Fort Mill times. (Fort Mill, S.C.) 1892-current, June 02, 1921, Image 1
TOWN B0NB6 SOLD.
'lint' National Bank Boys lata* i
for Street Improvements.
The $30,000 bond issue approved I
by the citiaens of Fort Mill 14 ]
months ago for Btreet improvements
has at last been sold by
the commission created by an aid
of the General Assembly last year
and there is now the prospect of
a mile and a half of hard surface
paving being put down in the
town within the next three or*
four months. The only offer submitted
in respose to a recent
newspaper advertisement inviting
bids for the bonds was from the
First National Bank of Fort Mill,
whoRe bid of 95 for the issue the
commission considered itself fortunate
to receive in view of the
stringency of the* money market
and the consequent slow sale of
bonds, particularly of small issues
ot municipal bonds.
Announcement that the bofids
hod been bought by the First National
Bank of Fort Mill was received
in the community with general
gratification, that a home institution
was in position to handle
the issue at this time. Yesterday
in speaking of the purchase
? f iL. I J -? ? '
uj me uuiiun an omcer 01 xne Dank
said the money could perhaps
have been invested to better advantage,
but that the directors
took the view that the more patriotic
if not the better paying
thing for the bank to do was to
help its home town and waive the
thought of whether the investment
meant as big returns in dollars
and cents as might otherwise
have been secured.
Just when actual work on the
streets to be improved from the
proceeds of the bond issue will be
begun is more or less problematical,
according to L. A. Harris,
chairman of the street commission,
who yesterday said that the
public in approving the bond isBue
understood that not less than
a mile and a half of hard surface
paving was to be put down with
the money obtained from the sale
of the bonds and that he was
loathe to agree to closing a contract
calling for* less paving.' al-t |
enough at the time the bond issue
was authorized the understanding
was that $10,000 federal aid was
to be secured to assist in the projects
the commission had in mind
and that since then the promise ?
of federal aid had been with- >
drawn. But the commission, Mr.
Harris added, is hopeful of securing
assistance from the proposed
bond issue which the town conn- \
cil is asking that the voters
approve within the next 30 days
and with this assistance and the
decreased cost of building material
and labor taken inlo account. '
there is reason to expect that the [
amount of paving originally plan- j
ned will be put down.
Dr. J. L*Spratt and N. L. Cnrothers
are the other members of
- - I*?: i - w_ \
ihc num UUIllllllIWIUII UI'MllfN ?11THarris.
One Job for Postal Workers.
Postmaster General Hays a feudays
ago issued an order to all
employees of second and third
elass post offices prohibiting them
from engaging in any outside
employment, such as general business,
the professions, or any trade t
- or vocation. It is thought the or- 1
der means that all employees mustdevote
their entire time to the
duties of the postoffice and they
cannot perform other duties after
office hours.
White House of the South.
Representatives of every State
that seceded from the union during
the Civil war will be present
in Montgomery. Ala.. Friday when
' the Confederate White House will
bo dedicated there as the shrine
of the old South. The governor
of every Southern State has been
invited to be present and a large
number of Confederate fighters
will stand again at the home of
their beloved leader, Jefferson
Davis.
Finishes at Infantry School.
Of 28 National Guard officers
Sraduated from the school for inantry
officers at Camp Benning,
Columbus, Ge., last Friday afternoon.
Robert F. Grier, Jr., of Fort j
Mill was the only South Carolin- j
ian. Mr. Grier is second lieuten- ;
ant of the Tom Hall Guards and j
had* been in attendance at the |
school for officers for the last
three months.
JBSa^v <,*.y- 2' w ' 1 <4
jfcjB.i y' iV? *' % v^ Ji1 *KS /+ 1 - * V , V ' J
PINEVTLLE BANK CLOSED, j
Shortage Reported, With Former '
Cashier Out of Town.
The Pineville Loan and Savings i
hank,,Pineville, N. C., just across'}
the State line from Fort Mill
township, apparently is in bad
shape. The bank's doors are
closed and a State bank examiner, j
who has been appointed receiver
of the institution by Judge Harding
of the North Carolina superior
court, sitting in Charlotte, is
busy checking up the account*
of the institution. Yesterday the
word was current in Pineville that
e shortage of several thousand
dollars had been discovered by the
bank examiner, who is said yet
to have several <lavs' work ahead
of him before the actual condition
of the bank will become known.
Two years ago C. S. Oakley of
Ridgeway, Va., came to Pineville
and was made cashier of the bank.
About two weeks ago the directors
of the bank, all Pineville business
men, suspecting that the finances
of the institution had become
somewhat tangled, told Oaklev
that his resignation would be
accepted. Then Oakley turned the
keys of the bank over to the pres.
ident, W. M. Morrow, and pot
out. He remained in Pineville
until last Friday evening, when
left town ostensibly to go to
Ridcrewav. Vn tn uwlr u u
4ive to help him out financially,
saving ha would return to Pineville
within n.day or two. it was
stated. Nothing has since been
heard from him by any officer of
*he bank so far as The Times yesterday
was able to learn.
After moving to Pineville. Oakley
is Raid to have lost little time
beginning to bore with a big augur.
One of the first things he
did after establishing himself in
the town was to build the best
home the nlaee boasts. Then as a
side line he entered the lumber
business, to which he devoted so
much time, however, according to
an official of the bank, that freouent.lv
he neglected to strike a
daily balance of the bank's trans>u?*ionrf
sometimes failing to attend
to this "ltase of the business
considered important by most
hankers, for three or four days in
succession. Later he began borin?
~ -i!" *
,m,yz vti'u n ?mii uigger aujrnr wnen
bo took the contract for fhe *?rec
ion of several residences in Charlotte.
These contracts are said to
have panned out little pay dirt
for him end 'ess'" it-is feared, for
the stockholders and depositors
of the hank.
The PinevPte loan and Savinors
bank was chartered under th"
laws of Norfh Caroliha about 12
vears a?r0 and has a capital stock
of $15,000.
Fail to Elect Superintendent.
A meeting of the board of tmstees
of the Fort Mill graded school
was held Monday evening at
which the names of several applicants
for the superintendencv of
the school for the session to open
in September next were considered.
but none of those proposed
for the position received a majority
vote of the trustees and there
was consequently no election. The
matter of electing a superintendent
will again be taken up by the.
board at a meeting to be held
within the next week or ten days,
it is understood.
Hon. J. ?. Swearingen in Town.
Hon. John E. Swearingen of 1
Columbia, State superintendent of I
education, spent several hours in I
Fort Mill yesterday in conference
with the board of trustees of the
local graded school relative to the
school's finances. A friend of
Mr. Swearingen's who saw'him in
Fort Mill yesterday for the first
time in several years remarked
that as he grew older the facial
resemblance he bore to his distin?rn
iiiho/1 I ?a? O A n
uir, mf inn- npnmor r?.
K Tillman; became more pronounced.
All the 22 officers and teachers
of the Fort Mill Baptist Sunday
school were present at the monthly
teachers' meeting at the church
Tuesday evening except one. An
unusually good meeting was held,
al which plans were made for the
progress of the work. After the
business session refreshments of
ice cream and cake were served
in the Berean room and a brief
address, was delivered to the
teachers by the. pastor, Dr. J. W.
H. Dyches.
. '
STANDING BY PABMXBS. .
Members of Congress Unite to Aid
Agricultural Interests.
The solidarity with which t^e
group of members of Congress
from the farm States are organic
itig to push through a program of
legislation asked by the agricultural
interests marks the most significant.development
of law mak- (
ing in recent years.
r* ' ?'? '
wiviniuiim in congress 111 me
past have been along party lines;
but in this new movement no attention
is being paid to party divisions.
Southern Democrats are
working side by side with Repub-1
licaus. from the West. In fact, the
new movement is said to represent
a complete breakdown of the
old party lines, with, the South
and Middle West standing more
closely together than any other
sections.
Informal caucuses of socalled
farm members have not. been infrequent
in the past, but they generally
met only when some bill
of great importance to the farm
sections came up and were dc-?
signed to devise means of getting
that bill through. In the last few
- 4.1 l j?
wccus ? niuruvigii going iarin organization
has been effected in
each house of Congress, with designated
leaders apart from party
leaders to steer the course of the
agricultural measures.
From time to time, the senate
and house farm conferences will
hold caucuses. The entire farm
group will agree upon just whut
bills it will bpck and then the
whole weight of the farm vote
\\Mll be thrown behind them. How
the experiment will work out remains
to be seen, but its friends
say it promises to do more to shatter
party lines in Congress than
any other movement in years.
School Term Ends.
The closing exercises of the Fort
Mill graded school were held lust
Friday evening in the presence of
an audience which filled the big
auditorium. Certificates were given
the pupils finishing the 10th
grade by J. B. Mills, chairman of
he hoard of trustees, and diplowas
were awarded the graduates
of the 11th grade by Col. T. B.
Spratt, secretary of .the hoard.
The address of the evening was
made by W. H. Ward of Greer,
former superintendent of the
school.
Among the honors announced
by Bruce II. Stribliug, superintendent,
was a prize of $5 to Miss
Fiances llougland of the sixth
grade for the best original short
story. Th<% -iff) gold piece annu..II..
- i a i i' ? l
<ni,y nnmiipu uy jYuuuwna cnapter,
1). A. ii., to the high school
pupil making the best general average
for the year was won by
Miss Nannie Lee Phillips, who
also has the distinction of being
the youngest pupil in the high
school. Eight pupils of the school
M ere awarded certificates for perfect
attendance records.
The Drought of 1840.
Discussing a tew days ago farm
conditions in this section, 1). G.
Kimbrell. well known Fort Mill
township citizen, recalled that
1845 was one of the dry est years
ever known in South Carolina, aceording
to a statement often mude
to him by the late A. 8. White,
who told Mr. Kimbrell that so little
rain fell duriug the summer of
that year that nearly all the
springs aad wells in the Fort Mill
community dried up and that it
was with great difficulty the people
were able to get water for
their own consumption and for
their stock and cattle. One spring
which continued to flow freely
during the drought, however, was
on the place now owned by Mr.
Kimbrell a mile and a half south
of town and people from miles
around came to this spring and
got water and hauled it home.
Thousands of acres of cotton re
eontly attacked by the boll weevil
in the lower section of the State
are being plowed up and the land
planted in corn, according to A.
Y Williamson of F'ort Mill, who
returned to his home here a few
duys ago after a trip thrbugh several
coon ties south of Columbia.
Mr. Williamson Hays that he saw
one large field in Bamberg county
which had cotton on it from 6.to
10 inches high that waa being
plowed under because it had been
ruined by the boll weevib
PLAN TO MOVE MISSOURI. !
Farmers Would Send Big River 1
West of Present Course.
The greatest engineering feat of
the times, or what some describe I
as the biggest fool proposition of
'a century, is being undertaken by
7.000 Western farmers and business
men, headed by a Nebraska ,
judge named Bartow. The proposition
is to move a large part of
the Missouri river from its pres-,
ent bed on the eastern side of
South Dakota, Nebraska and ,
Kansas and empty it into the Arkansas
river, near Garden City, j
K&ns., a distance of approximate- '
Jy 1,000 miles.
The proposition is no joke. The
7f000 backers of the project have
already completed a preliminary
survey along the entire 1,000
miles. Engineering estimates of ;
the cost for half the distance |
have been secured. The men be- |
hind the project are said to be in |
earnest and are willing to spend
their own money. Here are some j
of the benefits as outlined by the
Nebraska judge;
Irrigate 16,000,000 acres of farm
land which now is worthless. I
makiug the land worth $200 to
#100 an acre.
Provide 400,000 farms of 40
acres each., irrigated land.
Establish 100 new towns along :
?V-.m 1 nnn .? - -< '
r?v ?)vw miicn vn inr urw rivrp, ?
Prevent floods for all time on
the lower Mississippi river in I
Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi
and Louisiana.
Develop 3.500.000 hydro-electrie
horsepower, which will be URed to
operate an electrie railroad the
entire 1.000 miles of the project,
light the homes on the farms, furnish
power to all these farms and
pump the new river over a mountain
range.
The State engineer of South
Dakota has estimated the cost of
completing the project across the
two Dakotas to the Nebraska line
at $80,000,000, and a similar sum
is believed necessary for crossing
Nebraska and Kansas.
Uncle Sam's Floor Mill.
Uncle Sam has a perfectly
eouipped miniature flour mill ami
bakery in Washington which, despite
its smull size, draws its grist
from .all over the world. The I
mill and bakery is a part of the
equipment of the department of
agriculture. Its principal object
is to supply information which is
of use in the preparation and revision
of the federal grain standards.
Hundreds of samples, representing
various grades, conditions j
nd varieties of wheat are sent to
the little mill ami each of these
samples is cleaned, scoured, tempered.
ground, bolted, and baked
in an electric oven. After baking
the specialists can study the
weight, volume, color and texture
of the bread and record the re-U-!
J a -
?iM? uuittineu rrom tne sample of
wheat that was used. There is no
chance for error in making these
comparisons, as all the samples
are treated exactly alike.
To Rule on MoNinoh Case.
Jundge W. F. Harding, sitting
in the superior court for Mecklenburg
county, Charlotte. N. C.. !
was expected to render a decision
today on the motion to set aside
the verdict of $20,344 damages
which a Mecklenburg county
jury some weeks ago returned
against the American Trust company
of Charlotte in the suit of
S. S. McNinch alleging that the
trust company disposed of the
plant of the Charlotte Brick com ;
iwnv r?rnnortv nf flm
1 .II t" "I" V " ",v piaiiuill III
Fort Mill township on which the
defendant company had a mortgage,
at a sacrifice and in violation
of an agreement between the
parties. Trial of the damage suit
consumed three weeks and was
heard in Charlotte about three
months ago. Numerous Fort Mill
citizens offered testimony as to
the value of the brick plant and
farm lands involved in the suit. * j
Congressman W.x F. Stevenson
has two vancancie8 at the Naval
academy, Annapolis, Md., which
he is anxious to see filled by ambit
ions young men from the Fifth
district. Information as to the
entrance requirements and the desirability
of an appointment to
Annapolis will be furnished interested
young men by Mr. Stevenson.
|,
i V I. - . , .
STILL 8KB VINO HIS MASTER.
Though 90 Tears Old Rev. Mr.
Ratehford Occupies Pulpit.
Many of the older citizens of
the Fort Mill community will read
with peculiar interest the following
news item from the Yorkville
Enquirer of Tuesday relative to
the Rev. W. W. Ratehford. aged
Presbyterian minister, who wus
pastor of the Fort Mill Presbyterian
church a half century Hgo.
t 1 .- .
1 II'IWI l Hi U?* tl.MlVI :
"Coming back to greet bin old
congregation after the passage of
38 years since he was pastor of
Bullock's Creek, the Rev. W. W.
Ratchford of "Waxhaw, N. C.. aged
90. perhaps the oldest minister in
America, preached in Bullock's
Creek church Sunday to the largest
congregation ihat Bullock's
Creek has known in months. Despite
the fact that the winds and
suns of 90 summers and 90 winters
have passed over his brow.
'Father Ratchford.' as he is lovingly
known to thousands of people
over the Carolinas. is still in
good health. Ilis step is a little
slow. His eye is clear. His hearing
is gootl. He still preaches
with that fire and force and determination
and earnestness of
purpose that characterized his I
efforts when pastor of the church |
nearly four decades ago."
GLOBE COTTON SPACING.
Gain in Yield Reported From
Single Stalk Method.
Twentv-five to 100 per cent increase
in yield is reported by cotton
growers who have adopted
the new close spacing system of
cotton culture, according to the
United States department of agriculture.
The reports to the department
show that many farmers
iu the South are turning to the
plan. Increased yield, less labor
and expense for the same crop
and a lessening of boll weevil
damage are among the benefits
recited in hundreds of letters
written by farmers in various sections
of the South.
Close spacing, more commonly
known as the single stalk method
of cotton culture, consists prima
rilv in spacing the cotton plant"
so close in the row?a hoe's width
apart?that the lower branches
do not develop, ami the growth
of the plant goes directly into the
upper or fruiting branches, permitting
them to begin the development
of blossoms ami bolls earlier
and giving them more nourishment
and light.
The distance between the plants
is regulated with reference to
local conditions und the hab'p of
growth of different varieties, the
range being between six ui.<l 12
inehes. The plants then have a
narrow upright form aiul can be
left closer together in the rows.
Even with the plants only three
or four inches apart in the rows
there may be less injurious
crowding than with large manystalked
plants three feet apart in
the rows. The distance between
the rows, usually about three feet,
can also be varied with reference
to local conditions, but crowding
the rows together, so that the sun
does not reach the ground, is undesirable.
' especially under boll
weevil conditions.
Patterson-McMurray Wedding.
The Charlotte papers of Thursday
contained the announcement
of the wedding in that city Wednesday,
May 20, of .1. H. McMurray,
Jr., of Blacksburg, son of J.
11. McMurray of Fort Mill, and
Miss Annie Lee Patterson of
Charlotte at the home of the
bride. The officiating minister was
the Kev. A. S. Johnson, pastor of
the First Presbyterian church, <
Charlotte, immediately after the
ceremony Mr. and Mrs. McMurray
left for a bridal trip. They
? I f L ?l l ?
win injiKc ineir nonie in macKsburg.
Mr. McMurray in a native of <
Fort M ill a mi was reared herd.
Several years ago he went to'Rock
Hill and accepted a poaition with
the National Union bank, where
he remained until he entered the
service during the World war. <
After the war he moved to Charlotte
and became connected with <
the Charlotte National bank. He
is now cashier of the Bank of
Blacksburg and is held in high
esteem wherever he is known both ;
aa a citizen and business man. <
*' * i? 'i . ?
f a.wv rer INT.
VOTING ON BOAD BONDS.
Small Number of Citizens Taking
Part in Fort Mill Election.
A very small number of Fort
Mill township citizens are going
to the polls today to cast their
ballots in the special election ordered
some time ago by the York
county board of commissioners to
, n.ss upon u proposed #75.000
township bond issue tor roau .
provements. Whether the bond
lsque will be authorial ?;n .?.?
be known until the polls close at
4 o'clock this afternoon, but so
fur as the expression of sett I nuent
heard on the streets today indicated
the attitude of the citizens
toward the proposition, there was
practically no opposition to it.
Many who ordinarily would
have voted in the election were
disqualified by a decision of the
State supreme court holding that
no citizen who hud failed to pay
his State and county taxes prior
to .January 1 was eligible to vote
in any special election held dur- f
mg that tax year. Whether upproved
by a majority of 1 or 100
.be bonds would be equally legal
so fur as that phase of the election
is concerned, but bond buy
cm mi*- nuiu 10 preier to put their
money in issues approved by a
epresent at ive majority of eit L/.ens.
Should the voters of Fort Mill
township authorize the road bond
issue the next step toward the
improvement of tin* roads of the
township will be ihe appointment
of a road eommission of theree
jnembers by the governor upon
the reeommendation of tile county
legislative delegation. In King's
Mountain township, where road
bonds were voted some time ago.
the commissioners were seleeted
from three different sections of
the township. It is presumed tile
delegation would follow the same
policy in selecting the commission
for Fort Mill township.
With a road bond issue of $75,000
by Fort Mill Aownship. there
would become available 'upon the
sale of the bonds approximately
$115,000 for road improvement in
the township, the county having
agreed to put up $00,000 for the
purpose along with $10,000 federal
aid already approved by the
State highway commission.
R. F. D. Men in Session.
After electing officers for the
ensuing year, choosing 'delegates
to the State convention to be held
in Oruugeburg and selecting ltock
Ilill as the next meeting place, the
annual convention of the York
County Rural Letter Carriers association.
in session in the town
hail. Fort Mill. Monday morning,
adjourned. Fifteen carriers from
various sections of the county attended
the convention, which was
me guest ot the Fort Mill earriers.
Following the session in tintown
hall a picnic dinner was
.erved in honor of the visitors at
Jones' spring, on the hanks ol'
the Catawba, near town. Perhaps
as many as f>0 people, including a
number of ladies, were present
lor the dinner.
W. W. Love, carrier on York
route No. 7. was honored with tinpresidency
of the association ami
A. I). Newly, also u York carrier,
was elected secretary and treasurer.
?J. C. Burge of York, .John
Keys of Rock Hill, M r. Siiupsoii
of Catawba and T. A. Mills and
Shelly Sutton of Fort Mill were
elected to represent the association
at the State convention on
July 4 and 5.
News for Meat Consumers.
Prices of meat animals (hogs,
cattle, sheep and fowls) to producers
of the United States decreased
9 per cent from March 1"?
to April 15, according to a report
issued by the United Suites department
of agriculture. In the
luat tqn years prices paid for meat
aqinu^f * have increased 4.."> per
cent; (Uiring the period from the
middle *of March to tIn* middle of
April. The report shows that on
April 15 the index figure of prices
for incut animals was about
37.9 per cent lower than a year
ago. and 16.3 per cent lower than
the average for the last ten years
on April 15.
Thousands of textile operatives
iu the Charlotte, N. ('., district
yesterday went on strike because
of recent wage cuts.
I'-.v