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y " n i * OIItp Hamburg Ifmlb $2.00 Per Year in Advance BAMBERG, S. C., THURSDAY, MARCH 31, 1921. Established in 1891 Edmund D. Bighc To on Die Fru Florence, March 28.?A Florence county jury came near equaling the record for speedy justice in bringing its verdict in the case of Edmund D. Bigham, charged with the murder of his brother, L. Smiley Bigham; his mother, Mrs. M. M. Bigham; his sister, Mrs. Margie Bigham Black, and Leo and John 'McCracken, the little 1 adopted children of Mrs. Black. The case was given to the jury at 1:15 o'clock this afternoon. At 3:25 o'clock, following a recess to 3 o'clock and after a wait of some minutes to bring the prisoner into court, the jury's verdict of guilty of murder was read to a court room crowded with spectators. Then after a painful wait of minutes while the clerk of the court searched for the ceremonial of the arraignment for sentence, and a harangue by the prisoner in response to Judge Memminger's question if he had anything to say in his own behalf, the death sAtence was pronounced and Bigham knew that he was to die on Friday, April 8, unless the supreme court grants a reversal of the verdict. Calm Air Disturbed. i Bigham's stolid indifference to everything around him, his apparent! inability to grasp the solemnity of the proceedings or of the seriousness of. his own position, his readiness to respond with a smile on less than no provocation, all passed when the pris- ' oner came into court to hear the 1 verdict. He resumed in part his role of in- ? jured innocence when he sat in the 1 dock for final arraignment. For a 1 time he leaned forward his head rest- r ing on his hand as if he prayed for strength to go through the ordeal he i had been 'called upon 'to pass. He listened with no special interest while hii attorney moved for a ,new trial : and while Judge Memminger, in re- ' fusing it, referred with much feel- i ing to the fact that Bigham's father; < had while a state senator from Florence county, cast his vote in favor of putting Judge Memminger on the < Dencn. ine suuuiviug nupun ui mv. whole thing seemed to reach hiir slowly, but as its realization progressed by degrees, the ashen pallor that had shown in his face all day became more marked, the air of bravado passed into a pitiable weakness that < caused the man to look here and there ' about the audience with the expres- " sion of a hunted animal surrounded : by men who sought its life. The old . Bigham had passed and did not show! : again until Judge Memminger ask- ' ed him what he had to say that sen- : tence should not be pronounced on j 1 him. Then, leaning forward on the ' railing of the prisoner's dock and in ; a voice that was calm and unshaken, ] the-prisoner spoke as follows: 1 Pleads Innocence. i "I have nothing to say except that ! I am innocent. I know nothing of ] how that crime was committed. That is the truth, so help me God. That's all I have to say. I wish my mother; could come down and tell how the thing happened. I wish that little boy had lived when I asked Dr. Poston to save his life. He would have told the same things I and my wife told. 1 Judge, I hope you will give me time 1 so some of the people who testified here against me may have a chance to come forward and tell the truth and not come too late Kke Judas Iscariot making his offering of the 30 1 pieces of silver. I do want to say ? i* something more, i nope you win laae no exception to it. As far as you are concerned I .ve had a fair trial. * But if people had had time to think things over, consider and take it up 1 with their God, they would have testified differently." When asked to explain the finding of his pistol in his brother's hands,, Bigham said: "I left my pistol in my bureau drawer and it has been testified that the door was found broken open. That is the only way Smiley could have. 1 got it. If am guilty I hope I may be petrified in front of this court house just as I was that day, or as I 1 am now. I am as innocent as a* new 1 UU1 11 L/a . Bigham's show of weakness at the end may have been in some measure 1 due to the fact that he was not sustained by the presence of his wife and children whose devotion has been so marked a feature of the trial. When it was annouhced that the jury was about to return to the court room Mrs. Bigham and the children left and heard the news of the ver- 1 diet and sentence while in the office 1 of the clerk of court -downstairs. im Sentenced day, April Eighth Mrs. Bigham fainted when she heard the verdict, and Mrs. Worrell, the wife of a Florence policeman, who has been her constant companion during the trial, went to the court room for a doctor. Dr. E. M. Hicks, attended Mrs. Bigham and when she was made comfortable she was taken 3ack to Mrs. Worrell's boarding house where she has been a guest. A record attend^ ,Ae marked the final day of the trial, the percentage of women growing greater than ever and their manifest interest visibly increasing. It was an orderly crowd, however, and only once during the day did the judge have occasion to rebuke any outbreak on the part of spectators. Attorney A. L. King began his argument for the defense shortly after the court opened. Mr. King read impressively from the gospel according #to St. Matthew, chapter 26, and drew the analogy between this case and the false witnesses against the Saviour, and then from St. 5latthew, chapter 27, the demand of the mob for the release of Barabas and the crucifying of Christ. The attorney handled this delicate proposition very effectively and without bringing upon himself any show of feeling upon the part of listeners. It was a daring thing to do and he did it well. As Mr. King warmed up to his attack on the prosecution for introducing the Arrowsmith testimony and began to vent his opinion on the Arrowsmith fee of $5,000 for straightening out the affairs of the Bigham estate, Mr. Gasque rose and asked that such attacks be stopped. Judge Memminger promptly asserted the court's perogative and gave Mr. King notice that any further attacks of such nature would result in his being denied the privilege of further argument and another attorney be appointed to present the case to the jury. Attorney Apologizes. Mr. King at this period and more extensively at the close of his argument apologized to the court, the bar, the jury and the spectators for what he had done, took the blame upon himself and said he hoped the jury would not allow his outburst to influence their attitude towards his client. Aside from this incident Mr. King's speech was impressive and was pronounced by those who heard it to be a masterly piece of advocacy, j At times it was not cohesive and this fault wras the chief one a critic might have urged against it. Mr. King relied principally upon the defense's theory of the insanity of Smiley Bigham, in committing the murders md his subsequent suicide. He did, however, bring into his speech the testimony bearing upon the alleged insanity of Bigham's father and laid stress upon the prejudice shown by neighbors upon the defendant. The prosecution of the case by Solicitor Gasque is said by lawyers and laymen to have been an exemplary work of its kind. He connected his facts in logical sequence. From that 8th of January when it is set forth that Edmund D. Bigham whipped his sister because she had accused him of stealing certain papers connected with the Bigham estate until the day when Mrs. Bigham tried to smuggle a bottle of chloroform into her husband's cell, Mr. Gasque did not leave an unconnected link in the story. The story ran that Edmund D. Bigham, the son of a rich father, who had sold his interest in the es:ate to his brother and sister and gone away for many years, had heard of differences regarding the recent disposition of his father's estate and hastened home to inject himself as a factor into these family disputes in the hope of recovering an interest in property to which he was in no way entitled. From the time of his appearance in the Bigham household there had been a succession of bickerings and disputes, culminating in the incident which drove Mrs. Marjorie Bigham Black to Florence vhere at Attorney Arrowsmith's office she had made a will giving everything she had to her brother, Smiley Bigham, to whom she confided the care of her old mother and her two little adopted children. Deeds Disappeared. In this will she had set forth her fear of some person whom she did j not name in the will who had obtained possession of three deeds covering property of her estate which she had signed in blank. Following this came the declaration of Smiley Bigham on (Continued on page 6, column 5.) DEBS IN PRISON ; AFTER JOURNEY: RETURNS TO PENITENTIARY AT! ATLANTA. Zerbst At Station. Prisoner Met By Warden Who, How- ] ever, Throws No Restraint on Temporary Liberty. Atlanta, March 25.?Eugene V. Debs, returned to the Atlanta federal penitentiary today to resume the routine of prison life again after his trip to Washington where he discussed his case with Attorney Gener ? I ? ? ? nwf TT hl uauguci . The Socialist leader who is serving ! a ten year term on conviction of violating the war time espionage act was smiling and cheerful as he alighted from the train and in the brief time before he met the wTarden and was whisked away to the prison, he answered every question asked him except those on his conferences his chances for release. "I appreciate the confidence shown in me by letting me go alone and on my honor to Washington," said Debs, "and I enjoyed the trip," he said smiling a moment later in answer toj a query as to whether he was going directly to the prison. The Socialist leader feels that the department of justice has been fair and square with him so far, no matter what the final decision is, according to Samuel Castleton, attorney for Debs. Mr. Castleton joined him at Buford, Ga., this morning and rode back discussing the status of the case. "Personally I think his chances are good but that is only my personal opinion," said Castleton when asked about'the result of the conference. "Mr. Debs made it plain to the attorney general that he had nothing to take back, nothing to recant" added Castleton, "and he was not asked to. They discussed the case in a five ' hour conference. I am not permitted to give details of what took place." Trip Kept Secret. , Debs left here Wednesday morning, his departure shrouded in secrecy on orders from Washington but there was no especial effort to prevent the return becoming known. Warden Zorbst who is said to have received orders from Washington to meet the prisoner at the station declined to say what train he would come in on but after Debs' arrival he made no effort fo prevent Debs talking to anyone who cared to question him. The two shook hands in hearty fashion as Debs alighted from the train. Debs greeted the head of the penitentiary with "I'm mighty glad to see you again Mr. Warden." Immediately there was a bonfire of questions from newspaper men and the warden apparently by design, dropped to one side and let the prisoner ; make his own replies. Little Information Given. "Oh I can't talk to you about that," Debs said to almost every question regarding the conference in Washington and the chances of a pardon as a result of it. The entire trip was uneventful, Debs said and added that he enjoyed it and felt fine. He was plainly enlim Driggers by FrankS A nntVior Vi nm i pi ri o pppii yrorl in rflttl-i UllV/UUgi UVU1XVXV4V VVVMA A VV4 AM A-r M ? berg county last week, when Frank Steedly shot and killed Jim Driggers, both parties being white men. The killing occurred at the home of Steedly in the Briar Creek settlement. Driggers died on the following day. Coroner Zeigler held an inquest over the body of Driggers Friday. The shooting occurred on Thursday afternoon. The jury rendered a verdict that Driggers came to his death froln j gunshot wounds at the hands of j Frank Steedly, who has been arrest-j ed and is now in jail awaiting trial. | Very little is known of the tragedy, j It appears that there were no eye-' I I j witnesses to the affair except the par- ' I Arl Tf 1* rt n n A r\t+ CI i r\ r\ A "f O "f I ties cuxieei neu. it is miucioiuun 1,-1.14*0 Steedly declares Driggers was raising a disturbance in front of his home at the time. i A shotgun, loaded with buckshot, was used by Steedly. Only one witness was sworn at the inquest, Capers Steedly, brother of Frank Steedly, and his testimony was as follows: "I heard a screaming. I was in my Sard fogle pays for crime YOUNG NEGRO ELECTROCUTED FRIDAY MORNING. Absolves Whaley. Murderer of Young Calhoun Parmer Assumes Full Blame Before Death of Crime. Columbia, Mar. 26. ? Richard Fogle, young negro, was electrocuted at the state penitentiary at 11:3$ o'clock Friday morning, paying the death penalty for the murder of a young white man, Earl Wadford, at Lone Star, Calhoun county, January 12. Fogle made a dying statement in which he contradicted a iormer siaie-i ment of his to the effect that Harvey Whaley, another negro, had told him to kill Mr. Wadford. Fogle said yesterday morning that Harvey Whaley had nothing to do with the crime. Whaley was tried by the same court that convicted Fogle and is now in the penitentiary under death sentence, the judge fixing April 8 as the day for Whaley to die. An unusually large crowd was on hand for the electrocution, several men and women coming up from Lone Star and St. Matthews. Many of the visitors were denied admission as the death cell will hold only a certain number and the allotment was taken up early in the morning. _ .One unusual feature was the presence of women in the death chamber. This was one of the few times that women have witnessed the execution of a'criminal. Among the women present were members of the Wadfnrd - family. Sheriff Hill, of Calhoun county, brought the Lone Star party here and he accompnied the women to the death chamber. When placed in the electric chair the negro was asked if he had any statement to make. He replied:"Harvey ain't had nothing to do with the crime. I done it all myself." Fogle had previously said that Harvey Whaley had told him to kill the whole Wadford family. Evidence was introduced at the trial to prove that Whaley did tell Fogje to kill the family and that h? gave Fogle the shotgun and shells with which to shoot the c LCLLUliy . The crime for which Fogle paid the penalty attracted widespread interest. The negro appeared at the Wadford home and called the young farmer out, shooting him dead as he reached the steps. The negro then Opened fire on Corhett Zeigler, a neighbor, inflicting a wound that made amputation of one of Mr. Zeigler's legs necessary. Fogle also shot Mrs. Wadford and her small baby, the wounds not being serious, however. Relatives of 'Harvey Whaley came to Columbia during the day to see if something could not be done to save his life, but no action has been taken. joying the novelty of being outside the prison walls. When he does leave the penitentiary for good Debs expects to go to Terre Haut, Ind., and spend some time with his family, his attorney said and will make his future plans then. and Killed teedly Last house. I got up and ran out. My house is about 400 to 600 yards from the house of my mother, where the shooting took place. I went to the house of my mother, I found there the man that was shot on the dirt, and Frank Steedly and his mother about 30 feet away. Frank Steedly had a gun in his hand, and he said: 'I did the shooting.' The body was lying about 20 feet in front of the front gate of FranK steeaiy. FranK lives at the home of his mother. T did not hear Frank make any remarks as to what caused the shooting." Dr. Robert Black, who performed the autopsy, said: "This is to certify that I held an autopsy upon the body of Jim Driggers, and found a number of gunshot wounds, due to buckshot, in face and neck. These wounds produced death." Driggers has been living in that section only a short time. He had been working for B. D. Wonald, and he was carried to Mr. Donald's home after the shooting and died there. Revival Services M Through Frid Rev. S. O. Cantey, pastor of Trini-- s ty Methodist church, announces that t the revival meeting at his church will ( continue through Friday. Services -v are being held this week at 10 a. m. i and 8:00 o'clock in the evening, the a evening service being started fifteen e minutes later than last week. s The evangelist, Dr. Luther Bridges, t is still doing the preaching in a man- 1 ner that has been impressive and f productive or great gooa in me community. It is said by some that the meeting has evinced more interest than any revival in Bamberg in some years. Great crowds continue to attend the meetings. On Sunday both services were participated in by packed houses, and Sunday night every seat was taken, with chairs filling the aisles, and even then many could not get in the church.. On account of the inability of the church to hold the people, the services at the Baptist church were not dispensed with Sunday morning, but in the evening the Baptist and Presbyterian congregations joined in the worship. Monday evening the congregation was disappointed at the inability of Dr. Bridges to preach. A slight illness during the day incapacitated him to such an extent that he considered it advisable to rest Monday evening. However, he was in the pulpit again Tuesday morning. Monday evening, in the absence of Dr. Bridges, Mr. Cantey preached] n cVinrt sprmnn irrmrpssinsr unnn t.hft I s congregation, which was small due to t rain, their duty in connection with f the revival, and urging every Chris- t tian to rally to the cause of the re- c vival and leave no stone unturned a to bring unbelievers to Christ. At the t conclusion of Mr. Cantey's remarks, Rev. Geo. P. White, of the Baptist 3 church, addressed the congregation, e in which Mr. White seconded the i remarks of Mr. Cantey. Mr. White e said that he was as much interested r in the revival as the Methodists, and c urged that Christians of all denominations join in the spirit of the revival, 9 that the entire commuity might reap r a rich benefit. i: The first week of Dr. Bridges's t NEGROES NOT WANTED. Nebraska Secretary Wants Them to I Keep Away From North. That southern negroes are not only no longer wanted in Nebraska and e the north, but that organizations in n those sections of the United States S are even ready to discuss methods to c prevent his coming, is the gist of a d letter received here yesterday by A. t V. Snell, manager of the chamber of s commerce, from Harry E. Moss, gen- t eral secretary of the Nebraska cham- 1 ber of commerce, Inc. c After stating, "We are writing you d fr\y o r?Tri/-?ck o n infrtrmotinn " fho 1P f- t 1V/1 au T CCA-L^i. XU1VA1UUVAVAA) bUV AVW I v ter goes on to say: "In these days of f unemployment the situation in many c of the northern states is being com- t plicated by the influx of southern ne- t groes. They are unable to find em- J ployment; they do ndt mix well with s negroes, natives of the north or of c long residence, here. "In your opinion can anything be ? . done in your state to stop this move- ( ment and should it be done and how" f "Will the south need this labor c when normal conditions return, cr do ^ they need it now? o "Any assistance you can give us in * arriving at a clear conception of the c situation will be appreciated." Manager Snell states that he has 1 some clear cut ideas on the subject, c one of which is to the effect that * when ri-nrirror wor SfillthPrn Indus- * tries needed the labor of the negro s more than at any other time, the in- 1 dustries of the north were making e every conceivable bid for him to * come. The information that the northern born negroes and those of long residence there do not wish their southern consins to come, nor care j to mix with him, was the biggest surprise conveyed in the letter, Mr. Snell declared.?News and Courier. Johnny liked ice-cream, but he e drew the line on turning the freezer. I One day when his mother returned I home she was agreeably surprised to 1 find him working away at the crank a as though his life depneded on it. "I I don't see how you get him to turn t the freezer," she said to her hus- ii band; "I offered him a dime to do it." e "You didn't go at it in the right y way, my -dear," replied the husband, e "I bet him a nickel he couldn't turn d it for half an hour." i . fill Continue ay of This Week ;ermons has been burdened with the ask of preparing the hearts of the Christians for the real spirit of rerival in the community. Sunday norning he invited all those who had i consciousness of Christian experience to stand, and a surprisingly mall number responded to the invitaion. It has been in the endeavor to >ring those Christians who do not eel entirely satisfied with their own 'aith into a close contact with God hat the preacher has directed his en crgies, and he expressed himself that here can be no satisfactory results xom a revival unless the church peo)le are first revived. When they get he vision the work of bringing unlelievers to Christ is a simple mat- / ,er. Dr. Bridges has stated that he is lot interested in grandstand play; :hat his mission in life is to bring he message of Jesus to the people, md that he would rather see one lone Irunkard brought to Jesus in true epentance than for a hundred to siglifv their acceptance of Christianity n a manner that they soon forget heir vows. The manner of Dr. 3ridges is simplicity itself, and the neeting is peculiarly void of the excitement which is often characters;ic of revivals, in which, perhaps, scores accept Christianity, but the effects of which soon wear off. He is seeking a genuine revival of religion n Bamberg, and that his whole soul md being is in the work is evident o anyone who has heard his wonder. ullv effective sermons. Many visiors from various sections of the county have attended the meetings, .nd a cordial invitation is extended o all. It is a matter of general regret that dr. Jenkins, who was the song leadr, could not remain here during the >resent week. Mr. Jenkins is a leader of great effectiveness, and won nany warm friends during his stay >f a week in Bamberg. Daily prayer services are held at >:30 a. m. for the women, and 7:30 >. m. for the men, to which all are nvited, regardless of their denomina-, ional affiliations. * * GENERATOR BURNED. 1 )ay Current Machine at Cotton Mill Damaged by Fire. , This issue of The Herald is publishd under serious handicap. Saturday ight the day current generator at the antee Mills was burned out. The ause of the burn-out has not been iefinitely fixed, but the fact remains hat it was burned, this being the econd time since the cotton mill has >een running ths machinery that this dentical accident has occurred. As a onsequence of the fire there was no [ay electric current Monday and here will probably be none , rom this generator for some time to :ome, if ever. Matters have arisen )etween the mill management and he town authorities that have not as ret been settled, and it appears to be ;omewhat uncertain as to the out:ome of the matters mentioned. The fire whistle sounded and a ,rreat crowd congregated around the :otton mill, but there was no cause 'or alarm so far as actual fire was oncerned, as the fire in the generator vas not a matter of water to put it ut. No other damage was done aside rom the damage to the electric marine. As a consequence the motor-driven / nachinery of the town was idle Moniay. How much longer it will renain idle is hot certain at this writng, but it is hoped and believed that lome necessary arrangement will be nade whereby the electrically operattd industries of the town may coninue in operation. NERVOUS INFLUENZA NOW. sew Form of Malady Makes Its Appearance in London. London, March 26.?Nervous influ;nza is the latest form malady that tas visited London, according to Dr. Bernard Hollander, an eminent Harev street nhvsieian. who says that, Jthough the new form of "flu." is not >revalent to any alarming extent, here are undoubtedly many cases of t in London. Dr. Hollander remarkid a similar form of influenza thirty ears ago, and believes that the presnt attack cannot be prevented with Irugs, the only chance to escape beng by keeping fit. -> ' ' - ' < yp .