The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, August 18, 1921, Image 1
4
a iljc Countjj Jtccorfc
VOL. 36. KINGSTREE, SOUTH CAROLINA, THURSDAY, AUGUST 18, 1921. NO. 23
- ?
PRISONERS MAKE
FULL CONFESSION
1FOX AND GAPPINS TELL OF
KILLING COLUMBIA TAXI
DRIVER.
Confession to having committed one
of the most brutal murders in police
annals was wrung from C. 0. Fox and
Jessie Gappins, the two prisoners taken
from Augusta to the Savannah jail
'??* mnmincr nftpr an'
ICOiijr iaoi> xuvua^a/ ?? f
all-night ride to avert a lynching party
that stormed the Richmond county
jail at Augusta shortly after Sheriff
jPlunkett left with the two men.
Their statement of the killing of
William Brazell, a young chauffeur
of Columbia, whom they had engaged
to go for a ride with the intention
of robbing him, was practically the
same as that made by S. J. Kirby,
now in the South CVarolina penitentiary.
Fox and Gappins were hurried from
the Augusta .jail Thursday morning
by Sheriff Plunkett following information
that a party of 50 automobiles
were coming to take the men.
He left instruction with the jailer to
let the lynching party in to search
the jail. The sheriff with his two
prisoners left the jail and started for
Savannah. stODDing only at Waynes
boro to pick up a Burke county officer
who was familiar with the roads
leading to Savannah.
In the presence of Sheriff Plunkett
and Jailer Kidwell the two men confessed
their guilt, telling a revolting
tale of the murder of Braxell. The
confessions of the two men were
then signed, Kidwell witnessing the
signatures.
In their confession the two men
stated that they with Kirby engaged
the car from Brazell with the inten^
tion of driving to Lexington. They
planned to get him out in the country,
they said, and take the car from
him, but at the time had r.o intention
of killing Brazell.
Brazell, after driving them about
for some time, stopped the machine
to buy some gasoline and one of
the party stepped from the machine
to see how much money he had with
him when he paid for the gasoline.
It was found that he had $3 in his
possession.
The automobile started again and,
stopping for a few minutes in the
road, according to the statement of
the men, Fox struck Brazell in the
head with a billy. At this point the
three men attacked the helpless
driver with knives, brutally scabbing
him in the body. Brazell put up a
hard fight, but was overpowered by
his assailants, two of them holding
his hands behind his back, while
Fox plunged p. knife in the driver's
body.
The two men admitvcd that Brazell
pleaded earnestly with his as
sailants that they spare his me,
protesting that he would not turn
them up. His assailants turned a
deaf ear to his pleadings. Fox, in
a confession, admitted twisting the
knife around in Brazell's body after
he stabbed him.
The body of tiie dead man was
taken in the automobile and carried
along the road a short distance before
the slayers took it into the
woods some yards from the road.
There was very little money in the
pockets of the dead man, but after
relieving him of the few dollars he
had, they drove the automobile off.
The automobile finally broke down
near Waynesboro and the three men
deserted the car. Kirby told W. D.
Roberts of Waynesboro, that the
the other two men had committed
a murder. Kirby then showed where
the body of Brazell had been taken
by the passengers of the murder car.
Kirby is at present under arrest in
Columbia.
Defeated in their attempt to storm
the Richmond county jail at Augusta,
Ga., and lynch C. 0. Fox and Jesse
Gappins, self-confessed murderers of
William Brazell, 19 year old taxi
oriver, hundreds of Columbians, aiWed
members of the mob, returned
tc Columbia to wait further developments
in Sheriff Plunkett's tour of
Georgia in an effort to locate a jail in
which to lodge the two prisoners, who
^ were spirited from the Augusta prison
nft a few hours before the masked men
arrived to demand them. A few auto
mobiles loaded with men, said to be
v heavily armed, are still patroling
s roads leading into Columbia and Lex-,
ington and the threats of mob violence,
are still to be heard. We'll
wait until v.e get them." is apparently
the opinibn of the men concerned,
f *
CITES 6,508 SUICIDES
IN SIX MONTHS OF 1921
Save-A-Life League Reports a Big
Increase?214 Boy>, 293 Girls,
Take Their Own Lives.
A "suicide wave" has spread over
this country since the first of the
year, according to Dr. Harry M.Warren,
president of the Save-a-Life League,
with headquarters in New York
city.
"During the first six months," he
said, "there were reported to the
league 6,509 suicides, of whom 4,527
were males and 1,982 females. In
the first half of 1920, 2,771 suicides
were reported in the United States?
! 1.810 males tnd 961 females."
The average age of the male suicide
lis 43 years. Unsettled economic conditions,
with loss of imployment and
'business failures are blamed by Dr.
Warren for the "wave."
"The most dreadful phase of this
report," his statement continued, "is
the Ditiful fact that while 225 child
ren ended their lives in the first half
of 1920, the number has more than
doubled this year." Of these latter
214 were boys and 293 were girls, a
total of 507. The average is, boys, 16;
girls, 15. A large percentage of the
girls took poison, and most of the
boys shot themselves, according to
the report
according to persons known to have
conversed with them since their return.
Sheriff Plunkett apparently was
successful in eluding all members of
the Columbia party, despite the fact
that numbers of Columbia men had
been in the Georgia city since early
Wednesday afternoon, awaiting the
arrival of darkness and of .einforcements.
The sheriff * leavmg the
jail with his prisoners shortly after
10 o'clock was pursued by a car which
had been parked a block from the jail
all afternoon. This automobile is
said to have returned to Columbia
its driver reporting that, ignorant of
the Georgia roads, he had lost the
Augusta officers and the two prisoners
shortly after leaving Augusta.
Plans had been made, it was said, had
the raid on the Augusta jail proved
successful to bring the two men back
to the spot about three miles from
Leesville, where the mutlitated body
of the young transfer driver was
found, and there kill him.
When it was learned that the two
men had been placed in the Savannah
jail to be later moved elsewhere
since the Savannah prison was already
crowded beyond capacity, cars
are said to have been dispatched to
Savannah to await developments
there, following the sheriff should
he have made a dash for another jail.
Sheriff Alex HSise has had a long
conference with the mother of Jesse
Gappins, one of the two men now nein
in Georgia, Mrs. Gappins advancing
the theory that S. J. Kirby, whose
confession led to the arrest of the
three men, was the moving spirit behind
the plot to kill young Brazell
and take the car. Kirby visited her
home to hold a long conference with
Jesse Gappins Sunday afternoon, Mrs.
Gappins said, the two men talking
in secret for nearly two or three
hours. Her son, after Kirby left the
house, Mrs. Gappins told the sheriff,
told her that he was going to leave
on a trip that night and that he
would write her in about two weeks
and advising her in the meanwhile
not to be worried. It was at this conference,
Mrs. Gappins believes, that
the murder-robbery plot was engineered
and her son involved in the
scheme. ,
Kirby has a particularly unsavory
reputation among neighbors and
county officers, and Sheriff Heise
stated that it Was his belief that when
the entire truth was revealed that it
would be found that Kirby was considerably
more involved in the crime
than was admitted in his confession.
Kirby, in making his statement to the
Augusta sheriff, told a story of how
he had been forced by Fox and Gap
pins to secure the car, thinking that
it was to be used to take the three
men to "get some girls" near Lexington,
Kirby engaged Brazell's car, he
said, under compulsion and then drove
to the Seaboard depot and picked up
the other two men.
This, officers think, is a weak link
in his statement, absolving himself
of blame of the killing, it being
pointed out that there was nothing
to have prevented hi mfrom making
his escape from Gappins and Fox
at the time. Kirby also had an opportunity,
it is thought, to leave the
car while the two men carried the
body into the woods, as relate*^ in his
TOBACCO SALES FOR
! MONTH OF JULY
I AMOUNT SOLD AND SUM RECEIVED
LOWEST SINCE 1916
FOR THIS MONTH.
. i The average rate for tobacco sold
1 in July this year compared with the 1
jprice in July last year is a fraction!;
,'over 8 cents against 22 1-10 cents, ac-'
cording to the tobacco report of the <
, ofato Aanai^niort nF Affrimilture fftf ! '
amw uv|/t?iMuvnv VA ,
' the month of July, and made public
, Saturday. The report shows that the '
; tobacco sold for producers m the 65 1
(warehouses at 25 markets was 7,452,- 1
, 818 pounds which brought an aggre,!
gate price of $598,346.10. This is the <
smallest amount rcld and the lowest 1
price paid in the aggregate J nee 1916, 1
according to the statistics oi che de- j
.jpartment. It is also tSe smallest av-il
erage price paid for the staple since <
1916 for the month of July. <
The following are the sales by the ]
j producers at each of the mrakets dur,'ing
the month of July: 1
Pounds Amount <
Sold Paid 1
Aynor 176,422 14,393.99 i
! Andrews 153,330 $ 9,971.53 <
Bamberg 60,820 2,006.00 1
Conway 512,699 35,946.05 1
Darlington 283,157 14,945.56 ]
Dillon 267,375 18,358.17 1
Florence 275,874 19,786.81 ]
i Georgetown 41,718 3,667.01 <
j Hartsville 44,050 1,457.32 1
" nnn 1 /?n 1 e OAQ tt i
Hemingway v iv^uu^u i
Johnsonville 359,333 31,859.75 i
Kingstree 683,614 45,496.50 i
Lake City 962370 105,617.95 i
Lake View 239,256 21,053.46
Lamar 122,178 6,905,93 1
Latta 93,556 5,792.42 i
Loris 381,579 34,606.87 1
(Lynchburg 83,432 4,242.28
Manning 274,550 13,560.20 ]
Marion 296,472 20,297.77 i
Mullins 729,599 75,115.03 i
Nichols 295,855 30,054.57 j
Pamplico 122317 8,812.84
Sumter 140,037 9,024.50 j
Timmonsville __ 631,165 49,170.26 i
Total 7,452318 $598346.10 >
The following is a comparison of the 1
'market for the month of July for eacn
year 1912 to 1921 inclusive:
Pounds Amount Av'ge
Year Sold Paid PricePd >
1912 __ 5,064,085 381,604.95 .0753 i
1913 __ 8,731,789 194,415.34 .1253 3
1914 __ 3,862,346 387,762.31 .1004 ?
1915 __ 3,378,716 145,499.23 .0431 i
1916 ? .657316 51333.74 .0788 <
11917 18,954,777 4,151,674.84 .2165 1
" ~ r\ 4 OOO/? c
j 1918 ?23,876,78b 8,lZ0,ZD?.u<i .oooo >i
1919 24,959,252 5,256,115.05 .2105 1
1920 ?10,351,945 2,319,563.83 .2240 i
1921 __ 7,452,818 598,346.10 .0803 1
confession. His having only one arm, *
ic is contenaed, will also explain the
alleged fact that he took no active ]
part in the actual killing of the boy i
and the dragging of the body into the *
woods. 1
Kirby is known to have been parol- 1
! ed while serving .i two year sentence 1
for robbery and burglary in the peniI
tentiary and at the time of the murder <
j ol Brazell was being watched by Sher- 1
! iff Heise for alleged implication in i
li??He is said to *
1 UUI glCfcX AV>0 AAA
'have been educated for the ministry,
later turning infidel. This last statement
is denied at Kirby's residence,
friends claiming that "he never let a
day pass without reading his Bible."
"I don't care what they do with
the three men" M. E. Brazell father
of the murdeied boy, said recently
"Lynching would be to good for them
and nothing that can be done will restore
my boy to me. Nothing can
make me satisfied; nothing can make
me forget how he was killed." Mr.
| Brazell also gave it as his opinion that
Kirby was as deeply involved as the
other two mne. Mr. Brazell thanked
the various transfer drivers for the
evidence of their friendship for his
son. "I did not know Bill was so popular,"
he said. Practically every taxi
j driver and owner in the city attended
- - '
the boy's funemi weonesaay ^
noon, many also sending floral trib- ^
utes. t
| Fox and Gappins in Charleston Jail. ^
Fox and Gappins are in jail at y
Charleston where there has been no v
indication whatever of mob play since c
ithey were lodged there Sunday night f
and while the local authorities are con- j
ftdent that no effort will be made to s
get the prisoners out of jail, they are ?
unwilling to take any chance over the t
whole affair. y
Fox who is a large and powerful j
man, and Gappins are confined in sep- n
erate cells. They are under close sur- a
velilance, the authorities risking no c
DOUBLE KILLING i
NEAR MOUNT HOLLY;
DEAD MEN. IT IS CLAIMED,
WENT TO SETTLE
DIFFICULTY ,
A farmer named Baker, a tenant on,
the Tom Hill plantation of the Mount!
Holly Development Company, near
Mount Holly, was lodged in jail Fri-j,
.ay night at Monck's Corner, charged ,
with shooting and killing Messrs. |
Potter and Hutson, farmers, at his |
b.ome Friday morning. All three of ^
the men involved in the tragedy are ^
white. I,
The inquest was held and the ver-! (
.act of the coroner's jury was that the
two men came to their death fromj'
' -i J- 1 D.I... i'
junsnoi wounas jruiicteu uy our.ci.|
Mr. Hutson was Willed instantly, while;
Mr. Potter did not die until the inquest
was being held over the body ,
)f Mr. Hutson. Magistrate Mullinax
presided at the inquest.
It is reported that the three men
aad had previous trouble, although it ,
:culd not be ascertained what that
trouble was. It is reported that Mes- j
>rs. Potter and Hutson went to Bak- (
'r's residence and made the statement |
that they had come to settle the dif- .
iculty. Words were exchanged when
Mrs. Baker it is alleged, came out and 1
tuld her husband to go into the house. (
ll is stated that the two men began
:ursing Mrs. Baker, that Baker told ,
hem he could not stand for it, and,
t is alleged, he said he was going into (
:he house for his gun and if they had ,
not gone when he came out he was gong
to shoot # ,
When he came out they turned to
cave, it is alleged, and he shot It was
reported that both men were shot in J
;he back.
Dr. Simmons, of Summerville, took
Mr. Potter's ante-mortem statement, j
n which he said, it is reported, that he
vent to Baker's to borrow a plowstock
?nd not to look for trouble.
Several cartridges, it is said, were (
found in the pockets of the two dead j
nen and a large knife. It is not known
whether any weapons were found on j
:heir persons or not ,
o ]
Information Concerning Insurance. (
The time limit for reinstating or re- (
nstating and converting war insurmce
has been extended to January 1, <
L922. If vour insurance has lapsed ]
stop a minute and consider reasons \
vhy you should reinstate it. Every
>ne who has given the matter an> ;
;hought knows that government in- ;
wrance is second to none. Why not |
lold on to good thing v hile you have ?
t?
The conditions under whicn tins jn>jranee
may be reinstated or reinstated
and converted are as follows:
The payment of at least two months
premium. If not more than three i
nonths have passed since the insur- ^
ince has lapsed the applicant has only j
jo state that he is in as stood health as j
le was at the date his last premium ^
vas due.
If more than six month:) have pass- i
id since the insurance lapsed the ap- (
alicant must send in a report of a full j
medical examination given him by |
tome reputable physician.
Application blanks and further in- (
'ormation on this subject may be had ,
it the office of the Red Cross secreary
for Williamsburg county.
:hance of their harming themselves
n any way. A death watch is no mora
itricter. Both men are reported to be
vorried over their plight and they
ire said to be very nervous, realizing
hat their condition is desperate.
It is reported lhat both men talk
reely and leadily of the crime with
vhich they are charged. It is said
hat they say that Kirby persuaded t
hem to join him in the theft of a c
ar and that it was in the carrying out (
>f this pact that Brazell was killed i
lear Leesville. ^
Gappins and Fox, it is reported, r
harge that Kirby, on the lonely coun- i
ry road found an excuse for stopping
' ? J?' U.. on/l tVlof
ne car driven uj uia^u v.._.
Jrazell was forcibly dragged to the
>Touiid. Kirby is said to have choked Y
he chauffeur and Fox to have struck t
lim repeatedly with a black jack t
vhile Gappins held him. They are e
luoted as saying that Brazell begged v
or his life and said that if they re- d
eased him he would not tell. Fox is I
aid to admit that he told Brazell t
tot to worry, as lie would make sure }
hat Brazell never told. After the h
lack jack was worn out, it is said,
^ox stabbed Brazell in a brutal manler.
Brazell's body was thrown into h
i clump of bushes and Gappins be- J
ame chauffeur to the party. d
SAFE CONTAINING
$60,000 IS STOLEN
S. W. Young, Farmer, Living About
Eight Miles From Lake
City, Victim.
Lake City, Aug. 17.?Some-time between
Sunday and Monday night, during
the absence of S. W. Young, a
prosperous farmer, whose home is
about eight miles west of here, his
house was entered and the iron safe
in which he kept Liberty bonds valued
at obout thirty thousand dollars and
almost an equal amount in mortgages
and other securities was removed and
tracks in the yard indicate that it was
hauled away in a wagon. Mr. Young
was apprised of the fact upon his return
to his home Tuesday afternoon
and is making every effort to apprelend
the robbers.
o
NEWS FROM SALTERS
Topics of Interest Gathered by the
Record's Correspondent.
Salters Depot, August 15.?We are
still having warm, showery weather
ivhich has been very favorable for the
boll weevil, which has certainly, played
havoc with the cctton. There will
be the shortest crop In this section in
35 years and the outolok is very
gloomy from this standpoint, but on
Lhe other hand, the corn crop with few
exceptions is good, in fact, the best
in years; potatoes and peas look well
and bid fair to make fine crops. There
are a good many hogs to kill, so let
us cheer up; there is always sunshine
aner rain.
We were glad to have with us last
week Dr. L. B. Salters and family of
Florence, who visited relatives here.
Dr. Salters gave us a fine talk at the
Christian Endeavor meeting Sunday
night which was enjoyed by all.
Miss May B. Heyward, of Columbia
is visiting Mrs. M3ttie Ferrel.
Mr. Robbie Donelly and Miss Blanch
McDaniel sprung a surprise on their
friends here Sunday. They were
quietly married at the home of the
bride at 8:00 a. m., by the Rev. H.
W. Shealy and after the ceremony
motored to Lane where they boarded
train No. 83 for Charleston and other
points. Only the immediate families
if the contracting partita were pres
nt to witness tno ceremony.
Mr. T. ti. Richardsons new residence
on Academv street is going Uf
tapidly and will add much to the
icwn.
The stork visited the honu: of Mr.
and Mrs. J. J. Evans Monday night
and left a bouncing soy. Motner and
jabe are doing well.
3hrd shrd shrd shrd shrd hrd hrdrrr
o
Hie Boss Rattler.
John Pressley, a colored farm hand
>n Mr. John Burgess' place in the
Bethel section last Friday came upon
and killed what is believed to be the
x>ss rattler of this section. The repdie
war. apparently making its way
" A- AL. 1 * V
.rom me swamp w uie o?* nugc wucm
Pressley's dog came upon him. Pressley
was reluctant in tackling the snake
>n account of its enormous size, but
inally took courage and says he "first
capped him lightly to hear him make
i fuss with his rattles." When he had
completed the undertaking, he carried
;he dead reptile to show some of his
leighbors. It is said to have measur?d
five and a half feet in length, 12 %
nches in circumference, and was
quipped with a set of eighteen rat;les
and the usual button which is said
x> indicate that the snake, or at least
;he dangerous end of him, was more
t J
nan eignun;ii years uiu.
O
Gilmer's Meeting
The Williamsburg Gymer's Associaion
is called to meet here at the office
>f the Williamsburg Liberty Milling
:o. on Wednesday, August 24th at
ioon. All ginners in the county,
vhether members of the association or
lot, are invited to attend this meetng.
Heavy Sales This Week.
The heaviest sales of the season 1
lave been the feature of the Kings- !
lee tobacco market this week. Good ]
obacco has brought good prices at
ach of the three warehouses. There ]
/as so much of the weed in town Mon- i
[ay that there was no sale at the i
kelson Warehouse and on Tuesday 1
here was no sale at the Farmer's ]
Warehouse. Yesterday each of the '
louses were filled to the doors.
o <
There will be a baseball game played ;
iere next Wednesday between the ,
fouzon and Black River teams. La- !
ies will be admitted free. i
fir ^
THIEF ENTERS TRIO
STORESAND BANK
PILFERS BUSINESS PLACES AND
LEAVES TOWN ON CITIZEN'S
MULE.
During the early hours of Monday
morning a cheap thief made it his
business to pilfer the little town of
Trio in a pretty thorough manner, and
while the thief made his escape, his
identity is said to be known and his
apprehension, it is believed, is only
a matter of short time.
The thief entered the town sometime
about mid-night; went to Mr. Moore'3
stable, where he secured a mule which
he tethered in a convenient place so
that if he became hard pressed he
could jump on the mule and get away.
After arranging with the mule, he
started his depredations. He entered
the depot, Rowell's two stores, Moore's
store, Trio Supply Co.'s store and the
bank of Trio. It is known that he
secured five dollarr in savings stamps,
one dollar and twenty cents in money
a few packages of soda crackers and
other items of minor value?none
worth the effort he exerted to break
the locks and chains and bars that
he was obliged to overcome before he
gained access to real treasure, of
which he apparently took very little.
While entering the Trio Bank the
people who live in the building were
aroused and became so excited that
no effort was made to capture the
burglar. After "inspecting" the bank,
the man left and pried his way into
a nearby store. While in this store
the man living in the bank building
i. i. 3 j m "? 11
went out ana arousea uir. i om no wen.
but when the latter got out he found
that the thief had mounted Mr.
Moore's mule and made his escape.
By this time it was nearly day-light,
a search was begun and it was learned
that the man, a negro, had ridden to
Suttons, where he turned the mule
lcose and took to the bushes afoot
It is believed that he later boarded a
train at Taft The mule returned to
its owner.
Deputy Sheriff Frierson was on the
scene early Monday with the blood
hounds.
o
MINISTER HELD FOR MURDER
To Face Charge of Killing Catholic
Priest in Alabama. ?
A verdict of unlawful homicide was
returned by Coroner J. D. Russum following
investigation into the death of
Father James E. Coyle, pastor of St.
Paul's Catholic Church at Birmingham,
Ala., who was shot to death on
the porch of the rectory last Thursday
night.
stepnenson nas oeon in jau since ue
surrendered to the police shortly after
the killing. Accoroing to the police,
the minister confessed that he shot the
priest after the latter had struck him
during an altercation which arose,
Stephenson said, -;ver the marriage of
his daughter, Ruth.
'I remonstrated with him for marrying
my daughter to a man against
whom we had lodged objections," the
prisoner is quoted as saying. "I called
him a 'dirty dog,' and he struck me.
Then I shot him."
o
R. T. Flowers Buried Here Yesterday.
The remains of Roland T. Flowers,
ace 30. son of the late Mrs. Ollie
Flowers, was brought here from Pittsburg,
Pa., for interment, which took
place at the Williamsburg cemetery
at 11 o'clock yesterday.
Young Flowers was raised in this
community and made his home here
with his mother until they moved
away some six or seven years ago.
He was a structual steel worker and
for some years had been employed
around Pittsburg, where he met his
death on the 10th of this month by
coming in contact with a live electric
wire while attempting to repair a
broken gas pipe running across the
Alleghany river at Pittsburg. When
be came in contact with the electric
wire he was thrown in the river and
his body sank immediately, but was
soon recovered. His body was buried
at Pittsburg and later exhumed and
brought to this place, where it was
placed beside that of his mother, who
wa3 buried here about two mnoths ago.
The young man is survived by his
wife and one child, also three brothers
and finp sister, namelv: R. H. and B.
J. Flowers. Cheraw; G. R. Flowers,
Pittsburg, and Mrs. M. D. Tindal of
Columbia.
:: ..... ,-JM