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/ THE WEEKLY NEWS REVIEW Former Officer I in 1921. "iflie commission''was |6 for Now Sues K.K.K. Atlanta, Ga.—Suit for $3,259 for sums alleged to be due him for com missions and expenses incured as a kleagle of the Ku Klux Klan, was filed in the city court of Atlanta Thursday by G. L. Williams, 16 Mari etta street. W. J. Simmons, imperial wizard;, E. Y. Clark, imperial klea gle, and Mrs. Mary Elizabeth Tyler, formerly associated with the propa ganda department of the klan, were named the defendants. Among the items named in the suit is one for $535 alleged to be due h.m for commissions earned for se- each nenf member, it, \e clamied. Other ifetemh include advances to other officUrtfr- of the klan, find rent of several halls in Seattle, Wash. The suit was filed by the firm ol' Underwood & Pomeroy and Attorney W. Percy Coles. 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FINKLESTEIN \ THE JEWELER AFFIDAVIT AND STATEMENT FROM BIGHAM ATTORNEY Florence, S. C., June 19, 1922. Editor, Weekly News rJ view, Florence, S. C. In the last issue fo your paper you published a letter, signed “Citizen,” in which the writer undertook to set forth some of the reasons why he thought Edmund D. Bigham ought to have a new trial. I have heard that persons in this community attribute that letter to me. Of course, YOU know that I nei ther wrote tne ea:a communication, aor was I even aware that it was to be published. I was out of town Tuesday, Wed aesday^nd Thursday morning, — and plats.” That deponent then said to said Bigham: “Why don’t you cut up the plantation and sell off some of it,” whereupon said Bigham spoke on “ place, they have of having had to pay Cleveland’s bone and that the place was all “tangled ^ was _ up,” and he was in doubt as to whe thcr he would ever be able to get it straightened out, and spoke of Mr. Arrowsmith having something to do with the matter; he then went on to tell about various troubles that he had, and showed by his general con versation and appearance that he was greatly depressed and worried over his affairs. , Deponent further swears that he icBua? »iiu », »ud makes this affidavit freely, and vol- Mv^tke eommuni^tion. for the’first untfifily—with the full realization •,ime, that evening. * . Of course, I am gratified that some for him, and that it is done solely person saw fit to set forth some of .he evidence that is favorable to the defendant, and I want to thank you leienuam, aim t wam. lvj muim - . • . . , lot as attorney for E. D. Bigham, but to have been written and left by said is a citizen of this community and itate for your disposition to do the fair thing by this man, in publishing he said letter. It is the first occa sion that his side of the case has been presented in the press with any degree of fairness. Siuce the hearing on the 9th in stant, there has come to me certain Additional information bearing on the Authenticity of the statement that Jmiley Bigham is alleged to have written, and I would appreciate it /ery much indeed if you would pub lish this affidavit, together with the itptement in question. It will be recalled that at the hear- ng, the defense undertook to estab lish the genuiness of the paper in question by six disinterested expert witnesses, in addition to the Clerk of Court of Florence county. The question now arises: with Ibis additional evidence, as set out in t he affidavit of Mr. Langston, can there be any doubt that Smiley Big ham wrote and signed the statement in question? / If he did do this, then, certainly, no reasonable person will still con tend that Edmund Bigham is guilty, A. L. KING. Smiley Bigham, for the first time, in a copy of the Columbia Record, of June 9th, 1922, after the hearing held on the motion for new trial was argued in Florence, that he immed iately, thereafter, undertook to con vey the infomation set out in this af fidavit to A. L. King, attorney for E. D. Bigham, but that said A. L. King having been engaged in the court all day, was greatly fatigued and request ed deponent to see him at some later date, which was done. (Signed) JOHN H. LANGSTON. And Probated. “Taste the Difference” We haven’t any cheap groceries to * offer. We tiandle only the very best % and for quality are known. HUBBARDS Mother and Margie had the tWo iigned deeds that bad disappeared, in their possession. Causing trouble seems to be their pleasure. They took the money that the P. O. Department has me charged wthi and were the cause of Cleveland running off. And I had to pay the bond. For years I have had to leave home and pay board to make my ^calculations and platts. They poisoned father and tried to poison Leatha’s child. After the death when I found them with the deeds I decided to kill the last one of them and leave no one to tell the tale. I am writing this to explain why I did this act. You will never see me again alive. L. S. BIGHAM. STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA, County of Florence. Personally appeared before me John H. Langston, who, being duly sworn, says, That he was born in Florence County and State aforesaid, in the year 1885; that he has lived in said County during his entire life time, except one year, spent in the State of Florida, and four years and i’our months in the U. S. Army—about of which period was that it will probably make enemies and entirely from a sense of duty. Deponent further swears that he read the statement, which is alleged 3IGHAM DECLARES HE IS INNOCENT i From Columbia State, of June 20) Edmund D.» Bigham, under death sentence for the murder of his broth er L. Smiley Bigham, said he would like to see a representative of The '’tate and whenBie reporter called to see him at the death house, Bigham said he wanted to make a ‘plea’ to the people of Florence county and of the entire state to do wh#t they can, to tell the truth and not let an innocent man suffer death for something he .didn’t do.” Bigham told the reporter that he or band music, the experiment of the engineers promises to revolutionize the coal industry. First, they have cut out watered stock and over-capi talization, organizing a company whose sole purpose is efficient pro duction, and not financial exploita tion of its coal resources In the sec- laid down the doctrine that the miners ought to share in the prosperity of the indus try. Then they have employed the most competent mining engineers ob tainable and have given them a free hand in the technical development of their properties. Frankly, they are going to organize their own co-opera tive coal yards, cut out middlemen’s profits, and sell their own coal to themselves at cost.” 1 Modern machinery, including pow erful electrical locomotives, is called for. It is estimated that the mines will have a capacity exceeding 6,000 tons a day; ■ £94k. & ■ STAG PAINT “OLD ENOUGH TO BE RELIABLE** Will stand for years, you don’t have to repaint so often. As for color card. Summer is best time to paint. McCown Hardware Company x ' “Guaranteed by McCown.” asked for the interview because this was his only way to put his case be fore the people. As he went over the story of the killing of his brother, his mother, his sister and his sister’s two'adopted children the condemned man broke down, crying bitterly and protesting his innocence. “They ac cuse me fo murdering my dear moth er, who brought me into this world,” he said in a broken voice, “when she died in my arms with me doing all I could for her.” He declared that his mother’s last words were: “Smiley did it.” The condemned man looked through the prison bars in the death house and again broke into tears. “If my conviction stands,” he said, “I will shed innocent blood for a crime that l did' not commit.” Bigham accused his brother of the horrible crime, de claring Smiley was-insane. “I regret to say that about my brother, but he was accustomed to have spells of temporary insanity,” Bighaln de clared. Bigham appeared to be breaking in spirit and whenever he mentioned his mother he would cry and was un able to proceed with his story. His plea to the people of Florence county and of the state w^s made in an earnest tone. “I want the truth to __ known. If the people who know will tell the truth about the insanity the public, but I ask the law abiding people to express themselves and do so at once if they would assist me by seeing that I have justice. I hope! they will do what they can before! it is too late. “No one knows how it feels to be accused of anything falsely as I was '—taking of the life of my dear moth er, .my brother and my sister,” he said. “My mother died in my arms with me doing all I could for her. The last words she said to me were that ‘Smiley did it.’” Bigham showed the reporter a copy of a letter signed “Citizen,” which was printed in the Florence Weekly News Review, arid also a handwritten statement which, he said, was the one he wanted to make at the time of his resentencing. “Citizen" asks a num ber of questions about the case, in cluding ones regarding alleged dis crepancies between testimony at the inquest and the trial, and about Smiley’s alleged insanity. twenty months — . “over-seas”—as a member of Battery be F. 43rd Art.; which said Battery par- W1 . ^ . . . ticipated in the Argonne* Muse, Saint of Smiley, who had always been af- Mihiel and Toul offensives, and that flicted with spells, I will be exoner- he was honoably discharged from the ated. I am where I can not speak to said Army, at the end of the World War. That he, thereupon, came back to said Florence County and was a candidate for the office of Shejiff in 1920—running next to Sheriff Burch; thqt he expacts to be a candidate for the office of Sheriff two years hence; that he makes this latter statement for the reason that, as the sentiment against Edmund D. Bigham is so strong in said Florence county, policy would dictate thav he have no con nection with said case, but that he cannot keep silent when he believes that what he knows, if said, might save a man x^hom he now believes to be innocent, but has heretofore, in common with most of the people of Florence' County, believed to be guilty from being put to death by the State. That he has repeatedly expressed to opinion that he believed said Ed mund D. Bigham was guilty of the crime of which he was accused, but that such belief was the result of what he heard others say as to the facts of the said case; that he had continued in such belief until he read in one of the newspapers a copy of the statement alleged to have been written and left by Smiley Bigham— especially the words set out in said statement as follows, to wit: “Caus ing trouble seems to be their pleas ure. For years I have had to leave home and pay board to make my cal culations and plats.” That upon reading the said words, it recalled to his mind the fact that these were practically the same words that said Smiley Bigham had used in a conversation that he, deponent, had with said Bigham, a few weeks before Edmund D. Bigham came back to Florence County to live. That the said conversation arose out of the fact that said Smiley Bigham was a frequent visitor to the office of L. McD. Hicks, in the City of Florence, S. C. (who is an architect); that the said Smiley Bigham made his visits to said office so frequent and asked so many favors of said Hicks that he, Hicks, suggested to deponent—who was employed by said Hicks, to find some way to get rid of said Bigham. That upon the occasion in question the said Bigham called at the said office for the purpose of getting de ponenet to make some blue-prints for him, and while so engaged, deponent entered into convesation with said Bigham, as follows, to wit: Depon ent said to Bigham: “Why don’t you get a glass and make your blue-prints at home and not have to come so far to get them made,” and said Smiley Bigham replied: “Mother and sister seem to take pleasure in making trou ble for me, for years I have been forced to board away from home to be in peace to make my calculations R. R. Engineers Engage in Mining The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers has ‘tackled the coal prob lem,” according to a statement by Al-| bert F. Coyle, editor of the brother-, hood’s official organ. “The locomo tive engineers are making a $2,000,- 1)00 investment in West Virginia and Kentucky coal mines,” said Mr. Coyle,; “which means not only a fail deal for fi the miners but better and cheaper coal for the consuming public. “The leading officers of the bro therhood have obtained control of more than 6,000 acres of the best coal land in the United States, situated on Coal River in Boone County, W. Va., and in Floyd County, the heart of the Big Sandy coal district near Pre«ton- burg, Ky. “The Coal River Collieries, as the new company is called, is owned by hundreds of locomotive engineers throughout the country, who have subscribed in small amounts to the capital stock of $2,000,000. “The engineei’s are not only going into the business of mining coal; they are also planning the establishment of retail yards to sell their coal at reasonable prices to railwaymen and other workers in the large cities. Locomotive engineers and their friends have already organized these auxiliary coal yards in Ohio and Michigan, and have placed contracts with their coal companies for delivery direct fom the mine pits to the con sumers. “Without much blare or trumpets' * RISTE’S ETSE’M Trade Mark Kills Flies and Mosquitoes, Mites on Fowls, and All Insects, When Sprayed Where They Can Breathe It. s Remember These Most Important Facts: IT CAN BE RUBBED ON THE SKIN. DOES NOT STAIN LINEN. ♦ HAS A PLEASANT ODOR- AND THE PRICE IS NOT PROHIBITIVE. J For Sale By All Druggists % Perry Sign Works Over Ivey-Self Co. * North Dargan and • Front Streets Florence, S. C. . * V Signs of All Discriptions COMMERCIAL ADVERTISING A SPECIALTY Join Perry’s Show Card Club and Keep Your Windows Beautifully Decorated Monthly. See ✓ Perry For Particulars. The County Roads Need Your Advertisement To Make It More Attractive. Reserve a Con spicuous Spot and Have Perry Design You a Beautiful Sign. PRICES REASONABLE