Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1923-05-12
STORY Of PEONAGE ATROC|TY COMES
TO LIGHT WHEN THE SOUTH CAROLINA SUPREME
COURT REVIEWS CASE Of MAN SENTENCED tn DIE
Orders New Trial in Case Of ored Man. Who Was Mobbed and
Robbed, Then Sentenced to Death-Baby and Wife Were
Also Beaten White People Refused to Pay Laborers

A story of mob outrage committed
by white men of Saluda County, South
Carolina, upon peaceable and well-to
DO Negro, who was robbed and ther,
sentenced to death and for whom a
new trial has been ordered by the
STATE supreme Court was made pub
| lie today by the National Association
Tor the Advancement of Colored Peo-
ple., 20 Fifth Avenue New York City.
| The story is given in letter written
by the Negro, Elliott Culbreath as tot
lows:
my trouble arrived on the 4th SAT.
urday night in November 1920. I was
in my bed asleep and a mob Of white
men came to my house and started
shooting and why they did that I
don't know. They never said hello or
an. thing and they broke the back
d"or open. My wife and children were
! taken, both-and my wife and chill
dren began screaming and yelling and
my wife was holding the front door
and one Of the children. One woke me
up They were shooting in the house
and 1 asked them, what the matter
was and they said to me- there Is a
crowd out there after you. Iran to the
back door and they shot at me and I
ran behind the bed and got my pistol
and 1 shot 2 (shots) out of the door.
But 1 did not hit anybody. When they
stopped shooting they ran to the
woods and stayed there a quarter of
an hour and 1 heard them coming
back.
They called my wife and asked
. her hadn't they killed me and she
told them. no: he has just left here
and they went behind the house and
looked in the alley. And they founl
one of their men dead and they said
L thought that had killed the mig
GER; 1 shot the wrong man. MY wife
tod the next meaning (wlrat had been
said) and they beat her and put her
III Jail and kept her there three
, months They told her if she told
, "hai they said, thy would kill her
That morning icy ran them all
, away from home and beat them all
and the little baby was crying 70:
I brCid and they knocked hole in nv
baby's head with a pistol They STAY
ed there and ate my food for two
weeks. They left their automobile and
slept there. They got there at IL
o'clock at night. II they had called me
: would have gone anywhere they
wanted me to. Because have never
done anything to anybody. My pistol
was 80 (calibre) and the man was
killed with a :3S. You see that there
was no way for me to kill that man
and the paper stated that he was kill
ed with .3S calibre. They came over
here to the state penitentiary three
times trying to make me tell them
who done the killing They are now
punish.ng me for it and know they
punished me for what one of their
own men did. They said I shot him
through the crack and there is no
crack in my house. asked the law
yer to go to my house and look be
cause there is no crack in my house.
They whipped all the colored peo-
pie so that they all are scared to do
anything to help me. had about 300
acres OF land and I only tended to q
horse farm for myself and / worked
3 horse farm for the white folks and
let the best Of my land lay out. / haa
not got anything out of the 5 horse
farm that 1 worked for and / ran a s.
horse farm in all. was not half done
picking cotton and had not gathered
none OF my corn. l always make one
hundred bales Of cotton and 1900 bush.
els OF corn. / had the best crop that
had in some time. owed some on my
! land but 1T was not much But / had
made arrangement with the Federal
Bank of Columbia. S. c., and was look
ing for the check the same week that
this trouble happened to me.
They had loaned me $1S00.50 to
pay up what is owed and the same
time the trouble happened. They took
all that l had even to my household
and kitchen furniture and they took
my clothes and wife's clothes and ali
the chickens and my gun out of my
house. They took $50 chickens. Ia
hogs; turkeys; 6 geese; $50 gallons
or syrup; 10 bushels of peanuts: all
or my sweet potatoes, about 25 or 80
bushels and about 20 bushels of peas.
! They took my gold watch valued at
$50 and my wife's watch valued at SEC
, and the girls watch worth $35 and $65
! in cash and a car worth $70O.-The
whole value is about $4,000. My tax
bill was from $50 to $S5 every year
and l always have arranged to pay
them.
! My wife has not been back there
since this trouble happened and move
or the children neither. I will tell you
all to boot that they even burned up
my fathers fine big house. Write to Ep
worth. S. c.. to en-. Dane, he will ten
you all about it. Mr.. Els my law
yer but he don't seem to do anything
for me. Dear sir If you can please help
for l have not had fair trial and
they will not give me no fair trial in
South Carolina
When they tried me the last time
the jury brought out a verdict OF no.
guilty and the Judge made them 60
back in the room and change their de
cision. My lawyer left before the jury
came out and the judge told me that
one juror gave me life and eleven
wanted to turn me loose. The sheriff
told my wife that IL she would swear
for me. that they were going to kill
her or any of the rest of my people
and they were scared to come to the
court house and tell the truth about IT,
you know they did not have a right
to come to my house at IL o'clock at
ILL.,