Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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ST7MTER WATCHMAN, Est; CONSOLIDATED AUG. 2,1 BICHAM TO DIE ON JULY 14TH Judge Shipp Refuses ; to Grant New Trial W and Passes Death Sentence . Florence. June 9.?Judge S. W. ' G. Shipp in the sessions court here ipfeis afternoon refused to grant Ed mund D. Bigham a new trial and ^sentenced him to be put to death r in the electric chair July 14. Bigham was convicted of murder in connection with the killing ? of his brother. Smiley Bigham, and is' indicted for murder also for thej deaths of his mother and sister and j the latter's two adopted children.! The wholesale murder took place *? en the Bigham plantation in Janu ary, 3S21. Bigham was tried in March of last year. The supreme court'dis, k missed the appeal and Bigham's attorneys sought a new trial on the ground of after discovered evidence ?which, they declared, tended to show that Smiley and not Ed mund Bigham did the killing. vlt is not thought the case will-end here, j Unabashed by the sentence of j death, Bigham argued with thej court this afternoon 'before hun- j dreds of spectators for the privilege .of saying. "Some things I would; like to tell now, as this may be my test chance to speak ^before these pepole." The court replied that "depended on how long you will take to tell them." Then as in! afterthought, the court added. >"You might as well tell it. though." Abuses State Witness. Immediately the. doomed man pounced upon Philip H. Arrow smith, local attorney, who was an important witness in the conviction! of Bigham for the wholesale mur der. "I would have liked to nave seen Mr. -Arrowsmith here," he said, in opening. "I would like to have him standing: right here," indi ; eating the center of the court room. "I would tell the reason Arrow, smith accused me right to his?" ! Whatever he intended to havej said probably will never be spoken, j for the court stopped him sum. j marily with the reminder he was; viiot up there to make a speech but to state any legal reason he might j have why sentence of death should ] 1 not be passed upbri" him. "/ *T never studied law," said Big ham, beginning on the line which j the court had indicated he must ? follow in his discussion. "I am ready to meet my God and am not guuilty. The reason I am convicted j is because of th'e falsehoods which have been piled up against me. I j may have to die.. In fact, that's what I am up here in this prison- j er*s dock for now. It's hard to die for something one did not do. "Jesus Christ had to die so. He prayed for the night to pass from Him. The people x/tiQ, testified against me and stuck oat to have me killed did ft. Pleads for Himself. "If I knew the law. maybe I could state some reason why I should have a new trial?one more chance. No one knows it all ex cept God and myself.-r If there's any way you could give me another trial, just one day more in court, I would appreciate it. The state has ^pur other cases against me. I never had a fair trial. The verdict of that trial stands against me." Bigham repeatedly avowed his innocence and as often averred that innocent blood would be shed when he was executed. "I worked hard and had laid by some means." he said in the earlier part of his statement to the court. "But for my property, no one ever would have accused me. But they know that when the juice ts turned onto me, it'll be money in their pockets." Thereafter he likened himself to St. Paul, to John, the Baptist, and to Christ Himself, all their blood having been shed innocently. "But I'll rise in glory with them." * He/challenged the stare to con front him.^ even when he will be buckled into the death chair in the penitentiary in Columbia, with one person who can say truthfully that he ever did him a single wrong or injury. letters Do Xot Impress. A. Ii. King, the attorney for thei defense, betrayed far more emotion in conducting the hearing than Bigham ever manifested. Mr. King I impressed his audience deeply that he does believe Bigham is an in nocent man. But the facts pre sented by the solicitor, L. M. Cas que, weighed against him. Con sidering the letters and signatures, which were alleged to have been written by Smiley, for whose mur der Edmund is sentenced to die, to Edmund while the latter was in Georgia, the court stated frankly he doubted their authenticity. He practically as good as said they were frauds and forgeries. Bigham began to show the strain of the trial for his life when the solicitor in the afternoon took the floor to argue against giving him a new trial on the alleged after dis-; covered evidence. First, he turn.' ed almost livid white. I,ater. un der the stress of taking the sen tence of death, he turned ashen in color. As the judge pronounced the date of execution, his jaw drop ped. As the case wore on, evident iblisbed April, 1850. 881._ ANOTHER OUTRAGE IN ANDERSON CO. Masked Mob Take Man From Home Near Belton and Beat Him Anderson. June 9.?Further ac tivities of what is believed to be the Ku Klux Klan in this county Thursday came to light today when it was reported here that a body of masked and.robed men took Ol lie Crompton from his home in the eastern part of Anderson county and escorted him to a remote spot near Cooley's bridge near Belton, then administered a severe whip ping to him and admonished him to stop dealing in liquor. Cromp ton is said to have been returned lo lii> home later in the night. ^ Marked and white robed men Thursday night kidnapped Robert Sullivan, secretary and treasurer of the Orr cotton mills, and Miss Ruby Floyd, from Sullivan's car on Beh ton street, carrying them to Eureka' church, several miles out, where Sullivan is said to have been beaten and warned to stop asso ciation with the Floyd girl. Sulli van and the girl were returned here and each denied that Sulli van had been beaten. Charges of disorderly conduct are pending against the girl for an alleged dis turbance in her neighborhood a short time ago. Police and couty officers say they have been unable to find any clue to the identity of the men who kidnapped Sullivan and Miss Floyd or beas Crompton. Anderson, June 9.?-While An derson was still talking today about the kidnapping here last night of Robert W. Sullivan and Miss Ruby Floyd, i? became known that Ol lie Crompton was taken from hi3 home at Williamston last night and flogged by masked men. Crompton told police his captors charged him with being a bootleg ger and advised him to sell no more liquor. Xo arrests have been njade in either case and Solicitor L. W. Harris said today he had not decided whether or not to seek a grand jury investigation of the kidnaping. Sullivan, who i:* a well known cotton mill man, was warned by His kidnapers not to be seen again in the company of Miss Floyd, but he declared he made no promise and they were said to have gone riding together again tonight. QUESTION IS UP TO EXECUTIVES Union Heads Call on Rail Managers to Answer v ' i Cincinnati, June 9.?Six railroad. presidents, accustomed to solve the "complex problems of the rail roads" were called upon tonight to announce a solution of "how much fuel 'shall be put in the human boilers of sectionmen and their families, so that they may produce and maintain a safe roadbed," by the heads of eleven railway labor organizations, who, Tuesday de cided to take a strike vote of their memberships as a protest against further wage cuts, due July 1. The statement was in reply to a joint statement issued by H. E. Byram, president of the Chicago Milwaukee and St. Paul: Hale Holden, Chicago, Burlington and Quincy; W. H. Finley, Chicago and Northwestern; J. E. Gorman, Chi cago. Rock Island and Pacific; C. H. Markham, Illinois Centra!, and S. M. Fellon, Chicago Great Wes tern. Pointing to the rail executives' assertion that the employes "are interested sincerely in their jobs and their homes and few employes j in any industry have more good reasons for doing so." the union leaders declared this statement con-' victed them of accepting "as just j and reasonable the minimum wage of 23 cents an hour, ? 11.04 a week, $46.92 a month' and $363.04 a year, which is proposed for the section men." The labor heads declared they "welcomed the opportunity to dis cuss with practical railroad offi cials the problems of the indus try" and asserted "the hope for the railroad industry rests large ly on the extent to which railroad officials discuss frankly with their employes the problems not alone of the industry, but of the employes' themselves." They, therefore, asked a "frank j discussion" of the executives' state-! mest that the employes "have been | expecting a reduction are mak- i ing preparation.', to meet the new j scale." W. P. G. HARDING RECOMMENDED Chicago. June 9?President j Harding- in a message from the; administration committee of the Il linois Chamber of Commerce todax was urged to reappoint W. P. G. j Harding as governor of the federal reserve board. ly with diminishing hope for the; defense, Bigham seemed to take on a desperate, haunted look. It was the first betrayal of any | feeling in the matter that has es caped him, in word or appearance j since the trial more than a year | ago. j "Be Jost and Fear UNIONS APPEAL TO HARDING TO HALT PAY CUTS Approximately $110, 000,000 Will Be Lop ped From Pay Rolls of Workers by Or der of Labor Board Cincinnati, June 8?(By the As sociated Press.)?President Hard ing will be appealed to by the leaders of 1,200,000 railway work ers, part of whom have already re ceived wage cuts' from the Rail road Labor Board, due July 1, in an effort to stave off further reduc tions in their pay envelopes, it was decided at a conference of rail union heads tonight. Leaders of the electric railway employes' organization, which Tuesday decided to take a strike vote of their membership, agreed tonight to outline a letter to the president presenting their argu ment for higher wages, or at least no further reductions. A commit tee of union executives was ap pointed by B. af: Jewell, president of the railway employes* depart ment of the American Federation of Labor, to draft the letter. Approximately $110,000,000 will be lopped from the pay rolls of the 400,000 shop crafts and the 500.000 maintenance of way men under or ders of the board July 1. The new rates of pay will range from 54 cents an hour for mechanics' help ers to 70 cents fer mechanics. The* maintenance of way men will get from 23 to 35 cents an hour. These rates were branded as "starvation wages" by the union leaders and it is their intention, in the letter to President Harding, to demand whether the country s chief executive thinks these wages sufficient "to maintain an Ameri can standard of living and properly sustain a family." It> is understood that the letter will contain specific figures on, what the railroad men consider an adequate wage and will endeavor , to refute the position of the Rail-I road Labor Board as set forth m their recent wage reduction decis ions. The letter was only in ten-; tative form tonight and may not be ready for transmission to Wash ington before tomorrow night, union leaders said. CAMPAIGN FOR FORD SCHEME Farm Federation Advises Drive at Congress on Mus cle Shoals Plan Washington. June 11.?A cam paign for acceptance of Henry Ford's Muscle Shoals offer at this! session of congress. \v"as begun to- j night by the American Farm Bu- i reau Federation, whose Washing-1 ton correspondent, Gray Silver, j forwarded to state secretaries of j the organization a circular sug- j gesting that members of congress j be informed "in unmistakable j terms" of the sentiment of the farmers toward the plan. "There is no assurance," said j the letter, "that the proposal will be still proffered if it is not ac cepted before adjournment. The offer was made one year ago and the time has come to say 'yes' or] 'no.' This cause is worthy of your! most active support. Members of' congress can not reflect your de sires unless you, tell them in unmis takable terms that you want a vote on the Ford proposal and that you want it accepted at this session." The federation, which under Mr. Ford's offer would be one of three farm organizations having membership' on an administrative board organized to regulate ferti- j lizer sales and audit the transac tions of the plant, calls attention to the differences that have arisen in the house military committee over the question and suggests that, the Corgas plant controversy "is not the true issue before con gress." "It has been raised by the Ala bama Power company," the cire-*? lar continues, "which is acting as the mouth piece of all the special interest groups that are opp02e,I to the Muscle Shoals development, j The real issue is between the con suming public and these special in terest groups. These great interests are the fertilizer manufacturers and allied interests, the by-product coke ovens with their related steel interests, ihe water-power cup. the aluminum monopoly, the chemical combine and the financial inter ests." It is declared further in the cir- j cular that the Ford proposal "in augurates a new method of de- j veloping our great natural re-1 sources with low interest rates and j amortization of the cost." in addj tion to giving to a board of farm-j ers the regulatin of distributing J methods. LENINE CONVALESCENT Bolshevik Premier Able to Walk in His Garden .Moscow. June 12.?Premier Le nine's condition continues to show improvement, it is stated in official circles and he is now able to walk in the gardens, and dictate let ters. Not?Let all the ends Thou Aims't Sumter, S. C, Wednesc Evelyn Recc Here's Evelyn Nesbit and her Ja { has gained 15 pounds in several wee! i a baron or chauffeur or anyone- ' THREE REPORTS ON FORD'S PR0P0S? j __ Majority Report Says Ford's Bid for Mus cle Shoals Only One Worthy of Consid eration Washington. June 9- -Three sep arate reports setting forth recom i mend?tions for action by congress ; on proposals for the Muscle Shoals projects were made to the house today by members of the military committee. Acting chairman Mc Kenzie, who drafted the majority report, declared the Ford proposal to be the only one found "worthy ?of consideration" and asks accep tance by the house, provided the Gorgas plant is not included. Con currence in the majority report, except for reference to the Gorgas plant is voiced in one minority ! opinion by representative Wright j of Georgia, who is supported by ! one Republican. The remainder i of the democratic members, in a j third report, opinion is adverse to jthe acceptance of the Ford offer \ unless modified in other sections j than respecting the Gorgas plant. CANDIDATES FOR STATE OFFICES List of Those ^Vho Have Filed Pledges and Paid Assess ments . -. j Columbia. June 12.?The time for candidates to file their pledges, expires one week from noon today. Most of those expected to enter j the campaign have filed their pledges.. The campaign opens on Tuesday of next week. The following candidates have filed their pledges: For Governor: Thos. G. Mc Leod. J. E. Swearingen. George K. Laney. C. L. Blease and J. T. Duncan. For lieutenant governor: J. K. Owens. Bennettsville. For state treasurer: S. T. Car ter. For adjutant general: Robert H. Craig and Thos. B. Marshall, both of Columbia. For attorney general: S. MV Wolfe. For commissioner of agricul-j lure: B. Harris. For congress: F. H. Dominick.j of Xewberry. and Sam H. Sherard.: of Greenwood, in the ihird district: j P. H. S;oil. of Kingstree; Jerome F. Pate, of Darlington: W. R. Mar-; ringer, of Florence, and A. H. j Gasque. of Florence, in the sixth I district: W. Turner Logan, in the j first district: James F. Byrnes, of j the second district: J. J. McSwain, ; of the fourth district: W. F. Stev-! enson, of the fifth district: and 11. j P. Fiilmer, of Orangeburg, and A. I J. Bethea, of Columbia, in the sev enth district. Three solicitors' offices are va-J e.ated this year, and all three en- ! en inherits have offered for re-eler?! tion. Tin y are: Frank A. Me-1 Leod, of Sumter; A. F. Spigener, of: Columbia: and L. M. Gasfrue, of ! Marion. F??r state superintendent of edu- j cation, o. D. Seay. of Columbia: ;' Faul II. Moore, of Columbia, and J. j II. Hope, of Fnion. have filed i pledges. An interesitng race for! thi.-. office is expected. Harding's Sun day Guests _ Washington. June IL'?President j Harding returned to Washington! today aft^r tin over Sunday cruise in the Mayflower with Attorney General Daugherty. Secretary Mel lon and Senator and Mrs. Newberry as his guests. it be thy Country's, Thy God's and lay, June 14, 1922 >vers Health panese poodle at Atlantic City. She ?&?and she 'denies she's engaged to DEDICATE MEMORIAL AT PRINCETON President Harding Makes Patriotic Ad-| dress at Unveiling of Battle Monument Princeton. June 0.?The bril liancy of Washington's genius in action and devotion to his followers under .v great deprivation was ex tolled by President Harding today in an address at the dedication of the battle monument at Princeton. The.memorial was fitting to heroes and heroism of that day, he declar ed, adding, "we bring and lay at its foot the laurel wreaths which gratitude and patriotic sentiment will always dedicate to those who've borne heart, under the bur ! den of conflict." STORM HITS NEW Y?RK CITY Death List Placed at Fifty and Many Others Injured New .York. June 11.?A violent storm accompanied by shifting winds that reached a velocity of 88 miles an hour took the lives of more than &0 persons injured more than a hundred and caused enor mous property damage in the metropolitan section late today. Forty persons were reported to have lost their lives while boating, in Long Island sound, and many persons were killed by falling trees, lightning and accidents caus ed by the wind. Ten bodies of the drowned have been recovered and the waters about New York are be ing searched tonight for 30 miss ing. The storm came at the close of one of the most torrid days of the season. The wind, coming gently from the south and southwest, shifted suddenly into the northwest and increased in velocity to 88 .miles, and sweeping through Xew Jersey. Westchester county, across tho city island, the Bronx and Manhattan left death and destruc tion in its wake. Torrential rains, -then lightning, followed the wind. i kindreds of thousands of Xew Yorkers were on the beach and at various outlying resorts seeking re lief from the heat when the storm broke and it was from these that the storm took its death toll. SEARCHING FOR STORM VICTIMS Xew York. June 12.?Daybreak this morning found hundreds of parents, children and relatives still standing vigil at the docks await ing the arrival of police boats which, during the early hours had searched the waters of Long Is land sound for additional victims of yesu-rday's storm. More than fifty persons are thought to have lost their lives and upwards of a hun dred injured in tempest, which roared cut of the hills of Xew Jersey; beat the Hudson into foam,j and white capped breakers, and swept across Xew York city. The property damage is estimated to be from one million to three times j that much. CAPTAIN HUMBERT DEAD Member of Famous ''Wallace House" Which Regained White Supremacy Laurens, Jan.- 11. ?Capt. Joseph 0. Humbert, widely known as a leading citizen of the state, suc cessful farmer and prominent lay man in the Methodist church, died at his home near Princeton. Lau rens county, this morning at r. o'clock. The funeral will be held at Mount Bethel church at 11 o'clock tomorrow. fit Truth's." JODS FEUD REARS OUT IN VIRGINIA ! Serious Outbreak of Lawlessness is Re ported in Louisa County Richmond, June 12?Herbert Buckley, a lumber worker, has been placed in jail and warrants sworn out for a number of others as the result of what authorities de scribe as a serious feud near Pen dleton, Louisa county, Virginia, in which Buckley was tarred and feathered by a band of masked men Thursday night and the subsequent shooting up of the home of a preacher named Glehn, said by au thorities to represent the faction opposing Buckley and his friends. Liquor Smuggled On Naval Vessel One Thousand Quarts Seized at Norfolk When Vessel Docked From Trip to West Indies Norfolk. Va.. June 10.?Approxi mately 1,000 quarts of liquor val ued at $10,000 were seized by ma rine guards of the navy yard today in a raid on the naval transport Sirius, under orders of Rear Ad miral Philip Andrews, comman dant of the Norfolk navy yard. Officers and men of the ship are confined to their ship under guard. The Sirius is commanded by Comndr. W. J. Kelton. U. S. N. R. F., and Ensign Harry C. Mech told, paymaster in"charge of cargo aboard the Sirius. Both Comman der Kelton and Ensign Mechtold were among those confined to the ship at the time of the raid, but Admiral Andrews announced to night that they, with some other officers and men. had been permit ted to leave the vessel. Both Admiral Andrews and Ad miral Rodman, commandant of the Fifth navakdistrict: announced that a searching investigation would be made under the direction of 'Ad miral Andrews. Information came to Admiral Andrews that , a strong smell rof whiskey was evident in cargo being unloaded from the Sirius on to barges alongside for shipment to the naval supply station at the na val base. Waiting until the barges had been loaded, Admiral Andrews ordered a search of the contents of the shipment and jhen had the ship thoroughly searched by the marine guard. Guards were placed on board the transport and alongside the vessel. The Sirius reiurned to Hampton Roads about a week ago from the West Indies and has been at the navy yard since." The whiskey, ac cording to information received from Admrial Andrews, was put aboard the vessel as cargo at one of the West Indian ports. The commading officer of the Sirius, according to Admiral An drews, was detached from the ves sel today and ordered to the re ceiving barracks at the naval base. A board of investigation has been convened. AVIATORS INJURED AT AUGUSTA Airplane Falls at Camp Han cock Augusta. Ga., June 11.?Maj. E. C. Brainard. United States marine corps, and Lieut. R. T. Alldworth. United States air service, both of Ellington Field. Texas, were injur ed here this afternoon when the airplane in which they were travel ing crashed to the ground at the landing field at the Camp Hancock site. Lieutenant Alldworth is the more seriously injured. The ex tent of his injuries have not been determined, although physicians fear that his skull is fractured. He was badly lacerated about the head and body. Major Brainard sustained a broken left arm and cuts and bruises about the face. j The two officers, flying from Washington to San Antonio, land ed here Friday to replenish their oil supply: In attempting a land- I ing the machine crashed into a; ditch near the landing field ?nd! was damaged,. ; Neither of the avi tators was hurt. A machine with parts for the wrecked ship arrived here from Montgomery Saturday; and the broken parts were put in' this morning. The officers resumed their flight to San Antonio this afternoon at 4 [ o'clock but after attaining a height I of about 100 feet, the engine went dead. Lieutenant Alldworth. the pilot, tried to glide the plane to earth but the altitude was not suf-j ficient to effect such a landing and the ship crashed to the ground with terrific force, pinning both men beneath the wreckage. The wrecked machine is a De Haviland pursuit model with a! powerful motor, built for speed, j Lieut. Alldworth lived in Augusta prior t?> entering the air service be fore the world war. Mr. Rcardon Seeks Information. All parties in Sumter county, who j have first class calcium arsenate; they are using for poisoning boll i weevil, please notify E. I. Rear don, secretary chamber of com merce. THE TRUE SOU NEW IRISH I CONSTITUTION i ADJUSTED ?. -' I _ jLondon Newspaper Announces T h a t Satisfactory Agree ment Has Been Reached - I London. June 12?The articles j of the new Irish constitution have ' been revised so satisfactorily, the j Evening: Star asserts today that I Arthur Griffith will return to Dub ; lin with them tonight. The whole I six points raised by the British sig natories to the Anglo-Irish treaty I have been adjusted, the newspaper i says. , London, June 12?Colonial sec ! retary Churehhill announced in the ? House of Commons this afternoon j that it would be more convenient j and in the general public interest i if he deferred the statement on | Ireland, expected today, until Tuea | day or possibly Thursday, i ? ? ? j Wage Reductions Expected Soon [Estimated to Cut $40,000*000 From Rail WTorkers? j Clerks To Be Affected ????? Chicago. June 11.?Wage reduc tions estimated at not exceeding $40,000,000 for 350.000 additional railway employes whose wages the I carriers seek to lower through the railroad labor board, are expected to issue from the board within a few days,' to be effective July 1. The new decision will make a to tal of approximately $150,000,000 to be cut from the annual pay rolls cf the roads. I The bulk of those the new cut ! will hit are railway clerks who [number approximately 200,000. j Their pay, it was said today, would j not be cut more than five cents, ? however, and certain chief clerks and other supervisory clerical forces may not feel the order at all. About 5,000 train dispatchers, generally considered as subordinate officials; while coming under the pending decision will not suffer any reduction, according to authorita j five information. Supervisory of ; ficials in tie shop crafts whose i pay was recently slashed $60,000, ? 000 likewise received no cuts. j Coal passers, oilers and water j tenders, included in the general ; classification of stationary engi j neer and firemen, and freight hand I lers and other common labor in j eluded in the" station employes* group, are expected to receive a reduction of approximately five cents an fiour, the same cut ap plied to common labor in the maintenance, of way department. There are about 125,000 unskilled laborers in these two classes. Signal men and marine "*m j ployes numbering 15,000 and 800, J respectively, are expected to come i under the reduction but no figures j were available to indicate the ! amount of their cut. j Anticipating a reduction, how ! ever, D. W; Helt, president of the ! signal men, declared- the board I would "probably hamstring us" j and added that he expected his men ! to vote to strike as soon as the j decision was issued. E. H. Fitz I gerald, president of the clerks, like | wise declared a further cut was tin ; reasonable and that his organiza-' j tion would begin a strike vote im i mediately when the decision is an i nounced. Bonus Measure is Held Up No Action in Sight For the Next Ten Days Washington, June 9?Efforts to obtain Senate consideration of the sildier's bonus bill will be de ferred for at least ten days, it was stated today authoritatively. Whether it will be taken up by agreement among Republican lead ers or without the consent of some remains to be determined. Chairman McCumher of the fi nance committee, who will pilot the legislation on the floor, has in formed senators that in fixing a time to call the bill up ?ie will try to suit the convenience of most of them. He said he realized that there were those on each side who had to be absent from time to time, because of primary campaigns in their states and who desired to be present when the bonus is con sidered. PETITION SENT TO THE GOVERNOR Ask That Jesse Gappjns' Sent ence Be Communted to life Imprisonment Columbia, June 12.?A petition signed by twenty-seven people, eleven of them jurors who sat on the case, was filed with Governor Harvey this afternoon, asking that he commute to life imprisonment the sentence of death imposed on Jesse Gappins, one of the trio sen tenced to die next Friday for the murder of William Brazell. The governor indicated that he would not consider the petition. THRON, Established June 1, VOL, LIL NO 35 NEW STEEL JOMBINE Corporation Wants an Investigation-by Department of Jus tice Pushed "Washington, June S.?Denying that the merger of the Bethlehem Steer* Corporation and the Lacka wanna Steel Company will operate' to restrain trade, the two compa nies asked the Federal Trade Com mission today to dismiss the com-' plaint issued against the consoli-^ dation by the\ commission on June" 3rd. Coincident with the filing of an swers to the complaints by* the two corporations, C. T>. DeGesadof, their counsel, called at the depart-, ment of justice and assured At torney General Daugherry the companies were anxious to..place immediately at his disposal all facts regarding the proposed merger. De lay would seriously handicap the companies he asserted, asking that the investigation be pushed for-, ward as speedily as possible. Mr. Daugherty was understood to have informed Mr. De Ges?dorf that the department's investigalfbh would be expedited. Each company filed separate an swers to the commission's .com plaint, denying the authority or jurisdiction of the commission "over the transactions- alleged in the complaint,"" In the Bethlehem reply signed - by E. E. McMath; secretary offthe corporation, it was asserted that neither the Lackawanna Steel Company nor any of its subsi diaries was now engaged in com petition with the;Bethlehem Coin pnay nor any of its subsidiaries. It was also asserted that the carrying out of the attempt of M3y 1%. 1922. and the operation by thevre spondent (Bethlehem>, directly or through its subsidiaries of the prop erties of the Lacakawanna Steel Company will not violate , the pi*o visions of? "any law of the ?nited States." The Bethlehem - reply admitted some of the points set forth, in the commission's complaint but toolc issue with the commission's figures concerning production of certain raHroad-acceSsories by the Lacka wanna company. Both companies, in their'an swers, took up the commission's complaint, in detail and answered each allegation, admitting^ some charges and denying others, but reaching the conclusion rb.it th? merger woiild not in any manner run counter to existing statutes^. The department of justice made a statement with reference to to day's conference, which said " in part: ?The investigation on the part of representatives of the depart ment of justice in New York, and Buffalo will continue and a s scon as possible after the necessaxyladr ditional information has been-far* nished a final .hearing will be held if necessary, and a report made to the senate in response to the res-, olntion." . CONDUCTOR KILLED ON CAR Drunken Negro Stabbed Him To Death Richmond,. Va., June Tli?H. L. Burleson, 23 years old and tmmar ried. of Wflliambsurg, Va., a con ductor in the employ of the Virgin ia Railway & Power company, was fatally stabbed by a crowd of ne groes in South Richmond late this afternoon, bleeding to death on the running board of an-automobile in which he sought safety. Burleson's slayers -made good their escape before the arrival of police and as far as the authorities know still are at large, although four negro suspects had beeen ar rested up to a late. hour, tonight and are being detained in Thtrri police station. They were subject ed to a gruelling examination and are believed by police to be impli cated in the killing, if one or more are not Burleson's actual slayers. The trouble arose over a drunk en and obstreperous negro pas senger, who upon being approach ed by the conductor and ordered to desist, became abusive and curs ed the street car man. The latter sought to eject the unruly black when other blacks rallied to his aid. Their actions became so men acing the conductor jumped from his car and sought escape in an au tomobile which was proceeding alongside the trolley and whose driver, sensing the danger to the street car man, signalled him to leap aboard. The blacks followed and, drag ging Burleson from the automo bile, inflicted wounds with knives that shortly afterward resulted in the death on the running board. When an ambulance arrived in re sponse to an emergency call Bur leson was dead. The murder took place in what is known as the black belt'in South Richmond. The crime has caused much excitement and a consider able crowd of blacks assembled and temporarily at least frustrated ef forts to apprehend the slayers of Burleson. The demand for Will Hays in the movies exceeds the supply. ' ' We are shipping Swiss cheese *x> Switzerland and may start sending Eskimo pie to the Eskimos.