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^ ? ? t A UNION AND SUBURBS HAS J ~W" "^T " "W "T \ "W" "T r | Y TIT "7W" "W??T* UN,0N AND SUBURBS HAS 8 8 Female Seminary, Fivo Graded I I 1 I J HI ! M ft 1 H H I \ft /I I j ' ^ Fivo Large Cotton M il If*. Knitting i v$xirtsxx^^?j?z?%. I I' M W I \ E 9 1 ! \i 3 VI H ^ : ir:;;!":1""?""8 ? gate capital of $350,000, Macuda- ? I i H I 1 % 8 F I W H I it ? oil Mill. 1-uriiitur^ MuuciluoturlcK ? Vttp* 2 mlzi:d otreeta, Population 1.2,000. ?J8h. ^8L_ ^8 J X _J8w. y X. 2ft ^8L. ~JL. ^ Y _JF. 9 * dumber Yards, Waterworks. VOL. LVI NO 10. i UNION, SOUTH CAROLINA, FRIDAY, MARCH 9, 1906. $1.00 A YEAR. 1" 11 CENTS Makes the Farmers happy place to deposit your surpl The best Safe that Money protected against Burglary large Firm and Individual protect our customers) m; 9 lufcjjy secure. We solici IWm. A. Nicholson GEO. HASTY GUILTY OF MANSLAUGHTER 4 ON FIRST COUNT WITH RECOMMENDATION TO MERCY OF COURT. I He Is the Hotel Keeper Who Killed Two Actors of the "Nothing But Money" Theatrical Company at Gaffney on \rjfo v December 15th.?This Case Has Been Watshcd with Much Interest Throughout the State?Below is a Summary of the Evidence in the Case. Gaffney, March 1.?Special: '*3 At the hour appointed for Court to convene this morning the Pnnrf rnrvm wua anrl overflowing, standing room being at a premium. A large number of ladies were present. The first case called was that of George Hasty, for the murder of Milan Bennett and Abbott Davidson, ^ at the Piedmont Inn here, on December 15 last. \ _ The calling of the case was the signal for a technical legal battle, pi** u..;???? first tack on the part of the defence was a motion to squash the indictment of George Hasty on the ground of irregularity in the indictment, in that there was no indictment for carrying concealed weapons. This .was argued by Mr. Johnstone and Mr. Osborne and opposed by Solicitor Sease. Judge Memminger, after deliberating for some minutes, refused the motion. The next move for time on the part of the defence was for a continuance, on the ground of the absence of material witnesses, one of whom is Hervy, alias Scott, the itinerant telegraph operator and journalist, who is said to be sick in Augusta. Next / the illness of Mr. Johnstone was ' argued, but the Judge ruled that the case must go to trial, promising to give any reasonable time ? > lor me securing ui wiuiesses. In bringing the case to trial at this time Judge Mernminger met the approval of the people. The Court then ordered the empaneling of the jury, which resulted as follows: Allie Osborne, H. E. Tyndall, Jud M. Allisson, S. W. Clary, W. H. Wright, James Lee, R. W. Spake, Farmer Moore, T. E. Mabry, Robert Garner, D. G. Horne, T. J. Haynes. Mr. Allie Osborne was made foreman. Both sides exhausted their challenges before the jury was complete. This is considered an able jury and every precaution is being taken to prevent anyone communicating with them. After the jury was empaneled a recess was taken until [ j'clock this afternoon. At the afternoon session the testimony was begun. The first witness was Prof. It. O. Sams, who testified to making a diagram of the hotel where the shooting occurred and identified the chart. Dr. B. L. Allen was next called. He testified to holding a post-mortem examination and described the course of the bullet. Miss Verne Sheridan, of the "Notfiing But Money" Company, one of the eye witnesses of the \ shooting, was next called. She \was a member of the theatrical } company playing here when the tragedy occurred. In the beginning of her testimony the defence objected to almost ^verything she said, not allowing her to bring out the cause of the difficulty, doing all in their power to confuse and confound her, I, * ' , COTTON | and prosperous. A safe 1 us is with THIS BANK. | can Buy, which is also | by Insurance, and our | Resources (all of which | ike your deposits abso- g IT YOUR BUSINESS. \\ & Son, Bankers, I | Through it all she was calm and composed, and told as straight a story as was ever heard in the Court room. With all his sar; casm Col. Johnstone could do nrvfliinrr 1ao%< Qlio mno uvi/ii 111^, ti ii/ii uvi . kjnv/ vv cio subjected to a rigid and severe cross-t xamination, and after find| ing that she could not be turned I from her story, the defence let ' the cause of the affray come out. She testified to the fact that after she retired she heard a | knock on her door, but did not I answer it. The person then went out on the veranda and tried to get in the window. Failing in this he came back and threw himself against the door, and then climbed up and looked in the transom. She recognized George Hasty. She then called Mr. Bennett, and when she did so Hasty left. Mr. Bennett, who was a musical composer and engaged to marry her, sat in her room writing music till 4 o'clock in the morning, when he went to his own room and got a comforter and lay across her bed till 7 o'clock. Next morning she was annoyed by Hasty again. This was while Mr. Bennett was out. She described in a graphic marines <shootmg occurred. Hastv mviTed Mr. Bennett from tne dining room. They went out. j Mr. Davison was told that Hasty ; was the same man who had an'noyed Miss Bishop the afternoon before. After Hasty and Mr. n .it i i i ixennetu naa gone our, ivir. jjuvison followed, She told of the 'conversation between the men, ! and of Mr. Davison raising his ,hand to strike Hasty. At the same time Hasty fired two shots jin quick succession. Mr. Davison then grappled with Hasty, | pushing the hand with the revolivcr against the wall. Hasty I jerked loose from him and shot Mr. Bennett. Col. Johnstone, at this point, notified the ladies in the audience that if they stayed they might expect to hear something that they would not like to hear. After most of the ladies left Col. Johnson tried to make the witness admit that she had been too intimate with the deceased, trying to besmirch her character. She stood the ordeal as few women could stand it. She was a match for Col. Johnstone. Every word she uttered carried conviction that she was telling the truth. . Col. Johnstone endeavored to I r >ve from her that either she or Miss Bishop had ridden through the streets of Gastonia astride. Fortunately she and Mr. Bennett had taken a kodak or picture of the party outriding in Gastonia, and the picture was identified. The defence will endeavor to destroy the character of the young women who were insulted. Col. Johnstone saying to your your correspondent that the ladies of Gaffney would not be so ready to take in show people next time a thing of this kind occurred. After Miss Sheridan gave her testimony Court adjourned till a da a? ? y.oo tomorrow morning. Misses Sheridan and Peeler are stopping with Miss May Peeler while here'. Miss Bishop, one of the members of the troupe, testified today. Her testimony was a corrobora tion of that of Miss Sheridan, who testified yesterday, to the i effect that the killing was with out provocation. Attempts were 1 made by the defence today to s prove that the characters of the two lady witnesses were not what they should be, but the court ruled that, while questions per' taining to this matter could be > asked, they need not be ans' wered. ; Mail Bishop, in her own de fence, asked that she be allowed to answer, and that nothing be left in doubt. A sensational fea. ture was the introduction of a manikin to show the progress of the fatal bullet. The appearance of the grewsome object threw Miss Sheridan, one of the witnesses, into hysterics and she was led from the court room. The defence began its testimony late in the day. It established the theory of the defence that self-defence was to be the policy of its evidence. A renewed attempt was made also to impeach the character of the two ladies of the theatrical company. It seems likely that the testimony will be finished tomorrow and the arguments of counsel will begin. At the opening of court the defence asked to put one of the witnesses, one Strickland, of Gastonia, on the stand, as he had just left the bedside of a sick child. The defence wanted to prove the conduct of Misses Sheridan and Bishop by this witness, who is an agent for some real estate man. The Questions were asked him, but the Court would not allow him tox answer one of them. { Miss May Bishop, one of the I innocent causes of the tragedy, ! and one of the eye withe8bf|^^ the shooting, was next catitfrM the State. Shd made an exMienr i witness. '' I Col. Johnstone did not ueeth# same tactics on her as he duj on , Miss Sheridan, refraining Mimm ! asking her about her conduct. | Miss Bishop testified tothes"hgoting. At the time that Hasty $jad Mr. Bennett left the room sh^ was sitting at the dining tabid; She tried to get Mr. Davison nog to go out in the hall, but he went! anyway. She got up and started to the door. Just as she got there she heard two shots in quick succession and saw Mr?, Davison grappldk :.with Hasty,' taking hold of his right hand and forcing it and the pistol against the wall. While Davison had hold of him he jerked loose and shot Mr. Bennett. Her testimony was identical with her testimony at the inquest. She could not be shaken by the crossOxamination. In the cross-examination she asked Mr. Johnstone to help her and she would illustrate how the shooting occurred. Mr. Johnstone took hold of her arm and she jerked loose as Hasty had done, illustrating the shooting in a vivid manner. Her testimony was straightforward. Dr. Nesbitt was next called. He testified to holding the postmortem and described the course of the bullet after it entered the body, lie also testified that he did not see any weapon on the person of Mr. Bennett when he examined him. He identified the coat and vest worn by the deceased. John Spencer, a butcher here, was called to testiy to a conversation he had with the defendant at 6 o'clock on the morning of the tragedy, in which the defendant said that he had been trying to get in the room oi one of the show women all night and was going back to make another trial, but the testimony was deemed irrelevant and was ruled out. Sheriff Thomas testified to taking Hasty to the jail from the city prison, where he had been locked up, about 5 o'clock in the afternoon. When he searched his person he found a knife concealed in his trousers leg, fastened to his garter. The defence claims self-defence and will try to prove that Hasty's coat was cut. This is an explanation of how it was cut. With this the State rested. The attorneys for the defence then requested the Court to take a recess tnat they might consult with their witnesses. This was done and the jury was permitted, under the' escort of briliffs, to visit the scene of the tragedy and inspect the building and surroundings. Court reconvened at 2.3C o'clock and the first witness was J. L. Ferguson, of King's Mountain. The judge ruled that his testimony was not relevant. Col. Johnstone asked him if he saw Misses Sheridan and Bishop while they jvere in King's Mountain* Mkftd wk&t of costume they wore. The judge luled against it, and Col. Johnstone argued that it was relevant, as he would endeavor to justify the action of Gee. Hasty in trying to climb over the transom of her room. C. L. Dart was almost an eyewitness. He was a book agent, stopping at the Piedmont Inn at the time of the shooting. He was in room No. 10; at the time he was in his room reading and heard the shots in the hall, but read on. Soon he heard the screaming and cracked the door and looked out, and saw a man lying on the floor and other men surrounding him, ' but he was afraid to go out, lest he might get shot. In a few minutes he ... *. t- TT. i - -aT -1 * 1 wen l uui. ne lestmea to nearing Miss Bishop point out Will Hasty as the man who did the shooting and to hearing one of the women curse. He was too mo Jot to repeat directly what she said. Prof. R. 0. Sams was recalled. He testified to making the chart of the building and of measuring the transom, and of examining the dust on the transom, after a brother of the defendant had tried to get in through it, but would not testify to examining it before. I m Smith Rains, a white man, was . sw?rn. He testified that he was Vm the barber shop when he heard Ine scuffle, and then he heard a .body tali. Soon afterward he Ereard a pistol fire twice. He ' vtffent out in the street and saw Mr. Davison coming down. He ,%aw something bright in Mr. jrpfwison's hand. On cross-ex! fcripination the solicitor asked him wljo was with him when he stole Pat side of meat from J. A. irroll some years ago, and how uch it cost him to get out of it. Rufus Estes testified that he in the dining room at the ! of the (shooting, and that neither Miss Sheridan nor Miss JBishop saw. the shooting, but were in the dining room all the time, not going out in the hall until the shooting was over. He said he did not go in the hall at all himself, but hiked out through the kitchen and back yard. He did not run, but walked pretty fast. Mrs. Sallie Hasty, wife of Will Hasty, testified that she was in her room, which is next to the dining room, and heard a man say: "You are the same fellow who insulted that lady," and soon she heard two shots. She Arthur Hasty, was next called. She was in bed at the time of the shooting. He fired two shots and got up and looked out of her door. Did not see either of the young ladies in the hall. Will Hasty, a brother of the defendant, was next put on the stand. He was in the hall when 1 the shooting occurred. He was going to the bath room when he saw George and Bennett talking. Davison brushed by and said to George: "You are the same feli low who insulted that lady," at the same time catching hold of him and striking him with his . ! 'Li. 1 I ...L' L rignt nana, in wmcn was some 1 bright instrument. When he ' caught hold of George he (George) slipped and fell on his knees. Mr. Bennett caught hold > of. him on the other side. He i came up and caught hold of Mr. Davison to part them. When he i did, George drew his pistol and fired, first at Mr. Bennett and > then at Mr. Davison. Mr. Ben> ,nett reeled and fell where he was. He said that he and ? Gowtfe the two men were o IF. M. FARR, President. T I I Merchants and Plai Successfully Doing Busi B S3WHB Is the OLDEST Itunk in tins a capital ntid surplt kl H i? t.h.? only N M'lONA I rl H tins paid dividends in K] u nnvs POUIt per cent. -1 , is the only Hank in U'd M BR tins Iluriclar-Proof vaul W 0 D pays more taxes than A I WE EARNESTLY SOL "SfflBBECTSB BKaShteflnMBBBOB F _ _J . the only ones in the hall, but that Arthur was coming up the stairs. Arthur Hasty next testified. He was on the street in front of the entrance when he heard the fight. He started up the steps arid saw these two men have George down on his knees. Just as he got to the top of the steps he heard the pistol shot, and saw Mr. Bennett reel and fall, and Mr. Davison go down the stairs. With this the defence asked for more time to consult with the remaining witnesses, so a recess was taken till 9.30 o'clock o'clock tomorrow. During the proceedings to-day the State tried to get in the dying statement of Mr. Davison, but it was ruled out, as his case is not being tried at this time. opened the door, but did not see either of the young show women, but they soon came out of the dining room and began screaming. She testified that Miss Bishop pointed out Will Hasty as the man who did the ' hooting. She did not go direct to her hus band, but went through the dining room, the kitchen on to the veranda, and through the small hall, to her husband, who was standing on the other side of the corpse. The attorneys tried to i prove improper relations on the ! part of the deceased and the j young ladies. Objections were raised, which were sustained, ; the Court saying: "It seems to me that you are trying those I two witnesses and not the defendant. I don't propose to let you get from the main issue." Mrs. Maud Hasty, wife of THE DEFENDANT. At 10.30 the defendant, George Hasty, was sworn. He is 22 years old. Was born in Union county, N. C. Worked in cotton mill until he came to Gaffney a year ago. On the morning of Dec. 15ih he went up to breakfast with Mr. Estes. He went into kitchen to get breakfast for Estes. When he came out met Bennett in dining room. He denied Bennett's accusation that he had annoyed the lady and had tried to climb over tramson, and told Bennett that if he would come out into the hall he, George, would explain it. Defendant said that he denies until yet that he tried to climb over the transom or to annoy the young woman. In the hall he expostulated that he had done nothing and about that time Mr. Davidson came up and saying, "You're the some fellow," put his left hand on defendant's right shoulder and struck him on the left side near the shoulder. His foot slipped and he went to his knees. He illustrated this to the jury, showing the posture. He claimed that Bennett grasped him on the face with his fingers and struck at him with some instrument in his right hand. Davison clutched him on the right shoulder and was striking at him. He then fired. Had no malice against either of them. He and Bennett were not able to get into trouble until Davison came out and struck him. Bennett was mad but not much so. The pistol was Mr. Walker Baker's. He took the pistol Wednesday night and put it in his room, No. 17. He slept in No. 17 Thursday night. He went up to get some things he had left, a deck of cards, some poker chips. He went out and forgot the gun. Got back into the room and got the gun. Stuck it in the overcoat pocket. Hung up the overcoat in Bullington's room. Put on the overcoat next morning. When he was knocked by these two men he was scared. They were striking at him, they had things in their hands. He did not know anything about these men. Had had no previous acquaintance. He shot to save his own life. He knew that he was in danger. Would not have shot otherwise. Thinks he shot Mr. Bennett first. He shot two or three times. Shot them while both were on them. Fired just as rapidly as he could. Mr. Bennett straightened up and fell. Did not run down the hallway at ?? i i ? * -1 i il all. would not nave snot eitner if both had not attacked him. Davidson at no time had his hand against the wall, nor did he wrench loose and fire at Bennett, i He said he did not insult Miss Bishop. Did not try to climb over Miss Sheridan's transom. Heard no outcry during the night. There were people passing in wd out Aoarly all tho Umo ujlUI J. D. ARTHUR, Cashier. | aE- I liters National Bank, | ness at the "Old Stand." Union, is of $10 ,000. Hunk in Union, onnti iv to iaO(l 400, Interest on ilonosits. on iiiRocolt-<l l?y nn olliccr, f. anil Snfo Willi Time-Look, lilj tlio Manks in Union combined. ICIT YOUR BUSINESS, j he went to bed. Among those whom he had seen were Mr. Lowry Walker, Mr. Shuman, a drummer, Mr. Baker and others. lie went to Miss Sheridan's room that night and said to Will Hasty, who was in there, that a couple of men wanted to see him ahoilh rnnmcs Tlio ennnnd firvir. lie told Will that Sally wanted him to come to his room. Denied on cross-eyomination (hat he insulted Miss Bishop when he went into room No. 17 to get his effects. She had raised the room and asked him what he got out of-that room. He said that he got the pistol to look at it. He was thinking of buying it. Denied that he had at that time a pistol with a long six-inch barrel. Admitted that he also had a bottle of liquor in that \ room. Solicitor asked if witness did not say to MissLlchop, "You are a pretty girl." Also that he asked her if she didn't want a drink, and when she said that she didn't drink he asked her if she didn't want even a bottle of beer, when she said, "No, I told yon I don't drink." He denied/ that he asked her if she was married or if Davison was not her lover. Denied further that he had made any insulting proposals. Admitted seeidg John Spencer in the meat market that morning about 6 o'clock. Went there to get something for breakfast. Denied giving John Spencer a drink or that he told John Spencer that he had been up all night for a certain purpose and that he was going back and try it again. Solicitor asked if witness had not been convicted for conducing a blind tiger and if he had not been practically driven from Mrs. Setzler's boarding house, where he was trying to annoy some shorn people. Defendant's counsel made a feeling protest against such questions. Judge Memminger overruled the objection, but warned the solicitor not to go too far. \ Witness denied the allegation \ as to the boarding house. Mr. Sease then wanted to know if defendant had not been engaged in a number of fights. Admitted he had been fined for a difficult at Mrs. Settlemyers, but it had not been proved. He went out for a lunch for Baker and Currie and himself that night. Couldn't find anything to eat. Left' them in the room next to his own room, ~ ... i. i- l. 1.1? 1 1 wiicic iic wciil lu trie iuucii. Witness denied that Davidson said "You are the fellow who insulted that other lady." He merely said, "You are the fellow." Does not. remember who was at the table with Estes. In reply to Mr. Osborne, he said that all that he said to Miss Bishop was when she asked him what he had got out of the room. He answered a pack of cards. She put her hand in his pocket and found an orange there. He offered it to her and she said she didn't want it. That was all that occurred between them and he didn't see her any more. Aa to the knife found on him in jail, he said he put> it there in resminse tn infnrmntmri nrmvnxjo/l "T- I to him. He wanted it for protection. * . . Mr. Osborne asked about the rents on the overcoat. Witness said that Mr. Bennett cut him on the left shoulder. Another rent was caused by rats in the jail. He made no effort to get away. He did not know of those people