The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1922-09-09
OUTRAGEOUS
DOUBLE MURDER
IN YORK COUNTY

Neig:hbors With a
Shotgun-Two Kill
ed, -Four Wounded
York, Sept. 6.-TaRing up a
children's1e quarrel and using a
shotgun loaded with buckshot,
William c. Faris. 60, textile work
er of Clover. ten miles north of
York. killed Claude Johnson. 21.
and Newton Taylor, 13, and wound
ed Fred Taylor, 81, Miss Gertrude
Taylor. Is, Miss LEILA Taylor, Is,
and Dollie Taylor, 9.
Johnson was killed instantly.
Newton Taylor died one hour later
| on the opera ting table Of a hospital
in Gastonia, n. c., - miles distant,
where all the wounded were hur-
ried Immediately. He suffered q
perforations of the intestines and
died as the 24th puncugre was be-
ing sewed up.
Fred Taylor is not expected to
live, according to information from
the hospital at o'clock tonight
He was shot through the lungs and
will likely succunb TO internal
hemorrhages. The other victims of
the tragedy are expected to recov-
er, though Miss Gertrude Taylor
will have a paralyzed arm as the
result of severed nerves.
Following the shooting. Faris
surrendered to John A. Jackson Of
Clover, chief of police, who lodged
him in the York county jail at
O'clock. On account of the excite
ment and indignation prevailing in
Clover which made mob violence a
possibility, Sheriff Fred E. Quinn
took Faris out of the York Jail at
O'clock this afternoon and re-
moved him to another place. Sher-
iff Quinn, accompanied by Police
man r. E. Steele of York, left with
his prisoner in an automobile and
from the direction taken it is pre-
sumed that they went to the state
penitentiary in Columbia. There
was open talk in Clover Of meet
ing out summary punishment to
Faris.
An inquest will be held tomorrow
morning. being postponed from this
afternoon on account Of the ab-
sence of Coroner Paul G. Nc
corkle of York.
Faris did the, shooting from the
front porch of his home, firing
across narrow street into the Tay-
lor yard, Immediately opposite.
A quarrel between the children
OF the two families is said to have
precipitated the tragedy. It ap-
pears that the children were quar-
reling about we'll used Jointly
by both families when Faris
plunged into the affair by getting
his shotgun and opening fire at all
the Taylors in sight. So far as is
known, all of them were shot down
without offering any resistance
Though there were several eye
witnesses, some of the details OF
the killing are conflicting, and 1t
will take an inquest TO clear them
up. Johnson was a relative OF the
Taylors and lived with them. The
well that was the source Of the
trouble was recently cleaned out by
Faris, it is said, and his children
accused the Taylor children of
throwing trash into it and other
wise polluting the water.
Faris said after the killing that
he had been threatened by the
Taylors. He declined to talk about
the affair when in the York Jail
this afternoon. Faris has been
living in Clover for several years
and is native of northern York.
He has a wife and several chill
dren. He bears the reputation of
being a dangerous man. having
figured in many rows of a MINOR
nature. He has retained Thomas
F. McDow to defend him, it is un-
derstood. Criminal court con-
venes here Monday, but it is not
likely that his case will be heard
then. The Taylor family moved to
Clover from Gastonia six months
ago. J. NJ. Taylor. head Of the
family. was at work in the mill OF
the Clover Manufacturing COM
pany when the killing occurred.