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~AMO NEWBERRY, S. (., bII A, ())i PRICE$150AYEAR Fs~,XRiSHEI) IN 1865. THE FARMERS' COLLEGE. Figures Showing that Separate Agri tural Colleges are Better and Cheaper than Agricultural An nexes. "X" in News and Courier. "The College question agai' is the caption of an article appearing in the News and Courier of Septem ber 21. signed by "D." in which he appears to be well satisfied with his effort, and which, if not an awered by the friends of a "separate agricultural college," may have the effect 'desired by him. But we are not disposed to allow him to have it his own way so easily. '"D" is evi dently no tyro in logic, and when he lays down his propositions we are disposed to give him a fair chance to air himself. He asserts that the friends of a separate agricultnral college have not yet established either of the following propositions, which appear reasonable at first glance: 1st. "That the separate college is more beneficial to the farming in terest of the State than the depart ment system," and 2d. "That it is so much better as to fully compensate for the largely in creased expenditure involved in its establishment and management.' He adds- that the public interest de mands the proof of both; and we are of the opinion that he may find that he has not settled the case by any means. Can the friends of the proposed college possibly climb over this logi cal wall ? If not, of course we may infer that it is perfectly legitimate for the South Carolina College to continue to misappropriate the land script' funds as it has done in past years. How are these propositions to be settled ? By the light of ex perience, of course. There is no other way that I know of. In the light of experience all of -D's" logi cal gymnastics pass for what they are worth, and the public may decide. whether the propositions be demon strated-or not. He would crush us with figures and hurls his little "department" against the separate college in Mississippi with as much assurance as if it amounted to something. As he is so proud of his "department," we pro. pose that he add to the wonderful work accomplished by it the work done by all of the so-called agricul tural and mechanical colleges of the United States, having an -'agricul tural annex," as desired by him. There are twenty nine of them for white pupils, and let us "pit" them againt the work of the eight agricul tural and mecbanical colleges in the country, which have eman cipated themselves from the thraldom of the classics or the so called "liberal culture" which we do not care to have in agricultural col lege or upon the farm. That covers the whole experience of the country up to date, and is the very best standard that I know of. Taking.the latest United States Educational Re port from Washington, 1884-85,~we find in tables IX and X the follow. ing facts: There are' in all thirty seven colleges for whites, supported in whole or in part by the 'land -script funds. Twenty-nine of these have agricultural annexes, into which some of them also incoporate a "mechanical," "scientific" and "mining" departments, in order to make it appear large, I suppose, for they are doing mighty little work. The twenty-nine colleges received fromi the scrip and from special ap propriations the sum of about $940, 062 for 1884-5, of which about $50, 000 can be accounted for in building equipment, &c., leaving about 8890, 062 for running the institutions. The average annual cost, therefore, was about $30,684, for which they gave instruction to a total number of 683 students in the college classes, equal to an average attendance of fifty-eight to the college, and grad uated in all eighteen studeuts. The cost therefore, of running an agricul tural attachment per student in at tend ance at the attachment is $52S885 per annum. There are nine of these so-called agricultural and mechani cal colleges with attachments that did not have a single student to re port in those branches. As in the South Carolina College, the money was being,.wholly diverted to other purposes and the agricultural classes were not getting a single dollar of it expeeded in the development of agri culture or mechanics in those States. These are facts drawn from their own reports, and I believe may be relied upon. But let us see the advantage of a separate .agricultural college. These eight separate colleges received in all an appropriation of $301,805, of which about $100,000 was for build ing and equipment, leaving about $201,895 as the annual cost of run ning them as above, This was an average of $25,238 each per annum. for which they gav'e instruction to a total number of 1,143 students. equal to an average attendance of 142 in the college classes only, andl grad usted forty-five students. TIhis amounted to a cost of about $176 48 per annum per student in the sepa rate colleges, as againt $528 85 pe student in tbe annexes. ."D" is anxious to compare results, and so are we : Twenty- Eig.ht Advan* .n-ine separate tages of - Colleges A gr'] and se parat e -with mfechan'I CoUtage Annees Gonleges, per year. Mof runi'g 530,65,400 $S523e 00 -5.44t;0 - each Total number 1 i,s 1,13 - . of students. Ttlnuinber} -:i 0 Cot per setudent, sm2$ 55 s:7 4" $:i23 Average atton-? i 5 142 84 .dance,) With an average appropriation ot $.440 a year less than is rcquired to run colleg-:es with annexes, they were educating ahiuost three times a= many students and proiducing almost three times as mnytr gradu-tes in a. rieulture and me.chanies, .at a cost of about one-thirdi what it cost to do th' same work in auriculturai annexes This was the experience in l.' -- and among the poorest of the poo: colleges, with azriciultural annexr stood the South Carolina College. Does "I" still insist that the prop ositions are needing demonstration If so, let him make the experience of the past five years, and he will show up equally as badly for his little an nex and the misappropriation of the funds donated by the tieneral Gov ernment for particular purpose, which the South Carolina College has not, and does not, and never can ftul lii. But satisfied with the production of the "formidable (:') propositions already discussed, he coolly pro ceeds to impale the Mlississijppi Ag ricultural College upon the horns of a dilemma (?) As a trick in logic his device is uultque and can be rnade to fire at both ends. As >ne end has already been fired off at the Missi sissippi Agricultural College, I will rect the other end upon the South Carolina College. i silnly para phrase his dilemma. The only strong card that the South Carolina College has is that it gives a thorough course in "liberal culture"-a very excellent thing in its way for lawyers and doctors nc doubt; but will not any banker, rail. road company, merchant, druggist, doctor or lawyer require any of it: graduates to start at tile very bottom of the business and learn it the same as if he had not studied at this Col. lege before he can be promoted ? In other words, a young man who grad uates at that College has to uegin exactly where he would have had tc begin four years before when ie entered college, in order to earl his livelihood in any of the in. dustrial or commercial pursuits by which men support themselves in South Carolina. That being true and daily practice proves it to be so if one hundred stuacets from home: supported by industrial and commer cial pursuits attend the South Caroli na College and only one hundred re turn to begin exactly where they would have begun had they not at tended that institution, then it is not benefiting the students. If less than one hundred studeuts from homes supported by indust:ial and commercial pursuits who attend the South Carolina College return tc their homes to contribute to the farther development of the State then it is doiug an injury to the state, and all classes should unite in seeing that it is suppressed. Further, if the proportion of stu dents from such homes who returi to them after only a short sojourn at the South Carolina College is greate. than when the students remain sev. eral years, then the longer a student remains at such a place the worsi it is for him, and the less grounds there are for the longer maintenance of such an institution. As requested by him, I have stud. ied "D's" logic, and he is at libertl to further exercise his ingenuity in this direction, if he'is of the opiniol that it will advance his cause o. suppress the advocates of a separate agricultural college. Visit of >Irs. Cievelan<l1 to 3Irs. Polk NasIrviiL1:, TENx., October 10. The President andl his wife pa5sse the day quietly at Bell Mead, the home of General W. HI. and Senato: Howell E .Jackson, six miles frou the city. This afternoon thiey calledt on Mrs James K. Polk. The pike by which they' enter the. city was thirong~ed with pepl f: three miles. and the route he was t< take was crowdeld with spectators The party arrived at the Polk plae< at five o'clock. The mneeting be tween Mrs. Poik, the former mistres of the Wh ite House, and its presen1 youthful occupant, was interestin: in the extreme. As was remnarked~ by one of th< gentlemen present. -The mantle has falen on worthy shoumlders.' \Ms. Polk seemed to be complete-l' exhilarated by the visit and was oo only in a cheerful mood. but happy The weight of he'r eighity-four years bowed her but slightly, and thougl she says she is feeble, one can scarce ly detiect it in her bearingz. She remarked that it was a ver) uuisual occurrence for a lady o^hlei age, forty years after she occupie the place of first lady in the land. t: receive a visit from a successor. The event seceed to calli up n>at; pleasant reminiscences of the past. M1rs. P'olk snys -he was personal!: aquanted ithi every President from th.e time of .! ohn ( uincy Adam: to that of Lincoln. P'residenit Jackson often visitec thetm after his ad.iniistration anm when her husband was Governor. She was just married when Lafav ette visited Nashville. Martin Va: Buren visited M1r. P'ok at his hann in Columnia while the former was Vice President. Me'~ to-day publitcly acknowle<iget the error it committedi int publishini any- matter uncompidentary to M\1rs Cleveland durinz her visit to this city Will E. I Jaskell, the junior nmmb of the Tri'nne CompDany,. will assumn over his own sigratu re the responsi bilitr for thle t'icveland edi:ori:l a:n entirely exone rate Mr. Blethien fro: all kn'owledge. participation or re soniilitr in the same. A WRECK ON THE AIt LINE. An Excursion Train of Nine Cars Re turning from Atlanta Run into by a Wild H'reigixt-I)isobedience of Orders the Cause of the Ca tastrophe. SP.ecial to the News and Courer. G l:EENYiVLLrE, October '?.-A fri,htful collision occurred this morn. inon the Air Line Road near Greer's Station, ten miles north of this city. Passenger train No. 51, coming from Atlanta with nine cars of excursion ists returning from the Exposition, collided with a special freight train bound south, two miles from Greer'; Station. Engineer Robert F. Wall, of the passenger train, and Mrs. Hampton McDowell, of Asheville, were killed, and eleven others were injured. The acci-dent was one of the most frightful ever recorded in this section, and the most remarkable feature has been the small loss of life. When the passenger train reached here this morning orders were handed to Conductor Marshall -and Engineer Wall to run four hours and twenty minutes late. This gave the train the right of way on tiat schedule, and after signing up orders and tak ing copies, the trai.n pulled out for its north.ward run, making about thirty miles an hour. Orders for No. 51 had been given to all trains on the line, and when the special freight train reached Greer's Engineer Har. ris and Conductor Raville were in posse3sion*of them. Had they side tracked at Greer's all would have been well, but they did not do so. It was only four miles to Taylor's Station, and they calculated that with the delayed schedule they could make that point before the passenger train. The calculation was a frac tion wrong, and ten minutes after the freight train bad left the station the collision occurred. DOWN A STEEP GRADE. The freight was running on a steep down grade and the passenger had just rounded a long curve when, like a meeting of mighty monsters in combat, the two giant locomotives crashed together. They careened with the shock and fell back, the sap senger engine turning completely around and the engine of the freight careening to one side. Back of the passenger engine was the postal car. and next to it the express car. Here came the full force of the collision. The express car climbed through and half way over the mail car, making the two almost as one and scarcely distinguishable. The baggage ,car, which came next, was wrecked, bul not telescoped. With this the shock spent itself, and back in the Pullman sleeper, at the rear of the train, it was scarcely felt. Three of the forward cars of the freight were wrecked, and, catching fire, were burned. APPEARANCE OF TIHE WRECK. * This was the scene that met thi eves of the passengers who crowded from thie.train. A mass of mangled engines and of crushed and wrecked cars was there, and it was knowr that human bieings wvere among the d ebris. Prompt efforts were begur for the rescue. In the forward pos tal car were Route Agents Killian D)ykeman and Wilson, two young men riding on permits and Sherif Glenn, of York County. When the crash came the express car crashed half through the postal car. .Ageni Killian, who was stricken down found himself imprisoned among the broken timber at the top of the car Agents D)ykeman and Wilson were thrown and imprisoned by the wreck IAs if by a miracle none was serious ly injured, and the other three occu Ipants of the car escaped altogether TIlE s(iENE IN TIIE ENPIRESS C'AR. In the express car with Messengei E'rini were his cousin, Mrs. IIamp, ton 3lcD)owell, his brother. Willie and his sisters, Mary and Nannie anud their cousin, Miss Quinn, o~ Washingvton. They had chosen tC ride w'ith .him because of- the crowc in thec tramin. When the first shock~ palssed the young ladie were in thc midldle of the postal car, bruised, bul alive Miss Quinn was imprisonec at the top of the car. where she had been lyingr. JTust then the cry of fire arose and it was dIiscovered that the ex press car was on fire from the store A :thoughi themselves wounded Agents Killian and Dy keman mad< Ibrave and herculean efforts to rescut thie young ladies, and succeeded The fire blazed up several times, bn was caebh time extinguished. n.. '1)owELL TuiN IN Two. The body of Mrs. McDowell was male~d beyond description. Th< clotlhing was torn off and the .lowel limbs lay bleeding on the track be low, while the upper portion of th< body was tanigled inthe upper dlebrv of t-he catr. I was a spectacle o surpassing horror. TIlE NANG;LED N;EssENuER. Expres.e Messenger Erwin wa found with his left leg broken and hi~ right foot crushed to a jelly. Hi broter,Wille, as bruised, but no srosyinjured. TilE DEAD EN''NEER. Among the wreck of the passenge engine was found the dead body o Enigineer Wal,li e cried once t< the'conductor after the shock anc then dlied. Ed Parnell, his fireman was badly scalded about the neel and shoulders, but he will recover. r A FATED FIRENAN. Turning to the freight engine th< body of J. L. Webster, fireman, wa fo,undi. 11is right arm was cru.shed and required immediate amputatio'n lie was otherwise painfully injured Philip Black, negro irakeneii the freight train, was on the top of a car when be saw the train comiing. He fell on the car ant received tei shock, and is now suffering from con cussion of the brain, from which he will probably die. This complete the list of casualties. CARIN( FV: TILE WOUNIE). Steps were at once taken to carn for the wounded. The body of Mrs. McDowell was sent on to her rela tives and an inquest is to be hell to night on the body of Engineer Wall. Seven of the wounded were broufght 3n here, where they are being cardcc for. Messenger Erwin's foot will require amputation. Physicians from the city and numerous volun teers have been busy all day looking to the wounded. CRDIINAL CAlMLE$SNESS. There appears no doubt that the accident was due to the carelessness of the engineer and conductor of the freight train. They both diap peared immediately afterwards. an, have not been seen since. The wreck has caused great excitement here and public opinion is rapidly crys talizing in a demand for the punish ment of the guilty parties. The fdllowing is a complete list of the casualties: LIST OF KILLED AND INJ'I:IC:I. Mrs. Hampton McDowell, of Ashe ville, killed. Robert F. Wall, of Charlotte killed. J. B3. Irwin, of Asheville, le( broken and foot crushed. J. L. Webster, fatally mangled. Philip Black, colored, fatally shocked. Ed Parnell, scalded. James Killian, of Greenville, spin< injured. S. M. Dykeman, of Atlanta, back injured and hand wounded. W. R. Wilson, of Atlanta, bruised Misses Mary and Nellie Erwin and Willie Erwin, bruised painfully. Miss Quinn, of Washington, slight iy injured. FIREMAN WEBSTER DEAD. SrARTANRURO, October 20.-An other death from the Air Line col lision occurred here at6 o'clock this evening. He was a white fireman by the name of Webster, 'from Selma Ala. A colored train band is in e critical condition. They had th( best medical attention possible. .A detachment of the Morgan Rifle: was on the train, but fortunately es caped injury. THE CRIMINAL CARELESSNESS OF Till CONDUCTOR AND ENGINEER OF THE FREIGHT TRAIN. Special to the Register. GREENVILLE, October 21.-An in quisition-was held to-day at Greer' Station over the dead body of Rober F. Wall, the engineer of the passen ger train who was killed in the col lision yesterday morning. The in quest was held by Coroner McBee of this conty, and a j.ury, with WVil liam Hill as foreman. C. F. Marshall, conductor of th passenger train, was sworn, and sai that tie was running~ from Atlanta ti Charlotte by onders with the right o track. When the collision occurre he was taking up tickets in the sixt! car back from the engine, hut wen forward immediately and found En gineer Wall dead. The evidence of other witnes'se went to show that the freight trai1 p)assed Grecrs contrary to orders and that it was wild and reckless. The verdict of the jury was that tho deceased, R. ri. Wall. was killed b; the collision, and that the collisioi was occasioned by thje reckless run ning of Conductor Reville and En gineer J. F. IIarris on the specti train which collided with the patssen ger train. It is now clearlv estalished t ha Conductor Reville and Enginee IIarris juImpedi from the freight trail before the collision, and, with th' knowledge of their ownl reeMecssness became frightened at the horril disaster and fled. It is reporid her: to-night that they went to Charlotte drew their pay and went to Sals burv. where they have been arrested Tramxpa, Florida, Asking for Money. ,Ja ('.oN Vi.L:, FL.A., October 2C -D)r. King Wyly, p)resident of th State Health P'rotection Association telegraphs C. Hi. Jones, editor of th Timnes-'nion, as follows: "'The mayor of Tam;pa has wire me that they are in ne'ed of money i T'aiapa. Will you lease. throngt tihe Associated P'ress ai.d your co1 umns, ask the dilTercnt counties am committees to Send such amounts a they can to either the mayor or th First National Bank of T2ampa to b) used as may he dleemed expeit to all existingl suflein. arn for sic! ndtakingcaeothlagnub of persons thrown out o'' emnploy ment. The suffering fal especiall; ori the laboring class, white an< black, now out of work who mnust b provided for." Frost. .JA(KSONvitL:, LA.., October 22. A light frost fell here this mnorning The report from Tampa is : "Twent: new cases to-day; no deaths. Ti. disease is of a very mihd typE Weather cool and favorable."' Jaclk sonville's relief fund: for Tampa' sufferers exceeds thirteen hundrei dollars. Male of an H[istor'ical Dorailmnt. WXorrmTRoN, Minn., Oct. 19. Mrs. Charles Bullis of this place ha just sold to George H. Treadwel Commander of the G. A. R., of A bany, N. Y., the original ordi nanc of secession passed by the state c Virginia. The consideration wa 9i1,000. There are rumors in the air that the Central svstel in upper Carolina. embrtcing the Arugusta arid Green wood, Laure;s and Spartanhurg, Laurens and Greenville and the Savannah Valley railroads, is soon to pass int. the hauds of the Rich moud Terminal Company, to be worked in connection with the Rich m:.or,d and Danville system. These rumors cause no surprise. Since the purchase of the Georgia Central by a New York syndicate in terested largely in the Richmond and Danville, the absorption of-its lines in Carolina by the Richmond Terminal Company has been re garded by many as a foregone con clusion. Indeed, there 'are those who regard the conSolidation of the Georgia Central with the Rclimond and )anville as almost a certainty. Nor rre these all the changes that are destined to take place in the near future in the railroad map of the South. I ndications are not wanting that railroad lines in Vir ainia, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee and Alaba-na will join under one management. As the Western Union swallowed up all competitors, so will the Rich mond Terminal in the States named. The whisperings in the air are that the time is not far distant when the Richmond Terininal Company will control, in addition to the Richmond and Danville system, the East Ten nessee and the Georgia Central sys tems frcm Washington and Rich mond in the east to Knoxville, Chat tanooga, Birmingham, Atlanta, Mont gomery and Selina in the south and southwest, and Columbus, Macon, Augusta and other interior cities in Georgia, Virginia and the Carolinas, with Newport News, Port Royal, Savannah and Brunswick on the At lautic. NOTHING TO LOSE. Abbecille Press and Banner. The people of Abbeville will have nothing to lose by the talked of change, but the possibility of much gain is evident. For the last few years Abbeville has paid dearly for her failure to secure either the Au gusta and Knoxville road or the Savannah Valley road. Besides get ting none of the advantages of the Uew roads, the Columbia and Green ville road has felt at liberty to im pose on us at will in the matter of freight charges and convenient passenger schedules, so that between the three roads we have been in a t bad wa. With the Augusta and Knoxville in the hands of the owners of the -Columbia and Greenville road, they will not in all probability have their -schedules .arrangedl so as to give the travelling public tire most useless andt vexatious (delays at Greenwood I r elsewhere-at least we shah hope for the br.tter. Nothring could lbe fworse thran the p)resent schedules by which tire passenger train on the Spartarnburg road leaves G;reenwood imirhourbefore the arrival of the (Columrbia and Greenville train. "Christ in the Camp.i" Charlestu. Suml,ay .accs. Tfhe Rev. .J. Wrih. Jones, one of thre "fighlting parsons" of the Army of -Northern Virginia, has published a work for which he had been gather ng materials for mo,re than twenty years. It was Ihis p)rivilege to follow tihe veterans of tire Army of .Northern -Virginia, as p)riv-ate soldicr, or as chaplain, from Ilarpers Ferry- in '61 Lt-> A ppomnattox Courthonse I- '65. Ile knew personally most of the lead ogv oilicers. Ie min gled freely with tire priva'te soldier in camp, ou the in rch, in the hiv~ouac, on r he battle 'ild and-in tire hrospitai. D)r. Jones, thereflore, had special qiualifications tor his scif imposed task, wIch was to describe thre religions side of the hristory of tire Army of Northern Vir Dr. Tories says, wh truth, that any histo-yv of thre famous Army wi ich omits an account of tire won der ful inence of religion upon it wi~ ch fails to tell mow the~ courage, dilscip)line and morale of the whole Iwas iilruenced by the piety and evan I 'ic al zeal of many of its oflicers an meni-would Ibe inucomplete anid unaifcoy It is a subject for Iconu'ratul ation thrat one so well fatedI Ishrouldr have supplied what was is sing, and have ad ded a gloriou.s page to tire recordI of as sup)erb a body of sodesas tire world ever knew. Bishop Granberry, in his intro dclItion to --Christ ini the Camp.' rspeaks mos' feelingly of tire ciharac -ter of tire pecigand worship i tire army. Th'e sermons in the camp would have suited any congregation in the city or country. The style was not controversial, speculative or e urious, bunt ermip~ently practical and direct. Th'lere was no stirring up of bad blood ; no prompting to malice or revenge. ReliJio in tire army was a p)eculiar type or phase of pilety. -It had its own form, color, flavor. -Military discipline was not unfavor able to it. Thre soldiers- habit, of unqilestioning obedience to ordhers, of trust in superior ollicers 'and of Ifreedom from anxiety about things 'for wh1ich hre is not responsible, fits into the life of faith. Bishop Gran Iberry says that he has nowhere wit nessed more compllete, symmetrical, andc beamutiful examples of Christian character than in the Confederate - armlV. ir. ,Jones covers, as may be im chapters lie shows the spirit in which the "men in grey" went to the front, and t'ie influence of Christian otlicers. I The lofty yet simple religious life of Gen. Lee is tenderly described. Dr. Jones then sketches with loving hand the religious career and conduct of Stonewall Jackson. Then come sim ilar sketches of other officers of note. The hospital work and work of the chaplains and missionaries are ad. mirably set forth. There is thrilling force in the accounts of the Great Revival along the Rapidan. In the last year of the war there were, of course, enormous difficulties in the way of missionary work. In the concluding cbapter of the book Dr. Jones reports the number of converts, andi multiplies proofs of the genuineness of the religious work. There are most touching in cidents of resignation and unaffected piety. South Carolina holds a noble place. I)r. Jones says, with abso lute truth, that the wonderful pros perity of the South at the present tilne was brought about, not so much by foreign immigration, or foreign capital, as by the skill, energy and patient industry of the men in grey and the boys they have reared. There was the old faith, and hope, and courage. in another field than that of arms. Dr. Jones's work, as may be seen from what has been said, deserves a place in every household as a me morial of patriotism and endurance, and as a treasnry of Christian pre cept and example. Dr. Jones omits, however, it seems, all notice of the work of Roman Catholic priests in the Army of Northern Virginia. This oversight can be repaired in-a subsequent edition. The chaplains, generally, were not Roman Catholic, even where the soldiers of Roman Catholic faith were numerous-; but there were Roman Catholic chaplains in the Louisiana brigade undoubtedly, and general missionary work cannot have been neglected. What Can be Done With Cotton. Register, Oct. 22. Mr. M. A. Ransom, a farmer in Aiken County, S. C., has furnished the State Department of Agriculture a report on an experiment he made this year on one acre of cotton. It shows what can be accomplished with a proper system of fertilization and cultivation. The land on which the crop was made was good pine land, with clay subsoil. It was in oats last year, but has been moderately well fer tilized for several years. The land was broken early in March with a turn. plough, running six or seven incues deep. In bedding a six inch shovel plough was used, followed in same furrow with a long bull-tongue, breaking to the depth of ten to eleven inches, planted on a low flat bed and "knocked off" with board.. Good stand was obtained. Chopped out in usual way before "running around." First ploughing or siding was done with a cultivator, subsequent plough. iugs with a sweep. The general plan observed was deep breaking and shallow cultivation. The entire cost of producing the crop, according to an itemized statement furnished the Department of Agriculture, includ ing labor, fertilizers and average rent of the land, was $34.02. The product was 901 pounds of lint cot ton which sold at nine cents per pound, givig a return of $81.00, to which must be added the value of the seed, fifty bushels, at 20 cents, a low price, $l0.00-making the aggregate return $91.09. Deductinig cost, $54, 02, leaves a net profit on the yield of the acre of $36.U2. Deducting from the~ cost of prodtuction the value of the seed. it will be seen that the cost of growing the crop was less than 5 cets per pound.. Mr. Ransom conducted the experi menit atthe request of the depart ment, and he says in his report that while the result is nothing wonder ful, it is so satisfactory-$37 per acre profit--as to make it an exceed inly favorable showing for the in tensive syste'n of farming, which he thinks should he followed more gen erally by our farmers. Gordon to Meet Foraker on the Stump. - eal to the Aews awl Courier. A-i ..mA, October 21.-Governor .John B. Gordon will enter the State campaign in Ohio next week, where he has consented to deliver a series of political addresses. The appeals to the Governor from prominent Ohio Democrats have been so urgent that he has finally -consented to take the stump, where heC proposes to an swer Foraker's continued assaults on the South and to pledge the fealty of the Ex-Confederates to the General Governmuent. Chairmain B. 1F. .Jones' Call. Pr'r Ts-w1r. Pw., October 22.--The Chronice!- 'T@rph to-day pirints Chairman B. F. Jones' call for the National Republican Committee to meet at Arlington Ilotel, Washing ton, at 10 :30 a. m. December 8th, to fix the date and place of the next National Republican Convention. A Cautious Analysis. From Ti'! Bits. I have a letter of introduction to Mr. Samuel Slump," sail1 a stranger in a western town to a citizen. "Can you tell me if he is a man of drink ing habits?'' "Wall, stranger," replied the citi zen, expectorating copiously, "I would go so fur as to say -that Sam Iis a hard drinker, but I reckon if you ask him to go an' take suthin', you won't have to build a fire under TilI; QUEER LAWS AND CUSTOMS OF THE GOOD OLD DAYS. How the Romans Secured Wives-Why the Ring is Worn-Jewish Marriage Rites-The Uninvited Guests' Revenge in the Colonial Days. P'iitsbrg Dicpatek. Adam would probably never have married if he had been compelled to hunt around the present Allegheny court buildings to find the little.back room of the Register's office, where he would be obliged to pay his half dollar and swear to more things than he ever dreamed of before he could -get a marriage license. He would certainly have been in a bad fix when he came to swear that Eve was of full age, or to produce the written consent of her father or mother. It is safe to say that he would have given it up and died an old bachelor. Yet without minister, magistrate, register or other official intervention the marriage of Adam and Eve was such that it wo'ild have stood the test of the old English common law. From earliest times the various states of society have linposed regu lations for the observance of this sol emn contract. For marriage is sim ply a contract, except that the par ties cannot now change or terminate it by mutual consent, as they can all other contracts. There is in the Royal Library of Paris a written contract made in 1297, between two persons of noble birth in Armagnal. The husband and wife were bound to each other for seven years. It was also agreed that the parties should have the right to renew the tie at the end of that time if they mutually agreed; but if not, the children were to be equally divided, and if the number should chance not to be even, they were to draw lots for the odd one. The Roman Church alone regarded marriage as a sacrament, but all the other churches recognized it as a di vine institution, and, accordingly, ev.ery denomination has provided re ligious services for its solemnization. So strong a hold did the church in En gland gain upon it that for a long time the regulation of marriage and di vorce was almost exclusively under the church's jurisdiction. Among the Romans there were three ways of obtaining a wife-by capture. sale or gift. When a Rpman bought a wife, and this was the usual way, the ceremony- that followed was merely gone through for the sake of having indisputable evidence of the sale. The-head of the family had to give her over to the husband in the presence of- witnesses, and it is from this that we now have the custom of giving away the bride. Before the period of Rome's greatness, the par ties could, dissolve the marriage by mutual consent. When they wished to terminate the contract, they usu ally went before an altar and in the presence of witnesses declared the marriage at an end. At and after the time of iRome&s greatness the marriage was indissoluble. The Ro man husband took his wife not as her husband, but as her father. She came into his family the same almost as an adopted daughte'r. Originally the^husband had absolute and com plete control over her and her prop erty. Even after his death she was subjected to any guardianship tbat he might have had appointed for her during his lifetime. But a change camne in her condition, and came as changes usually come, from one ex treme to another. The wife was now subject to the tutelage of guardians appointed by her own family. This tutelage gave her a very independent position as to her sepa ,e estate and person. Before this change came, and even afterward, there was exercised among the Romans complete tyranny by the head of the family over his relations which were members of his family. As head of the family the eldest male was always the head. lHe had power not only over his relatives, but all persons connected with his household and his children's households. While the father lived his son was subject to him, although t"e son might be 40 years old and have a large family of his own. The grandchildren were subject to the grandfather the same as their own father. The family was then regarded much as we now re gardl the individual. If a member committed a crime the whole family was held responsible, and it was per fectly lawful for the injured family to get revenge or satisfaction even if it were necessary to exterminate the whole offending family. This was carried to such an extent that some times whole families were destroyed. The blood feud, and it was well named, descended from father to son. It was to the Roman, in effect, what the inherited curse was to the Greek. The feud was kept up not so much for the sake of putnishmtent as to pre vent thesupposed liability of the of. fending family to commit fresh of fenses. With all their peculiar cus toms in regard to the family, it must be said to their credit that they never to any extent practiced polygamy. If the Romans did not countenance polygamy, the Hebrews did; and they had a more peculiar, custom. Trhere was a law among them called the Levirate, which means brother-in law, and according to this law, at the death of the husband, the next oldest unmarried brother-in-law of the wid ow married her if there were no chil dren. In this way the wife of the eldest brother might, in the course of time, have been the wife of all the brothers. This custom afterward ex tended to many of the western na tions, but the~ marriage took place whether there were any children or not. There was another kind of mar.riage called nponia, and, like the Levirate, it extended to the wes tern counties. This, however, did not gain much foothold among the Hebrews. Polygnia was simply po lygamy reversed. According. to it the woman was the head of the house, and might have as many legal hus bands at one time as she pleased. Her children bore her name, and re cognized her as head of the house. Some of the customs attending a Hebraic marriage were peculiar. The bridegroom dressed himself in the most gorgeous style he could command. He next perfumed him self with frankincense and- myr;. Then he went forth covered with gar lands, or, if he were rich, he would wear a circlet of gold and ride a gay ly caparisoned horse. He was at tended to the bride's house by his = groomsmen, musicians, singers and torch bearers. The marriage was always celebrated at night, and the bridesmaids were provided with * lamps to meet the bridegroom when he came. On his arrival, he found the bride, bridesmaids and company awaiting him. As soon as the actual.= ceremony was over, the entire pti returned to the bridegroom's house with great . rejoicing. When they reached the house, they partook-of , the wedding feast. The festivitiek usually lasted during fourteen days.;?' The groom not only furnished the feast, but the robes of those who took part in the ceremony. Pioneer marriages in this country. not a century ago, had some rese : ' blance to - a Hebrew wedding: Ia those days the marriage was- the;:z cause of great excitement,. and the whole neighborhood was usually in vited. As the houses of the bride and groom were generally far apart, the groom started early in the morn ing on a horse as highly caparisone4 as the times would allow. -He was attended by his groomsmen. The marriage generally took place before noon to enable the whole party to return to the groom's home before. t ; dark. The home journey was not always without incident. If any per sons were not invited to attend they were not at all backward about fell i:ig trees in the road, piling up all kinds of hinderances and firing of , guns to scare the horses. Severe in- . juries were thus frequently caused, but bravely borne. When the-party were within a few miles of the house a bottle race was arranged. T o persons were chosen for this aanger ous ride. The most impassable road. was selected, and the riders started' r for the house. Pell mell they went over all kinds of obstacles, and wl .X the fortunate one reached the fou. he was handed the much-prized'bli& betty, as the whiskey bottle was then called He then returned to the pars - ty, and, after giving each, of. th groomsmen and even the bridemsid a drink, he put the bottle in.hisjagi; et for future' reference.. When .te house was reached a feast was reay for the party, who were usually han gry after the long ride. The -festiv. ities were kept up all night, till broad daylight, when the feast ended. The ring which is now so common ly used at marriage ceremonies was originally, in England, made of;iron adorned with adamant.. Being hard,. it was supposed to signify the -ddn rance and perpetuity of the contract. The eminent Swainburn speaks about this ring. "Howbeit," he said, , "it skilleth not at this day ot what metal the ring may be made of the > form of it being round and without ~ end doth import that their love should circulate and flow continually. The finger on which the ring is to be worn is the fourth fit.ger of the left hand, next unto the little finger, be cause there was supposed a vein of blood to pass from thence unto the heart." The iRival of the Standard Oil Comn pany Goes Under. CmIcaO, Oct. 22.-A special from Detriot says : The managers of the Alpha Oil Company. the young rival of the Standard Oil monopoly, have made an assignment. Its capital, with that of branch institutions, was 4 $6,000,000. Its leading spirits are - the most prominent men of Detroit and Michigan, with a sprinkling of Cleveland millionaires. Judge Isaac Marston is secretary and treasurer of the International Oil company., which has the same patents - as the Alpha, American branch - of the organization. He says the International company is not affected by the troubles of the 1 Alpiha company and that the latter concern will be reorganized and con tinued. Money had been so lavishly spn htthe supply gave out. The waeso the workmen were not paid and law suits were commenced, rep resenting the' claims of the laboring ~ men. The company deeded its prop erty to Mr. Hall for $l00,000, and Hall assigned it to Mayor Thurber,d of Marquette. According to the receipts this leaves Thurber as the practical owner. The outcome will be a mat ter of great financial moment in De- zK troit an.l Michigan.. The company C has constructed a pipe line to the..j. Canadian oil fields, built immense machine shops and started a bank to conduct its finances. When Greek ]ieets Greek. Edgefedd Monitor. Young IIenry Rauch, the ol.lest son of our honored friend Mr. J. C. IH. .Raueb, of Wyse's Ferry, has re- .~. turned to Newberry College. We mention him p)articularly because at the closing exercises of the college in June last, he took the gold medal for proficiency in Greek. We have not quite forgotten our school days; and we know that he who takes a.. medal for proficiency in Greek, 7' achieves a great feat.