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A REPUBLICAN NEWSPAPER DEVOTED TO THE, UPBUILDING OF AMERICAN HOMES AND AMERICAN INDUSIIUK
BURLINGTON. N. C, NOVEMBER 29.1911.
Death of Mrs. fliebaiw.
lotocuwnofheh-
nCLWBtAniEJR.
[■■ms Vis siiii ceitft
OoiDQ to Dealta.
Richmond, Va., Nov. 24~Hen-
Beattie, Jr., went to his
iit dawn today, the self-
with intensity, but did not flinch
He stood during the reading, as
is the custom, aiid when it was
ended, he swayed just a trifle,
but quickly recovered. Then
i v\?ithout assistance, he ' took bis
I place between the guards and be-
; gan his march to the unknown,
i His entrance to the death cham-
j ber was as dramatic as anything
I he had done since first he com
manded the public eye. He halt'
ed for a bri^f moment on the
threshhbld, looked at the chair
with an inscrutable smile that had
in it the hint of a sneer and then
^niessed murderer of his young
iffc although the confession talked bnskiy forward. Nor did
ft-aV not made public until four
rs after he had paid the toil
exacted by the law. He mam-
lained to the end the remarkable
nerve he had exhibited since
first he was accused of killing his
wife on the lonely Midlothian
turnpike last July. His last ex
pression was a smiling sneer
\vhen he observed the chair that
\vas to launch him into eternity.
The confession was made pub-
lif' in the rotunda of a downtown
hotel, by the Rev. Benjamin Den-
one of the ministers who had
labtredwith Beattie to repent.
As a matter of fact, It was ac
knowledged by the mliiisccr, Be
attie first admitted his guilt No
vember 9, the day after he en
tered the death cell and before
the fi'uitless appeal for a_ com
mutation of sentence was "made
to Governor Mann. It was not
until yesterday that he would
agree to its being put in writing
for his signature. Then all hope
that the governor would interfere
was gone. The extraordinary
document follows:
•‘I, Henry Clay Beattie, Jr.,
desirous of standing right be
fore God and man, do on this,
the 2:5rd day of Noveniber, 1911,
eoniess my g’uiit of the crime
charged against me. ^luch that
was published cor:cerning the de
tails was not true, but the awful
fac!. without the harrowing cir-
c^vjistances, remainSi, For this
action I am truly sorry, and be -
lieving that 1 am at peace wit;
God, and am soon to pass into
His presence, this statement is
made.”
The shock that killed Beattie
was given at exactly 7:19 o'clock
this morning. Three distinct
and separate times the current
was turned on, and at 7:28 o'clock
it v,as shut off. Drs. W. T. and
St. J alien Oppenheimera minute
later announced that death had
been instantaneous, The 22 per
sons in the death chamber there
upon filed out, and the end of^ a
lengthy and costly battle for
justice had ended.
In addition to the two physi
cians there were gathered in the
death house when Beattie ap
peared, the 12 witnesses to the
electrocution, as required by law,
the Revs. John J. Fix and Ben
jamin Dennis, Major James B.
Woods, superintendent of the
penitentiary, the electrieian and
four deputy wardens. The room
was flooded with light from a |
group of incandescent lamps set
in a low ceiling and a light that
swung on its cord immediately
above the chair.
There was no conversation.
The witnesses labored under too
great a strain, all, even the har
dened prison attendants, seemed
ill at ease and anxious to be done.
The electrician brought a board
studded with electric bulbs and
laid it across the arms of ^ the
chair. The lamps blazed brigM-
ly. Then in other ways the in
strument of death was tested and
anally, at a signal, attendants
went over the apparatus, attach
ing the deadly elecrodes and
^®ting every strap and clamp.
When the preliminaries were
over, Superintendent Woods, ac
companied by two deputies,
threw back an iron-studded door
and started for the death cell. In-
sUntly the death chamber was
plunged into blackness with the
exception of a vivid circle of light
troni the hooded and powerful
lamp above the chair. The chair,
an oaken bit of furniture, which,
except for its straps and steel
bands, might grace any library,
’'■vas on a rubber mat. Alt but it
v»’a3 obscured, the dazzling rays
fi'om the low swing lamp throw
ing everything else into darkness
so dense as almost to be felt.
The little party in the chamber
heard the superintendent a few
i-et away kroning out the death
^^arrant. Beattie listened to it
WHO WILL BE FIRST?
We have a large number of subscribers who are in arrears
on subscription. We need the money and will appreciate
it if you will come forward with the goods. The label on
your paper wiji tell how much yoii are behind. If you are
paid up this does not mean you; it not send us a dollar or
two and we will continue tu dish out the news. We mean
business. ' "
deign to strive to pierce the darlv -
ness outside his circle of glowing
light.
It had been feared that the
prisoner would flinch when the
dread moment camp to seat him
self in the chair, Tiicre was no
trepidation and not a hint of hes
itation in Beattie’s attitude. Still
wearing his pecular smile, half
amused and half cynical, he step
ped lightly into the seat, settled
himself as though he had been
16oking forward to the rest and
assisted the attendants in adjust
ing the straps and clamps by
placing his arras and hands in the
proper positions. The only indi
cation that he was under a ner
vous strain was disclosed by his
tightly clenched left hand.
During the few brief seconds
preceeding the turning on of the
current, Beattie moved once.
While the attendants were step
ping back out of the light he
squeezed himself back as though
to seek a still more comfortable
position. At the same time he
raised his head, now almost com
pletely hidden by the leather hel
met that covered the upper part
of his head and face. The next
secona .the i^hock carne.
When the law was avenged and
the Vvimesses were gone, the pris
on attendants removed the bcdy
mortuary room, .which adjoins
the death chauiber. Tliere it lay
for four hours until an undertak
er, authorized t>y the Beattie
I family to prepare-it for burial,
i removed it to his morgue. _ Later
it was taken to the Beattie home
where funeral servi^s, attended
only by the family, ‘ will be held.
Interment ip Maury cemetery will
follow Sunday.
When the funeral cortege mov
es to the cemetery Sunday after
noon the morbid will not find
places near the grave to satisfy
their curiosity.
The police have received orders
to clear the cemetery during the
service there, and to permit no
one to enter the burial ground
save the Beattie's and their
dead.
Tonight the Beattie family is
alone with its grief. The window
shades in the residence are drawn
The same deep’satisfaction is
shared by the jurors who convict
ed Beattie, the attorneys who
prosecuted him and by the witr
nesses w’’hose evidence, sent him
to the chair.
Beattie was convicted solely on
circumstantial evidence. There
could be found no one who had
seen the fatal shot fired, nor any
person who could deny emphati
cally Beattie’s illogical story of
the tall, bearded stranger, the
mythical person whom he charg
ed with the mtirder. This doubt,
in the face of damning circum
stantial evidence, so linked as to
be practically conclusive, is clear
ed away by the slater’s pothu-
mc ’ acknowledgement of a mur
der that has held tne interest of
the whole country.
The crime for which Henry
Clay Beattie, Jr., was executed
today was one of the most sen^
rational in the criniinal history of
Virginia. Interest in the murder
Vv'as country-wide, owing to its
unusual features and the sv/ift
movement of justice.
On t- . night of July 18 last,
Beattie drove his automobile into
Richnpnd carrying with him the
body of his wife which had a
gaping shotgun wound in the
head. He declared that a tall
bearded man had accosted him on
the Midlothipn turnpike, five
miles from Richmond, and when
he had requested the man to make
room for him in the road, the
stranger without warning fired
the shot which killed Mrs. Beat
tie. He added that he had grap
pled with the man, but was over
powered, and that the murderer
Isad fled, leaving the gun behind.
This story of the crime was main
tained by Beattie to the end^
For a brief time Beattie’s story
was given some degree of cred
ence, but within a day or two
suspicion began to point to him,
and he was kept under the closest
surveilance. Bloodhounds, taken
to the scene of the crime, refused
to leave the place, circling around
the bloods^t on the road.
Beattie, it eventually transpir
ed, had thrown the shotgun into
the tonneau of his automobile af
ter the shooting, but in passing
over some railroad tracks not far
from the scene it had been jolted
out and was picked up lattr by a
to for commutation or reprieve,
issued a Statement declaring that
the interest of the people of "Vir
ginia demanded that ' Beattie
should die in the electric chair.
THOilA$nLLE HlIN
DEADINWmS
tight and no movement is seen
about the place. Respecting their
sorrow, neighbors and towns
people who would like to offer a
word of consolation and sympathy
are remaining away from the
home. The idly curious did not
share in this feeling, however,
for the same geneisal crowd that
stood in the down pour before
dawn at the penitentiary gates
was on hand throughout the
afternoon hoping to catch a
glimpse of some member of the
striken family. They maintained
their vigil until darkness drove
them away.
Events moved so rapidly dur
ing the day that Richmond still
is gasping. The sudden product
ion of the murderer's confession
caused a profound sensation.
There had been rumors of the
existence of such a document,
but the rumors were based on
nothing tangible. Emphatically
and persistently they were denied
by the family of the slayer, by
the attorneys who had taken part
in the celebrated case and by the
prison authorities. The ministers
refused to discuss the report^
putting off ail interrogators with
the simple statement that “they
hoped for a confession,”
The acknowledgement of his
crime by Beattie was nowl^re
received with more quiet joy than
in the executive mansion. Gover
nor Mann, who resisted all pres
sure brought to bear upon him
to commute the sentence or to
issue a reprieve, has worried him
self into a state bordering on
nervous breakdown through en
tertaining the fear that he might
be permitting an innocent man to
go to his doom.
negress. This gun, which Beat-
Thomasville, Npv, 25. —The
body of Charles Lee Everhart,
who mysteriously disappeared so
suddenly Saturday morning, was
found late this evening rearly
three miles south of this plfiee in
a patch of woodland by two boys
while out rabbit hunting, the clo^
baying the body. The boys were
terribly frightened and fled,
spreading the alarm as they ran.
Soon a number of people gather
ed and guarded the body and
Waited until Coroner Peacock,
with a j ury, arrived.
The. following facts were
found : Two blobdy places were
found, one about 40 feet from the
body, one about 30. His gun was
lying 25 feet from the body. The
body was lying on its face. Upon
examination of the body a num
ber of things were found in his
pockets, but no money was found.
It was reported that the deceas
ed had more than one hundred
dollars with him when last seen,
and that he was on his way to a
shooting niatch. It was found
th|it he had been shot just below
and- bid?; oINrhe 'right -ear, und
the load coming out through the
face, tearing away his teeth and
terribly disfiguring the faee. The
body Was turned over to Under
taker Green until 8 o’clock tomor
row morning, when the coroner’s
jury will render their verdict.
Robert G. Leonard, who was
last seen with Everhart, was ar
rested on suspicion and hurried
to Lexingtpn by automobile and
placed in jail for safe keeping.
The preliminary hearing will be
held tomorrow at 1 o’clock and
interest centers on the hearing.
Leonard claims to have left
Everhart about noon at Frank
Workman’s store, and it was just
at that time and place that all
trace of the dead man was wiped
out until today, when his dead
body was found.
a
Mrs. Margaret Foust Mebane,
wife of J. Eoibert Mebahfe, died
in her home in Burlington l .'ov.
27, 1911v aged a little more than
54 years. She had Suffered, for
six or eight weeks with caileer
of the liver. She leaves
band, two sons and six
ters, also one brother and four
sisters, she being the first of h^r
father’s children to be palled to
the spirit land. In early liJe she
professed faith in Christ ai;id
united with Mt. Hope Reformed
Church in Guilford county, ]^-
cently she removed by certificate
to the Reformed church in Bur
lington. Her reli^bus training
was under the lateJRev. Dr. G>
W. Welker together writh th^ fol
lowing four laymehi viz.: her fa
ther S. E. Foust, her liusjl^nd’is
father W. M. Mebane. Johh Cor-^
sbie and Daniel Welkei*! Uniifer
the davout training of these God
fearing men a blessing caril0 to
the coffgregatioh in which she
was reared. The Hon.' C. H/
Mebane., now of Raleigh. Dr. C.
Banks McNairy, proprietor of
Foot Hills Sanitorium, of Lenoir^
Rev. W. H. McNairy, piistor of
th(^ new Heidelbery Reformed
Mission in Lihcolnton, the late
Rev. C. A. Starr and the writer
came iii the next class and h^
when they get together ;il ways
recall with grea:t piea^urti, the
childhood days when they heard
the Voice of these dejparted saints
in exortation and prayer. She
came of devout religibu^ parent
age. Her f uneral was condiicted
in the home at 11 a. m* Nov. 28
by her pastor, and her body was
laid to rest beside her son ih,
Pine Hill Cemetery. It will be
recalled that her son Robert met
his death by jumpirig from a
train in Virginia' i
The sadness of this event is
deepened by the fact thatjust
one week the wife of W
B. Mebane, her oldest w^^
. rei^e§.in': Roih^;ga.*,^;,;4ie^
li^'Sick only ^Bbui^.‘,'
The husband and children ha;ve
the sincere sym^^athy of a host
of friends in this sore bereave
ment. ' ' ^ ■
By her pastor/
Jv D. Andrew.
The Burlington Township Sun
day School Association will con
vene in the Christian Church,
Buriington, N. C., Sunday, Dec.
17, 1911. Everybody invited.
Sunday School Teachers and
workers urged to attend.
First Session, 2:30 P. M.
Song.
Devotional Service—
. Rev. A. B. Kendall
Song
Words of Welcome—
■ ; S. Veraon, Esq.
Response^ •
; i^e^^
Roll Call & Reports
Song -. '
Addiess— ■■■:' ■
Van Carter,-'
' ^ the Association
Election of Officers
Intermission
Second Se$$ion> 7:30 P. M.
Song-
How to deepen the Spiritual life-^
R^
The Baraca & PhilatJiea^Class—
, J. Van Carter
Selecting place for next conven-
Song
Benediction
Notice of Annual
The annual meeting of the
stockholders of The State Dis
patch Publishing Co., will beheld
on the 5th day of December, 1911,
at 2:00 o’clock, in the afternoon,
at the^ office of the company in
the Waller Building, Burlington,
N. C., for the purpose of electing
a board of directors, and receiv
ing and acting upon the reports
of the officers, and for the trans
action of such other business as
may come before the meeting.
In accordance with t he laws of
the State of Norths no
stock dan be voted upbii w'feich
lias been transferred on t^e books
of the company, wit’.iin twenty
(lays next preceding this election.
November 23, l&ll.
Dr. J. A. Pickett, Pres.
DEATH OF MR. W. N. CATES
Card 1*1 Thanks
We desire to thank our friends
and neighbors who have been iso
kind and sympathetic during the
serious illness of our wife and
mother.- May the kind Heavenly
Father repay each one for these
kind deeds.
J. R. Mebane and Children;
Natnre of Aleiaiance.
Rev.
W.^S.
-'W '
tie alleged had belonged to the
mysterious highwayman, proved
the means of sending the young
man to the electric chair.
At the coroner’s inquest the
weapon was identified by Paul
Beattie, a second cousin of young
Henry, as the weapon he had pur
chased for young Henry with
money furnished by the latter.
Beattie was arrested immediately
after the inquest. This was on
July 21, and on August 19, one
month and one day after the day
of the murder, the trial was be
gun before Judge Walter A. Wat
son, in the picturesque little court
house, 16 miles from here.
The jury was made up almost
entirely of farmers, and on this
fact Beattie based his claim that
he had been convicted, not for
the murder of his wife, but be
cause of his relations wdth Beulah
Binford, a notorious young wo
man. He insisted to the last that
a jury composed of city men
would have freed him. Beattie
was defended by H. M. Smith,
Jr., and Hill Carter. The pros
ecution was conducted by L. C.
Wendenhurg and L. M. Gregory.
The trial moved swiftly, though
many witnesses testified, and on
September 8, after 58 minutes of
considemtion and prayer, the
jury, chorus, instead of
thrpisgh its foreman, declared
Beattie to be guilty of the murder
of his wife. Motion for a new
trial was denied, and November
24 set as the day for the execu
tion. - ' , . . .
On November 13th the Virginia . , , , „
Supreme Court of Appeals refus-. History is remade slowly. For
ed to grant an appeal on a writ of ty years after the Chicago fire
error, and two days later Gover-iMrs. O’Leary’s cow is acquitted
i nor Mann, who had been appealed of that kick.
Mr. W. M. Cates was seized
with an attack of appendicitis
while at .Graham, Friday, Nov,
17th.
He grew worse in- his home
and on Tuesday was taken to St.
Leo’s Hospital, GreensDoro,
where he was operated on and
thought to be improving. Satur
4ay about 2 o’clock a message
was received by his wife, stating
he could not live through the
night. While preparing to go to
his bed side another message
was receivedj announcing lus
death. The ]^y was carried to
Grey’s Ch^^pel Sunday, where
funeral and Durial Was conducted
by Rev, J. D. Andrew Modnay.
Mr. Cates was 39 years old and a
member of a very large family,
there boing sixteen children. For
the past several years he has
been engaged in the furniture
business, being connected with
the M- B. Smith furniture house
at the time of his death.
He was a man of an excellent
character, being a deacon in the
Burlington Reformed Church,
and a very active Sunday School
worker. He leaves a wife ^nd
two sons, one six weeks old and
the other three Or four years.
He was a native of Durham
county, and was married to Miss
Ednora Routh of Randolph
county several years ago.
For Sale.
We, the undersigned, have a
few articles more or less useful
We would like to dispo^ of be
tween this and the 7thof Decem-
j^r. Among other things we
nave a “Sunny South” cook
stove, a “Perfection” oil stove,
both almost new* one of thcwe
wonderful ‘ ‘Kitchin Cabinets, * *
2 porch rockers, two iiarlor rock
ers, four spilt tottom chairs, one
cheap bureau, one cot, one r€[-
frigerator, a lot of brown leghorn
chickens etc.
Rev. J. A. Homadmy.
who is a na
tive Alamance coiinty boy now
residing at Landford, Pa., writes
that he has recently been called
ro the pastorate of Trinity Re
formed .church, Collegeville, Pa.
This ehurch is attended by the
Faculty 4md students of Ursinus
College and is one of the
charges in? the Phil^elphia Class
of the Reformed church. This i«
quite an honor to Rev. Clapp to
be elected to such an important
field and especially so early in his
ministry. Rev. Clapp has many
Mends throughout tne State who
will read of his success with pleas
ure. He having served as a sup
ply in our sister county, Guilford,
while but a ministerial student
He is a man of great force and
our only hope is some day we may
have him return to the land of
snnshine and flowers and reside
in Alamance.
HastingTMeb{tneA>
Mr. Ernest Hasting and Miss
Jessie Mebane were married Sun
day evening by Rev. A. B. Ken
dall at the Christian Parsonage.
Only a few friends being pres
ent. They left oii train No. 22
for Chapel Hill to visit his sister.
From Santa Claus.
As I have not decided what
day I can meet the children at
The o, 10 & 25c. Store, will have
to write you later.
The installation of Pastor C. I.
Morgan at the Lutheran church
last Sunday was interesting and
virell attended. Rev. Dr. M. M.
Kinard, President of the N. C.
Synod delivered the charge to the
pastor. In pointed remarks he
showed what the triie minister
should be, do, and teach. At3:3(
Rev. V. Y. Boozer, prjgsident of
the northern Conference deliver
ed a very interesting and practi
cal address to the congregation
in which he set forth in excelien
terms the duties of church ttiem
bers. ,
Death ol Mrs. Haffmao.
Mrs. Edna Huffman, widow of
he late Daniel Huffman, »died in
ler home between St. Marks and
he Brick Church Tues^y even
ing, Nov. 28th. aged nearly 80
years. S>he leaves two sons, P.
Huffman of Burlington and
Thomas L. Huffman who resides
with the mother and three Bi»>
ers, Mrs. Mollie Clapp and
Misses Annie and Laura Huff
man. Her funeral will be held
in the home fit 10 o’clock a. m.
Thursday the 30th by her pastor
and her body will be laid to restt
in the graveyard ^t St. Marks
Reformed church where for a
long time, she has been a mem
ber. He^ health has been bad
for a long time and her hearing
almost gone. The writer hai
been her pastor for eighteen
years and no member of his con
gregation appreciated a visit to
her home more thon “Grandma
Huffman. She was a very kind-
hearted mother and a good neigh
bor. ■
J. D, Andrew.
The McNamaras are in part
ing to be tried by special
respondents or so it seems.
go-
cor-
J