The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1913-11-25
AFTER THE LYNCHERS.
Four Members Spartanburg Mob In
dicted.-The Grand Jury Urges
Action.

Spartanburg, Nov 21.-Four al
legged members of the mob who on
the night Of August 18th last dyna-
united the Spartanburg county Jail in
an effort to lynch Will Fair, ne
gro accused of assaulting white wo-
man not guilty, will be prosecuted.
The grand jury urged Solicitor Albert
E. Hill to institute criminal proceed
ings against the men and such other
members of the lynching mob as may
be apprehended. The accused men,
bers are w. R. Belcher, Jesse Wolfe,
Robert Wilson and Robert Ward, and
the grand jury presents them in the
following language:
"After careful investigation into
the assault on the Jail on the night
! of August IS, 1913, we find that GER
tain parties, utterly disregarding the
lives of the officers and the county
property, did make an assault on the
iail with the intent Of taking the
life of Will Fair. We present to the
court w, R. Belcher, Jesse Wolfe,
Bob Wilson and Robert Ward and
ask our solicitor to prosecute them"
| Solicitor Hill wasted no time after
the presentment was issued. At mis-
request Judge DeVore issued bench
warrants for the arrest of the four
men.
The grand jurys action which is
without precedent in this county,
came like a thunderbolt from a clear
sky. Tle excitement attending the
arrest of Fair, the attempted lynch
ing, the trial and the negro's acQuit-
tai had long since died down and the
whole affair was regarded as clos
ed incident There mas been some
talk a month or two ago Of a grand
jury investigation of the near-lynch-
ing but after that body in its report
at the July term of court merely
thanked Sheriff w. j. White for up
holding the majesty of the law by
holding the mob at bay, it was sup
posed that nothing more would be
done In the meanwhile, however,
detectives have been at work, it is re-
ported, and they did not conclude their
investigation until recently. W. G.
Query, foreman of the grand jury, de-
clined today, however, to divulge the
method of procedure adopted in the
search for the identity of the members
of the mob. He explained that to make
this public might interfere with the
apprehension of other members Of tae
mob whose names are yet unknown.
1t was announced that further devel-
opments were expected and as the
necessary evidence is secured by the
grand jury additional men will be
presented.
Nothing certain had been learned
up to late Thursday as to the vo-
cations and residences of the four
accused men, but Ward is thought to
be an employee of the telephone COM
pany and one or more of the others
are said to be mill workers.
The grand jury's move startled
spartanburg and has given delight
to opponents of lynching.
The negro Fair, it will be renem-
bered, was accused by young wo-
man of near White Stone, the wife
of farmer, of having assaulted her
in her home in the absence Of all
other members of her family.
Though she persisted in her story
when Fair was brought to trial, the
preponderance of the evidence was
that it was an hallucination on her
part. Physicians who examined her
testified that they could find no evi-
dence that she had been assaulted,
and many negro witnesses testified
that while Fair passed the wonan's
house he did not enter. Neverthe-
less Fairs acquittal in the face of the
young woman's uneQuiyocal accusa-
ton was regarded as epoch-making.
After the unsuccessful attempt to
lynch Fair he was carried to the
State penitentiary at Columbia for
safe keeping and held there until a
couple of days before mis- trial.
Give Up to Solicitor.