The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1890-08-13
THE TURNER TRIAL.
A REVIEW OF SoARTAN5URG's SENsA-
TlONAL SERIAL STORY.

TlONAL SERIAL STORY.
The Prisoners betrayal of His Wife's Sis
ter and Subsequent Killing Of He
Brother-The Atte,np pit to Lynch Turne,
The Counsel and the Jury.
SPARTANBURG. S. c.. Aug. 7.-The
Turner case has come on, and the trial
is actually begun. AS reported it was
called up yesterday, but some of the
witnesses being absent, after wasting
nearly all the morning in seeking te
! find out, by free use of kilograms and
other means, whether they could be
brought here at this term, and after
issuing bench warrants for certain ab.
senteeS, the case was postponed until
this morning at 9. o'clock. Sufficient
ground for continuance existed, had
the prisoner desired it, but his counsel
stated that he was anxious to be tried
without delay. 1t will be remembered
that Judge Wallace refused bail in this
case, and Turner has awaited his trial
in Jail.
! Few cases have or could excite more
George S. Turner, the prisoner at the
| bar, is the proprietor of small cotton
factory at Valley Falls, in this county,
six miles from Sprantanburg. About
three years ago he killed a German la
borer named Metzkia, at his store near
the factory. The killing produced i'm
mense excitement, but after two trials
Turner was acquitted. Between that
time and the killing of Ed. F. Fin
ger, his brother-in-law, on March 7th
last, many things transpired which
might not be the business of the pub
lie if the tragedy had not brought them
to light. Miss Carrie Finger, the pre-
possessing younger sister of Turner's
wife, who had just arrived at woman
hood, was discovered to be in an inter-
esting condition, and a suit was
brought by her distressed mother
against Turner for $4,000 damages for
criminally running her. Miss Finger
is mother.
The family difficulties did not end
here. It appears that in the settlement
of the estate OF the murdered. mans
father. the elder Finger, Turner had
given to some Of the Fingers his notes
for large sums of money relative to the
purchase of the cotton factory, which
belonged to the Finger heirs. These
notes are alleged to be unpaid, and
suits were begun on some of them. It
is said also that on one occasion when
Turner approached the Finger resi-
dence for the purpose of seeing the girl
he had ruined, one Of the brothers le-
yelled shotgun at him and compelled
him to leave the premises in short Or
der. These matters have come to pub
lie notice in connection with the ho-
micide of March Z, and other details
have come out in bold relief not fit for
publication, which all 60 to make up
story almost too revolving for credibili-
ty.
The particular incident on which the
present trial hangs took place on March
I, 1890.
Ed. Finger on that afternoon was re-
turning home from Spartanburg, where
he had come with his wagon and driver.
On going out of town hehad been join
ed by several men who also had teams,
and train of four wagons proceeded
together. The road led past Turner'S
store. Shortly before reaching the store
they had come up with an abandoned
woman who lived on Turner's place,
and Finger had some angry words with
her. She is supposed to have gone by
short path down to Turner'S store inn
mediately after leaving Finger, and
what she told Turner may have some
connection with the homicide. She is
also supposed to have been used as an
instrument in certain OF their affairs
before.
When the train of wagons got to a
point in the public road opposite Tur-
ner's store they stopped, and Turner
came out to the road with his pistol,
and, after some words, three shotslwere
fred and Finger went few steps down
the hill and fell, dying before he could
be carried to his home. He also had a
pistol and is said to have fired two
Shots, one of which went off in his
overcoat pocket. But in anticipation
of the testimony we will not enter into
the details of the encounter.
Seldom has the killing of one private
citizen by another raised such cry Of
indignation.
The funeral of Ed. Finger said
to have @ attended by about G0>
people, and if the wishes OF very many
of the people had been executed, Tur-
ner would have filled grave almost
as soon.
There was bitter talk of lynching,
and crowd came into town one day
for the purpose. It was on this occa-
sion that Mayor Honneman made
national reputation by capturing the
cannon that the lynching party had
hauled into Jail street and trained on
the Jail. Sheriff Nichols, one of the
most determined of men, with a posse
ready to obey his orders, and armed
with repeating rifles, was in the jail,
declaring that he was ready for the
mob. and that they could not kill his
prisoner until they had first killed him.
The lvnchers knew that an attack
meant death for not few Of them, and
their purpose was, for the time, aban-
doned. But excitement ran so high,
and there was such danger, that the
Sheriff might have to kill some of his
neighbors, to defend his prisoner, that
Turner was removed to Columbia jail
1Ol S6llC t1ii& " c@o SA2y UASoShS
hack here in time for his trial.
Immense crowds attend every phase
of the case. The court house is so full
that the bailiffs have to stand in the
aisles with their maces to allow breath
ing space for the bar.
There are about eighty witnesses, the
State having some forty. The anxiety
on the part of the crowd to hear the
proceedings is so great that they climb
on the seats at the back of the court
room and give an amphitheatric ap-
pearance to the apartment, viewed from
the rail.
Turner is represented by an array Of
counsel. Messrs. Bomar & Simpson,
who were his leading counsel in the
MetZkia case, are also retained in this.
Their associates are Messrs. Duncan u
Sanders and Nichols & Moore. Assist
ing Solicitor Shumpert are Messrs.
Stanyarne Wilson and David johnson,