The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, March 09, 1906, Image 1
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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
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? 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
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large Firm and Individual
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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,
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| 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
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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