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m I (Eh? ifombrrg ferall) J ib i / ^?J!mIIZZZ3^??i??? ?? ???i^?-? ?^??^???????^? i?'???? $2.00 Per Year in Advance. BAMBERG, S. C., THURSDAY, APRIL 6, 1922. " Established in 1891. I Democratic Clubs Meet this Month H. N. Edmunds, secretary of the state Democratic executive committee, Monday addressed a letter to all the county chairmen of the Democratic party in the state calling their attention to the fact that the various Democratic clubs are to meet on the fourth Saturday of this month for reorganization and to elect delegates to the county conventions. . The county conventions are to oe held on the first Monday in May throughout the state and the state convention will be held on the first Wednesday in May. Mr. Edmunds's letter sent to the county chairmen is as follows: Edmunds's Letter. "I beg to call your attention to the fact that the time is approaching lor the calling together of the clubs in your county as provided by Rule 5, which rule reads as follows: 'The clubs shall meet on the fourth Saturday in April of each election year lor cue reorganization: rruviucu, That the county committee may name any other day within the same week for such club meeting by giving at - least two weeks' notice by advertisement in one or more county papers. In case any existing club shall fail \ to reorganize on the day fixed, the county committee may fix a day for such club to meet for reorganization \ 1 hy giving two weeks' notice, as provided in this section.' ' "You will note that except as provided for by giving two weeks' notice by advertisement the clubs must meet on the fourth Saturday in April." *9 - _ . X N Wlien the county conventions meet delegates to the state convention will * be chosen. To Choose Officers. In addition to making what rules or changing any rules that the state convention .may deem advisable officers of the party in the state are to % begchosen. In regard to the county conventions the rules provide: "Every general election year county conventions snan be caned by tne county committees to meet on the first Monday ' in May at the county seat. The con" vention shall be composed of delegates elected from the clubs in the county, one delegate for every 2t> members, and one delegate for a majority fraction thereof, based upon the number of votes polled in the first primary of the preceding elec, tion year." At the state convention the rules provide: "The state convention shall 'A be called by the state committee to d meet at Columbia every general elec > ; tion year on the third Wednesday in .. May. The convention shall be comT posed of delegates elected by the , . county conventions, each county to be entitled to as many delegates as double the number of its members in f the general assembly." One Way of Looking at It. r lA Denmark man was addressing several persons at the court house * the other day. "I don't know what the farmers are going to do with / their cucumbers this year," said he. "They have increased the acreage ' XI. _ - J T ~ 1 ? mis year aim 1 uuu i see auy noye ui "being able to sell them. It is not reasonable that more cucumbers can be sold this year than last. During the past year lots of the old Yankees . have died, and the babies that have : been born to take their place are too small to eat cucumbers, therefore the demand is not going to be so great. I don't see what in the world " we are to do with our cucumbers this - * year.*' One of the listeners was ready ?; with a possible solution. "Pickle 'em," was his suggestion. Another auditor suggested: "Sell 'em to the pickle factories up north; they can ship them back to Bamberg . county ana we can ouy em oac&. at two for a nickle." That last idea is not so bad at that. ? Anyway, that is about what most of us do. Arests White Boys. Denmark, April 1.?Two white boys were caught here last night by Night Policeman Lancaster while attempting to break into the store of Buist Brickie. They gave their names t as Osburn Williams, of Jacksonville, Fla., and William Cantz, of Baltimore. They said this morning that they l tried to get into the store of Goolsby i & Son to get some' groceries and clothing, but they could not get in so they decided to try Brickie's store. Death Sentence for j Wallace Confirmed Sumter, April 2.?An order refusing a new trial to J. C. Wallace has been filed with the clerk of court by Judge S. W. G. Shipp, the motion for a new trial having been made before him at the close of the spring term of court of general sessions in February. Wallace, a white man, was convicted of attempted criminal assault on a young girl and was sentpnoed to die in the electric chair. The motion for a new trial was based on an affidavit made by N. B. Cockerill, chief witness against Wallace, to the effect that his, Cackerill's testimony at the trial was false. The state, however, also presented an affidavit from Cockerill of a later date, alleging that this first affidavit had been made when he was intoxi-j cated and that he did not know what ! he was doing. A number of affidavits were filed by both sides as to the character of the witnesses, sane condition of Cock^fiii when hp made his first affidavit. and testimony given at the trial. Judge Shipp in his order said: "Several affidavits set forth that N. B. Cockerill and Mrs. Dora E. Wallace, witnesses in the trial of this case for the state, had made statements since the trial contradicting and repudiating their testimony. One Laffidavit is made by X. B. Cockerill in which he state that he repudiates his testimony given on the trial. However, he makes an affidavit in reply that he was drunk when he signed the affidavit in question and did not know* what he was signing and that he has never made statements in conflict with his testimony and that he reaffirms the testimony as given at the trial. An affidavit in reply is made by Mrs. Dora E. Wallace that v.oo nQvor ma/in stntpmpnts in I i^ac uao 11V/ T \yi iwuuv ? conflict with her testimony and that : she reaffirms the same. I "I have carefully read the testimony in the trial of this case and all the affidavits produced "before me and under the law as laid down in the following cases, to wit: State vs. Workman, 38 S. C. 550; State vs. Adams, 78 S. C. 523, and State vs. Bethune, 104 S. C. 353,1 do not think it proper to grant a new trial. There* fore, the motion for a new trial in this case is hereby refused, and it is so ordered." ! $225,000 Fire Loss at Union. . Union, April l.-r-Union was visited this morning at 3:30 o'clock with one of the most disastrous fires since 1905, when the same -block, known as the Townsend block, was completely wiped out, and which was destroyed this morning, with the exception of the Bailey Builders Supply building. Late estimates show that on conservative basis the loss of property known as the Townsend block and People's Supply Company by fire early this morning will amount to j $225,000, with about 40 per cent, insurance. Senator Dial Wins Battle. Washington, March 29.?Senator Dial secured the passage by the senate of a resolution calling on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the causes of the present de J "~ tti fVia TTnitod yresseu yriv;e ui wunuu m vu^ uunvu States, especially with reference to the operations of cotton exchanges, and asking the commission to ascertain whether the trading on these exchanges is done in a fair and legal way and equitably to the grower, and to recommend legislation, if it seems necessary. Recognizes Voice Over Wireless. Greenwood, March 31.?So plain that the voice could be easily recognized by relatives in Greenwood, a baritone recital bv John Humbert in I Pittsburg was heard last night over an amateur radio apparatus operated by William Hood, Jr. The recital consisted of vocal solos by Mr. Gumbert and several violin selections by his wife. His voice was instantly recognized by Mrs. R. H. Blake, a cousin of Mrs. Gumbert's, who was listening to the concert. Baptist W. M. S. The Womans Missionary society of the Baptist church will hold its regular circle meetings on Wednesday next at the following homes: Circle No. 1 with Miss Mamie Hartzog. Circle No. 2 with Mrs. Cornelia Hooton. Circle No. 3 with Mrs. Blume. A full attendance is requested.? Cor. Sec. i Sketch of W. ( Paper Read Before Friday Mrs. Francis 1 William Gilmore Simms was born i * in Charleston in 1S06. His mother,! who was the grand daughter of Thorn-1 as Singleton, died at his birth. Wil- j liam Gilmore Simms, the father, in 1 despair left Charleston never to re- j turn, so he said. His biographies; tell that his grief for his young wife j was such that his hair turned white! in a single night. The baby was taken by his grandmother, Mrs. Gates, and the child did not see his father until he was nine years old. Simms's freat grandfather was Thomas Singleton, by birth a rich ! tobacco planter and merchant. It is j said Tobacco street, in front of the Citadel, takes its name from the large crops brought by the wagons from Virginia and stored in the warehouses fronting upon it. This warehouse stood ^*here the Citadel now stands. Thomas Sineleton own ed the entire square, then called "Inspection," but he lived in Church, street, his house being a great meeting place for rebels. He aided men who stole into the city at night and forwarded the information to the camps. He was bravely assisted by his daughter, Mrs. Gates. Mr. Singleton was as liberal as rich and lost the greater part of his fortune by lending it to the government ana being paid in depreciated currency. Mrs. Gates, his daughter, was the grandmother 'of William Gilmore Simms, the novelist. There is very little known of the paternal side of his ancestry. Simms's father was from Ireland. He came to American after the revolution. There was financial trouble in his family which estranged him from the rest of his family. He would not discuss the matter with his son. Thus we know very little about his family in Ireland and nothing about his brothers who came to this country with him and settled in the west. But we not only have a wealth of tradition of his father, whom the nove list loved dearly, Out in ail his hooks we can see his strong influence upon the author. William jGilmore Simms, the fath-^ er of the novelist, married Thomas Singleton's granddaughter, who was the daughter of Mrs. Gates, the herione of the war period. At the time of the birth of their son, William Gilmore Simms, the /novelist, the for tunes of their family were reaching their ebb. Old Tom Singleton's wealth had dwindled away through the fortunes of war, and his great grandson grew up as a poor boy. He had to attend the public schools of Charleston. We of the present time cannot realize what it meant to attend the public schools of those days. It was unthinkable for one of gentle birth to have to attend them. Charlestonians had tutors and governesses i for their children and later finished their ^education in Europe. Even in 1806, when the Columbia university was organized, it required a lot of patriotism for the wealthy youth to I forego his fofeign education in favI or of the home institution, It is necessary to remember the public school life of Simms in order to get Simms's background as he began life. Even this schooling was not allowed in the north, for at the age of nine he had to go to work in a drug store to help out the slender means for himself and his grandmother, who was getting very old. His father in the mean time had ridden on horse back, breaking the iade bwstooping at the rude cabin of - - * \ some pioneer, or sometimes resting in a friendly Indian camp. He stored up many experiences during the trip which he was later to impart to the infant son whom he had left behind in Charleston. He at last settled in Tpnnpsspe. where he made a fast friend of Andrew Jackson, who was then not known so well to fame. This was the period when the-war of 1812 was brewing. Early in the war of 1812 the Creek Indians falling upon Fort Mimes in Alabama massacred 500 men. women and children gathered there for safety. The country was horrified at the massacre ana Tennessee first came to the rescue by voting 35,000 men to go into the Indian country under the leadership of Jackson, with a band of cavalry under General Goffe. Simms was a member of Goffe's brigade, and took part in the battle of New Orleans. Simms was a fighter not a writer, but a few of his poems have survived and have been handed down I jilmore Simms Afternoon Book Club Bp M. Bamberg by wond or mouth.. What we do know throws light on the possibilities of the son. After the fighting at Xew Orleans he began to think more and more about his son. The following year he undertook to make the trip back to Charleston on horse back, resolved to bring the boy back with him1. He found the boy more than he had hoped for, of fine physique, a lover of adventure and burning with a fiery imagination. He gained the boy at first with stories of his Indian fights, stories of the pioneers and wild escapades in the frontier country. When he broached the subject of taking the boy back with him to Mrs. Gates, she opposed' bitterly and refused to give him up. Simms demanded it. The latter went into the courts and the ljudge left it with the little boy, who decided to stay with his grandTY, Viqp 'PViio Hom'cinn had a rpnl lllWU^A X Uig U WiWAVU UVW\A WW * w WW w and apparent affect upon his tforks in later years. His grandfather having lived during the war times her tales to him of the numerous experiences, escapades, etc., were his Mother Goose and nursery rhymes. The little boy devoured her stories of thrilling experiences. It has often been said that a child's impressions are all made at the age of seven, and if that is true, Simms at that age must have had his mind saturated with historic tales. When he began to write he -had a wealth of material to draw from. Add to these his father's adventures, and we have his extensive storehouse. From the time that his apprenticeship at the drug store began his life 1 -J U.-.v./J was uue ui uaie uppui iuuuj' aiiu uaiu work. His nights still were his own. Any spare money he could keep he bought books from secondhand shops and read and studied far into the night. He studied Latin and French by himself. He even made surreptitious attempts at composing poetry. During the following years he acquired an immense amount of knowledge. He always regretted that he did not have a college education, though there were few men of that day who were possessed of a wider range of information than he had acquired for himself. At. the age of 18 he began the study of law. Even in his poverty he clung to the.idea of giving himself the requirements of a gentleman, although he had to work hard for them. In no other state could it have been harder for him than in South Carolina. He was determined to work out his destiny and bring 'himself to the eminence which his grandfather had in the city in his day. His adversities were many and would have broken the spirit of a weaker man. At the age of 18 his father wrote him begging him to come on a visit to him. He accepted readily and sailed from Charleston by boat to New Orleans and from there on horse back to Mississippi where his father was then living. He stopped at night in the frontier cabins and Indian villages as his father had done. It must have been a wonderful experience to the boy who hau 'Deen snut up in a druggist suup must of his life. When he reachetf his father he found him just returned from the Indian country several hundred miles to the west. He took similar trips with his father visiting the Creek and Cherokee nations. He spent days with the Indians learning their languages and customs. He often spoke of the idea of the taciturnity of the Indians being a mistaken one, that after they trusted you they were the greatest chatterboxes in the world. When Simms began to write 'he had all the material for his Indian stories first hand. He does not present us, as Cooper did, with the In - i ? ?--A- J cuan wno oniy exisieu iu uio uimu. During his visit to his father he ate, slept and lived with all manner of man, the pioneer, the robber, the scout, the pioneer woman, the peddler. He was picturing people he actually knew lived at the time and when he described scenes and conditions he was telling about places he had seen with his own eyes. At the height of his popularity many men of his warmest admirers complained that he should not have pictured such ruffianly characters in his border stories. They had not 'been used to his type of work and thought it (Continued on page 2, column 3.) Patrick. Succumbs to February Wound Charleston, April 1.?John A. Patrick died at the Baker Sanatorium last night as the result of a gunshot wound received on the night of February 25, near St. George, having been brought to Charleston the following day for treatment. His body will be shipped to St. George this morning by Mr. J. Henry Stuhr, and -1 - * * in u- T?u : ? A i ^ U? tne iunerai wm ue ueiu iu Appier a Methodist church. Mr. Patrick's father is the Rev. W. T. Patrick, of Dorchester. Mr. Patrick was wounded while on on his way home from his store on the "wire road" about five miles from St. George. He was walking alone at the time and as he was passing a clump of trees he was fired on. Later Willie Carr was arrested in St. George, charged with the shooting. It is alleged that the tragedy resulted from Mr. Patrick's statement that Carr had interferred with his boat and Carr is quoted as saying that he resented Mr. Patrick's charge, while not denying its truth. Both of the men belong to well-known families. Mr. Patrick was only about thirty feet from his assailant when he was wounded. There has been very little hope for Mr. -Patrick's recovery and latterly it was realized that his chances were desperate. He was about forty years of age. He is survived by a widow and several children. GOVERNOR SIGN'S 'PHONE BILL. Charges Same as Those Prior to January 1, 1921. Columbia, April 3.?Governoi Cooper today signed the Foster Act requiring the Southern Bell Telephone and Telegraph company to reduce its service rates to where they were before the South Carolina Railroad commission authorized an increase on January 1, 1921. The signature of the governor makes the act the law of the state. The act gives the company right, to appeal the promulgated rate of the commission to the circuit court and supreme court for adjudication. The provisions of the act, according to interpretation, will not interfere with the bills rendered by the company for the month of March, but will provide for a 20 per cent, reducx ? f/-v*? OAt?rtAA ^ 11 I lion in UI113 I CUUC1CU IU1 oci ui,g uuting the month of April. The act exempts independent lines ! operating in not more than two counf ties owned by citizens residing within those counties. The act, it is believed, would require independent companies having stockholders outside the specified distances to -come under its provisions and reduce their rates also. While no statement to the effect has been made, it is believed that the Southern Bell Telephone and Telegraph company will ^est the validity [ of the act in the courts. j Walhalla Preacher Found Near Still. | Walhalla, March 29.?Tuesda> morning between 3 and 4 o'clock, Sheriff Alexander, Deputy Sheriff Sullivan and Federal Agent Baskin captured h forty gallon still in operation and two gallons of w1hiskey near Old Pickens in Oconee county. There were three men at the still, of whicn number two escaped, and the "man" captured turned out to be the Rev. S. 0. Whitman, superintendent of the Oconee Orphanage. Whitman is now in Walhalla jail. A distillery sig*ht was located very near the orphanage. The officers have been waging a war "TnnnnQhinprs " and theV ilAVVAAWM4Mv.M; m have averaged capturing a still a day for the past two weeks. One still, the largest ever captured in the county, was of 300 gallons capacity. Sues Ehrhardt Men. Suit for $18,558.33, with certain interest amounts was brought in the United States district court here yesterday by the Hanover National Bank of New York, against J. 0. Barnes, S. W. Copeland, J. E. McMillan, G. B. Clayton, G. W. Folk, and H. Karesh, as thk guarantors of loans made by the plaintiff to the Farmers and Merchants Bank of Ehrhardt. It is alleged that the defendants named, with the late Dr. J. H. Roberts, entered a signed agreement in 1920 with the Hanover National Bank to guarantee paper discounted by theFarmers and Merchants Bank with the Hanover National to the amount of $70,000.?Charleston News and Courier, April 4. - Late Taxpayers May Lose Right to Vote Columbia, April 3.?Persons paying their 1921 taxes .late, under the resolution of the recent legislature, which authorizes postponement of tai^s, will not have the right to vote in certain elections of this year, according to the opinion of the attorney general's office. The opinion of the attorney general was expressed in a letter written unofficially to Cornelius Otts of Spartanburg, attorney for parties interested in a school trustee election in Spartanburg, county; and while it .was not an official opin- ' ion, it expressed the legal view of the situation as taken by the state's attorney. At the same time, the attorney genyaj's office stated that the matter of the legality of a vote by a . person who postponed paying his taxes under the recent legislation would have to be settled by the courts. The attorney general takes the position that the resolution of the legislature, ' which provided that late payment of taxes would not disqualify an elector, is contrary to the constitution, and he quotes court rulings to substantiate his contention. \ The constitution provides that as a | qualification for voting all taxes for j the year must be paid by December | 31, or the elector cannot have the | right to vote in any election for six 1 months thereafter. | T . resolution of the legislature j postpones payment of taxes without g actual execution by. the sheriff until I September, but with penalties rang- * i ing as high as seven per cent, after ? May 1. There . is a proviso to the | resolution which says that the pay- 9 ment of tax under this resolution will j not disqualify fen elector from voting. I The attorney general takes the posi- I tion that this is contrary to the-con- j stitution. The opinion of the attor- jj ney general's office was writen by As- | sistant Attorney General Daniel, as a unofficial advice to the Spartanburg j school authorities. J FLAMES DAMAGE AIKEN HOTEL.? 9 Fire Destroys One Wing of Highland a Park. * j Aiken, April 2.?One wing of the j Highland Park hotel here was burned in a fire which began at 11:30 o'clock tonight. For a time the flames threatened the entire structure and a call on Augusta for 'help . "* was made. However, the flames were > J under control before the Georgia city unit fire fighting apparatus arrived. The loss is estimated beween $25,000 and $30,000. The company plans to rebuild the burned portion at once. The wing destroyed was at right angles to the main building and was | two stories high. The lower floor -J consisted of the dining room, sun par- j lor, kitchen and pantry. The second i floor was cut up into 12 rooms occupied by hotel help. These saved all j thpir pffnrts and no one was injured. The hotel is owned by an Aiken * the time the fire was discovered. These all left their rooms without mishap, and returned to the hotel as soon as the fire was put out. Thus far it is not known just how the flames originated. The hitel is owned by an Aiken company of business men, incorporated as the Highland Park Hotel company. J. C. Hill is president and J. J. Sweeney, manager. ] Tex Rickard Freed l>y X. Y. Jury. New York.?George L (Tex) Rickard, international sports promoter, Tuesday was found not guilty of criminal assault on Sarah Schoenfield, fifteen-year old school girl, by a jury in the supreme court. The ver diet was 'handed down after the jury had deliberated an hour and a half. When the verdict was announced, Rickard, his face flushed, went over to his counsel, Max D. Stener, and embraced him. Drinking Lye Causes Death. The infant child of Boysie Sharp met with a terrible death Monday night. During the day the child got hold of a can of concentrated lye, drank a quantity of the fluid, from which death followed several hours later. Physicians could do nothing to save the child's life, and it died in great agony. The child was about a year and a half old. Late advices from the bedside of * Dr. Frank Kirkland, of Savannah, are to the effect that he is still very vj seriously ill. Dr. Kirkland Is suffering from poisoning caused by an abcess on leg.