The Horry herald. (Conway, S.C.) 1886-1923, February 15, 1923, Image 8
?
CONWAY STORY
BACK IN 1864
(Continued From Page One.)
allowed to start his trip back.
He had lived in this section, which
is now Horry County, and had a wife
and children left back at home to get
along as best they could without his
efforts while the war wag fought out
to a finish. His heart was gladdened
as he tramped along the rough paths
coming back to see them after an
absence of perhaps several years. On
thf* wav h? h<?ai'H from An no
quaintance saw him and told him
that his wife and children were starving;
that they had nothing to eat And
owing to sickness were unable to work
for it even if employment had been
obtainable.
Dennis had no money and but little
resources of any kind. His only hope
to help his family was to take what
he could and carrv .toythem. He began
t<* fc)ok along *the way for supplies
of some kind*hat he might requisition
and add to the burden under
which he would have to trudge the
rest of the way.
He passed the home of Ex-SherifT
Graham, some miles above town,
where the Prices now live, and in the
fame old mansion which was erected
there by the sheriff. Across the road
from the house, with not a soul in
sieht or seeing, was a carf. and on it
rested a b.ag of grits which had been
made at the water mill that day. It
had been left in the cart until some
member of the family would take it
in to make food for the folks the coming
week.
Dennis Todd helped himself to as
much as he could carry of Sheriff
Graham's grinding, and with this on
his back he was making his.way on
toward his home.
He did not get away but was caught
" 1 1 1 - - i ^ ? ? U i n
witn tne sioifn prupeny in mo pwosession.
A 1110b gathered from the
surrounding* country and this swelled
in numbers as he was brought to the
county seat. According to story,
as it is told now. the mob did not act
a? mobs have often done in punishing
the wrongdoes?they did not handle
him forthwith but undertook to organize
the party as a citizen's court.
The mob, however, acted as judge
jurv, prosecuting attorney, witnesses
and executioners. They held Todd before
them and witnesses were brought
forward to tell that he had been seen
when he took the grinding and tried
to slip away down the crooked road
with it; that he was followed and the
stolen property taken back to the
sheriff's home.
What could the poor man do except
to stand up in the face of all this and
5v?v he had heard his familv was
starving and that he had taken the
property so that he could take them
something to eat?
After this he was found guilty b\
the holding up of hands and his sen
terce wac determined in the same
wpv. Milder punishments were mentioned.
such as being whipped at the
post, but nothing would satisfy the
mob except the death of Todd. The
majority decided that the man shoule
be shot to death.
Dressed in scanty clothing, his feel
covered with sores and ble^din^. weal
from his loner tramp with but little t<
eat, and almost no sleep, he was hard
ly able to wa'k to the place of exe
ci'tionr With tears streaming dowi
his furrowed face he begged an<
p^aded with them to spare him fo
the sake of his wife and children; In
would fain pay for the thing he tool
many times over if given his life an<
tho time fo work. There was. no ap
peal that he could make strong enougl
to turn the hearts of stone.
They did not kill him in the stroel
but decided to tako him outside. TT
was taken across the Kingston Lak
to n point near what is known as th
ship yard. There he wps pi need i
front of a row of men with shot gun
and at a word from the leader th
poor, we.ak bodv of Dennis Todd fe!
in a heap, riddled by many gunsho
wounds.
Among the men who acted as th
slayers of Todd were many whos
descendants are now numbered amon
the best citizens of the county. Th
names of most of them could be prinl
ed here, but it would answer no goo
purpose.
Here is a lesson to be learner
ThprA is nn in th*? mob. Dui
jng that same year and the year be
fore, pushed by the stern necessity o
preserving- life, raids had been mad
jn many sections upon the barns an
stores of citizens. Raids were mad
in view of the few officers of the la^
and not a hand was turned to enforc
the law. In the case of Dennis Tod(
a man had taken a few quarts of me?
from a rich m??n who had lived we
off the labor of slaves, and the spiri
of the mob said to take his life, an
it was accordingly done.
The enforcement of law and orde
by due processes of the law may hav
its drawbacks. There may be delay:
There is nothing in life here that i
perfect for it is not according to m
ture to be perfect. At the same tim
we can see the great difference in tli
two ways of enforcing demands. Th
one is safe and gives time for reaso
to act, while the other is the resu
of ignorance and passions turnc
loose to work their ways without an
reason.
(THE END)
. ? o
It would appear that the schoi
' houses in some sections of the count
are yet too close together to be ab
to conduct schools with the requisil
number of teachers to make the co
as low as it should be and enable tl
giving of additional advantages. 1
many places schools have been con
bined although it caused some of tl
pupils to have to walk further to g<
to it, and there is an improved educ;
tional Advantage in aft such places i
the ODinion of educators who hai
looked over the situation/
?
#
KU KLUX FAIL
I FOR OIL TOWN
Klan Chiefs Held Responsible
by Citizens of
Wilson
; LETTERS ABRUPTLY END
How Matters Were Operated
in Boom Town of
ine west
Ardmore, Okla.?Eighteen miles
from here, over a reddish-yellow dirt
road which goes up and down like a
scenic railway through a barren country
relieved only by the latticed
snouts of oil derricks, lies the town of
Wilson, Okla.
Wilson has another distinction besides
that of being: the center of the
oil fields of Carter county. It is the
point where the Invisible Empire of
the Ku Klux Klan, gathering momentum
as it whirled triumphantly
through the South, leaving behind it
a long stained trail of violence, ran
head on into something it could not
overcome?public opinion.
Threatenin * Letters Received.
Threatening letters written on official
Klan stationery, warning men
to leave town, to give up their official
positions or ordering public officials
to favor Klansmen were received
by men living in Wilson, last fall.
They came nine months after Joe Carroll
was shot and killed in front of
his one-story shack in Wilson b'y a
band of masked men who had come
to punish him for bootlegging.
The citizens of Wilson saw trouble
ahead. One by one, they went to four
men known to be the leaders of the
Klan in Wilson. Each of these four
?one an undertaker, one a lawyer,
one a Ford salesman and one an automobile
supply man?was told that
if any resident of Wilson should be
mistreated, he, as a Klansman, would
. be held personally responsible.
, "Personally responsible" means
. something serious in the oil fields;
usually it means gun play. The flow
of warning letters ceased abruptly.
[ Since that time there has been no
. ?ign of the hooded figure of the Klan
; in Wilson or any of the other oil
'towns in this region, with the exception
of a pathetic parade of twen^
? * ? lnnf
ly-nvc men in uuauii iaot v/nu^wmue.
i Rapid Rise, Quick Fall,
i The Klan in this part of Oklahoma
had a rapid rise and a quick fall.
; Its first appearance in its familiar
[ guise of a law unto itself came on the
niqrht of Dec. 19, 1021. when Joe Car,
roll was shot and killed. It did not
i wait to make a parting bow when the
citizens of Wilson decided they knew
r how to handle the problem. The
. remnants of the organization which
> have survived the popular disapprov.
al following' the Carroll shooting and
? the bloodless defeat at Wilson exists
? only for politics, and in that field
? they are dwindling at a fast pace in
1 numbers and influence. Oklahoma is
convalescing.
I Oil came to Oklahoma ten years
c ago. And Ruck Garrett came to Ardj
more before the oil. Tall, muscular,
. blue-eyed and soft-spoken, he became
. czar of Carter county. People learned
^ that his peaceful, if picturesque, apI
pearance hid a ruthless, commandr
inir character. With Ruck, or shortly
e flfter. came Rud Bellew. Rud became
< Buck's pal, but, more important, his
\ straight-shooting lieutenant. For fif.
teen years Ruck reigned as sheriff of
h Carter county, and Rud kept the
throne chair with a gun at a flash
from the hip, and spoke many times
e of the authority of Ruck and Rud in
e Carter county.
e Rud is dead now. He was shot a
n little over a year ago when he wans
dered too far from Carter county.
o He was shot by a member of the RraII
zil family?the lives of two members
t of which were represented by knots
in the leather thongs that hung to
e Rud's gun. Rut the memory of Rud
e still lives. He is recalled as a mounp
tain of a man with light wavey hair,
e gay blue eyes and a laugh that could
_ be Wiard half a mile. To his friends
d there was none in this world so loyal
as Bud. To his enemies he was one
I who would carry a grudge so long
and pay it off so effectively with gun
~ play. He made an able deputy to
^ Sheriff Buck.
' Under Buck and Bud Carter county
^ was known as a tough place. The
gambling halls of Healdton and the
other oil town, with their accessories
e of liquor and women, are stUl fresh
j memories here. Before discovery of
l| oil things were not so bad, but when
I] the entire State of Oklahoma became
^ a boom state, with towns made up of
^ tents and shacks that sprung up about
a hole in the ground overnight, it
' - ' 1- i- u
,j. oecame touj^n?very iuukii.
e Nobody Was Interested.
B It was about two years ago, with
|g Buck still reigning supreme, that the
t_ Ku Klux Klan was first mentioned
ie here. It was mentioned and that wa?
ie all. Nobody was interested?Bucl
ie Garrett least of all. For the restlessn
ness among the citizens, which Bucl
had begun to notice, had nothing t<
{(j do with the Klan. The truth is Ard'y
more and the other towns in the oi
country had been bitten by civiliza
tion. Ardmore was even beginning' t(
look like it. It had ,a hotel, a% bif
court house and a population of 15,
ol 000.
-y In November, 1921, a mass meeting
Ie was called of the citizens of the town
te Something had to be done. It wai
st decided to stop the open selling o
ie liquor, the gambling and the influenc<
tn of immoral women. Buck had neve:
n- stopped it. It did not look as if h<
ie ever would.
et There were a number of mass meet
a- ings. It began to be noticed that th<
In Ku Klux Klan was mentioned bj
re sneakers as an organization tha
J could bring salvation to Carter coun
THE HORRY HERALD, 00
i
ty. Observant citizens found that the
speakers who mentioned the Klan
were enthusiastically 'applauded usually
by one part of the house where
the clapping1 was loud and long.
Committee is Selected
Finally a committee wa#> selected to
go to the governor of the State and
ask investigation of the manner in
which the affairs of Carter county
were being administered.. An assistant
attorney general w,as sent down
to find out the truth of the charges.
It was while this investigation was
going: on that a band of 200 men in
automobiles gathered in an old cattle
pasture near Wilson, late in the night
of Dec. 15, 1921. TTiey were apparently
led by C. G. Sims, a member of
the police force of Ardmore. Their
purpose was to bring Joseph Carroll,
an oil worker living with his wife
in a shack in Wilson before them
and force him to divulge the name
of automobile thieves and to punish
him for bootlegging.
Eight of the 200 men \v?ie dispatched
in an automobile to fetch
Carroll. When the two cars, under
direction of Sims reached Wilson they
stopped to get John Smith, a,resident
of the oil town, to force him to go to
Carroll's house and bring him out.
Jeff Smith, brother of John, who says
that he, too, was forced to go, when
he was picked up earlier in the evening,
was seated in one of two cars.
One Thing Forgotten.
But in all the preparation for the
punishment of Joe Carroll, the raiders
forgot one thing. In the story of the
Carroll family for half a century
every male has died a violent death,
and in dying has taken his man along
with him.
The cars swept into the deserted
streets of the oil town?a town that
is a replica of the old West, with its
one-story stores and houses, its rutted,
dirt streets; its crude signs and
flat, ugly appearance. John Smith
went to the door of the Carroll shack
and called Joe out. Joe shuffled to
the door. His hand was in his trousers
belt, where he carried his gun.
Somebody seized him as he stood outlined
against the smoky kerosene
light; he struggled. His gun barked,
from the shadow a rain of bullets
crashed behind him and into his body.
But his gun kept on speaking. Walter
Carroll, his brother, living next door,
leaped out, firing his Winchester into
the crowd. William Hensley, a friend
visiting Joe, joined in the fight. The
two cars speeded off. Joe Carroll was
picked up dead on his doorstep, by his
wife.
Others Found Dead.
John Smith, wounded, staggered up
the street. He was taken to a hospital
and there died. Buck Garrett
land Assistant County Attorney John
'Li. Hodge, investigating the shooting
the next day, found Jeff Smith at his
home in Healdton, wounded in the leg.
By his story they found the body of
. C. G. Sims, dead, with a handkerchief
about his throat, probably used as a
luask, and the tracks of many automobiles,
as well as a number of torn
/nasks made of black gauze.
Sixteen men were arrested. Later
a number were let go. But on the
strength of a statement sworn to by
J. A. Gillam, of Ardmore, murder
charges were brought against eleven
men, including some of the most
prominent men in Ardmore. Gillam
identified them :is having been at the
pasture, but said he did lot know wlo
went to the C'.uvoil home. JeT Smith
?aid he did not recognise any cf the
band with whom he worked. But the
names of many of thoss in the group
changed with the murder were known
as Klansmen. The community felt
satisfied the Klan was responsible.
The Klan, which had been making
? * i il. . 1
great gains oy .appealing 10 tne multitude
of political enemies of Buck
Garrett, lost its hold. Although none
Boils
Quit Quick!
S.S. S. Will Prort to Y<m Iik Yotif
Own Cim the "How" and "Why"
e# its Remarkable BI*ed-C1??aMi|
Power!
There !s * rceiion for ererrthtn* that
happens. Common-ReuM kills miser/.
Common-sense also stops bolls! 8. 8. 9.
Is the com mo a-sense remed / for boils, be
: fbnplN May b? Small Boibl
. cause It Is batlt on reason. Scientific av
thorities admit ita power 1 8. S. 8. bulldi
> blood-power, It builds red-blood-cells
. That la what makes fighting-blood. Fight
i lng-blood destroys Impurities. It flghti
boils. It always wins! It fights plm
" pies! It fights skin eruptions! It bu'ldi
) nerve-power, thinking power, tho tight
r fisted power that whirls a man up int<
" success. It gives women the health, th<
angelic complexion and the charm tha
moves the world! These are tho reason)
y that have made 8. 8. 8. today the greui
blood-cleanser, body-builder, success build
' er, and it's why results have made teari
* of Joy flow from the souls of thounands
f Mr. V. D. Schuff, 557 15th St., Washing
q ton, D. C., writes:
r I tried for year* to get relief from a ba<
case of boils. Everything failed until 1 tooJ
e 8. 8. S. I am now absolutely cured, and i
tool S. 8. 8. that did it."
Try It yourself. S. 8. 8. Is sold at al
? drug stores in two sizes. Tho larger sis
bottle Is the more economical,
! S.S.S. Ef&SftfeJ
NWAY, ? O., FEB. '11 Qv 1923
of the cases had come to trial, the
Ku Klux Klan was convicted of the
murder of Carroll?by public opinion;.
Klan Loses Caste.
Many people who did. nafc. approve;
of Buck Garrett, liked his methods
better than those of the? Klan.. The
Klan lost caste and was heard of less
and less.< In the meantime the State
authorities haying: tried Buck Garrett
on five charges, found', hiin guilty
of one?that of knowingly permitting
prisoners to absent themselves from
1.1 t... r_ rr rr. -'u - J - *
tne cvmuty j<in? ne was auquilieu oi
the charge of permitting gambling,
disorderly houses and' the* selling of
liquor and receiving money for the:
same, but was ousted.. It is safe* to
say that if it had required a vote,
Carter county would have indorsed
him overwhelmingly.
So Buck, with his pal Bud gone, the
loser in a gun fight, stepped out of
power?that is, ostensibly, so. And
whiskey which was sold by the privileged
few without competition under
Buck Garrett at $40 a case dropped to
$6 a gallon. Whiskey, gambling and
bad women stepped indoors and herd
forth to a greater extent in secret
than they had in the open under
Buck's* regime, and Healdton, the picturesque
frontier town has become
just another dirty, unattractive oil
town.
Meantime the Klan made one more
attempt at its Divine right to rule.
The warning letters were sent to
residents of Wilson. Donations were
given to preachers who indorsed the
Klan. Two meg re parades we re held.
An anti-Klan organization, officially
chartered under the State laws, failed
to prosper for lack of proper 1/adership.
So the citizens of Wilson
stepped in.
Personal Responsibility.
"We'll hold you personally responsible/'
they told the Klan leaders. And
i those words closed the chapter of the
Klan's activities here. Beaten in jthe
elections, overawed by an aroused
citizenry, their strength has dwindled
so that when the re-trial of Jeff Smith
whose first trial ended yesterday in a
locked jury, and the trials of the other
ten defendants are called in the fall
th^ State will have no Klan sentiment
"Go aheai
Plant you
AN
Leave tin
Boll we?
To
You can raise cotton as
were no boll-weevil, and k
insect from getting one
cotton, if you'll just folio
I'm speaking from e:
theory, as I raised 604 bal
812 acres of land in I
Georgia in 1922, by protec
with my own boll-weevil
Mixture. I spent thouss
and years of hard labor in
poison, but have made it 1
creased cotton production
years.
No Machinery?
-No Nighi
Not only is my poison tl
you can buy, costing half
dusting method, but it i
chinery for its applicatior
v on any hour tot the day!
H 11 I
?
Protect Y<
The Price of Hill's Mi
gallon. Compare this v
method, which is mucl
more trouble, and more
Hill's Mixture is comp<
ments; calcium arsenate
losses as a binder, and
element which ATTRAC
VTL, and makes him eat
i x to any part of the cottoi
t the onlv noison that tf
i The molasses arts as ?
! R. P,
i Agent
I
! HIL
???
%
v
to face. Only a jury of citizens of
tike United States.
?o
COTTAGE PRAYER MEETINGS
HELD BY 2nd BAPTIST CHURCH
A series of cottage prayer meetings
are being held under the direction
of the Second Baptist church,
iConway, S. C. First service was
held with Jim Smith, near the Conway
Lumber Company plant Sunday night,
and was conducted by Rob Lee and
others. Th* meeting was well attended
and much good done.
j| Monday night?At the home of j. C.
|, Bennett in the same section of the
tu W II.
r Tuesday night?At the J. F. Connor
jhome in North Conway.
; Wednesday night? with Ed G. Nor,*nan
in the High Point section of the
Shoe Repaii
Health, Eco
and Comfoi
If you are:lboking for a qi
see me for si
I use the best materials a
man
Bring or send thei
PRICI
*???Men?s
Half sole sewed $1.15 to $1.25
Nailed $1.00
Goodyear and Neolin rubber
soles $1.25
M. B. KU
13 Main Strget. Opposite
an
d and
r cotton
he cheapest that mop out of a
or less than the along the ro*
requires ho ma- plant one tiir
i, and can be put experienced I
Simply make a acres a day.
Q pf (mm VVkJI
our Cotton at Mir
xture is 72c per washed awaj
nth the dusting
i less effective. Place your
expensive. or}ce
)sed of three ele- ^ , ?
i as a base, mo- *>
a third (secret) and Sou
5TS THE WEE- the bbl. Sr
it in preference charge to o
i plant! This is We will refi
le weevil seeks! you when th
t binder, and k turned in goc
> BLACKWELL, Marion, S
for Marion and Immediate Territory ai
Entire County of Horry, S. C.
I/S MIXTURE CORPORA
UOUSTA, GEORGIA.
1 ?=g? I
town.
Thursday night?At the Episcopal
church on> Main street, Gbnway..
Friday night?At Jim Smith's
home. '
Saturday night?At the? Episcopal
church by Rev. J. H. Causey.
Sunday eleven o'clock by* Rev. J.
H. Causey.
Sunday school ,at 2:80 P.' M.
Sunday -night?At E. G.' Norman's i
residence; conducted by Rfev. Ji H.
Causey..
The public is cordially invited t?>
attend these services.
lo
Streets in Conway got exceedingly
bad during the recent rains. The
best road or street cannot stand up
under frequent rains and constant
traffic.
ring Insures
nomy
i:
\
:
lality fob and! good' aeiroice
ioc; impairing.
ind guarantee good work- i
ship. 1
m by Parcel Post.
3- LIST
Ladies'
Sewed sole 90c-$l. Fancy work
iNanea <oc
Baby half sole 50c ? |
Rubber Heels 50t ;
LCHYCKE I
Town Hall Conway, S. C.
^ SkU liM illi iRiUii%
vHHV aJT/ vBil II
, stick and a raff, and walk
t, touching the bud of each
le, an you pass by. An in>oy
or girl pan cover 5 to 6
dhubc
limutn Cost
r by only the heaviest rains.
order for Hill's Mixture at
y agent for your territory
OTinAflM KuIaw toe AA
M|rrv>Mu "Viwn , pnvc fOU.VU
bl., freight prepaid in Georth
Carolina, plus $3.00 for
nail freight .
ther states. ( /? ?.
und this to )
e bbl. is re
xl condition, r
c
nd the
lTION