The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1913-03-19

the crime OF the county IN an lnd1-
rect way, the saloonkeeper of the
Birmingham district is stickler for
law observance as far as closing
hours are concerned. The saloons
close at II at night. They abso-
lutely close. There is no breaking Of
the Sunday closing law. Saloon Ii
censes are worth $4,000 and the
holders OF license guard them jeal-
ousy, as the prohibition fight is ex-
at the last election by few over 900
votes.
I say the saloons figure Indirectly
in the crime of the county, for there
are scores of capital crimes in the
county yearly due to the drinking
of saloon-purveyed liquor. When
the county was "dry', the crimes
due to "blind tiger" liquor were
more than the present-day crimes
due to well-regulated saloon liquor.
Throughout the county to-day there
are some "blind tigers, which, how
ever, are conducted with the utmost
secrecy, for saloonists paying $4,000
liquor licenses do not tolerate the
existence of non-revenuing-paying
competitors.
Over 65 per cent. of the crimes in
Jefferson county is committed by ne
groes. Negro criminals have llocked
in there from all over the South.
They find Birmingham "easy'. It is
| openly stated that the pressing clubs
maintained by negroes are nothing
more than places for receiving stolen
clothes, which are altered, dyed, and
so changed they are hard to Identify.
Such clothes are then sold or pawn
ed. The whole county is their stamp
ing ground.
The worst negro criminals are hab-
ituees of "dope" dens, in which they
snuff Cooke, powdered cocaine. a
coke" crazed negro does not stop
at murder when he is driven to bay
The negroes are heavy drinkers. II
is not unusual for a negro bar to take
in $500 on a Saturday night in Bir-
| mingham or Bessemer. Some Of the
negroes have much money to spend
| as there are those who make SO to
$40 shift at the steel works. They
are not provident. In this region, a
negro would lose caste among his
pals if he did not go armed. The
criminal negro uses the black jack on
members of his own race when hard
up for money.
A short time ago, a negro was
brought into Bessemer from . min
ing camp seven miles away. He was
5athed and shrouded in an under
| takers ablishment, where he was
left for the night. During the early
evening the supposed corpse came to
With a yell of terror, he sprang from
his open coffin and plunged through
a glass door to the street, running
like mad for home. He was later ar
rested and fined SO for breaking tht
window. The negro had been ,blacl
lacked.
Jefferson county assists the Grim
inal element by imposing small cast
tail upon men charged with bur
glary, pickpocketing, and othel
crimes of that sort. AS a conse
quence, there are professional crooks
by the hundreds at large in tht
county, practicing their nefariou'
profession while under bail. Others
thinking things are getting too warn
for them, skip out under the small
cash bail.
A notorious crook few days agt
robbed a man of $377. The judge
imposed $500 bail on the crook. HI
furnished the $500, partly composed
Of the stolen s377 and then prompt
ly skipped the state. While Jeffer
son county is wonderfully rich il
natural resources and in great in
dustries, while labor is well paid
and while the county as a whole il
prosperous to degree reached b!
few counties in the South, it is pay
ing dearly for its crime.