The Horry herald. (Conway, S.C.) 1886-1923, March 21, 1912, Image 6
jp
CHARGES DENIED
WITNESSES FAILTO SUSTAIN GOV
ERNOR BLEASE
OLD BOARD ALL RIGHT
?
Evans, Wylle, Rawlinson, Towill and
and Attorney General Unfounded.
Farnum Appear Before Legislative
Committee and Declare Governor's
\
Insinuations Against Ansel Iloard
The legislative dispensary Investigating
committee resumed their sessions
Thursday. Jas. S. Farnum said
no agreement had been made with
the Attorney General prior to his
pleading guilty as to what his fine
would be as far as he knew; denied
paying any more than the $5,000
fine, and said any statement that he
paid rnore than this sum was untrue;
s ? said he paid no sum for immunity as
had been insinuated; said the $5,000
fine was all he paid; knew nothing
about the compromises in any other
criminal cases, and knew nothing
about the Ansel board, Blease board
or attorney general receiving any
other moneys than they were legally
entitled to.
Touill Called to Stand.
The committee declined to excuse
John Bell Towill from testifying and
called him to the stand as the next
witness. He was a member of the
dispensary board of control in 19011
9 05. lie said there was an indictment
pending against him; that he
had offered lio consideration to the
Attorney General, the Ansel or the
Blease commission. Had never had
any negotiations with Attorney General
Lyon. Knew of no one who
could throw any light on the charges.
X \ i. 17* ^ 1
Asked as to tne cnarges mai reider
had been favored with purchases
and had paid rebates contained in
the Governor's message. To will said
all he knew of this was that H. H.
Evans told him that he and Felder
had a disagreement over the business
consideration in the awarding of the
contracts for liquor. Could not remember
the exact conversation, or
whether Evans had said that Felder
paid him rebates, but he understood
that it was a disagreement over
something connected with the mattor.
I lie said that TT. IT. Evans had told
him (Towill) that Felder was interested
in, or rather controlled the liquor
house of "Sydney Lucas/' of
Nashville, Tenn., from which the dispensary
board, of which he was a
member, bought a good deal of liquor.
Said that this conversation
took place at the time the Ansel
commission was investigating the
dispensary affairs and was in the
Columbia Hotel. Repeated his statement
that he wouldn't say Evans told
him that Felder paid rebates, but
that he and Felder hat! fallen out
over the business consideration.
Said that "Evans said Felder wanted
to hog the whole thing."
As Towill Figured Tt.
no tn what lie understood
X 1 n?j v. v? ?? .. ? _ ? _
by Evans's .statement that "Eeldor
wanted to hog the whole tiling," Towill
dodged a direct answer. Raid
there was a general disturbance
about the matter, but finally admitted
under close questioning by Senator
Carlisle that he understood Felder
was not getting enough of orders
and If. II. Evans was not getting
enough of money out of it. "Evans
usually took care of himself," added
the witness. "Mr. Evans never at
any time told me lie got a cent out
of the dispensary," said Towill.
'Why, then, do you say that Evans
usually took care of himself, and
what do you mean by that?" asked
Senator Carlisle, and Towill hesitateded
and was evidently "put to" tc
answer the question. lie said lw
didn't want to be unjust to Mr. Evans
in explaining why he said this
and the question was not pressed.
Towill testified that while he wai
a member of the dispensary boarc
at every award for whiskey twice am
thrice the amount ordered would b<
shipped every time. "While I was ;
member of the board very few if an
purchases were made but that a fev
days after the yards would he flood
e-d with carload after carload," h
said. "The last few weeks of on
term not one-fifth of the whiske
shipped to the State dispensary wa
ordered," lie continued. He Btat.ec
(however, that the wniSKey, wnnu ;
was not ordered, was taken in an
kept.
"At the first meeting of our boar<
after we were elected, over 100 ca
loads of whiskey wore shipped to tli
State dispensary which were not o
dered and that shipment and (he or
made the last meeting we had wei
the largest shipments in the histor
of the dispensary," were part of tl
matters related of the doings of tl
board of which he was a member I
John Hell Towill in his testimon;
He said that the whiskey was kep
H. H. Evans was chairman of tl
board, and in reply to a question \
Mr, Carlisle, if Evans appeared 1
have money at that time, the witnei
said he was always genial and reac!
to entertain his friends.
Doesn't Think State Ivost.
"I don't think the State was a lo
| er under the old dispensary system
and don't know whether the State
' was a loser or not under the Ansel
matter, for "you know Tom Is a felcommlsslon,"
said Towlll, replying
to a question from Mr. Cary. "But
I don't think the State made any
money under them," he continued.
He said that he considered the "conscience"
money sent to the State by
, liquor houses which admitted overcharges
was "like taking candy from
a baby*"
Towlll testified that he really
knew very little about what went on
when he was a member of the dispensary
board, that the board frequently
met and adjourned only ordering
a little whiskey; that the
clerk made out orders for whiskey
during the recess and he didn't know
who dictated the orders or the orders
for the large shipments. "I didn't
know much more about it than you
did," he told (Mr. Daniel, who was
questioning him, and "I wish to God
1 hadn't taken as much interest in it
as I did," he continued, and stated
that he didn't remember of having
signed or read over an order for
whiskey in his life while a member
of the board. Mr. Cary asked To?ui?
nn?u (nn mi f lio linnn]
Will 11 II 19 JIUOlllUU W" ?
wasn't what was called honorary,
and to this the witness assented.
(Jot Letter From Folder (
Questioned by his attorney, Mr.
Asbill, who was present, Towill said
that Felder had tried to get hi in, i
"Hub" Evans and Boykin to form a i
liquor corporation while he was a
member of the board. He referred i
to the three letters which he got
from Felder about that time and |
which he turned over to the Blease .
commission and which are printed in j
their report. Said he didn't turn <
over the letters to the Christensen- ,
Lyon investigating committee on ad- i
vice of counsel and only turned them .
over to the Blease commission be- i
cause they knew of them and de- .
inanded them. Said he didn't know j
how the Blease commission knew he had
the letters. He said that he ,
talked over the letters with Felder i
in the Jerome Hotel in the presence
of Boykin and H. H. Evans; that he .
had told several, whom he did not
now remember, about the conversa- .
Hon. I
Towill was put through a grilling
examination and seemed to be nervous
all the time he was on the
stand. The committee plied him
with questions as to his conduct on
the board and of his knowledge of
the affairs which were carried on. It
was 1:15 when the committee finished
with him and a recess for dinner
was then taken until 3 o'clock.
"Hill)" Evans the "Feature."
The testimony of "Hub" Evans, of
Newberry, who was at one time
chairman of the dispensary board of
control, was decidedly the feature of
the afternoon session. For three
hours the former chairman told dispensary
history, particularly concerning
T. R. Felder and the latter's alleged
efforts to get a "frame-up" to
sell liquor to the dispensary.
"Hub" Evans prefaced his testimony
with a question of personal
privilege. lie said he would prefer
that T. Ji. Felder were present in
person, for he did not like to say
anything behind a man's back.
He said that he represented himself
individually. He characterized
as false the assertion made by former
Governor John Carv Evans, in
his testimony last week, Va^t Governor
Please had been bis , "'Hub's")
counsel, and said that Plejs^ had
never r^Dresented liim.
Hg n ft" M^Ped as false W. F. Stevrnson's
statement that he had seen
written evidence of his ("Hub's")
having received graft in Atlanta, and
nlso the statement that Felder is said
to have made to Attorney General
r.yon that Hub was once or twice
on the verge of turning State's evidence.
He dubbed this "an infamous
lie."
Denies Charge by Dlense.
He also said that he was never in
a conference in Atlanta with Attorney
General Lyon, T. R. Felder and
John Gary Evans, as charged by Gov(
ernor Rlease. lie said that the only
time he had ever seen Lyon in Atlanta
\vas once when he was over
there to see Felder, and while in the
j
latter's oflice Mr. Lyon came in and
he told Felder to bring him in; that
a they talked about five minutes on
a just ordinary topics; that he didn't
* know Mr. Lyon was going to he in
v Atlanta and that was the only time
he had ever seen him there. He said
0 that the Attorney General had never
baked him any question relative to
the old dispensary matter.
He said that Governor Rlease did
'' not ask him about any Atlanta con11
. 11. _4 Hio Cavotnnr sent
ierenow; iiuil min ?
bis message in which this was charged
ho asked him, some time later,
'! where he got the information about
'* any such a conference held, but did
10 not state the source of his informar"
tion. He said he told HI ease there
never was any such conference held,
*e In reply to a question witness said
T lie had known Folder for 25 years
,e or more; that the first time he saw
10 1'elder, after he was elected, was at
>y Nashville, Tonn.; that Folder's cony
sin, T. J. Folder, and Dudley, formed
t. a whiskey firm under the name ol
ic "Sydney Lucas," using the namo ot
)>' an obscure barkeeper for the reason
that they were prominent social!}
3S and didn't want it known that theii
'y names were connected with the liquor
house; that they and T. B. Felder,
"with whom he was friendly,"
s- said to him, "you ought to do some
thing for us down In that country;*'
that he told them if their whiskey
came up to the standard and prices
were the same as others, ho didn't j
see why they couldn't get some of'
the business; that T. J. Folder and
Dudley didn't think they were getting
enough business from the State
dispensary and they sent T. 13. Folder
to see him at Newberry, which
was some 18 months before he went
out of office; that T. 13. Felder came
to see him several times about the
low who never lets up," said Evans.
The Drinks Located.
Finally "Hub" said that T. B>. Felder
came to see him and told him
that he had bought out the "Sydney
Lucas" Company and that Felder
spent the day in Newberry. He said
that he introduced Felder to E. H.
Aull, Charlie Purcell and others
about town; that Felder was a man
who liked his dram and he said,
"Can't you take us to some place
where we can get a drink." He said
lie told him he thought he could and
Felder said, "lead me to it;" that
he took them up in Cole L. Blease's
office, introduced Felder to Hlease
and the latter pulled out the whiskey
and they had their drink. He said
that Felder first mentioned the company
to him in Atlanta and afterwards
came to Newberry to see him,
on the occasion mentioned, but he
was too busy and then Felder wrote
him in October, he said that he would
explain the whole "scheme where we
^ould got rich quick."
He referred to the "T. B." letters
Driven out last year by Governor
Blease, which alleged that Felder
:ried to get "Hub" Evans to go into
^ company on a. "frame-up" to sell
the dispensary; and which Evans
turned down. Witness said he never
intended the letters to be printed;
that they were stolen from his desk
:uid read and that he gave them to
Governor Blease when the latter
isked him for them; said he didn't
tell the Lyon-Christensen committee
about the Felder letters because they
didn't ask him for them. He said
that after the investigaion started he
ivn? in Atlnntn tnlkiner to Felder and
nsked him, "Tom, suppose those letters
would fall into Lyons hands?"
and that Felder replied, "I am too
smart for them to catch me."
Says Called Felder Liar,
He related an incident that a lawyer
named W. M. Hough, "the one
that made Taft say that whiskey
was," said Evans, representing A. L.
Dunn, Grabfelder's man, to whom
Evans had given an affidavit that he
had never 'paid any rebates, was told
by Felder in Washington that Evans
had turned State's evidence and all
he had to do was to see him and he
would tell him to advise Grabfelder
tc pay over $f>0,000 to Felder, and
that he denounced Felder as a liar
in his office in the presence of Dunn
and Hough. Grabfelder's was a
house which had been judged guilty
by the Ansel commission of overcharges
and Felder was trying to collect
the money out of them.
"While I honestly regret ever having
had anything to do with it," said
Evans, referring to the old State dispensary
and the criticism of the
same, "yet the liquor houses which
were said to have paid graft under
the old State dispensary are today
selling liquor to the county dispensaries
at a higher price than the old
tate dispensary paid.
Tile witness offered to assist the
eommttoe any way that he could and
promised to ask Governor Blease for
the "T. B." letters for the committee
to inspect, the letters to be returned
to Evans by the committee. lie said
that if he had the records of his office
while he was on the dispensary board
he could give the committee all the
information desired as to the doings
of the dispensary while he was on
the board, but that the detectives
employed by the Christensen-Eyon
investigating committee in 100." ransacked
his office in his absence and
got possession of the data.
"You won't find all the minutes of
my board, for they were burned, at
least part of them, in the Columbia
Hotel by Goodman and G. II.
Charles," he said. Tie, however,
said if the Attorney General would
assist him he would get together such
of the records as were left and then
use them in his testimony.
STANDS BY HIS FRIENDS.
Will Appoint No One Else to OIIlcc
When Deft to Iliin.
In a speech at Union Friday Gov
Rlease st a tod that ho was in uiu ran
for re-election as Governor and thai
lie was in the race to the finish; thai
ho was not working for himself
but in the interest of the people. He
was accused, lie said, of saying that
he stood by his friends. Ho said h<
wanted to say this was true and tha
i "none other need apply." So far a?
appointment to ofliee was concerned
1 he said, so long as officers were nom
i inated in the primary ho would ap
- point them, but where the appoint
ment was left to him lie would glv<
. the places to only those he knew f<
I be for niease. He urged his hearer
! to go to the club meetings and t<
; send delegates to the county am
i State conventions who would suppor
' his policies and not to let a few mei
run the conventions for their owi
- interests. Ho also urged that ever;
. man should get a registration certif
? Icate. He said he had never done i
. thing of which he was ashamed.
WILL PROBE DEEP
WILL INVESTIGATE DISPENSARY
TO THE BOTTOM
BLEASE
WON'T TESTIFY
Art or .iiaktng uie uonrnwi
Declines to Face the Men He Accused?It
is Said lilense's Commission
Offered Ills Cousin a Huge
Fee?itich Development Expected.
The Columbia correspondent of the
Greenwood Journal, McDavid Horton,
in a letter to that paper, says it is
hinted that some new matter may be
brought out at the sessions beginning
Thursday morning of the legislative
committee which is investigating
the manner in which affairs of
the late State dispensary have been
liquidated in part by the Ansel and
Mease winding-up commission.
Nothing new, nothing not expected,
transpired at the committee's
first sessions, four in number, held
on two days of last week?Thursday
and Friday. It is true that Attorney
General Lyon and various
members of the Ansel commission
denied various charges made against
them by Governor Hlease, and that
the terms employed by them in regard
to the chief executive of the
State were so strong as to make
good newspaper copy; but all this
the public expected.
Still, though South Carolinians understand
it, newspaper readers in
other States can hardly fail to marvel
when they see reputable business
men, persons of consequence and
standing in church and social circles
as well as in the books of the mercantile
credit agencies, go on the
stand and deliberately declare under
oath that they considered the governor
"beneath their notice," "tinworthy
of notice" and "not fit to
brush our shoes," and brand statements
by him as "false and outrageous"
and "false and infamous,"
or "without the shadow of foundation
in fact."
It remains to be seen whether the
investigating committee will in the
governor's case exercise their power
to send for persons and papers. The
governor rather tardily declined last
week an invitation to appear and testify.
James S. Farnum of Charleston
has also declined such an invitation,
with the intimation that if he
comes it will be under formal summons,
backed by the committee's authority.
Governor Blease has made a new
record in respect to the accumulation
of campaign ammunition. Heretofore
governor's offering for reelection
may have been influenced by political
considerations in the forming
of official documents, but at least
ihey have uniformly been sedulous
in avoiding the appearance of such
' ? *-?tHanca however.
1 11 LCI I L. UIM Ui UWl IIIV.UUW, ..v, .. _ .
implicitly in the case of the current
dispensary probe, and expressly in
the case of the suggested investigation
of mill mergers?has frankly admitted
that data he claims to have
accumulated, which he avows would
he of public concern, is being held
for use on the stump next summer.
Newspaper references to a probable
"summoning" of the Atlanta attorney,
Thomas B. Folder, to testify
before tho committee, are misleading
in that Air. Folder is beyond the
jurisdiction of the committee, so
that, although he may be invited or
requested to appear he certainly cani.ol
be summoned.
The only line of investigation yel
opened up was revealed in the testimony
of Attorney General Lyor
Friday afternoon. lie said he waj
informed the IMease commission luu
piomised a Columbia attorney, Ben
jam in L. Abney, half of all that h<
could recover out of the Itichlain
Distilling Company. The State'
claim against that concern, backe<
by the Messrs. Block of Macon, i
in round numbers, $500,000.
Mr. Abney is a relative of Cover
nor Blease and resides at the gover
nor's mansion. lie is a lawyer o
great reputation and has been rc
narkably successful in a number o
large negotiations. Aside from th
half-million dollar every judgraon
found against the concern by the An
scl commission, and on file here, th
1 only reminder of the Richland Dit
1 tilling Company left in Columbia i
?tw. ifipo-fl distillery building.
4 ? ?
The physical'property, having bee
abandoned by ifs owner's, was som
f tinio ago placed by the ltichlan
county court tinder receivership prr
1 erodings, in the hands of a Columbi
attorney, Alvah M. Lumpkin. N
' disposition has been made of it. }
is worth about $75,000.
3 Flagman's Ann Amputated.
} D. R. McKerley, a railroad flaj
s man, had his right arm crushed earl
i Tuesday morning while placing
1 knuckle for coupling cars in tt
t yards at Seneca. The arm was crusl
a ed to a pulp from the wrist to tli
i elbow. Dr. Edgar A. Hines and D
V Clay Doyle amputated the arm. Th
- unfortunate man is twenty-four yeai
% old, and has a wife and two childrc
at Dulutb, Oa.
BANK OF
Conwa
<
Hat largest capital and turpkit of a
than the combined capital and aorp
CAPITAL. STOCK..
SURPLUS
LIABILITIES OF STOCK
SECURITY OF BfflPOSIT
DIRK
.>bert B. Scarborcm^k,
. L. Buck,
George J. Holiday,
We offer our customers every acc<
will justify, and we i
iOBFKT B. BOARBOKOUOS, D
PR10ID1FT.
We continue to pay 5 pel
THE WAGES OF SIN
??
MARRIED MAN AND YOUNG WOMAN
ATTEMPT SUICIDE
THE WOMAN IS REVIVED
Overcome by Keniorsc, a Man Persuades
His Partner in Sliame to
Take Poison With lliin, lint She
is Saved, and Tells of How They
Planned to Die.
A case just reported from Pittsburg,
Pa., proves that "the wages of
sin is death" as much now as it ever
was. The story goes on to tell how
overcome by remorse, James J. Johnston,
a married man and head of the
plumbing company bearing his name,
committed suicide in a hotel at Pittsburg
on Sunday, after persuading his
stenographer, Helen Norton, that
death was the simplest solution of
their troubles and gaining her consent
to his chloroforming her first.
The story told by this pretty nineteen-year-old
girl, whose life was
saved because the man in his anxiety
to destroy himself failed to give her
enough of the chloroform, and her
description of her sensations as she
inhaled the drug is one of the most
remarkable on record. After consenting
to die with Johnston Miss
Norton described what followed in
this way:
"I knelt by the side of the bed and
prayed God to forgive us both if we
had sinned in loving; I prayed for
mercy in the name and for the sake
of Jesus Christ, our Savior. I was
not afraid of death. It seemed then
a natural thing to die.
"Then I lay down on the bed. Jim
was watching me and he knelt by my
side and asked, 'Helen, you don't
want to change your mind?' I shook
my head. lie walked over to the ta- j
ble, took up the bottle of chloroform,
saturated my muffler with it and
paced the muffler over my face.
"The sensation was delightful. 1
did not feel any regret as l felt myself
losing consciousness?I think I
smiled. Jim told me to take deep,
long breaths, and said, it won't be
long, sweetheart, before I will be
with you in the long sleep.' The last
thing I remember is his pouring more,
chloroform on the muffler, then
> snatching 't away from my face and
? kissing mo. I sv.id 'good-bye.' I re'
member nothing more until I awoke."
Miss Norton said that after the
day's work was over on Saturday she
t and her employer went to the hotel
. and had dinner together. The meal
i was an elaborate one and Johnston
3 appeared in the best of spirits. Sun1
day morning about eight o'clock
- Johnston awoke. The girl saia he
3 was overcome with remorse and wor1
ried about explaining his overnight
s absence to bis wife.
1 Ho told her, she said, (o stay in the
a room, that lie was going out but
would be back in a short time. Leav
ing the hotel Johnston walked across
the street to a drug store, bought six
f ounces of chloroform and three of
>- carbolic acid. Then he went back
f and told Miss Norton he was "going
e to end it all" and suggested that she
it die with him. They talked it over
i- for nearly an hour and then she
o agreed to the plan and to let him
chloroform her first,
is , it was hours after she lost consciousness
before she awoke from the
n stupor into which the drug had
c thrown her. Johnston was lying bed
side her, dead. He had mixed car>
bolic acid with some whiskey and
a drank it and then put a chloroform
. . . t. ?? ,i
o saturaieu iowci over mo uenu,
it The man was forty years of age
ITo was well-to-do and the father ot
three children. He had lived happily
with his wife and family until
he employed Miss Norton as his ste^
nographer nearly two years ago. H(
y soon became infatuated with her anc
a the tragedy ended the chapter.
Z '
10 Governor Mease should appear be
r. foro the committee investigating th<
ie Ansel winding up commission, agalns
rs whom he made serious charges, anc
in make them good or withdraw them
The people expect this of him.
HOBBY. I
j. a, c. I
my ba*k m Htrry couoty. More
Jut of ?D otkor books m no court?. I
# H
lt.ftM *
holders .... m.soo
ors lll,sm
:ioks I
ardson r
W. A. Johnson, |S
Will A. Frofvm
ommoclatioii which their accourtt 1
loiicit your business.
'. V. Richardson, wiu. a. frkima?
VlOl i'kvidrvt. cAsrib* *^1
"j" rl.nnaitt
r ccru. un jchuj u*^v?.v. _
PftOrMftftlOlt AL <;AKJ% ^
M. II. \K)(>l)VIAni> 9
joy and CouM??J*r At La*< BH
COM WIT, ft. U H
ft, B. ft<J AHMtOI <?? 9
OONWAI, II. 1 ^ 9
AttorMj at Law. H
-JH
ML. U. BCKHOr^Mft V gfl
i^byakTaa and bwrffvo% ill
(jon wat, ii. c. m
?. WOFfORl) WAIT. I
Att?ra?jr at !.*?
*
ft*ik of Horry Hiiildtj*^. ;
(MWTWAT, J*. C.
HUNK HAVENEL
l/uud SurreyimK "
and i|
DiAillKgO ^ R|
Spivey BuiMlag Oonwajr, H. C. J ^ 1
he Worlds greatest sewing machime 1
/Ihmrwi amnt nith#?r n. Vlhrnttni/Htmttle. I
fcbuttie or r Hi nelo Throftcff Chfrtn foticM if
Hewing Machine write to M
m ItW HOME SEWINQ MACHINE COKPAJF n
Oronge, Moss* |
WiRI mi ii Inii in ii n in nil IniiniimiHwtf flj
tRaolity. but th? Mew Homo is maiio to vtlft 0 M
Out ruaranty never mm out
bf Mthorlifd dealers mmfOQcj >
mo* sals m .
! IHrR3iOlf?llN at L'OLLtlNH t*v.
M. C. i
i\\m>ox mill (;iii\ns.
*
G'ovornor Lleasc Turns Two .More
('orn Iris Loose.
The governor has granted a parole
lo Klniore Wright, who was convicted ^
in Spartanburg county in November i
of 1908, and sentenced to ten years !
and one day in the State penitentiary |
on the charge of manslaughter. The
parole was granted during good be- -w,
havior. 1
A pardon has beon granted to
Frank Davis, who was convicted in
Klchland county in 190* on the
charge of assault and battery with
in to nt. to kill jind sentenced to five
years in the State penitentiary.
! Since assuming otli'ce the gover- (
nor has extended executive clemency J
in 3.14 cases. Pardons, 142; paroles, 1
10 2. This is doing nrcttv well The \
I Governor pardons criminals about as ]
' fast as the courts can convict them.
Should ho bo reelected and keeps up
, his pardon record, we will have few
f convicts at the end of his second
- term.
1 #
There should be no criticism of
| any member of the General Assembly ^
' for voting to sustain or reject any '
veto of Governor Klease of any measure
passed by that? body. In voting
- on vetoes members of the General As3
sembly should rise above prejudice,
t and vote for or against a veto con1
scientiously, which wo believe most
. of the Senators and Representatives
did.