The Horry herald. (Conway, S.C.) 1886-1923, July 15, 1920, Image 1
>
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.