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She ge detsr VOLUME XXXVI. NUMBER 27 IAMILY Of [IY[ WIT STRAGEDEATH Mother, Daughter and Three Sons Killed INQUEST DELAYED TWO WEEKS IIie MleIbers of Prominent Florence (on0010y FIamiliy 31m1 Death III Mys. feri'ous Mu1rder miln Suicide ThIeurv Not Aceepted as Final, Paimplico, S. C., Jan. 16.-Discovery today of the bodle; of two other imemi bers of the lighaim family. revealed that the en tire family, living about. four miles from Paimphleo, was wiped out. solietime Saturda.y afternoon, a total of five l/eing killed. Mrs. L. S. 1ing01ham, GO years1 old, was shot through the head and her body was found In the yard of the, illgham hom(1, near a woll; her daughi tel, Mrs. Mla i'gor'ie 11lack, 35, 1as found( I lying in it pool of blood in her rooll on the second floor of the home with a buillet hole, inl her head; Mrs. Ilc' adopted son, nine yeals of age, was found near the back of the hous;e, h forehadi having been pier(ced ly a bul ' let at 'lose ran \'rs. Bla('k's; other adn:i id son, five y'rLIs of ae, evidently trid to escap je from his assailant. for , e was found near a fence in the ha. yard witi a bulI let in hils liad. Ilie died about 5 o'clock this morn in :-g. The body of the otler member of the family, L'. S. Hinghamn, .10 years' of age, son of Mrs. L. S. Bigham was found today 'bout It o'clock In the woods about no half n-ile from the house, lying in an obscure spot ,surrounded by bushes with a wound in his right tni ple.- His -hand was holding a revolver in which there were tiwo bullets. An inquest Is being held but the re port of the Jury has not been received. The-Pfamily has long been promi nent in this part of the state, the fath er having been a member of both branches of the South Carolina gener al assembly and at one time was a candidate for Con';Vess. E. ). liighain, rl'otler of tlhe dead lan and lis1 family, consisting of lils wife and two ldidreln, had recleitly moved to South Car-oina from Gf er--i; or Alabama aid wero oceupI;:ing rooms in the liome. 'iey were out. driving l5m 1.i .n on1e seemil.; to have wit net-s ed ihe shootin-. i. E'. I igham, r'tur'ninig abou t 11hr,4eo o'cloeck in te afternoon l, ' th" irt on the sconv and with th, : htaoe of a rural mail vai'rier ca; riel t!e (Ady of .\lri. iHig'lamzs into tle hou s. Not Cleared I'p. Florence, Jan. I7.-Ihe will b)e no coroner's verdi'et In the case of the 'illing of the five members of tle Big ham family, at Pamplico, tAenty-flve mile; from Florence, Saturday after noon, for two weeks yet. Coroner \V. M. mIih of Florence, spent Monday at Pamplico, mnaking a thqrough inves tigation of the situiation, espieciall y in viewv of the belief on tho part of siomei citizens that L. S. Ilighiam, whose body was found In the woods near the home, at2)parently a suicide, was not the per pet rator' of the terrible crime, but that someioneC else killed the. me~mbers of the Bigham family. This theory i not generally held, bult there are 505me in the Pamplsico community who doubt the suicidei idea. The dead members of the Higham famIly are: L. S. Bigham, age 45; his mother, Mrs. 31. M. Higham, wife of former Senator (Bigham of Florence county; his sister, Mrs. Margorie A. Black, and Mrs. Black's two adhoptedi children, L.eo McCracken, 9, and John McCracken, 5. The first theory advanced was that L. Smiley Bigham killed h's mother and sister and the boys, Edmundil~ Big ham-, brother of the (lead man, 'was the first to tlndi the deadl people, ae-. cord(ing to first evidence prloduiced. lie says that lie had1( been away from the home for a half hourt, and on retutrn lng saw his mfotheri staiggerIig towvairds the roadl. lie ran to hIs mothewr's side, buit she died before sue couldi be gotten to the house, At the bousc lhe found the body of John Mc'Cracken on the back piazza. Leo McCracken's biody was found on a pile of straw behind the house. Two hour's later the body of Mrs. Black was foundl in her room on the second floor, All of the dleadl ,had been shot, Ndminr1 Big-hna tied nat h saw.. EA'TERN STARI OFFIC0E1S INSTALLHD LAST NIGHT Impressive Cerenionles Mark the .0c casioh1. Social Hour Follows. Impressive services marked the In stallation gf 1921 officers of Adah Chapter No. 6, Order Eastern Star, which took place in the Masonic hall last night. Worthy Grand Matron 'Mrs. Naomi tiun"inger, of Greenville, was present and presided over the core monies. After the ceremony was com ileted refreshments were served and then a social hour enjoyed. The following were the officers in stalled: Worthy Matron, Sara Dorroh. Worthy Patron, 'r. L. Monroe. Associate Matron, Niss Minnie Wallace, Secretary, 'Miss Lillie Miller. Treasuror, Miss liizabeth Switzer. Conductrbss, Mrs. Madge M. Taylor. Associate Cond., Mrs. Roberta D. Smith C(haplain, Mr. S. 4. McIaniel. Marshall, Mrs. Norcom Richardson. Organist, Mrs. Agnes Rt. Swygert. Adlah, Miss Marie Philpot. Rluth, Miss Frances Garrison. sEsther, Mrs. Lois N. Simpson. Martha, Mrs. 10sther F. ilarksdale. Electa, .Miss Maggie Peterson. Warder, 'Mrs. Jean B. Barksdale. Sentinel, Mr. Fred Medlock. FiRE TUESDAY NI'iT. HInt't-ey Electri(' Company Snifers by Fire and Water Tuesday Night. Fire sipposed to have beeni 'aused by electric wir i ne ill the halte'y' ser vice department of the larney 1."Ic trie Company opposite hIle Post Ollico gut ted the interior of the entire store Tu'lesday ni1,4ht shortly before '11islini t and did considerable daniage to nearly everything that was not entirely d. stroyed. Mr. Harney was sick in his )ed at the time of the fire, but got uip anyway and arrived on the scene just about the time the blaze iwas extin guished and danger of a larger blaze was passed. The fire department re sponded promptly to the alarm and with the aid of volunteer helpers soon had the blaze under control. Several colored men, among them Jack Ken nedy, who always hapipens to be on hand when the fire alarm sounds, did praiseworthy work in handling the hose. Air. I1arney has not been able to c Ilr~ i,, lo.-s- as y t Ih\ caried In Sn 1 on ihis stock and fixturtes, but ti1 adjinteris have not yet fixed tihe otnotunt of the damage. The building is owied by Dr. W. If. l)ial aml while It carried in'rance his lo.. is not y- st111ated. Box Suplier i l(c(ory Taiern. The!re wvill beo a box supperw) atHik ory Tavern next Frilday evening, Jan. 21, 1921, leginning at 7:30. The pro deeds of the wvening will go for the boellfit of the school. The public Is cordially ilvited. his brother leave the house as he drove 1up to find his mother shot. The body of L. S. S.Bigham was not found in the woods till Sunday noon. TLhe trouble is bliieved to have been brought about by famtily troubles, in volvitng an estato valuedd at about $75, l)'30. 'l. S. iighuamt had been charged with attempting to muitltilaite court r'ecorda~ in connection ne'ith the estate. ii dleveloped today that Mrs. Black last a eek made her will, in which she left her lproperty to L. S. Ilighamn l. deead man. lHealdes Edmutnd Blighamn, the only othet' member of the family is Drm. Cleveland Bigham, whose whereabouts are unknown, lie having jumnpedl bond to the amount of $10,000, imposed when he was conlv~cted of killing his wife several years ago in Georgetown. Mem.. hers of the fligham family 'had signed the bond, but it has never been coi lected by the state, the attorney gen eral now having the matter in hand, A sister, Mrs. J. Bogan Cain, 'who died rather sudd~enlly sotme monthsh ago, was the only member of the family who had not algned the bond, andl before htem dleath ail the IHigham prtoperty had been dleeded to her. -Since Mt's. Cain's (loath higham htas behn attemtinjting to get a seil lemeni fr'omn Cain, whio is a (depuity sheriff. Re cently several pages (of the dleed booksa have been torn out and rude aiter'a tions have been made in the wor'ding of the deeds1, -these beitng charged tc L,. 8. hlighatm. Th'Iis matter' has been kept. quiet lately, Tfhere were no witnesses to thc tragedy and the coroner proposes tc make as thorough investigation1 as is possible. The gun used belonged tc i(lhIgun nighanm LOCAL DELEGATION HARD AT WORK Planning ge-veral Measures of Imi. portance to lleople of This Cotunity. The members of the Laurens delega tion In the legislature spent the week end at their hons in the county, Sen. 0. ]. Goodwin, near the city, Rep. C. M. Babb, in Laurens, Rep. . D. Nance, In Cross IM1, and Rep. Towns A. Wil its, Jr., at Gray Court. All of them jeturned to their duties Monday. Ii. S. Blackwell, solicitor from -this dis trict, who also is required to attenidi the sessions, also spent the week-end at home. The local delegation Is preparing several measures of Colliderable im portance to the comity, according to Mlr. lllackwell, who was seen AMonday' morning, One of these nicasures Is to provide for an addilional $50,0001) bond issue to complete the Kinards-Owings toll-soil road and the South Rabun creek bridge on the 'rinceton road. It is undorstood that the :Policy of the county authorities, after this work is completed, will be to continue the permanent road work out of the auto mobile tax money and the funids de rived from the state road tax of two, mills, which is turned hack into the colty treasury. Se'nator Goodwin lhas a hill intro (iltced to challge the time within wvi hich it ' ill be lawful to soll 5 (eer eotton. Ito would allow thi sale between .Janum I amid April I. rather than bwn April I and Augu t 1. .a it'n1ow i-. Another bill introdliteed by the fhle gation providi es for tle red1101i of: the collnty collilul ation tax from :::00 to $3.00. The $6.00 commu11tatlion tax Vas a big issue in thie suillt'er cai paigi alid milch oppo ition was ex pressdd to It by voters over the county. It is also understood thrt the delega tion has in mind the discontinuance of the appropriations for the home dem onstration work, that of the county farm demonstrator and also the county's truant offilcer. It has been rumored though not stated omcially that an increase in the salary of the sheriff Is contemplated. The delegation also has in mind, it is tinderstood, to change the basis oii wichi th'e rural policemen are pai(. Under tile presen t plan each policemanl pays his own expenses an(1 iatirllyi ile one w1ho does the ml1ost work hia* I lit Iarget expen se acco1nt. A cha'ng is cont(Illempi-lattd b% which 'k h1101dhip will not ho worked oil the -o t ivo official. 11031E, SitiVIC 001.:Z 1ome1 ServIc1'e Departniit of lhe led ('ross (loses A fter Useful Period of Activity. After a service which lasted from early after America's entrance into the war tintil last week, the local lionie Service deoartment of the Am rican RIed Cross closed up its work last week and the omoc has been closed for further transaction of business. Aliss Lui.se Simmons, who 'has been in charge for a year or more, has made her final report to district headi~iuar ters and hias relieved herself of all dullties. The Itomei Service dleiartmenit has been a scene of a great deal of -activity since it first opened. Thousands of cases have been handlledl for soldiers anod their dependents. .During the war the dieparltmient gave most oif its at tention to the relief of dependent rela tives of soldiers and keepinig the sol diers5 in touch with their families, but since the close of the war has given a great decal of tIme to the straightening out of claims for insurance and relief of cases of disability (111 tO wounds and injuries received in battle. ('harge A ttempt to net FIre to Store. Anderson, Jan. 14.--Bob F'razier, a negro oif Williamaston, was brlought to the jail here today, having bieen found in the Vandiver Grocery store last nlight at 12 o'clock tryinig to set fire to the ensh reglrder to open it. A lio licenmn '-mas going biy and cat ching a glimp5e oif the 1light invest iga ted and caught Frlazier. 'Jihe chief of police, who~ (aptured10( the negro, sta ted thiiat he though t he had just galined entIrance into the store. The cash register' was a woodeni one, and t he negrio thbough t that it (could h(le oipend 0(1a0sier' by fire thanil any othier' way. Meetinig oif Wlednesday ('lub . The Wednesday Club meets with irs. WV. iI. Dial oin Thursday aft ernuogn, at 3:30 o'clock, instead oif the usual meet.. jiag (lay. JOHN A. FRANKS ELECTED MAYOR -Defeated C. I Bishop by Vote of 588 to 207 Yesterday. General Election Next Tuesday. John A. P'ranks defeated C. R. Bishop in the second primary race for the clection of a mayor to succeed W. I. Richey, Jr., in the election held yes terday. Mr. Franks lead his opponent in both mill and city ,boxes, the total vote being Franks 588 and Bishop 207. Mr. Hishop, who Is alderman from Ward 5, will retain his seat in the council. - 'The election went off very (llietly, not ,as 1many votes bin)11g Itolied as in the first primary. The same Interest manifestedi by), the women voters in the first primary was shown In the ) pri mary yesterday, a large number of them turnruing out to cast their ballots. The general election to confirm the primary is ordered to be held next Tuesday. Immediately after that, Mr. Franks will take over the reins of of flee. The following is the total vote: Bishop Franks City lox ........ ..1..1.0 '1I Mil Box ..6...........,7 10. Tota l ...... .......(7 .i issiolnar1 So1ctyI of irst til st chit4 t - I v 1 h,. F ~ r' I fe %I ('IIlI'' hr-hDranj U'y Msoluiflems in Pre .\t he h ameing of, !!h( \.,w m ' .\9:inayI'nlife ofl ti-l V-ir.At !,'; t ist (.h11r-ch, i he foilloxing re' oi ns ere passed a n'l olleredl submittd to the newspapers of the city -or i)tt 1)1 eat loll: In view of the fact that n111.1v antd' grave dangers thr,1ten th ,e wi,n and religious lives of ou1r yotng peoplA, we, the members of the Woman I Mission ary Society of the First ih:ktiist Church of Iallrens desire to p ae ourt'selves on record as condemnilin. all evi which tend to lower their moral and religious standards. We appeal for the old-tine restoration of parental authority in the home, for righteous noss, and for the uphollding of the Ia Jesty of the law, for revernee for God's Vorl, and a stricter observance of Itis oltv Doy. \\ ' .e Co'l for our1 boys and girls tite (od-given) light to Christian training w1Iici: wil . .) th1em for pla'es of hon1or0 in tle (ono11' it'y, in tile Church, and inl th14 Stato. A-ain,. we ur1ge wholesomei alinus mets spr eially, outdloor spo,-I., and less loafing onl the street.l We pliedge ourslves, as far as.pos :ile, to use our11 itiluences for the rv moral of all thos' things which polsonl ite mhids and pervert the morals of our11 boys and girls. Hecognizing the pietur show as aln e(dtleitiolal factor' we plead for clean, elevating and intstrtlctive shows. Purthermore, we heartily Infdorse every effort our beloved pastor has so couirageously made both front the pul pit and elsewhere for the advance men'tt and~ entforcement of civic right Coulsness; In our town and :piedge ourI xcilves to stand by is sidoe In unltitedi effort to make the city of 'Lautrens a safer and better pla7ce for 0our boys atnd gIrls morally, socially and re ligiously. STOREI IM ROJBBEID Sheriff Asks Public to ifelp, If PossI ble, In Apprehension of Thieves. Greenville, Jan 15.-1-0 was r'e ported to Sheriff Rector's omce Thuirsday that McAlister's store at Travelers 'Rest was br'oken into Wednesday night or early Thutrsday morning antd a numblter of articles of constfiderable value ('ar'ried away by the thieves. Omcers wor'ked on the case ali of yesterday, buit up to last night had made no arrests. The sher' 1ff has a partial list of the mtissIng goods, and said he woul dask te .pub lIc to help him, if possibl)1 in appre hending the rtuilty persont or ;a'ersons. Among the goods5 taken were: A pair' of armyv shoes, size 7 1-2; pai r of lIleasiey rawhlide shoes, size 10, 2 pair's No-kick shoes, sizes 7 and (i; ;) I1air chid'rn's shoes, sizes, I1, 2 and~ 9; overalls of the Big WVIinst on, 111l1e Iluckle and Ihonest Value brands, am! Ci nco, i,anogo and Franklini eigar's, schtool house Jianuary 2Sth. The ipuh lie is invited .to attend. iThe admis.. slont fees wvill be ten and twenty-flve cents GOY[RNOR ADYIS[8 CHANG[_IN TAX[8 State Income Tax is Recom mended BOND ISSUE FOR IMPROVEMENTS Governor Cooper's Mlessitre Iecom. Iields Manly Chan1 V Iges In Tix Sys. ifmIII and3 Met110hod of .Waingl Per.man. ill IIIIprovelleits. Tax on (Gaso line. Coliibia, Jau. 12.--Governori oo lier read his annual me;sage to the two houss of thie general assembly In joint session at noon today. The ilessage deals largely with state finances. It is the opiniion of ithe governo. tat. the property tax levy should he rediced froin twelve and one-half mills to nine mijlis, and the governor* suggests mfeasures where by% the otheir three and one-half mills iay b) ised from other sou -rces. His rieolmien dalloin are for the enact IlIeit. of a tax iln(olie, gifts and inherit anees, anl increase of husiness and privile(g li(ens's and a consuiption lax on m eie Nint ii l< property wmihi pro duco pbout Pmi miilion ll1 rs. A graduated scale is Smggostel for the incno ' :inX prlj v1:A!ovid ix 1(1 j'tiu yonnl.e ineni of paYnent oil $ .000 anid narriei min o: .,,000. .\ tax of one half of oiv a'r ('lit wohill he levied oin net. incno ill to $3,000; '1e per' cent from $:'..000 to i5,000; two per eet. fromt $5,00 to $10,000; three per cent from $10,000 to $50,0000; and four per cent on all net incomes above $50, 000. Th1e governor pointed out that a tax of o11 per cent per gallon on gasoline would yield approximately $400,000. Cotton aereage reduction by force of legislation is not. deemed expedient by the governor, but the condition makes it of su iliclent importance "that tle fa rler must. Ile -impressed with the absolute necessity of a reduction of cotton a 'reage for the year 1921." As to piermlanenlt iIll)rovemnilts the ;;overfn or recoloniends that he legis laturet' as(ertai'n'tl ' what is ab1soliuely ieCessary for a period of ten years and slitilli to Ih 'h Ors of thw State the <IluI.t1iol of a bond i.:sue a' SufOilci'nit to 1:0w ar of' :sneh imlpro(:vementl '. IHe favors all ilwrvnareI inl approplriations for law < 1 inforiceInt al asks hat. the lwniSionl law he ich:nsed so that the ad ministrat:!ion of 1h- 1.1;. will be placed inth'r thw diEnctionl or the Crouptroller. Guienral. and tha;rt peilolls h. Daihl on1lyN to those Coflederate sfldieris atnid sailors, or willows of .mihi, who are inl need of financial assistance. TIle joint ,esslon today lasted ap p roxi matel y 011 hou'. (;ov. Coope'r read his annual message, which creat (d niuch favorable comment. h'lle it nosphee is be ng graduall a-l-" ea red of mnisap preheOnsioni as to taxes. Thei 0on S0(1l01enc's in that the a pproi('natlion hill1 shioul d lie hel down to as conservative figu re as poss1Ible, but there is little dlsp)osi tion rife among the miembe'rs to e ripl a))0 ny 1in stituion ori dI' epartment1. MFFTING~ OF" I. Y. P. U. To be Held with ('hestnut Rtidge C'huirch Jnuary fu0lth. i nteresting Prog~ram to be Carried Out. Thew I. Y. P. I'. of Lauriens Associa Lion will hold( its~ second qua rterlyv miee ting at (Chestnult Iidge chur ich. .Januaryv lIeh, 1121. 'The following pirogram will be~ carrIed out.: Cong regatilonal Singing--- Chorister. tlevotional--- Mr. Scott (Georgie, Presi dent of Chestnriut H idge Ii'nion. Buiisin ess, Speeial 'Muste.-L'Iauirens t (nion. Talk---"The Mission of the 'I. Y. P. U."' -Mr. George 1R(obo, of irnst Vlinton l'nion. Talk --"W \hy toe Need of a 8. Y. I'. I'."' - Milss Emmaiiii lIeIndierson of F'riendrhi. All the young piolei of' Laureins Assocliation ari'e uged to attlend thiis nmet ig. The usual dlivi serlvices will be hield at I iorr oh Pr'esbyteilan 'li hrch niext S~iunday a fternoion at o'clocek, an-i nounc nes It(er. C. TI. Sulro 11 on pst (ei. PRUNING DEMONSTRATIONS PROVED SUCC'ESS Four Demonstrations Were Given bfy sExtensin Workers. M uchi I nterest Being Manifested. Regardless of bad weather all prun ing demonstrations given by County Agent last week, were well attended. ir. Trevathan states than the interest manifested by those in attendance w%.as very gratifying. fie was assisted in these deimonstratlons by Mr. .' E". Schilletter, Extension li ortiCl ULrist, and Mr. G. M. Anderson, Extension Entonologist from Cilelson College. A numher of rfarmers in att.'an c were provided ' with pruning tools with wIlielh they gained practical experience inl bletter methods of pruning. Trees of different ages and types were pruned and reasons for methods used were ex I n 1i ed. Scale, boiers, and other insects were foutnd in the field, and those inl attend ance had the opportunity of seeing 'the actual danage these insects were doing. They could also see the dam age done by the brown rot on the mum m(ed peaches Which still cling to m1an' of the trees. Directions were given for methols of control for the different 1in;ect; and diseases. Mtr. toe Adair. at Itenio, plans to get biusy oil his orchard at once al hal sent in an orlder for a lira-in outfit which he vxpects to ui co-op erativvly in iI 'L coiioui ity. The T hnii Orphianae has i'':ilo. oh. tailed an outfit and ahked for1 fulriler ::i. i an in tho careo of 01- hail. Thr~t flne frit 111y be produced in tiL; count.y been provenl by pr John)fi icks, who6 has for many years produciel in her orclharid excelleiit fruit and has made the orchard pay on a ituali scale. Mr. Trevathan states that he stands ready to assist others desiring help along this line. GHEENWOOD RANK WILL CLOSE AFFAIts Directors of Peoples DIeide to LiqUi dnte Trhroighi Bank of Greenwood. Greenwood, Jan. 17.-The Peoples' bank through its directors has ilecid ed to wind up its affairs. A majority of the stockholders have already ap proved this action of the board and a full meeting of the stockholders will bo called in the neal future to ratify what its heen din. The actiil Io cess of liquidation will h tone thrm ouh th i Blank of Greenwod a ist ed by the other aks of the city, . P. McKell1ar and C. E. Kngh of the l'eoplesc' 1anh will have actii:1l charge of iolktetinii nioteis and accounts. The depositors will be ;id in fil and it is believed that none of the crditors .of the hank will sufer any toss. 'Tlie assets and accounts are suli ient to pa' all claiis if c'iot!Lit er in full. The depositors of oure colmie first, and will certatnly hio paitd in full. So far il0 depositors or o t hers have raised any objections to thIs coursi which iwas inteindeid for their ptrotection1 and which, if (aried out will cleat' the whole situation, Those best familiar with the situa tion agree thtat thIs is the only coui'se to adopt, Stato hank Eamniner' .lames hU, Cr'aig, who has been in tiouch wit-h lie situhatiton sinc'e it idevelotied, api prioves the corwhi chtO has'I i, been'i adopted,. Ntutiratlly any lnteCrrumpt ion to the even course of bustiness here or' elsewhere is to he regr'etted, hut in the prompt measures whIch have been taken fot' the pr'tctionttit of all tntecr ests there should he gener'ah atisfac tion anti the commitn ity congr'attuated on escaping a hank failure. PAlRT OF CHESTiER VO)TES INTO YORK Ter'ritoury Embracing Seventy-five Squatre Miles Goes Over. lhock H1ill, Jan. 12.-Accor'ding t~o latest r'eturts from the election held yesterday in eastern Chester, voters, bty 117 to t15, voted to antnex to York{ county with 16 votes cotntested. This gives a miar'gin of 17 over' the twvo thuirds majority noenssar'y to carrmy, ex utldin g conti ised v'ote As a resiult oif the (ee'tion,~ Yor'k ('outOy has 7 sr iu're m0itls adi ttion at t ermrit ory~ an incrmeased iiopuilat ion of 4,00 anil an Increase in taxablc rope1)rt~y of a mil lion andm a tit arte r dollar is. The torri tory chmbraces sotme of the rich es t see tion1 oIf (Chesteri county. Mr., IT, Terryv, w~ho huas been qitle slek at his home for' several weeks is r'eptotrd 'to be gr'aduial ly imlprov'inig andt his ft'tends hone for him in loerly