The watchman and southron. (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, January 12, 1910, Image 3
?toV LYON C?V? Wl\w?Vs.
FmrWffih to Plead Guilty
Rather Tlian Take Any Chances on
a KJehlsml County Jury.
Columbia, Jan. ?The announce?
ment that Jim Farnum had pleaded
guilty caused quite a sensation In
Colombia yesterday. There was much
diacaaalon. pro and con. Some ex"
pressed the wish that, so long as a
record of 'guilty" was entered there
?eight have been a measure of pun?
ishment In keeping with the debauch?
ing of a State and the bringing of a
Common wealth Into disrepute by
each meth ods of graft as that ad?
mitted yesterday.
Attorney Qeneral Lyon whin asked
if he were pleased with the outcome
of the cas*. said that he was not sat
I, but that he had been forced to
int to the best available terms.
Ha had been approached, before Jim
Psmum's trial last September, and
had declined to consider any proposi?
tion except an unconditional plea of
gttltyy*. and throwing one's safety
vpoa the mercy seat of the court.
Ifa had felt so eure of his ground?
the facts aa to Parnum's guilt were
so Impressive upon hla own con
oatousnees?that he could not see
a jury of Intelligent men could
la find the man guilty. But
public now* knowa.
Th*i facts were presented. Wylle
swore to hsvlng received a bribe; a
bank cashier swore to having mark
as) the money of large denomination
which Wylle received so that the
) ?tah&er could learn if Wylle were
graftlsw?as rumored: the books of
aevaraJ banking Institutions traced
?the toucher back to Charleston, and
the entire case waa conclusive, but
the Jury took refuge under the poor
of the evidence of an accom
not being trustworthy. Mr.
said yesterday that the au
gauss* court library la roll of decls
lehs to show that such conclusion
was a farce.
Whan, therefore, he had met d
at the hands of a jury of thla
peers, and the attitude of t
proeecution in the future came u
Mr. Lyon reluctantly accepted a n
ostsr to plead guilty to one of
He w-.uld have praferred
la base hud a clean-cut conviction on
the ertdenc*. "but." said Mr. Lyon
ly. "there was always the
it Of uncertainty."
With aa much money aa he has
le unlawfully oat of the State of
Carolina, thla man could al
fcsttre found at least ona crook
u price would have tied the
and, whan his attor
after their technical vic
t'JH) first case, showed a wll
Msrness to offer a plea of 'guilty.' I
ttfteuflfct It was just aa Impressive for
VUfWUm to say that hs was guilty aa
fW a Jury to say the same thing over
Mm denial, and there was more of
U chance of the Jury exonerating
"1 do not feel that the State of
South Carolina has lost anything in
this plea of 'guilty,' said Mr. Lyon.
"I was taking chances, but I have,
i had recorded on the court records of
this State the word 'Guilty* opposite
Che name of J. 8. Far num. Of
?eures I proved him guilty before.
The evidence shows It, but the ver
dlet of a Jury of 12 men set all at
naught officially. Therefore, I feel
that if the former trial with its far
' eleal denouement and this plea of
gutlty are balanced, the State has
aahleved a victory."
The strategical advantages gained
by Mr. Lyon In securing this confes?
sion are declared to be vaatly strong?
er than the mere fine of $5.000, and
that la said to be the largest :lne on
record In thla State.
In the first place, this is a blow to
the organisation of the defendants*
These trials sre not yet over. But
one nun has been put on trial, and
he has pleaded guilty. Another trial
wss started and was Interfered with
by sora < smart practica on the part
of Jurors getting newapapera thrown
Into their rooma. Mr. Lyon thinks
that he had a "dead cinch'' on thla
case, provided the jury will atand by
the oath and bring In a verdict in
accordance with the evidence.
Another atrateglcal advantage is
that J. 8. Farnum. with the many
thousand* of dollara he has "accu?
mulated" from the "buelnees" of the
State dispensary, will not now have
th?? poreonal Interest In the defense
of the grsftlng former office-holders
that he had before, and their con?
viction aeema all the more sun. In
fart there I? an Intimation from the
office of th?- attorney gen.ml |ha1
Farnum. In addition to pleading guil?
ty haa made a clean breast of the
wb?.i,. business.
Farnum'a adm ttlng that he paid
graft In a specific case also proves
the general rule laid down that no
firm could g??t business out of the
State of South Carolina without pa>
Ing for It. And this will strengthen
Immeasurably the position taken by
the commission In settling claims.
With Jim Farnum a self-confessed
briber end grafter, the bouses, which
had depended upon his craftiness, In?
genuity and daring to pull them out
of a compromising situation, are now
at sea, and It may not be long before
the "restitution money" will flow In?
to the State as was never dreamed
of when this fight first was started.
Mr. Lyon stated yesterday that he
regretted that there appeared to be
no way by law to make this man
Farnum disgorge what he had taken
in unlawfully, but the effect was the
same. The "wtnding-up commission"
had caused many claims to be scaled
and some abrogated entirely because
of the apparent rascality In the
prices and the deficiency in the
gradee of liquor sold. But It was
not until yesterday that there has
been presented in open court a p'ea
of guilty from one who paid the
graft.
This corroborates the plea of guil?
ty on the part of Wylie and it is said
that the confessions heretofore by
others than Wylie are substantiated
and that all outstanding indictments
and prosecutions for restitution are
helped one hundredfold.
Mr. Lyon declared yesterday that
Farnum's plea of guilt was only one
of a hundred circumstr.nces to prove
that Jo? B. Wylie had not lied.
Gov. Hughes has appointed Ran?
dall J. Labouel, of Albany, as a Su?
preme Court justice, to fill the va?
cancy caused by the death of Justice
George H. Fitts, of Cohoes. Mr. La
bouef was graduated from the Law
School of Cornell University while
Gov. Hughes was an instructor there
and later was In the governor's law
office In New York.
They are talking again about a
plan for universal disarmament. We
are in favor of it, if the disarmament
Includes Cannon.?St. Paul Dispatch.
S Q A TT 1? T V FOR the funds of
? vJ-TVi1 Hj 1 1 OUR nFPnsrrnix: . .. .
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our depositors
Promptness in all transactions, and unexcelled
facilities for handling your business in every
department of banking is the basis upon which
this bank, the Oldest and Largest in the city of
Sumter, invites your account.
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$500.02
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\ FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS GIVEN AWAY! i
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Great Voting Contest for
Readers of : : : : :
a-,_
THE WATCMAN AND SOUTHRON AND THE DAILY ITEM
A $40Q Piano and Two Gold Watches Costing $50
Each are the Prizes.
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Contest Opens Monday, Nov. 29th and Closes February 28th.
Do You Want the Piano? It is yours if you comply with the Easy
Conditions and Make the proper Effort.
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Conditions and Prizes.
The $400 Piano, the grand prize of
this contest, will be given to the sub?
scriber or a nominee of a subscriber of
the Watchman and Southron or Sum?
ter Daily Item receiving the greatest
number of votes in this contest. No
matter where you live you are eligible
to enter this contest.
One $50 Gold Watch, cither Gentle?
man's or Lady's size, as the winner
may select, will be awarded to the per?
son, not a resident of the City of Sum?
ter, receiving the next largest number
of votes.
One $50 Gold Watch, either Gentle?
man's or Lady's size, will be awarded
to the person resident of the City of
Sumter, receiving the next largest
number of votes.
The contest for the Grand Prize, the
5400 Piano, is open to all readers of
The Watchman and Southron or The
Sumter Daily Item. It can be won by
a resident of Sumter, Lee or Clarendon
County, or some other County. One
Gold Watch as a special second prize
to be contested for by non-residents
of the City of Sumter, while the other
is a special second prize to be contest?
ed for by residents of this city.
This Magnificent Cote Piano, wbich we will give away, is 4 ft. 9 in. high
o" ft. long and weighs, boxed, ready for shipment, over 800 lbs. The finest
materials and most experienced workman have produced In the Cote an in?
strument excellent in tone, power, durability and appearance. Tbh piano
is Installed in the best homes, conservatories and music halls in the land :
IsWoll known and widely recommended hy the leading music ans and
teachers.
It is positively guaranteed formen years by the.Manufacturers.
Nominations.
Each and every person entering the
contest must be nominated on one of
the Nomination Blanks published in
both the Watchman and Southron and
the Daily Item. The nominaticn
counts as iooo votgs, but only one
nomination will be credited to a per?
son.
In each issue of the Watchman and
Southron and the Daily Item will be
published a ballot which is good for
the number of votes specified on the
ballot.
How to Obtain Votes.
Every new subscriber paying in ad?
vance, will be credited for each dollar
paid, 200 votes. Every old subscriber
paying up back dues will be credited
for each dollar paid ioo votes, and on
each dollar paid in advance 200 votes.
No votes will be given on payments of
less than Si .00. Every person or firm
that brings or sends an order for ad?
vertising or printing and pays for same
in advance will be entitled to ioo votes
for each dollar pa<d. For money paid
on accounts 50 votes will be allowed
for each dollar paid, if money is
brought or sent to this office. No
votes will be given for money paid
collector.
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wishing to vote must scud the money
made out, signed and returned promptly to this office.
Nominations will not be received later than December 24, therefore, it is important that the blanks be mailed
to this office at once. Remember every nomination blank counts for 1000 votes, but will not be
counted twice for the same person. We have a supply of voting ballots at our office which must be filed
_ there, properly signed, as the cash is paid for subscription, advertising or printing. Those at a distance
for which a voting ticket together with a receipt, will be mailed to the person making the remittance. The tickets must be
THE WAY TO WIN.
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Osteen Publishing Co.
18 West Liberty St.
Sumter, So. Car.
Phone No. 30, ? 5
SEE PIANO ON DISPLAY AT THE SAVOY ICE CREAM PARLOR.