Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Newbeyr^ M?n V ; Murdered Boben Wicker Killed Near His Home Newberry, July r?:?The first horai 'Cid^ih Nj^berry County for a long time occured last night . about 1.0 o'clock about "four mfles from Po maria" arid il tailes from Newberry ?ja the publfe highway; when Robert Wicker, *age$ 35 years, was killed in the public road a quarter of a mile tr4m\his residence with a pistol in" the hanVs of a negro named Clarence, or "Capt" Setzler. With Clarence Setzler at the time, of the kitting was another - negro, Manuel Seltzer, his uncle, who, * at 'Mr. ' Wick er^ with a shot gun, but missed him. Clarence Setzler fired four times with a ;\pistol only one ssiot taking effect; ihat struck Wicker in the side toward the back as he was scrambling up a bank trying to get out of the way. -Sheriff Blease~was notified of the shooting four hours after it took place. rWftjfe Deputy Sheriff Dorroh, IfVleft immediately in his automobile fpr,the scene. He found Manuel Setz ler at home in bed, but could not find ^i^rence Setzler anywhere last night or-today, 'though he and the deputy iuidi the rural policeman, Mr. Taylor, ina Magistrates' Bedenbaugh an* Ruff sejarched*''' diligently, scouring every nook and corner of that part of th^. cougty. *vi Yl&rsheriff has sent out by wire and tej^hdne ? "description of the fugitive, ajjfij: &op$&\ that he will be picked up ?6n$^nN?!e<an',att escape. tUr '^described a* coal* black,' " five feit,-'- eigh't'^nehes high, ' low and "cSfcfc?y and b?w legged":,' bumpy face, ~: gold froth*teeth in Upper j?w; oYi Wue overall sack, black pants, -bjfe.cfe T shoes and : soldier's hat, and aP^-25 jfears old; re^Htly discharged fpom;the army': ' ' ?* ^Mattel Setzler was brought to ja-' ] tmisr this mofnSng.'He'?en^si that he' oFthe-dther negro shot at Mr. Wicker or ha& any trouble with him; says;he and Clarence were just shooting across the rojtd,;not^knowtog th?t anybodj wainear. ?? ? v There seems to be a good deal of mysfcaty about the cause 'of the trou ble. * 3?he officers say they could not . fimi:otxt;wla?t ft *was"about. Mr. l^kex Tvas,oinn^r^d:^d lived with his. ??jt^r? :the widoW bf> the late Dr faviteg to pcfemand ^^^ehmajrton,,,....Jui^; 16.?-Senator ^wanson, of Virginia, conferred at some length with the president to .4j?y..* As left 'the *"Fhite House the VJ^pnfa' senator would only say that' he had invited the president io go toj % Bic?niond July. 3?th' to. attend the celebration., of the anniversary of the Honse of il Burgesses?- President Wil1 son-is said tor have told: Senator Swan sea that. he would . accent the ihvita - ^fion^if: he" 'f^und it wo.uld not inter iors- with his -western, trip. Pisgafc News Items. Pisgah, July lS.?^f are now get tihk^?n-b^Vhe wholesale. * Good forj thfe,,cd"rn but against cotton, which canfio^t be worked owing" to the Wet. . BVeVy indicationpoints to a'small ?^pWthi''s^li^r in years. " >xt i . : "Last evening a heavy wind storm followed by* alieavy? r'ain passed" over this section, /the residence of Rev. J. j W. B^enney was struck' by lightning! and nis. family' were ' badly shocked; itJSb" F. C ThiPre who was there: The? ^vef re^yer^ed but it was a na#ro# A^Tlttle r&f&?^vh?Ct tried from fever here y'ester.4ay, / R'iv. D. C "Hardin of Dallas, Texas, ,'wili!rbe at Antioch church; Kershaw ^bunty*, * next Saturday and days fol lowing in their big meeting.; The *<?urch has .asked au their* living ex ' 3?a9to.rs.to be present. The meeting will commence at Pis xit?f' church' on 'the- 4th Sunday'" this ^?^>nth and continue during the fol lowing week. ''The' hours of service C>rni probably be 10 a: Ml and 8 P.'M; " The/church Sunday* unanimously in-. >ited its former pastor, Rev. D. C, ? Hardin to aid "in the meeting and he /probabj/ will be here. He is one of r.the best pastors the church ever 'had and'is stni dearly loved by those ^jriio knew him thirty years ago! Noth thg sensational in him. ' " " i Judging from the congressional rec ord "tfi^re is a bigger difference of i&inion 'about the League of Nations than the average people know. In an instrument that changes the~policy o{ the' world ahd our 6wn "govei'hhie^ requires our'most profound consider ation before we enter into iu it should he clearly discussed to'the ped $de so they will know what it is that will affect them and I think Senator Knox is right* when he advocates that it be referred to the people first be fore it is acted on. Senator Knox is a Republican senator from Pennsyl vania', ? very able man, has been jieoretary of State, has held many of fices of prominence in the nation and made good in them all, and like Root of STew Y/Ork, equally eminent, would! iiot advocate anything to the injury of his-country. ' Others equally great t?ke ? different view. So let the peo ple say whether they want it or not. then we will know what is best for they will decide right. Ifch?' aut?m?bile craze is on in this country like the' bicycle craze' that used to be.' Some the airship craze will- be here, and everybody will want one. . Preacher Liles in his fine sermon Sunday at Pisgah church araigned the lawless young- men for their conduct ift a way that they richly deserve, and he did not hit them a lick too much, fibw nice young ladiea can asaocitae with such is a mystery. So different from what it used to'be when a man's ^h^-racter had to be bomb proof as a gentleman ''before he could1 enter th? Society of a J refined lady/" So those flinss have largely given way to many th'fc&\2ke the French' people. Arne/-; ?|^i^'->paid her' debt to Prance a ^kw^^^?L'^?r' fevcfutlon?ry ser yjc?:ijy"''Mvihs her from the Ger iu^?:" &' Jji^^(jbt;and' honestly paid I ?Ith ortB^^^ifitwwt. ' -' ?' Vv Record of Lawlessness During Pasf Year Js ] Shoeing GOVERNOR COOPER HOLDS CONFERENCE Sheriffs and Solicitors Express Views on Situation and Sug gest Possible Remedies Columbia, July 16J?Tighening up ?of the machinery of the law, closer cooperation between the people and their peace officers and a more stringent prosecution of and curb put on venders of certain extracts con taining large percentages' of alcohol were-advocated, and a solemn warning was" issued against vagrancy among the members :of the negro' race and the carrying of obscene pictures, prin cipally by returned" negro soldiers, by speakers "at the convention of sheriffs, solicitors, magistrates and foremen of grand juries Jtere today- The convent' vention, which was called some weeks ago' by Governor' Cooper in order to discuss the lawlessness throughout the State'and to enact plans for a more thorough law enforcement, was representative arid was attended by peace officers' from every section and 'county"of SoHrth '?arol^na. ' Governor 'Cooper, who opened the convention with a speech "telling of its purposes, said that there was about one homicide in South' Carolina for every day of 1^19, and that some thing had to be" ?hne to ameliorate such11 conditions, "jrtie variohs speak ers Voiced an earnest desirji to assist the governor in maintaining law in the State and there'was a %cfon'ceh.su$ of'opinion that should the people' giye proper' cooperation crime ' could be stamped out. ?' The question of prohibition occupied a deal of'the time of the Convention and there yr'as plenty of eyidepce pn hand that the State was being over run with illicit distillers, but that the sentiment for;' a rHg&v enforcement of the prohibirtori jaw v- was growing hourly." The thing thSt g?^the ^eace pu5cers the most' concern; they claim: ed, ^vas 'the sale of '" Jamaica gnS"ger; and other extracts ' with ? high per centage of alcohol, and ? resolution wais adopted'calling on the federal au thorities to investigate the maiiufac ture and sale of'these sP-called med icines./ 1 ' * ' -v..-. t ': Another .question which gave the peace officers ; a' deal " of concern was the' dishSciination of the members' of the hegrb race" to work. 1 Solicitor Ei C^MannV of the" First Judicial1 Cir cuit, said that the " governmerif in drafting the' negro into the' military service^had' succeeded' in making a vagrant out of him: after - his dis charge. Solicitor Homer S. Black well; of the Ihghth Judicial Circuit, said that a paper7 published at Balti moref had been circulated lately in B?rens county and that' one issue of his paper, which he read,' had ap!vis-' ed the negro'that;"4s. they^ould not get justice, to get a doubie-b^rre?^ shotgun, 200 rounds of' ammunition and proceed to '*gef" the meipfcers of the white race, as the negroes' are hi the majority m the South. Governor Cooper called 'attention to the ; frequency with * which' negroes, principally returned sofdiers, are be ing arrested with' oDscence pictures on thefr persons." Various speakers issued a warning that ?nle^s the car rying of such pictures is stopped se rious trouble will* be experienced. ? The Convention was presided over by f. K. Henry, of Chester, solicitor of the Sixth 'Judicial Circuit, - as ; chair man, and J. Wilson Gibbes; of Co lumbia, clerk of the house of repreT sentatives. 'was elected as secretary. Following the opening speech of Governor : Copper, ;"Capt'.' J. Elmore Martin, sherifff of Charleston County, sa id that' without' the 'sentiment of the' people behind him, the sheriff coO-ld do" nothing. r HV told bf the co operative efforts of Gen. Leopard Wood, the officers of the 'army, the municipal ahcf; county authorities and the State constables which succeeded fh cleaning up Charleston to' such' an extent that Capt. Ellis ,of the steam ship Hartford,'and arniy officers tpld him that* "in the city and County of Charleston the enforcement of the law was second to none in the coun try." He said that it was the duty of the peace officers of'Charleston to keep the city clean for the soldiers and sailors who were fighting for their country", arid this was done. He gave high priaise to the magnificent work of Mayor T. T. Hyde and his police department! Frank J. Simmons, foreman of the grand jury of Charleston, said that Charleston was never cleaner before in its history, that the grand jury was doing its duty without discrimination and that an indictment meant some thing. He said that the laboring peo ple?and he is one of their leaders? were desirous of a proper enforcement of the law,, for it meant proper pro jection to them and their families. "We have a sheriff and a solicitor who are absolutely fearless in the en-j lorcernent of the law." he said. "We j have a mayor who will com promise j with no one; and now Charleston is as clean a city as there is in the country. It used to be that people from the up-country came to Char leston for a hi^h old time and a joy ride, but thev don't do it now; they have to go somewhere else to get those things." Solicitor L. M. Gasque, of the Eighth Judicial Circuit, said that the proper enforcement of the law means the success of Governor Cooper's ad ministrtaion and the success of all government, and he thought that the l?r5esBnt' convention * was 'momentous, in that it would maktf more cohesisj? the law's machinery in S&trtlr " Cartf-: l" ^rr j." r t V. * '"f/ : n plina. 'I was shocked," lie said. ! "when,the.goveriror stated .that there; was about one homicide in South Car" olina for every day in this year. There is a cause, and I believe I know what it is. Imean no criticism when I" make this statement; I believe, gen tlemen, that the fault lies in the tech nicalities of the law as practiced by. my profession." He then claimed pthat the frequent adjournment of j cases made for acquittals, as the J memories of witnesses were dulled by time, and their testimony gave rise to a doubt in the minds of jurymen. He quoted with approval an article of an ; eminent American jurist, who stated that the reasons why there are so few acquittals for murder in England, is because of the speedy trial of the accused. "I believe." continued ;Soliditor Gasque, "that unless there is a curb put on the sale of so-called extracts conditions in South Carolina will be worse than they were in the days of the old barroom system." The speaker then told of various ex periences he had had in his circuit with venders of various compounds which produce drunkenness but which are sold as medicines. In this connection, he introduced the following resolution, which was unan imously adopted by a rising vote: "Whereas, the State of South Caro-. Una is being flooded ' With so-called patent medicines, known as 'Jamaicia ginger,' *beef, <vine and iron' bitter? and various and sundry other concoc tions which contain a large percent age of alcohol and are sold as a bev erage; and "Whereas, the manufacturer of all these spc?lled medicines is beyond the law of the State, being situated in Richmond, Va., and other places; and, "Whereas, the sale of such in our State is hot only prohibited by law, hut is a menace to good health, mor als and society; "Therefore, be it resolved by the solicitors, sheriffs and other peace of ; pTcers of the State of South Carolina ; in convention assembly by the call of the governor, the federal authorities be" requested to investigate the manufacture and sale in our'State of ihe aforesaid concoctions by'whatever name'known and see if the same in this State can be prohibited and be it resolved further, that'a copy of these resolutions1 be furnished District At torneys Francis H.' Wesfoh, of Colum bia; and J. WV 'Thurmond, of Edge neld/tb each our members in Con gress, and that a copy be given to the press of the State."" G. Croft Wilhams, Secretary of the State board ''of charities and ' correc tipns, gave1 the convention some in teresting ' statistic? t? show thai crime Was on'the increase. One re fretable thing, he said,1 was the in crease m juvenile crime. "I am sat isfied," he stated, "that the increase of juvenile crime is a reflex of the motion picture, with its 'blood and thunder'" literature, its killing and other technical incidents' which ex cite the imagination of the growing boy aha1 also"! anV confident that the increase in the number of homicides is. hii't' a by-product of war, for his fory' shows that' following every war there is an increase in killing." Mr. Williams said that the' boys in the Florence school had been exam ined 'arid 15 per cent had been found to be mentally deficient and that of the women' imprisoned by the United States government for Crimes against morality/ when examined 30 per cent' of them were found to be below the normal standard in men tality. Solicitor Blackwell, of Laurens, said that the jaw passed at the last ses sion of "the general assembly prohibi ting the sale of extracts, bitters and other high percentaged alcoholic com pounds for beverage purposes was an absolute nullity, but that vendors in these so-called medicines could be prosecuted under the prohibition law. He said that f?r law enforcement to be effective the peace'"officer must have to support the people of his community. He told of the recent lynching of - a negro in Abbeville county. He was shot to death and thrown into the Savannah river. After a few days his body came to the surface, it was then cut up and the pieces thrown back into the riven Although the ? sheriff" and the coroner's jury have been investigating the killing and have inserted advertisements in the ? newspapers, they have not succeeded In'getting a shred of evidence. When ' he goes before the Abbeville grand jury, he said, at the next term of . court, he cannot get a bill for he has nothing to go on.' Sheriff Cannon Blease, of Newber ry, said that he had no trouble in pre venting the sale of extracts in his county, because he had prosecuted several merchants and they had been l fined and had ceased carrying the . compounds. When' he finds: that a : merchant has a larger stock than he thinks is necessary for medicinal purposes, he seizes it and takes the matter into the courts, j "South Carolina is faced with a proposition it has never had before," said Solicitor Mann; "it must handle an army of discharged negro soldiers, ! who think that because ' they have seen military service they must be given a voice in the government." He then called attention to the ab solute disinclination of the returned negro soldier to work ,a spirit, he said, which has permeated the other members of the race, and this idle ness will inevitably lead to crime. He . regretted to say that the United States government had made vagrants out of the negro men when uniforms were put on them. He called attention to the statement of the governor that many arrests are being made of ne groes carrying obscene pictures on their persons. ' *T hope that whenever a negro is found with obscene pitcures on him he will be arrested." said Mr. Mann, "and ? when a white man is found with them he will he tarred and feath ered and run out of the community on a rail." That a great many negro soldiers returned from overseas, arrested for! variouf offensea, "?had obscene pic- - tures on their "persons was also stated j by C. J. Kimball, city recorder of, Columbia, and this, in his opinion, I spelled a great danger to the State.1 These pitcterei which were obtained in France, hr said, are in possession of negro soldiers all over the State. .There is a law against their posses sion and Recorder Kim ball said that every person found with them should be arrested and prosecuted. Chier Constable .Elkelberger, <ofl Florence, said he found that the sen timent for the enforcement of pro hibition is growing each day. He said that $25,000 worth of extracts had been shipped into the Pee Dee section since last October. '.? Sheriff Padgett, of Oolleton coun ty, said that crime had practically been stamped out of his county, par ticularly the illict sale of liquor. How ever, he and his assistants are still pursuing violators. The peopie of Colleton county give him the greatest assistance and every officer will re ceive such assistance if he does his dilty. ? A resolution was adopted memor iarizing the legislature to establish ju venile courts in each county when needed. Sheriff John C. McCain ,of Rich land county, said that the negro sol dier has returned from overseas with exalted ideas -of social equality and they seem determined to force the is-1 sue by trying to ride with white peo ple on the street cars, demanding to; be served at white soda fountains, etc. He said in this attitude great danger. The number of illicit distilleries in I his county has been increasing, said 1 Sheriff Miller, of Lexington county, but he is doing all in his power to J stamp them out. I J. S. Morse, of Abbeville county, | urged that the laws be enforced asj rigidly against the whites as against the negro race, and suggested that! there had not been an equitable en forcement of the statutes against gambling. j Sheriff Roark, of Oconee county, thought the sheriffs needea help, either federal officers or rural police, 'n every county. - Solicitor George Bell Timmerman of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit, sug gested that investigations by proper men in each county would save the State money and would insure more convictions, because solicitors would be in possession of more facts when the cases came to trial. Many cases got to trial, he stated, without the State having all its witnesses, which condition would be obviated by having investigators m each county to work up the major casts. A motion was adopted for the chair man to appoint a committee to draft ?he convention's requests, which will be' presented to the general assembly by Governor Cooper. Governor Cooper thanked the peace officers for coming to Coiumbia to the conference, which, he believes, will be of benefit to the officers and the people. He said he felt greatly encouraged. Solicitor Henry, chairman, in clos ing the convention referred to the various remarks made about the ne gro, and said that - the situation can be handled, but what he thought was, needed was a greater determination on the part of the white people to en force the law among themselves. Right there, he stated, is the danger. a ; Ii?- s;tid that he is not as much afraid j i of the negro as of the white people, j who have been growing careless and j are allowing their standards to be come lowered, j Mr. Henry suggested that when the sheriffs return to their counties they call a meeting of their deputies, ;he ? magistrates, constables, etc., and take the matter of law enforcement in hand and arouse public opinion, along which line each sheriff should be a leader in his own county. Will Rebuild Hoffman Hall j At University of the South (Special Correspondence) New York, July 14.?To replace Hoffman Hall, burned last year, will be one of the purposes of the nation wide campaign of the Episcopal Church so far as the University of the South is concerned. That dormitory, ?vhich housed some sixty students, was one of twenty buildings of the univer sity built out of Sewanee sandstone. When fire destroyed the building, Se wanee had no means to replace it. but now that the Nation-wide Cam paign is in progress, to enlarge the work of the church, it will be possible to build a larger and a better dormi tory on the old site. Historically the beginnings of the University of the South are not with out interest. The idea of establish ing a great Church University for the South came to Bishop Polk of Lou isiana in 1856. : He considered the matter with a breadth of vision that was striking for he planned not to found his college for one diocese, as had usually been done, but to go even outside the state and to weld at least ten states to the purpose. These he chose south of Virginia and Kentucky and eas? of New Mexico and thus he combined the dioceses contained in the states of ? Louisiana, Tennessee, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkan sas and Texas. ? At that time the South was in an exultant mood politically and had no fears'for the future. Bishop Polk's idea was warmly supported by tne en tire South and half a million dollars for the college were subscribed and liberally and rapidly. The Cumberland Table Land in Franklin county, Tennessee, was chos en as the site of the college and the work of construction began. Then came the Civil War. Bishop Polk be came a general of the Confederacy and fought against Grant in his first battle at Belmont. In the end the entire endowment was swept away and sum buildings as had been erect ed were destroyed by the Federal army. The corner stone even was car ried away piece by piece for relics. Although chartered in 1858 it was not until ten years later that the col lege began its real life. In that year there were 14 students. The next year, however, the students numbered 107 and seven years later they numbered 243. Since then Sewanee has been a vital factor in the educational life of the South. \ When the college was built, the railway leading up to it was the steep est mountain road then in existence and quite an attraction in itself. Now the new Dixie highway will crdss^?t Sewanee and that is certain to make its reputation very great inded. V| Famous among those to be gradu ated from Sewanee are Major General William C. Corgas, Major General Leonard Wood, the Rev. Dr. Hudson Stuck. Archaeacon of Alaska; Senator John Sharpe Williams of Mississippi, the Rev. William T. Manning, rector of Trinity Church, New York "City, '?tid Major Archie Butt, who waS aide/c'to President Roosevelt. It Will be .'re membered ttiat Major Butt lost his ljffe on the Titanic, after drawing a Re volver to protect one of the boats, and then doffing his cap and wishing the women and children "God-speed.". ' While Sewanee now is conductin&'a campaign for a Million-Dollar endow ment fund in the States she serves, t?Be appeal to replace Hoffman Halt Js made more general through the~*!$a tion-wide Campaign. In the new build ing will be the college commons,?,tfgr one of the two dining rooms in whiyiih the students are was in the burned building. ^ '? J Sinking Steamer Saved Washington, July 16.?The Ameri can cargo steamer Alison was picked up in a sinking condition off Fehwick Island light ship, Maryland, today; tjy the steamer Lakeview, and was towed to Delaware breakwater where she-is now anchored, the navy department was advised by radio. The vessel was bound from Portland, Maine,' to Nor folk. The Allison is a wooden shjip of fifteen hundred and twenty, tons. Move Against Hobby: Austin, Texas, July 15.?Governor Hobby was asked to resign in a-res olution introduced today in tne 'Te?as house of representatives by Repre sentative Pope of Nueces County be cause of his alleged connection ^^h an attempt to cancel ?he" State's op tion to purchase the Bliie Rid^e prison farm, upon which oil has'been dis covered, i When Mr. Pope anounced recently his intention of introducing the" resolu tion both- houses promptly voted fheir confidence in the governor only'two opposing votes being cast. ' ""' % ? -^?,.'.7'. ',???? ' & Kansas City, July 16.?-The ques tion of wages and classification,-f it developed today, are among the sub jects on wlilch th$ Broth^rn?od' ':at Railroad signal men.'in eonvehtion here desire to reach a speedy agree ment with the railroad ' admhiistr^ tion. At present the signal merriCre rated as "shop crafts" but mjhta?n. their duties are more resPons%le^aiid are asking separate classificattsh y&h. wages and working condition's ^just ed accordingly. ' i " Amerongen, July 16.?The former German emperor refrained toieUy from sawing logs for first time in sev eral months. It is understood he^is suffering from a cold. Thei 'former empress has experienced a recurrence of her heart affection and both form er emperor and' wife remafriedHin their apartment today. You're satisfied with whatever clothes you buy at the time you get tjiexfy or you wouldn't buy. If that's all the satisfaction you want, any clothes will do; they all look good when they're new. We're trying to give you more than that. You want satisfac tion six months from now or a year. That's why we offer Hart Schaffner & Marx clothes. They're guaranteed to satisfy you absolutely. THE HOME OF HART SCHAFFNER & MARX CLOTHES The D. J. Chandler