In these times, social media is often accused of making us a less civil society. Its critics believe that the relative anonymity of these platforms make it easier to post derogatory comments without fear of retaliation than it would be if the people involved had to express themselves face-to-face. Some of these same critics long for the "good old days" when life was simpler and saner, and people were more cautious in the way they approached those who might not agree with them. I would caution those who long for those days to be very careful what you wish for. The next two blog posts will look at two confrontations that took place in Kingstree back in the so-called "good old days." We will see that the local weekly newspapers were sometimes used in much the same way that social media platforms are used today. And sometimes when those who disagreed met face to face, the encounter resulted in physical aggression. Let's begin.
The first of these incidents took place in 1903, almost a hundred years before social media became a part of our everyday lives. Today's newspapers require a signature on letters to the editor, but in those days, it was more common to find a letter written and signed with a clever pen name. Such was the case of a letter that appeared on the front page of the June 11, 1903, County Record. The lengthy letter was signed, "More Anon," and while it was rambling and non-specific in its charges, it contained sentences like this: "...in some other communities, Kingstree, for instance, where incompetency and reckless extravagance (saying nothing of what might be termed dishonesty) reign and have had, up to recently, full and unmolested sway." Clearly, the writer was accusing the mayor and town council of corruption. (You can read the full letter under the headline "Attacking Town Council" by clicking here.)
The next week's paper contained a letter signed by Dr. A.M. Snider, a prominent local dentist. He admitted to writing the "More Anon" letter and noted that Mayor John A. Kelley had invited him to investigate the town's financial records, which he had done, and was now admitting that he had previously been misinformed and wished to apologize for and withdraw his earlier statements.
You'd think that might be the end of the matter. Not by a long shot.
The following week, another lengthy letter from Dr. Snider appeared. This time, he accused Mayor Kelley of forcing him under duress to sign the letter published June 18. He stated that Kelley was out of town when the original "More Anon" letter was published, but when he returned, he sent E.C. Epps to see Snider. Epps asked Snider to attend a meeting in the mayor's law office to discuss the letter. Snider wrote that he had reluctantly agreed. He had expected this to be a private meeting with Mayor Kelley, but when he arrived, he wrote, he found C.E. St. Amand, the town clerk; F.W. Fairey, one of Kelley's employees in the law office; and LeRoy Lee, another of Kingstree's prominent attorneys, there with the mayor.
Snider wrote that Kelley informed him that St. Amand was there to go over the town's ledger with him. Snider replied that he didn't feel competent enough in accounting to review the books, but he would like an outside accountant to go over them. Kelley insisted that the clerk provide a review then and there, and St. Amand went over the ledger entries from January through May, 1903. When he finished, Kelley asked Snider if he saw any discrepancies. Snider said he had not, but added that he was not sure he could recognize any problems that someone might want to conceal and would still like for a certified accountant to verify the transactions.
According to Snider, the mayor then produced an already prepared letter for Snider to sign in which Snider would state that he had been misinformed and that the books were in good shape. Snider refused, noting that Kelley then flew into a rage, beating Snider with his walking cane. Snider wrote that C.E. St. Amand tried to stop the mayor, but Kelley refused to listen to him and continued to hit Snider with his cane.
Snider reported that the chair in which he was sitting tipped over under the onslaught of the mayor's wrath, throwing him to the floor, where Kelley straddled him, pummeling him in the face with his fists. Snider wrote that St. Amand again tried to stop the mayor from his attack, but the mayor ordered him to desist. Snider said that under attack, he agreed to sign the letter, and only then did the mayor stop hitting him. Snider said he signed the letter, but he now felt the public had the right to know the conditions under which it had been signed.
The controversy continued into July, with editors C.W. Wolfe of The County Record and P.H. Stoll of The Weekly Mail publishing letters from someone using the name "Fair Play." Fair Play turned out to be former mayor, Captain W.H. Kennedy, whom Kelley had defeated in 1901 by a 39-28 vote margin. In fact, The Weekly Mail had been publishing Fair Play's letters for some time. They were written with much the same tone as the "More Anon" letter, vaguely accusing the mayor and town council of misappropriating town funds.
Wolfe and Stoll jointly interviewed both Kennedy and Snider, asking them to provide specific allegations of wrongdoing on behalf of the town so that the newspapers could investigate the issues and examine the records in order to substantiate the allegations. Kennedy "unhesitatingly and unequivocally stated that he knew of no discrepancies in the books or misappropriation of funds, had heard of none and had charged none." Snider declined to specify what irregularities his letters had alluded to.
Mayor Kelley wrote to the papers, stating that he had asked E.C. Epps, an expert accountant, to be present to review the ledger with Snider, but Epps had declined. Kelley also presented a sworn statement from LeRoy Lee detailing what had transpired with Snider in Kelley's office and affidavits from Fairey and St. Amand acknowledging the truthfulness of Lee's statement.
While Lee's accounting of what generally transpired matched Snider's, he differed with him on many of the details. He stated he arrived at Kelley's office while St. Amand was reviewing the financial records with Snider and offered to come back later, but both Kelley and Snider asked him to stay. When the presentation was over, Lee noted that Kelley asked Snider to apologize, and that Snider said that while he saw nothing immediately wrong with the figures, he was not prepared to issue an apology that afternoon. Kelley then demanded an apology, and Snider again refused.
Lee wrote that Kelley then asked Snider if he was armed. When Snider said he was not, Kelley closed and locked the office door and retrieved his "palmetto walking cane from the chimney corner" and attempted to strike Dr. Snider. Lee wrote that C.E. St. Amand jumped between them, receiving a blow to his arm. Kelley again attempted to strike Snider, and St. Amand again interceded, this time receiving a blow to the head. At that point, Lee reported, he pulled St. Amand out of the way.
Lee stated that Snider rose from his chair, and that he and Kelley "clinched," with Kelley taking him down easily. Kelley then began hitting Snider in the face with his fists. Snider begged Lee to "get this man off me," which Lee refused to do until Snider agreed to an apology. Snider agreed, and Kelley produced the already-prepared letter which Snider signed.
Lee wrote that Kelley then asked if anyone had helped Snider write the "More Anon" letter. Snider denied that he had had help, but when Kelley persisted, Snider acknowledged that Capt. Kennedy had written perhaps one-third of the letter. Lee noted that Kelley then asked why Snider had approached W.T. Wilkins and told him that the accusations didn't apply to him, but only to Kelley and M.F. Heller. Snider denied doing that, but Kelley stated that Wilkins had told him otherwise.
Lee said Snider then asked for water, and F.W. Fairey escorted him to the back of the office where he washed up. When he returned, Lee wrote, Snider told Kelley that he did not blame him. Kelley reportedly replied, "I am sorry that you have been made a fool and used as a cat's paw by W.H. Kennedy." Lee wrote that Snider said that if his back and kidneys had been well, he would have put up a better fight, and Kelley offered Snider another chance "when your back and kidneys are well." An editorial in the Charleston Evening Post concluded that "anyone engaging in polemics should look well to the state of their back and kidneys, if they hope to overcome error by argument." (It should be noted that Snider was 61 years old, and Kelley was 54 at the time of the altercation.)
C.W. Wolfe, in an editorial in The County Record, wrote that while neither Snider nor Kennedy offered any evidence of misappropriation, there had been many rumors in town about the council's role in a school bond appropriation. There had also been rumors about Councilman M.F. Heller ordering the town to pay for street repairs that may not have been authorized by full council. Rumors continued to swirl after the fight, and Wolfe and Stoll continued to seek interviews with Snider and/or Kennedy, with no satisfaction. In late July, Wolfe wrote, "No man of intelligence would do what they have done without a motive. To fathom their motive would be to plunge too deep in the realms of conjecture. As far as we are concerned, the whole affair is closed."
But, of course, it was not. In early August, P.H. Stoll wrote an editorial in The Weekly Mail, noting that while he was on vacation, his newspaper had published a letter from Capt. Kennedy, accusing Stoll of lying about Stoll and Wolfe's conversations with Kennedy concerning the various allegations about the town council. Stoll wrote that when he and Wolfe interviewed Kennedy, the former mayor alleged that town council had misappropriated dispensary funds by using them to repair streets. Now, Stoll wrote, Kennedy was claiming that he had merely asked about the use of those funds. Stoll said he had pointed out at the time of the interview that council could use its portion of the dispensary money in any way it saw fit and that was why that particular allegation had never been addressed by his newspaper.
Stoll then wrote that he believed Kennedy was still upset about losing the mayor's race to Kelley. Stoll suggested that Kennedy might be planning to run again for mayor and was using these allegations to attempt to discredit the mayor and council. Stoll noted that Kennedy "thought a little insinuation here and there, and a big loophole yonder, where he could skip out, if cornered, would be good politics on his part." Stoll wrote that he had no axe to grind, but that Kennedy "has several axes to grind and is anxious to pull himself out of the hole by pulling me into it."
The controversy was finally put to rest when Dr. Snider personally hired Georgetown attorney Walter Hazard and accountant Julian Beatty to investigate the town's financial reports. After spending an entire day reviewing the records, Hazard refused to comment to the press without the permission of the party/parties who had hired him. However, County Treasurer R.D. Rollins was present during the review as a representative for town council, and he reported that all accounts were in order, that a $290.08 debt left to the present council by the outgoing council had been properly paid using ordinary town funds. He also noted that dispensary money had been properly disbursed to the school and to the town and used according to all guidelines.
Next time we'll look at a war of words that also played out in the pages of the weekly newspaper.
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