TBB OtfLY PV LIT2BR PRIZE WINNING ΨΒΒΚΙΥ Ν More Than 10,000 People Read The Tribune Every Week *?6e 7< EWSPAPER tN THE UN I TED STATB$ People Shop From The Pages Of Their Hometown newspaper VOLUME ΧΠ. NUMBER "Tabor City — The Tour» With A City Future" TABOR CITY. NORTH CAROLINA WEDNESDAY. MARCH 18. 195« 5 CENTS ■··.-■> f — - —ν«·νν · «■% XbO· evidence Piling Up Agninst Horry Officers In Federal Court . —Λ · ; XIII» 1111/ r I-UUI ui courcroom IS lll( 4 Vie oi a historic trial that began yesterday moruing and whci a final decision is reached, that verdict will determine the im mediate future of Horry County Sheriff John Henry and eight ol his deputies. Facing charges of having beaten and mistreated four pris oners, three Negro and one white, while acting under the color of South Carolina law enforcement officers, is the basic issue, The iinal verdict is expected to decide whether they were righl or wroi«^ in their rlleged manhandling of the four prisoners. Tht decisijn i-t least will be the thinking' of the 12-nian, all whiti South Caiolina jury. Specifically the charges facing the Horry officers is a five count indictment that says they abused Cleo Patrick, Leonard Ford ami Vernee Floyd, Negroes, and Bob Spivey, white. Onlj Deputy Roy Hug^ins is charged in the Spivey ease. The indict ment ι earls and charges that they were held "in violation of their rights and privileges secured to them under the 14>h Amendment to the Constitution of the United States." It further charges tha* the plaintiffs were "deprived of their liberty without due process of law; the right and privilege to be secure in their persons while in the custody of anyone exercising the authority · t South Caro lina )r j'cting under the color of the laws of South Carolina; the rieht and privilege to be immune from force and violence by ai^one exercising the authority of South Carolin ι or acting undei color '>f I r»e laws for the purpose of obtaining information about an alleged crime or crime suspect; .... and not :·> be subjected to illegal punishment, force and violence by any person acting under cclor of the laws of this State." The Korry officers, who have been indicted by three differ ent Federal Grand Juries, sat with their battery of defense at torneys and Chief Council Henry H. Edens dramatically seated the wives of the defendants in front of the jury Mondey afternoon at 3:00. Tho jury seating required nearly all of the Monday morning stoSion with some members of the panel excused by the judge for various reasons and the defense and prosecution excusing others. In addition to Edens, the Horry officers have employed At torneys Reuben Long, George Keels, of Florence, and Henry Harne-, e t Columbia. Long is the 12th district solicitor. Keels has substituted for Long in the Horry County court and represented Ku Klux Klans nun in the trials of a few years <>.go. Edens was among the defense attorneys for other South Carolina law en forcement officers charged with Federal crimes in recent years. Witnesses appearing Monday and this morning were called to testify regarding the case of Clio Patrick, owner and operator of a place of business near Red Bluff that sold beer. The case grew du', of an incident that occurrecf at his place on October 13, 1956, in which Deputy J. D. Stanley was attacked by unother Negro Leonard Ford. Ford is now serving a term on the roads for his attack. Eleven wltnrvss*»« nn Μ««/»·»« "U!4~ 1 1 Negro. Two of the white men were special agents -v'th the U. b Alcohol t.nd Tobacco Tax Division. The other white man was Junior i'.ardoe. '-«· » Only one Of the plantiffs, Cleo Patrick, took »he stand Mon « #. H<> testified that he was struck in the face by deputies the night of the incident at his place and later subjected to other beatings while being held in the Horry County ja*!. He could not identify the deputies who alleged abused him. Patrick told the court today that Deputy Stanley came to his place and instructed him to cut the piccolo down. Ί did what he told ino to do and went behind the eounter to return the screw driver. 1 saw Ford talking with Mr. Stanley. Later when I looked around, ι saw Mr. Stanley on the floor and Ford kicked him. 1 ran against Ford and pushed him away from Mr. Stanley. Anoth er ma.i helped me get Ford out of the place and I sent another Iran liter Mr. Stanley's father. He came and too't Mr. Stanley a «/ay," Patrick said. Pitrick said deputies then came to his house and "sent Jesse Wilson to tell me to come outside. They didn't give me any chance to tell what happened. They struck me in the face and kicked me and on the jail elevator struck me in the stomach.' Wibcn, a Negro farmer in the Red Bluff se.-tion, identified [ Chalmers Small, Roy Huggins, James B. Smart and J. D. Stanley as some of the deputies who were at Patrick's plac» the night of the alleged unprovoked attack. Sleigh Wilson, who farms with Deputy Stanley r father, said he saw or.e of the deputies kick Patrick. Junior Jefferson and J fiior Hardee testified to the same kicking offense and Hardee said he saw Deputy Odell Floyd at Patrick's place. Hardee is a relative of Stanley's Joe Hichardson, the tenth witness, testified that he saw Small strike Patrick an 1 identified Floyd and Smart as being present. Spenal ATTD agents Owen Bain and W. L. Hutto said they took statements from Patrick and relayed them to proper author ities. The investigation of these cases was handled from that point by the FBI. Defense Attorney Edens asked the two agenis if they had contacted W. Horace Carter, editor of The Loris Sentinel and The T^or C';ty Tribune before they took statements from Patrick, yigent Bain told Edens that he took the statement from Patrick first. "I talked with Mr. Carter two or three times after then," Bain .laid Atfent Hutto told Ellens, "I was told by my superiors to see Mr. Carter. I did just that." Carter was the first to charge that some members of the Horry sheriff's department were guilty of misconduti. The 12 white men selected for the jury w?re warned by Judge Ashton Ü. Williams "not to talk with anyone about this case. It is of wide interest in South Carolina. If anyon» approaches you to discuss this case, let me know immediately." ■ Λ Some of the Horry County deputies being tried in Federal Court in Florence leave the court house at Monday's noon recess. Keluctant to have their pictures taken, one deputy threatened the L#ris Sentinel Photographer Bob Crawford if he "put that camera in my face.*' Photographers of daily newspapers were also running into obstacles in their effort to photograph the nine defendants. Soles Heads Tabor Merchants Local Heads For Red Cross Drive Chosen Most commhnity chairmen have been designated in the various sections of Columbus County for the annual Red Cross funds drive that is underway duritfg the month of March, W. Horace Carter an·· Grover l^Pherson county eo-chairmen, said today In Tabor City, with a quota of SI 100. Mrs. J. M. Soles, Jr. and Mrs. Leon Fonvielle wil1 serve as co-chairmen. Assistance I has 6Λ·η offered to them by Mrs. J. A. Herlocker, Η ο wart1 Fowler and Joe Coleman. The solicitation of funds is expected to Ret underway early next wee': Hyman Kramer lias accepted the chairmanship of the drive in Whiteville that has been giver a $2800 quota. Mr. Kramer ex pects to get the drive on the way in Whiteville immediately with the hope "of reaching the (Continued On Tage 12) METHODIST REVIVAL The public is cordially in vited to attend' revival serv ices at St. Paul Methodist Church beginning next Sun day. Services will be held at 7:30 each evening. The visit ing minister is Kev. Ed. F. Smith, a regular member of the North Carolina Confer ence who for seven years has 1 served as a missionary to the ι Southern Congo. Mr. Smith is at home on furlough, and is . spending a part of his time in , evangelistic work. The revival is a part of the United Evangelistic Mission ι which Is being ohared during Lent by many churches of all denominations. The people of St. Paul and Tabor City are fortunate in being able to se cure the services of a capable and consecrated man such as | Mr. Smith as guest preacher. | A great spiritual awakenlnk is expected. iivuny -υι» persons were or hand Monday nijjht for the elec tion of officers at the annua Tabor City Merchants Associa tion banquet. Wallace Soles was name·! president for the coming year The vice-presidency post went tc Claude Boyd. Treasurer for the organization will a?ain be W. W. Woon;· are held Saturday in Rnleip.h during the annual convention Gene Dellinger is Columbu. County's nominee lor the state office. > It marks the l-rst time the Tabor City Beta Club has ever had a Candidate and the enthusi asm for the reserved but pro gressive candidate has been re markable. Hundreds of work h> urs have gone into preparing the various banners, posters and fa\ ors that are so closely associated with a state election. Delegates trom Tabor City High School -vho will leave Fri day morning are C'ndy Corbett, Dixie Cox, Marth.· B. Bell. Jo Ann Watts, Betty Muriel Cox Larry Williams, Pi'igy Stanley, Rav King, Brend.i Lddings. Mei vin Nobles. Ronald Wray, and Jessica Gore. The local candidate has an impressive record in scholastic achievements and extra-curri cular activities. Dellinger is the son of Mr. and Mrs. D. F. Delhnger of Tabor City. GUIDEWAY PRE-SCHOOL A pre-school < llnic will be held at the Guideway School on March 27, Bill William?», principal, announced today. Parents with children who «111 became six years old on or before October 16. 1958 are urged to brine their chil dren to the clinic. Parent· should also come by the school immediately and secure a pre-srhool entry blank for their prospective first trade students who In tend to enter school next year. Williams said. Benefit Games Saturday 1 A triple-header basketball I benefit night has been set here (for Saturday beginning at 6:15 I P. M. in the local school gym- ' nnsium. All proce- ds from the; 1 three-game affair <ν;Π go to the school athletic fund that needs! 1 money for next year's football i ; equipment ind baseball mater ials for this spring. I , Admission for the Saturdaj j night progrjin will be 25 cents loi students and 50 cents foi j < adults with ,»layer; und spectat-i i ors like being charged for the I I entertainment. j ι The first game on the program v.'ill be between the local Bov ; Scouts and the Junior Varsity of ι 1 the school. The second game | designed to guarantee laughs a-1 : plenty as squeaking joints limb- ' er up on the hardwood wilh thei ' Rotary and Civitans combining! ■ to challenge the junior Chamb e·· of Commerce aggregation. Third game of the evening will j pit a sextet irom the Richmond, jva., Recreation Department against the school varsity girls jteam. The last game is expected ito get underway iilcut 9:00. Fun and frolic i.^ expected for iall in attendance during the eve-i jning and school patrons all over I the area are urged to attend. oar ι · —— ■ Baptist Revival c Begins Sunday Revival services will begin at' 1 thr Tabor City Haptist Church; v this Sunday and will continu·· through SunHav, M?rch 23. The Rev. P. C. Gant», pastor Sl of the local churc'i, said that '' guest pastor for the services from Monday through the con- w elusion would be the Rev. F. Β. ^ Haynes, pastor of the First Bap- si tist Church of Lons S. C. ^ The Rev. Hayner i". a graduate of Eureka College, Eureka. III..; w Texas Christian University and n Southwestern Seminary and did graduate work in the field of education .it T?>.ar Christian ·' University. h The Rev. Haynes has been pastor of the First Baptist Chur- « ch in Loris for the past five Η years. There nave ue«n 352 add- al it ions to the ch.nch, and in-i g< creased interest in Missions and di in the Cooperative Program II manifested. Standard Sunday tl (Continued On Page 12) /lor'.'nee (Wednesday)—Then.· was a tenseness in the court this morning when activity was renewed in the trial nf Horry 'Joun'.y Sheriff John Henry and eight of Iiis deputies on chargcs he left the courthouse. With d«>/.eiis of people ooking c»j, Harrotson chased the photographer d>vn the street, hi M,i«'iay, Deputy Chalmers Small had reporie-Uy cursed Bob .' I ;ι VI* ι'.»·· Ί ..-I..." - · ...,ν. . v,jui ivh >· cursed tsuB Jiawfo·:! when he attempted to make pictures and Small told »im he w< uld "b'irst the camera over his head." Hut Crawford did •et ι unsure of .1 group of deputies as they le!'. the courthouse, lie om'v one appearing Tuesday. '•'»II jwing tli.· 11 witnesses <>f Monday, 18 took the st;ind on 'ues.la.· to tell ι frightening story of alleged brutality against "lit> " k and Leonard Ford. Annie Mae Patrick, wile of the plantilf Clio, slid on the night >1 the m< ident that Jesse Wilson. Neuro, came to iN-ir house and ind ;aid the deputies wanted to see Clio. Ciio -vent outside to he deputies. The next time she saw him lie was kre-eling in the fard, an.i was bloody and hurt. She said Clio sa'd the deputies lad beaten him. Freen.an Benjamin Vereen, who was in the Conway jail when 'ho was brought in, testified that twice he saw deputies take 'atrick from th,· ceil and each time when he cam.» back he was >caten up badly and bleeding at the mouth. He suid Deputy Har elson jrought C'io back to the cell. The fifth witness Tuesday was Leonard Ford, whose case is nother tor whic.i the officers are being tried and is closely tied ip wii.» tl e Patrick case. After having been in a fracas with Deputy J. D Stanley on Saturday night hi talked with his mother on Sunday and decided ο give h'mself up. He found Dorscy Patrick und got in the ear vith hin. and they started toward Conway to surrender at the ail. At Ittd BluTf they met a car full- of sheriff:; deputies and Jorsey signaled them to stop. They did. Dorsey Patnck got out nd 'allied with the deputies and the deputies then came to the ar ind asked Ford what his name was. Ford said he told them ind as soon as he had said he was Leonard Ford, >ne of the de luties ;:aid, "you are the black S—Ol-A-B—we ale looking for ind immediately began to beat him. Fo*-i identified Hendricks, Booth. Harrelson and Small as he officers who teat and kicked him. Ho said ho was then hrown in the deputies' car, his hands handcuffed behind him and ieaten v.\th blackjacks until he lost consciousness He said the lext thing he remembered was being dragged feet-first into the lunway .tail. Other witnesses testified to the dragging and said 'ord's head was allowed to bounce on the fl· >< >r and steps as he ;as drag.red in. Ford said there were five deputies in the ca.· when he was eaten. He said when he got out of jail on bond the following uesday he went to a doctor who advised him to go to the Vet rans Hospital in Fayetteville for further treatment. Ht went to re hospital and was there for two weeks. Ford is a veteran of 'Λ, ν it ■ ' — · -· ...... .·νι·>»αυΐ}' uiscnargea. Bfisie Ford, mother of Leonard, testified that officers came > her nouse on Sunday morning carrying a shotgun and asked here Leonard was. She said she did not know that moment Lit wen on to church. She later saw her son an I a.-ked him to ο t«· C.i'ivay and give himself up which he agreed to do. Dorsey atrick aid Ford left then to go to Conway. Dorsey then returned nter of Leonard, said deputies came to her DU.se Sunday moining and wanted Leonard. She s.iid they want :1 to i- now wher» Leonard's room was and when .-he· told them, ley came on in the house without shewing any warrant and took eonar.i s picture made while he was in service from the room nd car· ied it with them. She said the deputies had shotguns 'ith them. Dorsey Patrick, who testified he was carrying Ford to the onway jail when he met deputies and signaled them to stop, lid he was asked to carry Ford by his mother. He said he told le deput.es he had a man in his car who wanted to give up. He lid they asked h'm who it was and he said Leonard Ford "They len went to mv car and one said this is the S—Of-A-B—we ant and they be^an beating him." Patrick said. Patiiok said that Ford begged the deputies not to kill him. e iden'ified D-jputies Booth. Harrelson, Smart, and Small and lid that Deputies Hugnins. Floyd and Hendricks arrived later ι another car. Lloyrt Hemingway said he was following Patrick and Ford hen they met the officers. He said he saw thorn put Ford's inds behind his back and beat him. Mary Richardson said sh· iw *h.· deputies pass her house near Red Bluff and they were Nitin^ i'imc one in the back seat, she said. Dniing the morning session of court. Deputy Harrelson was earing a blue suit and »as prominent in the teslirrony of wit •sses. During the noon recess he changed and was wearing a rown suit when court reconvened at 3:00 P. M. Ess··.* Wolf testified that she was with Mary Hi .iaidson when ie deputies passed the highway and that he saw some one's •ad g>)itig up and down in the back seat. Henry Rig«im, a trusty at the jail, said he saw Clio Patrick hen ;lvv brought him to the jail with his cloth·.·.« all bloody, i* said he also knew Leonard Ford and saw the deputies looking Ford'.- picture and heard them say that they were going to •I Ford and brin : him back dead "i alive. He said he saw the ■putles :eturn and that Ford teil out of '.he ear unconscious, e said !ney dragged hin; into n·,. jail and his nciid bumped along e st •ps. final Results Of Year's Investigation Of Horry Officers Still Hangs In Balance Editor η Note: A· Sheriff Iwnrrnnt He »r··.^ w John Henry and eicht «f bis dentin face Feder»! chirfM la Florence In ram InroMm Civil Richte of prisoners, we am completing this aeries of three articles wmmarlslng whst has happened daring the first rear of the investigation of law enforcement officers and others In Horry Connty. This is the last ot* the series. By—W. Horace Carter In May, Nichols Police Chic I/cGrand Odom a*vure out ι warrant against Deputy Roj (lugging charging him with reck' lei^driving in the town of Nich< ols. Magistrate Kern Gerak tried to get the warrant aorvoc by the Horry sheriff's depart' ment without success for sever al days but it was finally serve* on May 18. Following serving of the war· rant, several members of ttM Hc-rry sheriffs department tried to get Odam to tike up" th< C« ■as—·^ subjected to numerous pressures. Huggins was eventually tried in Marion and acquitted when cronies testified Hoggins was with them at a fish fry on the night of the alleged incident Odom said some of the persons who testified to being with Hug gins at the fish fry had tried to gc*. him to take up the warrant originally and at (hat time in timated that Huge in; was in ! Nichols but emotionally upset, ι On May 25, Federal officers ' grabbed two cars and 93 gallons • of white whiskey on the Tabor City-Pireway road. Wade C. Fowler and Willie F. Tyler were arrested at th· Urn·». A third car • stopped by a road block that night was eventually confiscated and case· made against Dud Gtainger and Charit« Holm« for escorting the lond of liquor. ι Grainger, Holmes and Fowler were subsequently tried In Fad erai court In Wilmington and I The biggest single step of suc cess occurred on June 3, when a Federal Orand Jury in Columbia returned true bills of indict ments against John Henry and eight deputies charging them with violating the rights of pris oners Leonard Ford and CUo Patrick. These cases had been investigated by the FBI and the indictments charged k variety of brutal and cruel acts alleged per petrated on (he prisoners by the members of the sheilffs depart ment. The indictment* marked! for the editor to "put up or shut up" Following on the heels of the Federal Indictments, the Horry County Orand Jury heard a smattering of ine witnesses against the sheriff* (ore· and returned a no bill to the court. The newspaper pointed out that the action was expected and followed the trend of the Colle ton County Orand Jury that did ine same thing orior to Federal convictions of law enforcement officers there in η whiskey con spiracy. An editorial in the June 12, issue said this about the indict ment of the officers by the Fed eral Grand Jury cn charges of beating prisoners," We think it is important for the people of Horry County to realize that these indictments were mode by fellow South Carolinians based on the evidence presented. We think they should h.ive full re alization that thes? indictments wtre not made by some foreign body of people but Southerners obviously interested in Justice fairness and freedom." In the seme issu·* was tSc story in which Bob Spivey told the Horry Court that his troubles started with the law when he stopped paying · $75 a week payoff. H· said that he paid $75 > week to Lorta liquor store op erator Frank Boyd foi protec tion of his .llegal business andj that Deputy Roy Huggins had been in on the racKet A warrant charging Spivey with perjury was subsequently sarorn out and the ease is still |>cn Jing. But on a variety of other charges brought against Spivey. he re ceived stiff road sentences. The convictions nave oil been ap peaaled to the State Supreme Court. The June 19. Issu? carried the headline, "It's who you arc. where you are, 'hat decides fate." An editorial said, "It is rapidly becoming increasingly ι clear that when iocal govern-, mental unit« become the prey of unscrupulous men. the only re-' course left to eliminate this use of public office for private—and usually illegal—profit is our federal government." It went on to My, "Unices we can erase tome of th« record of the past •nd write one in the future that Ii unsullied Mid beyond criti ci>m. then we can have no one to blame for iurt'.er saddling of Federal authority on the South but ourselves." (>n the last day of June, ι Sunday. South Cuiolina Tax Commission agent cracked down <>n six Horry establishments and caught them red handed selling beer on Sunday. Four were in the Loris area. Thore were MO cases of beer font floated and 30 pints of whiskey. T»-.e confiscat H alcohol was later advertised and sold at auction, a novelty in Horry county. Saturday following the raids that caught the illegal bee salesmen, Normfrti Smith an in foimnnt who assisted the S. C. Tax agents, was severely beaten by Clyde Soles, ->ne of the beer operators caught, on the street« of Loris. Soles wai later acquit ted of the beating although the action was on the public street· nnd witnessed by do?en* On July 12. S. C. Law En· orcement Division Chief J. P. ι Strom led raids on Myrtle Beach •lubs that notted $30,000 worth ι >t gambling mach ine» and illeg- ι il whiskcj·. The m.ichines were : ■«•ported destroyed but an de cent of mysterv Iiuj hung ovei heir disposition ever since. I: Things w.-re quite during the cbacco season But in Septemb er Judge Bill Gore began te lave troubles. Λα aigument a-] ■ose among the magistrate, Jail-, •r Sam Ward, and Deputy Bux on Brown. Ward soon lost his1 ob. Not long thereafter Conway! Vttorney lv>nne Causey brought; barges against Got* for sland-1 ···. Gore was convicted and re-i noved from office. And J. C.( Jvinggton, the former game warden who cha.-ged officers, rith hunting jt night on a reser vation, was elected easily by the; wople . A precision raid on the liquor itore operated by Frank Boyd η Loris took place on Septemb-| •r. Boyd and two others were irrrstal <>n chargcs oi whole lahng whiskey t«« bootleggers on ι retail license. Boyd »s still on 510,000 bond .n th" were icheduled to appear in t'liarle· lon on October 14, in the whisk· ?y conspira· ν investigation. Th* lew subpoenas set tho next hear ing date for May 19. 1958 in "'•arleaton. Those subpoenas are •till held by witnesses awaiting irrival of that tinpe. But when the Charleston Fed L*ral Grand Jury did convene, they took addriotial action igainst Horry law enforcement officers by adding two more :as«i of brutality to prisoner»— ihc case of Bob Spivey and Ver (Continued On Page 12)