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The Butler/Herald Volume XXXXII. BUTLER. TAYLOR COUNTY. GEORGIA. THURSDAY. MAY 23 1918. Number 28 MRS. HAMP SMITH, FORMERLY OF THIS SECTION, AND HER HUSBAND VICTIMS OF ATROCIOUS CRIME IN BROOKS COUNTY NICE TIME FOR EDITORS Mr. Smith, Who Was Shot Five Times Through Body With Rifle, Died Instantly. Mrs. Smith, Being Mortally Wounded, Passed Through Trying Ordeal During Long Hours of the Night. Four Negroes Have Already Paid Death Penalty, While Officers Are Still in Pursuit ot Leader ot Gang. Intense interest is felt throughout Taylor and adjoining Counties in the killing of Mr. Hamp Smith, at Barney, Ga., and the probably fatally wounding of Mrs. Smith in their home on Thursday night last by negroes, who were employed on the farm of Mr. Smith. Mrs. Smith is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. W. G. Simmons, of Garden Valley. She and Mr. Smith were married about two years ago, since which time they have lived happily together and prosper ed on their farm in Brooks County, until the night of the tragedy herein related. Mr. and Mrs. Simmons and other relatives from this section left Friday to be with Mrs. Smith and render all possible assistance. Some members of the family have returned from South Georgia and report the condition of Mrs. Smith extremely serious. The following is a very accurate account of the crime and the results up to Monday: Fifth Negro Pays Death Penalty. Valdosta, May 22nd,—In a small house in the southern part of Val dosta late to-night, Sidney Johnson was surrounded, and, after firing upon and wounding three of the men seeking him, including Chief of Police Dam pier, was riddled with bullets. Valdosta, May 20.—Between 9 and 10 o’clock tonight armed men began gathering in Valdosta as the result of a widespread ru mor that Sydney Johnson has been found three miles from the city. The men are said to be here to give to Johnson the same treatment four'other negroes have received in Brooks county al though talk of burning the ring leader at stake is heard most fre quently,’some declaring any other method of punishment entirely in adequate to meet the situation. It is known that Valdosta of ficers, accompanied by a few picked men, have quietly slipped out of the city. They have ef fectually blocked all means of egress leading from Mud Swamp toward Valdosta in which section the negro was last seen. He can not, it is claimed, get out any oth er way. All railroad crossings and possible points where the ne gro could slip away are under guard and men on duty will shoot if any order to halt is not obeyed. The man hunt has settled down to real business tonight and of ficers are hopeful of develop ments before another day breaks. Valdosta, May 20.—“Death at the hands of parties unknown” is .the substance of verdicts returned today by a coroner’s jury investi gating the lynchings of three ne gro men and a negro woman in Brooks county last Friday night, the trouble starting Thursday when Hampton Smith, well known white farmer was shot to death at his home and his wife outraged and shot. Officials apparently are una ware of who made up the parties lynching the negroes and wheth er there will be any effort made later to definitely establish blame for the four lynchings is a matter for speculation. Mrs Smith is threatened with pneumonia, according to latest re ports from her bedside. Penned Up in Swamp. Interest in the man hunt today shifted from Brooks and other counties to Lowndes, where it is believed Sydney Johnson, ring leader of the negroes who killed Smith and assaulted his wife, is penned up in what is known as “Mud Swamp, 'southeast of Val dosta. The large mob whieh has work ed without rest since the chase started, last , Thursday night has virtually disbanded, leaving the hunt in the hands of Chief of po lice Dampier, Marshal 0 T Hill, of Valdosta, Sheriff Wade of Brooks, Sheriff Passmore of Lowndes, Sheriff J V Nix, of Berrien Sheriff Lee, of Clinch, and two Florida sheriffs. It is understood here in the event Johnson and his partner, a negro known as “Black Terror,” or “Black Trouble,” until recently of Macon, are caught they will immediately be delivered to Brooks county authorities. It is general acknowledged that friends of the /-Smith family will exert their every effort to take the law into their own hands. Four Negroes Lynched. Conflicting reports have been numerous since Smith was killed Thursday night, but it was defi nitely established today that only four negroes have been lynched They were: Will Head, who paid the death penalty at Troupeville; Eugene Rice, his brother-in-law, who was lynched near Morven; Hayes Turner, hanged near the Okapilco bridge, between Quit- man and Moultrie, and bis wife, Hattie Turner hanged Sunday afternoon not far from the spot where her husband was put to death. Sydney Johnson is armed, hav ing the shot gun stolen from the Smith home and with which he is alleged to have killed Smith. Details of the attacks upon Mrs. Smith, who was soon to give birth to her first child, aroused not only the Brooks county peo ple, but those in adjoining coun ties. The story of how one negro held her to prevent her screaming while another attacked her and how this was repeated until the woman was almost unconscious, had none other than a natural effect. The mob formed quickly and acted rapidly once the identi ty of the negroes was estab lished. No Hurried Exodus. In all such times rumors fly fast, and this proved no excep tion. Secret lodge meetings, gath erings to plot revenge on the whites and the like turned to be mere immagination. The law- abiding negroes have been in no danger and there has been no hurried exodus from Brooks be cause of the lynchings. Leaders among the colored race express the opinion that those who have met death because of the murder of Smith, who was shot by .Syd ney Johnson, according to the confession made by Hayes Tur ner, had with Turner. The latter was working for Smith and quit Wrigntsville People Planning for Some Real Entertaining. WRIGHTSVILLE, May 18—The Georgia Weekly Press Associa tion will hold their annual meet ing in Wrightsville July 15 and 16. The editors request that the citizens of Wrightsville, in their entertainmentshall do no violence to the food conservation plans of Mr Hoover. Among the things planned for their special entertainment are a banquet or reception, an auto trip to Sandersville, a barbecue at Idylwild and a visit to Dublin, with a boat trip down the Oconee river. It would seem that a conference is necessary between the editors and the entertainment commit tee if the members of the associa tion and Mr Hoover are . all to be pleased. before he finished his contract. He wanted to move his goods, which Smith would not permit The negro sought legal recourse, having a possessary warrant serv ed on Smith Saturday a week a patriotic work ago. A debt of $30 was also in volved, and this was satisfactor ily adjusted. Plotted to Kill Smith. Trouble with farm labor was not new to Smith, it was learned in Quitman. The Turner negro sta ted that a meeting was heid at Will Head’s home at which last Monday plans were made for killing Smith. Sydney Johnson and Head were scheduled to shoot Smith, Turner agreeing to get the gun for the deed. The arrival of the Macon negro at Smith’s farm caused the plan to be changed and the time was postponed until “Black Troub le” was made a party to the crime. Robbery was a secondary mo tive, it is believed, and the as sault upon Mrs. Smith evidently decided upon at the sour of the moment. However, it is main tained that the negroes included the attack upon her after Smith was dead in their scheme and this is what made the white men “see red.” Mrs. Smith’s mother, Mrs. G. W Simmons, of Reynolds, is with her; Mr Simmons, Mrs G H Boles, Mrs. R L Green and Miss Carinerine Huitt, all of Reynolds, who came to be with Mrs. Smith, have re turned home. No German Plot. Quitman, May 20.—“American citizens determined to keep sacred the honor of American women have revenged the fiendish at tack upon Mrs Hampton Smith in Brooks county. No German plot to provoke an uprising of negroes is in the least indicated by any de velopments,” said W. R. Knight, Clerk of Superior Court of Brooks County, tonight. He said reports scattered broadcast the tragedy in Brooks was part or a plot of pro- Germans to arouse the negroes was not true and nothing had been discussed at any of the in vestigations held so far to give such a §tory the least semblance of truth. “The negroes know why there has been trouble in Brooks coun ty,” said Mr. Knight, who knows the people and the county like a book and who was driving the machine held up by masked men Saturday night when the third lynching party victim, Hayes Turner, was taken. “Just as long as there is a drop of American red blood in an Amer ican, attacks upon our women by brute negroes will be resented,” he said. Of course, it is bad to have a lynching in your commu nity, but some unfortunate af fairs will occur.” WHAT ARE THE TOWN FOLKS IN' THIS COUNTY DOING TO ASSIST THE FARMERS? This county has lost much farm labor in the past year or two. So has the next cojinty, and the next State. The condition is Nation-wide. What Can be Done About it? There is no law to conscript labor; the Government caji’t create it; ship building and other war ii.-lust: ies must be speeded to the limit. .'•'hall the' cj nit;, tail to pro her share of food? Must the town safe; in business b. the loss of firm pros- fiiitv at a time when farm product are so high? L.nder similar conditions what have other communities done? In many, pla es all buhotiSiS h-.e closed for a few days at a time in i rder that e«ery town person fitted for- such work might go to farms in tire county to help cultivate or liar- vest the crop-:. M: i y Chami ers of Commerca ha e canvassed their towns and counties, listing all men of farm experience, scuring their promise to go when needed and pledging their employers to give them leaves of absence for Many communities and counties are requiring every loafer and idler to go to work; urging every person engag ed in work that is not of war impor tance to work on near-by farms dur ing rush seasons; organizing high school boys; abandoning the half Sat urday holiday on the farm. ■ County Agents in a number of places have called mass meetings; re sulting in a “county war council,” as it were, composed of leading farmers and business men, organized to secure and utilide emergency town labor fur the farms. Some of these methods, or similar ones, can be applied in every town and countv. Negro To Hang In Macon County For 13-Year-Old Murder Oglethorpe, Ga., May 17.—Mitch Williams, a negro, caught in r '’or- ida a month ago for killing Foster Deal, of Macon county, thirteen years ago, has been convicted in the superior court and is under sentence of death, June 14 being the date named for his execution here. Evidence submitted in the ne gro’s trial showed Deal went to the home of Williams on business one night about 8 o’clock and called Mitch from the gate. The negro, it was alleged, came to the door and fired upon Mr. Deal, kill ing him instantly. Williams made his escape and remained at liberty, despite a thorough search for him Will Taylor, tried for the mur der of Roosevelt Simmons, was found guilty of manslaughter and given a penitentiary sentence. Court adjourned yesterday after noon. S. A. L. Depot Burns. Loss Estimated at $25,000 Is Caused by Americus Fire. AMERICUS, May 19.—Fire, the origin of which is mysterious, de stroyed the Seaboard Air Line freight depot here Saturday morning. L. W. Slappey, a fire man, was hurt. A pile of mason ry narrowly missed burying him alive. Two detonations, one of great volume, which occurred during the. progress of the fire shook the entire city. These, it is said, were caused by explosions of two cylinders of oxygen gas con signed to the Americus Lighting Company, which were received the day previous. Two minutes before the fire was discovered a switch engine placed several cars on the trgck alongside the building but none of the crew noticed any signs of fire, while the night watchman, who passed shortly afterwards, saw nothing suspicious. COMMENCEMENT EXERCISES BUTLER MALE & FEMALE COLLEGE Sunday Morning, May 26, 1918, 11 O’clock. Hymn, Selected Invocation, “Song of Victory” Chorus Scripture Reading, Anthem, ' “March on, .Ye Soldiers,” Sermon, Hymn, Selected, Benediction. Sunday Evening at Methodist Church. Hymn,—“Day is Dying in the West.” Prayer. Scripture Reading. Offertory. Hymn,—“O Love That Wlit Not Let Me Go.” Special Selection. Sermon. Prayer. Hymn,—“Jesus, Savior, Pilot Me.” Benediction. 7. 10. 11. 13. 14. 15. Monday Evening, May 27th, 8:15 O’clock By Pupils of Miss Tippin’s Music Class. Soldier’s Chorus, “Faust” ; Girls’ Chorus Duet,—“Good Humor Waltz” Leduc Miriam and Elizabeth Riley. Duet,-—“Meadow Play” _* Hiller Annie Windham and Gussie Wilson. Trio,—Im Auto Durk der Welt, R. Leonard Margaret Benns, Mable Searcy and Cleo Young Solo,—“Showers of Stars,” Paul Wach Louise Hammock Duet,—a. “Waltz” P. Willy b. “In Happy Song,” Kohler Marie Payne and Miss Tippins. Solo,—“Danse Pitteresque,” Eggeling Cleo Young Song,—“Italian Love Song,”_I Myrtice Rogers, Harry Peagler and Chomp Duet,—“Mirthful Moments,” - Engelman Margaret Benns and Mable Searcy Trio,—Gypsy Rondo,” Hadyn Jewel Bartlett, Eloise Peed, Louise Hammock Solo,—“Second Mazurka,” Gonaud Eve Stewart Duet,—“Capricanta,” Paul Wach Eve Stewart and Jewel Bartlett Solo,—“The Brooklet,” Fritz Spindler Margart Benns Duet,—Qui Vive, Ganz Eve Stewart and Eloise Peed “Good Night,” Song Martha Benns and Louise Daniel. Tuesday, May 28th, 8:45 P. M. , Class Song, Invocation, T Rev. L. A. Harrell Piano Solo, - Jewel Bartlett Class History, Caroline Adams Class Prophecy, Helen Wilson Class Address, Foy Rustin Piano Solo, Eve Stewart Class Will, Clayra Shealy Song, Class Baccalaureate Address, Rev. H. O. Fowler Presentation of Diplomas. ALL YOUNG MEN TWENTY-ONE MUST REGISTER ON JUNE 5TH NEXT* Only Those-Who Have Become -Twenty-One- Since June. 5th, .1917. Are Effected by The New Law. Washington, D. C., May 20th — Upon appraving today the act of congress bringing under the army draft law all men attaining the age of 21 years since the first registration day, June 5th, 1917, President Wil son issued a proclamation formally lxingfixing June 5th as the date for new eligibles to appear before their local boards. Male persons, whether citizens pr not, are required to register. “Ex emptions under the original act, in cluding men already in the military service, apply, and to these the new law adds ministerial and medical stu dents now pursuing their studies. The president’s proclamation quot es the law 2nd gives notice to all per sons subject to it in the states and the District of Columbia to appear for registration on June 5th between the hours of 7 a. m and 9 p. m. State governors and members’ of local boards are called upon to perform the buties already assigned to them. It has been estimated that about 800,000 men fit for actic military serv ice will be made availabe to the army by the next registration. Hereafter it is planned to have registrations oftener than one year, probably quar terly.