Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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'DO THOU LIBERTY GREAT. INSPIRE OUR SOULS AND MAKE OUR LIVES IN THY POSSESSION HAPPY, OB OUR DEATHS GLORIOUS IN THY CAUSE." wm BENNETTSVII?L?E, S. C., JFRIDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 1903. NO. 16. BAIL REFUSED J. H, Ti lman by Chief Justice Pope on the Evidence SUBMITTED BY HIS ATTORNEYS Some Scraps of Arciimont Atado by tho Lawyers on Both"Sides. Tho Ohler Justice- Makes a Statement. Ah half-past four o'clock on Thurs day afternoon Chief Justice Pope re fused the application for bail of James II. Tillman, charged with the murder ot N. G. Gonzales and now confined in the Illchland county jail. The hearing was resumed in the Supreme (Joiirt room in Columbia, having been adjourned Trom Newberry on the 12th inst., at 10 o'clock and cont inued un til nearly 5 with an intermission from 1.35 until 2.40 p. m. The pros ecution was represented by S li;itor J. W. Thurmond, ex-Attorney Gener al G. D. Bellinger and Judge Andrew Crawford. The defense was represented hy Congressman-elect G. W. Croft of Aiken and ex-Solicitor P. ?T. Nelson of Columbia. Ex-Judge O. W. Bu chanan, Messrs. C. L. Blease of New berry and G. It. Uembert of Richland, of counsel for the defense, were also present but not actively participat ing. During most of the day about 100 spectators were In thcroom, the number at times inore'"dng. Mr. B. R. Tillman, Jr., a ti?h of Senator Tillman was a spectator. At the opening Col. Cruft read a waiver of his legal right to bo present by thc defendant, Col. Tillman, who did not tn person appear. Tue read ing of the allldavlts con. urned -one hour a nd a half, Mr. Crawford read ing tbose of the prosecution and Mr. Nelson those of the defense. MU. NKLSON OMENS. At 11.30 the argument was opened by Mr. Nelson for the defense. Ile j was followed hy Messrs. Crawford, Thurmond and Bellinger for the State. After the recess Mr. Croft closed thc case for thc defense. . Mr. Nelson clearly and rapidly dis cussed the evidence, taking up atilda s vtlyS seriatim and disposing of their hearing from the point of view of the " defense. He stressed the reply of the .defense in thc large number of atllda -%-vits sustaining the character of the ?ffffl?ht Holsonbacke against fie elfort . ?of the State to impeach it. Reaching the affidavit or the aillant A'in le, lie Ej was interrupted by Justice Rope, who ;wit, as co' that affida vit was not necessary. Ile then pro ceeded to analyze the State's a tilda - -vit, pointing out what he regarded . their discrepancies and weaknesses and arguing self-defense based on the affidavits of the State. He then took up the legal aspect of the application. Mr. Nelson's case was a brief, concise and lucid exposition of the case for the detense, without especial chort at oratorical effect. von THE PROSECUTION. Judge Crawford drew the court's attention to the alleged threat: "1 have made him show the white feath er several times already and if he crosses my path I will make him do it again." He argued forcibly that this in connection with the previous con duct of Mr. Gonzales constituted no threat whatever. Mr. Gonzales had never attacked Tillman, had never drawn a weapon upon him, had never made any Demonstration of violence towards him-"hid never made him show the white feather," and so had given Mr. Tillman no cause to fear bodily harm from him. Having never "made him show the white feather" thc language even if true incant noth '""-UrgT'As Tillman's life and limb liad been safe under the so-called "white feather" performance of the pist, why did Tillman kill Gonzales for simply doing that which caused h'm the humiliation of "showing the white feathery" There had been no personal encounter and the "white feather" must have been only in a po litical sense, the result of the editori al attacks which ended last Septem ber. Mr. Crawford then argued that having assisted materially In defeat ing Mr. Tillman for governor, Gon zales had no motive to threaten Till man as to try to take his life. Till man was the vanquished; Gonzales thc victor. Ile could understand why Tillman should desire revenge and so could understand his declaring, :ie cordlng to the atilda vit of O. I). Black: "My God, I am going to kill him!" and the intimation contained in his language to Hon. W. B. Ganse. Tillman made threats; Gonzales made none. Tillman wanted blood; Gon zales did not. Tillman armed him self for the purpose, and Gonzales did not. THE SOLICITOR. Solicitor Thurmond followed in an argument covering the law and facts. No threat had been made by Mr. Gon zales. What he had said, admitting thc truth of the alleged threats for the sake of argument, was no stronger than criticisms. if such language could be construed as threats then every candidate, for example, that ap peared on the hustings would have a right to assume that his lifo was. in peril. "Any one who has had experi ence in the court house" knows how easy it is to pie vail upon many people to make ,illida vi ts as to character. Mr. Thurmond eomprehensi vcly ar gued the law of the case, citing with eirtphatis the rule laid down in a Texas case as to thc meaning or the phrase "proof is evident" in the con stitutional provision as to bail in cap ital cases, lie maintained that ball should not he granted merely because the case mighu contain conflicting affidavits, hut that if the court wore convinced that the evidence of guilt substantially preponderated so as to make a reasonably convincing case the ball should be refused. As for the newspaper attacks, public men must expect, their records to bc attacked and exploited by the press. These atti.cks had been made long before and Mr. Tillman had submitted to them. Mit. lt IC L I.. INO Ell 81'BAKB. Mr. Bellinger made the closing ar gument for the State. It was an easy matter to obtain affidavits to sustain a man's character. If per chance that man had a local reputa tion as a "bad man," in thc western sense, as a dangerous man, lt was not difficult to find those who, desirous of not offending him, would sign testi monials in his favor; but to tell the plain truth about him required moral and physical courage. Hence the in ference was fair that in a case like tbls the a nhl a vi ts attacking a man's reputation for veracity came from sub stantial men representative of thc best classes in tho community. Re ferring to the expression," "made to say," applied to thc affidavit of Mrs. Melton, Mr. . Bellinger observed that the affidavit of Holsonbaeko was signed "Richard Holsonbacke, his mark.'' Nevertheless, it wascouched willi an elegance of diction and accu racy of rhetoric surprising to say the least in a man unable to write his name. In striking contrast was the ! allldavit of Mrs. Melton, clearly stat ing the facts sbe knew in her own handwritings, submitted to thc State's attorneys at their request. Mr. Bellinger summed up the testi mony of tlie State's affidavits, forcibly presenting it. "If the dying declara tion of N. G. Gonzales, the statement or Senator Talbird and the allldavit of Mrs. Melton be true, Mien it was a deliberate, schemed and premeditated assassination. COI.. CROFT CLOSES. Cul. Croft made first a strong argu ment on the law of bail. The rule ls not, be s ild, as tho State would have it, that )mil should be refused in cases where a verdict of guilty is probable that will not be.set aside-this with out conceding at all that this case is or that character. Where a doubt may be entertained by the court Its duly is mandatory. ?he court is nol tu determine guilt or Innocence ii: this proceeding. The credibility ol witnesses Is not to be passed upon. The presumption ot innocence tbi law gives to thc defendant and bili true mle is that if testimony is sub raiued that presents a defense am allows ul the. admission of a doub of guilt the court must grant bail. Mr. Croft then referred to thc news paper and personal attacks ntl Mr Tillman's public and private cbarac ter, beginning, be said, as far back a 181)0. They had no parallel for unie laming vindictiveness in South Car.) lina. Mr. Tillman's good name bai been torn to tatters and besmeared liven In bis family life, in thc sacre marriage tie he bad been attacke and only bis life bad been left. Whit words did not justify the taking u human life -the defendant bad tb right to infer from the unceasing per sedition of Mr. Gonzales the bent o bis mind towards him, and to belicv that Mr. Gonzales intended to tak Ids life as he bad taken hisgoud name Mr. Gonzales' honesty of couvictio bc did not impugn, but bis hatred c Tillman became an absorbing passior Ile was relentless towards enemic and it was not in bis nature to brou opposition. Gol; Croft strongly argued the test indny of Senator Talbird that he 01 eil pied the outside position on tbesld position on the sidewalk with Tillma between him and Brown, accentua ing thc point that, such being tl: positions, Mr. Gonzalo's turn toward the Inside was a direct approach ti wards Tillman. THE DECISION. As Col. Croft was concluding Chic Justice l'ope requested bim to expiai bbc course of thc ball as shown by tl autopsy, and the testimony of D Knowlton was read. Then while the spectators listone with breathless attention the cbli justice, announced bis decision. "Tbei are always two sides to a homicide be said, "and even with thc mat that have taken place in this State i late years, there is in most of tbei some provocation-that is, there is defendant's side to it. It seems fro the testimony that the defendant h; been tho object of newspapers attacl for ll years perhaps without a paral 1 I in this State. The liberty of ti ! press dues not permit the license I the press. Dr. Franklin said tl ! liberty of thc press would often I followed by thc liberty of the eudgi In this case no cudgel, though, w used, hub a deadly weapon. One cou hardly believe that a man could be thc long continued ordeal of the abu that the defendant underwent wit Out having malice in bis heart. T rule was long ago adopted in tl cou rb nob td give the reasoning lea ing to our conclusions in bail a plications. The law ls that thc fakii of human life with malice premed!; ed constitutes murder. Painful as is, under my oath of office, so rece ni fresh on my lips, I must do my du and decline the application." Thc following is the order deny! the application: St ?tc of South Carolina County Richland. The State vs. .Jas. ll. Tillman. This was au application for ut and after bearing the a Hid ay i ls bi of thc State and tho petitioner a after argument pro and con it ordered that ball is hereby refus however without prejudice to I petitioner lo apply to some obi judge if he should ba so advised. Y. J. I'ope, Chief Justice Million Dollar Hitchins !>ost. J. R. Posten of Bath, N. Y., bas front ot" bis bouse what lie calls a r lion dollar bitching post. It i while oak post, and was removed fi a Held near Can isleo. Steuben com N. Y., and is believed to be tile 1 of thousands ol posts that were ri ri for a distance of inore than one h died miles on thc route of thc ?1 York & Eric railroad when il was lng constructed tb rough Susti banna, Caiiisteo and Allegheny val sixty-two years ago. Lt was Inten to elevate Hie rails tor thc rail rout these posts instead of laying theil a solid roadbed. This plan of i road building was abandoned belo rail was put down. The money sj in the useless work amounted to u than one million dollars arid drove Hrle into Its first bankruptcy i owner of this relic of thc old pile ri bed of the ?ric obtained it last while visiting relatives In the vlei of where lb stood, a lone moimmcii thc costly folly that placed it tl two generations ago. { THE TESTIMONY Presented by the State in the Case ot J. H. Tillman BEFORE CHIEF JUSTICE POPE, Ami Upon .Which Ho Refused to Allow tlio Defendant to lie Released from Jail by Glvlnf- Bail. Last week we published the entire testimony presented by J, IL Tillman in his application for bail. Below we present about one-half of the testi mony presented by-thc State iu oppo sition to tho granting of bail to .1. H. Tillman, and upon which bail was re fused tlie defendant. The testimony speaks for itself, and every one can read it and draw their own conclu sions. The testimony is ?as follows: Personally comes Robert Lathan, who says on oath: That he was stenog rapher and secretary to thc late N. G. Gonzales and occupied such a position at tlie time of the shooting of said N. G. Gonzales; that on the afternoon of the shooting, and just after the said N". G. Gonzales had been brought into Tlie ?State newspaper olliee, on Main street, some 50 yards north of the point of the said slanting, M. G. Gon zales told deponent that he, the said Ni G. Gonzales, knew the result of such a shot as he had received, and more than once while in said olllcc, suffering from said wound, intimated in plain language that he knew his wound was mortal; that thereafter; and in a couple of hours thereafter when said N. G. Gonzales had been conveyed to tlie Columbia hospital, lo be there operated upon, lie repealed said intimation of the result of lits wound to deponent; that while in this state of mind he said the following words, or of like import, to deponent, to wit: "I started out o? Tlie State of liee walking as usual on the right hand side of the'pavement, going towards thc State house, and as I got close to the corner, the intersection of Main and Gervais streets, where 1 bad to turn to the left into Gervais street on my way home, I observed Tillman. Two men were with bim, Senator Tal birti of Beaufort and another man, whose face E did not observe. Tal bird was next to Tillman, and this other man was on the inside. Tillman was on the outside. Knowing that if I kept straight on 1 would collide with him. because tlie three men were walking abreast and Tillman was on the out side, 1 also being on the outside; I cut diagonally to the left, intending to furn into Gervais street, as I could have done without touching tlie mau of the three who was on the inside. As 1 got (I had just merely glanced at his face) on the turu, not more than t.wo or three feet from thc exact cor ncr.Tillman suddenly pulled Iiis pistol, or perhaps he had it in his hand, pos sibly up his sleeve (I did not notice,) presented it and tired, making some exclamation which I have forgotten. The shock almost threw me off m? feet. 1 swerved around and feFt very weak. I threw my back up against the corner on thc Main street side, so as to support myself, and faced bini. Ile bad Iiis pistol pointed at me, and I said to liim, 'Fire, you coward: you have already killed mc, you know it. Shoot again.' Tillman said sonic i Hiing about ?I took your advice," t lien I looked -at my face, dropped his hand holding the pistol and sauntered out into the middle of tlie street." Reply ing to some question, Mr. Gonzales continued, "I bad no idea whatever of meeting him. 1 had seen him two days before in thc lobby of Hie house. Ile saw mc and was talking to someone, while I was walking around. He did not say anything. I did nob say any thing. The tiling was finished as far as I was concerned." Mr. Gonzales was Mien asked whether Tillman said tiny thing when he Hied on him. He re plied that lie did say something. Be ing further questioned, whether lie had sent Tillman any message, Mr. Gonzales answered, "Never sent him a word of message by any one." Then thc question was asked, .Did you hear liim say you had sent him a message by any one?" Mr. Gonzales answered, "No. he said something like 'I have taken you at your word,' or somet hing like that. 1 sent bim no message, so kelp me God." Mr. Gonzales further said Tillman used the expression '1 have taken you at your word.' or some thing of similar import, after he tired. On the lirst day of I he present session of the general assembly, or t he day thereafter, I was in the lobby of the State house on the side next the ball of the house of representatives. While there I saw Mr. N. G. Gonzales stand ing just at the door of the committee room to the left as you enter the hall of the bouse of repr?sent ai i ves. He was talking willi a gentleman. While lie stood there 1 saw Mr. .lames ll. Tillman standing in Hie lobby wit hin a few feet of tlie said N. G. Gonzales. He, thc said Tillman, was speaking with some one when'I saw him, anti he passed into the committee room opposite that one near flic door of willoh Mr. Gonxales was standing. Said James II. Tillman was obliged to have seen N. G. Gonzales,as there was nothing interposing between them. Robert Lat han. Pcrsoi ally appears before mc E. J. Watson, who being duly sworn says: That on thc 2Sth day of November, 1002, tue day that thc-fl nit I meei ingot' the hoard of canvassers was held to de clare the result of t he general election held earlier in the month, deponent saw Lieut. Gov. Tillman. Ile was wit h several others chatting in t he (?thee of the attorney general. Filially those present, among whom was Mr. Till man, began to leave Hie room. As de ponent, started to go out also Mr. Till man detained him a few minutes, and si anding engaged him in convers?t ion, which led io a statement from Mr. Tillman that he would perhaps leave the Stale sifter bis term of olllcc as lieutenant governor bad expired. That lie lia 1 received a good business oller in another State. Then Mr. Tillman referred to the way he had been perse cuted by"that man over yonder,' poin ting towards The Slate otllee, and re marked that he had stood all he intend ed to stand; that if he, Mr. Gonzales, did not.quit hounding liim down and continued to do bim so he would kill him. Thinking a moment Mr. Till man said. "You can take him I bat as a message from me." That deponent told him that the best thing he could do (Mr. Tillman,) if bc really int ended g^hig elsewhere would he lo avoid the possioility of having any troulile; tba? what had taken place and bad been said was past and gone, and that so far as taking a message lo Mr; Gonzales was concerned he (deponent) certain ly would not bear such a message from him; that if he want0(1 lo send snell a message thc proper way lo send lt was to write it and address it to Mr. Gon zales; that deponent could not allon! and would not bc mixed up with such a matter in any way; that Mr. Tillman repeated what he had said, and said, |""1 would bc glad if you would give him that as a message from me"; that deponent repeated he would not take such a message, and Mr. Tillman being called went out into the ollicc of the secretary of state to attend the meet ing of the board; that deponent later m the presence of the members of tho board saw Mr. Tillman in the office of the secretary of state, but no further reference was made to the conversa tion above referred to; that deponent have never seen Mr. Tillman to speak lo him since: that deponent paid no attention to the matterat thc time, as he had heard Mr. Tillman make a remark during tho summer that he had stood all he intended to stand; that deponent said nothing of thc conversation to any one, and certainly not to Mri Gonzales. Deponent never at any time intimated to Mr. Gonzales anything in regard to the matter; that he"had no other reason for refusi.ig to lake a message to Mr. Gonzales than his determination, long formed, never lo lake a message of such character, knowing Mr. Gonzales' disregard of any kind of a threat; he would not have borne thc message feeling that in so doing he would be in thc position of being used simply to revive condi tions that had long since ceased to ex ist; that so far as- deponent is aware nothing appeared lil the editorial columns of Thc ?State in regard to Tillman from the time of the con versation with Mr. Tillman above re ferred id; that thc condit ions of the threat had never been fulfilled so far tis d?ponent knows; that deponent never saw Mr. Tillman after the day in November until the opening of the .session of flic general assembly, when wliiie stat.Vding in the .lobby of the hall of the house of representatives, deponent, who was talking with Mr Gonzales neurone of the committee rooms, saw Mr. Tillman enter the lob by and stand some feet away, engaging in conversation with several gentle men; that deponent and ?Mr. Gonzales aller a short time passed out of thc lobby and. went to thc senate chamber. E. J. Watson. Personally comes C. M. Llde, who being duly sworn says: I am a broth er-in-law of Pi of. Wardlaw of tile South Carolina college, who lives on South Sumter street, In the city of Columbia, and there deponent lives also: That on Thursday, January loth, 1803, I was going down Main street towards my home, which led me past the transfer station of thc street railway, at the northeast corn er of Gervais and Main streets, city of Columbia. Walking along some feet In front of me was Mr. N. G. Gonza les, editor of The State newspaper; 1 also noticed coining from the direction of the State house, and meeting said Gonzales, Lieut. Gov- Tillman with two other men. I did not notice the two men accompanying him at once to recognize them, but I did observe that Gov. Tillman was walking on tho out side or the three au they came along up Main street from across Gervais street and that lie maintained that! position with his hands in his over coat pocket until just before he had tired tile ?shut, hereinafter described. 1 was not close enough to hear any thing that was said, either by Gov. Tillman or by Mr. Gonzales, both of whom I am informed invariably spoke in a low voice. They (Gonzales and Tillman) approached cadi other, Gon zales going sou Ul, Tillman coming north. Gonzales turned when about 20 feet in front of Tillman to the in side of tlie pavement, Tillman being on the outside, when just as lie was going around the three, on the inside of the pavement, Tillman being on thc outside of thc three and near thc oilier edge of Hie said pavement, and having both hands In his overcoat pooKOt, tlie latter, that is Tillman, suddenly tired hts pistol. I just no ticed that he threw up his pistol and li red. I do not know where lie drew his pistol from. 1 only know that he drew it up and tired instantly. Gon zales at th'c time had both hands in his overcoat pockets. I could see that much from Gie rear view I had. As Tillman shot Gonzales turned immedi ately and then I saw that his thumb was projecting from Iiis overcoat pock ets. I did not stop on my way and as I advanced of course 1 camencarer to thc parties. When Tillman fired the muzzle of the pistol was several feet from the body of his victim. I saw Gonzales distinctly and 1 say that he made no motion whatever or any d?m onstration whatever up to the time that Tillman tired upon him; and 1 say further that if the shot had been delayed for another strip taken by Gon zales. Tillman would lia ve shot him in tho hack. As soon as Tillman fired one of the men with Tillman threw himself between Tillman and Gon zales turned Square around and looked Tillman in thu face. Ile then turned towards the corner column' of the transfer station and loaned his head over. Tillman still had his pistol up as if lie meant to take another shot: he still held the pistol up over the shoulder of tho man who got between them. Mr. Gonzales then turned again and faced Tillman. Mr. Sims then went up to him. afterwards Mr. LaMoltc coming fruin lionel's bicycle shop, and they almost simultaneously tonk him hy his arm. Tiley asked if Gonzales was shot and he replied, yes, through the stomach, whereupon one of them asked where he wished to be carried: he answered, to Tho State otilen and there tiley supported him. As soon as Gonzales turned to walk around the corner into Gervais street going cast Tillman, sided oft' to his left, and had gotten ti about the first street car track on the brick crossing towards thc opera house, with his eyes still on Gonzales, when thc two gen tlemen named turned towards The State office supporting him. Tillman still fa cd them, pistol lu hand, until they had passed thc station going north to The Slate office, and his left baudin Iiis overcoat pocket certainly some portion ol' the time. Then Till man turned to his right, crossing .Main street diagonally to thc pave ment in front, of City Auditor Allen's ?lllcc, where lie met a man In citizen's clothes, when Hie two turned and walked along West Gervais street to thc police station. Just at the mo ment of the shot the man next to Tillman, the mau being on linc with Tillman, seemed to jump forward and between them. I never saw Tillman move his hands from his overcoat pockets until he drew his pistol. I was not near enough to hoar any i [CONTINUKD ON PAQB 4.] SWEPT BY STOEM. Th?;.Details of the Fatal Disaster at Honea Path. - . THREE LITTLE ONES CRUSHED To Dcntli in Aiken County by , Trees and Chimneys, Tho Winds HtKh Ali Over tho State. Later details of the cyclone that visited Honea Path on Monday of last week shows that-it waa more disas trous than ab first reporte.1. The damages aa near as can be ascertained are ?6 follows: The large two-story double brick store of Mr. W. A. Shirley was en tirely destroyed and his stock of fur niture and house furnishing goods badly damaged. Six young men on their way from school dashed into this store to escape thc wind and rain. They had just reached one of the large double front doors when they saw the front wall was falling towards thc street. They made an effort to escape from danger hut tour of them were burled beneath the wreck while two others rushed in to tho front door and took refuge In? the inside of the store. WERE KILLED OUTRIGHT. Earle McGee, son of Mr. W. J. Mc Gee, and Bertie Austin, son of Mrs. Thomas Austin of Greenville county, were killed Instantly, and Edgar DOH ald, son of Mr. J. lt. Donald, was seri ously injured, both legs and arms be ing broken and his spine injured. A. C. Stone, son of Mr. J. T. Stone had one leg broken and sustained other In jurias about thc head and body. Immediately after the destruction or thc building Mr. P. W. Sullivan, who was standing at one of the win dowsin the hank building only ?1 short distance away, saw thc hand of some one shaking. He promptly called for assistance and went to work to rescue the victims. In a few minutes the bodies of tim unfortunate young men were extracted and carried to .nearby buildings. Medical assistance was summoned and every thing possible was done for the sufferers. The force of the storm was terrille and tho building of Mr. Shirley was torn to atoms in almost a second. Large frames from the roor were blown hundreds of yards and brick were scattered in every direc tion. . STOKES UNROOFED. In. addition to the above named building, several stores were unroofed, .ph?-- Syjjj blown down and trees up ruuie rT?u a "piece of woodland a short distando from here more than a hun dred trees were felled. Parties returning home, from town were carried many yards by the force of the winds. Telephone and tele graph wires are down and communica tions with other points was Impos sible. The graded school had just closed its work for the day and lt is a miracle that many of the children were not killed. Many oj! them rushed into the Baptist chnrch, although two of them were carried across thc field and hurl ed against a tree. The damage to property here is con siderable. Several firms suffered dam age to their stocks of goods by water, their storerooms being unroofed. The los* to property in the sur rounding country is not very great, although many chimneys were blown down. Stock was killed and out buildings damaged. Thc Chiquola mill suffered considerable damage, several of the tenant houses beingdemolised. Lights were broken out of thc mill buildings and waste house blown down. MAIL CARRIER'S CLOSE CALL. E. B. (Julbersoh mail carrier on one of the free delivery routes, had a nar row escape from death. He had taken refuge in a covered bridge a few miles from here. ?le realized thu I the bridge would hot stand the force of the storm and made an effort to get his team out hilt before he 'could do so the struc ture gave way. His horse was killed and his buggy demolished. Ile saved himself hy jumping into the open just as tile illidge went down. Tile citizens of Belton, a nearby town, rendered valuable assistance, several coming down on the lirst train. Among them were two of the leading physicians who very quickly offered their services to the families of the injured. Thc work of removing the debris from the streets was at once under taken hy Mayor Milford and in a few days tlie stores will be ready for busi ness again. It may bc well to state that no one other than those mentioned aboved sustained any injuries. The condition of Edger Donald is critical but his chances of recovery are' good unless blood poisin dcvclopes. One leg will will doubtless lia vc lo bc amputated. TUE ?LOW AT ANDERSON. An Anderson dispatch says the storm was the most severe in years, and it is a wonder that the loss of life and property is not larger. Monday was very warm for thc season and a hard rain fell for several hours during tlie day. Thc Episcopal church at Calhoun Falls was also destroyed. A severe wind storm set in here just after dark and continued with more or less se verity until midnight. l.igon & Led better's largewholesale grocery store and the Anderson Cash Grocery store were unroofed. A large plate glass in B. ?. Evans & Co.'s show window was destroyed, the slate roof of tlie court house badly dam aged, and telephone and electric light wires blown down, and much other damage was done of more or less Im portance. About ? o'clock a team of horses be longing to Dobbins' stable ran Into a live electric light wire on East Boun dary street and one of the horses was electrocuted. On thc account of the broken wires the electric lights were shut off and soon after this the Ure alarm rang, hut luckily lt was only a foul chimney burning, and no damage-was doue. About 10 o'clock all communication , with the outer world was cut off by telegraph and telephono, all tho wires being down in every direction. After the storm it turned bitter cold, and continued so all day. CAR BARN BLOWN DOWN. At Spartanburg the storm, which lasted an hour and a half, and which, blew down the car barn of the Spar tanburg Railway, Gas and Electric company, situated about one and one half miles from the city in the north eastern portion of the city. Numer ous trees were also uprooted in the suburbs and fell on the lines of the electric and telephone lines. The roof of the Southern Cotton' OH mill here was blown off, many glasses and windows to store rooms' on the square and on various streets were ; shivered by the force of thc Wind and the ob stacles it swept in its path'. The storm, unaccompanied by rain, hail, thunder or lightning, raged un der a sky covered with stars and a full moon. On account of the storm, the power house of the Spartanburg Rail way, Gas and Electric compuny was shut down, and transportation trolley cars abandoned, the lights of all kinds were shut out and darkness was every where. The lighting of the city was shut down the earlier part of the night in order that the lives, of .travelers and pedestrians on the soreets should not be jeopardized by contact with live wires, dangling on the streets, where they were forced by trees fall ing on them. Telegraph and tele phone work was out of the question. A cirrjRcn DESTROYED. At Abbeville about dark the mer cury began to drop rapidly, and as thc mercury fell tho wind-rose, so that by 9 o'clock a howling, shrieking gale was blowing, making sleep al most out of the question. By some persons it is said that the wind reach ed a higher velocity Monday night than in thc storm of the afternoon. At any rate the damage done was greater. The Methodist church at the cotton mill is a complete wreck, os is Hammond's tan-yard, both build ings being flat cn the ground. Tele phone poles, -trees, shrubbery and chimneys again suffered. No news has been received from the surround ing country as tu damage done. The wrecked Methodist church is a new frame building and its destruction will be greatly felt by the * congrega tion, as it was by hard work that funds were secured to erect the build ing. SEVERAL HOUSES BLOWN DOWN. The storm struck Laurens about half-past four o'clock, and for 10 minutes it was terrille. Trees were uprooted everywhere, the plastering loosened In residences and more or less damage done to light outbuild ings, kitchens, etc. The telephone and electric light systems probably suffered the greatest damage. Poles were llattoned right and left and the wires aro down in every direction. For several hours the service of both were badly Interrupted. On Wm. Brown's place a cabin was blown down and a negro child had its skull crushed and a negro woman was In jured by falling timbers. Thc child will probably die. At Owingc' Station Mr. Jno. Campbell's ' house was wrecked and a negro house on Will Powers' place nearby was blown down. Two miles above there Mr. Robert Stoddard's residence, a new building was demolished. No one is reported to have been injured. At night the wind continued fu rious, and it was past midnight before many people slept comfortably. Tuesday it is biting cold and extreme-1 ly disagreeable ""for outdoor work or travel. TUREE KILLED IN AIKEN COUNTY. Loss of life followed in the wake of the storm which passed over Aiken county Monday night. Two children of Mr. Jas. Davis, who lives at Ergles Bridge about 12 miles from Aiken, were killed by a falling tree. At Lake View the roof of a tenement house was blown off and tho family ran out and escaped-without injury, but the child of Moses Dorkins, about 0 years old, was struck by thc falling chimney and killed. While the wind was very hard in Aiken no material damage was done. INSURANCE FRAUDS. Several Murders Done to Aid a Gljtuiitic Swindle. Assistant District Attorney Krotel said Wednesday that the insurance fraud cause now under investigation in New York promised to develop into one of the most startling ever known In the criminal history or the city. "Before the district attorney's of fice has finished its Investigation of the astounding and extraordinary New York insurance frauds," he said, "I should not be surprised if it were proved that the conspirators even went so far as to murder in cold blood to get bodies for the purpose of col lecting policies. We have found that 2a substitute bodies were passed off on the Haneok Insurance company alone, and as soon as the plotters are indict ed these will be exhumed. The in vestigation into the remarkable pict has hardly begun." Thc fate of Sarah Weber, who it is alleged, died from thc effects of brutal treatment, which, it ls charged, she received at thc hands of thc conspira tors, Mr. Krotel said, was but a single instance. According to stories told by her rela tives Sarah Webber was tortured In order to compel her to aid in the in surance frauds. When the girl left home she had rosy checks and was the picture of health. When her family found her she was a shadow-of herself. She told her brother that she had been beaten, starved and slashed with knives to force her to help those en gaged in the conspiracy. Liven Loht. At Port Huron, Mich., fireman Mil ton Campbell, which was crushed un der1 a falling wall at the Ure which early Wednesday destroyed thc St. Clair hotel and a number of business houses, is dead. Yardman Albert Worthing, of the hotel, has not yet been found and lt is believed that he was burned'to death in thc hotel. All the guests have been accounted for. The loss will reach between $75,000 and $100,000. A HIDEOUS DISASTER. Mino Guests Roosted. In a Hotel Pira. Trap. . At Cedar Rapids,.Ia., fire early Fri day morning destroyed the Clifton Hotel, cremating nine of the guests and caused injuries to 42 persons,-who were scorched or forced to jump to the frozen street from second and third Btory windows. vAfter ari all.day search in the debris four bodies have been recovered, lt is now- believed that five bodies more remain, in the ruins .of the. hotel, which j is said to have been a flimsy structure and.Ulled with delegates to the State - Young Men's Christian Association. Conven tion and the district conventioa of the Knights of Pythias. The hotel register was destroyed, thus making lt di moult to ascertain, tho number of missing persons. In an hour St. Luke's Hospital contained 16.injured, while many more, chiefly those who had escaped with comparatively slight hurts, were being care* :for in-huild lngs near the scene of the tragedy. Some who jumped owe their lives to the fact that their falls were broken by telegraph wires which Interposed in their downward flight. A number of the guests who were able to con verse calmly following their escape declared that they scumbled over prostrate bodies as they rushed to the windows. The flames literally were ! chasing them and the smoke made it almost, impossible to breathe. The proprietor of the hotel placed his esti mate of the number of people in the building when the alarm was raised at between 70 and 80. Those who were first to escape, where they were not too severely injured, stood for. some time barefooted in the snow, chained to the spot and rendered un conscious of the cold by the horror of the scene. Many of them had to be led away. A DESECRATION. A Historical Sideboard Now Adorns a Liquor Saloon.' An interesting story relating to the sale of the sideboard presented to Mrs. Hayes when she was mistress of the White House is being sent out from Washington. The story says the side board, laden with wine glasses, decan ters, siphons and even beer steins,now graces a saloon in the capital city. This sideboard was originally present ed to Mrs. Hayes when her husband was president in recognition of her re fusal to allow liquors on the table at the White House. It_was the gift of numerous young women of Cincinnati, among whom were Mrs. Bellamy Stor er, wife of the ambassador to Austria, and Mrs. Taft, wjfe ot-thc civil gaver-, nor of the Philippines. The sideboard shared the fate of many another piece of White House furniture at the gen eral clearing out auction last week. It was knocked down to its present owner for Ss85, nnd transferred from the executive halls to a saloon, where it has become not merely an article of use, but has furnished to iconoclasts the subject for many a bibulous jest. No sooner did it become known that the historic bit of furniture was being thus desecrated than John R. Mc ! Lean offered S850, ten times the price lt had been bought at, for the old ! sideboard. The new owner, realizing thc advertising value of the sideboard declined. Then Colonel Webb Hayes, anxious to rescue the prized possession of his mother from vandals, attempt ed to purchase it, hut he was inform ed that the price placed on it was $3,000. So, surrounded by bacchana lian insignia, in an atmosphere heavy with the fumes ot alcohol, the old sideboard, the gift of the Cincinnati belles, the most cherished possession of the white ribbon mistress of the White House, stands while ribald jests are abroad at the sad descent from its former high estate. Guilty of Manslaughter. A i Chariottee, N. C. Sunday after noon the Jury in the caseot Arthur L. Bishop, the shoo drummer charged with the murder of Thomas I. Wilson, came into court and rendered a ver dict of manslaughter. Bishop was in court and his wife was by his side. The court room was filled with people, including about"50 commercial travel ers who were in Charlotte to spend Sunday. Immediately after the rendering of the verdict Bishop was remanded to Jail. Bishop, who travel ed for a New England shoe factory, killed Thomas 1. Wilson in this city on December 9th, last. He had gone to Wilson's home In company with Miss Lena Schultz and Miss Ada Wil son, daughter of the deceased. "Wil son, discovered the three in his parlor drinking wine and ordered Miss Schultz and Bishop to leave. Bishop wanted to parley and Wilson endeavor ed to eject him, when he was shot and killed by Bishop. The latter fled and made his way to his home in Petersburg, where he surrendered. Hud No Coal. At St. Louis owing to tho scarcity of coal at the "Four Courts," which contains the jail, police headquarters, criminal court, etc., the building was closed today. Not a pound of coal could bc found in the engine room, and the old floors are being torn up to keep the j 250 prisoners in the Jail warm. The grand jury Investigation into Investment companies was sus pended, and the two brandies of the criminal court and thc court of criminal correction adjourned for the dny. This condition is the result of negligence on . the part of tho con tractor, who failed to deliver thc coal already contracted for.. Other city Institutions aro also short of fuel, and an investigation will be held to ascertain who is to blame. Wages or Sin. At New Orleans Ella Atkins is dead and Folger Green in the hospital with titree wounds as t he result of a com pact they entered into to end theil lives. The woman died of morphine poisoning. Thc man stabbed hlmsell twice in thc neck and then slashed hi? wrists. Tho tragedy occurred in o room in the Victoria Hotel, on Bour i hon street, where the couple passed as man and wife. MANY DROWNED. The Passenger Steamer Olive Wreok-: ed hy a Cyclone. EIGHTEEN LIVES A EE LOST And Eight Other Persons"Who Liort in a Small Boat Aro Still Unaccounted-for by Friends. : . 1 A cyclone struck the passenger stea . mer Olive which plies between Frank lin, Va., and Eden?on, N. C., at 9:30 o'clock Monday night, Feb. .10, and . sent her to the bottom of the river off.. Wooley's Pier^ between Mount Pleas ant and Oliver's wharf, at Norfolk Virginia. The whirlwind when it struck the Olive caused her to go over on her beams' end and when she rifted it - wasonly to sink on account 6f the water Bhe had taken. A majority of the passengers and crew were below" at the time and had .ho ^opportunity to reach the pilot house of the vessel. This point was the only portion left above water and in it standing waist deep from the time of the accident until 0 o'clock in the morning Capt. George H. "Withy and five others were saved. According to the statement of Ca pt. Withy to The Associated Press corre spondent here Monday night 17 per sons-are koowa to have beeu lost on the sinking steamer and a..lifeboat loaded with Engineer C."Li; Conway, Assistant Engineer J. P. Murphy, Purser J. N. Bell, one white and two colored passengers unknown,.and two' colored deck hands, which left the steamer in hopes of reaching a vessel whose lights could be-seen in-the dist ance, is yet unheard from. If these have been drowned the death list wlU reach 25. KNOWN TO BE DEAD. Jake Lassiter, white, aged 25, home Rich Square, N. C., salesman for Car lin & Fulton, Baltimore hardware dealers. Mrs. Bennett, Franklin", Va. Twelve year old daughter of Mrs. Bennett. Mrs. Vaughan, franklin, Va. Frauk Hunter, George Butt, W. II. Edwards and Andre Vaughan, colored _ deck hands. * Abraham Cooper and Prescott Scott , colored firemen. Esther Williams, colored cook. John Cooper, colored porter. John Cooper, colored preacher. Four unknown colored passengers. Capt. Withy reached Nortork-Taies-. day afternoon in company with Mar tha Barrett, colored stewardess of the steamer. The Associated Press cor respondent he made , the following statement: - " CAPTAIN'S STATEMENT. "We left Franklin on our regular trip at ll o'clock. A heavy southwest wind was blowing, but along the Cho- q j wau river we did not mind it much. At 9 o'clock last Monday night we passed Hollies' wharf and headed for Edenton bay. The weather became so heavy that I could not risk the open water and I put the boat about to re turn to the river for safety. It was Just about 2 o'clock when everything became inky black and a terrible roar ing broke out of thc night. I was the only one in the - pilot house and most of those below had turned in. In a second something struck the boat on her port beam and turned her over on her starboard side. J thought she would never right herself and a mon ster wave dashed over us. It flooded the hold and smashed every window around us. With thc rush of water Into her hold the Olive slowly righted and in less than two minutes after having struck she was resting on the bottom with only the pilot house above the river.- Two lifeboats were swept away and one was left. Into this thc engineer, assistant engineer, purser and one white and two colored passengers climbed and put off with the hnni? nf witching up with a tow boat that could be seen ahead of us I never saw them after they left our side. Their going left the stewardess and one white and two colored passen gers on board with me. We stood in water waist deep until 0 o'clock in the morning when a Norfolk and South ern steamer hove in sight, took us off and landed us at Edenton, where we took thc train for Norfolk. The boat sunk so quickly after being struck that none below had a chance to reach the deck and all must have drowned in berths." lt was learned Monday night that a white man named Wilder, of Coler aine, N. C., is also among the drown ed, making the eighteenth victim. The work was started Wednesday to recover the dead bodies and if possible raise the steamer. Five years ago thc Olive while running an excursion sprang a leak and went down within sight of Monday night's scene. At that time no lives were lost. . Thc-Olive was an Inland passenger steamer hailing from Norfolk. She was built in 18G9 and was of 287 tons gross: 120.9 feet long, 20.4 feet beato and seven feet depth of hold. Tho Storm King. A terrible wind storm and tidal wave that swept across Mundcn's Point, Va., Monday night destroyed several houses, barns and the round house of the Norfolk and Southern railroad at Norfolk, Va., from which several persons narrowly escaped with their lives. The residence of Thos. Morris was entirely destroyed. Mr. Morris, his wife an? daughter were in the house at thc time and narrowly escaped being crushed to death. All were injured. The house of Elijah White also was entirely demolished, the occupants narrowly escaping with their lives, Mr. White being quite badly injured. At high tide a tidal wave came across thc land between thc ocean and Pamlico sound which washed away everything in its course. Several people living in thc water front were compelled to wade through , water up to their waist in order to es ? cape from their homes which were be ; lng washed away by the j tide. Thc . storm struck Moycock, N. C., on tho Norfolk and Southern railroad last Monday night. Two two-story dwell ings were picked up and carried scv oral feet.