University of South Carolina Libraries
> VOLUME XXXV. W. W. RIISS KILLED I BY GEORGE L, MARSH n Tragedy Takes Place in Public Mnor RoQlHonPO ftf I IUUU IUV/UI i ivuiviuiivw v. I Mr. Marsh f ? i PROMINENT FAMILIES | ON BOTH SIDES - " I Order For Bail Granted by Judge Shipp in Sum of I Five Thousand Dollars. 1 i I Geo. I,. M/uvh shot and kii 1- < 1 \V. W. Russ last Thursday July 8th., using a shot gun loaded with a shell. The tragedy occurred between one I and two o'clock as the deceased was I on his way home to dinner at his j residence in the Gully section of j the town. The load of shot was fired into the body of the deceased at close ] range, almost straight from the , front, entering at the juncture of the breast bone and collar bone, so that the upper part of one lung was shot to pi< ces and some shots lodged in the heart. After he was stru<k he turned around according to the testimony of the only eye witness, and took a step or two, and then fell, dying almost instantly. No one knew that such a tragedy was pending. The deceased had been attending to the usual duties about the mercantile business conducted by him and his brother, H. M. Russ, on Main Street, until about the noon hoiir the deceased started to walk to his home for dinner. !Near the Pastime Theater Nollie Anderson, the barber, was going to dinner in a car and invited Mr. Russ to ride with him. Anderson | was in ; hurry to get back to the barber shop and did not take him to his home, hut put him out at the Hospital, and according to AnPderson's testimny at the inquest, after he, Anderson, had remained at I ^dinner about twenty-live minutes ho camo hick to the shop in the car and was told that Mr. Russ was killed. It appears that about an hour before the killing Mr. Marsh had gone to his home which is on the same side of the Do# Illuff Road in the same suburban community ! as the homo of the deceased, there J being but two other cottages in be- ! tweon the two. Ac ording to the testimony of Mr. .Jessie Jolly, the father-in-law oT Mr. M.irsh, and whose home is next door, the witness looked and saw j Mr. W. W. Russ passing along the ; public road and he was walking on j the side of the road, and he then i saw the defendant go out to the deceased .and tell the deceased to go on home, or words to that effect. Mr. Marsh had been driven home in the car of W. C. Pitts and this car had broken down in front of the Marsh home. The car had been left there before the tragedy occurred j and Mr. Pitts had left. According to the eye witness, Mr. Jolly, some further words passed between the | parties but the deceased did not leave but started towards Nr. Marsh with an umbrella pointed towards him and about that time the shot was fired which caused his death. The testimony of Mr. Jolly, as , stated at the inquest, will appear * * *? ***4 i/?lo ilurtner on in uu? The news of the killing of Mr. Russ was brought down town by J Mr. J. J. Sanders, who was passing along the road in a car just after it had happened. Mr. Sanders stated that he saw Mr. Marsh who stated that he had killed Mr. Russ, and that he saw the body lying there near the ditch at the road side opposite the northward corner of the premises of Mr. .Marsh. He also, stated that he had been asked by j Mr. Marsh to notify the Sheriff so { that he might give himself up. ! Mr. Sanders also told the sad i news of this tragedy to Mr. H. M.! Russ, the junior partner of the firm of Russ Brothers, who was at the | Coroner L. W. Cooper was noti-; i fied of the killing, and within the I hour had summoned a jury of in- ' I quest who went to the scene of the j tragedy and examined Mr. Jolly . and one or two more witnesses; then i 1 adjourned, the hearing to be con- j * tinued at four o'clock Thursday even /ing, at the undertaking estab ish-i meat of M'\ Wil'm Goldfinch. \t fhp undertaking establishment the inrjue a was concluded at a 'ate. hour that evening, after examina- j tion of Dr. J. S. Duscnbury, who : had made the post mortem examinat/on; MNollie Anderson, the, barber, who had taken Mr. Uuss a part of tV* wav home, and pevhaps i others. Th'? jury then retired and foimd m verdict to the effect that 'he deceased had come to his death from j gunshot wounds. the gun in the hands of Gearge L. Marsh. The (Thf FUNDS BEING RAISED TO REMODEL HALL The Chamber of Commerce decided SO)Vlof iiv.:> ;i;;o 111 ?* 1 tlioy \v II Id raise the neccssar; funds for romodol'nfr the interior of lie r m . at the Town Mali. Tlii buildiny;. which is now owm <1 l>y the T- wo <>f Conway, fioni an o . < h . < { m ; I view | is one of the most Icautii' I st.ructu.' s in Conway; hut it \ a u si 1 ?>* the County of Horry as a courlhou -o for long y an, and wa no4 in thoroughly ?? <?d repair wion sold. Tie Town of ( >n\vay has l< <n < mpelled to uso its I'm ids for ot e, ar. 1 moiv pressing purposes than remi dolling it properly. The (' amber of Commerce sops the nee i of nice rooms for holding their me t ings and for other purposes tlr.t are very important. The Chamher of Commerce has started tin circulation of a chain letter anions its memhers and tlrs is being forwarded from mombcr t ? member, each considering the matter and attaching his chock f r whatever amount ho is willing to contribute. At last accounts it was in the hands of vV. B. Chestnut & Co., and they were writing a letter and attaching their check to turn the whole bundle over to It. VV. Lane & Co. Among the list appeared several $100.0(1 checks and quite a num her of $25.00 and number of smaller amounts, and it appears from the success it is having the funds will soon be in the hands of the Chamber for the remodelling and for providing suitable furniture. c KILLED A MULE. A delivery mule belonging to McNeill & Holt while standing in front of the store last Saturday night was struck by another vehicle driving rapidly by the store, became frightened, and a buggy shaft caused the death of the mule. o H. F. Moore was here one day last week. Coroner issued the usual Warrant for the arrest ol' Mr. Marsh although at that hour he was in the custody of the Sh riff in the County Jail, .and the Coroner also issued the usual form of commitment under which the defendant was hold until admitted to bail. There is testimony to the effect that Mr. Marsh said: "Don't come on me, I will shoot you," or words to that effect, but about that time the fatal shot was fired. It is finally understood that there was bad f clings between the two before the killing. Both sides are prominent socially, and the deceased was a prominent business man of the town and at the time of his di.ath filled the position of Representative from Horry County in the Slate Legislature. He had not stated whether he would stand for re-election at the approaching primary or whether he would run for any other office. For many years the dry goods establishment of Russ Brothers has been conduct d on the eastward side of Main Street in the B. C. Collins building underneath the Masonic Hall. The deceased was well known to everybody in the county through this long experience in business as well as his experience in politics. The deceased is survived by his widow and several children, none of the children having reached the age of twenty-one years. The funeral took place on t last Friday afternoon and was to have been at four o'clock but was postponed to a somewhat later hour on account of the severe thundercloud that came up. Mr. Marsh employed attorney; the same afternoon, who at once took steps to locate the Solicitor in order to obtain his consent to waive the four days notice that is required before making application for bail. Hon. S. W. G. Shipp, the Judge of the Circuit, is spending the summer at Myrtle Beach, and after some delay in locating the Solicitor the attorneys obtained an order from Judge Shipp for bail in the sum of $5,000.00. The bail was arranged at nine o'clock last Friday night and the defendant was released ami went to the home of his father in the country where he remained until the first of this week. Th * bond was made before W. h. Bryan, and was signed by A. C. Thompson, W. A. Freeman, J. H. Marsh and W. E. Marsh, as the Order provided it could ho made by not loss than two bondsmen and more than five. A. C. Thompson justified on the bond in the entire sum of $5,000.00 mentioned therein. As to the different motives that may have been behind this sad tragedy, which has brought sadness to two families, the Herald cannot say. Many rumors are going the rounds among the people, some of which may by chance be true but nv-ny of them likely untrue. The substance of the whole evidence ar it is so far known, would indicate that as the deceased passed the home of Mr. Marsh, the latter came ! out of his house, possibly from his porch, ami had sonv? nroposition to (Continued on Page 5.) iiorr CONWAY, S 0., THURSDAY, BIG IMPROVEMENT EXPECTED SOON Transportation Problems at Conway, Loris and Ayncr Being Considered PUBLIC MEETING IS HELD AT LORIS Officials Promise to do Alt That They Can Toward These Improvements Rail 1 or. 1 i?11:<>?ilirs in South Carolina as woll as the head officials of th>? Atlantic ( oast Lino, Ivivo boon busy root ntly looking into tho ques1.i< ri of improvements in this County in the way of transportation. James Cau lor of tin4 State Railroad Commission, \V. H. N< \vell of Rooky Mount, North Carolina, General Superintendent of the Atlantic Coast Line, and Mr. Moore, Superintendent of this particular District, with headquarters in Wilmington, N. C., as well as other business interests and railroad officials, met last Thursday at Loris to consider improvements to he made at that town to take care of the increased business. They visited Conway, Horry and Aynor for the same purpose, and the fact that they have visited thes?points where large quantities of freight are distributed, leads business men to believe that big improvements will soon be made. T. B. Lewis, Esq., of the Conway bar, represented the Town of Loris at the meeting which was held there last week. asking the Railroad for* a new station mo.*e platform space, and extension of side tracks and for Other things. The railroad officials assured the citizens that they would make some improvements and would try to do all that had been asked of them so far as they could find it possible. HELP FINANCESBY DEPOSITING Proceeds of Tobacco Crop Instead of Buying Automobiles BRIGHT LEAVES GOOD PRICES Black Grades of Tobacco This Year Will Bring Less Than Last The tobacco growers of this county should deposit what they get for tneir tobacco in the banks of the county and leave it there as long as possible; instead of spending it. and in this way help to finance | the tobacco crop. A news dispatch from Florence, S. C., where the tobacco meeting was held last week, savs: | Florence.?The &outh Carolina Tobacco association in session here, passed a resolution urging the gr w ers of tobacco to deposit money derived from sales in the banks and keep it there as long as possible. The resolution was drawn and adopted following a talk by Bright Williamson of Darlington on the matter of financing this year's crop. ?r:ii: * - - mr. tv luutiiisun reierreu to ttie fact that money is tight and that the banks when borrowing had to pay a large rate of interest. He said he thought he spoke for the banks of the tobacco belt when he expressed the willingness of the banks to do everything they could in the way of extending accommodations to warehousemen and buyers for handling the crop. He believe*] however, that the farmer could finance their own crop if they would put the money in the bank and keen it there instead of buying automobiles and other things they did not need. During the meeting well postc I buyers and warehousemen expivssc 1 the opinion that good bright tobacco would sell \v< 11 this year, hut t' at there was little prospects o." th~ poorer grades, especially the dark stuff, to bring as good a price as it did last year. On account of the embargo on foreign shipments American manufacturers would have to buy the crop, hut it was stated thai they had less tobacco on hand of the good grades than ever before an 1 would he ready buyers. One buyer who has just returned from abroad stated that the forign markets wore I glutted with tobacco and it would he 1021 before they would take any more. ? S* JULY 15, 1920. COMMITTEE ORGANIZES PASSES RESOLUTIONS Regarding Important Gi:stiqns of Transportation to be Considered R A li PPA P CTJI I PC i in i u-1 njnu O I l >? 1 11 L" MAINS IN STREET Side Trackage Very Short in This Town Considering1 Business Done A mooting of the transportation committ0'' of the Chamber of Commerce was hold in tho office of Burroughs & Coljins Company, Conway. .S. C. at six o'clock I'. M. Thursday, June iOiii. Those present were F. A. Burroughs, A. T. Collins and M. K. Smith. Upon motion regularly made and carried F. A. Burroughs was elected chairman and A. T. Collins Secretary. A resolution was introduced requesting that communication be opened with Munnerlyn & Company, Agents at Georgetown, with a view of getting some definite schedule for the trips of the steamer between Conway and Georgetown,, particular ly as to the time for the steamer to leave Conway, so that the merchants would be in position to have their goods in the warehouse in time to ship them. This matter was referred to the Secretary of the Cham ber of Commerce with the request that he write to the Steambcat Company without waiting for the regular meeting of the Chamber of Commerce. A resolution was also introduced calling the attention of the Chamber of Commerce to the fact 'that one of the most serious defects in our trans portation to Conway is In connection with side-track facilities is the * ?.T n "U 1 i??wn iii runway. 1 no trausportaii n committee called attention to tNe fact that for ton years there has been no material enlargement of the side-track facilities of th1 town and that for quite a number of years there has been an agit,1 tb n on the part of the citizens of the town in looking forward to the <emoval of the railt t ad from Ma n Street. That at one time there wasome progress being made in tl i respect, all of which was stopped during the war. U is a well recognized fact that the A. C. L. Railroad cannot with its present mean; of entrance into the town provide any materially better side-track facilities than we now have. That nil ito 11 nnmliov of* nmi w?i li.n, ? boon delayed and some have boon put off altogether meaning a 1 ss < f industry and enterprise to 1 lie town because of the very great uncertain ty as to what will be done in connection with this matter in the future. Any person erecting a plan or warehouses at present can only at best make a guess as to whether ho would be in line for any change in transportation or not. Even in the case of the small amount of property adjacent to the side-tracks now the owners express themselves as being doubtful of the wisdom < f building permanent structures there on, as it is very possible that buildings erected there would, in the future, be found in the way of further progress and development in the way of yardage and sidc-track facilities. We realize the adverse conditions under which the Railroads are operating hut we submit that, owing t ? the fact that we are entirely dependent upon the transportation cf the A. C. L. Railroad Company f< r the moving of more than ninety per cent of our freight. the facilities we now have are entirely inadequate. That they are operating as a means to retard the develop, mont of the town; that the operation of the trains through Ma;n Street under present conditions are not only at considerable risk to th? public but that the freights going out of Conway are so heavy that of ton it takes two heavy locomotiv- s to move them; that thr? noise and confusion is a nuisance as well as the coal and soot is a detriment t) the stock of the merchants, and the vibration, as a result of those heavy trains, is doing damage to th" buildings on Main Street. Under those circumstances, your committe1 submits the subject to the Chamber of Commerce for its consideration. In connection with transportati u on upper Waccamaw River, tlvrc is at this time no water transport?', tion between Conway and ReJ Rluff. Formerly a considerable freight was carried between the-c two points and from the best information we can p:ot there is not much likelihood of the line boini* re. established in the near future. Under these circumstances, the people on each side of the Waccamaw Rivu above Conway are solely dcpendenl * on the public roads for transport a rail JEREMIAH SMITH REPLIES TO ARTICLE i J 1 notice in the 11* raid some questions liy a fictitious \\t lei subscriber, as ho selects n o as his tariret. w ill von Winillv m1i..w ' k.tie space for reply? Ho asks are ; the men who aro so hard on tlio stock law willing to go down int > tioir pockets and l\ nee our county? i> .lor<miah Smith goin ; to tako that bunch or all of us if he can be S<"V! or and u> troy one * ! our bo-t laws'? In answer that question :! will just say for Mr. Subscriber's inf< a.ion that ir a niajon y of ci (Cor- of I bury County v do for I roo range, i . hall try to have th law cordorm to their oxpros.-ol I will ard. f a ] mco C necc .-ury *.h l'l"0( vung? poo d.- w'll noilthcr >ku!k | r.u. c unp'ain t the netvs. ary ox j ponso, I til at the same t ime tluI political wire pullers, tlu buslii whackers and the fictitious writers will have t < anti up with their I share as in any other government expense. Sub cribor asks if 1 , would destroN one of our best laws, i i ask in reply, is the stock law our | best law because it destroys our 1 right of local self government, is it j the best law because it disfranehisi cs our people, is it the best law beI cause it establishes a (Jovernment by a Dictator instead of Democracy, is it the best law because it forces j upon the market, at disadvantage 100.000 dollars worth of stock, and j therefore takes that amount off the tax hook and thus increases the j tax vote on what is left, is it the j j best law because it monopolies the j j stock raising business in the hands j j of a very few rich land owners ? j Now, Mr. Editor, 1 hope the people will discuss this issue in the press i if tllCV like, and T shall ho ciwiu-n. ; ed by the result in (tie primary and will not ask for space in your paper except in self defense, but will discuss the issues in the primary. Jeremiah Smith. johnIoltcomk i out for clerk ! John Holt has his card in this ' \vi ek's issue of The Herald announcing that he is a candidate in the 1 democratic Primary for office of the I Clerk of the Court of Horry County. ' Mr. Holt is well known to the votI ers of Horry County, having filled in succession the olTicos of Judge I of Probate and Counrfv Treasurer. I He was succeeded in the office of Judge of Probate by Mr. J. S. Vaught, Mr. Holt being elected to i the more important olfico of County Tr asurer after holding the office of Judge of Probate. Just before the j| election of Mr. W. L. Hellamy as | County Treasurer, Mr. Holt became interested in private .affairs and de| clincd to make the race for rc-elcci tion. His record in tlie olfices he has filled is good. planter's warehouse at nichols, s. c. i The Planters Warehouse, of Nichols. S. C.. has a larire advertisement in this issue of the Herald, telling : about their advantages, which will : have its effect among the growers , of the upper part of this county. : Turner Brothers are again in charge of this big warehouse and with their experience in the tobacco ware i house business will have a succss: ful season this time. NEW BUCK BUNG NOW BEING PLANNED I ! Hal L. Buck is now having the bricks and other materials hauled on one side of his vacant lots in the ! block between the Buck Motor Company and the Courthouse square, and will begin the erection of a new 1 brick building on this property j soon as all of the materials can be secured. The property is known as the W. i E. Porter corner, purchased by Mr. i Buck at a sale of the bankrupt property of the Farmers & Merchants A I .'..I. 1 M .. I... - . i i > 1111 r\ . mi I . DIKK II US tTOCU'll a brick garage on the back end of the front lot while this new building that is in contemplation will front on Third Avenue and will ho located nearer the corner. It will take about at),000 bricks to put up this building. i . tion of considerable tonnage tha' I heretofore went by water. If those conditions should continue in the winter of 1920 and 1921 it is im i portant, both frem the standpoint , of the town and als> from the stand . point of the citizens living in those communities that the reads parallel4 ing the River on both sides bo put in as good condition as is re a ;onl i ab 1 v possible in anticipation of the traffic. 1 I NO. 13. 1 PROSPECTS FOB FAIR ARE LOOKING BRIGHT Committee Makes Report Giviricj Valuable Suggestions on Subject PLANS TAKE IN e . ' w n a i ? - < ^?- . ~ oi~ V _nr\u VVAML;1 U U S LS ~:cc\:ccl Cooperation of Cham\ tv.: of Commerce and Far!Mrs in This Movement R lit!; a t omniittee was appri'ited by Tlio Chamlv r of C'omr icivo to look into the niattor of !oh ling a County Fair this year. The Committee was composed of Col. I). A. Spivey. \V. O. Davis, Farm Demonstration A vent and Dr. C. Hedlcy. They looked over the ground and came to the conclusion that it wuld bo possible to have ohe Fair this year provided the co-operation of the Chamber of Commerce and prominent farmers can be had. The Committee made its report under date of July i>th. in which it is stated that it will take some careful financing1 to put this Fair j on and the Report suggests that I the Secretary of Commerce com! municatc with Mr. C. L. SchofieKl ,nt Orangeburg, Secretary of the Marion Fair Association, and thereI by obtain figures of the approxfI mate cost of a suitable premium j list, of the labor required ant! I other incidentals. It also intimated that Mr. Schofield might be able to furnish information which might lead to securing a good Carnival company tor the Fan*. The Report also stated that the second weelc in November has been suggested as I a time for holding the County Fair. The State Fair will come off the I last week in October, the Fair at Marion during the first week in j November. Plans now contemplate the^ use ' of the Planters Hnek WareTTouse, together with the Farmers Warehouse. possibly the Horry Tobacco Warehouse together with the adjacent alleys. This section of the 1 street to be fenced off about as it wa< once before. j The Herald hopes that the need( ed co-operation will he secured from ; the Chamber of Commerce, e?! pecially the farmers of the County, ' so that there will he no doubt about ' holding the most successful Fair : that Horry County has ever had. WOULD ORGANIZE SUMTER FARMERS Sumter.?Sumter county is being x?. organized for TOO per cent membership in the American Cotton axaocia i tion. A series of township meetings is being held for the purpose of organ izing. The first of these was held at Bethel and an organization was perfected. The unity of org&nii zation is the school district. The following officers were elected: S. B. Cain, president. M. R. Jackson, vic<* president, A. P. Hinson, secretary and treasurer. Members of county executive committee, J. N. Kalb, G, A. Nettles, and W. E. Kalb. o WILSON TO CALL MEETING London.?President Wilson haij ' accepted the invitation of the league of nations to call a meeting of the assembly of the league early in No~ j vember, it was announced in the I House of Commons by Cecil B. Harms worth, under secretary for foreign affairs. LOWERHORRY GETS BIG RAIN With exception of a tew showers that did not amount to much, the seasons were very dry in this part of the county until last Friday several clouds passed over bringing a 1 oavy rain and a considerable electrical display. S > far as rep >rtcxl these rains were not accompanied by any hail and there was not enough wind to damage the crops, to any great extent. Hcles were washed in the roads at places and some damage was done to the streets of Conway. In the center of the main business block underground sewers had evidently become clogged so that following the heavy rain there was a pool of water there. A year i or two ago some town money was ' spoilt (>n the construction of chains , under ground which seem inadej quote to take care of this low place which is inclined to become flooded 1 in wet weather.