Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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, •-*V • • ' / /• • *• I'i.. :. ’ .V i- v r' •- THE BAKNWBLL PEOPLE-SBNTINEIh tAgNWKLL, SOUTH CAROLINA THURSDAY, BARNWELL ATTORNEY TO DEFEND YOUTH IN FLORIDA grrsBiHferr^ Jp-j? ■ ' * £:: ; HL r- fOONTINU ED "FROM PAGE ^NE ) ;-\~ criiainai, without the hearing and the comiderition iof teetinaonv by twelve of hi* bellow men— n.iely because, with the nooee of the lynchers dang ling before his face, he was scared into a plea* of guilty, and Florida was about to take that life without due process of law, which would have been a horrible mistake which it would never have been able to cor rect. Eevry man is entitled to a fair chance and a square deal. Governor Gary A Hardee issued a be defended by some of the most noted attorneys' in the South, and they, like all of the thousands of Nickets^fHends are senAng gratis and pay their own expenses. Covering the past four and half Years there have been thousands of letters, two thousands petitions, and columns of news print circulated and on November 9th, 1923 the board of (pardons in special session reviewed nearly„a thousand telegrams in be half of kicked a, and from one town alone was received 173 telegrams, another town sent 128, and the petit ions fbr commutation of sentence at that time were signed by some of the largest and most influential men in. warrant setting the date of execution. , . . ^ fbr June 21, 1922. Thi, W a, th ' s “"* * m T ti ' Cm ‘ n T bj gmntlng of . repriove after the ^ . M,d a reprieve board of pardons turned down a plea for oommultation of sentence^ The second death document was issued fixing the time for August twenty- second, 1922, but James H. Bunch, at torney for Nickels obtained a writ of error and carried the case to the supreme court’ which refused to in terfere with the judgment of the low er court both on thct petitions for a new trial and on the motion to re open the case. The case Was then canned before the state pardon board which again declined to commute the sentence and fctoe third death warrant was issued November 24th fixing date of exe cution for December 14, 1923. This case has been batted back and forth for nearly five, years, and on June 9 he will go to trial for the ten th time in a neutral county a t Sun- ford, Seminole County. Fla. He will talist; W. F. Stovall, publisher of Tamp a Tribune., D. B. McKay, pub lisher of Tampa Times, many bank- era. v ^ The petitions were sent by mail and every way available, to the ministers of the different cities of Florida, automobiles rolled all night and all day organizing mass meetings, petitions were upon the rostrum of many protraited revival meetings!, and the congregations signed the petit ions by the thousands. The Tampa newspaper man made thirty seven copies of the court tran script and sent twenty four to twenty four newspapers throughout the state and three to newspapt^s in other States, and a copy was sent to the governor of South Carolina in 1923, who asked the governor of Florida to give ronsideration to the petition for a special session of the pardon board which afterwards was set for November 9th, thus adding td JHfmaiyfa-tiL- NitTkaW. I ■ ,40 hi* voior _ were told by Sheriff Logan that he had received written instructions fnim ff^orgo PeCoTtecHlit Dt-Land, to allow nb one to -see friend*. -The court records of the “so-called" Nickels except his attorneys and his •trial of Nickels in Volusia County mother. The governor arranged mat- court on May 12th, 1922, showed that ters it is said, and an interview with the woman testified that Nickels, Nickels took place in the Polk Coun- Wednesday, “tied” her “with the? HOSE OF A j ty jail at ' Bantow on HOT WATER BOTTLE, yes sir; and December 12th, 1923. I whittled for my dog and called my Nickels was entirely calm and de- mother-in-law but > couldn^ make libeu*ate in his conversation and move' either hear.” \Nickels was not de- merits, talked freely without hesiita fended in court. When his attorneys tion. This >yaa the first press inter which were appointed by the court' were asked by the court “DO YOU, NOT WISH TO HAVE THE DE-j view since his arrest tw*o years pre- vious it. is said. Hia. quick and intelligent. He talkfid_iiL even tones, and his English wargood, giving the impression of bdlnff ri per son of at I^ast average intelligence rather than the moron which he had been pictured. Nickels’ language ’is always in a straightforward simple way, but he expresses himself clearly Anyone can readily see by talking wi,th him tjlat while he is careful with whom *he talk'*., yet when he does, you do ffot misunderstand hfs meaning The ease ha* aroused great inter- _— ^ <tnp t* the iect Hut-in it are ja-_™. Yolvgd elements whkh had not pre- Y viously entered Florida criminal - dourt annals. Nickels after several weeks taken to Jacksonville jail, and since been tried by jury and conv *B ed in DeLand, each (time Jamek wT Bunch has taken it back to the" su- Supr.ore CourL Vuted three i, to twice having affirmed the lower (CONTINUED ON PAGE SEVEN.) -i IT IS JUST GOOD Business Sense To protect your family with a Life Insurance Policy. I haVe plenty of facts and figures to prove this point and will be glad to go into this subject with you in de tail at your convenience. NORMAN B. GAMBLE Barnwell, S. C. Drive Down! Let us grease your car with our new t high power “Alemite Airline Lubrigun” We grease ALL the moving parts of your car except the steering wheel and, cushions. Tires Tubes Gas -:- Oils Barnwell Filling Station LLOYD PLEXICQ, Manager FEND ANT MAKE A STATEMENT TO THE COURT?” they replied: “No!” and the Court asked “NONE?” and htsr attorneys replkcF n No, .si■ , •!” While Nickels was confiend in jail in Jacksonville because of fear of violence from the mob who wanted to lynch him, he was repeatedly transferred from cell to cell in dif ferent sections of the jail, according to Nickels. Nickels being removed from the Jacksonville jail back to DeLand on Thanksgiving Day, 1923, he was placed in a cell to await the infliction of th? death penalty ami had a good view of the scaffold erected for his special benefit, but James H, Bunch stated that that scaffold would never get Aubrey Lee. Nickels—and it didn’t, nor will it ever—Florida has changed to the electric chair, but justire grinds slowly and .tnuth dan- not be downed. “A few days later,” Nickels’ state ment says, “the husband of the woman who arcused me was admitted to the jail and came Jto my cell. He was accompanied by a crowd of men, ?. don’t know how many. “When he came to my cell he spoke to me, sayng: ‘You seem to be taking life easy, ‘Nickels.’ I didn’t know how to reply to him. I was afraid. I told him that I din’t see how that concerned him. “He then said, ‘Well, something L going to happen on the 14th and you’ll probably be surprised.’ “Deputy Stone was with this man and the party that hed bec.n adnrtt .l to look at th* iris. ners. “This man came back to the jail several times, and I was afraid for my life. “Later, a gentleman who I think, lives at Daytona Beach, whose face I know but whose name is mog. familar to me came to see me. He told nic tbat the woman’s husband Was going to kill me, and he gave me a pistol, teJIing me tb defend myself. I ac cepted the pistol and was very grate ful to receive it. I felt that I could at least defend myself from violence. “I was not s-o much afraid of mob violence aa of death at the hands of the woman’s husband. I had heard frequently that there was talk of lynching me, but 1 believed the offi cers would be able to protect me from a mob. “My only idea jn keeping the gun was to protect myself. I had no thought* of trying to use it to effect To save life and limb T he peril of the road crossing has become a national 1 Grad* eroti*? atridttU* MM b* pr*v*nt*d if yott wiii approach th* tom* •f damfir d*U»rmi**d to *x*reue caution For Your Ovfn Protection. problem with the multiplication of automobiles. The Southern Railway System has eliminated 800 grade crossings, and is eliminating more every year, but over 6,000 remain to be separated on this system alone. The total cost to complete the work is a stupendous sum— probably half as much as the cost to build the railroads. Even if the money were available, and the public willing to pay the increased freight and passenger rates neces sary to provide affair return on it, many years would be required to do the work. Protection from the peril for the present generation at least must be found in some other way. Trains cannot stop at every crossing if they are to be run at the sus tained speed expected by the public and required to carry the commerce of the country. The train crosses a high way about every mile. The motorist encounters a rail- road only occa r li .in i y. So It is necessary, therefore, for the automobile driver to stop in order to avoid risk. No one who did this was ever killed. Jt is better to save a life than to save a minute. an <wape. I had « thousand chances SAY “BAYER ASPIRIN” and INSIST! Unless you see the “Bayer Cross” on tablets you are not getting the genuine Bayer Aspirin proved safe ty millions and prescribed by physicians 24 yean for Colds- •' Headache Pam Toothache Neuralgia Lumbago * Neuritis Rheumatism ••W a a» Accejjt onljr “Bayer” package which contains proven directions. naadr -Bayw* box* of 12 tabkta Al»o Uttlc* of 24 and 100—Druawiata. 100—Droggiata. •t >hmanra>tl««ua of SaJHcrlkaeM to shoot my way out if I wanted to take that kind of a chance. Why, when they were bringing me to Bar tow, we stopped at a littje town to have breakfast, and the handcuffs were removed fivm my wrists. I had tlil gun o!T rhy" person and could* have gotten to it without trouble. I could have used it then if I had wanted to but. that was not my idea. I had nothing against these officers; they hat! treated me right. “When we got to Bartow jail, I thought they would search me and I handed them the gun. They seemed RAJLWA %e Southern RN SYSTEM South surprised to get it I guess' they .Mi' *s—: ADVERTISE IN THE PEOPLE-SENTINEL. took it back to DeLand with them. The gun was given me while I was in the DeLand jail, and not in the Jacksonville jail, as I understand has been reported.” On Saturday, December 8th, 1923, Nickels was placed in the Polk County jail secretly, but there was a high powered roadster driven by a lone woman on the job and upon satisfying herself that Nickels was safe in the Bartow jail, this utt- known woman called a newspaper man in Tampa on long distance—the voice said “Bartow—get the Doc?” and the newspaper man said— “thanks!”- . Later an unknown woman driving bark and forth past the jail finally saw a hand aippear and then an arm from between the cell window bars waving a letter, and an unknown woman went up dose, and the letter was thrown from the window over the wall and the unknown woman mailed k to a newspaper man in Tampa. Thia letter disclosed the whereabouts of Nickels, and detailed the trip, thus on Monday it became known that Nickel* had been secretly spirited to Bartow for safe keeping. On Tuesday, December 11, 1928, a representative of the preca called to interview the youthful prisoner. They wer <3 Power for Home and Store, Farm, Factory and Public Buildings D> of A long stride toward progress has been made by a combinatton of producers for the distribution electric energy. The joining of resources and facilities of the Edisto Public Service Company, (Denmark, rf. C ) the Carolina Light and Power Company, (A:ken, S. C.) and the Augusta-Aiken Railway >nd Elec tric Corporation of Augusta, bring a guarantee to the residents of thia community that unlimited power, at very favorable rates, will be available to do al! sorts of useful work for the fanner, the housewife the storekeeper and the manufacturer. , . J' “ The output of these three corporations is. drawn from the streams of our own neighbohood Augusta alone producing 24,000 horsepower from the Savannah River. Added to this great volume are ail J,he steam plants that the central towns, which m the past, have been the sole source of electric supply. By this modem arrangement, these steam equipments will be held in reserve, to be used as auxiliaries, to be operated only at very infrequent intervals, when repairs may be needed ‘to the water wheels, or other branches of the servjce. To anticipate future needs, and provide for the boundless conttnerckl and agricultural activi ty already awakened in this section, the Augusta-Aiken Railway jfid Electric Corporation has re cently completed a physical connection at Toccoa, Georgia, with jffe limitless supply of hydro power generated in the five States of Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, North and South Carolina,' and distri buted through the switch boards it. ike Georgia Railway and Power Company at Atlanta. - These are the visible—the tangible evidence of the supreme faith shown by the managements of these corporations in the business possibilities of the district in which they have spent, and are spending, hundreds of thousands of dollars to provide the most important agent—the most needed essential, for the development and prosperity of a favorable section, that needs but the work and faith of its citizens to achieve th? very limits of industrial success, commercial supremacy and cultivated heme life. <i) ration . •-«