The watchman and southron. (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, January 19, 1921, Image 6
HOUSE KILLS 1
2 RESOLUTION
Decides Jfot to Limit Appropria
j tions This Yea* to Five
Millions
^rwi ?_
MORE LIGHT
ON If ATI NKEDS
NeAV^BilU to Abolish Tax Com?
mission and Hoard of Publit
Welfare Offered
ColumM i. Jan 11. The House n!
Representatives today killed the reso?
lution by It re present .ttlvc Bramletl
of Qtoenvllle to limit appropriations
this year to five million detlara The
House to??< the position that more
light on ti e state m r?|s should 1? ? had
before sn< h action is taken. In the
Senat itoi Wi*h in.in, who car?
ries a Iwittle nxe. offered new bills lo
abolish the tax commflkelon and in
a'.toiisb stj; t<- ho.u d of public welfare
The work of the lax commission he
TAould put to ihe eomptroller g< nernl
and a hoard of aaoeaoora appointed
by the governor. The Senate ad?
journed til Tuesday morning i n
the House till Monday night.
BOND ISSUE FOR
STATE BUILDINGS
Bill Introduced to Provide Funds
For Permanent Improvements
Columbia, t.ian. 14.? ?Repreoenta
tlve Thomas S McMillan, of ? har'. s
ton. state* that In is preparing to in?
troduce a resolution In ihe leglela
iure. ti? provide for a bond iaaus for
permanent Improvements to state in
sfttuttori Mr. McMillan has not
worked out the details yet, and II
is not know for what imoun- Ifc*
bond issue will be proposed.
The txjmi issue aba ha-? lahen ??
strong bold on the public. flOV,
Cooper urged it In Ins nnminl mes
sage. Commlaslons studying the lax
question ha\e sugucstcd it. and it
Will HkeV meet with little opposition
The Idea ii the bond Isens Is that the |
permanerf improvements Intended to
he of hrnetlf In coming years, would
%?e paid for over n period of yeara,
the burden not falling all ? n tin pres?
ent tax p?n ?
\_;.? ? 11-1 ( anthill*.
The Charleston delegation Is plan?
ning to Introduce In the legislature a!
an early date a lull to req dre all car?
nivals exhthitlna in their county t'>
pay a hish license. This is don.- In
the Interest! of the ?it\ of Charleoton.
There 's iow an ordinance in the
Si !
Hty of Charleston, repairing all car
ntvali exhibiting In the *? it>? to pay
? high license. Tu u t Around this,
etate members of the Charleston del?
egatloa, the showe pitch their tents
jnHt outside th<' Bit) limits, thereby
escaping Ihe license, and yet drawing
Ipatrbaage frtini the pily. The high li?
cense for the entire* county will pre
ivtnt the carnival* from dodging thin
license it i? stau.?'.
\<? More Ken Hands.
Hcnntoe LightM*y, ?.t Hampton, In?
troduced loday Iwo unusual tails af
recttng hie county. On? would, it
passed, prevent tip- rutting any more
near i;??<i>? In hin oounty for the next
two years, m would n-a Interfere with
Ith? re|iolrlug of roadi nlreaiy In use
I or the completion of federal ;<id pro?
jects slready Blurted, The oth??r *?i11
; ef his would authorise the county
I supervisor of Hampton la eel I ihe
'poor farm, at n pvlc< 'Indlovcd to bo
reasonable, tin- supervisor iu be the
Judge of iliiM.
' Senator Crosson, of Lexington coun?
ty, has Introduced In 111 <* state -? nute
Is bill combining the iwo high schools
;ii aHteebura and Leesvlile, "twin
I cities.** The combined districts would
IfOrm U ROW high MChool district. th<
new board of trustees t<? be formed
ot tas memben of the two old boards.
The senate yesterday adopted n res?
olution permitting ihe Introduction of
a toll authorising the nie of ihe pres?
ent Charleston High school building,
und Ihe use of ihe proceed! <>n erect*
, in*; n now plant, genetor Ifoung, of
( harleston, sXplalns that tins bill is
ni 11 satt i jr. because the original school
: holds d legislative charter.
gens tor Wight man, of Raluda, has
a bill in f" f ih. legislature, calling
Tor a twenty per rent reduction in the
salaries of nil count) and elate oin
rls Is.
tboMsh Truant Ofllcers,
genatar Wlghtman also hoe a I :'t
lief ore Ihe esnate to , abolish nil
truant othVns. and put the Work on
sehool trustees,
Manilla, Jan. 11.??Admiral Olenvcs
With COart inquiry will leave Imiu't
row for Vladivostok lo Investigate \ u
killing of Lieut. Lontl Ion.
Mar on, Jan, IS. Representative
Rardney, of Michigan, who, us chair?
man Of the hoaSS WO)'! and nouns
committee Ii expected to have ? lead
Ing ps? t In framing t ?x legislation at
Ihe special lernt af congress after
Manti ^th came to Marlon today t<>
talk o? ? r federal taxation with Mr,
i larding.
Paris, Jan. il.??Raoul Perot, arho
was asked yesterday In head the nea
ministry of r^rance }n succession to
the on?> which resign* I Wednesday,
declined today lo form ;> cabinet, lie
attempted ihe work yesterday but
fon oil : discouraging. Ho tried again
today to form a cabinet and fatb-d 11
then Informe?! President Mllleraud
that hi- would not ilo mo.
FLORENCE FAMILY
j before, word of it
? mi Hi \ officials .-11??
TRAGEDY
reached Florence
?hey Immediately
risking officers 111
other Iowiim i?) watch ?>ut for L. 8.
Bigham. Ft rat ret ?ort? of the trugedy
t-. Ihe fart
. 111:11 telephone and telegraph com*
blea and had often spoken of them. |estate lands
Two years ago While In- was post -
muster at Or um In- wai charged with I the 'inn
a shortage but then? hid ulwaya IrToreme
Thi? matter is being
investigated. II seems ihat about
I Nr. Clev? land Bigham left
the Bighams transferred
I.. S. Bigham Committed Suicide ^??nto.n? .?To.?
Following K;!lin?4 of Mothe
Sister and Two Adopted
Children
been a ttucstion about this and i". 'their Interest in the estate to the
had never been settled, lie also had (late .Mis. .1. iiogau Cain, the only
spokcr of certain people who had Imember bf tin- family not on the
last night 1 in i ii trying to do him wrong. "Thafcjbond.
.i.in. l?;. t< mporarlly In
brooding over llnanelal
and embltti red hi family
Florence
sane from
dl the til Ii' M 1IIIU I'llHilliriril i ?j iniimj |
I rouble.4 |n which an estate worth I visit i" u U'dghboi
probuhl; ITa.Ooii was at stake, L. R. 1 minutes Inter und
Itlghuih yostcrdn) afternoon, accord- 1 staggering toward
Ing i" ti" heal Information and be-1 jumped from his
lief, Sho| his mother, his sister, the|Womui1 dmd almost
latter's- two adopted children and
then sent a bullet, crashing through
his own train. The (had are: Mrs.
VI, M, Bighorn, Mrs Mnrjorlc \.
Illnck, Leo MoCrucken and .lohn Mc
I Cruel; ( n and I.. Dig bain. .\l| u > ire
evidently killed inntantly exc< >;
'Mrs. lilghanii the man's mother, win
lived a tew momenta, and the d o .-a
IChild, who dien a' 6 o'olock this
morning. The tragedy took place at
j the <dd Bigham home, live miles from
Pampllco, Florence eoun"y. and 25
inimical ion wi h Pamplb
r as impossible tu secure, it
until >oday' thai the facts
k now u.
tlightim's broth r, E
ham, hid left tie house with higlgase about in an abstracted manner,
family in an automobile ut-3:l6|He did no| have a pistol that I knew
o ejoi ?- 'I. returned from a. shorl lofi The pistol he did tin- hilling witli
was not morning about l- o'clock we had
became ' paid off the hands together and
[noticed that my brother was awfully
mund Iii;: I depressed. Me would stand up and
All the deeda to tin- thousand or
I j more acres of land be ar her name.
Since lo r death it is stated thai Big
ham has been attempting to get a
settlement fi ?m her husband, who is
a deputy sheriff of this county, but
ihe matter .his not been closed. Rev
eral pages have bten torn from the.
; house il? iul 20 ! wus mine, it was in my bureau
'ou mi hia mother I drawer when l left tin- house. There (deed books, the indexes Indicating
Ihe road. He J was unother pistol somewhere in the that they relate to the Bigham land*,
ar, but lb uged house, m m*y mother's room 1 think." .and in more than one case the word
? ?? fi re be i ; i;.-a i The testimony ??i airs. Edmund ing Of the deed:; were recorded in
? hnpp
a l t h ?
i iod:
! he;.
Iloor
her. Oth
the housi
the) bore ih
!!,io the hull!
blood oil tie
vesti;;"? tlon whi h
slaughter of l i ??
coroner's Inqti .? ?? i
ham test Ified thai h<
from the house on)
ut i B.
nod to drive by
lime an l when
oi Mrs. I lignum
* w i \ idences of
md began an In
i vcaled the
hen. At the
. iy Ed mund B!g
?- had bei n aw a \"
? miles from this city.
After slaying all within the lm.i< ?
at the time, it Is thought, lllgham
'went deep Into the woods surround?
ing the place and llred a bullet Into
his brain. Win n Iii-; body was found
I at noon today hla right hand still
Igrasped the piatol, it v. .s ptatcd by
the physician, who examined the
body, that i Igluim find been d a i
more than 11_' hour*. The dead per
I sons were all ahoi In
leach ease, tin- ballets
I bent ? 11 ii th Ir lemph i
lie had I? fi 1
the yn i d. Th?
aei Ing at ra nge
ho said, and ?
any mere de]
its
usual.
With n r
l left m
children
and pi
hud be. :
I
When
family,
mothe
nt 11t* ii
As far
no <!''.'?
brother standing in
bn >l her had bei n
f< a* i evcru I w e? ks.
not appear to be
scd yesterday than i
go| into the car j
to l:o to Pa mpiieo ;
and sister and the J
\ arlous occupa I ions
h l know liiere |
ling during Ihe I
Bigham and lier two little daughters Ilong hand has been crudely altered
who accompanied Mr. lllgham In the (to show that Mrs. Cain was entitled
car iwa from tie- boas.- just before I to only a half or B third Interest, as]
'lie shooting, tallied at every point the cose might be, in the certain
w h lhat ol Mr. Bighum. tracta referred to. The mutilation oC
Then -I" some ?. ? ihe scene of Ithe court house records caused sonm
[the hooting lodaj win* were in- jibing of a sensation and the matter
I o doubt that Rmille Hlghamlhaa been kept quiet until absolute
killing or Ievidence could be secured against L.
tS. Bigham.
_
the scene 1 -? 1 ?
that -Mrs.
?*rom hei
clin?
h id
Hi
v. bolcsa li
about l'u min-Ithat he had killed himscli
From lb
oi Lite rho
1 lack was
situation at
lg i* is llkelj
?.hot Hist.
i,
in t
the
er
bef
nets 1
i \ idem'.. or- ;.t into t lie
.?hol he
thoi ght ;i at he ihcn
ro mi ;? nd t he clean
lit l wound the slavei
INVESTIGATING
AT PAMPLICT
Columbia, .lan IT.?There will be
om ana coroner's verdict In the case oC
the killing of the five members of the
itraigh
to i
day. Inatead of going
j?.??.mplh 1 l ?vi nt up iin- roni
he lead in j poh Pox worth for u minute,
iieiing just j t-ame back we saw mother atng
Norn- were ou1 of the yard. I turned and caught
the buck
? ???( nccts
room with
kill d \it :?
do
tin
rushed down<rt|sham family at Pampllco, twenty
mH molher , live mih s from Florence. Saturdav af
i- on the piaxaa which Uernoon. for two weeks yet, accord.
Kitchen and dining mg. to pi0fence advices today. Cotop
'ncr \V. M. Smith of Florence spent
Monday at I'a mpiieo, milking a
thorough InveeUgsvtion of the stt
uatlon. especially in the light of the
belief on the part of some citizens that
L. S. Bigham, whose body was found
in the woods near the home, appar
nd th - youngest of the
to see I children. The boy's body was
\< WM I half way down the step- Indicating
,r j that he was trying to escape, in the
; meantime the other child evidently
had made his way Into the yard and
shot more than once, although two ;l glimpse of Smile < L. s. Bigham) 1
balls Were round near the back door turning Into the wooda almosi in ti ; v>" :; 1Uli down near a potato bank at | #.nl]y a suic ide, was not the perpe'tra
| that h id missed their mark. Tic- ? nm. He had .11 ? right l and toward *n<* lral* of lne kitchen. | tor of the terrible crime, but that
today
i bout
large plat ! used l < Bigham still con
tulred r.n unexploded cartridge!
I which ii' i ated thai the man reload?
ed d ? ? his prgy of slaughter.
The nir'inm home is nun than
half a it a distant from any nolgh
II siring I 'Use. Norn- could be found
.. in? had hear any shooting
Lhe place, A large crowd
gut! red during the day and passed
fr m room to room viewing the dead.
The sight was n ghastly ono. < ?n a
Ihm] in n downstairs room lay Ihe
UKcd mother and tie- \oingsl c lit Id,
their faces covered with blood, in
\in- adjoining room tin- oldest of the
children lay on n bed where he died
at fi o'clock this morning, and !>? -
? de him the bmiv oi lllgham ^as
placed when the senrehora returned
with it todti.i Upstairs in the room
she usually occupied was the bod) of
' Mrs. Majorie Black, oldest slaicr ol
Pighom, it la j on the floor just in
front of th- dresser. Until late this
afternoon, when the coroner's j>t >
completed taking evidence, tin- bodies
were undisturbed. The funeral will
probably he held tomorrow. The
Icoroner's jury will not render a ver?
dict until further Investigation has
be. 11 made.
.\ Ii hough tin- i raged Is n Id to
I have occurred at 3:3a o'clock ycatcr
Iday afternoon, It was late last night
ad so mi I "ing In
i ny nlstol. M y
a'erc i arrymg
T. l >. Garrison
il come
tiled my
but she did not
out on the bark
L. S.
terms
up in count;
sister, neer.
his breast aa if he ha-:
it but I did not si?
mother died ua
In r int?) t In- h< US< .
and Hoyl Ilostick 1
the meantime. l i
Mrs. Marjorle Illnck
a nswer, i t hen v. < n
plaaSa ami found .lohn McCraeken,
the youngcsl child, dead thsre. My
mothi r's cap was also on th ? Iloor
just by the back door and there was
blood all .-.liar, i believe my mother
a nd t he child were i hot on tin
piavza and that she tried to gel into
the roud for help. It was almost
dark, probably two hours after we
reached home. Ihat we found Mrs.
Black ?iead in her room upstairs.
Later some on- found the other child,
Leo McCrncken, on n pile of straw
b? nind it potato bank out In the
yard. He was ntl!i alive. We called
Dr. Ponton as soon aa possible, The
boy died aboul D o'clock thi.s morn?
ing, it is evident th<- boy was run?
ning when he wan shot.
Mr. lllgham COUld noi say why 'he
room of Mrs. Black was not aearched
sooner. "It just happened." he said,
"that* we i not think about it."
i Someone had naked him to iro up?
stairs but he jusi did not do It. Mr.
Pighnm nlsai declared that his
'brother had been in financial trou
'. in
lllgham was about i " years <?'d. lie j someone else killed the members of
was a (son of the la'e State Senator ,tin Bigham family. This theory is
Bigham, w ho served several not generally held, bat there a re rout*
in lhe senate, from 1**1 are nee j in the Pampllco community who doubt
Pighnm was a civil engi* (the suicide idea.
f The n? west development in the
only survi\ing members of p*?e is that Mrs. Black, one of the
the Pighnm fa ndl.?. now are Rdmund dead women, made her will last
Bigham. who lives at the old home, |week, leaving her property to L. S
und Dr. Cleveland Bigham, whose Bigham, the dead num.
whereabouts (a unknown. Dr. Big- -
ham was c u.vic?. d in the George- i The RuUtter Creamery company ex
lown county court several years agoipecta to be ready for business by
of :!;,? murder of his wife. He was j Monday, January 17th. Practically
Benteni i j to three years, imprison- everything is in readlaeaa and the new
ment in the penitentiary but before 1 machinery has already been installed,
he could he taken to prison jumped j The plain Will be under the efficient
his bond and has nbt been heard of [management of Mr. w. R. McDonald
since. Th-1 amount of the bond was j who has been associated with tool Pitta
$10,000. The state of South Caro- 'Dairy during the past year and prior
linn has never bei n able to collect to that had charge of. the Columbia
the bond money and the matter Is Creamery Co. Mr. McDonald has had
now in the hands of the attorney i a number Of years' experience in the
general for settlement, it is under- I dairy and creamery business and
stood that lhe Bigham estate is re- 'had charge of several large creamCY*
Bponslble fvr ihe money, all nrembera lies in the north before coming south.
Of ihe family having signed the bond The Sumter Creamery company should
except Mra J. Bogan Cain, who died
rather suddenly during the influ?
enza epidemic having a h US band and
one si U. Afl a possible motive for
hi - deed yesterday it may be stated
tha '. S. Li* ham lias been suspected
prove a valuable aaset to this city
for reasons of health, convenience and
service.
All the banks of Sumter will be
closed Wednesday. January 19th, that
mutilating Ihe county records for j day being Ix-e's birthday, or a legil
of the i holiday.
lurpoi
of getting hold
i
At Sumter, S. C.
Opens Friday, January 21st
The Big Stock of Clothing, Shoes, Dry Goods, Ladies* Ready-to-Wear, Underwear, Hosiery, Hats, etc., of
THE BATTERY, at Sumter, was damaged by fire on the 22nd of December.
*
This tremendous stock of goods will be placed on Sale in the NEW H ARPER STORE, next to J. C. Brown,
Opposite the Claremont Hotel, and will be sold entirely, WITH RESERVE, within a v ery short tim^.
Thousands, upon Thousands of Dollars worth of High Grade Goods slightly damaged by water and fire will
be sold at any price they will bring. The best chance of securing your future needs at a trifling of their real
value. . ,
REMEMBER THE TIME AND PLACE
Sale Opens Friday 5 January 21 st
In the New Store Opposite the Claremont Hotel
THE BATTERY
SUMTER, s. c. i