(Ife lamterg Sfmilfi
, ? "?" "? *
g2.00 Per Year in Advance - BAMBERG, S. C., THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 1921. Established in 1891
VAUGHN ESCAPES
ELECTRIC CHAIR
COMMITS SUICIDE BY SLASHING
THROAT BEFORE PRISONERS.
Brings Body to Columbia.
Former Superintendent of Odd Fellow
Orphanage Got Weapon Supplied
Prisoners in Tampa Jail.
Tampa, Fla., April 8.?Thurston U.
Vaughn, arrested here while teaching
school as T. A. Earl, and held for
South Carolina authorities for death
sentence for assaulting four girls at
the Odd Fellows orphanage at Green'
- - J- lil. rs r7 m
ville, slashed his tnroat wnu a
in his cell in murder row in the
county jail here tonight. He died almost
instantly, having almost severed
his head from his body with the
stroke. It was his fourth major attempt
at suicide and he had once
tried to open a previous wound in his
throat.
Vaughn had been kept in a straighi
jacket in the hospital ward after his
attempts to kill himself the night o:
his arrest, but today he was movec
to murderers' row and placed in z
cell with three men charged witl
murder. Sheriff Spencer states h(
has no knowledge of who authorized
the removal of the straight jacket.
All Taking Shave.
Jhe presence of the razor is ex
plained by the jailer. Jailer Hub
bard says that Friday is shaving da^
. at the jail and the razor goes th<
rounds of the cells. When it reachec
the murderers' row, Vaughn appar
entlv hided his time. After the othe:
prisoners in the cell had finished
Vaughn, it is said, was given thi
razor by one of his mates. Walking
down the corridor of the cage, ap
parently to the lavatory and witl
not a show of bravado, the man sud
denly halted, according to one of th<
prisoners. Like a flash he raised hi:
right hand, the blade flashed in thi
dim stream of light from a nearb:
corridor and with a vigor that tol(
of an intent purpose the man brogh
its keen edge blade against his neck
over the leader just back of th<
right ear. His arm came on arourn
with the initial swing all the wa;
around to beneath the left ear. Noth
ing but a steadfast nerve and a de
termination of purpose seldom seei
made possible such a powerful stroke
self inflicted, say physicians. Th<
head swung over to one side as th<
body fell to the steel floor.. Prison
ers shouted and there was a scurr;
throughout the corridors of the jail
A trusty carried the word to Jaile
Hubbard and a hurry call was sen
^nuntv PVlVcipinn H O SnO'W
iWI VUUUIJ X. u,; uwiuu ?-. v .
who hastened to the jail. Meanwhil<
the jailer and attendants at the his
pital ward reached the cell and at
tempted to give some aid, but it wa
helpless, for life had flown with th
rush of blood from the jugular veil
and other severed blood vessels feed
ing the brain.
When Dr. Snow arrived he pro
nounced the man dead and said n
relief under the sun could hav
brought back life which he said mus
have been snuffed out almost as th
body struck the floor.
Anxiety for Wife.
Chief of Detectives E. W. Bios
som, mindful of the wife's "gooi
bye dear, I'll meet you in Heaven
of two days ago when she tossed hir
a kiss as she left the county jai
after a visit, turned his mind to th
woman, as soon as he had starte
the machinery for an investigatio:
of the releasing of the prisoner fror
the straight jacket, fearful of a pos
sible suicide pact. Police scout
scoured both Tampa and Port Tampa
a suburb nine miles from here wher
the couple had lived, seeking the wo
man. She was finally located am
placed in the detention ward of th
city jail in the city hall for saf
keeping.
Jailer Hubbard refuses to discus
ESG3
Friday April 22, is the
ister for the municipal
law requires the resist]
JL ten davs before the dal
held. See that your nan
vou wish to participate i
'
MORE HOODOING CLAIMED.
Vork Woman Says Negroes Also Under
"Spell."
York, April 6.?County officials
and private detectives are mystified
because of the alleged attitude of
Miss Margaret Thomasson, who is alleged
to have been fleeced out of $3,500
during the past five months by
"hoodoo" or hypnotic methods.
Violdt Shaw, negro woman, sixty
and her grandson, Otis Fewell, fourteen,
were arrested several days ago
and lodged in the county jail. charg-|
ed with getting the woman's money.
Detectives developed that the
grandson spent $100 for firecrackers
Christmas and that he has since been
j spending large sums of money without
any visible means of supper'",
'j Violet Shaw has lived with the
J whit? woman for years.
A few weeks ago Miss homasson
reported that she lost a purse containing
$1,500 while en route to a
bank to deposit it-.
Then the dectives got from her a
statement that she did 110 lose the
money on the street as she claimed,
I
bu that the Shaw negress and her
^ grandson got it.
The negroes were then arrested.
** i
Now iMiss Thomasson wants them
I
released, claiming that, while they
got her money by casting a "spell"
I on her, at the same time they are
II victims of a spell placed on them
*
' by other people whom she cannot
* I name.
I
reasons if- any for the change of the
prisoner, but says that Vaughn was
I unusually rational last night and
this morning. At dinner he ate the
T 1
i heartiest meal since he was arrested
3 i
: and shortly afterward he was moved
to what proved soon his death chamber.
The body was removed after the
' county physician's examination had
3 I
j been made, to a local undertaker's
51 establishment, where it is being held
1 LX- ^ ^ Ttrnr/1 frftm
pending m? receipt ut wuiu. num
1 South Carolina authorities, or the arrival
of officers who are said to have
3 j
left Columbia yesterday for the man.
3 If they do not want to take the
" corpse back, the widow will prob^
ably be allowed to take the body for
^ interment where she sees fit, probt
ably in a local cemetery, as she is
' said to have decided to make this
e city her home.
I
Widow Explains Escape.
Tampa, April 10.?Before leaving
today with the body of Thurston U.
Vaughn, who committed suicide in
jail here to avoid the electric chair in
g
South Carolina, Sheriff Alex Heise obg
tained from the dead man's widow a
full story of Vaugh's escape from the
^ insane asylum, which differs in many
details from the version told Tampa
officials.
She said, among other things, that
' Vaughn secured the key to his ward,
g I
but stated- she did no: remember
whether he had said it had been entrusted
to him or whether he had seg
i cured it by chicancery. She also stated
that Vaughn secured the money to
| travel without the knowledge of those
| who knew him by saving tips be sej
cured from visitors to the insane asy!
lum and secreting them in his room.
She also stated that her story of
0 j *
i "hie visit tn Canada nrior to coming
t ~
to Florida was wrong, that Vaughn
0
came directly south to Florida and
secured a position as school teacher
at Gillett, a small town south of Tami
pa, later going to Plant City, from
3 where he wrote her, and then coming
"! to Port Tampa last fall to take the
n! assistant principalship, which he held
.1! when arrested.
e! Mrs. Vaughn stated, when told by
d the sheriff that she was not wanted
n by the authoritii?, that she would ren
main in Florida.
!- Sheriff I-Ioise says the reward, aps
proximately >200, will be forwarded
t, to Tampa for division among those re*
e sponsible for Vaughn's arrest. He
~ i - 1 II? r\ J J XT'~ it ^^ ^ 9 n
Staled lue UUU r enuvy j uci ui a
d reward had previously been witbe
drawn. He still refused to state just
e what wo^ild be done with the body,
indicating that he did not know, but
s was merely ordered to take it back.
f
:STER! >
T
last date on winch to rear- v
election on May 3. The
ration books to be closed f
:e on which the election is JT
ic is properly registered if ?>
n tlie citv election. ?|>
COOPER FAVORS
CANCELLING DEBT
ALLIES NOT ABLE EVEN TO PAY
INTEREST.
Speaks to Farmers.
Sacrificing a Dollar Not As Great As
Already Made by Sacrificing
of Lives.
Spartanburg, April 7.?Gov. Robert
A. Cooper advocated America's
punfoiiinp' pverv cent of Europe's war
V/l*HVV".?0 ?
debt in his address to the farmers
here today. He said that at first he
thought the countries should he
made to pay every cent, but now he
realizes that they can not even pay
the interest, let alone the principal.
So the best thing to do is to cancel
it and begin over. Then Europe will
begin to buy American cotton, and
prosperity will return in earnest,
This would be nothing more than
America's contribution to the cause
In speaking to the farmers, he
urged a marked reduction in acreage
saying that if the farmers made the
mistake he made last year that he
will but reward the approach to "normal}*."
Whether the farmers make
a big crop or a small crop norma
conditions will return, but a big croj
win delay that return.
Confidence in one's self and a will
ingness to sacrifice another dollai
for the good of the masses is wha"
is needed. Every one should be a:
willing to sacrifice a dollar to hastei
normal conditions as he was to give
his son for the peace of the world
He said that he could no* understanc
why the former soldiers, those whe
made such a sacrifice in the worlc
war, did not rise up in their migh
and demand that this country sigi
the peace treaty and take her posi
tion beside the other nations of th<
world. Instead the country hai
drifted until now it will be sev
eral years before this country cai
* ' ' A--J 1 -1
taK? ner siana. wnert; sue umuugs
Europe has lost confidence in Ameri
ca and it will take time to reestablisl
that confidence.
XEGROES RELEASER.
Twain Held in Connection With Kill
ing of Henry Smoak Freed.
Following a preliminary hearinj
Magistrate C. P. Brunson yesterda:
morning Maggie Jones, alias Maggi<
Thomas and Robert Dixon, negroe
from near Branchville, who wen
held in connection with the killing o
Henry Smoak on the night of Feb
ruary 22, were released, the findinj
being that there was insufficient evi
dence on which to hold them. It wa
supposed that these negroes wen
acquainted with some of tne circum
stances of the killing as Mr. Smoal
was said to have gone in the direc
tion of the woman's home, when
Dixon was said to be a frequent visi
tor, shortly before his dead body wa
found about a mile below Branch
ville.
About half a dozen witnesses wer
examined all having been put up b;
+ Viq ototo TVi o n oornoo Viqvq pririQiRt
Oia IC. 1 11U UV3* WO UM < ^7
ently held to the statement that the
know nothing of the affair.?Orange
, burg Times and Democrat.
A Gentle Hint.
The young man had called regular
ly four times a week for two years
but it seemed as though he woub
never do more than call.
"I was reading," he observed
"that it is calculated that in a thous
. and years Niagara Falls will be onl
[ a rapids."
"Oh, Tom!" She exclaimed, am
i tears of disappointment dimmed he
, starry eyes. "I had so hoped to se
. the wonderful falls on our?I mea:
; my?wedding trip!"
"Er, why, yes!" he said, and be
; came very thoughtful. By eleven
thirty they had decided on the dat
and the minister and everything.
Bad Little Doris.
Doris had misbehaved herself, am
her English mother had sent her up
stairs to bed.
An hour Inzer the mother called u;
the stairs: "Do~is, if you are gooi
you may come down now."
"I don't want to come down!" cam
the reply in a voice still shrill wit!
anger. "I 'ave spit on your 'at; I 'av
spit on your cloak; I 'ave spit on you
fur?an-?an'?now I'm waiting fo
some more spit!"
ROAD JACK BUILT.
Brings Joy to the City and Connt.ry
Alike.
This is the road that Jack built.
This is the farm that stood by the
road that Jack built.
There is the cow with the crumpled
horn, that fed on the grain and
chewed the corn, on the farm that
stood by the winding road that Jack
built.
This is the farmer, no longer forlorn,
that milked the cow with the
crumpled horn, that ate the grass
and that chewed the corn and
brought the farmers as sure as you re
born, a wealth of shekels from milk
that morn, because ?he should easily
get it to town on the crackerjack
, road that Jack built.
This is the motor as fine as silk,
, that carried the farmer and cans of
, milk, to the folks that lived in the
city flat, to feed the baby and also
the cat, the milk of the cow with the
crumpled horn, that mumbldd the
^ grass and slavered the corn, and
was milked by the farmer no longer
forlorn, who ' reaped the cash as
sure as you're born, because of the
k road that Jack built.
This is the voter who foots the
| bill and does it with a hearty will,
4 to get more roads from Engineer
Jack, who built the road with his
usual knack, the road that went by
\ the wayside farm, and worked, in}
deed, like magic charm, that caused
the cow with the crumpled horn tc
enrich the farmer as sure as you're
born, by sending him on with his
t motor fast, to the city flats and the
kids at last, to gather the dollars
^ they paid him here on the milk he
brought, which was only fair, anc
all because he could reach theii
j abode, along and over the well-pavec
^ road, the superfine road, the smooth
hard road, the elegant road that Jacfc
t built.
1 FACTS FOR YOU.
*
Some Things You Know and Some
5
You Don't Know.
1
Utah has 25,662 farms.
Cotton seed was considered useless
1 twenty years ago. Now it is the basis
of a trade of three-quarters of a billion
dollars.
The United States manufactures
$80,000,000 worth of the $100,000,?
000 worth of toys sold in this country
The Pennsylvania state college in
augurated a 'course in cooking foi
men beginning with the seconc
3 semester, February 1.
The cost of running the governa
ment last year amounted to $5,064,S
000,000, compared to $11,728,000,
g
000 the previous year.
Bounties paid by Montana stocl
cr^n-ararcj in thft ln<5t SPVPT1 VeaTS fOl
fox \J TT \JJL U JL 11 VM\/ .
V
3 the killing of predatory animal;
amounted to $722,453.
g
French and Belgian military au
thorities are testing a super-Ion*
range gun which is estimated to b<
able to fire a shell two hundred miles
Los Angeles has passed an ordi
3
nance prohibiting rentals in excess o
11 per cent, of the gross investmen
g
i on real estate and 10 per cent, on fur
nishings.
During October immigrant arri
9 vals at the port of New York exceedec
^ departues by 40,072. For the tei
completed months reported on, th<
excess of arrivals over departure:
was 193,305.
A single county in Oregon has i
larger territory than that covered b;
the entire state of Massachusetts an<
contains 9,883 square miles.
The American Quakers are fur
' nishing one hot meal a day to 650,
000 German children and nursin*
^ mothers in the sector occupied by th<
' AmoriMn trnnnc nr.CUDation.
XXlll^i IV/U1X 1,4 vv/|/W W4.
Naval divers recently recovere<
y $77,000 worth of opium from Hono
^ lulu harbor.
r OLAR WILL HEAR BRYAN,
e
n Great Commoner to Give Lecture Nex
Saturday Evening.
Olar, April 9.?The town of Ola
has been very fortunate in securing
e William Jennings Bryan to delive
a lecture here next Saturday, Apri
10, at 8:30 p. m. Mr. Bryan is con
sidered by many as America's great
est orator, and is decidedly at his bes
d on the lecture platform. This beins
- his first appearance in this particula
part of the state, it is expected tha
p he will be greeted by an unusuall;
d large audience. He was to have lec
tured in a nearby town a few year
e ago, and a large assembly was disap
h pointed by his being unable to fill th<
e engagement. His address will be de
r livered in the high school auditoriun
r and he will be the guest of Dr. L. A
Hartzog while here.
JOHN WILLIAMS
GUILTY OF MURDER
GEORGIA FARMER SENTENCED
TO LIFE IMPRISONMENT.
Appeals for New Trial.
Hearing is Set for April 30?Indictments
Against Planter, His Sons,
and Negro is Sought.
Covington, Ga., April 9.?John S.
Williams, Jasper county farmer, was
taken to Atlanta and placed in jail
today to await action April 30 on hisj
inli WOJ I
motion tor a new inai wu-.l:i t.j
made here today immediately after j
he was convicted and sentenced to
lifetime imprisonment on a charge of
murder. He expressed confidence he
would finally be cleared of the charges.
The trial was the first one arising
from accusations that Williams caused
the killing of eleven negro farm
hands after Department of Justice
agents had started to investigate alleged
peonage charges on his farm
February 18, last. Three of the negroes,
whom he was specifi|
cally charged with killing, at
the trial ending today, were alleged
to have been brought into Newton
county and drowned.
The other eight negroes were declared
by Manning, negro farm ?boss
' and self-confessed accomplice, to have
* have been killed in Jasper county, and
' inquiry by the ^grand jury with a
' view to indicting Williams and three
of his sons is to open there Monday.
^ Williams,appeared to take his conviction
calmly, but when his wife and
' daughters broke into sobs their grief
affected him and he struggled to hide
his emotions as he sought to comfort
- -n j 4.^ ,r> ; ^ ^
tnem. We was anuweu lu remain in
the court room with them for ten or
fifteen minutes before being taken to
5 Atlant^
Date for trial of Williams on the
other two indictments here has not
been set nor has the court announced
3 when Manning will be tried, although
5 it was indicated the negro would face
" a jury before the hegular July term.
Counsel for Williams hold that he
3 cannot be tried on the indictment
' charging murder of Willie Preston,
whose body was found chained to that
' of Peterson, but the state contends
r the indictment resulting from the
I death of Preston is a separate one
and that he can be tried on it as well
" as on the third indictment charging
" murder of another negro, Harry
" Price. The defense contended the
drowning of Peterson and Preston
c was one act.
SWEET POTATO SYRUP.
r Government to Establish Plant for Its
i Manufacture in Georgia.
A sweet potato syrup plant is to be
' established by the government at
Fitzgerald, Ga. Under a laboratory
process worked out and planned for
the public by Dr. H. C. Gore, bureau
of chemistry, the commercial possi*
bilities in manufacture of a fine
1 brown "highly palatable" syrup from
" a heretofore waste product are to be
S - .
exploited, according to ainiuuuucmciii,
recently by the agricultural depart1
ment.
f
j "Many persona think it equal to
first class cane syrup," the statement
said of the sweet potato product.
Fitzgerald was selected because a
r building was available and also be*
cause it has already a sweet potato
curing and storing establishment,
j Equipment will be shipped from
Washington for the syrup plant and
the department says it can make no
recommendation for commercial
manufacture without comparative
cost data to be obtained from the experiment
mill. The chances for developing
a new industry is held to be
r good, however, as much of the swreet
y potato crop of the south has been
wasted in the past.
i t
<* MASS I
r V
, V A meeting of the citi;
V called to he held at La
V afternoon, April 19th, ai
. ^ of nominating candidate
s > commissioners of public
~ > urged to be present.
.
jhtifec jl f
*W*
CARLISLE OPENS A WINNER.
Takes First Games From Batesburg ^
and Orangeburg Last Week.
Carlisle's baseball team journeyed
to Batesburg Thursday, engaged the
high school boys of that town, and administered
to them a heavy walloping m
by the score of 12 to 4. All the
boys went away confident of their
antagonists, and their confidence was
reflected in the final returns which
gave them an overwhelming victory.
-- - ?
As this was the first game or me season,
every one was very anxious to
see how the team would play together.
McLeod pitched and held the opposing
team safe all the way. He really
deserved a shut-out, but a few errors
allowed Batesburg to cross the plate.
I The batting of Carlisle w-as heavy
and consistent, the opposing twirler
being hammered to all corners of the
i lot. By lining out two home runs
Large led in laying down the barrage
which resulted in the complete rout
of the enemy. The season has begun
most auspiciously by the winning of
the first game and the tarn is looking
forward to many other victories
as the season progresses.
The following men made the trip
to Batesburg: Large, Hard Luck
Warren, Jig Jag Prosser, McLeod,
Sanders, J., Lawton Dantzler, Michaux,
Sanders, K., Thompson, and
Ambrose, and Coach Gault.
Carlisle Defeats Orangeburg.
Coming from behind writh a rush
ii A A#
wuicu swept luc uppusiug umc uu
its feet, Carlisle' ball tossers snatched
victory from apparent defeat at
Orangeburg Friday afternoon by a ^
ninth^inning rally which scored 8
runs. The final score was: Carlisle,
13; Orangeburg high, 11. Prosser
started a twirler for the cadets, but
Jig Jag was not in his best form, for
the high school boys took very kindly
to his offerings and piled up a large
number of runs before his retirement
from the box. McLeod succeeded
Prosser and held the Orangeburgers
safe for the remainder of the game.
The cadets fought an uphill game all
the way, but entered the ninth inning
with the score almost hopelessly
against them. With a mighty determination
and unconquerable spirit
however, they entered the ninth inning
to bat their way to victory. This
inning was so full of thrills and excitement
that the spectators almost
went wild, and the noise of Carlisle's
rooers was deafening.
McLeod struck out twelve men in
five innings, showing excellent form
in the box all the way. Another feature
of the game was Large's three
bagger in the ninth inning, which v ?
would have easily been a home run
had it not struck a house and bounced
back. Prosser pitched well, but the
breaks were aginst him.
Carlisle Wins ^Tuesday.
Carlisle defeated the Batesburg
high school on the local diamond on
Tuesday afternoon by a score of 7
to 6, 11 innings. This gives Carlisle
the first three games of the base ball
season, having previously defeated
the same team in Batesburg last
week, and the Orangeburg team in
Orangeburg Friday last.
DIXIE'S SEAL IS MISSING.
Aged Negro. Who Buried It, Dies in
Washington.
Washington, April 8.?The whereabouts
of the official seal of the Confederacy,
an unsolved mystery for
; more than half a century, probably
will ever remain unknown. James
Jones, aged negro employee in the
Senate office building, who is reputed
to be the only person with a knowledge
of the place where the seal was
buried, died today without disclosing
his secret.
Jones was serving as a seryant of
Jefferson Davis, President of the Con!
federacy, when the Confederate lead- ,
er was captured. As the story goes,
Jones buried the seal before the fed:
eral authorities could obtain possession
of the Confederate leader's effects,
and to his death revealed the
spot to no one.
MEETING.
. . , *
sens of Bamberg is liereoy v
Victoire Theatre Tuesdav V
t 3 o clock, for the purpose t
s for mayor, aldermen, and ?
: utilities. All citizens are A
D. J. DELK, and Others. >
1
r