The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, June 08, 1922, Image 1
m
- ?ljc Countu llecatfi. i
P VOLUME 27?NO. 14 raE CX)UNTY RECORD, KINGSTREE, S. C., THURSDAY, JUNE 8, 1922 PRICE $1.50 A YEAR IN ADVANC1 j
HIGHES WILL NOT OFFER.
Marion Man Says People Like to Be
Humbugged.
I _______
Marion, June 5.?To the great dis|
appointment of his many friends, E.
I T. Hughts of this city, candidate for
congress in the approaching race, an- j
! nounced last night that he would not4
meke the run. He declared that he
was timf of politics and wished to I
devote his entire time to his personal
and business affairs.
Mr. Hughes stated that he had not
withdrawn from the race because he
BIGHAM CASE
ARGUED TOMORROW
NEW TRIAL WILL BE ASKED ON
GROUND OF NEWLY DISCOVERED
EVIDENCE.
i
(From The Florence Times.)
The next big chapter hi the Bigham
case will be written Friday, when
Judge S. W. G. Shipp, in criminal [
court, will hear a motion of A. L. i
King, attorney for the defense, to;
give Edmund D. Bigham a new trial
on the charge cf having killed his
brother, L. Smiley Bigham. The mo- ^
tion irill be on the ground of after J
discovered evidence, which would tend!
to show that L. S. Bigham killed himself,
instead of being killed by Edmund,
and further that L. S. Bigham
killed, their mother, their sister, and
her two adopted children, for whose J
" ---? -i? ?i
murder jeximuna is aisu jmuticu.
Formal notice was given by the de-;
fense Monday morning to L. M. Gas-1
que, solicitor of the court, of the ap-1
preaching contest. At the same time,!
the defense filed with him a copy of
the letters, affidavits, and other data,
which will be offered to the court as
after discovered evidence. Mendel L.
Smith, of Camden, is expected to assis:
the defense in arguing the motion
for a new trial.
Chief among the letters, all of which
are contended by the defense to have
been written by Smiley, at Pamplico,
to Edmund in South Georgia, is the
following:
"Mother and Margie and the two
signed deeds that had disappeared in
their possession. Causing trouble
seems to be their pleasure. They took !
the money that the P. O. Department
had me charged with and were the j
cause of Cleveland running off. And j
I h id to pay the bond. For years I
have had to leave home and pay board
to be in peace to make my calculations j
and ^lans. i
They poisoned father and tried to J
poison Leatha's child, after her deatn
when I found them with the deeds I
decided to kill the last one of them
and leave no one to tell the tale.
I am writing this to explain why
I did this, act. You will never see,
me again alive.
L. S. Bigham." j
This letter is one of a series which
were written during the summer and
the early fall of 1920, leading up to
the return of Edmund to Pamplico in
the fall of that year. This particular
letter does not bear any date though
all the others bear dates through
Jur.e, July and August, possibly some
of them being in September also. All
of them are typewritten and signed
in ink, as L. S. Bigham.
At the same time, the defense is
offering a number of affidavits, which
would tend to substantiate the letter
s and the statements contained in
them. As to the genuineness of the
signature of L. S. Bigham, compared
to signatures of L. S. Bigham on his
paid checks, the defense has the sworn
opinion of C. W. Wilkinson, agent at
Pamplico for the Seaboard Air Line
railroad, who says also that Smiley
frequently used his typewriter at the
office; E. M. Singletary, clerk of county
court, who says he believes that
the person who wrote the signature
on the checks also wrote signatures
- vi _ 1-11 - i 1 i 1.
01 cne leuers; u iocui imun. vim-icu,
who passes the signatures as genuine;
J. B. Connatser, principal of the commercial
course in Draughan's business
colleje in Columbia, who says unqualifiedly
that the signatures of the
letters appear genuine to him; William.
M. Gibbs, cashier of the Palmetto
Xational Bank in Columbia, who
says he would give great weight to
the opinion of Mr. Connatser; H. M.
Pleasants, cashier of the Farmers and
^ Merchants Bank of Pamplico, who
says the signatures on the cancelled
checks are genuine.
H- In support of the sentiment express
ed in the letter, which is published
W herewith, Mr. King has an affidavit
* from J. G. Miller, formerly of the
Pamplico section but now of this
vicinity, to the effect that in the fall
of 1920 Smiley cursed all his family
and threatened to kill everyone of
them. He recites that he had bargained
with Smiley tq buy a sawmill
3^^ and met him in Florence a few days
later. On meeting Smiley, Mr. Miller
says that Smiley appeared greatly
agitated and angered and without
waiving for any preliminaries, said,
"I can't sell you that mill, Mr. Miller.
My people are trying to steal
everything I have and I am going
to kill every one of them."
Mr. Miller Cautioned him and admonished
him, he says, but says further
feared ttie oui-come. i navj nuvci
been more optimistic about my
chances of election as I am now." lie
said, "but I am sick and tired of
politics for I believe the people had ,
rather be humbugged than represented.
Besides my affairs here in Ma- j
rion need my attention. I have reached
the conclusion that my duty is j
there rather than in running for congress."
The record of Mr. Hughes in the
state legislature won for him many!
admirers and staunch supporters in
this section. Many of his friends
undertook to dissaude him from withdrawing
from the race, but he made i
up his mind on the subject and re-1
fused to reconsider. Mr. Hughes is.
a member of the law firm of Mullins &
Hughes of this city and enjoys a
eiiKefaritial nrflrtire.
that Smiley showed he was deadly
in earnest and under stress enough i
to carry out his threats. Mr. Miller j
did not volunteer this information and j
affidavit to the defense, but the in- J
formation came through another j
source and Mr. King hunted him up. I
Also there an affidavit from Jim j
Cain, brother of Bogan Cain, who i
married the sister of Edmuifd and
Smiley Bigham. He relates that just
after Edmund had returned, he met
Mrs. Margery Black, the murdered
sister, and she told him, "Oh yes we
had to send for Edmund to come back
for protection" from Smiley, whom
he swears was addicted to the use of
intoxicants and in his sprees was
very dangerous.
Bigham was brought back to Florence
Saturday afternoon. He is now
in the Florence county jail. When
called upon by a Times reporter, Edmund
said:
"Well, I am like the little boy was
when the calf run over him?I don't
believe I've got anything to say."
On being reminded of the interviews
which had been published in Columbia
papers from him, he said they
had reported a lot of things which
! he never knew of till he read the
papers. He is looking in the prime
! of health. If he has worried over
| his sentence of death, he does not
1 show it.
i The finding of the. letters was explained
for the first time in the af;
fidavit of Mrs. May Bigham, wife of
' Edmund. She related that they had
been packed in their furniture when
| they moved from Georgia to Pampli- i
co. They were never unpacked till
the furniture later was shipped to
Taylors, in Greenville county. There,
ih casual cleaning up of the furniture,
she found these letters last winter |
and sent them to Mr. King.
Mr. King said this morning that
Edmund had told him, during the
trial, of those letters, but that they
had been unable to find them and
therefore did not mention them to
the court. The letters were not taken
care of and happened to survive
merely through chance than for any
! other reason, as Edmond says in an
affidavit. All the letters reflect a
muddled condition of affairs at the
Bigham home near Pamplico about
! the time they were written.
Most likely the order of this case
will be for the motion for a new trial
to be made before the court resentences
the defendant. In case of denial
it will be appealed, presumably.
Should the court elect to resentence
the prisoner first, as is not likely,
the motion would have the effect of
staying the order of execution by the:
court. In either procedure, quite!
likely, unless the court grants a new
trial, whether Bigham must be elec- j
trocuted or will get a new trial uo^er
order of the supreme court, wi^not
be settled for several months.!
After receiving the notice J. the
defense in Bighorn's case^^ry for
a new trial, the solpiii^rnmediately
associated witiy^mia number of Florence
attorney^ whom he has asked
to assist hjfl in handling the hearing
Friday of the motion. He has indicated
that he will make the bitterest
fight yet to sustain the verdict
which the state has procured against
Edmund. One of the attorneys, as
HON. W. P. POLLOCK
DIES SUDDENLY
DEATH FOLLOWS STROKE OF APPOPLEXY
AT HOME IN
CHERAW.
The Hon. W. P. Pollock, former
United States senator from South
Carolina, once a prominent candidate
for governor of the state, and one of
the leading lawyers of tl,e South Carolina
bar, died at his home in Cheraw
at 7 'oclock last Friday morning from
appoplexy. His death was sudden,
according to reports, and came as a
4^/v Lin ^omiltr nnrl "fvi
?Il'UL MiUtlY IU HP lauuij ctuu .
Mr Pollock was well known and extremely
popular in the state and
there will be general regret here over
the news of his untimely death. He
was an orator of great force and was
considered one of the brightest and
most accomplished men of the state.
Mr. Pollock had been a leading citizen
of Cheraw all his life. He graduated
from the University of South
Carolina in 1890. On December 5th
he entered the United States senate
where he served for a short time in
succession to the Hon. Christie Benet.
Mr. Pollock spoke in Kingstree several
times while in political campaigns
for governor and senator. He
was highly esteemed in this county.
sociated with Mr. Gasque, made the
following statement this afternoon:
"The solicitor states this is the
poorest attempt ever brought to his
attention in an effort to get a new
trial on after discovered evidence
since he has been solicitor. As a
matter of fact, the record shows the
desperate efforts of the defense to
obtain a new trial and the affidavits
show on their face it is not after discovered
evidence in any sense as alleged.
The letters alleged to have
been written by L. S. Bigham were
in the possession of Edmund before
the trial. They were mentioned to
his attorney and they apparently
made a half hearted search for them.
MIn the opinion of the solicitor,
there is really nothing whatever in
the record to indicate the letters are
genuine when every circumstance in
connection with the matter negates
this idea. The requirement of the
law that a man desiring a new trial
upon after discovered evidence is that
he should exercise due diligence in
nkfm'ninn ovi/fon/'o anrl nroc^ntinc* it
VVVOltUllg V f 1UV11VV M?V*
to the court and in this connection.
Mr. King's affidavit is to the effect
that he received the letters April 12
and his notice of intention to move
for a new trial was served only Monday
on the solicitor?at a time when
he is confronted with the heaviest
criminal docket on record. The solicitor
further says that the defendant,
Bigham, testified on trial in substance
what he now contends his deceased
brother wrote him and this evidence
is purely cumulative. He expressed
his confidence that the judgment of
the lower court, already affirmed by
the supreme court, will not be upset
by any showing which the alleged
after discovered evidence may make."
o
Miss Marks Married in Columbia.
The marriage of Miss Nellie Spann
Mtu-ks to the Rev. Henry Benson
Der.dy in Columbia last Thursday was
one of the chief social events of the
season. The ceremony took place at
the home of the bride's parents in
Shandon. The decorations for the occasion
were artistic and the scene
presented one of unusjj&POf beauty.
The bride, who is a graduate of the
University of South Carolina with the
degrees of M. A. and B. A., taught
for a while in the Columbia city public
schools and for several years has
been one of the leading social workers
of the city, having had charge of
the social work at the Glencoc miHs
and recently at the Coiumbia Children's
clinic. -The Rev. Mr. Dendy
wac graduated from the Columbia
Theological seminary and now has
charge of the Presbyterian church in
Wee.verville, X. C., to which town he
will take his bride after a 'sho:-t honeymoon
in Askevijle.
The ceremony was performed by the
Rev. John Wells, D. D., of the Theological
seminary, assisted by the Rev.
Thcrnton Whaling, D. D.. former president
of the seminary, and the Rev.
W. H. Boggs, pastor of Arsenal Hill
Presbyterian church.
Among those from a distance attending
the wedding were Mrs. Bertha
S. Wolfe and daughter, Miss Stella,
wh<- are related to the bride,
o
Send us your order? for job printing
*
"' \ iiriA'ffl"' i ^ i
HENRY FORD'S
FINAL OFFER
.
MANUFACTURER WOULD SAVE
| MUSCLE SHOALS FOR BENEFIT
OF PUBLIC.
Two committees cf congress Friday
resumed study of plans for develop- j
ing the government projects at Mus- \
cle Shoals, Ala., with a view to presenting
completed proposals to the
house and senate for final disposition.
In the house -military committee i
developments pointed to a quick decision
by that body, delivery there
of Henry Ford's final proposal and
i the presentation of a letter from him!
to Chairman Kahn calling for early !
acceptance or rejection or tne tenaer i
as a whole, stimulating action among 1
the committeemen. After an executive
meeting during which the new ;
language added by Mr. Ford to the 1
committee's counter offer, was carej
fully studied, another meeting was
'arranged for last Thursday when W.
' B. Mayo and J. W. Worthington, rep1
resenting the Detroit manufacturer,
! will j'oin the committee in what may
'be their last joint efforts to adjust
'existing differences.
That the meeting tomorrow might
1 result in the committee acceding to
: Mr. Ford's request, .agreeing to in!
elude the Gorgas steam plant among
' the other properties to be disposed
of at Muscle Shoals and formally ap;
proving his modifications of the cora1
mittee's plan, was predicted by some
i members. Others, however, remained
firm in their opposition to such an
agreement. Before the senate agriculture
committee today, Secretary
! Weeks declared -his belief that speedy
' action could not be had in congress
while the house and senate continued
to move along in what appeared to
him to be opposite paths in seeking
, to find a solution of the problem.
1 The war secretary suggested that
the two executive bodies get together,
' work out a proposal acceptable to
b.)th and find a person who would
i urdertake its execution. He said he
j believed the task could be better per-1
. forned by a federal agency.
! Chairman Norris, of Nebraska, later j
j introduced an amendment to the army
supply bill in the senate providing
$7,500,000 for the "continuation of
the work on dam No. 2 in the Ten- j
nessee river at Muscle Shoals, Ala." j
il.-. Ford's reply to the counter-!
proposal drafted by the house mili- j
tary committee for development of'
the government projects at Muscle
Shoals, Ala., was presented to the j
committee by J. W. Worthington, i
representative of Mr. Ford, immedi- j
ately upon his arrival here from j
Detroit, where he conferred with the j
mctor manufacturer.
Mr. Ford's answer, made in the !
form of a letter to Chairman Kahn,
.lofinitoiv rpiprterl the crovision in the
......... J - -J >
committee plan, which eliminated the j
steam plant at Gorgas, Ala., from the |
properties to be disposed of by the 1
government with the Muscle Shoals
properties.
Insist on Gorgas Plant,
j "I cannot consent to eliminate the
j Gorgas plant," the letter said, "be;
cause it is necessaiy to the econom!
ical operation of the Muscle Shoals
properties. If my revised offer for
Gorgas is rejected, then I must understand
that the acceptances of my
offer for Muscle Shoals as a whole
and not in part, is refused."
Mr. Ford's reply further stated j
that if congress votes acceptance of j
"my offer we will get on the job at
Muscle Shoals at once; but if congress
rejects, that will be but the beginning
of a more determined effort on my
part to save Muscle Shoals for the
: benefit of the public."
1
Miss Cox Showered.
Cades, June 6.?A lovely shower j
was given Thursday afternoon when
Miss Eugenia Roper entertained in
honor of Miss Rosa Cox, a bride-to-be.
The home was made attractive with
FWlish ivv and a variety of garden i
flowers.
Soon after the guests arrived little
Miss Mable Thomas invited the;
honored guest to go into the hall and j
investigate a faint tinkle-tinkle com-,
ing from that direction; there she
found a large bell of.ivy and roses!
filled with beautiful and useful gifts,
among which was an artistic bride's i
book, the gift of the hostess.
The hostess assisted by Miss Mattie
Roper, Mrs. Fred Thomas and!
Misses Grace, Mable and Blanche |
Thomas served a dainty salad course
followed by ice-tea and old-fashioned
pound cake.
KI.MrSTKC.tt LAUittS AilttXMV j
Woman's Missionary Society Meeting
at Hemingway Last Week.
The Woman's Missionary Society!
of the M. E. Church South of the
K:ngstree District held a most interesting
meeting in Hemingway May
31-June 1 with Miss Ossie Epps, district
secretary, presiding. We were
very fortunate to have with us Mrs.j
W. L. Wait, president emeritus; Mrs.'
W. L. Glaze, conference superintend-!
ent of mission study and publicity;'
and Mrs. B. J. Guess, conference!
superintendent of young people's j
work. Wednesday afternoon was given
over to devotional services, special
prayer being offered for Miss t
Belle Bennett, our council president,:
who is very ill at her home in Lex- i
ington, Ky. In the absence of Rev.
J. P. Inabinet," who was kept away
on account of sickness, Mrs. Wait
and Mrs. Glaze addressed the meeting
Wednesday night.
Thursday morning Mrs. Wait conducted
an old fashioned love feast.
'After nrcrflnizatinn ouite a number of
auxiliaries gave good reports. Miss
Epps' report for the year was splendid
in spite of the financial depression.
Adjournment for lunch which was
served cafeteria style in the Sunday
schcol rooms by the Hemingway society.
Afternoon session was one of interesting
addresses by Mrs. D. P. Frierson
on "Shall we teach our children
the Bible?" Mrs. A. G. Eaddy, "The
Ir.ter-Racial Problem;" Mrs. G. K.
Way, "Bible and Scarritt Training
School and Missionary Voice;" Mrs.
Guess, "Young People's Work;" and
Mrs. Glaze on "Mission Study and
Publicity."
The choir rendered splendid music
throughout the entire meeting.
Rev. B. J. Guess, pastor in charge;
Rev. P. B. Ingraham a superanuate,
and Rev. G. K. Way of Rome; also'
Mrs. Lee, president of the local Bap- j
tist Society were with us.
After singing "Blest be the tie;
that binds," we were dismissed with!
the benediction' by Rev. B. J. Guess.'
Miss Rosa Baxley,
Secretary.j
o
Newsy Notes From Salters.
i
Salters Depot, June 5.?We have
been having some hot weather for the
past few days, with considerable rain.
Crops in general have improved!
owing to more seasoned weather. I
Beans have about all been gathered
and shipped. The crop has been a
very large one, and while prices were
not as good as was expected, the
crop has been of much benefit to
farmers and labors.
A large quantity of cucumbers have
been shipped from here during the,
past week. The water melon and
cantaloupe crop is very promising, ]
and shipping will begin soon. What,
few acres of cotton there is planted
in this section is anything else but
promising, owing to the very unsea"
* ? -AfA^
sonabie weatner ana sman quanuiy ui
fertilizer used.
Quite a number of the Salters folks
attended the Chautauqua in Kingstree
last week and enjoyed it very much.
It was good.*
Miss Mary N. Sparks is at home'
for vacation from Coker College.
Cadet C. N. Shepard is at home for,
vacation from Bailey Military Insti:
tute.
Mr. J. G. Lifrage spent last weekend
in Washington, D. C. He was
accompanied by J. G. Lifrage, Jr.
Mrs. T. E. Salters is in Clinton this !
week at the bed side of her mother
wbo is quite ill.
Mrs. Mattie Ferrell and Mrs. J. M.1
Sires, Jr., spent several days in
Charleston last week with friends.
Miss Lula Ferrell is at home for
vacation from the Olanta school where
she taught the past session.
Miss Lou B. Ferguson has returned
to Renno.
Mrs. Gandlock of Union is visiting
her daughter, Mrs. LeRov David here.
o
Club "Enrollment Books.
Enrollment books for the various
Democratic clubs in the county are
at the office of the County Auditor
and may be secured by applying for;
them. These books should be open
nqw for the enrollment of voters and
club secretaries are urged to call or
send for them at cnce.
o |
Mrs. Lillian Russell Moore, wife
of Alexander P. Moore, publisher of
the Pittsburg Leader, and noted stage
beauty of a score and more years
past died at her home in Pittsburg
Monday morning after an illness of
several days.
9
: feasa&i .. [ -1,
DR. W. C. HEMINGWAY 3
BURNED TO DEATH |
GASOLINE TANK EXPLODES
WHILE HE IS STERELIZING
INSTRUMENTS. >3
Hemingway, June 6.?On Friday,
June 2nd, about 10:45 a. m. Dr. W.
C. Hemingway went into his office j
in the rear end of his drug store "to jj
steralize his surgical instruments, in i
a few minutes after lighting the gas vJ
coil the tank that held the gasoline ^
exploded and saturated his clothing J
with gasoline. As quick as he could ^
he rushed from his office to the front >
of the' drug store. The noise and blaze
of fire drew a crowd to the ^
store just in time to keep him from Vtj|
coming out on the street. The flaaar'^P
were extinguished by _ tearing his *3
clothes off and wrapping him in a ijj
blanket. 3
Friends and a local nurse did
all they could to relieve his pain until
Drs. Eaddy and Cockfield arrived.
ur. &.euey 01 jungsiree ana ut. xocLeod
of Florence were called and in jS
less than two hours were'by his bedside?but
all that medical aid could JjjJ
do was of no avail?beloved Dr. Hem- Jfl
ingway passed to his reward at 6
p. m. The funeral sendees took place /jj
in the Methodist church at 9:30 Stm- m
day morning and interment was made
at Rome cemetery at 11 o'clock.
At the funeral the church was filled ,
and hundreds stood on the outside ^
to pay the last tribute of respect^ to MB
their much beloved physician and
friend. {9
The floral offering was so great
that part of the flowersrwere sent 16 ^9
the cemetery early in the morning, |
The number of both white and color- 5^
ed that attended the funeral attested
the popularity and esteem in which "dfl
the deceased was held. ^ ;.2mj
Dr. Hemingway after graduating in
medicine, practiced his profession here
until the death of his father, at which
time he gave up his practice to assist
his brothers in looking after the large M
business interest of W. C. Hemingway^j|U
& Co. He was president of the
of Hemingway and was. connected^^B
with various local enterprises . He
again took up the practice of his
fession the first of this year.
Dr. Hemingway was a promoter of *
church and school work and took '? >. V j
lively interest in all movements that^'l
were for the betterment of humanity
and the advancement of civic right- j
ousness. He was kind and gentle to ?
all and will be greatly missed
both white and colored people in this
section. Dr. Hemingway is survived ^
by his wife, who was Miss Pauline - */
Baker before her marriage; xwo JOB
daughters, Misses Mildred and Belle, - y*
and one son, Walter; also two brotlfc^&S
ers, J. E. and G. S. Hemingway. .
Active pall bearers were: J. M. *s
Eaddy, D. G. Huggins, G. B. Ingra- f
ham, W. H. Andrews, L. F. Rhera, 4
W. H. Thomas, Dr. E. W. DuRant
and J. B. Bushardt; honorary: W. v
D. Mouzon, H. W. Fraiser, I. MeG.
Carraway, Tliomas McCutcnen/wDave S
McCutchen. J. I. Hazzard, Herman *
Schenk, Dr. R. L. Cockfield, Dr. A.
G. Eaddy and Joe Doyle. i
The funeral service was "conducted >
by the pastor, Rev. Guess, and form^j|
er pastors Rev. Hulson of PampHf^jj^H
Dr. Atkinson, Conway; Rev. J3K9Mn|
Campbell, Gibson, N. C.; Rev. Mb
Ingraham, assisted by Rev. Way
Rome, Rev. Pritchett of Indiantown
and Rev. Thomas, local pastor of the
First Baptist church. Special music ^
v/as furnished by a male quartete.
The burial was in charge of Un- "ha
dertaker Stackley of Kingstree. , , )
Sales Day Monday.
Monday was sales day and there r.
were three sales, one by Sheriff Gamble
and two land sales by Clerk of
Court Britton. Sheriff Gamble sold
a Ford touring car that was seized "j
some time ago while engaged in the
liquor trafic in violation of the pro- .
hibition law. There were more bidders
on this car than there were on ;
the two tracts of land offered. The ja
car was somewhat worn, and had undcrgone
bad treatment, but it was - ^
sold for $160.00, worth the money to
cnc in need of a Ford. It was bought
by Deputy Sheriff Frierson.
The tract of land belonging to the . *
estate of the late Jno. P. McElveen, ?
125 acres, was bought by Mr. H. J.
McFadden for $1,500,000. The tract *
adjoins the lands of the purchaser
in the Cades community.
The twenty-acre tract sold under ' ,-j.
foreclosure proceeding, S. B. Poston
against Amos Cyrus and Farmers and
Merchants National Bank was sold to
C. C. Cannon for $400.00.
'