The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1922-03-29
GREENVILLE SOLICITOR
PRAISES JUDGE GARY
Solicitor Says Judge Gary Alone
Could Stop reign of Terror"
Commends Jurors.

One acquittal since last November
in Greenville county. Five solid
weeks of court in the Thirteenth Cir
cult (Greenville and Pickens coun-
ties) and only one man acquitted.
This is the record of the work done
in the court of general session since
Judge Frank B. Gary of Abbeville,
came to the circuit-a record that
called forth from Solicitor David W.
Smoak today a statement praising
Judge Gary and the grand and petit
juries, described by the solicitor as
the "reasons for the wonderful sue
cess of the past few months"
The record of convictions in Green
vile county for the two terms Of ses-
sions court just passed is unprece-
denied without doubt, the claim to
distinction of the two terms being
that only one mot guilty" verdict
was returned, that in the case of W.
e. (Stub) Turner, former West
Greenville police chief, who was &C
quilted last week of a charge Of
rape. During the term Of sessions
court preceding the session which
closed Saturday not a single ac-
quittal verdict was returned in a
total of thirty cases disposed of. The
record for the one-week term held
in Pickens county last month is al
most as remarkable, there being only
a single defendant freed out of a
number of cases tried. This mans
case, however, could hardly be called
an acquittal as the co-defendant in
! dicted with him received a heavy SEN
tence.
The term of court which closed
here Saturday was remarkable again
in that four men. received the death
sentence in the course of the session.
Two of them, however, had previous
ly been sentenced to death and were
brought here to be re-sentenced. T.
Jeff Chandler, Otto Sullivan, Civ
Hawkins and Will Hood were the
four whose doom was pronounced by
Judge Gary.
Asked today for his opinion as to
the reasons for the remarkable rec
ord Of the two terms Of court in
Greenville county and the. single
term in Pickens county, Solicitor
Smoak declared: "The reasons are
just two-frst, Judge Gary; second,
good jurors" !
courteous, courageous, firm as a
general at the front, one Of the best
Iawyers on the bench in the South, a
gentleman Of the old school, Judge
Frank B. Gary Of Abbeville, is in my
opinion the ideal judge" said Solici-
tor Smoak.
Continuing the solicitor declared:
HE is decidedly a law enforcement
Judge, too. He did more to arouse the
conscience of Gfeenville county in
one hours charge to the grand jury
last January than I was able to do
as solicitor my whole first year in
office. In these piping times men Of
his type r worth their weight in
gold; almost by himself Judge Gary
would stop the reign of terror in the
Thirteenth Circuit. I see him leave
the circuit with genuine regret and
if the time ever comes while I am in
Office that a law should be passed ro-
tating the solicitors in the state like
judges, I think 1 shall be asked to go
around with Judge Gary"
. GAS for the jurors" said the solicit
tor, "their record of the past few
months speaks for itself. In my opin-
ion the names of the men who have
so faithfully served the people this
year both as grand jurors and petit
jurors should be written in marble
and placed in the court house as an
example of the highest type Of
South Carolina citizenship"
Judge Gary will return to Green
vile to preside over the April term
of the court of common pleas, open
ing Monday, and his service in the
county will then have been conclud-
ed until he comes to the circuit again