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Tlie Business of xix Wu For the past year was the largest in its history, and we beg to thank the merchants of South Carolina for the liberal share of patronage they have given us, and trust it was handled to th^ir satisfaction. We also wish to thank the wearers of shoes for buying our well known brands in preference to all others The Cotton Growers' Association, for two reasons, is in part resposible for the enormous increase in our busidess First-Their influence on the colton market enabled the farmers to get a good price throughout the season. This put more money io circulation. Second-A sentiment: is being created in favor of patronizing home enterprises. Professional and business men, its well as farmers, have been invited to join the Association and are working together as a man. They realize that the success of the one contributes largely to the success of the other The sentiment is theie now, and the shoe jobbers in the cotton belt sold more goods last year by far than any year previous. There were four shoe jobbers in Charleston ten years a^o-there are four now. We sold more goods last year than the four sold ten years ago, and we believe there ins been a large increase in the business of the other three. Charleston stands today in the front rank as a shoe market. And we are in a large measure responsible for this condition. Why? Because we have put out a line second to none in the United States, and do not allow any of our competitors to ofter better values than we do. The following celebrated brands are as yml or better known than any other shoes handled in this State : FOR MEN. FOR LADIES. FOR BOYS AND GIRLS. Red Bye, Astoria, Consolidated, Sam Lichten, Southern King, Iron Age, Columbia Calf, Black Mingo, Missing Link, Bates* Ga Special._ The Countess, Ainslee, White House Queen, Fuli Dress, The Queen, Golden Bell, Blue Bell, j Ked Eye, Inness' Kangaroo, Ruby, Gentry's Special_[ Blue Star, Warrior, The Queen, Red Star, Good Wear, Blue Bell, Klondyke. FOR SALE BY ALL FIRST CLASS DEALERS. Leather is very high now, but it is our intention to keep the above brands up to the standard Ic has been our policy in the^past and will be our policy in the future to improve the quality of a shoe rather than to reduce it so as to be able to put out a shoe at a price. Again thankiug you for the liberal share of business given us the past year, and wishing you a'Merry Christmas and Happy and Prosperous New Year. , Yours very respectfully, DRAKE-INNESS-GREEN COMPANY. Cljf lidjalaii w? ^ant?jrcii WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 27; 1935. The Sumter Watchman was founded in 1850 and the True Southron in 1866. ' The Watchman and Southron now has the com - cined circulation and influence of both of the old pap?is, and is manifestly the best Advertising medium in Sumter. A GOOD SUGGESTION. We heartily endorse the suggestion made today by a -<tez?? that-a fund ; he Used by popular subscription to ?re a ?tone to mark the grave of Joseph Levan. The gentleman who ma chis suggestion showed Jhjs eara ; estrus by tendering a suj^^ption. ||rJfc-rh Levan was a""man to whose Brl.MkL the people o? Sumter can : by so doing they will pay ^HBs^fflnW^erited tribute to honest - -BH^'jBhrough^ut his long; life Joe JR/JK13 true to his friends and W^^K-werved him from allegiance ; ESS -"aHr^st in tbe white men of the he openly declared to ..construction period it required -. - ?b?e courage for a negro to take ^and nain tain the stand ?hat he did* S^As we have said heretofore there was j '>no iwgro in Sumter more sincerely ?hked and respected by. the white peo " ?pie of all ages than Joe Levan and it j - Taw?>ul?5 be but a small testimonial of :their respect for them to mark his t:-lasting resting place with an appro? priate monument We know that the old Confederate skaters will gladly contribute- to this - fund for they showed in what esteem ?hey h eld him by attending his funer? eal ia a body. The Daily Item'suggests that the ^CpctributiOi?S be handed to Mr. J. D. . ^Wiidei, who is an officer of Camp :2>Ick Anderson, U C. V., and the us ^of these columns is tendered him 1 for purpose of making acknowledge? ment of the contributions received. A QUIET LYNCHING 'Ocmrr.? in Barnwell Last Friday Night. 'Columbia, December 26.-In one "respect th.? roost unusual lynching that ever o< ^: rv.: in this State took piace in Ean:w< V: l Yiday night. Noth? ing ha; been pub.! shed about it and .the first kno-vn of it' was when the .igoyv-i-r . ?;. rec - information from ? rr?p< :? of .; riff Creech this morn? ing. The hing took place at TJi mers, iv - ;:->es being the victims, the:.- bein:; used of killing a v:h-r . ! Craddock. Only suspicion ar inched to the negroes, i&r-r- ".>.-::..;. --. >of. "SVnile await? ing i- t. ockup to be taken ?? : a ol . hem to death. Con star.;.. ! .. .ted to the sheriff nex; mon ? the prisoners had ^S'.^_ '. - nico i/> Veterans. Cres ;?s o ! r -: '.viii be given to sons *?-nd of Confed?rete vete? rans. If A>.i.larson Camp ?. C., ;. - 19tb. I90G. Ap S?eatiof ' be obtained from ?rs. S i ? t ice West Hamp ?cs? a"ka mest be filled in aad :? . . :omptly, or crosses cannot he i in time for be ?to^si ?:> '[.i: 19 : . Adele Moses, resp nding Secretary. Itally >Crtrj;?t Report. P? Privat The Sumter Cot aange. N7f- . COTTON. ? C. 6? ' : Low Close. Ja*. UV' ! . T ll 50 ll 57 Marci' il 37 :: ? li SO ll 84 Uni iel K) ll 95 ll 1:9 1"~ ; is*- vt.. .' is or i;>. ?f\ Vi 60: nncbang? DECISION OF ASSOCIATE JUSTICE WOODS Declares That Water Werks Bonds .Are tal?. Commissioners Are Authorized to Sell tbe Bonds Turned Over to Them by the City of Sumter and Purchase the Water Works System. The friendly suit brought by May? or Geo. W. Dick and the city aldermen against the commissioners of public works of the city of Sumter^ was to establish the validity or invalidity of the $116,000 worth of bonds voted to be issued for the purchase of the plant owned and operated by the Sumtei Water Company. The decision of, the State Supreme Court was in favor of the validiry of j the bonds, which was established by j I the following opinion of Associate ! Justice Woods in which the rest of the I .court concurred: . j 1 In this proceeding, the city council ? of the city of Sumter asks for a writ ; of mandamus to compel the commis sioriers of public works to sell certa.; municipal bonds, aggregating in amount one hundred and sixteen thousand ^.$116,000.00) dollars, turn? ed over to them bv tbA^**y council \ 5Tvd, me proceeds in tne pur? chase, under option he?d cy the city, ; of che water works now owned by ttad j operated by the Sumter Water Com- \ i pany. i The answer admits all the facts set j out in the petition, ? but alleges that : "the bonds are invalid, unsalable and j void, because, (a) the bonds were is- j sued for the purchase of water works already constructed, and under the statutes a city in South Carolina has no power to purchase waterworks al? ready constructed. (b.) Because the question voted upon in the election wras as follows: ! "Shall the city of Sumter purchase j the property and rights of the Sumter j Water Power Company and issue i bonds in payment thereof in such j amount as may be necessary?" "Yes." The negative ballots, it is alleged, j were in precisely w-ords, "No" being substituted for "Yes." "Whereas it- is respectfully submitted that the defin? ite amount of bonds to be issued should also have been submitted to the voters voting in said election." The first objection to the validity of the election raises a serious question of constitutional and satuatory con? struction. It is provided by Section 5, Article VIII of the constitution: "Section 5. Cities and towns may acquire by construction or purchase, and may operate, water works systems and plants for furnishing lights, and may furnish water and lights to in viduals, firm and private corporations for reasonable compensation: Pro? vided, that no such construction or purchase shall be made except u?oti a majority vote of the electors in said cities or towns who are qualified- to vote on the bonded indebtedness of said cities or towns." This article of the constitution ex? pressly conferring the power to issue bonds for the purchase of "water works systems" "upon a majority vote of the elecjors," necessarily implies the power of the municipality to hold an election to ascertain the will of the majority, though possibly this right might have been defeated by the fail? ure of the General Assembly to pro? vide election machinery. Section 7. Article VII, contains this provision: Section 7. "No city or town in this State shall hereafter incur any bond? ed riebt which, including existing bonded indebtedness, shall exceed 8 per cent. 0f the assessed value of the taxable property therein, and no such debt shall be created without submit? ting the question as to the creation thereof to the qualified electors of such city or town, as provided in this voting on the question shall be in fa? vor of creating such further bonded debt, none shall be created." The provision for "such special election" here referred to is found in Section1 13 of Article II, which is as follows: ' ' ? Section 13. "In authorizing a spe j cial election in any corporated city or town in this State for the purpose of j bonding the same, the General Assem? bly shall prescribe as a condition pre? cedent to the holding of said election a petition from a majority of the free? holders of said city or town as shown by its tax books, and at such elections all electors of such city or town who jare duly qualified for voting under Section 12 of th:.- Article, and who have paid all taxes, state, county and municipal- for he previous year, shall be allowed to YO* e. and the vote of a j majority . ? those voting in said elec jtion sha?l be necessary to authorize ?the ?V. e of said bonds." Ir. pursuance of the articles of the ?.Constitution, ..he General Assembly & general law on the subject, v.! Code, Section 2008) providing Co: -.ions to be held "in accordance v 1th me laws of force governing mu nicipal elections" and prescribing as a Son precedent to the holding of I the election, thc :ii:::^ of the petition !?escnbef* i", the Constitution. Either cy madvertance cr design, however, j this statute v. hi'e providing for is ! suance of bonds, sanctioned an election, for the construction of water ? works, omits all reference to bonds ?for the purchase of water works. The ?case, therefore, stands thus. The i constitution conferred upon munici? palities the right to acquire, by con? struction or purchase, water works systems and to issue bonds therefor, under the sanction of an election. In enacting the general law for holding I such el-d ons it was not within th"*? i ! power ol the General Assembly to so limit the use of the election machin? ery provided as to deny ->ne of these consthutional rights while giving op? portunity for the exercise of the other, which was linked with it and stood on precisely the same footing. When the machinery is provided, and the pre? requisites of the election are laid down by the General Assembly under the mandate of the Constitution, ali rights to which they were intended by the Constitution to give effect may be ex? ercised under them whether expressly mentioned in the statutes or not. The facts of this case do not war? rant the court in sustaining the objec? tion to the form of the ballot.** With? out doubt, it is safer in such .flections to have th_ ballot express the precise amount to which it is proposed to Is? sue bonds for then there can be nc doubt of the voter having fair notice of the import of his vote. Eut there is" no statutory provision as to the form of the ballot, and the most that the court can require in this respect is that the voters should have reasona? ble notice of the election and the is j sue it involve?. In this case thc bal k t expressed that the issue was whether the city should purchase the Sumter ;v*?.u*: works and issue bonds for the puchase money. The record shows the purchase price aigreed on by city counc:F-Defore the election was $116,511.55. with certain small con? tingent additions for experimental boring of additional well?, and that this was published officially and was I otherwise known to the qualified elec? tors and the freeholders of the city of Sumter." It thus appears that the municipal voters with full knowledge, by the election gave their assent to a bond issue exceeding $116,000.00, which is the aggregate of the bonds actually signed add now in tho hands of commissioners of public works. The bonds, therefore, cannot be held invalid on the grounds that the ballot did not give notice to the voters of the issue involved in the election. Under the facts of this case the bal? lots were sufficient. It is therefore ordered and ad public works of the city of Sumter to sell the bonds turned over to them by the city of Sumter and make the pur? chase of the waterworks, sanctioned by the election hereinbefore, referred to. THE COMPTROLLER GENERAL Is Preparing an Interest Comparative Statement of Land Tax Values. Columbia, December 26.-Comp? troller General Jones is preparing for incorporation into his annual report to the legislature, an interesting comparative statment of the land tax values of this State, the comparison being as between the three decade periods ending in the tax years of 1883-4, 1893-4 and 1904. The table, when completed, will also show the values for the present year. The fig? ures are given by counties, and while the table is not yet complete enough to show all the final results for which }t is intended there are some interest? ing figures ready. The table shows only the values for property outside the incorporated cities and towns, but these values include the buildings on this country land. The table is there? fore of particular interest as showing the tax values on farm property. The figures show that while this class of property increased in value from 1883-4 to 1893-4 from an average of $3.36 per acre to $3.74, there has boon an actual decrease since the Tillman regime to $3.72 per acre in 1904. The figures for 19 05 have not yet been tab? ulated. In 1883-4 the number of acres returned was 17,404,927, the tax value of*which was $53,475,922, as against the total valuation of $67,462, 620 in 1893-4. Since that time there has been a great quantity of land add? ed to the tax books, through the re? covery of marsh lands and for other reasons, over 245,000 acres in the past ten years, there has been not only no proportionate increase in the total valuation, but an actual average de? crease of 2 cents per acre. Although it is a well known fact that the sell? ing value of farm property has gone up in this State along with everything else. In passing it should be noted that this property does not include cotton mill plants either outside or in? side of cities and towns. The table as a whole is not yet avail able for publication, but the figures for Anderson, Charleston, Florence, Sumter and Greenville counties were pointed out as showing interesting changes. The figures for Anderson are: Total valuation In 1S83-4, $12,689,769, as against $3.373,732 for 1S93-4, $2.817, 013 for 1904 and $2,829.311 for 1905; the average value per acre for these periods are $5.90, $7.67, $6.04 and $6.0S. Charleston-$S 17,510. $910,309, $1, 842,105, $1,S33,645; average per acre, $16.92, $9.12, $4.74 and $4.70. (Just prior to the third period Charleston added 80,000 acres from Berkeley county.) Florence-$1,346,6$5 for 1S93-4. $1,477,310 for 1904. and $1,4SS,412 tor 1905, the average per acr e being- $3.7 i $4.00 and ?4.03. (Florence is a new coumy. and there are therefore no fig? ures for the first period.) Sumter-$2.295.100. $2.946.160. $1. 696.760. $1,694,660; average per acre S4.4 3. $5.39, $4.".4 and $4.52. Sumter i recently lost considerable territory to Lee county. Greenville-$2,309.2S5, $2,666,535, $3.049,225. $3.069,250: average per acre. $494, $r,.r,o. $6.23, $6.24. Mrs. Thomas W. Woodward , ol Winnsboro, was knocked down by a trolley car on the streets of Columbia Wednesday, but was not seriously in? jured. J. F. Grandy & Sons, of Greenville, the contractors who have been build? ing the big power dam on the Salud? river, have been adjudged bankrupt and work on the dam has stopped. We are now engaged in our annual work of taking an inventory of our stock. It is possible as we proceed we may find a few items of which we have too much, or some that we are especially anxious to dispose o? at a sacrifice, li so you will be advised of it In the mean? time permit us to wish you the compli ments of the season, and to express our thanks for the liberal patronage bestow? ed upon us during the year about to close, to which we will be forced, regret? fully, to say FAREWELL ! ll ll On February 1st, Durant's Pharmacy will give away a hand? some Gold Watch worth ?40.00( or its equivalent, to be se? lected at Folsoui's Jewelry Store. The watch will be awarded to the person who guesses near? est the number of seed contained in the big pumpkin now on exhibition. A disinterested committee will be appointed to cut the pumpkin ?nd count the seed the day the contest closes. With each live (5) cents purchase one guess is given. Ask for a "Pumpkin guess" ticket, and record one guess for each 5 cents you spend. A nVrPTTQT?lTT7\TT' "DT A PT?"H TV T?TT-n ATVTTT^ - - OF TEE DAILY : CHM WILL BRING RT!< VT,