The Bamberg herald. (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, March 31, 1921, Image 1
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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
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