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J E XXXVI. A E S T" CAROLINA, WEDNESDAYMARCH 30,102NUMBER 37 TeLco DEAT :i~i~S[ -IN IIINI Florence County Farmer Guilty of Murder GOES TO CHAIR APRIL EIGHTH FIbrence Jury keturns Verdict of Guilty of Murder in Case of Edmund Bigham After Very Short Deliber. tion. Case Appealed to Supreme Court. Florence, March 28.-A Florence county jury came near equaling -the rocord for speedy justice in bringing its verdict in the case of Edmund D. Bighain, charged with the murder of his #brother, L. Smiley Bigham, his mother, Mrs. X. M. Bigham, his sis ter, Mrs. Mangle Bigham Black, and Leo and John McCracken, the little adopted children of Mrs. 'Black. The case was given to the jury at 1:15 o'clock this afternoon. At 3:25 o'clock following a recess -to 3 o'clock and after a-wait of some minutes to bring the !prisoner into court, the jury's verdict of guilty of murder was read to a court room crowded with spectatorn. Then after a painful wait of minutes :while the clerk of the court searched for the ceremonial of the arraignment for sentence and a harangue by the prisoner in re sponse to Judge. Memininger's ques tion if 'he had anything to say in his own behalf, the death sentence ivas -pronounced and 'Bigham knew that he was to die on Friday, April 8, unless the supreme court grants a reversal of the vordict on the appeal which Attorney A. -L. King announced hi Intention to make. Calm AIr blsttibed Bigham's stolid indifference to ev 6rything around 'him, -his apparent in ability to grasp the solemnity of the proceedings or of the seriousness of is own iposition, his readiness to re spond with a smile on less than no provocation, all passed whein the pris oner came into the court to hear the verdict. He resumed in part his role of in j-ured innocence when he sat in the dock for flnal arraignment. For a tme he leaned forward his head rest ing on his hand as if lie prayed for strength to go through the ordeal he .had been called upon to pass. lHe listenccd with no special interest while his attorney moved fdr a nw trial, and while Judge Memminger, in refuising it, referred with much feel ing to the fact that Digham's father, had while a state senator from Flor e-ee county, cast 'his vote in favor of putting Judge .\1emminger on the bench. The shocking import of the whole thing seemed to reach him slow ly, but as rts realization progressed by degrees, the ashen pallor that had shown in his face all (lay 'became more mar'ked, the nit' of bravado tpassed in to a plitiable woaktess that caused the man to) 'look here and there about the audience with the expr'ession of a huntedl animal surrounded by metn who sought its lIfe. 'rhoe1( oldlgham had passed and did not sho0w again until Judge Memiminger asked l'iim what lhe had to say that sentence should not be0 pyonoutnced against him. Then, lean ing forward on the railing of the pri oner's dock anid inn .voice that was calm and unshaken, the prisoner' spoke as follows: Pleads Innocence "I have nothing to say except that I am innocent. I know nothIng of how 'that crime wvas committed. Tha.t is the truth, so helpinc God. That's all r have to say. I wish my mothet' could come down and tell -how the thing happened. I wish that little boy had lived wvhen I aaked 'Dr. P'oston to save his life. Ho -would have told the same things I and my wife told. Jutdge, 1 hope you -will give me time so some of the peciple who testifled here against me may have a chance to come forward and tell the truth and not come too late like Judas Is cariot making his offering of the 30 pieces of silver. I do want to say something more. I hope yout will take no exception 'to it. As far as you are concerned I have -had a fair trial. But If people had had time to think things over, consider and take it, up with *(Continued on Page Four.) MUCH INTEREST IN CONTEST FRIDAY A Naumbft Qf Sekools to Enter Ath lette ad Oraterteal Contests at Graded fehooL A grekt deal of Interest. in the 'Lau rett coUtt school contests to be held in Luroo on April 1At Is being shoawn amiohg thy schools in the county. Sev Gtal ha&V #1ready signified their inten tion of entering the contest. anong thein Cli4ton, 'Laurens,. Cross Hill, Gray Coui't, Wadsworth,. Mt. Pleasant, Trit-tddge, Barksdale, Ora, Mt. Gallagher and Prospect. Other schools atel expEoted to enter this week. The athletic events 'will be held. on the athlette deld of the Laurens city schools, beginning opromptly at 2 P. M. COach 'Walter Johnson, assisted by stuaente front the Presbyterian col lg, of Olinton, will conduct the meet, which instres that the events will be run off with trompt,ness and fair neas. The Inerchants of -Laurens have do nated prizes for the winners in the ten events as follows: 100 Yt'i~' dash--choice of 'fountain peA or gold penc1l--Laurens Drug Co. thintutg higih jump-fountain pen. .Po*'o IDrtg Co. 220 yma-d dash--student's lamp Wilikes & Co. DfilctAs throw--baseball glove-ones Taylor -*;rware Co. Maiflp9,r3n--pair of shoes-Wells Clardy Co. 'utming -road jump-suit of under wear--4witser Company. Pole vault-one shirt-Davis-Roper Co. 440 ykrd rqn-one watch-Fleming -Brothers. 1.0 yard low 'hurdles-one shirt Minter Co. Fihot put-one pair of shoes--J. C. Burns 4 Co. The orvtorical contests will be hold in. the o rt house. at 8 P. 4P. Judges for the co'tests will be selected fromr, Laurens, Clinton and Gray Court. Those who attend the contests are urged to conic promptly as no one will 'be seated while one of 'the contestants is speaking. Two medals 'will be competed for, the John R. Minter medal by the boys, and the Laurens County Teachers' medal, by the .girls. ..INFANT FOUND IN CitEEK Oruesome Find Made by Fisherman Near Goldville Friday. While Ben H. McCroig, a resident of Goldville, :.vas fishing 'n Bush River creek near that ilace in the lower part of the county Friday af ternoon, his attention was attracted to a sack bobbing up and down in the water and when he examined it more closely he found that it contained the remains of a dead itifant. lie was so started at his fiend that he dropped it back in the water and hurried to re port the matter to oflicers of fthe law. The -body was taken from the water andl carried to Clinton, wvhere an in (quest :was h~ld~l Saturday. No cl-ues dlevelop~ed thait justified the officers in making an arrest. According to the testimony of phmy sicians w-ho made a post-mortem ex amination of the body, the child was at lcast several hours old, although they were not Iprepared to say wheth er or not life was extinct when it was thrown in 'the creek. Another Body Found Following close upon the discovery' of the infant body near Goldville ca-me the dliscovery of another infant, evidently stillaborn, near Cross 111ll. The body was found in a fruit-jar near the Seaboard Railroad and reported to liral Policeman lUryson 'wn' brought it to 'the sheriff's oflce h'ere. Upon instructions from the sheriff 'Policeman Biryson had it buried. The theory has been advanced that the In fant, which was in such an immature stage of development that its color could not be determined, may have been thrown fro'm a passing passenge~r train. Lient. Wofford Promoted The many frier da of Lieut. J. W. Wofford, U. S. A. Wvill be pleased to learn that a recent issue of the Army and Navy Journal carried the an nouncem'ent of his promotion to First Lieutenant. Lieut. Wofford is a son of Mr. J. A. Wbfford of Maddens and 'was graduated as a Second Lieutenant from West Point last June. He is now stationedl at Fort Riley. Kansas, LAURXNS GREW BUMPER CROP Cotto, Cep Larget in Recollection of Odet CItizens. The cottou crop of Laurens county for he season of 1920 was probably the largest i he history of the county, exact figarsa for 'pat Years not being avalable. The erp for 1920, accord ing to the cemes, report issued on Marh 2, 1Was 64,641 and the amount last year 'was 50,30o bales, an increase of ow 24,00Q bales. The total giinIug of the state were 1,639',470' bales and for the cotton bolt 13,19T,775 bales. The foHGwing is a table of produc tio by countim, 'Laurens county it bemNf observed, ;being the fifth largest Producer in the state: County- 1920 1920 1919 The State ......1,639,470 1,432,277 Abheville -----.. . 33,939 27,324 Aiken -...-... 44,197 40,708 Allendale 13,214 20,206 Anderson .. .. .... 86,987 82,913 Bamberg .......,.21,147 24,639 Barnwell ........ 28,406 30,659 Beaufort ........ 337 2,232 Berkeley -..... 8,910 10,960 Calhoun ........ 43,401 34,960 Charleston...... 1,422 8,723 Cherokee ........ 20,689 16,788 Chester ........ 37,538 31,480 Chesterfleld ...... 41,362 36,391 Clarendon .. .. .... 49,554 39,221 Colleton ........ 6,869 12,643 Darlington . .....58,797 4,946 Dillon .......... 45,544 42,791 Dorchester ...... 10,28 15,373 Id-gefleld ........25,699 -23,939 Fairfield .. .. .... 30,677 22,379 Florence .. .. .. .. 48,938 42,549 Georgetown ...... 4,476 6,003 Greenville . ......52,904 53,786 Greenwood .. ... .. 41,056 34,319 Hampton ........ 7,156 10,692 Horry ..........12,348 9,530 Jasper -...... 923 2,025 Kers'hamw........ 42,269 30,199 Lancaster .. .. . 26,196 23,919 Laurena .... . . .. 4,641 50,303 Lee ...r........ 55,355 44,485 Lexinogton ...... 35,912 29,723 McCormick ...... 16,416 16,955 Marion ........ 23,549 19,175 Marlboro .. .. .... 78,079 80,669 Newberry ........ 47,020 33,790 Oconee ........ 25,293 24,423 Orangeburg ...... 98,692 87,939 Pickens ........ 22,805 25,136 Richland ........ 37,464 26,417 Saluda ........ 31,296 24,927 Spartanburg .. ... 87,127 80,939 Sumter ........ 63,578 46,616 Union 2...........25,251 19,206 \Villiamsburg .. .. 35,133 26,963 York.......... 46,589 45,569 TO RETAIN PRINCESS 11111 Interests Return Princess Theatre to Owners Who Will' Operate on Short Schedule. The 11111 theatre interests, who have oiperated the 'Princess Theatre for some time, have 'given up their lease on the property and will withdraw from the local -fleld after Saturday night, according to statements of the owners, Messrs. Leo Bros. & Siwitzer. 7ieginning next -week and for a period of about six 'weeks, or until af ter' the -tent shows and chautaucqua are over, the theatre nyill ibe openf hut two days out of the week, on Fridays and Saturdays. During that.,timne plans will be muade to re-open with a full week's program in anticipation of a revival of business. D)E(LAIMERL 1S CHIOSEN Miss Margaret Knight to Represent Loc~al School in Decialmiers' Contest. At the preliminary contest for se lecting a representative from the Lau rens high school in the Laurens coun ty oratorical contest April 1, the Piedmont contest at Greenville April 15, and the state contest at Columbia, April 21, held at the court house, the f1rst place in the tests was awarded Miiss Ma'rgarot Knight of the ninth grade, andl second place to Miss Nancy .1eny of tht 11th grade. Miss Knight won with the recital of "The Story of Patsy," while Miss Mong used "The Lion and the Mouse"' for her declama tion. Music was furnished by Misses Dorothy Fairy and Mildrey Laney and Messrs. Cecil Roper and Joe D3. Par ker. Todd Memorial The 'Rev. C. T. Sqtires will preach at the Todd Miemorial Presbyterian church next Sunday at 3:30 P. M, MENTIONED FOR INSURANCE COMMISSIONER W. T. Moore, of this, City, Amnong those Mentioned as Successor for W. A. McSwain, Insurance Commissioner. W. T. Moore, .former prescription druggist in 'Posey's drug store and an insurance man of considerabl experi ence, has been mentioned as a possible appointee of Gov. Cooper to 6ll the vacancy in the state insurance coM missioner's ofce made yacant by the resignatIon of W. A. -MeSwain. Mr. Mooro 'has been writing Insur4uco for a number of years both before and since his connection with Posey's <drug store. Another name mentioned in CQunec tion with the place is 'R. W. Davis, of Fountain Inn. Mr. Davis Is. a native of Clinton and fwas for several years a resident of 'Laurens. He iwas form erly cashier of the Bank of Fountain Inn and Is an insurance man of many years' experience. W. A. McSwain, the present com missioner, is a native of Cross Hill In this county. Several days ago 1he handed his resignation to the gover nor. It is understood that he is to join a new company to be organized in Columbia at a better salary than that paid him by the state. ANOTHiER STILL RAlED ,Itural Policemen Owings and Boyd Make kid Near Irwin's Mill on Sa luda River. 9 A large copper still of 60 gallons ca pacit'y, s quantity of mash and eight gallons of real liquor were captured by Rural Lolicemen Owings and Boyd near Irvin's bridge on Saluda River -Friday afternoon. Two men were seen leaving the vicinity tbefore the officers came upon the outfit, but they got away before an arrest could be made. 'l'he officers were not expecting an out fit just at this point so they did not su.lpect the two men seen on the preinises as being distillers until af ter the outfit was found. It was then too late to capture them. A raid was made by Anderson coun ty oficers in this same vicinity about two weeks ago and four men arrested. The still found by the Laurens omcers Friday was less than a quarter of a mile of the site of the still raided by the Anderson officers. A number o1 raids have been made in the same vicinity during the past year and many outfits destroyed. CLINTON ROAD OPEN Final Tuclies Have Not Been Pput On the Top Soil Road but It Is Open for Traffle. The Clinton-Laurens top soll road has been open for tramc, according to travelers from that direction yester day, the bridge beyond the Bois-Terre Country Ciub which has been holding up traffic for some time, having been opened yesterday. The road has not 'been giving the finishing touches as yet, but Is in passablle shape and can -be travelled -writh~ considerable more easy and comfort than the 01(1 roadl. LaAt iDay For City Taxes City Clerk and Treasurer Stanley Crews asks that city tax payers ,who have not paidl their taxes he warned that Thursday of -this week is the last (lay for payment without the heavy penalty andl~ executions. Tihe time for payment, as wvill be recalled, was ex tendled by City Conneil from February 1st to Miarch 1st, the extra time expir ing Thursday. A few (lays ago about one-fourth of the city taxes still re mainedl unpaid. Teachers to Meet The Laurens County Teachers Asso ciation will meet with the Gray' Court Owin-gs school at their next meeting, which 'will he on S'aturday, April the 2nd. The meeting will begin at 11 o'clock. Mr. B. L. 'Parkinson will be the princip~al sp~eak(er. Mr, Luieco Gun ter of Furmnan Urniver'sity wiil also be present. Winthrop Daughters to Meot A meeting of all the 'Winthrop girls in the county is called for Friday af ternoon, Atpril 1st, In the Ladies' Rest Room, at the curt house. The meet ing is, called at 'four o'clock and every Winthrop daughter -in the county is urged to hbo present. It is hoiped that a permanent county alumnae associa tion may then abe formed. GLASS FACTORY RESUMES WORK Furnace now being Heated and Blow. lug Expected to Begin Next Week. Many Orders Already on Hand. The 'Laurens (Glass Works, after having ibeen closed down for seteral months, will resume operations next week, announced Albert Dial, presi dent and manager, yesterday. Mr. Dial said that there mere distinct signs of improvement In the bottle manufac turing line and orders rwere already on hand for several weeks' cperations an4 with the soft drink season just opening up he had no reason to be lieve but that good business is ahead. As an -instance of orders coming in, he said that a .Wilmington concern had just -wired in an order for two car loads of Coca Cola bottles and that car-load orders were being constantly received. The factory turns out about a car-load of bottles a day. This concern closed down several months ago following a heavy -wind storm when the roof of the main building 'was dislodged and shifted for about a -foot out of place. After Its re pair it was decided not to re-open at once on account of 'business condi tions. A'bout half of the blowers left at that time for their homes in various parts of the country, mostly in Ohio and Now Jersey, and those remaining will 'begin work again next week, only a day shift being used for the present. Superintendent Fin,kIbeiner -who has been in Los Angeles, Cal., since the lo cAl plant shut down assisting In straightening out a glass factory there, is expected to be on hand to direct the work here when operations begin. FIRE SUNDAY NIGHT Two i1ouses in Jersey Section of the City Went Up in Flames and Smoke In Short Time. Two substantial frame dwellings be longing to O'Dell Owens and 'Dunk Garlington, colored citizens, were de stroyed by fire Sunday night about eight o'clock in the Jersey section of the city. The fire started in the house of O'Dell Owens and was of unknown orhgln. Owens himself was in Phila delphia, where be went several -weeks ago in search of work, while his wife was away at church. The -blaze made such headway that practically nothing was saved out of this house. Tho blaze was fanned by wind until it caught the house of Oarlington next door, but a part of the furniture 'was saved here. Some of the furniture was abandoned while the fire-fighters formed a bucket brigade to save the houses adjoining. On account of the distance from the fire hydrants -the fire department was not able to give effective aid in sup pressing the flames and additional de lay was caused by the laying of part of the hose In reverse order. IAUItENS (OUNTY STOOD MIM Awarded More Money Th'an Any Conn ty in thle State in School I mprove mnent Conttest. Miss Minnie Wallace returned from Columbia on Saturday where she had gone as a member of the State Execu -tlve Committee to award Prizes for the School Improvement Association of the state. This committee is com posed of one per'son from each con gressional district. Miss Wallace states that Laurens county was awvard ed1 more money than any county in th state, the following schools receIving prizes: flarksdale-aNrnie, Mt. Pleas ant, and Friendlship,. each $40.00 for buildIng prIzes; Eden $10.00 for the largest amount of money raised In the county; Lanford $10.00 for growth, up kecip, efficiency and community ser vice; TrInity-Ridge $10.00 for health~ andl sanitary condItions; and Barks dlale-Narnle, Eden, Green 'Pond, Lan ford, Shiloh, and Trinity--Ridge $5.00 each for twelve regular meetings of the Improvement Association. As there were 341 counties conmpet ing, Miss Wallace is pleased at 'the showing Laurens county madle. L~aurens Ii's WIn The baseball steami of the Laurens hkgh school dlefeated the Clinton high school team on the local dIamond last F~riday 10 to 5. This was the first game each team had played and 'both teams showed need of further coaching and practice. The local team, how ever, .played the better game and de served to win, WORLO DISARMAUM[ Pres. Harding Asked to Call Conference FIFTEEN MEETINGS IN LARGE ClIES Resolution Adopted in lqapital R. questa President Har4ong ..to tal Conferenee of Nations on Questjoe of World Disarmament. Borah and Bryan Agree. Wahnington, March 27.-A resolu tion requesting President karding "to, call a conference of the nations on the question of world disarmament' and asking .that Increased appropriations of Congress for armaments be .Vost poned pending such a conferenco,-as adopted here today at an IEaster mass meeting hold in advocacy of disarma ment under the aupsices of the wo men's disarmament committee. Senator Borah, of Idaho, lw'ho 'was the principal peaker, again advocat ed an agreement between the United States, Great Britain and Japan to re rluce naval armaments and changed the authors of programs for increased irmaments for the world -with being 'sedulous patrons of Bolsheviam, painstaking and industrious garden ,rs of unrest and misery.". "I want -to tell you," 'he said, "that 'he -ties which bind peoples to their Yovernments are snapping everywhere )ecause of the great burden of arm& nents." The neeting, it was announced, was ield simultaneously with others ih fifteen states in 'the interests of re duced naval and military program. Many of 'the leaders in the movement were prominent in the campaign for woman suffrage. Other speakers here Loday wero Representative Frear, of Wisconsin, Mrs. Ida Clyde Clark, of ew York, and Edward F. Grady of 'he American Federation of Labor. Mrs. Florence Kelley, of New York, who presided, said the meetings 'mark the spontaneous uprising of women on the first Easter on which Lm:ey have had power." "The time to disarm is now," she added, "and the place is here." Mr. Grady said the American Fed eration of Labor joins "in demanding that tlie statesmen of this country do sometbing at once to bring about a ieflnjte program for -world disarma ment." "We, however, clearly recog nize," he added, "that we cannot dis arm -while other nations are armed." Among the telegrams read, was one from William Jennings Bryan, saying he was "'heartily in favor of disarm ament-for agreement with other na tions if possthle, by our example if necessary." "There is no way to bring about disarmament except through agree ment with the other' naval powers,'' S~enator Borahi said. "It should -he 1)mr1 determined purpose to bring cecu ri ty without 'bringing bankruipt "Great Britain has again taken up thbe program of building. Jap~an is every (lay adlding to her program. Andl we are still to .have the greatest navy in the -world. So the race is on, the mad race which from 1900 to 19141 b:roughit Germany' and England there t ofore clouse frien'tis, intIo w ai. Chlauitauqua Man Arrives Mr. A. G. Mason, the "Twenty-one D ay'' man of the Redpathi chautauqua, arrived in the city yesterday to map ouit plans for the engagement here heginning April 20th. 'IIe is to look af ter )WV'ng the town andi planning oth er forms of advertising besides con ferring with guarantors in regard to the sale of tickets. Mr. Mason was very enthuiisiastic over the program for this year and said that he consid.. ered it one of the best that the chau tauqlua has had. Olee Club Girls Coming The Greenville Womans College glee club, of which Miss Flora Jlennett, of this city is manager, expects 'to in cludle Laurens in its spring concert tour. The clumb will appear at the Opera House Friday evening, April 8th. The G. W. C. club has egiven en tertainments in LJaurens on several occasions in the past and has always afforded an enjoyable evening.