Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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W' '' * k * -V altr Sambrrg Irralb 32.OO Per Year in Advance. . BAMBERG, S. C., THURSDAY, JUNE 8,1922. Established in 1891. > ? "Old Dan'will i Accept Pardon "Old Dan" Murphy, aged life timer at the penitentiary, who last December was unwilling to be pardoned, has changed his mind and is now anxious to leave the grim prison \ walls. The recent mutiny at the prinson, the hardened criminals "who daily sulk ar'ound the penitentiary" and the ever increasing numbei; of murderers coming to the prison have given Dan a shudder and he wants to leave it all behind. Dan said recently that he had * been the happiest man in the world ' until the prisoners mutinied and until so many hardened criminals began to come into the prison life. Now things iave changed and the "old man of the cage," as he is often called, wants to forget the troublesome days of the ipenitentiary and get out into life where he can breathe the free air once again. Has Been Threatened. Dan has become more and more convinced that he should get away from the bars and walls. Another reason is tnat tne prisoners ua*c threatened him. He discovered a plot to rob and burn his little store, the only thing left in a life that was once ? as free as the babbling brook. Dan believes the men wanted to "get bim." He is not afraid so long as Captain Roberts is near, but' he thinks the men will take advantage of any opportunity when the captaiii is away. Dan is very fond of Captain Roberts. "The captain is one of my Host beloved friends," Dan said. Dan does not nae tne new pruvur ers that have been causing trouble. "This Davis and this Gates are hard "birds," the old man declared. And iDan knows. He always works to the best of his ability with the officers. v Dan says he is innocent of any crime. He was convicted in Orangeburg county in the early '90s for the killing of Treasurer Cope. He was / sentenced to he hanged* but the sent, - ence was commuted to life imprison> ment. He has been in the penitenti* vl- Avncnf fnr a ary smc? ms vuuvauuu, iVt short time when he escaped years Ago. "I am serving time for another man, I can't help it," Dan declared. > *?I never killed the treasurer." Petition Filed. A petition for clemency has been filed with the governor and the par don board has recommended a full pardon, *but Governor Harvey, will not act until he has made a thorough investigation of the case. ? large number of persons have become interested in Dan and have signed the petition asking that the old man be given another chance. Dan* is now past 65. He has a wife and son m Jenkins oounty, Georgia. Dan has accumulated some money > end believes if he receives a pardon lie can make $50,000 within four years. He has a good sized deposit et Augusta and also some money in Columbia. "If they give me a chance I will make a lot of money before I , die/' Dan said yesterday. Mrs. HartweU M. Ayer. Florence. June 3.?After a linger ing illness of several months, Mrs. ? Hartwell M. Ayer passed away this morning about 2 o'clock. The news^ was a shock to her friends, for although she has been at death's door several times she has rallied so wonderfully each time that all believed she would eventually regain something. of her health. For the past week, however, her condition has been very discouraging, ending in her death in the early hours of the morning. Mrs. Ayer, was before marriage, Cornelia Walter Smith, the only child > of Thomas Ogler Smith and Cornelia Walter Fitch, both or unanesiuu, where Mrs. Ayer was born fifty-one years ago. She was married in June, 1890, to Hart well Moore Ayer, of Barnwell county, who preceeded her to the igrave in 1917. Except for a few years in Charleston and Barnwell county, Mr. and Mrs. Ayer spent their married life in Florence, giving to the town and its people the best that was in them. i Surviving Mrs. Ayer are her mother, Mrs. E. T. Heriot, and five chil XJiiorV. Aror nf DnrVwjm. UlCUl iiugu uuunu ?1,' v? ) W. 7 N. C.; Lewis Malone Ayer, now in the United States navy, off the coast of Mexico and California; * Elizabeth Wilmot Ayer, medical student of the Charleston Medical college; Cornelia Walter Ayer, Jr., and Verna Blvthe Ayer. Women are excluded from the K throne of Egypt. DEATH FOR MRS. VINSON. Atlanta Woman May Be Hanged For ' Killing Husband. Atlanta, Ga., June 3.?Mrs. Cora Lou Vinson was convicted by a jury in superior court hero tonight of the - - ^ TTT T\ J murder of her husband, jlt. w. u. Vinson and sentenced to be hanged July 28. 1 The verdict without a recommen- 1 dation to mercy was more than even 1 Solicitor General Boykin had asked, as he had urged the jury to convict ' the woman and fix her sentence at { life imprisonment, saying he had never asked that a woman be hanged. 1 Under Georgia law a murder verdict ' without a recommendation carries the death penalty which the presid- [ ing jud^e formally imposes. ] Mrs. Vinson shot her husband in a ] drug store here in March while di- J vorce-proceedings were pending. He ' r had filed a petition for divorce, claiming she had threatened to kill him, but she thought he was about to shoot 1 her when she fired. She was recently J declared sane. Only one white woman has ever been legally hanged in Georgia, ac- 1 cording to H. G. McClelland, secre- { tary of state. He added that he ( thought Mrs. Vinson was the only { other white woman to be sentenced { to hang in this state. Mr. McClelland said the white woman hanged was executed in Ogle- J thorpe county when the late James ^ M. Smith was governor but that he 1 could not recall her name. 1 The jury trying Mrs. Vinson took 1 two hours to reach a verdict after ( having heard Solicitor Boykin picture her as having "carefully planned in advance" to kill her husband. Sam- ( uel Hewlett, counsel for the defense, declared the evidence showed she fired in self-defense and he asserted ? she had been "hounded" by her husband for years and deprived of the necessities of life. Send her back to her children, was his final plea. Mrs. Vinson heard the verdict 1 i J calmly *and listened in silence to tne | pronouncement of the death sentence. ? Her counsel filed notice of an appeal for a new trial. Solicitor Boykin de- c clined to say whether he would op. pose it. COOPER STANDS PAT. , 5 Former Governor Refuses to Discuss ^ His Pardon Record. i Greenwood Index-Journal, Tues- ^ day: "I don'tvintend to explain my 2 pardon record or the recent pardons which have been criticised," former 1 Governor Robert A. Cooper told a t representative of the Index-Journal i yesterday afternoon. "The records t are in the governor's office and any- 1 one who wishes may examine them 1 thdre." Former Governor Cooper declared t that he thought it would be undigni- I fied for ,a'governor to ente^ into a ? newspaper controvery over an official act. The pardons granted by the 5 former governor just before resigning i to become a member of the national < farm loan board aroused considerable 1 newspaper criticism. 1 "The pardons were granted in the 1 regular way and the records are all in the governor's office," Mr. Cooper J explanied. "Many of the pardons < were recommended by prosecuting at- . torneys and court officials." 1 The former governor said he had not been a member of the fa^n loan < board long enough to know how he * would like the work. At present he < %i. is making an inspection of farm loan i banks in the south and southwest. m hi m 1? COTTOX BURNED. 1 Lightning Strikes Monetta Cotton ?' * 1 AA T .^o* ?areiiousc??w imics nvot. I Ridge Springs. S. C., June 4.?The Monetta cotton ware* house three ( miles north of Ridge Springs, con- < taining about 400 bales of cotton, ] was completely destroyed by fire at 1 12 o'clock yesterday. 1 Lightening struck the building and j caused the fire. The loss which is 1 between $40,000 and $50,000 is fully covered by insurance through the 1 state warehouse system. 1 JURY CLRARs"cOLIA*>U j 1 Only Eighteen Minutes Time to 1 Reach Verdict. 1 Blackville, June 4.?The trial in j the court of common pleas began Tuesday. May 30, at Barnwell, of A. 1 V. Collum, charged with the murder ] of W. F. Walker, both of Blackville, ] was closed Thursday morning. The 1 jury remained out only 18 minutes, j The verdict acquitted Mr. Collum, ] who had shown a clear case of self- i defense. j Senator Pollock Died Thursday Cheraw, June 2.?W. P. Pollock, former United States senator, died suddenly at about 7 o'clock this morning. He had been in ill health for some months but there was hope of his ultimate recovery. He was out riding yesterday but this morning when he was getting up he fell over on the bed and died. Mr. Pollock was born at Cheraw, the son of Capt. Alex Pollock, of the Uheraw bar, and Rebecca Pegues, and was fifty-two years of age last December. He married Miss Bessie Salley, of Orangeburg, and is survived Oy her and the following sisters: Mrs. Henry Rogers, of near Rockingham, NT. C.; Mrs. Lottie Harrall and Mrs. T. E. Wannamaker, Sr., of Cheraw; Mrs. T. L. Brooks, of Greensboro, N. C.; Mrs. Waddill Pegues, of Birmingiiam, Ala., and Mrs. Rathbun, of Providence, R. I. Mr. Pollock had long been one of the most successful attorneys at the Uheraw, Chesterfield county bar. In parly life he taught school and graduated from the University of South Carolina. He was a member of the state legisature. He, with L. D. Jennings, campaigned the state against Cole L. Blease. He was a member of the Jnited States senate, filling out Sena:or Tillman's unexpired term, and was a member of the county board of TT. A Jducation tor many years, ne was a Vlason. The funeral services will be held >n Sunday afternoon. FOUR LIVES LOST IN WRECK. Pwo Others Thought to be Fatally Hurt in Union. Union, June 3.?Four people were tilled and two others possibly fatally - 1- ~ ? 4-1* ^ njurea tnis anernoou wueu mc iouthbound Carolina Special struck in automobile half a mile above the lity limits. Two others are possibly atally injured. Of the dead two are oung men and two young women, :he ages ranging from 19 to 25 rears. The dead are: James Vaughan, B. r. Vaughan, Miss Laura Austin and Hiss Minnie Austin. John McKeown and Ben Alton Vhitlock are in the Union hospital ' 1 1- i T- - ma 3.TG tnOUgai IU ue ictiauv iujuicu. James Vaughan was killed outfight. Laura Austin died on the way o the hospital. B. J. Vaughan died mmediately after being taken into ;he hospital, and Minnie Austin lived lour hours after being taken to the lospital. The tragedy was where a communi;y road crossed the railroad. At this joint the track extends from 200 to 500 yards in a straight line. The engine struck the automobile i... n-nA rvi 1 QH i f in Q tnnp-lf>ri 3H Ud 1 Ci v auu piiv^u x 1/ XXX M. vwM0. w ? nass by the side of the road. Two )f the occupants were pinned to the ocomotive by parts of the automobile and were fastened to the pilot when the train was brought to a stop. One of the patients at the hospital las a fracture of the skull, and the bther is suffering from internal injuries. Physicians entertain little lope for the recovery of either one. Surgeons were rushed to the scene )f the tragedy and rendered all possible aid to the injured. A great irowd of people visited the scene imnediately after the wreck. HUSBAND KILLED, WIFE HELD. Revolts at Orders of Mate, According to Testimony. Columbia, June z.?.Mrs. uiareuue 2. King, residing on a farm near Pontiac, this county, was held by the coroner's jury today for the tilling >f her husband, C. C. King, while he reclined on his bed early this morning. King's brains were blown' out oy a shotgun, fired at close proximity to his head, while he was lying on tiis side. According to the testimony adluced at the inquest, King early this morning told his wife to go out ana water and feed the stock, and for her and the children to prepare to pick boll weevils from the cotton. The woman became angry at her husaand's language, it was brought out and, it is alleged, fired the fatal shot. Another element entering into the tragedy was a negro woman whom King had hired for his farm. She bad been the cause of dissension between the couple before, it was averred, and today when King told his wife the negro was to be installed n charge of the household Mrs. King, it is alleged, revolted. District W. M.S. Met at Ehrhardt The Charleston district conference of the Woman's Missionary society held its annual session Thursday at Ehrhardt. A splendid delegation was in attendance, numbering forty-five who registered, besides visitors. The address of welcome to the conference was made by Miss Emma .Tane Varn and resDonded to by Mrs. A. D. Betts, of Beaufort. Mrs. W. I. Herbert, state president, brought a message from the recent council meeting which convened at St. Antonio, Texas, which she had attended. Mrs. S. W. Henry, superintendent of social service work, gave a talk on social service, giving particular emphasis to the inter-ra*ial work. Mrs. L. D. B. Williams, of Hendersonville, talked on how to make the work of the society more efficient in the district. Mrs. W. D. Gray, district secretary, presided over the meeting and gave a report of the district, together with helpful suggestions from time to time throughout tne session. The reports from the different auxiliaries were very good and of ^n encouraging nature. At the evening the hour the conference was entertained with special exercises by the Ehrhardt Junior society. Dr. C. F. Wimberly, of Char-I leston, made an address. A number j of the pastors in the district were present during the session. SESSION AT FAIRFAX. Trustees Have $40,000 More to Spend On School. Fairfax, June 3.?The 1921-1922 session of Fairfax Centralized iiign school has closed. The commencement sermon was preached in the Baptist church Tuesday night by Dr. T. C. Skinner, pastor of the First Baptist church of Columbia. The address to the graduating class was delivered Wednesday night in the school auditorium by Dr. W. J. McGlothlin, president of Furman University, after which diplomas to the eight, graduates were delivered by j Prof. F. C. .Chitty, the superintendent of the school. Delightful music was furnished by Raskin's orchestra, of Fairfax. A feature of the exercises I was the comedy play, "Sunshine," in three acts, by the graduating class. Trnro thp X lie giauuaicg n*ui. Fannie Wilson, Thelma Stallings, Maude Morris, and Daisy Myrick, and W. P. Hutto, Willie Drawdy, Russell Gray and A. R. Best. Class motto: "We Will;" class flower, pink carnation; class colors, pink and green. The faculty of session just closed was: Prof. F. C. Chitty, superintendent, .and .the Missess Alma Zelle Loadholt, Annie Loadhoit, Lottie Fitts, Ella Head and Mrs. Louise Hammond. Teachers for 1922-1923 have been elected. The school just closed made a splendid record, and Prof Chitty and his efficient assistants have received the commendation of the trustees and patrons. ' rrM? ? nf f^io cocainn ill Qt! 1 lit? Kill UUlllCUl Ul I.UV, J closed was 228, but the number will probably be considerably larger next session. The trustees have about $40,000 available for use in the building and equipping of more adequate accommodations for the next session of the school. SNAIL IS SLOW. It Took One Sixteen Days to Travel One Mile From Observation. What do you suppose is the actual speed made by a snail in traveling? One foot in four minutes, or at the rate of one mile in sixteen days, if traveling continuously. These are figures given by George Zahnizer, a civil engineer, of New Pactip n ra kpn from actual observa tion. A short time since Zahnizer was standing along the Western New York and Pennsylvania railroad waiting for a train. He had nothing in particular to do and "killed a little time" by timing a snail which was creeping along the ground. That snail traveled just exactly one foot in four minutes, Mr. Zahnizer says, and compiling distances at the rate of travel shown, Mr. Zahnizer has figured out that it would require sixteen days for the snail to move a mile. i COUNSEL ASKS NEW TRIAL. J Man Under J>eath Sentence Claims Brother Premeditated Killings. Florence, June 5.?In the court of general sessions here today A. L. King, attorney for Edmund D. Big- ( ham, gave notice of appeal for a new 1 trial on the ground of alleged after 1 discovered evidence. Judge S. G. W. i Shipp set Friday to hear the motion. < The after discovered evidence is in 1 the shape of letters alleged to have .< been written by L. S. Bigham to his < brother, Edmund, while the latter 1 was in Georgia, and it is contended 1 by the defense they will tend to show i that Smiley Bigham killed his mother < and sister and the latter's two chil- '< dren and then himself, the killing of 1 Smiley Bigham being the crime for 1 which Edmund has been convicted ] and sentenced to death. 1 Formal notice "was given by the de- < fense this morning to L. M. Gasque, ? solicitor of the court of the approach- 1 ing contest. At the same time, the i defense files with' him a copy of the 1 letters, affidavits and other data, which will be offered to the court as i i ir J -1 T 4 after discovered evidence, ivieuuei u. Smith, of Camden, is expected to as- 1 sist the defense in arguing the mo- < tion for a new trial. i Chief among the letters, all of < which are contended by the defense -i to have been written by Smiley at 1 Pamplico to Edmund in South Geor- 1 gia, is the following: i "Mother'and Maggie had the two 1 signed deeds that had disappeared in 1 their possession. Causing trouble t seems to be their pleasure. I They took the money that the post < office department has me charged 1 with and were the cause of Cleveland t running off, and I had to pay the "v bond. For xears I have had to leave c home and pay board to be in peace, ^o make my calculations and plans, e "They poisoned father and tried to i poison Leatha's child after her death t when I found them with the deeds. I i decided to kill the last one of them t and leave no one to tell the tale. 1 "I am writing this to explain,why I < did this act. You will never see me t again alive." Signed "L. S. Bigham." t This letter is one of a series which t it is alleged were written during the summer and the early fall of. 1920 I leading up to the return of Edmund to Pamplico in the fall of that year. mu;? nn?fin?1or lottor Hno? not 1 1 U1S pal tlUUiai IWbVi UVVW any date though all the others bear dates through June, July and August, possibly some of them being in September. . Also, all of them are typewritten and signed in ink. At the same time, the defense is offering a number of affidavits, which would tend to substantiate the letters ?nd the statements contained in them. Some of these affidavits relate to the genuineness of the signature. MEMORIAL TO GENERAL LEE. To Be Erected in the City of Washington. Richmond, VaM June 3.?Erection of a suitable memorial to Gen. Robert E. Lee in Washington, D. C., has t been provided for, financially* in the iii - \T/% AT,11 o n millinnairp Will oi -CJHiCi OUIl UV/.Uiiiau} m&i4AvuM*? v j banker and Union veteran of the \ W^g- Between the States, who died at ] his country estate near New York city i Wednesday. 5 Mr. McMillan, besides his own i army service, had five brothers in the < Union army, three of whom were ; killed. He devoted the latter years ] of his life, however, after amassing a j huge fortune and one of the most notable art galleries in America, to the work of preparing for a monument to the Southern chieftain in the na- i tional capitol. Many, obstacles had to be overcome, the first of which was the objection of the Lee family, who did '< nnt rioaira anv cnntroverv with those I < who might object to the location of i such a memorial in Washington. The i consent of congress is necessary to < the erection of a monument in any 1 public parks of Washington, and Mr. i McMillan had devoted considerable '< time to a study of the question and to < consultation with friends, both of the < north and of the south. The gift for the Lee monument i will provide for an adquate monu- c ment by one of the nation's foremost 1 artists. 5 ? ^ i?I m i The Hidden Power. i < Jones was busily wielding a paint ] brush. A would-be caller stopped. ( "Is your wife at home, Mr. Jones?" 1 * ' j T ? ^ ^ ?? fV? A T SHe saia. JUUCS was diuai i.u iuc uv- j. casion. i "My dear madam," he replied, "do ( you imagine for one moment that 1 I would be doing this if she wasn't?" ( Future Weather Tells the Tale \ \ ^ .-.'a Clemson College, June 5.?After a ionference here between Director W. W. Long, of the extension service, Prof. A. F. Conradi, entomologist, md V. V. Williams, until recently associated with B. R. Coad at the Delta Laboratory, and now with the extension service to; conduct poisoning demonstrations in this state, Director Long issued a statement on the boll weevil oi.uation to the effect that many of the insects now present on lotton in various parts of the >state ire not boll weevils but cowpea pod weevils, and that farmers need not become panicky over the presence aow of abundant boll weevils, since the real loss to be expected depends an weather conditions in June and July. Director Long's statement, which should tend to temper the alarm now felt by many, is given Delow: "A great majority of the weevils - * in most of the cotton fields at this ?i TY\ A o T?A AAnmArt n A/^ ri'A O n /iL n Af ?ime ai c pea puu wccuio auu uut Doll weevils. These insects in most / jases look so very much alike that it is difficult for the average man to iistinguish them. The cowpea pod veevil is not primarily a cotton pest 3Ut occurs on cotton only temporarily n the absence of cowpeas. This pest s most injurious along the line from 3arnwell to Marlboro county. In this . )elt it is expected every season at x his time, and the most successful >ractice is to delay chopping of young jotton' until the attacks are over. iVherever these insects attack cotton hat has been chopped to a stand the ralue of rapid thorough cultivation :an not be over estimated. "The fact that the boll weevil p?.ssid the winter in great numbers and nay be expected in cotton fields at his time in unusual abundance, does lot necessarily mean great damage o the cotton crop. Situations like this lave occurred before in the history >f the weevil in this country, where :hey came out of winter quarters iarly and in great numbers, causting i panicky condition among the farmers. The loss that we may expect de>ends on the weather conditions of rune and July. "With the approach of hot weather J. :he present generation of weevils nay'yet be practically destroyed, bo hat the abandoning of a cotton crop it this time could hardly be justified )y the records. The cotton should )e given freq,uent and shallow cultivation to keep down the weeds and :o air the soil. As the bulk of the ;otton crop in South Carolina is made 37 share-croppers, the women ana ^ ( ' ? children should be used to pick weevils, and this should be so supervised | ;hat it is done with great thoroughness. otherwise it has no value whatever. "The damage done by weevils injuring the bud at this time is freluentlv over-estimated, the only effect being slightly delaying the growth of the plant. "Farmers prepared for dusting are idvised that the first dusting may-be . 1 i ?iv*en in heavily infested fields about the time fruiting begins, and this to be followed by the second application ^ cvhen ten to fifteen per cent, of the squares have been punctured, at cvhich time three dustings should be ?iven in succession four days apart. Infestation counts are easily made rkt- anv nnft and directions are fur lished by the extension service." FORTUNE FOUND? Believed Money Buried Made Away * - With. Aiken, May 31.?James C. Garvin* in octogenarian farmer of the Wagjner section, died suddenly on April 28, at his farm home. "Uncle Jimnie," as he was called by the people )f Wagener, was supposed to be very vealthv, but upon his death it was iound that his fortune amounted to ibout $40,000. Last Saturday, Anirew Ward, of Wagener, discovered i newly dug hole near the home of 'Uncle Jimmie," and an old iron pot - ^ tt-V, i'/iVi nrac c/*>a ttATAri SAVeral 11 UU11U W 11XV. IX n fto ovmwv* ?? ? >ld coins, and the belief prevails in :he neighborhood that parties in search of the old man's buried treas- ^ ire. found a pot of money and got iway with it before relatives discorvjred the fact. It was the boast of Mr. Garvin that he had one thousand lollarg for evepy year of his life, and le died, aged eighty three years old. 5ope L. Courtney, ofAiken. a brothern-law of the deceased, aives it as his minion that the fortune buried by :he old man was dug up and carried >ff.