The Bamberg herald. (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, September 14, 1922, Image 1
lamterg |
$2.00 Per Year in Advance. BAMBERG, S. C., THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 14,1922. Established in 18^1*
Kills Four Chil
Woutu
Staff Correspondent Yorkville En- '
qnirer.
Clover, Sept. 6.?Remarking to !
Tom Perry, a neighbor, that "I might
' ., TTT?1 , T7S I
as weii seme mis now, w imam rairis,
60, shot and instantly killed *
laude Johnson, 20, mortally wound- 1
ed LeLIa taylor, 16 and Newton Tay- <
lor, 12, and seriously wounded three '
other children of James M. Taylor {
at their home in the Clover mill vil- 1
lage about 2:30 this afternoon. The 1
little girl, Lela, and the little boy, 1
Newton, died in a Gastonia hospital
tonight. Standing in the door of *
his own home forty feet across the 1
street from the. Taylor home and us- \
t ing a double barrel shot gun and a 1
single barrel gun loaded with buck
-shot, Farris began his slaughter of
the unarmed. Claude Jbjinson, a ]
nephew of James Taylor, fell dead 1
L at the first fire with buck shot I
through his cheek, heart ana arm. t
Gertie Taylor, 20, was shot in the 1
neck and side; Newton, 12, was shot
in the stomach; Dolly Tayloiv 10, was i
ehot in the right arm and Lela Tay
lor, 16, was shot in the arm and|1
offtrnooh I ]
Farris, according. to the witnesd, *
Tom Perry, was not content to rest *
with the shooting of five, three of 1
them girls. When the shooting first i
began, Fred Taylor, 22, ran toward 1
* the Clover mill for help. After
shooting five, Farris rested his gun t
^ on a tree in his yard and proceeded ^
to draw a bucket of water from the c
well. About that time he saw Fred (*
Taylor coming back to the house t
* about a hundred feet away. "Don't r
' a you come any further or I'll kill a
yon," he is alleged to have told Tay- T
lor. The young man paid no heed a
* and he" fell with a load of buckshot
in his stomach.
?. James Farris, son of Will Farris, t
. m happened to be near and he took the I
shotgun away from his father and a
. kept jtim in charge until Chief of Po- a
* lice John Jackson arrived.^ s
Spirited Away, c
His lips closed tight, Farris was t
carried to the county jail in York- i
ville, where he was locked up. A s
telephone message to Sheriff Quinn e
from Clover a little later on advised
him to get the prisoner out of York
- -* * ? *1 ? T
county since ieeims w<*a suuug *
* against Farris. In custody of Sheriff c
Quinn and Chief of Police Steele Far- a
V ris was carried to the state peniten- s
tiary tonight. h
The tragedy occurred about 2:30 r
this afternoon. Ill feeling between 1
the Farris children and the Taylor s
children is said to have been at the b
^ bottom of it all. Mrs. Farris has f
? been in bad health for some time, it t
is sa'^d, and it is claimed that the s
Taylor children worried her. They
have been having little spats for b
some time, it is said. Just before s
the killing one of these spats was in v
progress. The Taylor children, it is p
claimed, were railing at the Farrises t
and there was a return from the e
Farris side. Tom Perry, friend of a
Farri*. was nearby, and heard it all. s
Goes After Gun.
Remarking to Perry, "I might as t
well settle this now," Farrjs went I
after his gun and came out the door v
shooting. The Taylors and John- s
son were in the porch of the Taylor t
home facing the Farris home. How ?
long Farris continued' the fusilade
cannot be said positively. Buckshot a
rattled through the Taylor home, c
The screams of children were heard. 1
Their bodies were on the porch floor, b
in the house and on the ground, out- v
side, it is said. P
Then ^here was a lull. Farris, as ii
cool as you please, proceeded to a
draw a bucket of water from the c:
well between his house and Perry's
.jfeouse. Then he saw Fred Taylor
come back toward the house. Fred 1(
heeded not the warning to come no is
further. The sixth victim fell. pi
Dr. Waldo MeGill chanced to be in ii
the neighborhood and he came to re- fi
lieve the wounded as soon as he C
t could. Buckshot from Farris's gun ei
struck his Ford coupe which wa3 b<
> parked oip the Clover-Gastonia road A
? more than 200 feet away. The dents d:
?
dren;
Is Two Others
made by the buckshot are on th<
side and the door of the car tc
show.
There was nothing to be done foi
the young man, Claude Johnson
ahastly buckshot holes were in his
Dody, his arm and his cheek. H<
evidently died instantly. One littli
girl, Lela, 16, ran about the yart
trying, it is said. Blood was pouring
from a wound in her arm. She wa;
unaware that she was shot in the
stomach also. She died later.
A comparatively short time afte:
he shooting the five wounded per
sons were taken to Gastonia hospit
lis. The condition of two of then
s said to be very grave.
House Literally Riddled.
The Taylor cottage was literally
iddled with buckshot. There weri
loles through the walls, A grapho
>hone was stationed to the right o:
he front door just inside the living
oom. It had buckshot holes in it.
rhere were blood stains on the floo]
n this living room and in the kitch
m which is in the rear of the living
oom. The mother of the five Tay
cot nti o haH in tTlO hor
\J X V/U11U1 OMV vu w k/v\4 AU VMV
oom adjoining the living room. Sh<
pent through it all unharmed. She
leld her head i^ her.hands and
noaned: "Oh, God, why do my ba>ies
have to go thrbugh this?"
James Taylor, the father, paced
he floor, a baby in his arms. Tears
eere in his eyes?a look of anguish
>n his face. He said between sobs:
'I told my children a long time age
0 have nothing to do with the Faris
children. They could njot get
Jong. I don't see why he shot them,
They were unarmed. We had a rifle
md a pistol in the house, but they
rere not loaded."
The father was at work in the coton
mill when the tragedy occurred
le came to Clover several months
igo from Gastonia. He is said to be
1 quiet and industrious man, and is
aid to have a substantial bank acount.
There are eight children in
he Taylor family. One daughter,
s married and lives in Gastonia. One
on, nearly grown, was visiting a
teighbor when the tragedy occurred.
Farris Cool About It.
John A. Jackson, Clover chief of
'olice, said that Farris was calm and
ool when he arrested him. He was
Iready in custody of Jim Farris, a
on, and the only statement the two
Lad to make was that the elder Faris
he given protection of the law.
.'wo shotguns were" found?one a
ingle barrel and the other a double
arrel, both of them of cheap maruacture.
It is alleged by the state
hat Farris used both guns in his asault
upon the Taylors and Johnson.
Recording to the officers, Farris
ought the shells loaded with buckhot
in Gastonia on Monday of last
reek. Tom Perry told the corresondent
for the Yorkville Enquirer
hat Farris had remarked to him sevral
days ago that "the Taylors have
blue steel ^pistol; but IYeckon buckhot
is as good as blue steel."
Perry also said that there had been
rouble between the Taylors and the
^arrises for several weeks. There
rere often bitter word battles, he
aid. The Taylor children said hard
* "* ?j J ^ _ J
rungs ana tne Harrises saia ixa.ru
kings.
It was learned that some weeks
go Farris made complaint to the
hief of Police of Clover that the
'avlor children were annoying memers
of his family and he sought a
rarrant. An investigation by the
olice developed that there was nothlg
to it save a neighboring jower
nd no attention was paid to it offlially.
Call Him "Fighting Bill.
Farris is said to have been known
icallv as "Fighting Bill" Farris. It
5 said that he is a man of high temer
and of fearless nature. Accordlg
to Chief Jackson, he got into a
ght several years ago with Former
hief of Police Mendenhall, of Clovr.
It is also alleged that he has
sen in numbers of other scrapes,
ccording to witnesses he is bad to
rink but was cool sober at the time
[#
>
>
/"N j a rm \r i /^r.
uourtesy or me JNews ana lou
GOVERI
)
Cole L. Blease
} Thomas G. McLeod
:
r
In the governor's race, the
5 lead of McLeod being overcome.
3 missing at 5 o'clock Wednesda
I six or eight thousand votes at n
, shows a vote of 181,481.
s
i Lee county complete gave
1,259, giving Blease a small ma;
r
Newberry county practical
1 ^2,508 and McLeod 2,581.
Richland county gave B1
7 5,520, with only one box missing
3 *
f~ Charleston county with ab<
^ Blease 5,046 and McLeod 4,830.
r McLeod carried Spartanbui
' Blease carried Anderson.
9
I T J . T\ I C
: nope uejeais o
By Overwheh
I \ '
SUPERINTENDENT
J. H. Hope
>
J. E. Swearingen
; CONGRESS, SIXT
ston :
Gasque
r
Only a few boxes are mis
Press says Stoll admits the elec
of this afternoon's tragedy. He had F
been living in Clover about three ^
years, it is said, although a good part
' of his life has been spent in York
' county. He ha^ been married three
' times and is the father of children
, by each marriage, several of whom
' live in Clover and community. He has
been spending quite a bit of his
1 time during the past Several years 61
' in hunting, fishing and trapping, and
1 is said to have caught 110 couters rpj
this year.
or
York, Sept. 9.?There will be a ^
fresh flower-covered grave in old 57
Olney Cemetery, >in Gaston county,
several miles north of here, tomorrow,
marking the resting place of ^
the foruth victim of "Fighting Bill"
> op
Faries when he set out to slaughter ^
the family of James Taylor in the HI
Clover mill village last Wednesday. VC
, Fred Taylor, twenty-two, died in a jjj
Gastonia hospital this morning at 5
o'clock, after making a hard fight
1 pv
for life. Fred was the last of the
six members of the Taylor family -tl
alleged to have been shot by Faries J.
! last Wednesday. He is the last to
die since it is practically certain now
that tne .Misses tjerue Tayior, twenty,
and Dolly Taylor., ten, will recover
from their wounds.
Miss Gertie wanted to know today
how her little brother Newton CO
was coming along. (She was not (Jj;
told that he died on an operating Iff
table in Gastonia Wednesday night.
Neither does she know that her sis- *
ter, Miss Lela, and her brother, Fred, P*
are dead. Claude Johnson was dead
when she was carried to Gastonia to gel
the hospital. Scores of Clover peo- yg
pie plan to go to York when sessions
court convenes, with a view to try
ing to aid in insisting that Bill Faries
be brought to trial at the present
term. (The name is spelled Faries,
and not Farris, by the way.) CO
James Taylor and surviving mem- CO
bers of his family were in South Gas- -j-0tonia
today weeping over the body of -g
the young man, Fred. He will be ,
missed tomorrow in the Sunday .
school class he attended at Clover tl(
Methodist church. [Tt
rier 5:30 a. m. Wednesday.
ft)R.
' 83,549
98,431
re is no possibility of the
, Only about 70 boxes were
v. morning, involving some
lost. Tbe above tabulation
Blease 1,323 and McLeod
joritv. * '
/
Lly complete gives Blease
t
ease 5,363, and McLeod
r
J OP 1
out zd ooxes missing gave
*g and Greenville counties.
'wearingen
wing Majority
OF EDUCATION.
: 100,307
73,349
'H DISTRICT.
12,693 7
13,139
icinor anri the AssnpiafpH
'KJJL a y M I VC V-LAV WAVV
tion of Gasque.
tamberg County
Rallies Fine
For McLeod
Bamberg county has spokl
in no uncertain manner
s choice for governor,
iomas G. McLeod, of Bish)
ville, received 1,188 votes,
id Cole L. Blease received
4.
It is a notable fact that,
though there were seventyx
more votes cast in the
cond primary than in the
st, Blease gained only nine
>tes over that he received
the first primary.
In the race for state supintendent
of education, J.
. Hope received 1,045, and
E. Swcaringen 695;
McCormack Nominated.
Much interest was manisted
in the race for county
mmissioner for the lower
strict, in which Gr. W.
unter and J. B. McCorack
ran over in the second
imarv.
McConnack was nominat.the
vote being: Hunter
8, McCormack 976.
Eeurns in Early.
Every box in Bamberg j
imty was reported to the
unty chairman,by a quarr
to seven o'clock. This
probably a record. Not a
x is missing in the tabulam
given in this issue of
le Herald.
is
4 pp
Smith Favors (
Year to 1
Hill Nominated Magistrate.
A. G. W. Hill won out in
the magistrate's contest in
Fish Pond township. The
vote in this contest was: Hill
140, J oily 103.
GOVERNOR.
V f *
m ' &
9 a
S Si
Ehrhardt 61 164 j
Lees .... .... 2 N 211
Go van 19 5?!
Denmark 94 213 i
Olar , 60 152
Colston 13 49
H f -1 A A
iiviiaway y y
Bamberg 159 306
Hightower's Mill 13 23
Springtown _18 1^
Hunter's Chapel.. 9 * 49
' Embree 25 33
Edisto , 49 14
Little Swamp .... 30 36
Kearse 13 53
Total 1. 574 1,188
SUPT. EDUCATION.
'i 3
y ^ - to*
.3
? 'Cg.
/ ft o
O ?
B -0D
Elirhardt 179 43
Lees 6 17
Govan 55 15
Denmark 165 140
Olar 92 114
Colston 43 , 18
' Midway ,. 12 6
Bamberg . 268 ...193
Hightower's Mill 36
Springtown 28 3
Hunter's Chapel.. 41 16
Embree 29 29
Edisto 32 31
Little Swamp .... 25 40
Kearse 34 30
Total........ ....1,045 695
I CO. COMMISSIONER
Lower District.
y o
V ?T
U g
& o
. 9 ?
w s
Ehrhardt 139 88
Lees 11 12
Govan 31 41
Denmark .1 124 183
Olar 31 129
Colston 42 , 20
Midway .... 6 12
Bamberg 197 , 270
Hightower's Mill 11 25
Springtown 11 20
Hunter's Chapel.. 30 29
Embree 25 33
Edisto ? 54
T .ifilo Swfimn 35 30
JLUJ. U IXV T
Kearse 36 30 ,
TotftI ... . ..788 976
The Reason.
Husband (after first tiff): - "It's
really a joy there are no marriages
in heaven!"
Wife: "There o-c^c-ouldn't be, 'cos
no men are there."?London Mail.
' i . v .
- ,> jr. . . f' . .
, :'v '-'7 . v I.
v;'. : ; - ' ' v
^ fiBs
l '
Cotton less
Cill theWeeoil
Wa chin crfrvn Cant 7 Tfco nrnnn- . 'V j
sal for a one-year suspension of cotton
planting in the United States as -;-.-=
a means of eliminating the boll weevil
was suggested in the senate
Wednesday by Senator Smith, Democrat,
South Carolina, who predicted. '
wholesale abandonment of cotton j|
farms throughout the south unless ^ :'iM
government action was taken to
aid in destruction of the parasite.
The South Carolina senator announced
he had written to the chief
entomologist of the department of . J
agriculture, asking that a 6tudy be s 'J&
made to determine whether a year's
lay-off in cotton growing would '
eradicate the weevil. He said the
entomologist had expressed in a telephonic
conversation today the belief
that such action would result in de- /%
stroying the pest.' J, .''M
Senator Smith announced that as
soon as he received the report of $8
the entomologist he proposed to introduce
a resolution calling for the 1
co-operation as far as constitutionally
possible of the federal government
in the stopping of planting for
one year "so that there may be a
tomorrow for the cotton" industry. >|
Reduction in Supply. .
"Unless the heroic remedy is ap- , v
plied,"'continued-.the speaker, "it
will be only a question of a few
years before the supply of cotton will' . V;J|
be inadequate to meet the domestic %
needs, much less the world demand."
The present loss to the country
from the ravages of the weevil
amounts to a hillibn dollars a year, ^ ^3
Senator Smith said. He suggested .] ??
that the federal and state govern- ?j|
ments should join in paying the de- - 0
ficit occasioned to the growers in the .
one year's lay off, declaring that it x
would be cheaper for the country In
the end even if it had to appropriate
that amount to defray the expenses .. ^
caused by the suspension of cotton gg
growing for one year.
Senator Smith suggested that once -!
the weevil was eliminated the federal
government could and should .'..J
resort to zoning^ the Rio Grande : J
border for a distance of one hundred
miles in which no cotton could be p
planted, expressing belief that this
action would effectually stop the in- * ;
sect's migration.
Fointing out that production last
year was only a little more thap ^
half of normal and estimating that
this year's crop would not exceed
nine million bales, Senator Smith . ;
asked how long the nation could expect
to maintain the balance of trade I
in its favor if its export of cotton -v
fell away. The export demand, he ^
continued, is around 6,000V000 bales .
toUTi a HamanH qy/<ooHin rr
TV ibU VUV UVUAWObiV UUiMU-UU VAVVVUiUQ
that slightly. On the basis of this
year's -crop, he added, the country .
would be 2,500,Q00 short of the export
requirements.
OOtJN^
INSURANCE MONET ... v,;||
John J. McMahan, insurance commissioner,
last week announced that
$65,783.81 was due the county treasurers
on account of the additional li?
cense fees on premiums collected byx
insurance companies for the semi- \
annual period ending June 30, 1922.
The figures for counties in this sec- ' vi
tion of the state follow: - ' '
Aiken $1,104.04 %
Allendale ... 231.40 " Bamberg
660.71
Barnwell 694.22 ;
Calhoun ',"436.89
Colleton 570.99
Dorchester 407.63
Hampton 365.68 ,. ; 1
urangeourg i,vo?,-4 9
MAGISTEATE,"pish Pond.
_______ *
Hill Jolly . J|
Hunter's Chapel.. 51 . 6
Embree 13 45
Edisto 41 22 . j
T.ifflp Swamn 25 i 20
TotaL' ...140 103
' 'T~&i