Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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" ' I ? e VOLUME zzzvn ~ LEO JOHNSON GETS BULLET Rushed to Mullins Hospital in Hope of Saving His Life WAS PURELY~ACCIDENTAL I s Ball Passes Almost Through Upper Abdominal Region *. _ Leo Johnson, twelve, son of Mr. arid Mrs. Ramp Johnson, of Kate's Bay section, was brought to the office of Dr. J. S. Dusenbury here last Wednesday suffering: from a bad bullet wound in the abdominal region. After a careful examination by Dr. J. S. Duaenbury and Henry L. Searborough , the boy's father was advised to take the patient to Mullins, where he conla be placed in the hospital there and his life possibly saved. It wan uncertain, that the child could live. There was hope expressed, however, and the father left at once for the hospital. The bullet entered the left side, near the spleen. It passed through or near one end of the stomach., Signs in the hack indicate that the bullet had passed almost through the body as there was a well defined lump under the skin. The shooting was purely accidentiul. The shooting was purely accidential From somewhere near the home, the boy had been sent to the hduse by his father to get something from the Vome that he wanted. He did not return very promptly and finally the father heard the cries of the rest of the family that the boy had been shot. The bullet came from a twentytwo rifle. He had picked up this gun and was playing with it. After corking it he looked into the barrel and when he started to put it down, it went off, the ball entering his body. It was evident from the signs on his clothes and flesh, where the ball entered, that the muzzle of the r?fle was close to him when it fired. His clolho" were burned by the powder and there was a powder burn at the Wound. The boy was bearing up bravely under his sufferings when he left here in a car for the hospital. He appear' oH to be a boy of considerable grit. A crowd gathered on lower Main street as news of the boy's hurt spread over that section. Sympathy was expressed by a great many for him. W. Hanip Johnson is a brother of N. T. Johnson, of Conway. I^ast year he lived in a home on the farm of J. A. Eason, near Willow Branch school house, and he farmed there last year. Later he purchased a tract of land from S. W. Martin, built a home on this land and moved to the new place some time ago. The new home of the Johnsons is lomfprl insf h*?vnnrl thf* Ight mile school on the Kates Bay iblic road. It was at the new home lat this accident happened to one of le children. The mother of the little hoy was alost prostrated by the accident. 5DMUND BIGHAM STILL WAITING acts of Horrible Case Stated in Court Opinion L FAMILY "CRIME RECORD Even the Slain Brother Had I Been Tried for Handling I Negro Edmund fl. Bigham is in the peniIfcentiary in Columbia awaiting the Hiecision of the Supreme Court on his Kppeal from the order of Judge S. W. I*. SMpp to grant him a new trial on lifter discovered evidence. I If the court decides favorably to liim on this appeal, he will he tried igain in Florence County for the Hnurder of his brother, Smiley, his Brother, his sister, and the two little WcCracken boys that had been adoptHd by his slain sister. Mrs. Margery Black. If his appeal from the refusal Hf the judge to give him a new trial H denied by the court, then he must Hievitably pay the penalty in the Hlectric chair. I There has been a long delay in this H^se. The Legislature will try to pass H law or laws this time that will help Hxpediating such matters through the ^egal mill. Whether or not thev will Hicceed in doing any good remains to He seen. They may so and make mat ?rs vorse hv passing some fangled lw that will take years to understand Hnd apply, and on which the members Hf the Supreme Court will have to Hum much midnight oil in construing Horrcctly. H While this is all going on the hisH>ry_of the^Bighani case as detailed in ie Houtn uaroiina Supreme Court re>rts, on Edmund's appeal the first from h?<? trial and conviction of urder in the Florence courts, makes iprhty interesting reading. Thp opinion of the courts in that tse by Chief Justice Gary, says in ,e opening concerning the facts in gtfe MAKES A RECORD AS GOVERNOR People Will Remember Administration of Harvey Now Ending The people of the State will remember the administration of Governor Harvey as being one remarkable for enforcement of law. Going in from the office of Lieutenant Governor, upon the resignation of R. A. Cooper, Harvey took up the reins of government with the idea that the chief executive of the State should have something to do in seeing that the laws of the State are being obeyed and that the officers thereof carry out the duties which they take upon their shoulders. The man who pays attention to his work will always get- the notice of those for whom his services are being rendered. Some men have no ability along that line of effort. Tl.ey may have a strong appeal to Jjie popular favor and yet when they are honored by the vote of the people and ,placed into some position they have stood for, they fail in many ways in carrying out the duties and plans so that they fall far short of success. This cannot be said of Governor Harvey. No man in the governor's office ever looked more closely into the lives and conduct of those who are filling the other offices in the gift of the people, yes, from sheriffs on down to the magistrates, and even higher up, his survey of conditions at all times went. In this time of increased violation of the laws, and slack enforcement of the laws, his administration has been a blessing to the people of South Carolina. and he has made a record which may well be copied by those who are to follow him into that office in the years to come. In all things, however, just as in the annual message, he made no hasty decisions. He aimed at justice. Idle reports and inuendoes brought about by petty politics were traced out to their sources, and when he acted, his action was based on the real facts of the case in hand. In his annual mes-r sage he has picked up the problems of the present day and handled them with great skill. LOSES HIS? LEAVINGS There was a story coming in from one of the nearby sections of the county last week about the skimmings from a syrup evaporator. Tt is claimed that the skimmings from the making of sugar cane syrup are among the best .and cheapest kinds of material from which white whiskev may be distilled. This mm r>"t the skimmings into a keg. He did not value the skimmings but he did place a value on the keg. The keg- disappeared and he put out word that he wanted his keg back ap/iin. He did not learn who took it but he knows that the recept.ical came bock one niprht rerontlv and he found it in the old spot the next morning. Another man claims that he found a nlace in a bay where two charges of white whiskqv bad been run and the skimmings or leavings from the skimmings poured oflT in the branch. the rase: "'The defendant was indicted, severallv. for thf? murder of his mother, Mrs. Smiley BigKam; his sister. Mrs. Margery Biack; his brother, L. Smiley Bicr^an: and two adopted children of Mrs. Rlack. The defendant entered the plea of not guilty. The jury rendered a verdict of guilty, whereupon the sentence of death was imposed upon him, and the 8th of April was fixed as the day of execution. The defendant appealed upon numerous exceptions, which will be re ported. This is an extraordinary case; the testimony is rery voluminous; four days were consumed in its trial. Tine evidence is circumstantial. There are two theories in the case. The first is that the defendant killed the five parties whose names are mentioned in the indictments. The second is that Smiley Bigham killed four of the parties?his mother, sister, and the two boys?and then committed suicide. Some time between the hours of 3 and 4 o'clock during the afternoon of January 15th, 1921, Mrs. M. M. Bicham was found in a dying condition in her back yard, with a bullet hole in the left side of her neck, and another just behind the lower left ear; and expired almost immediately. About the same time the body of Mrs. Margery Black was lying dead in her room upstairs, with a bullet hole in front of her left ear. About the same time John McCracken, one of the adopted boys, was found dead on the back porch, with a bullet in his head. I,eo McCracken, the other adopted noy, was touna ratal iv wounnen on a pile of straw about fifty yards from the rear of the house: one bullet hole was in the wrist, and another in the head. He survived, though unconscious, until the following morninpr. Smiley was found dead in the woods next morning, bout 425 yards from the Bieham home, with a bullet hole in his head, and a pistol in his hand. The defendant, his wife, and two daughters, together with the five persons who were killed resided at the Wmxv V ^ ' i' CONWAY, 8. P., THUB3DAY, BLOWING OU < If we do not blow our own h ing of it. If there is one thing we w spread the circulation of the Ho that strictly on the strength of i1 local paper that undertakes and The way to bring the Heral do not read it, is for those wh< those others about the Herald ar be. We appreciate words of co pressed from the heart and soul < receive letters sometimes which and then we publish these letter* . i i i i _ i_ . xi ii .i _ rignt to taite up ine space tnat v be expected to be found there by ever, we are going to break the* of these letters which we receiv W. Hodges: ? Conv f Dear Sir: I though I would have renev but I have been sick ever since still unable to go to Conway, bu year. Please renew me from th< I am glad to say that you are giv we have to pay for it. It is indeed true that we a price of $1.50 per year. If you who are reading the Herald five your neighbors about the paper, ing >ours, and get them to tak count. BUILDING HAS CTDIW t t VVU A V kJ Jl liU Vjll TT n 1 Several new business buildings are in course of construction in-Gonway at this time. The latest structure to be undertaken is the new brick building of Burroughs & Collins Company on their property located on the southward side of Third Avenue, between Main Street and the Presbyterian church property. This is 'a one-story building which will measure about sixty by one hundred feet over all. It will iruake a garage and two stores within the outside walls. The work is being done by brick masons. The bricks are being furnished by H. P. Little from his brick yard near the city limits. This building is located on the site of the wooden stables where the J. A. McDermott Co. conducted a livestock business for many years until awterwards the business was discontinued and then the stalls were occupied for a time by W. L. Richardson. Later on Mr. Richardson went into business with 0. B. Jenkins, and the lots, including the stalls, were sold to the Burroughs & Collins Company. The stalls were torn down the latter part of 1022, and the new building is now being erected in their place. Other buildings now going up in the business section are: The new building of the Buck Motor Company, also on Third Avenue, near the Cola Cola Works. This will be used as a storage house or stock room for the ever! expanding business of the motor company. Another building is the one which was recently started by the Farm Implement Company at the present site _ J* A 4 < or us implement ana nardware business, near the town hall. A number of small homes are be-j ing erected by citizens of Conway, in the residential sections of the town, and many new cottages are appearing on vacant tracts near the town limits. Taking it all in all, there is a big building movement going on here all the time. Indications are that the amount of buildings will increase during this year since the price of materials and the cost of labor have both gone down to almost the pre-war levels. RECOVERYIS" REMARKABLE The young son of D. I). Harrelson, of Loris, at last accounts was said to be recovering in the hospital at Muli! n uns, <J. Yount?; Rarrelson was accidentally shot in the abodmen on last Christmas day. He was rushed to the hospital in an effort to save his life, and it appears according to reports last week that the operations performed there will he successful. The shot went entirely through the body of the boy. Several different operations were necessary. Bicrham home. There can be no doubt, that whoever committed the murders was actuated by a deep-seated motive, which was not robbery nor malice alto V * t Wm JAJTOAR\? 18, 1023 R OWN HORN T 0 r? om Who will attend to the blowi < ant to do in this world it is to rry Herald, provided we can do is merits as a strictly high-class actually covers its field. d to ithe attention of those who ] o do i take it and read it to tell i id what it is and what it aims to ! . t ' 1 muiuuuciuon wiieu mey ?ic ca)f the one who utters them. We l makes us feel good and now 3, though we know that it is not ray with things which would not the readers of the paper. Howrule once again and publish ono 'ed a few days ago from Mr. J. fay, S. C., January 12, 1923. toute No. 2 red my subscription before now, the 23rd of December, and am t I am enclosing a check for one ^ date my subscription was out. ing us a paper worth twice what Yours very .truly, J. W. HODGES. i I m give you great value for the i agree with us and with many ry week, help us out <by telling Stop them now from borrowing the paper on their own acTWO BIG CO-OPS COMBINE FORCES the example of South Caralfnarleaders in co-operative mav keting 6f tobacco and cotton, who gathered at Raleigh last week decided to combine the 900 local units of the two associatiations in this state wherever cotton and tobacco are grown together. W. E. Lea, Field Service representative of the Tobacco Growers' Cooperative Association for South Carolina, outlined the method by which the growers of the Palmetto Stale are successfully combining for better marketing and production of cotton and tobacco. Mr. Lea described the rapid growth of the community locals of organized tobacco and cotton growers in South Carolina within the past month and the successful organization of county associations of the co-operatives. According to the present p'an, the county agents and the field leaders will meet" with these county councils in monthly conferences and will aid in solving local problems in co-operative marketing and profitable production of cotton and tobacco. Dr. B. W. Kilgore, Director of Extension for North Carolina, at last week's meeting of co-operatives, said: "The agricultural work on which so much time and money has been spent in the past should go forward now by leaps and bounds because of these associations." He pledged the assistance of experts from the North Ca-< rolina Extension Service to aid the organized tobacco and cotton farmers at their local meetings in the selection of seed, improvement of varieties. combatting the wild-fire and the boll.weevil and other immediate problem^'v/hicli can be more effectively hanfllea by local organizations than by individual efforts Mr. Lea, who stated that the local organizations are steadily increasing the membership of the tobacco co-operative in South Carolina by aiding the 1923 campaign for signers, gave out the program for the county meetings of the organized farmers as fol'ows: D/irlincrton county, S. C., first. Monday; Florence county, S. C.. first Tuesdav; Williamsburg county, S. C., first. Wednesday; Georgetown county, S. C., first Thursday; Clarendon county, S. CM first Friday; Sumter county. S. C., second Monday; Lee county, S. P., pecond Tuesday; Horry county, S. f\, second Wednesday; Marion county, S. CM second Thursday; Dillon county, R. C., second Friday; Columbus county, N. C., third Monday; Roheson county, N. C.. third Tuesday and Rladen county, N. C., first Monday. qrethpr. as there could have he#*n nono against the two little boys. The uncontradicted testimony shows that there was trouble in the Bigham famWe shall, therefore, attempt in the ily arising out of financial relations, first instance, to show what those re 1 at ion s were. TCdnmmd D. Biprham, the defendant, thus testified: 'Q. Abaut the deed that was sent to the record office, tell us about that ? A. I had it; it was griven to me. Q. By whom ? A. By Margery, Smiley, and idhi. KLAN PARADES F THROUGH TOWN 1 Said to Have Three Klans in ! Horry County but No Parade TA .. 1 A I il 1 il .? ? it is untiersiooa tnat tnere are throe 1 Ku Klux Klan in Horry County. This is commonly reported, but is not said , to come from any member as the members of the Klan are unknown. It is said that there is a Klan at Conway, another somewhere in the county between Conway and Loris, and still another somewhere in the Little River section. ] Up to this time there has been no ! public parade M* members in Conv/av. or in any other parts of the county, 11though masked parties, said to be- ( long to the Ku Klux Klan have been ] seen in sections of the county and in ' connection with the Mace Horn incident of aboi\t a month ago. By word : "parade" The Herald refers to the < practiceAvhich has been carried on in some towns of a public parade i through the streets of the towns. . It is reported that there has been i a parade in the. town of Mullins. This is said to have taken place one night recently, when about sixteen automobiles, all filled with persons in white '> robes, descended all at once upon the town. They went in so quietly and quickly that it appears that no person ; from which direction they came. When first seen, the parade was on Main Street, in Mulins. When the presence of the visitors became known, all kinds of wild reports got into circulation, but there was nothing done to attract attention except the constant blowing of the automobile horns. They ran their course up and down Main Street, turning down some of the principal side streets before leaving. It is said that they did not call on any particular person, but evidently intended to let the people know that they existed. About the time they appeared it was train time, while the streets were filled with men and boys, with a good sprinkling of negroes. In less than ton minutes, it is said, there was hardly anyone on the streets. n CHRISTIAN LIFE CONFERENCE A unique series of meetings is to he held in Con Way from January SMst to f?SfIt?a Christian Life Conference. The leaders in this conference are the Rev. A. J. Ramev. P. D., of Pasadena. Calif., a noted Bible scholar, who has been in the Gospel ministry for thirty-five years, as a pastor, educator and Bible teacher, and the Rev. Robert. C. McQuilkin, Dean of the Columbia Bible School. These conferences have been held in all parts of the United States and Canada in the churches of many different denominations and the present meeting; is the second one of its kind to be conducted in Conway. On the opening Sunday, January 21st, Dr. Ramsey* will preach in the Baptist church at the morning service and Mr. McQuilkin will preach in the Methodist church. On the second Sunday, the 28th, Mr. Quilkin will preach in the Presbyterian church. These three churches are co-operating in the services. the committee being headed by A. E. Goldfinch. Every afternoon, at four o'clock, a meeting* for Bible study is held and every evening1 at seven thirty an inspirational message is g;iven. The aim of the meetings is stated to be to help men and women to know the Lord Jesus Christ, and to make him known, and thus the messages are directed to Christians as well as to those who do not profess to be Christians. The moral Christian life, these speakers hold is a life of real victory, a life of joy and peace and triumph over worry, a life not in the power and struggle of the human will but in the devine power that God gives. It is a life of resting instead of struggling to try to be prood. ^ ' -X-i. Olo* o mintuiy <11 icniuuu, utmuai tv ?? special meeting will be held, to which all are invited. This will he the first union meeting of the conference and both Dr. Ramsey and Mr. McQuilkin will give addresses. The Bible is a book of good news, is the conviction of the speakers at this conference, giving a revelation from God that is simple and plain and can be understood by the every-day man; a message that is for present < practical use and a message that centers always in Jesus Christ Himself. It is not theories of religion that count, or emotional experiences, but a true knowledge of a personal Snv- < ior, who is living today and whom we know in a practical way. ? i ninf liPl*. Q. For what? ( A. For money I had let Smilev have. Father died after I was married. T was living in the upper part of the State, and just about a year after I was married, father erot hurt and he died from that wound. During the summer or early part of that fall, T came down there and sister Margery was Administrator. We among,- ourselves, there was no auction at all, and anything one wanted he hid on it, and the one who bid the most for it prot it. I never srot anything but an iron safe, And that stayed there. The year after father's death, four or five months after the sale, I * * * V r 'JJ NO. 39 TAYLOR M'RAY UNDER WARRANT Suspicious Actions to Say The Least at White Man's Home WAS RETURNING AT NIGHT flow Denies All Guilt to Offi cers. Was Begging Mess of Greens Sheriff James A. Lewis, Deputy H. N. Sessions, and J. C. Chestnut, magistrate's constable, went to Klondike last Thursday and arrested Taylor McKay, a negro man, wanted on a :harge of criminal .assault on a white woman committed two days before his arrest. Some doubt was expressed that the facts of the case would bear out the charge exactly as made in the warrant; but the negrp was evidently guilty of wrongdoing which would warrant his .arrest under the circumstances. He did not resist arrest and seemed surprised when the officers went up and placed him under arrest with the warrant which had been sworn out on. the day before. The occurrence which gave rise to the warrant took place on January Rth, at the home of a well known white farmer on the national highway between Conway and Toddville. The negro passed the place and stopped at the house on his way, as he said to Conway, to purchase some automobile parts. He engaged the woman in conversation which she did not wish, but she answered his ques- . tions, in a way and finally left him and went into the house. He came on to Conway. It was then day. time. Among the things he asked was whether or not she was left much by herself in either day or night time, or words to that effect; did she have ... ... ..... .f A xnfltnv ail yi'din pu II \ ui niminct remark was to the effect that he would be back along that night and would call as he passed by, etc. Night came and about nine or ten o'clock somebody hailed at the Rate. The lady answered And he wanted to call her out to the pate, stating he bad something he wanted to say to Hnv.,-.. Th* woman'* husband had come home and was in the house at the time and this may not have been known to the man at the prate. He came up at the door and insisted that he wanted to see the lady a minute. She did not pro out, but hid back in the house and then her husband went out and asked the man what he wanted at his house at that unseemly time of the night. The negro then claimed that he only wanted to beg1 a mess of greens from the garden. He went away and on the next day a warrant was sworn out for his arrest. The man is .said to be married. He is about twenty-five years of age and if he has ever been in trouble with the law before, the fact is not known here. When arrested he talked freely about the matter and denied all guilt. He denied having had the talk while on his way up to town on tliat day. He still claimed to the officers that he only wanted to beg the people for a lot of greens from the garden to take homo with him and have cooked. At last accounts he had not applied f?r bail. NO HEARINGTOOK PLACE There was to have been a hearing - . ? ^ 1 ii . i. ./? betore the uiei'K ot tne <^ouit oi common Pleas, as Special Master, at the court house last Thursday in the case of the Farmers & Merchants Bank, of Tabor, N. C., and G. T. Williamson, and J. B. Norris, defendants. The suit was brought to foreclose a mortgage against a forty-acre tract of land in Simpson Creek township, and W. L. Richardson was made a ' party defendant on account of some uncertainty about the lines of this tract being- foreclosed and another tract of about the same size which had been under mortgage to Mr. Richardson, or his company, .and bought in under a foreclosure of his mortgage by him. s There were no witnesses in attendance on the call of the case. Neither G. T. Williamson, the owner of the land subject to mortgage, nor J. B. Norris, who transferred the mortgage to the bank, made any answer in the cause. Mr. Richardson had answered, setting up his claim under the deed made to'him by the clerk of court. It appeared that there was very little to dispute over in the case, and that a sale of the land now being foreclosed could be made and Mr. Richardson's rights not affected. Any dispute that may be found in the land lines can be settled as the property !o n nf wnvili nf fl lnntr Jaw suit. movod down and bought a place, known as the Exum place. I had moved back to Greenville, and in March, 190K, I think, a year and a half after I bouprht this Exum place, I sold Smiley and mother my interest in the home place; in other words, all the property that belonged to my father, exoept the mill risrht whick (Continued On Back Page.)