Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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? %\\t Ccrnnti) lleco^. i .. ? VOL. 36. " ~ KINGSTREE, SOUTH CAROLINA, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3. 1921. NO. 48 ' 1 SENATE AND HOUSE ACTIVE TUESDAY MANY BILLS PASSED TO THIRD READING, NEW MEASURES PROPOSED. * i _________ Real action featured the opening session of the senate after a week end holiday Tuesday afternoon, this, body slaughtering Senator Wight-1 man's bill to decrease the salary of every state employee from governor 1 to coroner and doorkeepers of the ! senate by 20 per cent, and passing to J third reading the Saluda senator's j measure to abolish the state tax commission. * Senator Johnstone's joint resolu? J* Al.-,! fo IAOT) xaon providing uiat vuc Clemson college money to tide the institution over in case the college runs short of funds was passed to a third reading. The measure limited the amount to be loaned to $150,000. Senator Wells introduced a bill to abolish the offices of state supervisor j of rural schools, mill school ins pec- j tor, high school inspector, adult; school supervisor, negro school su-, perviSor, state supervisor of agri-1 cultural instruction and the state supervisor of trade and industrial instruction. The bill provides that the, duties of these officers shall devolve ; upon the several county superintendents of education and further pro- j vides for a $300 increase of salary to I all county superintendents of education, to be paid by the state. ' Senator Pearce offered a measure making the liability of telegraph companies in South Carolina unlimit-; ed, when these companies send mes-j sages wrong or make mistakes that cost the customer considerable sums.' Senator Pearce explained that atj present the telegraph companies are ] . only liable for the amount of the mes-; sage under ordinary circumstances when an error is made and only up to $50 when the customer has the mes-. sage repeated. His bill would allow ? the customer to take the matter to V courts and let the courts say how much damage the customer is entitled to. Senator Wightman's bill to abolish the state tax commission and devolve the duties thereof on the comptroller general with a commission appointed to assist him was passed toi third reading by a vote of 15 to 14. j Debate on this measure was rather; warm on the part of Mr. Wightman. he holding that the commission had ( failed to do its duty and pointing out1 that no equalization had ah- A j from the commission's work. He saia Saluda county now has a much worse: tax system and equalization than it did before the tax commission was v? created. Senator Young moved to strike out the enacting words and j this motion was lost by a 15 to 14 vote. The bill was then passed to tljjrd reading and it is scheduled for a hard fight before getting by the senate. ^ The Saluda senator's bill to de- j crease the salary of every employee - of the state, including everybody of all classes and colors, met with stiff j f Noppositue. and upon a roll call vote I it* the only votes cast for the measure were by Mr. Wightman and Senator; Hubbard. Senator Padgett said he would not allow Mr. Wightman or any other man to dictate to him what salary ought to be paid to his county officers and charged Mr. Wightman with being mbre autocratic than the former kaiser of Germany. Senator Johnstone's bill to curtail the acreage to be planted in cotton | in South Carolina to one-third of all! other crops was passed to third read- j ing with the understanding that j a mendments and debate would be in order when the bill came up again. Senator Smith's bill to exempt Horry county from the statewide stdck law was killed in the senate Tuesday night after a prolonged debate, the vote being 23 to 13 By the action of the senate Horry county is forced to comply with the statewide law prohibiting animals to run at large in the state and this ends a| fight started the first day of the ses- j sion by the Horry senator. After disposing of the free rangebill the senate then entered into a warm discussion of Mr. Wightman's bill to abolish the state board of pub- j lie welfare. An unfavorable commitLtee report was laid on the table and Senator Wightman launched into an P? attack on the board claiming that when it was created supporters of the movement declared all evils would b<cured and that now conditions were just as bad as he saw it. He charged / FISH AND OYSTER INDUSTRIES t Growing in -Quantity _and -Qualit: Yearly in South Carolina. Big increases in the oyster and sha< industries of South Carolina are re ported for 1920, by the state board o Fisheries, in its annual report, mad' recently to the legislature and th< governor. The oyster industry of thi state is growing each year, in quan tity, quality and size says the re port. During 1920 there were plant ed 200,000 bushels of oysters o;. thi South Carolina coast. "There is n< scarcity of ^oysters in our state" say the report; "all we need to make thi; a more profitable industry is to ge the people interested in settling oi our coast, for we have everything bu the people. As to commerce in shad in Soutl Carolina, the report shows that dur ing last year the catch was the big gest in many years, 85,736 shad beinj caught and bringing in reveue total ing $3,000, not counting the sha< caught for persoal use, of which thi board has no records. The report also shows that durinj 1920 a total of 45,400 pounds of stur geon and 344 pounds of caviar wa; caught and shipped. This industry the report says, gives employment to hundreds of pepole during the sum mer months. The report also says that the clan industry in South Carolina show, slight increase; but that commerc in terrapins is on the wane in Soutl Carolina, E. W. DuRant Georgetown E. C. Epps, of Kingstree, and Thos H Rainsford, of Edgefield constitute th State Board of Fisheries. o About the first duty to fall into th' hands of Probate Judge Snowden up on enterisg office was the perform ance of a marriage ceromony.' Th contracting parties were of the color ed persuation. On Monday, howevei Judge Snowden was called upon t< "tie the knot" for a white couple, th parties to the nuptial ceremony be ing Miss Alma Sports who becam the bride of Mr. Bfenj. F. Gamble, botl of the Greelyville section. It is hope that the Judge's duties, in this parti cular line will multiply, inasmuch a there is a possibility of he himsel being influenced thereby to "follov suit". that the secretary, G. Croft Williams was not content to receive a salary o CAA CAiiv/tn K11+ in oHHi 90,l?VV 11VIU VMU9 0VUIVV VMV til twvu tion taught Bible at the universit and received $400 for two months o this teaching. Two big offices in sky scrapers had been opened and num erous persons employed to assist th secretary*, all to no avail as far a work was concerned, Mr. Wightmai said. Senator Halt heartily agreed witl Mr. Wightman and read from th budget report where this board ha* expended $29,000 last year, he saic to "discover that some convicts ii York county had left the lid off of ; slop bucket." Atkinson Succeed Cothran J. Buford Atkinson, Spartanburj county was Tuesday elected speak er of the house to succeed Thomas F Cothran, who was recently elevate* to the supreme bench to fill the va cancy caused by the death of Associ ate Justice Daniel Hydrick. Repre * ' * L.U.* At_ sentative Atmnson was nomine m office of speaker pro tem. when elect ed to preside over the sessions of th house. The house of representatives yes terday a'dopted a resolution expressing ing sympathy for Governor Coope in the loss of his sister, who passei away near Ware Shoals Monday af ternoon Representative C. D. Nance o Anderson, Tuesday introducved a bil which requires that all venders o books, medicines, toilet articles an< other merchandise, who travel fron house to house in making sales, pa; a license for so doing. The bill wa eont the ^nmmittee on iuaiCiai'V. Letters from South Carolina's rep resentatives in Washington wen read in the house yesterday in whicl acknowledgement was made of th< receipt of the resolution favoring : continuation of-federal aid to Soutl Carolina in road building. Representative W. D. Ballard o Anderson Tuesday introduced a bil in the house which would prohibi the carrying of concealed weapons ii a vehicle used for unlawful purposes Representative Ballard in speaking of his measure, said thjt it wa: aioaed specially at the whiskey traf fic carried on in automobiles whicl sometimes also carry weapons. Thi bill was referred to the committee 01 Jv iciary. ^ -"\ < \ V . / EUGENE V. DEBBS NOT DISAPPOINTED I! J DECLARES HE WOULD HATE TO fJ BE INDEBTED TO WILSON a! FOR FREEDOM. -1 e i s Atlanta, Feb. 1.?Eugene V. Debs, _ Socialist leader now serving a ten. year sentence in the federal prison _ here for violation of the espionage B law, was not "surprised nor oisap0 pointed" over the President's refusal 3 to commute his sentence, according to s a statement he issued here today t through his counsel, Sar.iuel W. Casj tleton of Atlanta. t "It was my only fear," the statement said, " -hat I might be indebted ^ for my liberty to Woodrow Wilson. . My record, good or bad, is at least . consistent and that is the only way it j could have been smirched." The statement refers to the Presi } dent as the "most pitiful figure in hls? tory." "No man in public life in American history," it said, "ever ref tired so throughly disci-edited, so . scathingly rebuked, so overwhelmings ly impeached and repudiated as Woodrow Wilson. Shortly after the Nov. ember election his private secretary . made a pitifui plea for him, saying that all he craved was the love of the i people. This plea was stamped by the s American people with the one word E 'denied,' the one word he wrote on the back of the recommendation for my ; pardon." After stating that Debs was "never e in better physical condition in my life than I am at this hour," the statement continues: e "Mr. Palmer called attention to the ~ fact that I sliall be eligible to parole " August 11, 1922. In answer to this I e have to say that I shall not apply for " parole, nor accept it. I shall serve my '? term to the last day or leave here 0 with an unconditional pardon. I came e for my convictions and I shall not " betray them for a paltry considerae tion such as a parole. I may be in ^ prison, but unlike the mar who keeps ^ me here, I am not an exile from my " own country. When I leave this prison s I shall go unrepentant. ? f "Senator Capper showed the other v day that out of four billions annual expenditures for this country that 97 r 3per cent is spent on war, the result i. of war and preparation for war and f that 3 per cent, is spent on education - and constructive work. That's where y Wilson stands. I stand for construcf tion instead of destruction and devas tation." o e s Santee Bridge Commisioners Meet. n 1 Mr. P. G. Gourdin was in Charlesh ton Tuesday to attend an important P meeting of the Board of Commissiond ers of the Santee Bridge district, at |t which meeting the bids submitted for Q the $200,000 worth of Santee bridge a bonds, were opened and all rejected for the reason that the prices offered were below par, the members of the g commission feeling that a better of. fer can be sucured. In fact an offer > at private sale has been made, which J it is expected, will be concluded very . shortly, the purchaser paying a price . a little above par. The law authorizing the sale of e these bonds provides for a total issue of $500,000, bearing interest of 6 per e cent per annum, but for the present only $200,000 worth are to be sold. Mr. Gourdin is one of the seven r commissioners appointed by Governor r Cooper to direct this undertaking, d which when completed will aid great. ly in opening up undeveloped portions of Williamsburg and Berkeley counf ties, and will mr.ke it possible for 1 motorists to run down to Charleston e and hnrlr within a few hours. 1 0 Make Your Tax Returns r Q Februaiy 2Dth is the last day for making tax returns. After that day, according to law, 50 per cent, penalty! 2 may be applied to all those who have I not made their returns to the cqpnty j auditor. All the property in the coun1 ty, including personal property, such 1 as household furniture, watches, etc.,1 ^ should be returned, in which case I . the tax rate would be materially re- ] t duced. l 0 i. Recommendations by the Departr ment of Justice that Eugene V. Debs, s long a prominent Socialist leader and - now serving a ten-year setence at At i lanta, ua., ior viuwuuu uj. ww-uiuc; - espionage laws be pai-doned on Februi ary f2 next, was rejected by President j Wilson Monday. ? V CHARGED WITH , KILLING AT PAMPLICO r E. D. BIGHAM HELD RESPONSI- e( BLE FOR DEED BY CORO- st NER'S JURY. 01 f( That E. D. Bigham was the perpe- ol trator of the crime which cost the oi lives of three members of the Bigham di family and the two adopted children te of the late Mrs. Black, is the opinion ts of the jury of inquest which rendeded st its verdict at eleven o'clock last ir night after hearing at Pamplico di Thursday the testimony of thirty wit- n< nesses including the re-examination le of Mrs. Bigham, the wife of Edmund ai Bigham, and the oldest daughter. B The jury found that Mrs. M. M. Big- ^ ham, Mrs. Margie Black, the two Mc- a< Cracken children, aged three and six, n' and L. S. Bigham, had come to their deaths at the hands of E. D. Bigham. Coroner Smith officially issued a jwarrant charging E. D. Bigham with the murders. Bigham is now being held at the Florence county jail on a warrant sworn out by John Mc- p Cracken, the father of the two mur- jj dered children. This warrant was g ?A**tTAyi "R i rrVi o m nrrocfurl An .Tfln- Hi ocx v cu ouu ?mavw*v?* uary 20th, five days after the tragedy ^ at the Bigham home two miles from g Pamplico. li It was at first believed that L. S. Bigham in a fit of despondency over E alleged financial troubles had commit- B ted the murders and then kille'd him- g self, but following up the strong sen- ei timent in the community that such B could not have been the case, Coroner Smith continued his investigation and A has built up a case the circumstances g of which, based on the evidence adduced, are believed by the jury of in- B quest sufficiently strong to warrant v< the placing of the deed o n Edmund V Bigham. H Philip H. Arrowsmith conducted the investigation for the Coroner at T the hearing Thursday. He dug deep- E ly into the case and it appears from the verdict completed a chain of cir- g cumstantial evidence which is respon- M sible for the verdict against E. D. Big- M barn. The two Singletary negroes who n' have been in the Florence county ^ jail, at Florence for several days as material witnesses and the wife ^ of Andrew Singletary were important witnesses. Andrew Singletary testi- ^ tied that after the wood cutters had ^ been paid off on Saturday January 15, E. D. Bigham and L. S. Bigham re- tr mained in the woods. Later he passed the house wit hhis wife and son going* to Pamplico and he saw E. D. Bigham emerge from the woods alone C1 and after looking up and down the f road proceed to the house. This was J after Mrs. Bigham had sent a vest out to him by one of the McCracken ,r children. Bigham went toward the 01 house wifh the child. The time was ^ about three o'clock. His testimony ^ was corroborated by his wife and P' son. Robert Foxworth testified that 01 Edmund Bigham with his family in C( his car, had swept up to his house P which was only a short distance from a' the Bigham home, and had a hurried ^ conversation with him, so hurried in f fact, that the witness did not remem- 111 ' ber much about it, and that Bigham had then turned his car in the direc- c< tion of the Bigham home, i The testimony of Mrs. Bigham and r< of the oldest daughter is said to have 111 varied considerably from that given ey at the hearing on Sunday, January f 16th, and although the two were to! cether in the car on the triD to and ^ from Foxworth's, their stories of what 01 had occurred conflicted at several P* points. 01 It was stated that the deed which a' Mrs. Bigham presented to Clerk of 111 Court Singletary for recording and ?.1 was later withdrawn by her for some reason, has not yet been recovered. Mrs. Bigham is said to have stated ?* that she had delivered the deed to her ?* husband at the jail. This deed ac- " cording to Mr. Singletary who read ^ I it rloselv while it was in his Dosses sion, was signed by Mrs. M. M. Bigham, Mrs. Margie Black and L. S. er Bigham ami conveyed the entire Big- ^3 ham property to E. D Bigham for a consideration of $42,000. Mr. Singletary declares that the deed bears every appearance of having been Um- ?* pered with; that it is evident that at the names of the original grantees ? had been erased and the name of Ed- to mund Bigham written therein. It was re executed at Charleston originally and th was probated by Sam Rittenburg, No- F. tary Public. According to Mr. Single- cl< tarv the consideration also appeared hi \ THREE BILLS FOR BRIDGES. itroduced in Senate by Dial?Passag is Expected. Senator Dial, on Monday} introdut 1 three bills to authorize the cor ruction of bridges across South Cai ina rivers. The measures were re ;rred to the committee on commerc F which the senator is a member. A F the bills have already been intrc jced in the House, two by Represer ttive Stoll and the other by Represer ttive Mann. They authorize th ate highway commission in operai ig with the local authorities to buil rawbridges across the Santee at c jar Murray's Ferry, between Berk< y and Williamsburg counties an cross tjie Pee Dee at or near Mai luff Ferry between Florence an [arion counties and a highway bridg cross the Wateree at or near Gai ei^s Ferry between Sumter and Ricl md counties. ??o HONOR ROLL. fnion High School for Month Endin January 7th First grdcle: Edward Sanders, , . Baxley, Dudley Cook, Teddy Wil ams. ^David Sanders, highly distil uished; James Munnerlyn, Ann: [ay Wall, Mary Baxley, Loj I Carraway, Walter Britton, Herma asaions. John Small. Itlv Cribb. Wi e Powers. Second grade: Mary Sue Brittoi iva Sanders, Liston Cribb, Junii axley, Azalee Avant; highly distil uished; John Lawrence Altman, Olh r Wilder, Lawrence Fenters, Olli axley. Tird Grade: John Fenters, Kir vant, Alec Owens; highly distil uished: John Wesley DuRant. Forth grade: Laurice Rhem, Ji ethel Rhem, Johnnie Thomas, Ha: ey Gorman, Ethel Tanner, Luci] Wilson, Kate Williams, Annie Baxle; fortense Wilder. Fifth grade John S. Rhem, Wallac art, Allen Johnson, Margie Altmai daphell Richardson. Sixth grade: Ellerbe Baxley, Mai ie Britton, Virginia Munnerlyr fanning Thomas, Clyde Tart, Caper Williams. Seventh grade: Mary Louise Mui erlyn, Jettie Wilder, Emma Brittor avis Williams, Ollie Avant. Eight grade: Fulton Strong, Ren filson, Omy Wilder, Frances Snow. Ninth grade: Annie Carrawaj ouise Carraway, Louise Cribb, Ne filson. Eleventh grade: Rufus Cribb, Gei ude Haddock, May Williams, o Mass Meeting Tomorrow Night There will be a mass meeting c tizens at the Town Hall tomorrow Friday) night at 8 o'clock. The ot ;ct of this meeting is to decide uj i the present vex$d question of lighl ig the town of Kingstree and is a itcrop of the council meeting hel ist Friday night when officials of th ingstree Electric Light and Ice Con; any appeared before the body an iade it plain that their compan >uld no longer light the town at th resent price of $300 the mont rid at the same time gave notice ths ghts would be discontinued afte riady (tomorrow) night unless a irrease is granted. Tht company now asks the tow >uncil to pay $500 per month fc reet lighting. This the council ^ i jfused to do, hence the citizens ma^ leeting has been called for tomorrow rening. For some time past the exhorbitar not prohibitive rate of about 25 ie K. W. hour has been charged fc irrent for home and comercial pui 5ses, plus a $3.00 per month mint um charge. An opportunity will b forded the citizens of Kingstree t< orrow night to thrash out this parti ?lar utility question to its satisfac on. However, to .our mind, there is liti! ! real merit ever comes as a resul ? mass meetings. Tne citizens ha mfidence enough in the members o le aldermanic body to elect them t Fice as guardians of the town's in rests, and the welfare of its taxpav s, and this matter should be settle r that body in the best way possibl r the town and its citizens. o Governor Frederic Hale Pankhurst Maine, died Monday of pneumonij Augusta, Me. have been changed, elimmatini ference to the mortgage coverinj e bond for Cleveland Big/iam. Mrs D. Bigham took this deed to th< ?rk*of court but did not leave it witl m for purposes of record. t % AMERICA TO PROSPER ' STATES GARY i- HEAD OF STEEL CORPORATION BELIEVES NOW THAT NORi MALCY IS IN SIGHT :e i 11 Elbert H. Gary chairman of the >- United States Steel corporation, disl cussing economic cvondition^, expressl ed the opinio-: that the United States ie was bound to be prosperous because t- of its unequal ec1 resurces. Judge d Gary said: ' . >r "I am only repeating what many are at present saying when I assert id that there are many things in the general atmosphere which are disid quieting. And yet, I am as hopeful ;e and confident of the future as I have r- been at any time, l- "Conditions are no worse than-manymonths ago it was predicted would probably be tne case, wiin otners i have for a long time hinted at the possibilities. K "The wonder is times have not been much worse. "Conditions are abnormal. The *' minds of men throughout the world are distorted. This of course, is the result of the terrible war through IC which we have pfssed. 7~ "Criminal outbreaks in large cities, ? revolutions in various countries, quarre Is between sections the disposition to get something for nothing/ even by Q' force are all direct results of the mills itary conflicts which have been ragl" ing. , 7~ "The exhibition of hate, greed, pasie sion and distrust come from the abnormalized condition of the minds of k people. During the war men had been thinking of power and force. Demoralization, envy, cupidity have been developed. The capitalist has been r" using his wealth to unreasonably if le not unfairly increase his fortune. The ^ workmen have been trying to secure larger compensation for less service. :e The tradesmen has been buying for lowest obtainable prices and charging the highest profits which would be tolerated. ' "There has been indifference on the part of many to the rights and interests of others. The golden rule in l~ business has been temporarily suspended. There has been an orgy of 'extravagance and profligacy. a "I am, of course speaking of the in-^ clination of the majority, recognizing that there are always large numbers of exceptions. "So far as the majority of the peo- j pie are concerned they have some excuse for they have been influenced by the examples of their national administrations. Public authorities, or some of them, have been guilty of A many of the offenses to which I have alluded. "Future generations locking back to the presenf will be amazed when " contemplating how nearly insane large 1 numbers of public, officials and prie vate individuals seem to have been. To kill people by the millions whet ( not absolutely necessary or to steal * property in large quantities, or to ap? propriate property or territory of another of large value, is just as bad as I to murder a single individual or to ' steal a small amount of money, or to n rob another of a single horse, although not generally so considered. n. "For governments to waste money II j by millions or billions for war pur ?*1- ?- ^WOVOIIOoKlo poses unneccessaruy as as for individuals to waste small k amounts.^ "I am not now proposing to apply the general principals to any individual nation or nations or to any classified people, or to do more than make the point that in view of what the world has been passing through during the past few years we should t/e thankful that there has not been, since the war closed, more crime, disorder and dishonesty than we have witnessed. ^ "There is another side to this picture. I wish to refer particularly to ^ the United States?to our own situation, our opportunities and prospects. 0 "I have before referred to the pecuniary resources of the United States. Others have frequently done the same. Newspapers have published the facts and figures. They are startling. No one familiar with them !can doubt the potentiallity of our country. "In addition to that we have the spirit and determination Which can rjand will overcome all obstacles with ? the greatest success. S "The country which within a year and a half can mobilize five or six ' millions of men for its army and navy (Continued on Page Four) J