The Bamberg herald. (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, March 17, 1921, Image 1
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ehhehhss ?ft? li^tuulirm iferuiii
"will be corrected this week. Forward ^ TVT ^ Z^P 1 ^ ^
your subscription at once. " "
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$2.00 Per Year in Advance BAMBERG, S. C., THURSDAY, MARCH 17,1921. Established in 1891
THE NEW ACT FOR
VETERANSTENSIONS
NOW IX CHARGE OF HONOR
BOARD.
/
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Old Law Changed
Last Legislature Changed Law in Regard
to Pensions?$600,000
Appropriated.
Comptroller General Duncan is alJ
? 1-^+V>/-v 1 0 01 nancinno !
rectus V? L?1 n-iJLlg VU. tiiC pgu^iuuu i
for Confederate veterans and as |
usual much interest is being taken
in the progress of the work. The
general assembly at the last session
passed an entirely new act in reference
to the payment of pensions
'which act is being commented upon
widely. The bill changing the pension
law was introduced by Senator Hart
and it was due largely to his efforts
that it went through, without any
trouble. Below is the complete act
-as passed by the 1921 assembly:
"Section 1. Be it enacted by the
general assembly of the state of
South Carolina: That there shall be,
and there is hereby, created an honor
roll of the Confederate soldiers, sailors
and others who, in the state mil-1
itia, performed actual services ia me
Confederate states army or navy, who
\ did not desert the service of this
-state or the Confederate states, who
are residents of this state, and the
widows of such as are residents of
this state.
"Sec. 2. That said honor roll shall
consist of all soldiers, sailors, militiamen
and widows of suck soldiers or
sailors who were married prior to
the age of 50 years and were on
. the pension roll of the state prior
to 1919, including inmates of the
* Confederate home, and also enrolled
during 1919, and such as may hereafter
enroll under this act.
"Sec. 3. The necessary expenses of
administering the provisions of this
act shall he paid out of the amount
appropriated for pensions: Provided,
In the event of the death of . a soldier,
sailor, or militiaman the amount
which would have been paid to him
shall be, for that year only, paid to
"his widow or the party defraying
the funeral expenses of the said deceased
pensioner.
"Sec. 4. All applications for enrollment
from year to year shall be
mnAci tho hnard of honor in the
ixiauu i>u buu ? ?
-county in which applicant resides.
"Sec. 5. The board of honor in each
of the several counties of the state
shall consist of three Confederate
veterans, and for two years from
January 1, 1920; the several county
pension boards as now constituted
shall constitute the county boards
of honor. The term of office, of such
county board of honor shall be two
years and such honor board shall be
elected at a called meeting of the
veterans, to be held at the county
seat of the respective counties, said
meeting to be in January, and to be
held once in every two years, and vacancies
in the board to be filled in
the same manner at a meeting to be
called by the chairman of the board.
That the names and addresses of the
members of such boards so elected
shall be communicated to the comptroller
general of the state not later
than November 1 of the year of election
and prior to commencement of
their terms of service. Such county
boards shall report to the comptroller
general of the state, between January
1 and January 15 of each year,
all deaths occurrirfg among those
on the roll since the preceding Jan
? * . j -
upry 1 that come to tneir Knowledge,
and also all enrollments made since
the preceding January 1. The decision
of such county hoard of honor
in granting or refusing enrollment
shall he final. The members of the
county board of honor shall eaoh be
paid $2 per day for not more than
ten days in each year and be reimbursed
for all necessary and proper
postage and advertising, and ten
cents per mile for each mile actually
traveled in the discharge of their
duties. The judge of probate in each
county shall be the clerk of the
board of honor in this county, and
he shall disburse all amounts sent
to him by the comptroller general
for those on said roll, f jr the county
hoard or otherwise, and he shall receive
for his service 25 cents fov each
enrollment and 25 cents for each disbursement
under this acr He shall
keep a complete list of all enrolled,
the amount paid or payable to each,
and a receipt from the pensioner for
all such payments. In the event of
the -death of one enrolled, and there
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YOUNG FARMER IS KILLED.
Shooting Accidental, Accused Man
Claims.
Orangeburg, March 11.?Wednesday
night, at the home of J. A. Jeffcoat,
in the northeastern section of
this county about five miles from
Orangeburg and about five miles
from North, J. A. Jeffcoat, a farmer,
shot and killed Estes Cook, it is alleged.
Jeffcoat is about forty-five i
years old, while Cook was twentytwo
years of age.
From information received in this
city it seems that Cook and several
other friends of Jeffcoat went to Jeffcoat's
house for supper. During the
night several of the party went out
into a field near Jeffcoat's house and
about that time some one t.ook the
headlight of the automobile and
threw it out in the section of the field
where Cook and several others had
gone. Jeffcoat is said to have shot
in that direction to scare those in the
field, with no intention at all of hitting
any one, and Jeffcoat claims the
shooting was purely accidental. All
the parties are white and well-to-do
farmers in that section of tha? county.
This (Thursday) afternoon Jeffcoat
was brought to Orangeburg by Rural
Policeman E. M. Inabinet and turned
over to Sheriff Dukes.
The Worse Half.
Mrs. Gush: "Too had about your
poor husband having his arm broken
in your motor accident yesterday. So
sorry."
Mrs. Swagger: "Oh, thank you,
but that wasn't the worse; my new
hat was simply ruined."?Exchange.
being no widow to receive decedent's
allotment, he shall ^ay same to the
one paying his funeral expenses, and
likewise in the case of the death of
a widow.
"Sec. 6. That any soldier o: sa:lnr,
a bo->a fide resident of the state for
two years, who se/ved in the Ccr.feaeiate
states army or nary, or who
in the state militia performed actual
service, and who did not desert the
service of the state of South Carolina
or of the Confederate states, or the
widow of such soldier, shall be entitled
to enrollment, wno was living
with him as his faithful wife at the
time of his death. As soon as practicable
after the appropriation has
been made eacn year by the g^n?ral
assembly, the comptroller general of
the state shall apportion to each
county a pension fund in proportion
as the number of white pensioners !n
such county bears tc the total number
of pensioners in the entire state,
then it shall be the duty of the several
county pension boards to clas
sifv all pensioners in their respective
counties into such classes as the re^
spective county boards may deem best
without regard to financial ability,
and fix the amount the various pensioners
in each class shall receive.
All pensioners, as soon as they ar
rive at the age of 80 years, shall be
elevated to Class A. The comptroller
general shall forward the amount apportioned
for each county to the probate
judge of such county for distribution.
When any Confederate veteran
whose widow shall be entitled
*
to a pension shall die, it shall be sufficient
for such widow to prove her
relationship and was living with him
as his faithful wife at the time of
hs death in order to entitle her to a
pension as the widow of such veteran:
Provided, That any pensioner
entering the Confederate home shall
be limited to $50.
"Sec. 7. The secretary of the historical
commission is hereby required
to give full information as to the
services in the army or navy of any
solder, sailor or militiaman, as same
appears on the Confederate rolls,
when requested.
"Sec. 8. That all records in regard
to pensions now and hereafter
existing shall be by the one or ones
- XV ? 1
in control or possession tnereor immediately
turned over to the comptroller
general of the state.
"Sec. 9. The sum of*$600,000 is
hereby appropriated for the purpose
of paying the allotments of those on
said honor roll and all other expenses
provided for in this act.
"Sec. 10. That the comptroller
general shall be, and hereby is, authorized
to employ one additional
clerk, at a salary not exceeding $2,400
per annum, to atssist him in discharging
the duties herein placed
upon his office.
"Sec. 11. The pension board of the
state of South Carolina is hereby
abolished, and all acts in reference
thereto and inconsistent with this
act be, and the same are hereby, repealed."
Body of Unfynowr
and Murdered
What has every appearance of being
a murder and robbery came to
light Monday afternoon about 2:30
o'clock when several white boys fishing
in Lemon swamp discovered the
body of a dead negro man in the
creek. The boys hastUy rteurned to
Bamberg and reported the discovery
to Sheriff Ray, and by a quick and
clever bit of detective work. Sheriff
Ray had landed a strange negro man
in thp nrmnfv iail within six hours.
charged with the double crime. Both
parties to the crime are strangers in
Bamberg. Both have been seen here
for some days past, and had done
some work here, but neither their
names nor their homes were known
to any of the people in Bamberg,
white or colored.
That the divine injunction, "your
sins will surely find you out," was
strikingly exemplified in this case.;
Although when the crime was committed
three hundred yards from the
public road to Ehrhardt, in the heart
of a dense swamp, with every indication
that the tracks of the murderer
had been carefully covered and with
little likelihood of the crime becoming
known for days, perhaps, it so
happened that the killing was discov-j
ered in not more than an hour or two.
The prompt finding of the body was
responsible for the apprehension of
the man charged with the crime. Thei
accused negro was arrested in Branchville
about 5 o'clock in the afternoon,
following a telephone message from
Sheriff Ray, and the negro wasj
brought to the Bamberg jail at 9 j
o'clock Monday night.
The boys decided early Monday af-i
ternoon they would spend a fewj
hours fishing in Lemon creek, and;
while they were following the run of
the creek, they discovered the body
of the man partly exposed. They
made a record run for town, reporting
their find. Coroner Zeigler, Dr.
Black, Sheriff Ray and others hurriedly
left for the scene of the
crime. The body of the man was
taken out of the creek, and was
found to have knife cuts on the face
and throat., It was first thought the
crime had been committed several
days, but when a closer examination
was made, it was found that the
wounds were fresh, ,that blood was
still panning from them, and that
the body was still limp. Dr. Black
was of the opinion that neither of
the knife wounds would have produced
death, but that the negro j
died from drowning, the theory be-1
ing that he was probably pushed or |
thrown into the creek and that he i
was either too weak to help himself i
out of the water or that he was unconscious
at the time. The negro's
left pants pocket was turned out,
while the right pocket contained a
small amount of silver.
Immediately on getting to the
i swamp, Sheriff Ray learned that sev!
or?ol ncrtiop Vi a rl cDPTI twn stranSTA T1 A
til |/tii tlVO V-*. v *? v mw* w?0
groes enter the swamp about 12:30
o'clock, and when he learned this
he hastily returned to Bamberg and
ascertained that two strange negroes
had been seen to get of? the 11
o'clock train, and he also ascertained
that these negroes had been absent
from town for a few hours afterward,
one of them returning an hour
or so later. This caused him to make
inquiry regarding this negro, and the
sheriff found out that he was in Bamberg
when the boys had reported the
finding of the body, immediately
after which he became very excited
and went to several colored transfer
drivers seeking to get out of town.
He offered one driver $8.00 to take
him to Orangeburg. This driver j
could not go, and he went to Fletcher
Breeland and offered him $6.50 to j
take him to any town nearby. He
finally made ''arrangements with
Breeland to take him away, but no
one in Bamberg knew at the time
his destination.
This called for hasty action if the
culprit was to be landed, and the
sheriff immediately put in calls for
Orangeburg and Branchville, requestj
ing the arrest of the party. About
fifteen minutes after the Branchville
call had gone through, the sheriff
received a summons to the telephone,
and was informed that Breeland and
the strange negro had been arrested
and requesting the sheriff to come
for the man wanted. There was no
charge against Breeland, as tnere
was nothing to connect him in any
way with the crime and he was released
immediately and returned to
Bamberg. Breeland stated on return
i
\ Negro, Robbed
\ in Lemon Creek
to Bamberg that the man acted very
suspiciously on the way to Branchville,
and at one time got out of the
car on some pretence, and acted in
such manner that Breeland also got
out for fear that the man meant to
do him harm. However, they both
finally reached Branchville about 5
o'clock and were immediately taken
in charge by a policeman who informed
the sheriff.
On searching the man's effects, it
was found that he possessed a suit
case. In this case was found among
other things a pair of trousers which
were wet around the legs. He was
also found in possession of twenty
one aonars in paper ana silver, including
fourteen one-dollar bills. He
had already paid Breeland $6.50 for
the trip.
The negro staunchily denied any
connection with the crime, but admitted
that he had been in Bamberg
Monday. On arrival in town Monday
night he was taken to the guard
house, where the body of the dead
man had been placed, and confronted
with the corpse. He denied that he
had killed him, or that he had ever
seen him before. Throughout the entire
proceedings he acted in a sullen
and insolent manner, proclaiming
that he had committed no crime.
j
It so happened, however, that
responsible gentlemen including J. C.
Hewitt, J. W. Hill, and Probe Hiers*
saw the two men enter the swamp
early in the afternoon. The dead
negro and the man in jail were both
positively identified as being the
same negroes. It also happened that
some parties saw the accused man
coming out of the swamp a short
time afterward alone, and they have
identified him as being that man.
The two men were also identified as
being the parties in Bamberg earlier
in the day, and it is said that they
were overhead to be quarreling over
some money while in Bamberg.
Perhaps the most incriminating
circumstance in regard to the who\e
matter was the statement of a Bamberg
merchant, Milton Shapiro. Mr.
Shapiro says that about one o'clock,
or shortly thereafter, a negro came
into his store and bought a pair of
pants, leggins and shirt, giving him
in payment a twnty-dollar bill. Mr.
Shapiro noticed that the bill was wet,
but the negro gave no explanation
other than that it got wet in his
pocket. For* change the merchant
gave the negro fifteen one-dollar bills
and some silver. It is said that the
accused negro admits it was he who
visited Mr. Shapiro?'s store.
| It was ascertained that 'early In
the afternoon the accused negro had
changed his clothing in Bamberg. It
is believed that the circumstances
poin^ directly to him as the perpetrator
of the CTime, and the fact that
j as soon as the crime became known
| he made hasty preparations to leave
i town, without due regard to his destination,
lends support to the evidence.
It will be borne in mind that
it was unnecessary for him to go to
i Branchville by automobile to take
| any train out of that place, as the
| 7 o'clock train arrives in Branchville
before the departure of any of the
evening trains.
Up to Tuesday morning the identity
of the dead negro was not ascertained,
and lie was consequently buried
by the county in the potter's field.
The inquest was held Monday afternoon,
at which time a verdict was
rendered that an unknown negro had
been killed by unknown parties.
Tuesday, after the arrest of the negro
at Branchville, the inquest was reopened,
when the verdict was amended,
and the negro who gave his name
as John Evans, alias Parlor Evan3,
was charged with the killing. The
! identity of the dead man has not been
learned, though it is said that both
i he and Evans came from Harleyville,
Dorchester county. One of the witnesses
at the Tuesday session of the
inquest testified that he heard some
one holler as if in distress, ana a tew
minutes afterwards he saw Evans
come out of the swamp near where
the sound was heard.
^ l?> m
Take Your Choice.
"My dear," said Mrs. Percival Pinochle.
"Yes, lovely," said Perc.
"Shall we drive over and get five
gallons of gasoline or will you walk
to town and buy a four-pound roast?"
Read The Herald, $2 per year.
SOX KILLS FATHER.
Wife and Daughter of Dead Man Say
Act Was Necessary.
Columbia, March 4.?Floyd T.
Meetze shot and almost instantly
killed his father. Joseph M. Meetze,
last night shortly after 10 o'clock.
The shooting occurred in Floyd
Meetze's room and was witnessed by
his mother and his sister. Meetze
used a 38 caliber Colt pistol and after
the shooting two chambers were
empty. A loaded cartridge was between
the empty shells. Coroner
Scott, Sheriff Heise and Deputy Sheriff
Thompson hurried to the scene of
the killing and after conducting an investigation
brought Floyd Meetze to
the county jail. He was delivered to
the jailer at 1 o'clock this morning.
Tha \Topf70 homo ic 1nr?ntPr1 in flnl
lege Place almost immediately in
front of the terminal of the street
car line. Mrs. Meetze, widow of
Joseph Meetze, said last night that
her husband had attempted to kill
her son and that Floyd Meetze had
to kill his father. She said Floyd
Meetze was in his room when the
father went there and grabbed him
by the throat. Mrs. Metze said the
father had the son on the floor choking
him, saying, "I will beat out your
brains on the floor." She said she
endeavored to pull her husband off
of her son and she heard the pistol
shot. She could not tell if one or
two shots were fired. Miss Rosa
Meetze, sister of Floyd Meetze and
daughter of Floyd Meetze, said she
was in the room and witnessed the
killing. She, too, said the son was
forced to kill his father.
T1AT.P1?PT TA mCPFYCT? PTT?
V/JLXL#1J XIX XV/ XTX^JA Xii.^ tJ>XJ JL JLJLJ
Leader of 4'Regular" Republican Party
in State.
Columbia, March 11.?Jos. W. Tolbert,
of Ninety-six, leader of the
"regular" Republican party in South
Carolina, will be the dispenser of the
Republican patronage, according to
information brought from Washington
by several prominent South Carolinians,
one of whom is a well-known
lawyer, close friend of Mr. Tolbert,
who attended the inaugural ceremonies
and had first-hand conferences
with Republican leaders in the capitol.
According to this attorney and
others familiar with the situation
and in connection with Washington
and also with Mr. Tolbert, the Ninetysix
Republican leader has his "slate"
prepared and, if he is finally selected
to pass the pie, will recommend persons
already picked for the several
important offices of the state.
For the position of collector of internal
revenue Mr. Tolbert has slated
it is stated, his brother, "Red" R.
Tolbert, of Abbeville county. This is
one of the most important plums in
the state.
For district attorney of the up'
- x 1 A r* XL
per western district 01 ooutu ^?iulina,
Mr. Tolbert has selected Ernest
F. Cochrane, of Anderson, former,
United States attorney, and it is
stated that Mr. Cochrane will accept
the appointment.
For district attorney of the Eastern
district no selection has been made.
It is stated that the Republican machine
is having difficulty in finding a
man to take this position. It was
offered, it is said, to former Governor
Blease, but he has asked that someone
else be selected.
Major J. F. Jones, of Blacksburg,
has been selected as marshall of the
western district, to succeed Mr. Lyon,
and S. J. Leaphart, of Lexington, is
slated for marshall of the eastern district
to succeed Mr. Sims, of Orangeburg,
it Is said.
It is not known yet who will be
considered for the postoffices, in case
Mr. Tolbert is the patronage dispenser,
but it is stated that for the Columbia
postoffice a woman will likely
receive the "regular Republican" endorsement.
A negro is expected to be
appointed as collector of the port in
Charleston.
There has been considerable political
gossip throughout the state recently,
.following publications from
Washington of excerps from letters
from prominent Democrats of Columbia
and other parts of the state, endorsing
Chairman Blalock, of Goldville,
of the so called 'Tilly white"
Republican party in the state, as dispenser
of patronage, the idea being
to recognize a Republican party in
the state that will be wholly of the
white race. However, it is generally
believed by persons familiar with national
politics, that such a course
would not be successful, due to the
large number of negroes in the state
who can not be ignored by the national
G. O. P.
-
SENDS CHLOROFORM
TO BIGHAM, CHARGE
MRS. BIGHAM PLACED UNDER
ARREST AT FLORENCE. ,
Intercepted By Jailer
*' ' '
? /
Sufficient Amount to Cause Death of
Prisoner, Physicians
Declare.
Florence, Match 11.?Mrs. May;
Bigham was arrested here tonight,
charged with attempting to convey
to her husband, E. D. Bigham, a small
Dottle containing sufficient chloroform,
according to physicians, to
cause death.
The arrest was made at the Atlantic
Coast Line passenger station as
Mrs. Bigham was preparing to take
the train for Greenville. Deputy Sheriff
Burch did not read the warrant to
her by request until they had reached
the jail, Mrs. Bigham being accompanied
by her daughters, the Misses
Louise and Evelyn.
The bottle of chloroform did not
reach Bigham, being intercepted by
Jailor J. E. Cook, working through
one of the trusted prisoners, to whom
Mrs. Bigham delivered it to be conveyed
by hiih to her husband.
In the past several weeks Jailor
Cook has in the same manner intercepted
severa^ notes written by Bigha^n
to his wife. * V
Edmund Bigham is in jail here
awaiting trial on the charge of murder
of his mother," Mrs. M. M. Bigham;
his sister, Mrs. Margie, A. ^
Black; his brother, L. S. Bigham,
and John and Leo McCracken, two
adopted children of Mrs. Black, at
the plantation home, near Pamblico,
January 15. It was at first thought
.that L. S. Bigham had perpetrated
the crime and then killed himself,
? k
but after investigation Coroner Smith
ordered the arrest of the living brother,
charging him with the crime.
Before her marriage to Bigham*
Mrs. Bigham was Miss May James, of
Greenville.
ESCAPE OP M. R. REECE.
Mania for Chewing Gum Helps H3nn " |
to Get Away.
, ' v.-i
York, March 11.?M. R. Reece,
wealthy man, was convicted of murder
and sentenced to hang in the jail
here twenty-three years ago. Reece
developed a mania for chewing gum
after his conviction and he chewed
$1 worth a day.
The day before he was to be hanged,
he made his escape through a hole
in the wall with the aid of a drill
still in the possession of officials.
He worked on it many days, using the
- * i.-. I. U TT7A?1r
cnewmg guui iu JUfUt? ma vruia uo/ v
to day. '
Sheriffs have come and gone since
Reece's escape and have spent hundreds
of dollars of the county's money
traveling to various sections of
the country where he was reported)
to be in captivity. #
Report is that Reece is now In
Mexico. The county refuses to spend
any more money in investigation. If
Reece is in Mexico, he is safe.
Escaped Her Memory.
"Professor," said Mrs. Newrich to
the distinguished musician who had
been engaged to entertain her guests,
"what was that lovely selection you
played just now?"
"That, madam," he answered, "was
an improvisation." J <
"Ah, yes, I remember now. I
knew it was an old favorite of mine,
but I could not think of the name of
it for the moment."?Houston Post.
^ wm
The Fortunate Circumstance.
"The depot was struck by lightning
day before yesterday and torn up
considerably," related the landlord
of the Petunia tavern. "But as it
xv'oa fmir hnnrs sine#* rhe last train
had went through and two and a half
till the next one was due there were
only a few fellers leaning against the
edifice, and them few weren't shocked
more than' just about enough to give
'em something interesting to talk
over."
And It Is.
"Say, Buddy, do you remember
when we were over there, the? used
to tell us that when we got back noth*
ing would be too good for us?"
"Sure what about it?"
"Well, they told the truth."