The Horry herald. (Conway, S.C.) 1886-1923, January 20, 1910, Image 5
"W
/
"a foul crime"
Pretty Young Lady Governess Craelly
Murdered by a Read
COACHMAN ARRESTED
# Charged With the Crime, After Havin
Attempted to Oonimit Suicide. 1
Wrote Note to His Wife Denying
His Guilt and to Police Blaming
Japanese Butler.
Miss Sarah O. Breymero, aged 2 6
years, a pretty and cultured governess
at the summer home of Mr. and
Mrs. Barnes Compton, at Milbrook,
Dutchess county, N. Y., was found
in her bed early Thursday morning
strangled to death. Frank Schermerilorn,
aged 2 6, employed as
coachman on the Compton place,
was taken to Millbrook, charged with
the murder. Late Thursday afternoon
he made an unsuccessful atwlth
a razor.
About 3 o'clock Thursday morning
Mary Fennell, a maid in the
tempt at suicide, cutting his throat
Compton house, was awakened by a
noise and says she saw a man's form
disappear out of the corridor. She
ran to awaken the governess, and
not receiving any reply, entered Miss
Breymere's room. The governess
was found lying in bed, her face
black and finger prints on her throat.
Life was extinct.
On a cot in the room was little
Polly Compton, aged three years,
unharmed. The maid quickly summoned
the coachman and when he
arrived the sheriff and i>olice of
Millbrook wero notified.
The oflicers question the maids
and servants and the coachman,
Frank Scherinerborn. They found
that Miss lsreymere s hands had been
tied, the big chest containing the
silverware had been forced and several
of the rooms were in disorder,
making it appear as though the
tragedy had been part of a burglary.
Chief of Police Charles J. McCabe
went to the coachman's house
late Thursday afternoon to further
question him, and not receiving any
answer to his summons, went up Into
the coachamn's bed room. The
room was dark, and on throwing
open the blinds, the chief's attention
was attracted by a trickling
sound under the bed. Investigation
revealed Schermerhorn lying under
the bed with his throat cut and blood
dripping in a pool on the floor.
Schermerhorn was taken into custody.
On the table in his room the
chief found a note, which read:
"My Dear Wife: I am not guilty.
(Signed) "Frank."
Schermerhorn, although very
weak, said that he stood watching
under a window of the Compton
mansion while Shtiro Chashi, the
Japanese butler, committed the deed.
This statement the police discredit,
and say there is no doubt that
Schermerhorn strangled the governess
to death, either during or
following a criminal assault.
Tit AMP PAYS OLD SCORE.
Timely Aid Given Him lirings Handsome
Returns.
Seven years ago James L?. Harvey,
now a Rio Grande switchman
at Denver, Col., was brakeman on
a frieght in Oklahoma and befriended
a tramp.
/\ IOV UtlJ'S (l^u 11(11 ?c; IWUIVfU
a letter from the tramp, Charles
McNainara, now a rich miner of
Murray, Idaho, inclosing a check
for $500 as a Cristmas gift. Harvey
permitted McNainara to ride
over his division, gave him clothing,
a meal, a bed and a $2 bill.
McNamara says in his letter that
he had resolved to kill himself when
he met Harvey. But the help ho
got gave him courage to renew his
battle with the world, and he is now
prosperous. He *tells Harvey to
"give the high sign" when he wants
anything.
Y. M. C. A. BUILDING BURNS.
Boston Branch's Home. Once Finest
In World, Destroyed by Fire.
*
The Boston Young Men's Christian
Association building, at the
corner of Boyleston and Berkeley i
streets, in the back bay district, was
destroyed by fire of unknown origin
a few days ago, entailing a loss of j
more than $200,000. j
a nreman was injured, not se- ]
rlously, by falling from a ladder. ]
Fireman Joseph Wood, In trying
to control a runaway nozzle, fell
and received a dislocated elbow and j
contusions about the body. I
Notre Damo academy on Perkeley f
and Providence streets, close to the (
burning building, was threatened t
several times. j
The Young men's Christian As- <
soclation building at the time It t
was constructed, In 1882, was the A
finest of its kind in America. i
The building was a five-story brick j
structure.
luck are seldom lucky. y
People wko are superstitious about t
- . ?
NEW REVENUE LAW
tlAS KILLED C. O. D. JUG Will**KEY
TKAFFIC IX)11HVKU.
Ooauuoa Carriers Muat 1I? Carafill
How TUej llaacLLo liquor
Shipment* Now.
It may not bo generally known,
but it is a fact, that tlio C. O. D.
whiskey business is a thing of the
past. Time was when the railway
uuu uApit-oa <v;uiu^ituiuti OL CCriUlU
sections of tho United States derived
an enormous part of their
revenue from this form of business,
and tho efforts of the government
and State authorities to put a stop
to tlie illegal phase of it, which
they knew existed, proved all of
no avail.
Not so now. Tho time has com**
when it is a c.,mo puuishablo by
a heavy line, for any common carrier
to collect tho selling price of
any intoxicant, either in part or as
a whole. To go further, it Is also
a crime for any common carrier to
accept for transportation or to
handle any package containing iutoxicating
liquor that does not bear
a label (telling exactly what thte
^package contains and the quantity.
Not content with this stringent
law, another provision is that every
shipment must be a bonafide transaction,
between real persons and the
agent of a common carrier accept
ing or delivering such a shipment
to a lictltious person, or a person
under a fictitious name, is liable
to heavy fine and imprisonment for
several years. The carrier is liable
also to fine and the property itself
to confiscation.
Sections 23 8, 23 0 and 2 10 of the
Internal Revenue statutes are the
ones which cover tho situation, and
they cover it in a thorough and comprehensive
manner. Section 23 8
says that any officer or agent acr*f>ntir?
vt clilninnnt /-? f 1 I ?
,, , ... 0 uii.^mviiv Ul IIHUAIUillllls
liquors consigned to fictitious persons,
or delivering such .packages
to persons under fictitious names,
shall be subject to a lino of not
more than $5,000 or imprisonment
for not more than five ears or both.
The next section is the one which
deals with C. O. D. shipments. It
says that any common carrier which
shall accept for shipment a consignment
of intoxicating liquor, for
which it shall collect or attempt to
collect the purchase price or a portion
thereof, shall be subject to a
fine of not more than $5,000.
The last section deals with the
marking of all packages of Intoxications,
and says that any common
carrier failing to place marks upon
shipments of intoxicants, showing
the kind, quantity and quality of
the beverage contained in the pack- I
age, shall be subject to a fine of
like amount to that in the above
sections. In all cases the liquor
itself is liable to confiscation by the
government.
The result of these stringent
measures will be at once apparent.
The shipment of whiskey and other
intoxicants through mails will also
come under this law, and the government
officials all say that they
expect to see that it is enforced.
In all three instances the shipments
referred to are those made
from one State to another, known
and designated as "interstate shipments."
It is ^xpocted that the enforcement
of the new law will greatly
reduce the whiskey traflic into South
Carolina, as much of this is of the
"C. O. D." variety, and it is thought
that not many men who have been
in the habit of having whiskey
shipped to them privately will care
to do so if it bears the flaming label
required.
Remember TliiH, Farmers.
The Marion Star says "when the
farmers begin to plan for this year's
crop they should not think too much
about the present prospective high
price of cotton, but remember that
the price of everything else raised
on the farm has advanced in proportion.
Even if it were certain
that the next crop would sell as well
as the last, and that the seasons
would be favorable for production of
th stapl it would not pay South
Carolina farmrs to neglect other
crops and plant cotton exclusively,
for everything they have to buy
will cost them correspondingly
high prices. Don't forget so soon
the lessons of rotation and diversification,
about which so much has
been said and written in the past
few years with such benefit to the
agricultural interests. It might not
pay to venture 'all the eggs in one
basket.' "
"Olavis and Plnchot," says The
3tate, "who have been dismissed
From the public service, fell from
;race because they, right or wrong.
?poke in the interest of the public, 1
ind against a cabinet officer suspected
by them of being the friend
>f gigantic grafters, and enabling
,hem to ravish the public domain. 1
\nd in action against those public
lervantB Mr. Taft has defended the
iccused Ballinger." <
Between the written and the un- '
written law Justice has no easy i
ASlL t
READS THEM OUT
"Insurgents" Are to Be Treated as no
Longer Republicans.
TAFT SIDES WITH GANG
A (Viticul Situation llrought About
by the Pincliot Incident, Which Is
Likely to Have an lmiKirtant Hearing
in the West on Congressmen
at Flections.
7onh I- bt- % . ?
/idv rv i?icut7V| iu his asningion
letter to The State, says this "insurgent"
situation grows interesting,
and, from the standpoint of Mr. Tuft
at least, apparently critical. The announcenient
a day or two ago tha*
the Republican "whip" In the house
had struck the names of the "insurgent"
Republicans off the list of
Republican to be notified when a full
Republican vote is wanted in the
house has created something of a
sensation. The meaning of it was
that not only are those who have
opposed Speaker Cannon in the house
to be deprived of the privilege of
dispensing federal otllces in their
districts but that in 110 respect arj
they to be longer considered Republicans.
As some of the old lino
Republicans express it they are to
be considered as 110 better than Democrats.
That Mr. Taft is countenancing
this determination there is 110 man
ner of doubt. lie has placed himself
squarely with his party organization,
and ho recognizes that this
party organization consists in the
main of Nelson W. Aldrich and Joseph
G. Cannon. These two men
have evidently told the president
that the salvation of the Republican
party, and therefore of course
that his own political salvation, depends
upon his aligning himself with
the regular organization and that
he must assist them in putting down
insurrection in the ranks of the party.
And Mr. Taft, wholly without
political experience, believes implicitly,
it would seem, what these wily
and potent schemers tell him.
The Pinchot incident is but a
iHii l oi me game directed by Cannon
and Aldrich. Only Pinchot
seems to know something about play
himself. An investigation of the
land fraud was pending, frauds of
which the secretary of the interior,
Mr. Ballinger, was accused. It was
intended to appoint a whitewash
committee for Mr. Ballinger, but in
order that the whitewash mighe not
have to bear too close an inseptcoin
and Its transparency be noted it was
intended that attention be detracted
by sousing Mr. Pinchot with several
colors of red paint, turning attention
from Ballinger to Pinchot.
But Mr. Pinchot by getting himself
dismissed has forestalled this, and
now the country will focus its eyes
upon Ballinger and the whitewash
| will have to he piled 011 pretty thick
or it will fail of its purpose. The
"insurgents" in the house have put
Mr. Cannon out of business so far
as selecting a whitewash committee.
| Voting with the Democrats, they
have had it fixed so that the house
, and not Cannon will appoint the
house members of the committee,
j and that means that Mr. Pinchot
and the country probably will have
representation on the commttee and
me wnitewash may be diluted.
Meantime do not think that th?
Republican party la completely rent
asunder hy this temporary triumph
of the "insurgents" and Democrats.
It is true that this is one of the very
few times that "Uncle Joe" has been
flatly turned down in the house.
And the really remarkable part of
this is that the Democrats voted
solidly against him. If there had
been anything much at stake the old
man would have bought up a few
Democrats from Georgia and one or
two other States to have carried the
day. There are always a few Georgia
statesmen for sale for a few
committee assignments or other
measly crumbs from the rich man's
table. And always a few from Tainmany
Hall and such places. Rut it
is no great mattor this, so
your Uncle Joe let It go hy. But !t
does one thing?and that Mr. Can- (
non is not so very sorry about eith- ,
er?it has lined up these "insur- |
gents" with the Democrats. It was i
really a Democratic victory the oth- ]
er day, the Democrats winning with
the assistance of the few Republi- ]
can "Insurgents," and it is intend- {
ed that the fight shall he along th's ]
lino. The cry of "Democrat" will j
he set up in these insurgents' dis- ,
tricts. If they cry it hard enough j
and with their usual vigor the or- f
ganization Republicans may be able (
to defeat some of these men In hnlr
? 1
conventions, hut if they get nomi- (
nated there will be little chance of
defeating them, for the very good s
reason that the cry of "Democrat"
will not hurt them before the peo- t
pie, especially since their oppo
nents will he real Democrats. t
f
Mayor Oaynor of New York Is re- \
quiring city employes to work from 2
9 to 5. It Is poor policy to overwork
them so. They will soon need
about six weeks leave of bsence 1
to recuperate. f
' 1 ,1 .1 a. . ...?
WILL STRETCH HEMP
A FIHN1) TIUED AND CONVICTED
OF ATTKH PTINO A
(Vimlul Assault liwt November
the Beautiful Yoiiiik Wife of a
Prominent Ix*xtngton County Maa.
Coot Lever, the negro who attempted
to commit criminal assault
upon the beautiful young wife of
a prominent Lexington county farm
er last November, and who narrowly
escaped being lynched, will pay the
death penalty for his crime on the
25th of February, next.
I At the trial, which was hold qt
Lexington Wednesday, thrive wer*?
four witnesses sworn for the prosecution,
the victim and her husband
and Constable L. I. Roof and Mr.
R. W. M. Elezer, who made the arrest,
and to whom Lever tirst confessed
his guilt. The pretty victim,
who is a woman of intelligence, gentle
and refined, told of the attack
in a plain, straight forward manner.
She was unable to say in positive
terms that Lever was the man who
attacked her, but stated that she
believed that he was the one. ller
husband swore to the fact that he
had seen the negro pass along the
road where he was at work a few
minutes before the crime was attempted.
Constable Roof told of
the arrest, as did Mr. Elezer. The
judge ruled that the latter could
not tell of the confession made by
the negro, since Lever was told that
he would be properly protected if
he would confess his guilt.
Lover was the only witness for
the defence, lie denied that he was
connected witii the affair in any
manner, but was unable to explain
why he was in the vicinity on the
day in question. He told of his experience
with the conjure doctor,
\v11(iin iie caneu hom .nulgo, a negro.
lie admitted telling the officers
soon after his arrest that he
was guilty, and that the doctor was
the cause of it all, hut he said the
reason for his telling this was the
fact that he was scared. Ho said
that he was 18 years old and married.
At the conclusion of the testl- 1
mony Messrs. A. 1). Martin and T.
C. Sturkie, who had been appointed
by Judge Watts to defend the negro,
briefly addressed the jury. '
Each of them pleaded for mercy for !
the negro, stressing the point that '
the woman was not able to swea" 1
positively that the defendant was
the man who attacked her, and stat- (
ing that there might be some doubt 1
as to his guilt. Solicitor Thinner- *
man, in a brief, but vigorous man- '
nor, addressed the jury, urging the
conviction of the negro upon the
ground that his confession, which '
was made freely to the officers and s
others who had talked with him time
after time showed conclusively that F
there was no room for doubt as to
his guilt. '
Judge Watt's charge consumed but (
a short while. It was clear and to 0
the point, covering the law as it 1
is laid down in the statute books.
The jury retired and remained In
the room about one hour, when they
returned wtih a verdict of guilty.
There was absolutely no demonstration,
although there was a large
crowd of spectators in the court
room. Just what the jury was de- T
noeriaing over, or why it took them v
bo long to reach a verdict, it no*
known, but it is presumed that there f
were some on the panel who were
in favor of recommending the negro
to the mercy of the court.
'In passing sentence upon Lever
Judge Watts took occasion to glvrt
him a good lecture. When Judge
r
Watts had concluded, Lover said:
"I ask for mercy." .Tudgo Watt"
told him that it was not in his power
to give him mercy, and ordered
the sheriff to remand him to jail.
The verdict of the jury meets with
general satisfaction, the majority of
the law will be upheld and the namo
of Lexington will not Tie stained by e
the ruthless act of her citizens. r
? v
GARFIELD LAFDS PINCIIOT a
? f
As the Most Act! ve Exponent of v
d
Teddy's Policies. P
At Cleveland, Ohio, C.ifford Pin- j1
chot, the dismissed chief forester, }
was lauded in a public address by '*
??? ri?? ?, - ?
iwi inui ooiuBinry 01 mc3 interior Jas. r
R. Garfield, as the most active exponent
of the Roosevelt policies. ^
"Gifford Plnchot, who - has Just
eft ihe service of the national gov- \
>rnment, is the one man who perhaps
worked the hnrdest for the
Roosevelt doctrine of conservation a
>f our natural recources and his
irlnelple of equal opportunities for w
ill," said Mr. Garfield, speaking at
3oodrlch House, , a social settlenent,
on "THta Roosevelt Poll- m
des." t0
"His departure from the national
tervlce Is one of the greatest loss- (,(
js the national government has sus- cc
alned In recent years." cl
Mr. Garfield expressed the hope
hat Mr. Plnchot's activities as a
riend of the conservation movement
vould be continued as a private cltl- cr
;en.
i > > SI
The right kind of a conscience has Y<
landlcapped many a man In the race th
or wealth. w<
WILL SOON HANG
Speedy Trial and Conviction of a Black
Fiend at Kingstree
FOR ATTACK ON CHILD
Hie Courtroom Wiin rucked Willi
>len When the Case Was Called,
1 Int Only the (Hikers aiul Witnesses
Were Allowed to Hear 11 ??
Child's Testimony.
Johnnie Hose, alias John Wood, a
negro hoy about eighteen years of
age, was tried and convicted at
Klngstree on Tuesday morning of
attempting to commit an assault on
a little white girl and sentenced to
be hung on February 4.
On the t?th of last December a
little whit* girl, 14 years of age.
was on her way to school with her
books and a stlak of sugar cane for
lunch. in passing through h ti act
of wooded land she was intero nteu
by the negro who asked her for a
piece of sugar cane. She granted
bis request by handing him the entire
stalk and after receiving the
remaining portion from him, when
she attempted to pass, she war seized
by the throat and dragged from
the road into the underbrush. Fortunately
a passer-by heard her
screams and rushed to the scene in
time.
The child, blending from the
scratches of her assailant and suffering
from the violent throttling,
was placed in the hands of solicitous
neighbors and an immediate
search was begun for the negro. In
a short time he was captured and
after having been positively identified
was hurried to Kingstree and
placed in the county Jail, and none
too soon, for a mob to lynch him
was being rapidly organized.
On the night of the same day a
body of armed men from the neighborhood
of the crime halted at the
outskirts of the town and sent a
delegation to Sheriff Graham requesting
his influence in securing an
immediate trial and threatening an
attempt to prevent the law from
taking its course. The sheriff prom
Ised to use his efforts to have a
special term of court ordered, persuaded
the crowd to disband and
return to their homes.
The special term was ordered as
luickly as possible and Tuesday
norning the court was opened by
Fudge T. S. Sease. When the Jury
lad been empannelled there was
lardly standing room in the bulbing
and the sheriff and his bailiffs
lad no little difllculty in preserving
dlence.
The victim of the attempted astault
was the first witness called
>y the State and out of respect
or her the judge, upon the motion
>f solicitor, ordered the court room
ileared, allowing only the officers of
ho court and the witnesses to remain
in the building during the time
hat the child detailed her story o| i
he vicious assault. She unhesitatingy
identified the defendant and told
vlth considerable clearness the deails
of the crime.
After examining several other wltlesses,
lite State rested and the
lefense offered no testimony. Upon
learlng the arguments on both sides
ind the charge, the jury retired and
eturned within 10 minutes with a
rerdict of guilty. Judge Sease, afer
admonishing the doomed man
vlth a few appropriate remarks,
>assed the death sentence that he
ie hanged on the 4th day of Febuary.
. ..
TIfHKE AUTOISTS KILLED.
luto and Trolley Car Meet With
Fatal Itesulta.
At Atlanta three men were klll(1
and two others Injured, one selously,
when the automobile In
/hich they wore riding collided with
, street car late In the afternoon a ,
ew days ago. The automobile was
/recked and the street car badly ,
amaged. The accident occurred on ,
'eachtree road and resulted from an
ttempt on the part of the automo- i
lie driver to pass between another 4
???
.tuniui/iit; in tno same direc- (
ion and an approaching street car. )
oth automobiles, it Is said, were t
oing at a high rate of speed.
The dead: Wm. \V. Garner, aged a
1; Frank George, aged 21; Harold ^
. George, aged 9. W. H. George, c
ither of the dead brothers, and an 0
ntomobile dealer was slightly inired,
and F. S. Gable, the driver, c
as seriously injured. n
Garner, for whom a demonstra- t
on of the automobile was being a
ado, Is an inspector of the Wes- B
rn and Atlantic Railroad, and had
ist a few days ago been discharg- j,
1 from a local hospital, after re- M
ivnrtnrr ~ 1
,. Mum a recent railroad ac- ^
dent. r
* p
Saved by a Corset.
'May Tnavis is aljvo because a n
>rset steel saved her life. She was a
lot at a dance given by an East t<
de club at 665 First avenue, New
ork. The bullet was deflected by e
e corset and Inflicted a slight n
ound, instead of a mortal one. < h
ESCAPED PELLAGRA
WHY OONFEDKKATR SOIJHER9
DID NOT OONTKACT IT.
DilTw^ncc In the Methods of Hand*
ling the Corn Crop In (Krd by
Dr. Callaway.
"If moldy cornmeal would cuiiho
pellagra, what was the reason that
the whole Confederate army did not
have the disease?" asked Representative
Lamb, of Virginia, of Dr. B.
ro /? * * - * *
i. uauoway, tut* chief of the bureau
of plant Industry, before the house
agricultural committee.
"They were so vigorous they could j
throw It off, 1 presume," answered
Dr. Galloway. "Hut there have been
great change^ In the method of
handling corn. The old method of
topping the corn resulted In better
maturing and in better hardened
grain than we got In the new
process, although that has not been
thorougly estnhlishcd.
"Great quantities of corn are now
shipped Into tlve South from the
Mississippi valley and other corn
producing sections of the country,
and the movement usually begins
soon after the corn is harvested
and corn passing from the cold regions
into the warmer section will
sweat. It will undergo fermentation
that we know very little or nothing
about and large quantities of that *
corn are sold in the market after
it has gone through one of theso
processes, and it deteriorates.
"We are endeavoring to determine
what these changes are and
to seegregate or isolate certain of
Jhese substances which might ho
injurious, if taken in considerable
quantities. As corn has been
brought into the pellagra problem
and the Department of Agriculture
stands sponsor for the greatest crop
the world has ever known, we want
to know if It Is the cause of tho
disease and if it Is not the caso
we want to know it."
_
"TKNNKS8KK" DI TCH SLAIN.
^
Noted YcK^iiian Victim of Tallahassee
Iloy's Ilullet.
A dispatch from Tallahassee, Fla.,
says one of the postofllce robbers
who was killed by the boy, Sauls,
Saturday, was identified by Postoffice
Inspector Fred Itoege as "Tennessee
Dutch," a notorious cracksman,
who recently made his escape
from the Greenville, S. C., jail, and
who has been sought rt 11 over tho
country. The other dead man was
partially identified by a weeping
young woman as a friend of hers
who called himself Walter Roxt*<r.
The real name of "Tenijlessee
Dutch" was Garber Moore. lie was
the son of Jacob Moore, of Clarlcsville,
Tenn., and is said to have
had a long criminal record. H9
escaped from the jail at Greenville,
S. C., April 3, 1 009, by the use of
dynamite, together with George Barton,
alias "Chicago Army." Barton
was captured at Craggy, N. C., after
a desperate fight.
Acting on information fiimisned
by the young woman who identified
the younger robber, the police expect
to capture the third man, believed
to have acted as a puket for
the robbers when they attempted to
enter the postofllce building Saturday.
AMKRICA A\l) FRANCE"French
Fdueator <*i\es His First
Impression on Arriving in U. 8.
"In France It is considered immodest.
to speak about money or
HOeijil Iinsltlnn '"till"
? iiiiu every OI14
speaks about love. Here every
one discusses money and social position
and it is immodest to talk
about love,"
That is the first impression of
America on Professor Charles Leverrier,
the youngest member of
the faculty of the University of
Paris, and grandson of the discoverer
of the planet Neptune. Ho 19
In New York to lecture on "Philosophy
and Literature" before the
Alliance Franchise.
"The thing that has struck mo
most about New York," he said,
'taking this city as American, Is
he universal atmosphere of work.
Everybody seems to work here, and
0 work well.
"Even the customs men; T had
1 letter from our minister, but they
vent through my trunks as thoruighly
as if I were without a scrap
?f paper."
Professor Levcrrier praises Amerlan
theaters, saying that they aro
fiore considerate managements titan
. , v??.ii (iKi.y luninra. 1 illHIIlK Or
n American author he met, he
aid:
"I have never seen such a type
i Franco. With lis everyone who
writes has a special pose a~d lives It
11 the time. Even our greatest and
nosfc successful writers have the
ose of being fine gentlemen.'*
Professor TJeverrier Is accompa-led
by his wife, Marie Louise Gerult,
author, playwright and ama*
but actress.
hall all feel proud In the conscious*
ess that we had a part, however
umble, In taking this census."