Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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H iljc Ikcotk |1=| I VOL. 36. KINGSTREE, SOUTH CAROLINA, THURSDAY, APRIL 8,1920. ' ' " ' NO 5 \ TRUE BEL AGAINST . THE GOSSETT BOYS CHARGED WITH CRIMINAL AS. ASSAULT OF TWO YOUNG WOMEN MARCH 14 - i l Abbeville, April 6.?Objecting to anything which would sznack of mili-* tarism or Prussianism in his court -room, Judge Thomas S. Sease, presiding over Hie special term of court Ihere which is to try Kenneth and John I of TTonea Path, accused of ' Criminal assault on three counts in yriditkm to Overthrowing the appeal I ifioT a change of venue for the defend-1 ants, refused to allow a military guard to protect the accused. His decision' was announced in open court this afternoon at 6:30 o'clock after more' than three hours of argument on the' enue appeal. Proctor A. Bonham, of council for' the defense, after Judge Sease announced his decision, informed the! court that after a calm and thorough survey of the sentiment of Abbeville county he desired to state that "unless . some extraordinary precaution is taken i the case will not terminate in this court room." The defense gave , notice that it1 would not be ready for trial until Thursday morning, but Mr. Bonham told the Judge that he had a few preliminary motions to make tomorrow morning, the nature of which he refused to divulge. It is believed that considerable time will be taken in the drawing of the jury, as they will be -placed on their voir dire. The State i has five challenges and the defense twenty, and it is thought the present ^ venire will be exhausted before the jury is organized. If this is the cpse, it will delay the real opening of the ^ trial for at least another day, and a panel will have to be drawn and *they will have to be notified in every part of the county. The main argument today hinged about whether or not the Gossets, accused of criminal assault on a young woman of Abbeville on March 14, could receive a fair trial in this county, be nnnmpl ?t?tp of mind of UIUOC VI WIV ? ? _ the people. Already Convicted, Says Defense. The defense, represented by Mr. Bonham and James H. Price, law part-, oers of Greenville, contended that the young men were already convicted in the minds of the people of Abbeville county and that the prosecution, represented by Solicitor Homer C. Blackwell, of Laurens, Solicitor George Bell Timmerman of Lexington, and Senator J. Howard Moore of Abbeville, while admitting that there was a large degree of indignation at the enormity of the crime right after its alleged commission, contended that this menatal attitude had subsided, the people pwere M illing to let the law take its course and the accused could and would receive a fair trial. In combatting the presentation of the defense, which filed more than 150 affiday.ts yesterday alleging that the Gossetls could not receive a fair trial ' at Abbeville, the prosecution presented more than seventy sworn documents today claiming that there would be no miscarriage of justice. Two of these affidavits for the State were signed by Sheriff Burts and Clerk of Court! Perrin, of Abbeville county. These affidavits affirmed that there was ? A11am<v^ .some i eeiing wnen mc auc^vu vtuuv was announced, but this has died down and that the signers had heard no expression except that the guilty should be punished and the innocent should be released. They averred that there was no hostile talk against the defendsnts and that no overt act has been contemplated. In addition, affidavits were filed by the State from kinsmen of the prosecutrix in which it was s'lated that they were perfectly willing for the court to take its course and are reconciled to what verdict the jury might bring about; that the members cf the "family have not undertaken to incite mob violence, but leave their cause to the court." Brother Tried to Beach Men. In contravention to these affidavits, "uowever, one was submitted by Mr. Prict, of counsel for the defense, in "wwhich he avers that he is informed ( that while the Gossets were at Ander- , son awaiting identification one of the brothers of the girl tried to get to them armed with a pistol. The affidavit says he is informed that the ML chief of police of Honea Path called v the attention of Sheriff Burts of Ab. bevill.j to the man walking toward I V the room with his hand in his pocket, and when no attention was paid by, Sheriff Bui ts, he called Sheriff Sanders of Anderson county, whose depu-' ty found a revolver in the pocket in which he had his hand. Particular! stress was laid by the defense on the! failure of the Gossetts to secure local counsel at Abbeville, claiming that it not only prejudiced their case in the j minds of the people, but handicapped i their attorneys in making the fullest j investigation and presenting the: greater weight of the evidence to the , Jury. The prosecution did not contest this point, except by merely stating that* the personel of the Abbeville bar was limited and that a lawyer did not have to take a case he did not want The first argument for a change of venue j was made by the defense, it being ' opened by Mr. Bonham, who was fol- j lowed by Mr. Price. The prosecution was opened by Solicitor Timmerman and closed by Solicitor Blackwell. Senator Moore did not participate in the argument The principal pleas were j made by Mr. Bonham and Solicitor; Timmerman, and both delivered mas-1 terly addresses. ' Judge Sease, in his decision, which 1 was delivered extemporaneously as ; soon as the arguments closed, took' the position that the indignation at1 the alleged crime when it was com- j mitted was due to its enormity and was not directed at the defendants. He was satisfied, he stated, that the people had regained a calm mental poise, and that the Gossetts would receive a fair and unprejudiced trial , from the people, particularly the jurymen, of Abbeville county. For that reason he overruled the appeal for a change of venue ( No Danger, Thinks Judge Scouting the idea that there was any 1 danger of mob violence, Judge Sease 1 said that he did not think it was ; "necessary to bring the militia or any i part of the militia here to protect the i defendants." On a question of Mr. i Bonham if he was not going to order j the militia at all or request them to 1 protect the Gossetts, Judge Sease ' -J-1?1 4L ?* nnftiino tn Hn with i oUltCU Uiav lie: uau uvwuu^ vw w ?what the militia did before it got to i the court room, that it could march to the front .of the courthouse, but under j no circumstances could it come into.1 the court room. "I don't want any < armed guard in this court room," he i exclaimed. I will leave the protection i of the prisoners to the sheriff and the 1 court."' |i "Your honor," said Mr. Bonham, "I j 1 have been working among the people on this case and for that reason can i know the sentiment better than you 1 can, and I tell you if some extra-ordi- I nary precaution is not taken I am 1 satisfied that the case will not termi- , nate in this court room." i Judge Sease replied that he was sat-! j isfied that the sheriff would take every precaution to protect the Gossetts and 1 he directed Sheriff Burts to bring Ken- 1 neth and John Gossett to Abbeville. 1 The jurist reiterated that he did not ] "like the uniform of a soldier in the < court room, for it smacks too much of militarism and Prussianism." 11 Alleged Crime March 14 1 The Gossett cousins on Sunday, 1 March 14, while automobile riding on ; the outskirts of the town of Abbeville, are alleged to have accosted two young j women of the town as they were walking to Abbeville to attend a young people's meeting of the First Bap- 1 tist church and asked them to take a ride. 1 **** ? -1- - * AAncnnfpH I 1 ' me gins, u i? swku, ? be driver to the church, but later ] were persuaded to take a ride into the i country. It is alleged that when the I automobile reached the vicinity of the 1 bridge crossing Long Cane creek, < about four miles east of Abbeville, i one of the girls was criminally as- j saulted. 1 They were brought back to Abbe- i ville by the Gossett boys and let out < of the automohile. It is alleged that the Gossetts picked up the girls about J 6:30 o'clock in the afternoon and I brought them back to town about 8 o'clock, or after dark. By a peculiar coincidence, James < Wallace and Lee Bourne of Green- J wood, who had been to Abbeville on < the afternoon of the alleged crime, fucTvi.r.tor) a?H thev were arrest WCXt OUHJpVVWM; V... ? __ _ ed in Greenwood that night at mid-11 night by Charles J. Bruce, deputy j' United States marshal, and E. L. j; Cann, deputy sheriff of Abbeville coun- j ty. They were immediately rushed i to Columbia and placed in the State prison for safe keeping. On Wed- ] nesday, March 17, the young j women went to Columbflffnd imme- diately stated that Wallace and Bourne j were not the men wanted. They j were immediately released. k WILL RECOMMEND A MINIMUM PRICE FARMERS TO PLANT CROPS THAI CAN BE CULTIVATED WITH MACHINERY. Columbia, April 4.?Informatioi gathered both at home and abroad b] representatives of the American Cot ton Association who have conferre< with representatives of Europeai manufacturing interests and expert of international reputation will b laid before the special committei which will recommend a minimum price for the balance pf the cottoi crop now in the hands of the produce] at the convention of the Americai Cotton Association in Montgomery Ala., on April 13-16, said J. Skottow< Wannamaker, president of the asso A 1 ciauon touay. This information, Mr. Wannamakei said, would show that a reduction oi cotton acreage as compared with larf year on account of serious labor shortage is afl absolute certainty that the crop is six weeks late, that there if a great shortage of good grade cotton, that spot cotton will be demanded on contracts and that an .enormous amount of cotton has already been sold to Europe for delivery next fall, "A reduction of cotton acreage as compared with last season is absolutely necessary and a certainty," says Mr. Wannamaker "With a great shortage in labor the producer cannot compete at present prices for cotton with other lines of industry and will be forced to other crops than cotton that he can cultivate and harvest with machinery. He realizes that he would commit commercial suicide to plant even as large an acreage as last season A svstematic canvass conducted in the various counties of the cotton belt shows an enormous shortage, rhe crop is around six weeks late and there is sepous shortage in planting seed. "The United States Census Department is now making an investigation through 3,000 places in America where cotton is held for the purpose of issuing a most complete report as to the amount of spinable cotton. Information already received shows the inevitable certainty of an enormous reduction in the so-called surplus. "The result of an investigation shows startling conditions concerning the sales of cotton. On account of the great shortage of good grade cotton, purchasers on the exchanges will demand the delivery of actual spot cottton. The amounts so purchased for Ma, and July break all previous records. The fact that this cotton will be demanded is an absolute certainty, the information being secured at first hand. This will have a startling effect upon the market From whence will the cotton come? "An enormous amount of cotton has already been sold direct to Europe for rwnkA,- #nH December delivery at tre mendous premiums over the price paid on the New York exchange. The parties so selling are immediately rebuying on the New York exchange, the business being handled in this way by a number of the leading and strongest spot houses in the South. "Information secured by these experts clearly reveals the fact that spot cotton is selling over 100 per cent, below a moderate price. As a result of this the bear manipulator and gambler is caught between the upper and lower mill stone. The Montgomery convention will open the flood gates Cotton will sell at the highest price it has ever brought since the War Between the States. The manipulators and gamblers will be ground to powder." o Death at Cades. Mrs. Guerry Cox of Cades died at the home of her husband last Friday and was buried Saturday at Bcthcsda church. Mrs. Cox was a daughter of Mr. A. W. Flagler, and a sister of Mrs. J. C. Kinder of this place. Influenza-pneumonia was the cause of death. On the following night Kenneth Gossett was arrested at his home in Honea Path and John Gossett at a hotel in Greenville, where he had registered under an assumed name. They were taken to Columbia for safe keeping and placed in the State penitentiary, and were transferred to the Greenville county jail last Monday. WANT COMMISSION ! ; TO CREATE MARKET! COTTON ASSOCIATION THINKS i it woujj) create; big DEMAND i Columbia, April 5.?The American j Cotton Association has requested | 1 United States Senator Ellison D. i Smith, of South Carolina, to introduce j - legislation creating a cotton commis- j 1 sion of five men to be appointed by i the president to visit the various coun-1 3 tries of the world for the purpose of s establishing trade relations and there-; i by creating a market for raw cotton, i una nrnnuxticbiLrcu cuivon guous, oc-1 i cording to an announcement made i r here today by J. Skottowe Wanna-1 1 maker, president of the association. , "This legislation," said Mr. Wannai maker, "was requested by President - McKinley during his administration and he declared in public addresses r that the time had come wheil we f should trade with nations by agree- < t raent and that reciprocity should be our national policy. Its passage was | s only prevented by the assassination of t President McKinley. , "The proposed commission would be i composed of two cotton growers, one i i financier, one cotton manufacturer,and 1 i one manufacturer of cotton mill ma. chinery and will hold for a term of j t five or six years. The appointment of I j this commission would so enlarge the j i j demand for cotton goods that it would j be found that 15,000,000 bales of cot-1 ; ton would fail to supply the world's 1 pressing needs. The problem of over-1 production would be solved. "In fact, it would hardly be possi- j ble to produce enough cotton for the world's needs, after this commission had had-sufficient time to open up the channels of trade." o Statement bj Mr. Shuler i j The writer has always looked upon 1 a newspaper controversy as a very foolish pastime, and hence he has; never engaged in one, and is not now j engaging in one. He feels, however, that since the question of the erection of Mr. Silverrtian's garage on his lot I adjoining the Courthouse square has excited so much interest and comment, it is but fitting and proper that I the facts concerning the matter be I placed fairly and squarely before the J ! public. And this is especially true in view of the erroneous statements ap- j pearing in the last issue of The County, Record in connection with the ques-; tion, and the writer feels that all persons interested in the controversy i , are entitled to have the facts as they are. ; The fire-limits of the Town of Kings tree extend east along Mill street from the residence of Mr. J. E. Porter i , to the canal, down the canal to the | bridge on Nelson street, west along Nelson street to Jail street, and up J Jail street to Mill street, the begin-1 ning point. There are four full blocks and a portion of two other blocks included in this territory. The full blocks are the Courthouse block, the Hotel block, the Depot block and the Town Hall block. The blocks having: only a portion of their area in the fire district are the first blocks cast' of the railroad bordering Main street to the canal. On February 10, 1916, the Town Council passed an ordinance prescrib- | ing the limits above mentioned as! i the fire district, and Mr. Silverman's' j lot is in this district, fronting on 1 Academy street and on the Courthouse i square. Section 15 of the ordinance is f i as follows: j< "Every building hereafter elected ! : or enlarged within the fire limits i shall be enclosed on all sides with walls constructed wholly of stone, i .well burned brick, terra cotta, con- : crete, or other equivalent incombust-, i i ible materials; and snail have the i roof, also the roof top and sides of All rooi structures, iuuuuiu^ uviuu windows, covered with incombustible material. All cornices shalj be of in-! combustible material." j Just before, or about the time Mr. i, Silverman commenced work on his j; building, he told Mr. Lee, whose lot'] adjoins the lot in question, that he 1 j intended to erect a brick building with seventeen inch walls, and that i j he would do all in his power to ar- 1 range his building so that it would not ( I interfere with or inconvenience Mr. ] I Lee in the use and enjoyment of his | office. Mr. Silverman obtained a per- j , mit from the Town Clerk to erect such a building, of which the following is :a copy. 1 % .... ^ "Mr. David Silverman is hereby permitted to construct and erect a building on his lot situated on Academy street in the town of Kingstree, said building to be constructed erected in accordance with the provisions of the ordinance of said Town prescribing and regulating the method of erecting and constructing buildings therein.. > J. P. SCOTT, Clerk and Treasurer. Kingstree, S. C., March 29, 1920." | Under this permit he could erect | no building except such as was permitted by the section of the ordinance ' quoted above. He most assuredly could | not erect a frame building and cover , it over with tin or galvanized iron, and, as soon as the writer, "Your I Mayor", as Mr. Silverman calls him [in the paper of last week, found out that Mr. Silverman had changed his purpose and was planning to construct [ a frame building set on a brick foun| dation, in violation of the ordinance of the town and in violation of his permit, the writer went to Mr. Silverman about it. Mr, Silverman vehemently declared his intention to erect the half of the building fronting the Courthouse square out of wood and cover it over with tin or galvanized iron, the part fronting Academy street to be constructed o* brick. The writer urged him and almost begged him to adhere to his original plan and construct the entire building out of brick, and thus avoid unpleasantness. He would not agree to do this, but stated that he would erect the part of the building fronting the Courthouse square of wood. Upon this declaration, since this would be a violation of the ordinance, the writer told him that he would have to cease work on the building, which he promptly did. On the night following this interview the Town Council took the mattr under consideration. After going over the question among themselves, the council called Mr. Silverman in and went over the situation with him. He finally decided to give no further trouble, but to erect the building according to his permit and according to the ordinance and, as stated in his card of last week, "in accordance with my original intention." This agreement on his part made it unnecessary for the Council to pass on the question, and the Council did not pass on it Had Mr. Silverman come to the same conclusion when the writer talked with him that morning and urged him to do so, there would have been no trouble whatever, and the controversy would have been avoided. The foregoing" statements are the facts in the case, from which the following conclusions, among others, are deducible: 1. Mr. Silverman never had at any time a permit to construct % frame building inclosed with tin or galvanized iron, and he had no permit of any kind until the day before he was ordered to 8top work wften he declared his intention of erecting the building in violation of the permit and of the ordinance of the town. He had been ? oom.AMl ^ova without anv nm i\i?5 oc?vi 01 u?*/? ^ permit at all, as his permit bears date March 29, and he was ordered to stop work on the 30th. 2. The Town Council never was called on to pass upon, and never did pass upon the question as to whether Mr. Silverman should be permitted to erect a frame building or not, as he stated to the Council that he would erect the building out of brick, according to his original plan. 3. When Mr. Silverman declared his avowed intention to violate his permit and the ordinance pf the town he was directed immediately to cease operations until he could make up his mind to comply with the regulations, and his delay in this matter occasioned j the controversy mentioned. He finally agreed to comply with the permit and the ordinance, and so stated to the Council. M. A. SHULER, Mayor. 0 Play at Belser Roads School "A Poor Married Man" will be presented at Belzer X Roards school Wednesday evening, April 14, at 8 o'clock by the high school students and teache". It is not a "sit down and talk" play; it is decidedly a "get up and do" play. The adventures of the newly married college professor and the antics of bis negro servant who thinks himself poisoned. Action is the dominant keynote of this play. After the play a box party will be given, the proceeds to be used for buying school furniture. TEN DROWNED IN J SAVANNAH RIVER VICTIMS ABE ALL YOUNG PEESONS FROM 9 TO 20 YEARS OF AGE. j. . Abbeville, April 6.?Completely overshodowing the trial of the Gossett boys here this morning is the news of one of the most terrible tragedies ' in the history of Abbeville county, the drowning of ten persons in the Savan- . 'j, nah river, at Harper's Ferry, four miles east of Lowndesville, Sunday evening at 6 o'clock. According to the early reports which reached here this morning, a party of eleven persons set out to cross from the South > f'owvlivta ci'/Ia frv fVo o oirlo At) voiviiuo oiug w ?uv \ivv*544* *?uv vm the ferry. The river was up seven or t eight feet and the swollen waters 1 were known to be dangerous, but it v 1 was believed that the fbrry was in good condition. About half-Way over the wire cablej to which the ferry flat boat is connected, and which holds it, broke and the frail flat boat was swept out into , the raging waters of the Savannah. Out of the entire party ot eleven i only one was saved. This was a young - M ,boy named Bradshaw. Bradshaw, it is stated, saved himself, but details of his escape are lacking. As received here this morning the V | j list of the drowned includes: Mr. Lester Bradshaw, ferryman; Mrs. Lester 1 Waters, Miss Lucy Bradshaw, 18; Miss Allie May Bradshaw, 15; Alfred v Sutherland, 18; Miss Alice Meschine, 15; Charies Meschine, 19; Robert Manning, 20; Inez Manning, 9; Annie Manning, 15. Mr. and Mrs. Waters had been married only a month. Mrs. | Waters was a Miss Scoggins of Abbe1 ville. ? 'WHITE MEN DUPED IN LIQUOB TRADE Six Quarts of Sweetened Water Find Ready Bayers at $13 a Quart. Two white men told the recorder yesterday morning that they had paid the sum of $82 for five quarts of sweetened water and one quart of vinegar. , Son Stewart, negro, was on trial on !the charge of obtaining money under false pretenses and ^several quart flasks filled to the cork were on the v recorder's desk. One of the prosecuting witnesses testified that Stewart came to him with a proposition that looked good and he turned loose $52. The negro offered four quarts of Canadian Clulj whiskey at $13 per quart - The deal was closed and the buyer was shocked, surprised and mortified when he discovered that he had been duped. Trouble multiplied for Stewart when the first witness met the second prosecuting witness and related what bad happened. The second party said to the first party: "By jove. I bought j two quarts of Canadian Club from that negro ago and tucked it away for a rainy day/" The two buyers went to the home of the man who bought the two flasks for $30 and more chagrin followed. The police were notified and Stewart was sent to the barracks. The two white men told their story to the judge yesterday morning and Stewart declared he had never seen the "gemmen" before. The recorder sentenced the negro to pay a fine of $200 or serve 60 days to cover the two charges. The judge told the men who engaged in the deal that they ought to lose money when they make a trade like the one reported in court ?sunaays aiaie. o Prosperous Bank. A news dispatch says: The Bank of Florence is distributing to its original stockholders checks representing ,100 per cent, dividend on their stock holdings. This extraordinary dividend was decided upon at a recent meeting of the board of directors of the' institution at which it was determined to I increase the capital stock form $50,000 to $100,000. Stock certificates for the new subscribers are also being issued. This is the second time the Bank of Florence has declared a 100 per cent dividend, the first being in 1905. It has paid other dividends each year amounting to from eight to twenty per cent. The Bank of Florence is the oldest bank in the county. The dividend was created great interest in business and banking circles. . ir'iiH