Abbeville Press and Banner Established 1844. $2.00 Year. Tri-Weekly Abbeville, S. C., Friday, May 26,1922. Single Copies, Five Cents. 78th Year. v.V3 REDUCTION IN JULY FOR FREIGHT RATES AMOUNTS EQUAL TEN PER CENT OF PRESENT LEVELS UNDER DECISION OF INTER rAIIlfl C dlAl?> wnu?itivvii vunuiuj SION. Washington, May 24.?Railroad freight rates will be reduced on July 1 by amounts equal to 10 per cent of their present levels under a decision of the interstate commerce commission announced today. Prac tically all classes and commodities of traffic are affected Dy tne reduc tion which marked the conclusion of the investigation begun last au tumn by the commission on its own initiative into the reasonableness of existing freight levels. Agricultural products in all sec tions of the country outside of New England, live stock and Western grain and grain products are the chief commodities excluded from the reduction, these comprising the freight classifications upon which reductions have been recently put into t.Tcct. Passenger charges and Pullman' fares also are left un changed. The commission announced aiss its determination of 5.75 per cent, as the reasonable annual return which carriers in the future will be entitled to earn on their capital in vestment. This compares with 6 per cent., the reasonable return level fixed under the transportation act for the period expiring March 1. Railroads were requested to sig nify to the commission before May 31 whether they would voluntarily make new schedules complying with the. decision, or require the commis sion to issue its formai and detail ed order for the alteration. On the statement of the commis sion that all fredght revenues in 1921 approximated $400,000,000, 000 today's decision will reduce the national freight bill by $400,_ 000,000 per year. As stated in technical language to the railroads the commission said that after July 1 it would hold un reasonable rates "including more than the following percentage of incitose over the rates in effect im mediately prior to August 26 1920" and set up the territorial schedules as follows: "In the Eastern group, also be tween points in Illinois territory, and between Illinois territory and the- Eastern group, 26 per cent in stead of the 40 per cent authorized in the decisions last cited. (Increas rvy-1 nf 1 Q9H \ "LI 1 avCO V/4. *VMV> ,'In the Western gToup and be tween the Western group and Illi nois territory, 21.5 per cent instead of the. 35 per cent so authorized. "In the Southern and mountain Pacific groups, 12.5 per cent. in_ 3tead of the 25 per cent so authoriz ed. "In inter-territorial traffic except is otherwise provided herein, 20 per cent instead of the 33 1-3 pe?r ;ent, so authorized. The commis sion, after reviewing the arguments :or and against rate reductions as i.iHp before it bv shippers, rail. K>ads and representatives of geo raphical areas of the country, de clared that as rates had been push ed up by horizontal percentage, in [eases "a similar process should be followed" in bringing them dow*n [to meet lowered expense of opera lion." This coincided with the argu ments which President Harding ad I bvforc executives at a din ler conference last week. v nn this noint tha: I" ? ' - - uppk>mental and dissenting opin_ ins were, filed. Chairman McCord nd Commissioners Lewis and Cox ivocated sharper commodity re Iictions. vainer man me uuutuu 1 cuts decided upon by the ma. rity. McChord likewise dissented the 5.75 per cent, fair return vvhHe Commissioner Poi MAJORITY PUNS TO SEBUM! TARIFF FIGHT MAY GROW MORI INTERESTING. ?UNDERWOOI SERVES NOTICE FROM MINOR ITY SIDE THAT SPIRITED CON TEST WILL DEVELOP. Washington, May 25.?Cloture a a means of cutting down debate 01 the tariff was proposed today at i conference of Republican senator and was discussed later in the senat< Opposition to the suggestion develop ed on both sides of the chamber Democrats giving formal warninj that any effort by the majority t( put over a "gag" rule would be re sisted to the utmost. The proposal will be discussed fur ther at a second majority conferenc* Saturday. As drafted the rule would appl] mot alone to the pending tariff bill | but to all revenue and appropria jtions measures. It will not apply t( any other legislation and would leave senators free to discuss any othei general legislation. Under the rule after a revenue ap propriation bill has been before tht senate five days, 16 senators coul< present a motion for cloture and, iJ sustained by a majority, vote th< time of each senator desiring to speal would be limited to one hour on th< bill and two minutes on any amenu ment, with the requirement that th< debate be confined to the subjeci matters before the senate. Many of the leaders on the Repub lican side heretofore have opposec cloture and today a number of ma jority senators expressed douibt as tc the advisability of injecting a clo ture contest into the tariff situatior believing that it would delay rathei than expedite, action on the bill. Ad Jvocates of the cloture rule contend | ed, however, that time would be sav led in the end. ! RETURN TO NEW YORK Mr. and Mrs. Kerr Belcher anc son, David, returned today to theii home in New York City after j stav of one month in Abbeville witl relatives and friends. Mr. and Mrs. Belcher have en joyed their visit South, and th< people of Abbeville were delightec to have them here. Mr. Belchei spent his 'boyhood in Abhe ville and as the years passed h< longed for the boyhood scenes am haunts of other days. About five years ago he marriet Miss Margaret Jeanne in the St Matthews Cathedral at Dallas, Tex as. They have one son, David, whi returns to New York and will b< oklo +ft to.11 Kva vminfr -fripnds hfW his father behaved when he .was i a boy, such as untying the horse hitched to racks on the publii square. on Saturday afternoons an< running off out to the Gilliams an< following the "thresher" about th country, when threshers made pil grimages from farm to farm am took toll from each farmer fo wheat threshed. The pity is tha David will never know the joys o lying in a straw pile while the sui beats down and hearing the negroe talk and work and laugh. REV. LOUIS J. BRISTOW Rev. Louis J. Bristow left t.ida for his home in Selma, Ala., after ; pleasant visit to relatives and hi i friend, Mr. C. D. Brown. j te-r suggested also reductions i j passenger rates. "Practically all agree that sta bility of freight is highly desira hie," and majority opinion declare "and that normal traffic may no well be expected until the presen widespread expectation of rate i realized or dispelled. To assum that rates can or should be stabiliz ed on the prese-nt high basis is fu tile." CONTRACT ILLEGAL D POWER CO. CONTRACT BUR DENSOME |FOR GOVERN-i MENT IN THAT IT GAVE IT EXCLUSIVE RIGHT TO PUR CHASE Washington, 'May 25.?An opin ion hv Attorney General Daug-herty S< bo submitted to Secretary Weeks and forwarded today to the house mili tary committee holds that the con tract executed by the government with the Alabama Power company is "invalid" with respect to the pro vision which power company official contend gives them the right of ex clusive purchase of the govern ment's interests in the steam power plant at {Jorgas, Alabama. The opinion was presented to the onrnmittiin hv {"Ihairman Kahn im mediately upon its receipt from the war department, titfe committee having been called to consider the document in connection with the investigation of 'proposals made by I Henry Ford and other private inter ests to develop the. government's power and nitrate projects at Muscle Shoals. Members of the compiitt&e who favored the Ford proposal said the opinion was of the greatest impor. tance with respect to the ultimate action upon the proposal in con gress. Mr. Ford proposed to pur chase the nitrate plant and, under his offer would receive clear title to the power station at Gorgas. Vice President. Hammitt of the Air Nitrates corporation, and Thomas Martin, president of the Alabama Power company both had served notice to the committee that the interest they represented confi dently expected the government to live up to the terms of the respect ive contracts and in the event of failure on the part of the govern ment would institute court proceed ings to prevent the delivery of the properties to other private inter ests. The powder company, pursuant to the terms of the contract with the war department recently made of fer to Secretary Weeks of $2y500, 000 for the government's inter est in the Gorgas plant, the railroad and transmission line to Muscle Shoals. TALK TWO BILLION LOAN FOR GERMANY Morgan and Other World Finan ciera Discuat the Matter In Paris. Paris, May 25.?Leading bankers from many nations, with J. P. Mor gan as the American representative were in Paris today to discuss fin ancial means for the settlement of the European situation, with a loan to Germany considered as one of the first measures necessary. Informal discussions among the lnanciers pre liminary to the meeting indicated that a loan to Germany must be of considerable magnitude to bring about a real settlement and assure that a fresh crisis will not spring up within a few months. The figures mentioned ranged from $500,000,000 to $2,000,000,0oo, the latter apparently meeting with the most favor. Such a loam, however, would be contingent, it is understood upon a decisive revision downward 11 in the cash reparation payments de manded from Germany. MR. ASHLEY LOSES GIN HOUSE. While attendincr the funeral of his uncle Mr. K. W. Ashley at Keowee, Joe M. If. Ashley of Ilonea Path lost his jjin house and machinery on last Thursday night the 18th. A loss of $20,000 was sustained, which was j partly covered by insurance. The & oriuin of the fire is unknown. at Dr. Jack Pressly went to And erson today on business. Ibj IEATH FOR FOUR - IN EXPLOSION XLDLERS KILLED AT CAMP jHRAiGG?SHRAPNEL PROJEC TILE FALLS SHORT IN RANGE, STRIKES TREE AND EXPLODES Fayettavdlle, N. C., May ' 25.?A ard of inquiry consisting of sev al officers has been approved by jn. A. J. BoWley, comandant at imp Bragg near here, to inquire to the explosion of a shrapnel ojectile which f&ll short fin range Camp Bragg this morning, killing ur enlisted men and wounding ree men and one officer. The >ard will make its report to the ir department. The accident occurred abors of Battery E, Fifth field artil ry, were seriously injured. Capt. M. A. Dawson was struck the foot by a piece of shell but s injuries are not considered rious. Sergeant Smith was opera d on late today and officials at the mp reported that he came rough the operation successfully d is now resting easily. Private vl was reported resting comfort ly tonight and it is believed he 11 recover. Many narrow escapes from the -r>]nsk?n -vUere irenorted. There }Tq a large number of officers d men in close proximity to the ene of the explosion and when the ell hurst fragments were scatter for many yards in every direc >n. ! INJURED WHEN TRAIN HIT TROi-LEY mfusions of Signals At Crossing Caused the Accident At Woodlawn Birmingham, May 25.?Thirty persons were injured several riously, when a Tidewater car, on les of the Birmingham Railway,! ght and Power Company was ruck by a freight train today on e Alabama Great Southern rail ad at Woodlawn station, a sub to. Confusion in following signals of crossing fiagman was said to ive caused the accident. The trolley car, of heavy interur in type was 'broken In two. The lgine drawing 45 empty cars was 'railed by the impact and ran on e tires nearly 300 feet before iming to a stop. The car was inbound and was owded with suburbanites on their ay to work. fTEND PAGEANT AT LANDER Among those from Abbeville who tended the great historical pageant Oreo:-woo'' Inst overing given members of the faculty and all e students of Lander College ire: Mr. and Mrs. Jas. S. Coch n, Miss Hannah Cochran, W. Hill and William Hill. The pageant w.~ .1 history of T roller"" oin its beginning fifty voavs ago Williamston up to the present day. The pageant was greatly enjoyed ' those who attended from here. FULL ITINERARY ANNOUNCED BY SUBCOMMITTEE f DATE FOR SPEAKERS FIXED FOR SPARTANBURG IN AB BEVILLE AUGUST 17. Candidates for states offices and congress from the Seventh district will fire their opening guns in Colum bia this summer, according to the campaign itinerary announced Wed nesday by a subcommittee of the state Democratic executive committee This committee, composed of Gen. Wilie Jones, George Bell Timmerman and H. N. Edmunds, was named at the executive committee meeting in con nection with the state convention and instructed to map out an itinerary. June 20 is the opening day and August 25 is the closing date, the last meeting being in Spartanburg. From Columbia the campaigners jump in order named to Lexington, Saluda, Edgefield and Aiken during the first week. From July 8 to July 17 rest is provided for and again from August 5 to August 14 a rest period is in the itinerary. The sched ule includes congressional speakers. Full Itinerary. The full itinerary as announced by the subcommittee is as follows: Columbia, Tuesday, June 20. Lexington, Wednesday, June 21. | Saluda, Thursday, June 22. Edgefield, Friday, June 23. Aiken, Saturday, June 24. Barnwell, Monday, June 26. Allendale, Tuesday, June 27. Hamptos, Wednesday, June 28. Beaufort, Thursday, June 29. Ridgeland, Friday, June 30. Walterboro, Saturday, July 1. 1 Moncks Corner, Monday, July 3. Charleston, Tuesday, July 4. St. George, Wednesday, July 5. Bamberg, Thursday, July 6. St. Matthews, Friday, July 7. Orangeburg, Saturday, July 8. Rett Eight Day*. Sumter, Monday, July 17. Bishopville, Tuesday, July 18. Darlington, Wednesday, July 19. Bennettsville, Thursday July 20. Chesterfield, Friday, July 21. [Florence, Saturday, July 22. Conway, Monday, July 24. Marion, Tuesday, July 25. Dillon, Wednesday, July 26. Kinstree, Thursday, July 27. Georgetown, Friday, July 28. Manning, Saturday, July 29. Camden, Monday, July 31* Lancaster, Tuesday, August 1. | York, Wednesday, August 2. J Winnsboro, Thursday, August 3. Chester, Friday, August 4. Union, Saturday, August 5. Another Reat. Newberry, Monday, August 14. Greenwood, Tuesday, August 15. Laurens, Wednesday, August 16. Abbeville, Thursday, August 17. McCormick, Friday, August 18. Anderson, Saturday, August 19. Walhalla, Monday, August 21. Pickens, Tuesday, August 22. Greenville, Wednesday, August 23. Gaffney, Thursday, August 24. Spartanburg, Friday, August 25. KNIGHTS RETURN. Dr. G. A. Neuffer and Mr. C. D. Brown have returned from Spartan burg where they attended the meet ing of the grand lodge of South Car olina Knights of Pythias. Aikan is to be the next meeting place. The fol lowing new officers were elected: j James H. Craig of Anderson, grand vice chancellor; John M. Hemphill, j Chester, grand prelate; C. D. Brown, Abbeville, grand keeper of records land seal; Governor Wilson G. Har jvey, ?rand master of exchequer; E. ' n T ornnflcs. Walterboro. grand mas tor at arms; W. D. Murphy, Spar tanburg, grand inner guard; Abe Jlirill, Spartanburg, grand outer guard I Grand Chancellor Guilds who held the , office of Grand Vice Chancellor, suc ceeds Henry C: Tillman of Green [wood. S TARIFF CLASH FIGHT OVER DUTIES ON GRA PHITE SPLITS BOTH REPUBLI CAN AND DEMOCRATIC RANKS nrcnor nrncinN i? or 4ru :-Vp * vr-i? ED.?ROLL CALLS FOLLOW. Washington, May 24.?Practically all of the daylight hours today were spent by the senate in a fight over the tariff duties on graphite, which split both the Republican and, Demo cratic ranks, but left the finance com mittee majority victorious. Assault after assault was made on the com mittee proposals, with roll call fol lowing roll call, hut each was re rmlaoH flio rlnfmc Vtainrv o a M XvVj \:T yv*iov.uj v*iv 1/^1115 a^iurcu aa recommended?10 per cent, ad val orem on amorphous graphite, 20 per cent, on crystaline lump and two cent' a pound on crystaline flakes. After a six hour struggle over this one item the senate, settled down to its tenth night session si^te the tariff bill was called up nearly five weeks ago. Attention of majority senators con tinued to be unsatisfactory to Re publican leaders, who issued a call for a party conference tomorrow, at (which Republicans again will be urg 1 Art 4- a 0+ r? +V?a "i c a o p f a n>n f . tfli cu tu obaj uii juu ou ao uv/ wuc tariff bill out of the way. The split among the Democrats over graphite was made the subject of discussion by several speakers on the Republi can side and brought out a statement from Senator Borah of Idaho that there wasn't such a wide difference between the two parties on the tariff question, the Democrats favoring protection for products of their state* This was disputed by Senator Stan ley (Pc.uocrat) of Kentucky, who de clared he never would vote to use the taxing power of the government to suuoiuiac uiuuav&j* Senator Gooding of Idaho, chair man of the Republican agricultural tariff ibloc, expressed the hope that the division of the minority presaged the day when the two parties would come together on the questions witl* protection to all industry. The Idaho senator expressed the belief that the American people would sanction du ties as high as 400 or 500 per cent, on farm products if that should prove necessary to protect American industries. The tariff bloc chairman took oc casions to deny statements made in LI.. T 1 1 J aeoaie mat me uioc uau eiiicieu iuw any agreement of trade with other senators in order to get protection < ?g for agricultural products. Such a statement, he said, "was -without , } foundation and without any proof at all." Exhibiting pound cans of finished graphite such as is sold to automo bile owners, Senator Nicholson told the senate these retailed for from 75 cents to $1.50 each, while the cost of the raw material to the manufac turers was from two to five cents a pound. "If the federal trade commission were attending to its business this imposition on the American consum ers would not be possible," the Colo rado senator declared. L-L? i i un mAiuvt i Cotton brought 20 1-4 cents on the local market today. Futures closed July r ? 20.85 October 20.47 December 20.29 January 20.15 Futures closed yesterday July 20.38 October 20.08 December 19J96 .7?.*?nary 19.84 FIRST GRADE HAVE PICNIC Miss Li I la Ketchin arave the first .rrade a picnic on Thursday at Cal ' vert's pasture. All of the good things I'vero furnished, including ice cream cones, for the pleasure of the little 'ones.