The watchman and southron. (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, September 25, 1909, Image 1
TBK STJMTKR WATCHMAN. EetaMl
Consolidated lue. 8t 188
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m7c0u1 uwbs.
KO REP RENE N T ATI VE OF \ \TIOX.
8TI ATE OR CITY TO MEET HIM.
rNwc Explorer. Rack From the Top of
Use Work! Via Kurof?, Says lie
Mae Hot Come Home t> Argue Rut
To Prove Hss Claim of Success.
New Tork. Sept. SI.?"I have onn
from the pole. I have brought my
story and my data with me. I have
not come home to enter Into argu?
ments with one man or with fifty men,
but I am here to present a clear rec?
ord of a piece of work over which !
have a rittyt to display a certain
amount of pride.
"I ?m willing te abld ? by the flSVtl
verd ct of competeni Judges That
s. m can satisfy me and the public.
"Furthermore, not only will my re?
port be before you In black and white,
but I will also bring to America hu?
man wltneeses to prove thai I have
been to the pole."
Such Is the substance of the first
meesage Dr. Frederick A. Cook
brought horns In person to America
today, aaswerlng his critics the world
Is morning the ex
\ot the Arctic Club of
fsjaSjil t> bat leaving Firs Island
ahjSi tlj after midnight She nosed her
WAV Into quarantine at an hour too
esnty for everybody but Dr. Cook.
There was an anxious wait at quar?
antine while the tugs bobbed nervou.i
wf about, the newspaper men on board
shouting queries through megaphones
at the black sides of the Oscar II.
high above them.
A speck in the distance began to as?
sume dimensions. Presently it was
recognisable as the tug bearing Mrs
Cook and her two daughters. Quickly
the tug came alongside, and while th ?
heavy swell running ground her fen?
ders against the plates of her big ate*
ear. Dr. Cook clambered nimbly down
Jacob's ladder, and with no concern
for the cameras trained on blm. made
a rush for his wife. For the moment
he even missed the children, who
stood a few feet away, until his wife
silently led him to them. Then, as he
lifted bis youngest daughter there ts
his shoulder, the silent watching
crowd that lined the rails of the Oscar
II broke into ^ storm of cheers.
As Dr. Cook Anally stepped ashore.
It wae noticeable that no representa?
tive of the nation, the State, nor the
city was there to greet blm. Bird S.
Coler.' president of the Borough of
Brooklyn, hsd welcomed him on the
Grand Republic for that Borough, but
the city of New York sent no official
representative. But sincere and en?
thusiastic to the point of tumultous
nea*. his welcome may be described
as a neighborly affair, devoid of offi
1 significance.
ANDERSON EM HEZZLE M E N T
CASES.
Anderson. Sept. 22.?Because the
auditors have not finished checking
the books of the Orr cotton mills, toe
Indictments against t'alhoun Harris,
former secretary and assistant treas?
urer, will not be considered at tb?*
term of general s.ssion- now sitting
here, but will come up at the nt \(
session of this court. It will be l
called that Harris was arrest
several weeks ago when It was ni
nounced that a shortage of aboul
$60.000 existed in the office of the
mills. Harris Is out on bond and still
maintains that he has not mlsappro
printed any funds of the mills.
Nor will anything be done at this
term of court In regard to J. T. Rolle?
man. former cashier of the Bank of
Anderson, who defaulted approxi?
mately $37,000. and who BbSOOUded,
No warrant has been Issued for his
arrest, and his whereabouts are un?
known here. Ills frbnds and the
hank officials have ?.n doing ever)
thing In their power to get a trace of
DISPENSARY TRIAL BEGINS.
CASE AGAINST JAMES PA It X UM
CALLED AT COLUMBIA.
Most Interesting Testimony Given
Ywterday was that of Cashier of
Cheater Bank, siio Stated that a
Marked $103 Bill Tendered Henry
Samuels in Payment of Draft was
Returned for Deposit by J. B.
Wylie.
Columbia, Sept. 21.?Declaring
that out of Idle curiosity he had
marked one of the hundred dollar
bills tendered Henry Samuels, In pay?
ment of a draft Sept. 16, 1906, and
t*iat this bill was returned for deposit
returned for deposit by J. B. Wylie,
along with bills to the amount of $1,
120. uooert Gage, cash er of the
Commercial Bank, of Chester, wit?
ness for the State in the Farnum
cast, sprang the first sensation of tho
alleged graft trails In tie Court of
Sessions this afternoon. The State
announced before calling Mr. Gage
to the stand that it would connect
this testimony with the accused. This
transaction is in line with the charge
in the Indictment that the defendant
sent Samuels the draft for 11,126 to
be paid to J. B. Wylie, who was then
a member of the State Board of Con?
trol. The testimony of Mr. Gage was
the most Important of the opening
day's happenings in the case of the
State against James S. Farnum, which
is now being tried.
Contrary to all expectations the
selection of a Jury to try ths case oc?
cupied but a short while. From the
time the trial Judge announced that
the empanelling of the jury should
b gin, until the last juror had been
sworn and took his seat was only 18
minutes. This Is very probably the
tecord in cases of such a grave*na?
ture as the one now In court, and
was a complete surprise to all who
had kept up with the preliminary
fight in the case. v
L Oatar eighteen Jurors were caUed
^pswlk^^ha>'"?^ass)l?***#as toesred. Of
this number six were put on their
volr dlrs. N
The State uske>d that three be put
cn their votr dire and the defence
challenged in like manner three,
Those who w*ere put on the volr dire
were asked the statutory questions by
Judge Memminger.
The stringency of the voir dire of
the jurymen was added to when the
defence requested that the question
l e asked whether or not the Juror
had said that he would like to see
those connected with the dispensary
convicted. The question was in ad- j
drtlon to the usual statutory ques?
tions in such cases. Judge Memmln- I
ger asked the questions himself.
Foot of thow who were subjected
to this examination were rejected,
three by the defence, although all
answered the questions in a manner
indicating than there was no bias.
E. Powell, 'of this city, a grocer,
was the first furor called, and he wns
accepted by "both sides. F. L. 1>
grand. farmer, was also selected wltH
out question. H. S. Fox, a merchant
tailor of this city, was rejected by the
State after being put on his volr dire.
H. H. Frost, a dispensary clerk, ?a*
put on his volr dire and accepted.
The following were accepted with?
out quest km by both sides: F. X.
Jones, an electrician; W. L. Can&h
man. a livery man; O. H. Spire*, a
mill employee; L. H. Hornsby, a far?
mer; H. S. Cockron, a farmer; D. T.
Sharp, a farmer; J. H. Shannon, far?
mer, and H_ W Desportes, hotel clerk.
John BrazeBe was accepted after voir
dire.
Those also rejected were: B. A.
Bawl. H. R. Wood, L L. Taylor, W.
F. Muller. B. H. Wilson.
ThS Jury mh empanelled is W? L.
C.iusjhraan. foreman; S. E. Powell, E.
H. Legrand. H. H. Frost, F. X. Jones.
O. H. Spires, J. C. Brazelle, L. H.
Hornsby. H. S. Cockran, D. T.
Sh arp. J. H. Shannon and H. W.
Dosportoa
Tonight the Jury' Is locked In rooms
at Wright's Hotel. Judge Memmin
gSf announced at the closing hour
?I at hs deemed it DOSt, owing to the
Importance Of the case, to have the
rj SSCluded during the course of
tl t trial in this manner.
Two deputies were Immediately
sv.orn in and the Jurors were taken
to the hotel. They will have every
i I mfort during the time they are oc
< Spied with this cast Judge Mein
ntlnger cautioned the Jurors against
?peaking to any one about the case
<>? allowing anyone to discuss the
Matter with them. Every precaution
will bfl taken and the Jury will be
guarded from the outside world.
Following the empanelling of the
Jury, Attorney Stevenson, at the re
nest of judge lismmlngsr, explain*
e<i the Indictment against the defend
shed April, ISM.
?Be Jest an
1.
BUMTJ
d Fear not-~Let all the ends Thou Air
SR. S. 0., SATURDA"
ant. This was done after the indict?
ment had heen read by Solicitor Cobb
and was for the purpose of making
clear to the Jury the nature of the
charge, inasmuch as the cumbersome
verbiage of the indictment might not
have been perfectly clear to the lay?
men on the panel.
There was the most intense interest
in the move of the State. The short
time consumed in the empanelling of
the Jury brought every one in the
court room face to face with the fact
that the case was about to be tried.
The defendant, James S. Farnum,
was in the court room, seated near
his attorney, Just back of Messrs.
Nelson, Cochran and Hammond, who
are conducting for him the active de?
fence. Mr. Farnum appeared to be
in the beat of spirits during the prog?
ress of the preliminary work of the
trial, &nd this afternoon exhibited
much Interest when the jurors were
being selected, and later when the
first two witnesses for the State were
put on the stand. gp
Attorney B. L. Abney, for the State,
stirred up the defence when he read
a notice which, he said, had been
sent to the defendant to produce cer?
tain papers. The papers included a
draft for $1,675 to Henry Samuels,
through a local Charleston bank; a
draft, dated Sept. 16,1906, on the
Consumers' Beer Bottling Establish?
ment, to Henry Samuels, for $1,125;
a draft to B. M. Wilson for $1,500,
dated December 14, 1906; one to H.
Samuels, dated October 9, 1906, for
$300; another to Samuels, for $883,
dated November 14. 1906. Mr. Ab?
ney also stated that two men, K. H.
Wllkins and A. S. Kulinski, had been
ordered to appear and bring certain
documents. He called upon the de?
fence to state whether the order had
been complied with, or what response
they had to make.
This statement brought Mr. Coch?
ran, of counsel for the defence, to his
feet He stated that Mr. Abney had
read a notice in which certain papers
were to be produced, and that the
defence was to make response there
case has been violated," exclaimed
Mr. Cochran. "Counsel has followed
the wrong practice, and he has vitiat?
ed his whole case by this action." Mr.
Cochran claimed that the defendant
would be damaged by the statements
made by Mr. Abney in that the jury
was present, and the conclusion
might be drawn that the defence, if
it did not produce the documents,
could not produce them, and that in
this may the defence would be in?
jured, which was not in accordance
with the established rules of prac?
tice.
Judge Memminger Indicated thut a
atew .trial might be granted in a case
wbtrre comments were made in a
manner that might prejudice the de?
fendant's right a-trh the jury, bne
Mr. Abney disclaimed any intent!?xe
of (commenting upon the notice, asd
stated that he could show authority
for the action taken in reading tfeue
notice, and calling upon the defence
to produce what the notice cal&ed
for, or say they -would not. so tbsflt
secondary evidence might be brought
In. Col. Nelson stated that attorneys
lor the defence nad every reason to
suppose that this would be done, and
'he Insisted that .if the matter wene .to
be taken up that the jury should be
?excluded.
' Qen. Lyon then entered the Bmgt.
He stated that he had understood Jff r.
Hagood to aak what the paper wns
Chat Mr. Abnery was reading, and thait
counsel had ben led Into the trap,
"whfle the defence knew fun well
what the document was and that no
constitutional right had been Infring?
ed.
In the meantime the two witnesses
f?or the State. Messrs. Kuliofki and
Wilklns. were standing within the
railing about to be questioned by the
attorney for the State. But the mat?
ter was halted when Judge Memmin?
ger announced that the question
would be reserved, the defence hav?
ing interposed objection to the wit
nsse? being examined in open court
as to whether or not they had
brought the papers. Judge Memmin?
ger told them that they would be In
contempt of court If orders had not
been complied with.
Mr. Abney stated that he could
show that he had not Stepped outside
the bounds of correct practice, and
this matter will probably come up
later.
Mr. Abney asked that witnesses be
excluded from the court house except
when called upon to testify, and thi>
request was granted. Here arose an?
other small sized clash or the attor?
neys. It was required that both side
write out the names of witnesses
and hand them to the sheriff and all
Witnesses WOUld be excluded until
each was called. The State made up
its list, but the defence announced
3
ns't at be thy Country's, Thy God's ani
Y. SEPTEMBER 25,
that it had no witnesses in the court
room, and if it had any tomorrow
would exclude them. Mr. Abney arose
and was objecting when Judge Mem
minger, with a slight show of irrita?
tion, said: "This case is not going to
be conducted as a game of chance or
skill of attorneys. I am going to go
about the matter according to the
law." He then stated that he would
allow the defence to produce the list
of witnesses later as it secured them.
This ended that matter except trat
Mr. Abney remarked that he wanted
to know where the witnesses were
when called. Judge Memminger said
he would rely upon counsel for this.
The State's list of witnesses include
W. D. Roy, W. J. Murray, J. B. Wy
Ue, J. A. B. Schmidt, G. H. Charles,
H. Wilkins, A. S. Kulinski and oth?
ers
J. L. Thorpe, of Aiken, formerly
chief bookkeeper in the dispensary
in 1906, was the first witness called
by the State.
The examination was by Mr. Ab?
ney. Mr. Thorpe's testimony was en?
tirely as to the identification of cer?
tain books of record that the State
indicated would be used later on in
the trial of the case. The defence
interposed objection to the books be?
ing admitted, as it was alleged the
proper witness was not present to
testify, but they were finally intro?
duced without refrence to the con?
tents except that the writing was
identified by questions from the coun?
sel for the defence. During the ex?
amination of the witness counsel on
both sides stood close to the witness
and the books were closely examined.
The dusty volumes of the old State
dispensary that have been hauled
about so much are expected to play
quite a part in the dispensary cases.
When court adjourned this evenln;
the books were ordered locked up in
the clerk's office and not to be ex?
amined except by counsel. Mr.
Thorpe was not cross-examined fur?
ther by the defence, as he will prob?
ably be recalled later.
Robert Ga&e, cashier of the Com?
mercial Bank, of Chester, was put on j
'the stand by the StateT^nd made a
good witness. He recalled cashing a
draft on September 15, 1906, for
Henry Samuels. The ledger showing i
the transaction was produced, and af-I
ter objection by defence that ground I
had not been laid for introduction of |
secondary evidence. Mr. Gage was al-1
i
lowed to testify to what he knew.
Be stated that he gave Mr. Samuels;
$1.125 for the draft.
"What did Mr. Samuels do with
5tT" anksed Mr. Abney.
"He gave part of it to Mr, Wylie."
"How do you know that?"
"Out of idle curiosity, I marked a
5100 Talll, the lower bill of the $100
bills 1 gave hlm.M The package I got
from the safe contained tesi hundred
?fl?Thrr bills. I had a red pen behind
my 'ear. I marked the ilower bill.
That afternoon or the following day,
"Mt. Wylie deposited $i.,0ir0 with me.
The marked bill was m t?te ?number."
Ttfr. Gage was asked what made
him take this course, Bad he replied
that he had had an argument about
the matter, and that he thought Mr
Wyile was getting ?voswetfhing, but
this testimony was ruled out. Court
will reconvene at 9:3f o'clock tomor?
row morning.
TWO DEFEATS FOR DEFENCE.
Columbia, Sept, 21.?With the
overruling of the defendant's demur?
rer in the Farnum case this morning,
and with the refusal of Judge Mem?
minger to quash the second and third
counts of the Indictment, the pre?
liminary skirmish in the first cf the
alleged graft cases was concluded and
the real battle reached. Fighting
inch by Inch, attorneys for the de?
fence attacked the indictments under
which James S. Farnum. of Charles?
ton, is charged with bribery in con?
nection with the dealings with the
State dispensary board. The State
put up a vigorous defence of the In?
dictments as drawn, and won its sec
(nd victory of the trial, although
Judge Memminger declared that he
was convinced that there was consid?
erable weight In the position taken
by Farn urn's attorneys.
There wer? two main propositions
before the court today In the consid?
eration of the indictments. The first.
In brief, was the contention of the de?
fence that the second and third
counts In the indictments against
Farnum should be quashed because
the allegation is not included that
the same is against the form of the
statute. Upon this point the ?'-'t?te
showed that the offence was a com?
mon one, and that the statute upon
Which the bribery charge is brought
in first count does not Include ail
forms of bribery.
The demurrer set OUt several
grounds upon which the indictments
us to the various counts were alleged
i Truth'*." \ ? THE TRU1
-\ ?
1909 New 8(
to be fatally defective. In general
the grounds were that It could not be
told in at least two of the counts?
the second and third?whether Far
num or Wylie was the State official
referred to in that the wording of
the indictment was defective; that in
the counts that are based upon the
statute the charge cannot be brought
against a member of the board, in
that the Constitution and the Code
names who are executive officers and
the statute on bribery states that the
crime shall be confined to legislative,
executive and judicial officers. Opon
this point the State's contention that
the members of th;> board of control
of the dispensary were executive of?
ficers was upheld by Judge Memmin
ger; that the indictment did not al?
lege with sufficient certainty the
crime charged, so as to give the de?
fendant the benefit of a plea at bar
was another contention in the demur?
rer. This part of the defnce's conten?
tion caused a great deal of discussion
and nuemrous citations were given
on both sides.
Columbia, Sept. 23.?Joe B. Wylie
of Chester went on the witness stand
yesterday afternoon in the case of the
State against J. S. Farnum. charged
with giving a bribe. There was noth?
ing sensational in Wylie's testimony,
as he was used during the entire af?
ternoon to identify records and books
of original entry at the State dispen?
sary, where he was a member of the
last board of directors. Mr. Wylie's
testimony as it applies to this particu?
lar Indictment will be taken today,
and sensational developments are ex?
pected.
There was nothing especially excit?
ing in the entire day yesterday, but
the prosecution made great headway.
JJvery foot of ground was stubbornly
contested, and even at times when
Judge Memminger seemed disposed to
rule in favor of the defense, he would
be dissuaded by the logic of the argu?
ments of the attorneys for the State
of South Carolina.
In this particular the argument of
[ M.r. W> F. Stevenson on a particular
matter was the feature yesterday, al?
though the sustained effort of Mr. B.
L. Abney was very strong throughout.
He continued the examination of the
witnesses and the refuting of motions
from the defense, except in one or
two instances when Mr. Stevenson
took the witnesses. Mr. Abney is
very much indisposed, as is Attorney
General Lyon, who is beginning to
show the wear and tear of the long
fight to secure such evidence as would
run the gauntlet of the courts where
everything appears to be in favor of
the accused.
Mr. Cochran of counsel for Farnum
has been making a strong fight, and
has conducted that part of the de?
fense with great skill, but Judge
Memminger has found th? weight of
authorities cited to be in favor of the
prosecution. Mr. Cochran is the Uni?
ted States district attorney for South
Carolina and is more familiar with
the rules and practice of the federal
courts, but has been making a clever
and determined fight for his client. It
may be that the defense has been
weakened by offering such resistance,
but the opposition has been cleverly
handled.
Up to yesterday morning but two
witnesses had been sworn?J. L.
Thorpe, the head bookkeeper at the
State dispensary, and Robert J. Gag?,
cashier of the Commercial bank of
Chester. Mr. Thorpe testified as to
no facts, but merely identified books
of record. Mr. Gage testified that he
had cashed for Henry Samuels n
draft for $:.,125 and that the day fol?
lowing Joe B. Wylie had deposited
some of the same money in his bank,
to the amount of $1.020. By whom
this draft was drawn was not brougnt
cut at the time, but aft<*r a fight of
several hours Mr. Abney was able to
get it in evidence yesterday that the
draft was drawn by J. S. Farnum on
his own concern, the Consumers Beer
Bottling ?stabllshment of Charleston,
and that Henry Samuels was to re?
ceive the money.
The witnesses examined yesterday
were Robert J. Gag?' and Butl r T.
Woods of ehester, who were on the
stand more than once. Herman Wil
ken and A. B. Kullnski of Parnum's
ottice in Charleston, <;. It. Berry,
cashier, and J. E. Matthews and H.
1). Muller, bookkeepers of the Na?
tional Loan and Exchange bank of
Columbia, and Joe B. Wylie. who wa?
in the midst of his examination when
court took a recess last night.
Hard Task of Prosecution.
To the average layman, it might ap?
pear that all that is necesasry in a
In Ibers case is to prove that on.- man
offered some money and that another
took it, bul this case is so involved
that it was necesasrs to prove aboui
1,000 other thln-s before this could
bo touched upon. Moreover, the
E SOUTHRON, Established Jose,
>ries?Yol. XXX. !Jo. 9
GULF STORM MOVING NORTH.
WAS CENTRAL, LAST NHiHT I!*
MISSISSIPPI.
Dome of New State Capitol at Jack?
son Wrecked and Old Owe Unroof?
ed?Fury of the (Hurricane Una?
bated?-Great Damage Done hi New
< >r-leans? shipping Sufivred Se?
verely.
New Orleans, Sept. 22.?Central
last night in Mississippi an*l sweeping:
north at the rate of two hundred
miles a day, the hurricane which de
vasted the Gulf coast and left a trail
of wreck and ruin through four
States, continued on its course with
unabated fury. Of the ruin that it
has wrought, no one can give an es?
timate. In New Orleans alone five
are known to be dead and a million
dollars will not repair the damage to
the beautiful Cresent City. It is said
that the plate glass alone will cost
$100,000 to replace.
From the little and aristocratic
summer colonies on the Louisiana and
Mississippi Gulf coast come vagne
tales of frightful devastation and
fears that many lives has been lost
The wealthy summer tourists, who
own pleasure crafts are went to spend
much time upon them, and it is pos?
sible that many have been lost. Bil
oxi, the Mecca of the wealthy, m still
isolated, and what its fate is is still
clouded in mystery. Jackson, Miss.,
the Capitol of the State, is cut off to>
coast points.
The dome of the new CaeiOoT at
Jackson was wrecked and the old
Capitol unroofed. The streets were
a tangle of live wires, and the fallen*
trees and debris made th* highway*
impassable.
At Vicksburg two vessels x were'
sunken and a third wae driven1
ashore. Their passengers were res?
cued. One vessel Kes across the
channel and has blocked navigation.
In the pretty hr .-bor of Paseagenla
and Bay St. Louis, many ships are
empty and the torn moorings tell of
the fury of the vrind and wave.
Bath houses, pa.vilions, yacht' ellpe?
and pleasure resorts that were night?
ly brilliantly illuminated and the
rendezvous for those who sought re?
laxation and amusement upon . the
famous Gulf coast are washed away
and not a timber remains to mark
their locations. And the story in its
hideous entirely has not yet beeru
completed.
The only route of* mtssage to New
Orleans yesterday and last night was
by an improvised service via Hatties
burg. arranged by the Associated
Press, which organization has secur?
ed a telephone lire into New Orleans
and was able to relay by telegraph to
Atlanta. \
Heavy Casualty List,
New Orleans, Sept. 22. -It was im?
possible this morning to estimate the
loss of life in Terrebonne parish, and
it is probable that restoration of com?
munication with other parts of Louis?
iana may bring knowledge ei ?uittier
casualties. It is impossible to giro a
correct estimate of the property lost
as reports of damage are coming in
hourly. Many towns suffered from
the storm and numerous plan?
tations suffered its destructive ef?
fects. The cane and cotton crops ol"
Louisiana sustained serious da ma try.
The residence of Oscar Thibdeau
axa, at Grand Point, La., was destroy?
ed and the fate of his wife and child?
ren is not known.
Many towns of Louisiana sustained
great property loss. In Baton Rouge
and its vicinity the damage will ex?
ceed $2.000.000. The State capltol ha
unroofed and a considerable part of
the building Hooded.
Tidings from Grand Island, La.,
where it is feared great damage has~
been done with poss^ole less of Bfe,.
ar* still lacking. Relief expeditions.,
which left for the island yesterda>
have not returned. Grand Isle m for?
mer storms has i een a heavy suffer?
er.
Definite news from TUYroeeane tvir
ish i- awaited..
pr ? ?> if >n has had to aeovccautfeaev
i) In fact, almost secretly in ordei
that its witnesses might not be af
fected by or from any cause whatever,
for the majority of the witness*** an
"unwilling" and testify under mmwmtk
and would be glad of a caenm tt>
avoid the embarrassment- tj*ei*oi..
Two hours were spent yi aisiaai? at
ternoon In showing that the- how*ef
which Farnum represented bad put
In bids ai required by law, that Harjr
had received orders and thA* t;v
Whisk y hid been shipped to th?
State dispensary, ah this was tedteam
and apparently without due cause,.ton
the prosecution must establish eve^ -
thing set out in the indictment;