Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

PART II PAGES 9 TO 16 1 H13 THE UNION TIMES IE ??=???=?? tXECIjm VOL. LXV. NO. 4J5. UNION, S. C., FRIDAY, OCTOBER 22, 1915 ' $1.00 A YEAR Riot and B In Charles Sidney Cohen Killed and Four Others Wounded. > Affray Prevents Canvass of Vote. Democratic Executive Body Meeting to Declare Result in Mayoralty Election, Broken Up By Shooting?Six Men Arrested. Charleston, Oct. 15.?Animosities arising out of the municipal campaign which ended in a primary election last Tuesday with the apparent nomination for mayor of Tristram T. Hyde over the incumbent, John P. Grace, by a majority of 19 votes, flamed into bloodshed when the city Democratic executive committee met at noon today to canvass the returns. Hardly had the chairman, Joseph A. Black, a Hyde man, declared the meeting open before a shot struck down Sidney J. Cohen, a young reporter of the Charleston Evening Post, and in the more or less general exchange of shots which followed four men, all of the Grace faction, were wounded, two of them seriously. During the affray club books were hurried out through windows and in the ensuing scramble in the streets two men were clubbed. W. A. Turner has a bullet in his right lung, W. E. Wingate is wounded in the hip and has a scalp contusion Harry L. Wilensky is shot in the arm and Jeremiah O'Brien is shot in the ankle. Max Goldman and Tristram T. Hyde, Jr., suffered minor bruises. ^ Then men were arrested and after* ward released on bail, but of these *none is chargod with actual pa/ticipai , tion in the affray. Sqpie of them are >, held for carrying concealed weapons, the others being merely detained. Stories of the clash differ widely and no dependable account i'n detail > as to just how or by whom the shooting was done is procurable tonight. A jury of inquest which surveyed the body of young Cohen this afternoon has been indefinitely adjourned. Forty naval militiamen guard the committee headquarters and 250 other men are held in armories under command of Col. E. M. Blythe of the First infantry. Troops will police the meeting tomorrow of the executive committee. There is no immediate danger, it is said, of deaths among the wounded. City Tensely Quiet. Charleston is tensely quiet and few persons were on the streets this evening. State constables were especially active today. If illicit liquor dealers were operating tonight they did so most discreetly. All the dispensaries were closed at noon by John Marshall, secretary of the Charleston dispensary board, acting upon orders from Gov. Manning. m _ "i t < * _ ? i wo rooms, neuner 01 mem large, make up the headquarters of the city Democratic executive committee. They are on the second floor of a two-story building at King and George streets, admission being through George street. Only members of the committee, counsel for the two factions and for challenged voters and several newspaper men were in the front room. Gathered in the batfk room were witnesses, partisans and policemen. Accounts obtainable at this time agree that a disturbance in the ante-room preceded by a few seconds the shooting of Mr. Cohen. After a brisk flurry of shots policemen grappled with the men wielding pistols and within a few minutes gained control of the situation. Deputies from the sheriff's office came up on the run and hard on their heels marched militiamen, headed by Capt. Harry O. Withington. The troops formed a hollow square, established a patrol and .rolled back the crowd. The injured- were removed to nospitais anu several suspects were arrested by the police were taken to ceils at headquarters. Affidavits of a sensational nature are said to be in preparation and these may or may not become public in the course of the coroner's inquest or other official inquiries that are to follow. Two ballot boxes retrieved by police from the crowd in the street outside committee headquarters are sai'd to be held at police headquarters. The committee at a'brief session this afternoon decided to meet tomorrow 1 morning: to resume the work interrupted by today's disorder. Gov. Manning at Columbia, immediately upon being informed of the shooting, ordered the Washington Light Infantry, a Charleston company, to the scene. The company, with bay loodshed :ton Politics ( onets fixed, quickly cleared the streets outside the building where it was feared trouble would develop. Later the guardsmen aided the police and special deputies in patrolling the street and remained on duty late to night. Battalion in Readiness. The entire First battalion, Second regiment, N. G. S. C., located here, was ordered held at the armories r ready for eventualities. Gov Manning also ordered local dispensaries i closed until further notice. There were only small groups of men on the streets tonight and there was no outward evidence that there might be 1 more disorder. The military is under command of Col. E. Mi Blythe of Greenville, in the absence of Adjt. Gen. Moore, who is attending the rifle matches at Jacksonville. Col. Blythe came here last night on instructions from Gov. Manning. Charleston has been prepared for trouble as the result of the primary. Last Monday night Gov. Manning or-, dered four companies of National Guard and three divisions of naval militia held ready at their armories to take over police duties if necessary. Tuesday, the primary day, passed quickly, however, and at 7 o'clock Wednesday morning the guardsmen were relieved. Followers of aMyor John P. Grace, an aspirant jor renominauon, cnargea that Gov. Manning was trying to interfere with the primary, thereby favoring the faction led by Tristram T. Hyde. This was denied. Unofficial tabulation of the returns showed that Maj. Hyde had been nominated by a majority of 19 votes. More than 100 votes were contested by the Grace adherents and the city executive committee met today to canvass the returns. Extra Policemen on Hand. Bitterness engendered by a cam. paign in which personalities over, shadowed real issues, the presence of the militia on primary day,..and the , closeness of tne vote created such a threatening atmosphere that many extra policemen were detailed in and in front of the building where the meeting was to take place. The building was crowded and ,a good sized crowd in front was held in check by the officers. , Just as the meeting was to be called to order someone in a hallway , adjoining the committee room started . a fight. During the scuffling, shout. ing and jamming in the hallway some . one in the committee room fired a ? shot and the real fight was on. Police. men in the hallway and committee . room seemed powerless. Several pis. tols were brought into play and as the firing continued amid the scrami.A 11: i : * uie iu escape, y?tung aim cries 01 the wounded, some one threw three ballot boxes out of the window. Cohen's Death Wound. Cohen was making for a window when struck. A pistol over which two men were fighting discharged and the bullet gave him his mortal wound. Whether any of the wounded were really participating in the melee was not known tonight. When the shooting was heard in the crowd outside the building trouble was threatened for a time. The extra force of police held the crowd in check and a hurry call was sent to Sheriff Martin and message was sent to Gov. Manning. The governor immediately ordered out the Washington Light Infantry and the members of the company were on the scene within a short time after the first shot was fired. The governor then ordered that the entire battalion be held ready at its armory. Two ballot boxes thrown from the window during the disturbance were recovered and as far as known tonight , none or tne boxes is missing. , It was said tonight that the executive committee would make another . effort tomorrow to canvass the ret turns. Militia on Alert. s Nothing was known publicly in Charleston of Gov. Manning's inten? tion to call out the military again uni til Col. Edgeworth M. Blythe of the i First infantry arrived at 7 o'clock this > morning from his home in Greenville , and after a conference at his hotel i with Sheriff Martin and Maj. Silcox, ' directed that two companies of the i Second regiment, the Washington Light infantry and the German Fusiliers, be put under arms at once. Turn ing out immediately, these admirable commands were held in their armories 1 subject to call from the civil authorii ties. Martial law not having been pro' claimed, the military could not act further except on request of the sheriff. No call for their service was made until the executive committee i meeting had broken up in smoke and i blood. Col. Blythe then turned out , his men, restored order, the city poller and the sheriff's deputies cooperating took possession of the premises, locked d< and sealed the room containing such C boxes as had not been thrown out of ei the windows in the confusion and or- h< dered to be mobilized two more com- 'L panies of infantry and three divisions R of naval militia. Tonight Col. Blythe te has on duty some 300 men, all of fr whom are in their armories, uniform- rc ed, armed and equipped for active ser- Si vice, except about 40 naval reserves, w who are patrolling the block on George w street between King and St. Phillip hi streets in which is situated the only se entrance to the hall where the ballot pi boxes are stored and where occurreJ th today's affray. Col. Blythe himself di pflrrios t.hn kpv tn thp rnmmiftpp rnnm ni ? ^ 4 VV*"' t" Persons who applied tonight to Col. w Blythe for passes that would admit sa them to the room for the meeting to- CI morrow of the committee were told w that the militia would admit only in members of the committee, and such li< other persons as the chairman might authorize them to pass. Besides the "c troops already on duty, Col. Blythe has lii available on short notice one other dt- pi vision of naval militia, two other di Charleston companies of infantry and tr several reserve companies, the latter aj possessing artillery. Besides these he has at command the companies of the Second regiment stationed elsewhere ci than in Charleston, four at Columbia is and one each at Timmonsville, Elloree, in Sumter and Orangeburg. fit Tomorrow's meeting of the commit- to tee will likely be held in the armory til of the German Fusilier on Wentworth ai street, between King and Meeting dc streets. An ample military guard will le be assigned to police the prenii>.es. a{ Late tonight arrests had been .oade re as follows: For "carrying concealed pi weapons," George J. Rentiers, 15. L. T7?l T T T Oi 1 T7* 1 Oj *T misey, u. 11. oieeuneii, rrw oienj;ri, r Ike Levy, J. J. Healey. Opposite the ai names of the following on the docket T1 is entered "detained:" Max Goldman, st Henry J. Brown, Edward McDonald, fa R. C. Richardson. All of thes-i have fr been released on bail. . m Young Hyde Hurt. y< Tristram T. Hyde, Jr., son and G namesake of the candidate nominated for mayor last Tuesday over the in- st cumbent, John P. Grace, is bruised tf about the back of the head and the G shoulders as the result of a scuffle in which occurred outside the committee tc rooms. One of the ballot boxes thrown o^ out during the gun fighting upstairs w fell into King street. Dick White, em- it ployed in Maj. Hyde's real estate I brokerage office, picked it up but he th was at once surrounded and almost st overborne by a group of men. Young m Mr. Hyde came up and, fearing for or his friend's safety, laid hold of his w shoulders, imploring hi'm to drop the m box to the pavement. About this time ai Mr. Hyde was struck heavily from w behind with some blunt instrument, it He was staggered by the blow and is 01 suffering some pain but is not at all badly hurt. Responsible men say Max Goldman j received his beating about the head j as he slid down a telephone pole into ^ the hands of a squad of police in escaping from the committee room dur- ^ ing the shooting. ^ Goldman left the hospital this evening after having his scalp con- jJ tusions dressed. One story says that ^ as he descended the pole one man ^ fired at him with a revolver but a bystander struck his arm up and the . bullet spattered against a wall nearby. Friends of Chairman Black said late ^ tonight that they would not be sur- j prised if an attempt to effect his ar rest and temporary incarceration with a view to preventing him from y presiding at the executive committee Jn meeting today should be made. They 1,1 said policemen had inquired for him P( during the evening at his house, at af Hyde headquarters and at the sheriff's office, saying they wanted to see him al to serve a paper. ^ Deputies, to the number of a "score w or more, are keeping vigil in the to sheriff's office tonight and at the '1( door stand four automobiles with ^ lights burning ready to convey them to any point of disturbance. Rumors P( have been current that the governor ( ' might declare martial law in Charles- a' ton chould further disorder sfecm im- Ul minent, and these reports have had a w sobering effect. al McDavid Horton. fit FART POLICE PLAYED IN THE FATAL MELEE. th Charleston, Oct. 16.?Stories of eyewitnesses of the shooting in the ex- th ecutive committee roorff which even- hi tuated in the killing of Sidney J. ar Cohen and the wounding of four other nc men agree that there was wild dis- ro order and that the police of Charles- m ton took part in it. Shots were fired, in clubs used, citizens hustled and beat- I en, according to these accounts. as Chief Cantwell of the Charleston oj police force is said to have wielded ro his pistol in the fracas. J. J. Healy, ed a deputy sheriff, said: "Chief Cantwell m fired a shot at Henry Brown while Ci several men were holding Brown, bi Some one, Jl think M,r. Robson, w> grabbed Chief Cantwell's hand with w the pistol in it and begged him not th to shoot." ro J. W. Robson, an East Bay mer- di chant, said: "I saw with my own eyes gi several persons rush at a man whom d< I did not know and force hfm back, d< about hnlf-3itting, at the middle win- nj aw on the east side of the building. hief Cantwell came up and delib ately fired with his pistol at his ^ %ad. I caught his arm and said, )on't do that! Don't do that!'" Mr. obson is a member of the commit:e. He was present at the meeting oin the start and did not leave the >om until all was over. Conrad tender says he saw one man in a indow on the east side of the room, ith three or four, men crowding , m. "While this was going on, I lw Chief Cantwell come up with his stol in his hand and fire a shot at (^.U1 lis man's head. In the confusion I J'1* d not recognize the man. I saw no stol in his hand." Nath. B. Barn- ^ ell, a member of the committee, iid: "In the midst of the shooting Kief Cantwell dashed into the room r( ith a drawn pistol and when he got to the room he raised it and I be- 4 sve fired." *'IS Mavnr flrare- it is said had hoon >ut of the city," and Henry P. Wil- Pl;~ ims, alderman, directed, as mayor !"a o tern, the police dispositions for Qe spersing the mob that had been at- "u acted by the shooting. The mayor ipeared within about 20 minutes. Knife and Pistol. wa Joseph A. Black, chairman of the ty Democratic executive committee, positive that the first shot was fired , 10 the anteroom. "On seeing pistols . mrished there," he said, "I hurried p8' > the telephone to notify Sheriff Mar- ? ri of the trouble. Some man, quite c i old man, cut at me with a knife. I a dged and he slightly wounded my ft arm." Capt. Black said he then ' >pealed to Police Sergeant Quinn to istore order, but the sergeant's re- s*a y was to draw a revolver on him. "Some man in the crowd called out, wa [ere is the ? ? ?, I'll get him, 1 id he threw his pistol up at me. wa Kinking I was in for a shot, I in- s*"a inctively put my arm before my ice. At this moment a shot was fired ce[ om the direction from which this f( an was coming. Then I say the King newspaper man (Sidney J. ohen) on the floor at my feet. nia "1 pulled away and at that time sr" ime one else was yelling, 'There goes . le ? we want.' I saw Chief Jur antwell at the window with a pistol a I1 i his hand as though he were going a's i shoot some one who was bending ?. tw at the window. I can not say anl hfther he shot or not. I have made go unarmed all the time have been serving as chairman of le executive committee. I am a rong Hyde supporter?every chair an is a strong supporter of one side the other?but I have dealt fairly ith both sides. Some of the best sa.^ en in the city are on my committee id though dissension developed early, ** e could have got on pretty well if had not been for trouble from the itside." f. the Can t Tell of Start. a , "Who or what started the shooting do^ do not know and I can not say Go saw anybody actually shoot any- mo >dy else," said Nath. B. Barnwell, a cit ember of the committee. Mr. clu arnwell has served several terms in off le lower house of the general as- J mibly as a member from Charleston, hai e is a lawyer. "A commotion start- of 1 in the anteroom," Mr. Barnwell Re lid, "and from where I was sitting Kii looked as though a fight was go- he; g on. I heard Goldman's name iat entioned. I heard a pistol shot in in le anteroom and the crowd came pol eaking into the committe room. he "The only man I recognized was ba< r. E. Wingate, who had been stand- ani g in the doorway and who cam-- eoi at the head of the crowd. The tht iliceman in the doorway was swept wh side. As the crowd surged in the pol looting started, a regular fusillade, * >parently from several pistols. In wa ie midst of the shooting Chief Cant- a ^11 ik/v ? ? id he told the police that he wanted > one allowed in the committee ( om except the members of the com- wa ittee and the attorneys and no one but the outer room except witnesses, hai then went with Capt. Black and J isisted in breaking the seals and nui >ening the door into the committee int om. When the door had been open- hac I the crowd came in, including com- cit< itteemen, policemen and others. I apt. Black repeated his instructions, inj it up to the time of the rioting there Gri ere still in the room some persons to ho had not been gotten out. All of sin le policemen except two had left the wh om and these two Capt. Black hao in rected to stand in the door and keep 1 lard. One of them did stand in the be? >or, but the other was near the win- um >w and the crowd was penned up ' rainst the door." jhtand iter System Great Improvements ' Made During Past Few Years. Water and Sewerage Main Ex| tended?Many Lights Have Jnion's Lit Wa Grace Men Passed. W. B. Hogan, a special deput> riff, escorted from Hyde headarters to the committee rooms nine izens whose votes had been chaliged. He was stopped at the door the policemen on watch there, nly Grace men were passed," the auty asserted; "I saw Wingate, ank Hogan and others allowed to ter. Chief Cantwell called out to i men (the challenged Hyde voU ;), 'Come in, you cowards, don't be ired to come in.' I heard several tol shots in the room. I saw a in come sliding down a pole. When got to the bottom Policeman inn and several other police offis took hold of him and clubbed n. I asked who the man was and s told it was Max Goldman. 'George Rentiers took hold of ldman and tried to protect him im the policemen. Rentiers said, >n't strike the man,' but the police sed their clubs. I interfered and 17tt>VMMI aiJUM'd II1U, UUl 1 w my pistol and showed him my :hority as a deputy. Goldman was itty badly beaten and was bleeding >ut the head." joldman's troubles seem to have rted before he left the committee >ms, from which he departed by y of a window, a balcony and a ephone pole. One of the Hyde tchers, John J. Ilealy, said he was nding in the doorway between the o rooms ordered everybody out ex>t committeemen. 'Rentiers came out," Healey said, ith Max Goldman behind him. Hie O'Brien started to strike Goldn and Rentiers told him he was too all for him to strike." j. Simms McDowell "saw a man np from one of the windows, hug iole and slide down." "Just as soon he struck the ground," Mr. Mcwell said, "I saw a policeman in ^11 UttMlCU UllU IIIC I wwIII Willi jji>- ?? *. '1 drawn, and when he (rot inside inp i raised it and, I believe, fired, al- Cn loupfh the scuffle of people trying hir (ret out prevents me from beinp: Be jsitive as to this. I did not see Mr. sei inpn shnt anrl rlirl not loinw until Vei "terward that he was shot. I was clu larmed. When I left several men < ere on the floor. I recognized Go nong them only W. E. Wingate. tee here were in the building amply suf- res dent policemen to prevent any dis- see der, but when the shooting started Go iey were conspicudusly absent from sai e committee room. in "I had suggested to the chairman do> iat it would expedite matters to ten ive the witnesses in the anteroom era form beat him with his club on the id sevoral times." Saw the Clubbing. 3. Jeff Mcfrowftll,"general hgeniTor i Southern States Life Insurant?, npany?a former resident of Conbia?was also a witness to the bbing of Goldman by policemen. "I v Goldman come out of the window, .hout his hat," Mr. McDowell said, e jumped from the veranda to a ephone pole and came down to the eet. In a few seconds there was large crowd of policemen holding sir hands and clubs in the air in position to catch him as he came ,vn. Several po1 icemen clubbed Mr. ldman unmercifully. It was th-. st disgraceful manhandling of a i'zen I have ever seen. He was bbed and jerked about and carried by the policemen." Still another eyewitness to the misndling of Goldman was the rector St. Luke's Episcopal church, the v. Louis G. Wood. Standing at ng and George streets, Mr. Wood .rd the shooting upstairs. "Immedely afterward," he said, "one man, escaping, climbed down a telephone le. Before he reached the ground was seized, and, I am informed, lly beaten. The crowd was so dense :i the confusion so great that I ild not see the man when he was on ; ground, but I saw a club raised ile he was being pulled from the e, as if to strike him." lohn McCrady, a civil engineer, who s in attendance on the meeting as witness, also beheld the Goldman ident. "1 saw Max Goldman stand: on the little balcony," Mr. Mcady said. "Soon afterward I saw n climbing down a telephone pole, fore he reached the bcttom he was zed by two policemen. He was se% ely beaten over the head with a b and was bleeding freely." George Rentiers, who had shielded ldman from O'Brien in the commiti room, was taken outside under arit and reached the street in time to ! Goldman clubbed. " Isaw Maxy ldman climbing down a pole," he d. "I saw a policeman knock him the head with his club as he came ,vn." Rentiers declares O'Brien atnpted an assault on Goldman sevil night ago in King street. Carried to Station. Goldman was hundled into a patrol gon and taken away under arrest, ; was released after giving bail and zing his scalp wounds dressed. \ wild clangor of fire bells gave mbers of Charlestonians their first imation that the half expected riot 1 occurred. Somebody in the ex-, sment turned in an alarm, larry L. Wilenski, one of the men ured, was reappointed by Mayor -1-_ AU. -i_ui ace oniy me nigru ueiuic mc nui the position of meter inspector, a ecure he had held for a year and ich it is understood on all sides was part a reward for political services. N. E. Wingate, "Biff Wingate," has sn for some time regarded as an official bodyguard to the mayor. 'I can't be positive how many shots (Concluded on page 13) Been Erected?"White Way" Latest Advances?Will Greatly Benefit the Business Houses on Main Street. A representative of The Times visited the plant of the Municipal Electric Light & Water Works for the purpose of getting some information concerning the "Great White Way" which is to soon be installed, but after noting the wonderful improvements that have been made within the past few years we decided to get some notes concerning the whole plant, for we, like others who had not visited the plant in sometime, did not realize the great improvements that have been made. Under the management of Mr. W. H. Sartor, Mr. VV. S. McLure, as commissioners, and Mr. R. A. Easterling as superintendent, the plant has been developed from a very small affair to one that any city twice the size of Union should be proud. Only a few years ago when the present management took charge of the plant it had a capacity of only 150 h. p. and had no auxiliary equipment to be thrown in service in case of an accident, while now the plant has a capacity of fiOO h. p. and has three engines and dynamos so that in case of trouble there is always a machine ready to be thrown in in place of the disabled one. Only a few years ago all water waa , jJuffiped to the city with steam pumps * , which made it necessary to haul all fuel about two miles in the country for firing the boilers, but all pumping is now done with electric motors and this change not only cut the operating expenses considerably but also gave duplicate pumping equipment which is vjMtvv UII HIIJ'V'I vane LUUMU^l clllUIIf C8peeially in case of fire. The new pumping station which has recently been installed to furnish additional water supply for the city is located on the old Harris mill site on Brown's creek, about five miles north of Union. The building is fireproof, having: cement roof and floors and all electrical equipment located on the roof so that all dangerous wires will be out of the reach of visitors. The power is sup One of Union's "White Way" Lights. plied over a 6600 volt power line and a 75 h. p. motor is used to operate the pumps. This station has quite a number of unique engineering features in connection with same and is so installed that same can be operated from Union without the attention of an operator at the pumping station. Resides the improvements made at the lighting plant and the pumping station all of the lighting and water service lines have been extended so that any party living in the city may be reached with lights and water. The (Concluded on page 12)