The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, 1915-10-22

erately nred with MS pistol at his
head. l caught his arm and said.
Don't do that! Don't do thatr" Mr..
Robson is a member of the commit
tee. He was present at the meeting
from the start and did not leave the
room until all was over. Conrad
Slender says he saw one man in a
window on the east side of the room,
with three or four men crowding
him. "While this was going on,
saw Chief Cantwell come up with his
pistol in his hand and fire shot at
this mans head. In the confusion
fdid not recognize the man. l saw no
pistol in his hand" Nath. B. Barn
well, a member of the committee,
said: "In the midst of the shooting
Chief Cantwell dashed into the room
with drawn pistol and when he got
into the room he raised it and / be-
lieve fired"
Mayor Grace, it is said, had been
"out of the city," and Henry P. Will
liams, alderman, directed, as mayor
pro tenn, the police dispositions for
dispensing the mob that had been at
tracted by the shooting. The mayor
appeared within about 20 minutes.
Knife and Pistol.
Joseph A. Black, chairman of the
city Democratic executive committee,
is positive that the first shot was fired
in the anteroom. "On seeing pistols
f1ourished there" he said, 81 hurried
to the telephone to notify Sheriff Mar
tin of the trouble. Some man, quite
an old man, cut at me with knife. /
lodged and he slightly wounded my
left arm" Capt. Black said he then
appealed to Police Sergeant Quinn to
restore order, but the sergeant's re-
ply was to draw revolver on him.
"Some man in the crowd called out,
Here is the - -, I'll get him,
and he threw his pistol up at me.
Thinking l was in for shot, l in
stinctively put my arm before my
face. At this moment shot was fired
from the direction from which this
man was coming. Then l say the
young newspaper man (Sidney J.
Cohen) on the floor at my feet.
" pulled away and at that time
some one else was yelling, There goes
the - - we want l saw Chief
Cantwell at the window with a pistol
in his hand as though he were going
to shoot some one who was bending
over at the window. I can not say
whether he shot or not. I have made
it. aAs6le ITO GO unarmed all the time
l have, been serving as chairman of
the executive committee. am a
strong Hyde supporter-every chair
man is strong supporter of one side
or the other-but have dealt fairly
with both sides. Some of the best
men in the city are on my committee
and though dissension developed early,
we could have got on pretty we'll if
it had not been for trouble from the
outside"
Can't Tell of Start.
"Who or what started the shooting
| do not know and I can not say
l saw anybody actually shoot any
body else," said Nath. B. Barnwell, a
member of the committee. Mr..
Barnwell has served several terms in
the lower house of the general as
sembly as member from Charleston
He is lawyer. "a commotion start
ed in the anteroom," Mr.. Barnwell
said, "and from where l was sitting
it looked as though fight was GO
ing on. l heard Goldman's name
mentioned. I heard pistol shot in
the anteroom and the crowd came
breaking into the committe room.
"The only man I recognized was
| w. E. Wingate, who had been stand
ing in the doorway and who cam.
in at the head of the crowd. The
policeman in the doorway was swept
aside. AS the crowd surged in the
shooting started, a regular fusillade,
apparently from several pistols. In
the midst of the shooting Chief Can't
well dashed into the room with pis-
tol drawn, and when he got inside
he raised it and, believe, fred, al
though the scuffle of people trying
to get out prevents me from being
positive as to this. | did not see Mr..
Cohen shot and did not know until
afterward that he was shot. | was
unarmed. When l left several men
among them only w. E. Wingate.
There were in the building amply suf-
ficient policemen to prevent any dis
order, but when the shooting started
they were conspicu6usly absent from
the committee room.
"I had suggested to the chairman
that it would expedite matters to
have the witnesses in the anteroom
and he told the police that he wanted
no one allowed in the committee
room except the members of the COM
mittee and the attorneys and no one
in the outer room except witnesses.
| then went with Capt. Black and
assisted in breaking the seals and
openino the door into the committee