The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1915-10-20
Police IN THE ROW
CHARLESTON OFFICERS FIRED
GUNS INTO CROWDED ROOM
Chief shot At brown

Witnesses Describe Affray-Chair
man Blacks Appeals for Order Dis
regarded as Sergeant Pulls Gun OF
Him-Witness Saw Policeman IL
Uniform Fire Four Times.
Stories of eye-witnesses of the
shooting in the executive committee
, room at Charleston on Friday which
eventuated in the killing of Sidney J
Cohen and the wounding of four 9th
| er men agree that there was wild dis
| order and that the police of Charles
ton took part in it. Shots were fired
clubs used, citizens hustled and beat
d, en-, according to these accounts.
A staff correspondent of The State
says Chief Cantwell Of the Charles
ton police force is said to have WELD
ed his pistol in the fracas. ]. J.
| Healy,.a deputy sheriff, said: ''Chief
Cantwell fred a shot at Henry Brown
while several men were holding
Brown Some one, think Mr.. Rob-
son, grabbed Chief Centwell's hand
with the pistol in it and begged him
not to shoot
J. W. Robson, an East Bay mer-
chant, said: 81 saw with my own eyes
several persons rush at man whom
I did not know and force him back,
about half-sitting, at the middle win
dow on the east side of the building.
Chief Cantwen came up and delib-
erately fired with his pistol at his
head. I caught his arm and said,
Don't do that! Don't do that! 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 window on the east side Of
the room, with three or four men
crowding him. while this was 60
ing on, saw Chief Cantwell come up
with his pistol in his hand and fire a
shot at this mans head. In the con-
fusion I did not recognize the man.
I saw no pistol in his hand"
Nath. B. Barnwell, a member of
the committee, said: ''In the midst
of the shooting, Chief Cantwell dash
ed into the room with drawn pistol
and when he. got into the room he
raised it and I believe fred
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 twenty min
uteS.
Joseph A. Black. chairman Of the
city Democratic executive committee,
is positive that the first shot was fired
in the anteroom. ION seeing pistols
flourishing there" he said, II hur-
ried to the telephone to notify Sheriff
Martin fthe trouble. Some man,
quite an old man, cut at me with
knife. I lodged and he slightly
wounded my left arm Capt. Black
said he then appealed to Police Ser
geant Quinn to restore order, but the
sergeant's reply was to draw a re-
volver on him.
Some man in the crowd called
out, Here is the -- -, III get
him. and he threw his pistol UP at
me. Thinking I was in for a shot, l
instinctively put my arm before my
face. At this moment a short was
fred from the direction from which
this man was coming. Then l saw
the young newspaper man (Sidney j.
Cohen) on the floor at my feet.
II pulled away and at that time
some one else was yelling, There
goes the we want I saw
Chief Cantwell at the window with
pistol in his hand as though he were
going to shoot some one who was
bending over at the window. can
not say whether he shot or not. l
have made it a rule to go unarmed
all the time 1 have been serving as
chairman of the executive committee.
I am a strong Hyde supporter every
chairman is strong supporter OF one
side of the other-but ! have dealt
fairly with both sides. Some OF the
best men in the city are on my com
mittee and though dissenslon deVel-
oped early, we could have got on
pretty we'll if it had not been for
trouble 1lOlu IuS OulSlue.
.'Who or what started the shooting
I do not know and I can not say !
saw anybody actually shoot anybody
else," said Nath. B. Barnwell, mem
Der of the committee. Mr.. BarnWell
has served several terms in the lower
house Of the general assembly as a
member from Charleston. He is q
lawyer.
"a commotion started in the ante
rocm," Mr.. Barnwell said, "and from
where I was sitting it looked as
though a fight was going on. l heard
Goldman's name mentioned. / heard
a pistol shot in the anteroom and the
crowd came breaking into the COM
mittee room.
1.-THE only man I recognized was
". E. Wingate, who had been stand
ing in the doorway and who came in
at the head Of the crowd. The police
man in the doorway was swept aside.
As the crowd surged in the shooting
started, regular fusillade, apparent
" from sevedal pistols. In the midst
of the shooting Chief Cantwell dash
ed into the room with pistol drawn,
and when he got inside he raised it
and. 1 believe, fired, although the
scuffle Of people trying to get out
prevents me from being positive os to
this. I did not see Mr.. Cohen shot
and did not know until afterward
that he was shot. I was unarmed.
When I left several men were on the
floor. I recognized among them only
w. E. Wingate. There were in the
building amply sufficient policemen
to prevent any disorder, but when the
shooting started they were conspicu-
ousIy absent from the committee
room.
81 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.
thor want with Cant Black and