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t ' ft % yoiioniti xxxvu HIDES BABY 1 UNDER STRAW Nettie Graham Young Moral Derelict, is Taken'to Prtli imki r? VrVIUJIIUId HUMAN INTlREST STORY Great Work Being Done by Board of Public Welfare in This State The taking of Nettie Graham and her baby to the public welfare instil tution in Columbia recently, by J. S. Vaught, Judge of Probate for Horry County, ends a human interest story involving moral turpitude in young people as well as in older ones, and a possible reform which may in time produce more useful members of some community. The facts of the case have not been prenerally known. They are being published for the first time now. It all shows the great work that is being done by the State Board of Public Welfare, through and by means also of the better class of our people and their officers of sroverament. It dates back to about July 1922, when citizens of a section of Dog Bluff township came to the Judge of Probate and made complaint that a young woman, about twenty years of age, a daughter of George Graham, was off in the woods with a young infant which she was managing to take caof in some way, and without the aid of family or friends, and without the usual comforts of raising the young, and probably with scanty food and clothing that she was able to pick up or that may have been thrown at her by those who had cast her out. The Judge of Probate looked into it and found that the facts had been correctly reported to him. He then summoned to a hearing, the girl herself, with the baby, the father of the young woman, and a number of members of the community to testify. He arranged to have it vcei^ain jf possible that those whom he summoned would be apt to attend. At the hearing: it was brought out. that th* baby had been bom while Fhe lived at the home of her father; that the father had sought to have her take legal steps against another ? who appears to be a relative by blood or marriage, and failing in this, he cast her out. She went off with the I habv. Later the father got sorry and WAtl 1/1 fwr f A rMtf ll OT nt^IVlCU tHUt IIC nrvuiu VI J VV to let him take the baby and raise it. By another person, used by him as a messenger. he pot possession of the child. Still later he found it too hard a job, as he was a "widower, and not anxious to marry again, so he pave the baby to Fred Lewis to have rtnd to hold. Some time after this baby had been given to Fred Lewis, the mother, having worried her heart sore'over its absence, slipped up to the Lewis place and stole the baby back again, so that at the time the complaints were made before Judge Vaught, she was'hiding off in the woods, keeping it amid piles of pine straw, and sheltered from the rain by a little house made of pine bark and branches picked up by Jier mothe'rin the pine groves. Fred Lewis appeared at the hearing and laidjelaim *? the bnhy. He employed anattorney to fight his cause and he was thoroughly interested In gettincr back what he claimed wps his own by right of gift from the mother herself. But what legal right did he have to the child? It had not been bound to him in the way provided by the laws of South Carolina. A doren lawyers, of the smartest sort could not establish any legal claim for him. 1 An important witness, that the eo^rt needed was not at the hearing, although such care had been used in frammoninc the parties. The case was continued. Then the court decided to put the potter in the hands of the bo*rd of fuihHc welfare. He vt',*o %nd told tne board the facts. The board promised to look after the case. The board was rather slow *n taking it up further with Judge Vaught, and hy this means the hearing vns not held for another session. Several months passed and the matter had almost been forgotten. Then one day citizens c.Hrrip a rain xo me court 10 make complaint. The woman was in the woods still, living there and taking care of the helpless infant as she had heen doing before; and the report was that mor? hahies, twins, had been /born in the meantime. ' Another letter was hastily sent off to Columbia and in a few days the board sent Mrs. Wooten, of Columbia, to investigate. Coming to Conway an appointment was made for her to go with Judge Vaught into the country to look for the mother and her off mi A- 9 7mm FDnmr. inev wem in a car most of the way. Arriving in the neighborhood of the nlnrp whore reports said the rirl was hidden, thev took to the woods and commenced looking for her. They found her with the baby in a bed of leaves and straw; the aforesaid renort as to other babies being in a way untrue; but the prirl was not In mod hpalth. neither was the baby. , They decided to use arguments and try to get the girl to come with them without resistance. After talking wHh her for some time she agreed to I Wkt L. D. MAGRATH FINISHES TANK Also the System Which Refines Conway Water Supply L. D. MaffTath is about to complete for the town of Conway the addition to the public water system, consisting of an efficient Alteration and K#?t> tling plant for the water, which comes from the big artesian well. Until this new work had been finished so that it could be used some time last week, the water from the well was pumped directly from the flow as it came from the grround into the elevated supply tank and from thence furnished through the mains to all of the hydrants and other water fixtures of the town. This was accomplished by means of a feed pipe inserted inside of the large casing of the well so that the artesian flow always furnish the supply at the end of this feed pipe. Coming up with All of this artesian water there is always more or less sand and gravel from the strata of earth/from which the artesian flow is taken down at the end of the casing. This accumulation of sand and gravel can be found near the out'ets of nearly all wells put down in *Jiis section of the country. With these things in the water, it could not be taken through the pipes for a long time without the danger of accumulations in the pipes that would obstruct and corrode them in time. This fact was also one thing against the water as not being clear and pure as it might have been. Another thing was the natural gases formed by the action of chemical forces found in the soil and the rocksj of the upcountry where this artesian water originates and soaks down between different strata of rocks to be taken up by the pipes of these .artesian wells. This ga scould be seen in the water after it was drawn from the cocks at the water fixtures, the bath tubs, basins and the like. The purpose of the new plant., now completed except the housings, was to eliminate the sandfand the gravel, also the natural gas formed in the water imprisoned under the ground. The work has been successful and the system is now delivering the pure artesian water without any trace of anv sand and without any sign of this gas. which in itself did no harm except to detract from the appearance A f tKn uifltaf n I f imnr ll.U/in /lon.itn vta viiv ?? 4i/v* ui/ hhit;o vtiicii ill avv u, The now plant consists of a larp-e concrete basin which measures 23 feet by CO feet, from which the clear water is pumped into the elevated mpplv tank; two smaller basins at the side of this through which the water flows on its way from the artesian flow, entering through a pipe at the bottom of the first; thence passing over through a cross pipe from whe surface of this first basin into the second basin, entering this also through the pipe near the bottom; thence passing, cool and clear over the concrete wall of the second rettling basin into the large basin above described and from thence lifted 'Into the supply tank as above mentioned. The sand is left in the two compartments through which the water first passes and only a small quantity will ever pass from these into the larger b?Mn. The system has in addition a very ingenious and efficient way of draining off .the sand from the basins just as often as this may accumulate so as to give trouble in the working of the flow of water. By mean^ of cocks and a large drain pine the whole force of the water can be turned into a drainage system and the sand washed out into the waste in ;he twinkling of the eye. When looked over, the middle of last week, all of this work had been completed except the building of the house over the basins. The material for this was on the ground ready for tne workmen awaiting better weather for this work to be done. It will be made tight so that nothing can get accompany them. They brought her and her baby to Conway and arranged }odging for them at a boarding house. On the following day the Judge of Probate took the girl and her baby to Columbia. He had been instructed to leave her at the Door of Hope. When he feot there" the office was closed and he could not get her in there, and he was informed that the Door of Hope did not,take babies. Judge' Vaught then went back to the board and !eft the two in charge of the board. He has not hetird from tl;e matter since he closed the traiisaction recently, he feels sure that the board has placed the baby in some good family through the Child Placing Bureau, where it will be legally ? MA?kA. -1 A 1 * wiujitcu an a iiicmucr ui a k<juu mmily, and if this has not been done yet, it is sure to be done before they are through with it; while there is, too, a better outlook for the mother of the infant. This girl, according to reports, had a common school education, could speak and write Intelligently. That she has be^n mislead by some one who should answer for it, is the opinion of all who have heard the story. Such aid as this which the board i* able to do in this sad case and in many similar cases all over this statr proves that it is one of the best institutions we have. j ? jpp| OONWAY, S. 0., THURSDAY, | AUDITOR HOLDS ;? o l\ The matter of turning o ; tor's office of Horry County ;I A. Calhoun, was somewhat r ! item published in a recent iss I; The Herald stated that 1 ! charge of the office', or word* JI error. Mr. Calhoun was at t j! there to aid County Treasure IJ the taxes. He did not know I j be expected to take charge o;! office. Later a letter was rec J showed that Mr. Adams' tii J his commission, until April 1 Ij the new Auditor will take cli The management of N. out with much labor owing I; the school districts, and th< I* has been eminently efficient J stituents. jl The newly elected Count ; experience in clerical work ai I* the affairs of this importanl himself. WWWUW.YAWAWWi%VW BOND ISSUE ROAD SYSTEM Columbia.?South Carolina is on the threshold of what may be the greatest era of road progress ever known in the state, according to members of the "committee of eight," .appointed by the recent conference called by Governor Harvey, and at its meeting in Columbia Thursday the committee outlined an ambitious program, which if the state puts into effect, will put South Carolina on an equal footing ' with other progressive states and , ahead of many in the South, with a county seat hard-surfaced road system. The road program will be finally acted upon by the second sitting of Ihe governor's conference here today, January 11th, which prominent peoTll#? frnni pwrv rnnnfv nro ovnAofo^ f.w V. N. * J VVMII VJ Mi V/ V/ Apw l/V#U to attend. The action of the gathering will he reported to the legislature, .^s the people's program for a ^tate highway system of hard-surfaced roads connecting county seats. The main features of the proposed nlan are as follows: 1. A bond issue for $50,000,000. 2. A 100 per cent increase in motor vehicle license fees (exceDt trucks.) 3. A three per cent tax on gasoline, in lieu of the present two cents tax, and also a tax on lubricating oils when used in automobiles. 4. The proceeds of the gasoline tax and the increased licenses to be used for maintenance and sinking fund, but prior to the issue of the bonus, which would nrobably be about two years, hence, allowing time for the necessary legislation the vote of the people, flnd the details connects- < with the issue of the paner, the proceeds of these special taxes to bo usod for maintenance of roads already built and construction of ne$ road:?. The committee declined to accept the report of the subcommittee for a $25,000,000 bond issue and a hardsurface program combined with top 1 soil and sand clay roads, the hard- 1 surface highways to be built according to the traffic density. In lieu of this recommendation of its own sub- ; committee it was decided to .recom mend a county seat to county seat program. v It was the general opinion that no vote could he taken until the regular election in 1924, hut no definite answer could be given. The same subcommittee was asked to make up the report to be submitted to the concontinued On Editorial Page.) into the system to contaminate the water. ' White making the new plant, Mr. Magrath remodeled the piping from the well with all of its attachments so that this is in good condition and laid below the frost line to prevent freezing. With the old construction the pipe had to be packed to avoid a repetition of the bursting which oc-' curred on one occasion during a cold winter and the town was without water for several*days. The new plant is built on another lot of land sixty by twenty feet donated by the Rurroughs & Collins Company, t6 the town for so long, as , tne land is used for this water system. 1 Before that time they had donated , the main lot of land on which the large tank with its steel tower was i erected. i\fv Morrnth has completed this 1 improvement during the last year of i his administration as mayor of Con- 1 way. He was the engineer who plan- 1 nod it. He not} only planned it in a ' way that was efficient and adequate ' for all time to come, hut he gave his 1 personal time' and attention to the work of construction, employing- only sttch Vthor and skill as he could fret i in Conwav. The work is a monument to his) training and skill, and to the ; Wholehearted service which he rendered in hi* office and which he was more 1 than willing to do. ] Trie cost of the work has been t*o ! thousand and two hundred dollars, j using the round numbers. i gr pw JANUARY 11, 1923 UNTIl.APRTl Ifttk 5 ? - ' m m mm m ? - ? -* v v/ % ^ ver the affairs of the Audi- !; to the new Aduitor, Mr. J. !; nuddlcd according to a news me of the Herald. ;I ;he new Auditor had taken ? 3 to that effect. This was an < he court house but he was ; r, C. E. Barker in collecting at first just when he would ; f the affairs of the auditor's I; eived from Columbia which ; ne would not be out, under % 8th, 1923; and on that date jl ; targe. I; , C. Adams, though carried Ij to the frequent changes in ^ a addition of more districts, J ' and satisfactory to his con- 5 I y' Auditor has had a long I id he will no doubt manage 4 ! t office with much credit to S J U COOPERATION IN MARKETING Editor Herald: Having read so manv articles re ferring to the Tobacco Marketing Association, I want to say a few words. I am now simply convinced that the association is the salvation for tobac- , co growers, and that every one who fights the association is just tr>l ng to cut his own throat. I have studied and watched the marketing of fruits here by the associaions and through the chamber of commerce and personal interview with old settlers here. I find the following to be facts: Prior to the organization of fruit growers' associaion apricots were selling for 3 and 4 cents per pound. Peaches were selling around and 5 cents per pound, and 10 cents was top market for almonds, figs brought 2 and 3 cents per pound. Hundreds of tons of fruit was never gathered for it would not pay exposes of gathering and -drying. Here are present prices today from my own personal observations: Apricots sold this year for 25 cents per pound: peaches 12 to 15 cents; almonds, 21 cents, figs 10 cents. These are association prices, delivered at the several warehouses owned by them and of course independent buyers' prices were the same. The association sets prices on all fruits rvnd independent buyers are governed ac? cordingly. Another thing 1 wish to call attention to is the dairy product trices previous to the entry of the Northern California Milk Producers' Vssociation in the field. The fanner , w.as getting 2R cents to 30 cents per oound for butterfat and today to my own knowledge, the farmer is tinpr 57 to 58 cents per pound for it. ] and pure creamery butter is retailing ! today for 60 cents per pound which * only leaves a margin of 2 to 3 cents 1 between producer and consumer, so j you can readily see that the farmer ^ is getting every thing possible for his cream. You see this is only a n\nv/rir * of 3 cents between the raw product 1 and the retail price on manufactured . goods. Why can't other industries operate on a margin similar to this. Who gets the difference between the price say of 20 cents per pound the farmer receives for his tobacco and the 60 to 80 cents he has to pay for | the manufactured product. Another big industry of this state is raisin growing, which is all practically handled through the association. There is only about 4 cents per pounH dif- . ference between what the grower gets ' for his raisins here than what you ray for them in your grocery store. ] Last summer when your canteloupes, *nd watermelons were rotting on you K t 1. - < - I -J ' * - " ? - ror iacK or a marKet tne iarmer nere was getting 12 1-2 cents each for eanteloupes and 25 to 50 cents each fov watermelons. Cabbage selling for 5 cents per pound. All the year sweet J potatoes are $3.50 per bushel. I have balked to several farmers who state | that if it were not for the association ] they would cut out their orchards. | Land is selling- here for $300 to $1,D00 per acre, according to improve- J( ments, but let me say that Horry j County lands are far superior to any ( land in this country with exception of ; delta lands around Sacramento. All t the crops here are grown by irrigation ( as we have no rains from about the first of April to first of November, ( and water is an expensive part of , farming. Wells have to be sunk 200 ( to 300 feet deep and it takes around , a 25 horsepower motor to lift this T water with a centrifugal or turbine j pumps, and the power company does , not forget to charge for the current j whether used or not. And T fully believe today that Horry County would be one of the richest sections in the United States if they only b?rl : marketing systems for a*l produ*#- \ California has. Horrv Count" hn* < as fine lands as I have seen .any "*Vr#? < I don't know of any other state j has five seasons except South Caro- . lina. Suppose it cost the farmers of | Horry three dollars per acre to water his crop every time during the year 1 that this was necessary, you can see 1 0 mU. i W. R. BRITT PASSES AWAY III. _ ISM U t ? ? iimess wmcn Lingered Dated From About Eighteen Months Ago Many were saddened last Thursday evening when they heard that W x,\ Britt had passed away at about the hour of 3 o'clock on that day; following an illness which had lingered for about eighteen months. He is survived by his wife and children, the latter feeing all about cf age. He is survived by two daughters who are married. Two of his .-ens, V\alrer and Percy, are both printers. He was a prominent member of several fraternal organizations. He was a skillful carpenter and worked at this trade for many years. At one time he was engaged in the mercantile business as a groceryman in Conway. After closing out his store, which was located on the eastward side of Main Street, near where the brick building of the Gents Furnishing Company now stands, he became more devoted to the trade, which he had learned in his youth. His work on many buildings in Conway will attest to his efficiency and skill as a worker of wood and metal. His death was doubtless result of the effects of an accident which happened to him in Hopewell, Va., in the early days of January A. D. 1916. He had gone to that town, with a number of others from Horry County, to engage in his trade. There was very little or no work of that kind going on in Conway at that time. Everything had fallen flat, owing to the low prices of cotton and other farm products. In Virginia the DuPonts established a big factory for the manufacture of gun cotton under | D tllVAA.XfftflV fAnf I'nnt fViol " " ? ... 'wv tT v.* vuiivuivi i/iK' v me company had with England. A town sprung up at the place almost over night. The new to>vn was known as Hopewell, and it was the place where thousands of workmen from all over the South went to work for the high wages of sixty-two and one-half cents per hour offered by the DuPont Company for operators. W. R. Britt went there with a number of others. One morning he was passing along a crowded street. The weather had been wet and the new streets were all in the rough. They had been cut up deep by the wheels of heavily laden vehicles carrying ihe traffic of a new city. A negro boy riding a horse was passing around a corner just as Mr. Britt was trying to get by. The negro reared his horse and trampled Mr. Britt into tho mud. the heavy shod feet of the horse striking him in the head and painfully bruising his body in many places. He was taken to a hospital and lint>e>ed for a long time between life and death. Finally he was able to set up and go back to work? but he was never the same man again. The negro was run down and finally caught, a time was fixed for his trial, but in one wjy, or another he went unpunished for his act. One reason for a continuance of the case against the negro at Hopwell on occasion, as reported here, Mr. Britt was still sick and could not appear to testify. The officers finally dismissed the case. The scene at Hopewell at the present time is said to be quite different Fl'ftm wlinf if Wfie t * win a v n un iiiv>il? BANKERSTATES HIS TESTIMONY Hearing Commences in Farmers and Merchants Bank Case , BIG EXPENSE~FIRST YEAR Pacts of Failure of Defunct Bank Comes Back to Memory The trial of the case brought by W. Freeman, as receiver of the Farm?rs & Merchants Rank under order >f the court, against the administvoters of the personal estate of W. U. Lewis, L. D. Mn?rratn, Georpe Officer, J. J. Williams, W. B. Huck~, Debbie Stalvey and W. B. Chestnut as lefendants, commenced at the court louse on last Wednesday before O. P. ^uattlebaum, appoin vd bv the <o'.irt is special master to hei r ?!.* care and report his decision t': M:e r??urt >n both the law anrl t>e This suit is evidently in *he nature if a claim which mipfht have been ad /anced by the stockholders of the now defunct bank. The action which is iow maintained by Mr. Freeman as receiver under the iaw is for the beneit of the people who invested their inoney in the capital stock of the aank that failed. There was some delay in bringing: (Continued On Back Page.) this would be a bipr item which they ould not afford. WeM, fhis is what it wsts the California farmer for water. \nd he could not afford it until the -<^rvintions says: "I will get you a profitable market for your product. M. D. MISHOE, Kirkwood, Calif., Dec. 30th, 1922. "N1 % . r ; / l: > --'5 . I*' * 4 <? . HO . sT BANK HISTORY BROUGHT BACK Hearing Set in,Action by Receiver Against Directors W. PERCY HARDWICK Formed 'Bank at Aynor Which Failed and Injured the Oonway Institution The hearing that was set for last Wednesday in the case of W. A. Freeman, as reciever of the Farmers A Merchants Bank against the estate of W. R. Lewis, one of the directors awl against a number of others, Kobbio Stalvev, W. Percy Hardwick, J. J. Williams, W. B. Hucks, George Officer, L. D. Magrath and W. B. Chestnut, all of whom were at one time the directors of the hank; brought back to mind the establishment of the instituition, and its career which lasted about two years. Some of the matters of interest connected with it will follow in this article. The Farmers & Merchants Bank, of Conway, S. C. .opened its doors on December 13th, 1913. Among the names of the defendants now being sued appears the name of W. Percy Hardwick. So far as this establishment of the bank went, especially the procuring of subscriptions to its capital stock, and the details of its organization and methods of doing business, its policy in regard to making loans, at least in the beginning; these were all the * product of the activity of Mr. Hardwick. It is true that he may have been encouraged by others in his efforts to establish this bank a*o a new financial institution at that time; but his was the ide.i and 1 i?: was the work of carrying it out. Hardwick had been connected here with one of the first banks ever established in Conway. He held the position for several years which placed him in the front office of the institution fn rionl uriMi tVio danftoitnm ww viiv \ivpv/oivvijjj mm the people who applied there for financiaal assistance or to cash their checks. Whether it was cashier, or assistant cashier, the writer of this article cannot now* rfccnlT, but it is well to remember that he was placed in direct contac^ with the people who patronized the bank. In those days he became extremely popular. He was the most obliging", attentive, and accommodating banker that the town possessed. He did not treat his customers there with either coolness or indifference. When a farmer called in it was, "Hello John, how is your crop fretting- on this time? How did you leave the folks?*' If it was a merchant the question would likely be, "You have a prood business now, what will be the amount of voui* business this year over that which you had last year?" No matter what kind of man came into that bank. Percv IT^rdwick hnd a prood word for him. He was liked by every customer of the hruik and he had suclH a popularity that he soon was apparentlv to establish anv kind of business that mip-ht strike his fancy. If friends had money they would deposit it with him. He conceived an idea of establish-, inr* another bank in Conway. He talked it to others on the quiet and interested many people in the new enterprise. But the Farmers Sr. Merchants Bank of Conway was not hi^ first, venture. It was in May or June 1913 thai he conceived the idea_ of ^>stahlishinpr a nanK at Avnor. The Farmers State Bnnk of .that town was the result. Of that bank he was the president and he found no trouble in getting plenty of money for the huving of the stock. Depositors also followed to make the bank .apparently a success. After establishing- the Farmers State Bank of Aynor, he soon got to work on his main idea which was the making of a bank at Conway. He beoran the organization of the Bank of Conwav about September or October, 101S When his connection with the older bank with which he had worked for so long, was severed, the old institution suffered in the matter of customers. Many of those who had been regular depositors in the older bank at once changed their accounts to the new bank. A building was secured on Third Avenue, near the Conway Bargain House building, and which is the same place now occupied by the jewelery store of J. E. Dawsey. The two new banks ran through the year of 1914. The Farmers State Bank of Aynor went under before the end of 1915. About the close ol^ihe same year the Farmers & Merchants Bank of Conway closed its doors. rm n ? . ? ? m ? ine rarmers suite Man* ot Ayner went under and was closed up first. This caused a run, to be made on the Conway institution. Hardwick had been connected with the bank at Aynor and it had failed. This caused a ornd"^! dropping ofT of deposits at the Ponwav institution and a rathe* ~np*d withdrawal of accounts that had *>een enjoyed by the Conway bank up 'o *hat time. This is believed by many, and not without reason, to have been the real cause of the failure of th* F*rme?s (Continued on Editorial Fige.)