Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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MBHM MASON. VAN DKVKNTKH \M> McKK4>W!f IU IM> AN ALJIOPVuVNE. Atrmen Fnmi \<<rih IK> Ire to Try Nuinu r ? v|n hltrty iih an K.xpcrl ntental Station?TAhought to He a f'har Plai-e for Prartlcv Flights. Sumter, along with many other places In this State, has several would-be aviators, but. different from them, it has now two amateur aviators, for Mr. Carl T. Mason and Mr. H II v?n invent er, with the as? sistance of Mr. S. Oi McKeuwn, have already built one airship?not a dir? igible or a fake one, but a regular aeroplane??which has been tested and found to come up to expecta? tions and these gentlemen are now building another machine which Is already aim it completed, the sec? ond machine being of the average slae cf such craft, and will, probably be able to fly as well when com? pleted as any other such craft. The machinists are also contem? plating a third machine which will be as near perf*?tlon s any machine can be made. All of the aeroplanes are biplanes and further tests will show what are their merits and de? merits; th.* merits to be Increased and the demerits to be corrected in the course of time, a* the amateur avi? ators learn more of the machines and what to expect of them. Mr. H. R. VanDeventer when ask? ed about th* aeroplanes that they were bullding sali that very little about them could be given out for publication at the present time, as the machines were not fully comple? ted and equipped yet, the fir De? in* only a model and the second be? ing only In course of construction. There are several patents for various parts of the machine upon which he Is now working and nothing coi l I be leid about these parts of the ma? chines as It -would invalidate the patents. He gave out tha following letter which shows along what lines they are now working, anJ what are their ultimate alms in building the aircraft: " Referring to your Inquiry regard? ing our aeroplane, would say we have recently constructed a machine OT the biplane type having about ISO square feet supporting surface, and equipped with hortsontal and verti? cal rudders. This machine has made some experimental glides. We are now preparing to launch the machine from a platform built over an auto? mobile thus enabling the machine fnovlng through the air at a velocity of 30 or 40 miles without the use of an engine. At this speed the ma? chine will be capable of making a soaring flight similar to that of a busaard which will enable the oper? ator to work the various controls and thereby determine the stability of the machln". We nn'v have in process of con? struction a larger machine in which we will place an especially designed 1 aeronautic ?nglne. and w ith Mch lower flight' will be mad* s Interested ar?- CSffl T. Mason, u.abr whose super* Isbm the machines ore t.*lng construct. ?I, 11. R. VanDeven ter, who has ( barge of the pa'ent work and certain parts of the de? velopment work, and S. C. McKeov. n who Is assisting In the mechanical ronstrurti >n. ' S#\. r.i! patent ap? plications are now In process of preparation < ring various feature of the machine. Th* writer has attended a recent aviation meet In Baltimore at which time some su< ???ssful machines were Inspect*! und SSSSSSMSd with the SSM under eonstru? ti >n. The sptendbl climate and flat stretches of country around Sumter make It an Ideal place at which to conduct aviation cxperlmerts and In addition to the machines In process of ronstrin tb?n her?? negotiation is gsm sfeejfssi vttS svftstsei bj Wast Inston. T). C, and New York who anticipate brtngtaSJ their power ma? chines to Sumter for experimental flights. In fot It Is our hope that 8umter can be made the home of a company f r th. commercial pro duetlon of flvlng machln? apparatus. 'he above in all the Information that we eare to give regarding our plans nt the present time. We hope In the near future to he able to give some demonstration Mights at which time I will be glnd to advise yoe pe that you can SSJ present, nnd see for yourself Just whst Is being accom? plished in this line. ^ ours very truly. II. ft. Vnnl>event.-r " The experimental t? sts were ma ' ? on Thanksgiving day and were con? sidered successful. Mr. Cnrl T. Mason n.ade the sibling tests and although twenty-seven ribs of the machln* wer*? broken in the first tr.nl ul.fte and Mr. Mason had his bark scratched and his shouM-r bruised. h-? went at It again and made several other glides before the machine was put up for the day. lister on when he has tfttd other glides nnd knows more of the nrt of flying and handling the machine, he will have it placed on the body of sn automobile and glides of sev? eral hundred feet wl'l be made from the machine. As this Is only a model for the other machine In course of construction, no engine will be put In It. These gentlemen have been at work on the machine for four or five months, but as all of the work i I ii i.at of the usual work hours and at odd times, mostly at night, progress has necessarily been .try slow, and as the prims fea? ture of the work has been to con? struct a stable machine, ?Teat care was taken in putting each part of the machine together. Hitherto the great fault with aircraft has been that they were not suttieiently stable feg be safe. Everything possible Is being done in the construction of the parts of the Sumter machines to 1 make the machine stable. Another thing that tends to make the machine constructed here a success is that while investors and aviators, so far, with some brilliant exceptions, have proved themselves poor mechanics while their Ideas of aviation are ex 04 llent, they were not able to make the two unite sufficiently to make their machine a perfect one. Here all of the gentlemen lntersted are practical mechanics of proven ability, Mr. Charles T. Mason has in? vented several devices for furthering the usefulness of the telephone, be? sides other successful devices. Mr. VanDeventer and Mr. McKoown are electrical englneesru, the former be? ing also a patent lawyer, and both being excellent draftsmen and me? chanics. Mr. Carl T. Mason, who is supervising the construction of the machine Is also a fine practical me? chanic. The machine Is his idea and he Intends to he, not only Sum ter's first aviator, but the first avi? ator of the South. In speaking of the northern avi? ators coming down to Sumter to ex? periment with their machines, Mr. Charles T. Mason and Mr. H. II. VanDeventer both said that there was one chief objetcion to their com? ing: this was the lack of proper ac? commodations after they arrived here, there being no hotel here suf? ficiently up-to-date to give them the accommodations which they were ac? customed to and 'which they would expect, should they be persuaded to make Sumter their winter quarters for practice flights. Mr. Mason said that while he and Mr. VanDeventer were at the Hill? top aviation meet, several of the aviators from there semed lo take very great Interest 'n what they told them about the ell urx*.e and weather conditions here ant that with a lit? tle persuasion he thought that they could be induced to make this their ?winter headquarters for practice flights and tests of their machines. He said that the flat country needed for the experiments was not to be secured easily In the north and that the weather conditions 'wvre such that frequently the cold wind was such that the aviators could not go out *U all and some of them simply had to put up their machines dur? ing the whole winter, as they lack ? d the prop, r conditions under which practice flights were made. II. there was none of the cold to pre? vent the aviators' flight from being a success. The winds were very sel? dom strong enough to prevent a flight l were generally changing every I iv, there being no steady w inds to prevent flights and tests, which was one thing hard to get and much de? red. In addition to weather eon dfltJonS another feature of this sec? tion to make a successful Bold for them was thai there is ? great deal of Hat level country around here and flights could be made over the sa inriah any day without Interfeniag with anv one and no one would ob ie, t to fb-bts over their cotton fields or starts ad flights from the fields, as iti the winter time cotton would DO! hi there to harm. As there ar,' several machine and blacksmith shops lore, where any part of the machine when broken could be repaired, there would he no objection on that score, as was the objection at other places a which experimental flights had been made. Ml ltlU.lt TRIAL AT LEXINGTON. Men on Trial Contradict Each Other On The Stand. Columbia, Nov. :{<?.?"John Wilson killed Caul Williame" said Garland Drown, colored, and on the contrary, "Oarland Brown killed Williams end threw his body off the train," said .John Wilson at the trial at Lexlng? ton today of Qeo. NU hols, white, and Elijah Smith, colored, for tin mur ded of young Paul Williams, rate I lerk, from Columbia aboard the i lagsabeck* Wallace circus train. Dr. Derrick said he believed Wil? liams was strangled as well as shot. There were |,gff bales of cotton Sold on the local market last week, This Is a falling off of about 1.000 bales fmni the weak before. The price (,r cotton Is again going up to? wards || cents, but until today It looked M if the farmers had al ready sold out all of their cotton, for very little came |n during the past two weeks. INTO NEW YORK. FOl'THFRN KAIL WAY TRAINS RUN INTO NEW STATION. Passenger** From The South Pens Under Hudson River und iicucath the City to Reach The New Ter? minal of Pennsylvania Avenue. New York, Nov. 27.?Kail trans? portation from the Southwest direct to the heart of New York City be? came a fact this morning when the Southern Railway'? United States fast mall handling sleepers from New (Irlenni and Birmingham via Atlanta, rolled Into the magnificent New York Passenger Station of the Pennsyl? vania through the Tunnels under the H 'dson River, which were opened for traffic at midnight. Travel from New York direct to the South began when the southbound United States fast mall left ten minutes after mid? night, being the first through train to leave the Station. During the day the other fivi through trains of the Southern to and from ihe South, "The New York, Atlanta and New Orleans Limited," "The Hirmingham Special," operated between Birming? ham and New York via Atlanta, "The Southern's Southeastern Limited" be? tween Jacksonville and New York and also handling sleepers between NOW York, Aiken and Augusta, "The Memphis Special" between Memphis and New York via Chatta? nooga, Bristol and Lynchburg, "The New York, Chattanooga and New Orleans Limited," made their first arrivals at and departures from the New Station. This mamonth pass? enger station which covers twenty eight acres and is the largest build? ing In the world ever put up at one time, was put Into operation under the handling of a force so -well trained that everything was working as smoothly when the first train came In as if the terminal had been in use for months. The location of the sta? tion at the space enclosed by Seventh and Eighth Avenues and Thirty first and Thirty-third Streets, enables passengers to alight from trains only a few blocks from their ootels, and by Its use the Ferry trip from Jersey City which has been a part of travel to and from New York since the first trains were run from the South, goes into history. Passengers who wish to go direct to the downtown financial district can leave trains at Harrison, New Jersey and take cars through the Hudson Tubes, which will put them to lower Broadway in a few minutes. With the use of the new station of the Pennsylvania Railroad in Ne*w York comes the operation of only electrically lighted sleeping cars on the trains of the Southern, be? tween the Southeast and New York. These sleeping cars that supply every convenience which modern ingenuity can supply, now take passengers from their homes in all important points throughout the Southeast to this great station, in the heart of the hotel, theatric al ami shopping dis? trict of New York, w Ith the corres? ponding service in tin- opposite direc? tion. The magnitude of the great Improvement which the opening of this new station and the Tunnel Sys? tem puts into use and the extreme care which Is being exercised for the pro? tection of passengers is the fact that a private tin department of thirty men has been organized and placed In (barge of a tire protecting plant installed at a great expense after the most careful study despite the fact that the Station building and the material used in the tunnels are ?what would generally be considered absolutely tire-proof. During the day of the opening thousands of In? terested sightseers Wefe enjoying their first opportunity to inspect the architectural beauties as well as the ample and excellent facilities of this great passenger terminal. The fol? lowing named passengers are among the tirst to arrive at the new sta? tion in New York, on Southern Rail? way train No. 30: Mr. Seht P. Mast Oil, New York, Mr. S. O. Miller, New York, Miss S. Nobel. New York, Mr. J. W. Tom llnson, New York. Mr. W. W. Thrash er, Ifaeon, Go.; Mr. E. T. Woodside, Bimpsonvllle, s. c.; Mr. a. W, Tada, Manager of Brooklyn and Trope of Japanese Performers, E. w. Pierce, Charlotte, N. C; Mrs. m. Freeman, Coney Island; Mr. A. S. Raulett, Jr.. New York- Mr. it. j. ldng. Brooklyn; Max Bloomberg, New York. 11. N Randolph, Atlanta, Qa.; Mr. and Mis. j. I). Laker, Jacksonville, Fla.; j. D. Woodside, Greenville, s. C; T. . s. park. Macon, Qa.; Rev. F. w. Elroy, Brooklyn, N. Y. _ The commission, appointed to ap? portion the amount of Indebtedness of Berkeley .inty between Orange burg and Berkeley, as a result of a section of Berkeley county having i.n annexed to Orangeburg, has de? cided that Orangeburg must pay $1, 01S.90. ?When you have a cold get a bot? tle of Chamberlain's Cough Remedy. It will soon ti\ you up all right ami will ward off any tendency toward pneumonia. This remedy contain no opium or other narcotic and may be given as confidently to a baby as to an adult. Bold by all dealers. ELKS MEMORIAL SERVICES. Mournrui Tribute of Affection to the Departed Dead of the Order Will lk? Paid at the Academy of MuhIc* Next Sunday?Public Cordially Welcome. The first Sunday in December of each year is designated and dedicated as a day on which shall be commem? orated, by every Lodge of Elks, in ?acred session, the memories of the departed brothers of the Order, and is known as Elks' Memorial Day. It is on this occasion that the beautiful fraternal tribute of affection and brothedly love is on the lips and in the hearts of every Elk in the world, and his head is bowed in grief for all absent member! of the Order, and especially for the fellow members of his own lodge. This will be the third year that Sumter Lodge has held these ser? vices, and the programme this year Is the most attractive yet arranged. I No special Invitations will be is? sued, and it is the desire of the mem? bers of Sumter Lodge to have the public to feel entirely unrestrained in attending the services on their sa? cred day. The only restriction will be that the ushers will refuse to seat any persons after the curtain rises for the commencement of the ser? vices. Therefore, all who desire to attend are requested to be in their seats by 8 o'clock. The absent brothers who 'will par? ticularly be remembered by the mem? bers of the local lodge are: Altamont Moses, H. Erank Wilson, John M. Knight, V. T. Ilofman, J. E. Gail lard, E. F. Darby and M. D. Murray. FROM WHISKEY TO ROBBERY. Three Negroes Try to Buy Whiskey from Another Negro and Failing in That They Take It From Him. The three negroes brought to Sum? ter on Saturday afternoon from Dal zell on the charge of robbery were sent back to that place today to be tried by Magistrate Glllis for rob? bery of whiskey from another negro, whose name is thought to be Spann. The negros are named Eel Saxton, Ham Williams, and Jim Bracey. It seems from what can be learned of the case that the three negroes on Saturday bought some whiskey from Spann which they drank with relish and seemingly enjoyed, for some time later in the day they went back to him and tried to buy some more whiskey from him. He refused to sell them the "fire water" and they had to go off unsatisfied. A lit? tle later on in the day they found Spann somewhere out by himself and they at once proceeded to get busy and get the whiskey from him with? out his consent, since they could not get It from him with his consent. When they left him he no longer possessed the whiskey but he was full of Ideas and in his desire for revenge anil justice he wont to Mag? istrate Olllls and swore out warrants for the three robbers. They were arrest* d and sent to Sumt?r Saturday afternoon to be held until a preliminary could be held. Today they were sent back for the preliminary and it is probable that when tney come back tonight Spann will be sent with them, as ev? idence has been secured to convict him of selling whiskey. ?The quicker a cold is Kotten rid of the less the danger from pneu? monia and other serious diseases. Mr. B. W. L, Mall, of Waverly, Va., ?ays: "l firmly believe Chamberlain's Cough Remedy to i.o absolutely the best preparation on the market for colds, l have recommended it to my friends and they all agree with me*. Foi sale by all dealers. Elsie Rushton, a white boy 1 1 years old, was killed In Alken county Monday afternoon by Pat William? son, a negro boy about the same age. The boys were scuffling over a gun. The negro has be* n arrested and committed to jail. ?When your feet are wel cold and your body chilled through and through from exposure, take a big dose of Chamberlain's Cough Remedy, bathe your feel in hot water before iroing to bed, and you are almost cer? tain to ward off a severe cold. For sale by all dealers. J. A. D. McCurdy and .1. C. Meares have been engaged to give a series of exhibition Might a with Curtis aero? planes in Columbia next week, dol? ing the Corn Rxposltion. ?"I had been troubled with con? stipation for two years and tried all of the best physicians in Bristol, Tenn., and they could do nothing for me." writes Thos. E. Williams, Mid dleboro, Ky. "Two packages of Chamberlain's Stomach and Liver Tablets cured me." For sale by all dealers. J. R. Langford, a lumberman, of Brunson, Hampton county, was found (bad in the woods near thai town Tuesday night, Death was due to natural causes ?Every faintly has need tor a good, reliable liniment. For sprains, bruises, soreness of the muscles and rheumatic pains there is none bel? ter than Chamberlain's, Bold by all dealers. SLAYERS OF i l silt MOVE POUND (il lLTV OF MURDER AM) SENTENCED TO HANG. No Bill Returned Against Two of Five Suspected end other Three Are Promptly Convicted, Florence, Nov. 28.?For the murder of Blihu M<?ye, Willie Burroughs, Ellie Weldon and Clarence Ham were convicted here today and sentenced to he hanged on Friday, I>ecember 16. The usual motion for a new trial was overruled. Five negroes were under arrest charged with the killing of Elihu Moye several weeks ago. of the five the solicitor held three and had no bill returned in the ease of Henry Jones and Senior Askins. The ne- j groes on trial were Clarence Ham, long a trusted employe and friend of Mr. Moye; Willie Borroughs and Ellie Wreldon. The court house and court yard were crowded long before the hour for trial by people from all over the county, who came to hear the case and see ihe negroes who had com? mitted a crime that shocked the en? tire community. Judge Brown's charge to the jury was brief, covering, as usual, the de? grees in homicide cases, and on their duty to the country. The solicitor w ished to use Clarence Ham as a witness, so did net put him on trial with the other two. W. F. Clayton, E. S. Oliver and Claude Gasque were appointed by the court to represent the accused. Clarence Hum was put on the stand first. He testified that he had met the other two and they told him that Mr. Moye had gone to Timmonsville and that there was money in the house and that they must have it. He consented to watch in the road while they went to get it. He was to whistle in case any one approached and he did so when Mr. Moye drove up later. Mr. Moye went into the house and struck a match; the other negroes forced htm to go up to the house. He heard one shot, then an? other then saw some one stagger out of the door. He grabbed up the gun for his protection, but they led him away and offered him a drink and gave him $3 and told him to say nothing about the affair. They of? fered him $25 and pay his way to Florence if he would say nothing about the affair. Several witnesses were examined 'n the case, generally in corroboration Of the evidence given by Ham as to the connection of the trio with the killing, and their efforts to cover their tracks. The jury was allowed to go un? guarde;!. There was practically no testimony for the defense and though the coun sel for the accused earnestly worked to prevent injustice or prejudice af? fecting the case, the jury, without difficulty, found both Weldon and Burroughs guilty. The trial of Clarence Ham was then entered into. He acknowledged his guilt and in response to the usual question l y the solicitor said that any method of trial would suit him. He was promptly convicted. Before the close of court shortly after 7 o'clock all three negroes were sentenced t<? hang on Friday, Decem? ber 16, Mr. Clayton, on behalf of his clients moved for a new trial on the ground that the evidence did not corroborate the confession of Clarence Ham and that the crowd and pressure of pub lie opinion in the matter was an ob? stacle to unbiased opinion. Solicitor Wells replied that the jury was com? petent to judge the facts as presented and that there had not been the slightest success attendant on the efforts of the defense to disprove any of the statements and that the ver? dict ought to stand. Judge Brown complimented the crowd on its order and refused to grant the new trial. MONEY FOR OUR RIVERS. Chief Engineer Recommends Appro? priation-? for South Carolina Rivera and Harbors. Washington. Nov. 2s.?In the an? nual report of the chief of engineers of the war department, made public today, the following amounts for South Carolina arc recommended as being worthy of expenditure for the fiscal year ending June ;>0, 1912; Mingo Creek, $1,000; inland water? ways between Charleston and Alli? gator Creek, $41,000; Santee, Water ee ami Congaree, for a 28-foot depth, $100,000. 115,000 FOR Till: WIDOW. Greenville Jury tau^ Large Verdict for Death of Engineer. Columbia, NOV. 30,?Mrs. George Fonville, tin widow of locomotive en? gineer W. F. Fonville who was killed on the Southern Railway at Duncan, a year ago, today got from a Greenville Jury damages in the sum of $15, ooo. The negro who opened the switch and caused the wreck Is now serving a life sentence in the peni? tentiary. AN APPEAL FOR AID. PMtor of Sluloli Baptist Church Ask* White People for Assistance in Time of Need. Editor The Sumter Item: Pleaae lei me say the following to the white people, through your columns: The Shdoh Baptist con? gregation, who for 35 years wor? shipped on Main street, in this city, sold their property some few months ago tor $7,00.r?.00 and purchased a lot on Cono r Washington and Dingle Streets for. $3,500.00. Thus it can be seen, that half of the money received from the sale of the lot on Main street was used to pay for the present site. We have Succeeded, however, in building the walls of the new edilice to the prop? er height (except the front) and at present we are holding service in the basement of the new church, un? sheltered, save by a sub-l'oor and tar paper over that. As the winter will soon be on us, we are anxious to get the roof on, so we can worship through the winter, and not be dis? turbed by rains. The most of my congregation is made up of that class who cook, wash and groom, and do general house work, for which they do not get a large salary or wage. We have strained that class to their fullest extent, in order to get the roof on the church before winter, hut we find that we cannot make it, unless our white friends help us. We have not worried the citizens with a lot of begging lists. Only Deacon R. Tisdale and myself so? licited from a few friends when we first began. Now I ask every white cit? izen of Sumter, or any city or town, who may chance to read this article, to please write me a letter of encouragement, and enclose a io nation (large or small) to help us in this our struggle to put the roof oh our church before winter. As soon as the roof is put on, I will go North in the interest of the church. Any amount given will be accept? ed, and highly appreciated. All of you should help us, for our people are your serv its and you should be [ Interested in your servants having a good and comfortable place to wodship God. We thank those who have al? ready helped us, and ask them to help us again if possible. Next week we will publish the list of names who have already help j ed us. and those who may help us from this appeal, unless they order their donations to be kept from pub? lication. Yours very earnestly. J. A. Pinson, Pastor. P. S. I am sick now from having worked so hard for the erection of the new building, and almost dis? couraged?please help me. J. A. P. GLASS COMPANY ENTERS SUIT. Action Brought I idlvldually Agahsst Dispensary Commission. Columbia, Nov. Us.?Today the members of the dispensary i onunts slon are advised that they will indi? vidually be sued by the Carolina Glass Company, Of this city. Charged with 'doing an Illegal act." the members <tf the commission will be brought into the Courts by the Glass Com? pany, on account bf the action of the commission t?ward that concern in connection with the claim the Glass Company had against the old State I Itspensary and the subsequent w iping out of that claim and the render? ing of an overjudgment by the com? mission. A few days ago the Glass Company presented its petition for a rehearing. A letter was addressed to the dispensafy commission, inform? ing the several members that, indi? vidually, they will be sued by the Glass Company. The amount in? volved was altogether |el,t##, but less than half of his Is in the coun? ty dispensaries. This suit brought against the mem? bers of the commission recalls the famous "Agricultural Hall" litigation in this State. That hall, owned by the State, was sold to interests rep? resented by W. H. Lyles, who. it so happens, is attorney for the Glass Company, also. The payment was I tendered In h u is. which the state of South Carolina hail said could be used to pay debts to the State. The bonds were repudiated during the Administration i I Governor Tillman. and the State refused to Kb e up the old building. Then the interests rep resei ted bj Mr Lyles brought suit against the Governor and other ln indivtdual stat< ei ' inls. who had a hand In the transaction. The result was the paassge ol sn At t allowing the acceptance of the bonds and an additional $10.000 for damages. It Is just such sn undertaking that the officers of the Glass Com par y are now bringing against the Individual members of the dispensary ammis sion, the petition being presented to the Supreme Court today. Magistrate Lee. ot Rutawvtlle, has been removed from office by Gov. Ansel en acount of irregularities In connection with the collection of road taxes.