The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1903-03-12
OUT ON BAIL
The School Tracher Who Killed q
Pupil Gives Bond.

Spartanburg, Specialize remains
o. Edward L. Foster were quietly laid
to eternal rest in the churchyard OF
Mt. Zion church Saturday morning.
The attendance on the funeral was
large The services were conducted by
Rev. ]. L. QUITS. The deceased made
two ante-mortem statements. The fol-
lowing is the copy Of the second state
ment made before he died, and was
delivered to B. B. Bishop, magistrate
at Innan, on the morning of Feb. 27,
about eight hours prisr to Fosters
death:
State of South Carolina-County Of
Spartanburg.
I, Ed L. Foster, believing that am
going to die from my present wounds,
and that there is no hope for my re-
covery, do make this my dying decla-
ration:
One evening in the spelling class
missed one word, and Mr.. Pitts gave
me out another woru and | misunder-
stood it, and the next evening he
asked me why had not stayed In as
he had instructed me to Che having
told me to stay in that EVENING" and
that evening (Tuesday) he told me to
stay in. He also kept in Fred Bal
lenger, Raymond Wolfe and Jesse Bel
lenger, and he (Mr. Pitts) sent them
to the other room. He then called me
up in front of the rostrum and told me
he would have to whip me. He brought
two hickorys from the rostrum with
him and laid one Of them down and
told me that he would have to whip
me- He gave me two or three licks and
grabbed hold Of the hickory. He
(Pitts) then run hand into his hip
pocket and pulled a pistol and poked
1t towards my face. then grabbed
the pistof with one hand and his
(Pitts) hair with my other hand.
knocked the pistol down toward my
feet and it fired. got weak and then
fell back on the rostrum. He (Pitts)
jumped up and down two or three
times and said he hated it awfully and
he (Pitts) said, Just as I expected,
you were all on me-"
About the time the pistol fired
heard the boys push open the door
between the two school rooms. Pitts
then said he was going on to give up.
Don't know what he did with the pis-
tol. He did not point the pistol toward
me any more. He jumped up and
down. There was no plot to whip Mr..
Pitts. The day he kept Fred Ballenger
In, when Fred told me- that Mr.. Pitts
was going to whip me, told him he
would not Edd L. Foster.
Signed before me Feb. q, 1913, be-
tween 2 and 3 q. m.
B. B. Bishop,
Magistrate.
Before Judge James Aldrich in the
court house Tuesday morning at 10
o'clock, the attorneys Of Mr.. Reuben
Pitts, charged with the murder Of Ed
ward Foster, applied for bail. Messrs.
VIM. Jones and Stanyarne Wilson
spoke in behalf Of bail for the young
defendant; while Solicitor Pease and
ex-Gov. John G. Evans for the State.
opposed the granting of bail. Judge
Aldrich gave a decision In favor OF
Young Pitts, naming bail in the sum
Of $4,000. The following gentlemen
signed the bond, guaranteeing the ap-
pearance of the prisoner for trial:
Rev. ]. D. Pitts, w. E. Lucas and c.
R. Bobo, of Laurens, and Mr.. J. I.
Hahhis, Of Spartanburg. A large crowd
was present to learn the proceedings
and get a glimpse Of the living prfn-
cipal in a tragedy that has shocked
the State. Pitts appeared by the side
of his father, both Of whom revealed
On their faces the suffering and an
guish they have undergone since last
Tuesday. Reuben Pitts appeared in a
dazed condition, scarcely did he raise
his eyes from the floor during the pro-
ceedings of an hour and a half. His
father, Rev. Mr.. Pitts, several times
bowed his head in suppressed emo
ton. On Sunday Mr.. Reuben Pitts was
visited at the county jail by numbers
of friends, among whom were four OF
his former professors at Furman Uni
versity, Professors Geer, Earle.
Haynesworth and Martin. Attesting
the high esteem and confidence in
which he was held at college, the fol.
lowing telegram is expressive:
"Greenville, s. c., March 2.
"Mr. R. B. Pitts, Spartanburg. s. c. 2
Accept our sympathy When you
were our president, we followed you.
never doubling your wisdom and dis,
cretion as a leader. Now in your hour
Of grief we esteem you none the less.
"The Adelphian Literary Society OF
Furman University"