituminous
wage scale has been agreed upon.
Waterman Fountain Pens always
at Herald Book Store.
mitted with the application for bail,
says that he went to the Phillip's
home with John Brant, says, in tlto
same affidavit, that he heard a voice,
which he recognized as that of one
)f the Cone boys say, "I will kill you,"
and that he saw Allie Cone throw his
gun on John and shoot. He also says
that then John pulled his pistol from
his pocket and shot the man who had
shot at him twice. While John was
shooting at Allie, Aubrey began to
pull his pistol, which was wrapped
in a handkerchief, from his hip pocket,
and began pulling the handkerchief
from around the pistol, when
John made a sharp turn and shot
Aubrey.
An affidavit made by Ben All. which
also accompanies the application, substantiates
the affidavit made by Roy
Brant.
4-n affidavit made by John Brant*
who claims that he killed boch of the
Cone boys, and substantiated by "Carlo
I Brant, says that Aire Cone cursed
| him (John Brant), and said: ""\:ou
i vill have to leave th's house right
j now, and if you don't we got your
mo'Lcire. I knew that v") t were liere
and d vou I will kill you."
John Brant, in this affidavit, further
I
j swears that at that time Allie Cone
i pulled his pistol from h?s right hand
hip poeket, and began firing at him '*
j C.Tohn Brant). John Brant says he
i then shot Allie Cone, who fell mortal!
ly wounded, and that he then turned,
j saw Aubrey Cone unwrapping his pis'
tol and that he (John Brant) then
shot Aubrey Cone.
The affidavit further says that Earl#
! Brant did none of the shooting.
I
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