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THE SUMTER WATCHMAN, Est y CONSOLIDATED AUG. 2,: C W. Ml IS CHARGED WITTHJFRA?D Twenty-four Men Ac cused Under Feder al Indictment o f Selling Worthless Stock - SOB Now York, April 27.?Charles W. Morse, New York financier, his -three- sons* and 20 others, some nr&a&aent in shipping, legal and brokerage circles, were accused in a federal indictment today with having used the mails to defraud investors ft* the stocks of various steamship companies. The aggregate authorized capi tal of the sundry corporations ran v into scores of millions of dollars, ' and included the United States Steamship Company and its subsi diaries. - United States Tranrport ? Company. Inc.. and the holding organization known as the United States Shipping Corporation. "The principal defendants/* charged with conspiring since May, to defraud invefgors and put their alleged, swindling scheme into effect by use of advertising mat ter sent through the mails, were named as follows: Charles W. Morse and his sons, ' Erwin A., of Washington; Benj. W., New York, and Harry _ F., Green wich. Conn.; Martin J.*Gillen, for merly assistant to the chairman of the United States Shipping Board: William A. Barber, lormer attorney general of South Carolina; Mark L. Gilbert, former president Ship Con struction and Trading Company, Stonington, Conn.: George M. Bur ditt. attorney for Morse interests; Nehemiah H. Campbell. Brooklyn, . one time head of several Morse enterprises; Richard O. White, New York, former president United States Transport Company: Stuart G. Gibboney, lawyer; -Glenbard S. Foster, Orange, X. J.. former head of G. S. Foster"& Co., curb brok . ers; Henry E. Boughtcn, Warren, Mass., former head of a concern dealing in investments and securi ties: William H. Dennis,- certified public accountant of Xew York: * Jas. G&1L publicity .^naax;JEo-r.Morse, and Milton*Quinn. alias Milton C. : Quimby, former Morse agent. These men. the indictment al leged, have since May, lf>19. con ^?^Tpired to defraud investors with a * view to their own profit by divers schemes and artifices. Among these was alleged misrep resentation in advertising that the * United States Steamship Company with' an "authorized capital of $25. <*0?,0??, and its underlying compa nies, such as the Croton Iron Works, Virginia Shipbuilding Company and S Hudson Navigation Company, were *: going concerns with large con tracts, both governmental and private, for buildng and repairing A ships and. carrying freight, and that tli*v were i?aying bona fide dividends, and were backed by val uable assets, and that, therefore, to buy stocks in these;organizations would prove profitable to investors both in speculation; and in divi * dends. The contracts were not as repre sented, the grand jurors alleged: nor were the assets; and the com *? panics were not paying, dividends. The indictment charged that" the defendants knew investors had been precluded from profiteering by their own mismanagement. The "principal defendants" knew they sent 1,000 letters through the mail, the indictment alleged, that the assets and prospects c2 the companies were not as valuable as * represented. The defendants ware accused of having intended to pay- themselves l excessive salaries, "to waste and ' dissipate" the resource'-, of the United States Steamship Company, appropriate its assets to themselves along with some of the capital stock without making any valuable return, and to permit the corpora tion to incur excessive obligations. There also were included agree ments alleged to have been entered by Mr. Morse as the ^representative of Charles W. Morse & Co.. and James O'Brien whereby James O'Brien & Co., brokers, were given * an option to buy 300,000 shares of the stock of^tho United States Shipping Corporation, with, a par value of $10, at from S3 to $8.50 a i share. There were carried in the in diet.ment letters saying the com panies had a $40.oao,ooo contract with the Emergency Fleet Corpora tion, and that if the Shipping Board had lived up to its contracts in stead of having "doDe everything possible to wreck our subsidiaries."' the eoncerns would be in better shape. ? ? ?? MAY DAY IS MOVING DAY IN CHICAGO Tenants' League Hold Mass Meeting in Protest,of Ex cessive Rents Chicago. May 1.?As May Dav. spring moving day dawned, it was predicted by reptesentatrvoa of the tenants' league thai thousands of flats would be vacated after mov ing had subsided. Mass meetings were held in protest of excessive rentals. iblished April, 1850. L881. THOUSANDS HOMELESS IN FLOODED AREA i _ Seven Hundred Fifty! Thousand Acres Un- i der Wa?er in Louisi-| ana and Five Missis sippi Counties Are Flooded j Natchez. Miss. Anril 29?Over [fifty thousand persons will be home - j less or suffer henvy financial looses and the total property destruction will amount to many millions in central and eastern Louisiana as j the result of the recent crumbling j i of the levees of the Mississippi riv ; er, it is reported on good author- J ity. Five -Mississippi counties arc j flooded with backwaters. Prepara- j tions for the care of seventeen \ thousand refugees there are going j on. Approximately seven bun- j dred thousand acres are under wa- j ter in Concordia. Catahoula and! Tensas parishes. Louisiana. Natchez, April 29.?Thousands of J acres at Concordia. Cathoula par- i ishes planted in cotton are flooded ; Damage to crops, ruined highways j and devastation to fertile planta-. tions amount to many millions. Tne j fight to hold the levee lines is cost- I ing thousands of dollars daily. Val- ! uable lumber has been washed { away, and railroad beds are se- j riously affected. The river here is j two feet above previous high* rc-j cord. Eight hundred blankets, live- \ hundred cots and many army kitch-1 ens expect to arrive from New Or- j leans tonight. RICHARD CROKER DIES IN IRELAND I Man Who Once Ruled Tam many Hall Had Lived Near Dublin For Years , Dublin, April 29 (By the Asso-j i ciated Press).?Richard Oroker,; formerly leader of Tammany hall, : New York, died at 3:30 o'clock this afternoon ' at Glencairn castle, j Sandyford, a few miles from Dub lin. "His wife was at the bedside. The former political leader spent the better part of the last ten or j 12 years in Ireland, where he own-j ed extensive estates, making oc casional visits to the United States. The last of these visits was in the spring of 1921 when he went to Xew York'-in connection * wit h tbej legal proceedings instigated by his j sons to prove? him incapable of! managing his own affairs. Shortly after he returned to his home at Glencairn castle he be-! came seriously ill and his condi-! lion was described as so bad tntttj it would be impossible for him evert to leave his bed. But he soon I showed signs of improvement and j early this year he was reported to i have regained his health and spirits. Croker took a keen interest in the negotiations between Ireland and England looking to a settle ment of the age-long controversy over freedom for Ireland. When the treaty providing for the free State was signed he gave it as his Opinion that by the pact Ireland gained practically all she fought for in the last '700 years. He be-j lieved 9S per cent of the people in! America was in favor of the treaty. | Mellon Withdraws Ruling on Wilson Foundation Fund "Washington. April 29.?Secre tary Mellon today ordered with drawn pending further considera tion the ruling of the internal reve nue bureau that contributions to the Wood row Wilson Foundation were not exempt from income taxes. Announcement of Mr. Mellon'.s! action was made in a letter t<?! Senator Glass, of Virginia, made] public tonight by the treasury. The letter was made public following a conference of Mr. Mellon with! Assistant Commissioner Smith, of I the revenue bureau, acting in the; absence of Commissoiner Blair. The letter to Senator Glass saiti: j "The question of whether th< contributions to the Woodicw VVil-i son Foundation were exempt from j the federal income tax lias only j come to my attention sine.- tne j publicity given to the ruling made. While the case differs essentially from the McKinley Memorial Asso-j elation, it seems to nie thai in the present ruling due consideration has not been given to the effect I of the congressional interpretation 1 as to what constitutes an exclusive ly educational purpose in the in-j corporation of the Roosevelt Me morial Association. "1 have accordingly asked Com missioner Blair to have the ruling heretofore made reviewed with a view to determining whether the contributions for the Wood row! Wilson Foundation should not i<? ' treated in the same way as those! made to the Roosevelt Memorial Association.] "Under, tne circumstance:-;, it has seemed to ?:!?? proper thai 1 should] advise you."of this ac tion and that the ruling will be withdrawn pend ing further consideration <.<i" the matter." "Be Just and Fear ! BEGINNING SECOND MONTH 0FC0?LSTRIKE; No Settlement of the Controversy Yet inj Sight. Union Plans to Close Non-Union i Fields j Indianapolis, May 1.?The sec-! ond month of the nation-wide coal: strike began today with the official j United Mine Workers declaring no : settlement was in sight, for the] wage controversy involving over j six Hundred thousand. The peak ? of strength they said, had not I yet been attained. The union pro-i gram called for further efforts to; close the nonunion fields. BREEDL?VE JOINS TOBACCO ASS'N Well Known Veteran of To bacco Trade Becomes As- j sistant Manager _ ! Raleigh, X. C. April 20.?Breed-: love of the Export Leaf Tobacco company, another well known vet eran of the tobacco trade has joined the Tobacco Growers' Co-! operative Association as assistant; manager of the leaf department; according to announcement from', General Manager R. R. Patter son, received today at headquarters of the ToUaeeo Growers' Coopera tive Association. Mr. Breedlove began his career: with J. E. Xoel Tobacco Company in Danville, Virginia, as buyer in l s!?7. later accepting a position with the Imperial Tobacco Company, asj buyer at Greenville, X. C. and; Paduoah, Kentucky. Later sever ing his connection with the Im-J perial, he joined the American 1 Tobacco Company in 1005 as buyer j on the Danville, Virginia, market, continuing this service on various markets of the bright licit until! the dissolution of the American Tobacco Company, and his appoint-: ment as supervisor of the South j Carolina and Eastern Carolina; markets in If 12 for the Export! Leaf Tobacco Com pan v. t Mr. Breed love's position with the Export Company has taken him toj practically all narkets in the Car-, olinas, Virginia, and Kentucky. Inj commenting on his appointment,; General Manager R. R. Patterson, said: "Mr. Breedlove's knowledge: of the various types of tobacco ex- i tends through the bright, flue cur- ? ed sections in Virginia and the Car-j otinas, also the dark tired section in Virginia, and all types grown in Kentucky and Tennessee. In se-j curing the services of Mr. Breed-j love for this association, we feel] that he is without a peer in his' knowledge of the tobacco business, j Bfis popularity with the trade, hoth-j farmers and buyers, is too well] known to need comment." Other recent appointments an nounced from headquarters of the Tobacco Growers' Cooperative As-1 sociation are those of A. V. Bob-j bitt as a district manager of the warehouse division for Eastern Xorth Carolina^ with headquarters! at Goldsboro: W. Wesley Singloter-j ry. manager of warehouses for j Bake City. Soutli Carolina, and \Y. ' 10. Lea. as representative of field j service for South Carolina. Among the managers of ware-: houses named were T. 10. Roberts for ("base City. Va . W. K. Mc-j Intosh for Kingstree, S. C, G. T. Reaves of South Boston. Va., for Conway. S. c. J. V. Bethea, fur! Latta, S. C, .1. Fi Lain- for Dan-j bury, S. C, and J. F. Rogers at j Air Bluff, X. C. A thousand acres of tobacco in Person County, X. f.. wer?- signed, up in a single, day last week with I tie- marketing association, and! more than five hundred contracts have reached Raleigh headquarters within a week, following success- ! ful meetings throughout Xorth Car olina. COAST GUARD CUTTERS! Take Four Vessels into Port! of Savannah Savannah. April 8.0. The coast | guard cutter Cahoika ami three! submarine chasers, Vaughan, Cey gan and Smith, were brought into port by the coast guard cutters! i'amncraw and Seminole. Tim. Cahoika was proceeding, south with, the submurine chasers in i<>\\ and: the hawser parted in the heavy weather, fouling the propeller of ile- Cahokia. The V'a.macraW an-: swered an s< ?S message Saturday afternoon and was joined by the! Seminal**. Sent oui from Charleston. I The Seminole sailed for Wilming- j t<ui after coaling here. Irish Army Raid Banks Belfast. May 1.?Over a hundred i thousand pounds sterling was tak-1 i en !?> !be Irish R0]>ublican army irregulars in raids at varous branches of the Bank of Ireland in T11? - south. A cynic likely would tell you thai that the oni\ thick things .i flap 1 per wears are her paint and her! head. j Sot?Tx.'t all the ends Thou Aims'*, a Sumtcr, S. C.., Wednes< * Rides Lii Harriet Mitchell, daughter of C In the Junior Horse Show ?? Wash INVESTIGATES THE DEATH OF ! MISS HANNA Grilling of John Wy-j man, Brings O'utj Further FactsN _ Hoopestown. 111.. April 29?In-] formation obtained through the I grilling of John Wyman, a farmer,j in connection with the mysterious! death of Gertrude Manna, a form- > er school teacher, whose body wasj found in a basement of an unten-j anted church here wifll be placed before the grand jury May l:?. VVy man insisted ho is innocent, but ad mitted he was the father of her unborn child. Gertrude Manna was classified! by tin* Cook county psychopathic hospital as a paranaioc. it developed today. Accompanying her record there was an official remark "sin has ordered a revolver and ammu nition to protect her from the man she believes is following lu-r." TO AID TRUCK GROWERS - Four New Specialists Will Be! Appointed Clems ui College. April 30.?? Four experienced specialists In the grading, packing and standardizing, of truck crops are to be appointed] in tin- near future by the extension service to help the farmers in the new trucking sections In getting] their truck crops ready to put on! the market in acceptable condition.) The extension service realizes that many farmers in certain parts? of the state have gone info truck ing this year as their lirst ex peri-j (-nee. that those farmers are hot familiar with the requirements and methods of grading, packing and shipping truck crops: and that there is consequently much danger i of great loss to such farmers un less guidance and assistance are given at the right time. Director Long feels then for-- that the great-1 est service to be rendered these new truck growers lies in helping; them to prepare in an acceptable manner for market the produce which they are now growing. Two of the specialists who will! be engaged for the truck crop sea-j son will be located at Florence and! the other iw.? at Aiken. con von- j Fently to rh'- needs of sections i where many farmers are growing! new crops. The men will be se-I car?-d from the older trucking sec-, tions of South Carolina if possible.) If not. a representative of the ?!x-j tension service. w:Il go to Florida j to secure men who have had larg* practical experience in work of thi-j kind. It is hoped to have them on] duty early in M.?v GEN. M'ANDREW PASSES AWAY Chief of Staff Under General Perching Dies in Wash ington Washington. April '?)'?> Mhj. Gen.J James \V. MeArulrew. who served! as chief of staff of the Amera-anj expeditionary forces for more than a year, beginning in May. 11*IS. as successor to Major General llar bord. ttied at Walter Reed hospital ?? tonight, after an illness of more than two years. General Pcrshing | had spent much time with hi- for mer chief i.ii" staff and right hand] n an during the three major A men- | can offensives ai Chateau Thierry. Si. Mihiel and the Argonne. during I.he last days of his illness and was] :?! his l?edside almost to the end. j When ;i man rests on his laurels, he finds his laurels droop. V t 1)0 thy Country's. Thy God's and lay. May 1922 ce a Vet eneral Win. Mitchell, taking a Jump ineton. D. C FOURTEEN COUNTIES SIGNUP Final Drive in Cotton Marketing Cam paign is Being Pressed With En thusiasm That As sures Success Columbia, April 2S? Bickens enttnty is the first Piedmont county to go over the lop in 5 ho cotton cooperatice marketing campaign. .V telegram from Thomas A. Bowen, county agent, this morning said that county had reached its quota and would pass i: before Saturday night by over LOW) bales. Great enthusiasm is reported in that county. FairfieKl connty, also went over the i( i> today, having passed its al lotted quota. It also promises to go far beyond its quota before tomor row night. Fourteen counties have new gone over tin- top: Marlboro, Darling-* toa. Sumter, Calhoun. Dillon. Lee. Dorchester, FCershaw, Bichland, Marion. Orangeburg, Fairfield, Chesterfield and Bickens. Several other counties expert to go over before midnight tonight. With approximately 4S hours in which to complete their task the workers in tin- campaign were re ported as driving hard and a heavy signup is expected in all the coun ties today. Officials of the association said today thai they were highly grati fied at the splendid assistance be ing given by the business men of the state, they have worked hard in behalf of the movement this week, they said, ana the results had been tel'ing. MAY TEST TAX LAW Baker Not Sure Income Meas ure Retroactive Florence. April 20.?Senator D. Gordon Baker today expressed se rious doubt as to whether the state of South Carolina could enforce collection of any taxes on incomes for last year, and stated frankly he believed the conns would de cide ag;unsi the state in any ease it might bring against delinquents. The senator pointed to the su preme court decision on the in heritance tax law. The. recom mendation of the committee as published in the house journal, he said, is altogether different from the liiil as published. It was stat ed here today that the law would probably be contested by a citizen of Florence. THREE DIE IN WRECK Locomotive Overt urns in Mem phis Yards .Memphis. April .'h1. Three train men were killed in the railroad yards here early today when a Xashvillc. Chattanooga and St. St. Louis freight train ran into a switch or.d was detailed. Tbc J engine turned over, killing- two .i!m<-' ! instantly, while a third ! later died of his injuries .it a hos- j pital. The dead, all Oi .Memphis, are-: i'. K. Ballard. engineer, it. I*. ; .\ Hhright. train foreman. J. L. j Simpson, fireman'. .i. \ Biehardson. another mem ber of the train < rew. was seriously injured Six negroes were injured wnen the automobile in which they were riding crashed into the wreck- ; age of the freight train which blocked a street. Truth's." RUSSIANS Soviet Delegates a t . Genoa Dissatisfied With Action of Al lies Genoa. April 27.?While the I powers were today preparing the! I details of a document informing! the Soviet delegates what the pow-j J ers expected of them and what the,] j powers cm their part were ready ! to do for Russin, the Russian ! delegates issued an open state ment whi(d) pertinently expressed their discontent because they were not being kept informed of what I the powers intended to do. Their statement insisted that Russia would protect her sovereign j rights and contended that she! 'alone was following the fundamen tal ideas of the Cannes resolu tions touching the questions of reciprocity and economic construc tion. The text of the statement fol lows: "After the meeting of the ex- i pens ;.t which the Russian view-" point on the first seven articles of| the London experts' report was! presented in detail, no news hasj come to us concerning the attitude! which the powers will pursue. Rus sia has not the least desire for a rupture, but she is determined to j safeguard the principle of her] sovereign rights and the principle of reciprocity which is tin- only! possible basis of a community of peoples and economic reconstruc tion. ! "Such indeed, constitutes the fundamental idea of the Cannes resolution and we believe that it i is Russia alone which remains en-' cirely faithful to the Cannes reso-j lutions in all their essentials." The document of tin- powers, which i> to be handed to the Flus-j sian delegates was considered to- ? day by Premier Lloyd George, Sig-1 nor Schanzer, M. Partium, M. Jas par and Baron llayashi. at Mr.] Lloyd George's villa: it xiU bo submitted to the subcommission on! Russian affairs tomorrow. Immense interest is concentrated|" in the probable text of Mr. Lloyd! George's non-aggression pact, sev-! eral drafts of which have beenj drawn. It is learned that one ol'; the drafts contain the proposition that the members of the Little En tente shall mutually agree to or-: ganizc a kind of flying army corps.; 1?which will act as international; jpoliceman to protect the frontiers and punish violations of the non-j aggression agreement. It is under stood that the idea emanated from! i Russia, but several delegates gavei it as their opinion that there] seemed little chance of its being in-j | eorporated. I As the conference assumes broader aspects certain indications] come to the surface that two dis tinct political waves, which, being contradictory, are difficult to re-; concile, are surely spreading throughout Europe. One is inter-! I nationalism, which the thinkers of; I almost all countries are preaching.; the other is nationalism. The lat-J ter has flourished particularly; since the Great War ami the birth' of new states through the treaty of Versailles has only served io\ multiply nationalistic sentiments. ' While few statesmen dare to; speak openly of the possibility of 1 attaining some form of federation] of the European states, it is learn ed that many of them secretly! possess ambitions to bring about j harmony between nationalists ami internationalism, and the basis of! this new European construction! would be principles of equity, jus- j tice and the fellowship of man. Many conference circles re- j marked today in the coincidence that two leaders so widely apart as Lloyd George and the Rev. Don! Luigi Sturzo, leader of the Italian' Catholic party, should be exhort-! ing Europe that it must movei along tin- lines of internationalism.*! based on equity ami self-restraint, as well as justice and charity. It isi understood that Mr. Lloyd George has a profound ambition to make Ins non-aggression pact the pre- j cursor of a broad movement to bring all the peoples of Europe, including Russia and. Germany,"! closer together, perhaps as the' first step towards, ,s,onie form of! Kuropea n federation. Genoa. April 2.S. -The subcom mission on Russian affairs today considered and expected to ap prove the draft of the document stating the Mines financial propos als to soviet Russia, with the hope of ending the present uncertainty and clear up the Russian question, the most important subject remain ing, i.ouis Rarthou, head of the Prcnch delegation, plans to leave for Paris to confer with Premie! 1 'oi nt .i re. Injured in May Day Demonstration Mayenco. Germany. May 1. Dur ing May Day demonstration a cap tain in tin* American army was v.oumbd by inanifestants. .\ column of May Day demon strations were marching thi >ugh Lin ins;rasse when, through a mis take in steering the American cap tain's automobUc ran into the pro cession which surrounded ami at tacked the car. Several arrests were made. Tin: TRUE SOtT' ENGLAND AND FRANCE SPLIT OVERR?SSIA Delegations at Genoa Submit Documents That Are Radically Different in Import ant Respects Genoa, April 28 (By the Asso ciated Press).?Two historic docu ments dealing with the reconstruc tion of Russia have h<-en submitted by France and Great Britain to the economic conference and tonight are in the hands of a special draft ing committee appointed by the subcommittee on Russian affairs which will endeavor to harmonize tin- difficulties in them. The special drafting committee will report to the full subcommit tee Saturday morning, and the sub committee after it is given the re port will submit it to the Soviet delegation. The French document sketches at length means for re storing Russia's agricultural and in dustrial activities; while that of Great Britain devotes more at tention to credit for Russia. France insists en the full pay ment of Russia's war debts and the restoration of private property to foreigners: Great Britain favors a reduction in Russia's war debt and is willing to be satisfied if Rus sia grants former foreign owners the use of their property, instead of a return of actual ownership. Tim adoption of the 12 articles in the agreement with Russia which regulate the disposal of the Rus sian debt is favored by France. She demands that the Soviet con clude before December 31 an agreement with representatives of owners of Russian statt- honds in order to provide, for the payment of interest. IE an agreement is impossible, according to French contention, the Soviet must promise to accept the decision of a mixed arbitration commission, the president of which will be appointed by the chief jus tice of the supreme court of the United States or by the league of nations or by the president of the court of international justice. The French draft demands in ease private property can not be restored that Russia shall pay in demnities. These indemnities would he provided for by an issue of new Russian per cent bonds. Tlie mixed arbitration tribunal of three members?one member for Russia; one for an interested government and the third, who would he president, to be designat ed l?y the ehiei" justice of the su preme court of the United States ?would decide disputed points. Today's discussion of the two drafts brought forth a duel of words between Premier Lloyd George of Great Britain and Louis Barthou, chief of the French dele gation, which the auditors describ-l ed as both witty and satirical.! Signor Sch?nzel- of Italy, as usual,: took the leading role in the discus sion urging conciliation between the French and British attitudes. TO. ADJUST DIFFERENCES Genoa, April 2V.? In line with Premier Lloyd George's declaration the new allied proposals to Rus sia must he considered as whole. The special drafting committee is endeavoring to frame a document today which would harmonize the differences in demands submitted bv tin- British and French. Aid Goes to Wreck ed Oil Tanker San Francisco. May 1.?A fast guard cutter is hurrying ro the aid of the oil tanker Whittier with a crew of fifteen, on the rocks at Point Arena.a hundred miles north of here. Deaths Due To Wood Alcohol Charleston. .May L?As a result of imbibing a mixture, the chief ingredients of which are thought to have been wood alcohol and lemon, two colored women met their deaths, and another is confined to the Roper Hospital, where she is reported as improving, though blinded from the effects of the con coct ion. Tie* dead women are Josephine Alston. f,i;n Meeting street, and Georgiana Johnson. *?' Kracke s; reel. Melvina Williams, 14 Oeland street. >s the one still living; A party is said to have been held at tiie last named address oh Friday afternoon; and the fatal liquid is thought to have been brought to the home by Josephine Alston. The Alston woman was found dead at her home <>n Saiur dn> morning, and Georgiana John son died Saturday night, the eye sight of both of them also having been affected bj what they had drunk. An inquest Mil be held by Coro ner Mansfield, vvno has been inves tigating the circumstances of the ease. Viewed in one light it's um'amil iarity that breeds contempt. To know a man i:j to admire him, usually. rrmox, Established .hifit- i. !S6S. VOL. LH. NO-2j_ NEW FIGURE LOOMS AT THE CONFERENCE Father Luigo Favors Establishment of a Federation Based on Principles of Broth erly Love Genoa. May 1.?A new figure jfsi standing out on The skyline at. the economic conference in Roc. Fruit ed Luigo Sturso, leading the Ital ian Catholic party, who favors the establishment of an European fed eration, based on the principles of brotherly love, conciliation and co-operation. He plans to visit America and preach his ideals. SCHEME TO HURT LABOR CHARGED Plan Hatched in Moscow, Says Mr. Gompers Washington, April 23;?An al leged new scheme, devised in Mos cow for destroying the American Federation of Labor and its con stituent unions and replacing them with a Red revolutionary federa tion is discussed at length by Sam uel Gompers in an editorial ar ticle in the May issue of the Feder al ionist, official organ of the Amer ican Federation. The scheme was devised a few months ago, ac cording to Mr. Gompers' article, which says it is proposed to de stroy and disrupt the American Federation of Labor by changing the form of certain of the organ izations affiliated with the federa tion and that when this reorganiza tion is effected t?ho unions shall bo affiliated with the Bolshevik!? In ternationale at Moscow. One of the best-known Ameri can Reds, the article says, spent several months in Moscow in con sultation with Lenin. Trotzky and others, and it was at these con ferences the plan was formulated. ?'This new would-be colossus of American labor has. carefully se lected single representatives in l.O?o American communities," it continues.-"and'these are the men who are to overthrow the Ameri can Federation of Labor and who are to direct the new structure. Readers who have observed the proclamations that have come frost. Moscow are fully aware of the fact that it is the hope of Moscow to follow the overthrow of the Ameri can Federation of Labor with, the destruction of the American gov? ernmoht ?The whole scheme is pra-airap* tuous to tiie point of being cidics lous. It merits serious attention, only because of the fact ihv;. tha determination of Moscow io under mine democracy is back- d by an unscruioitsness of com! at: tiuit knows no limit." READY FOR BRIDGES Highway Department to Let Road Contracts Also Columbia. April 20.?Plans for bringing Tiger river and PadgettV creek in L'nion county on the Cnion-YVhitmire road have been completed., the highway depart ment announced yesterday. Rids for the construction of about three and one-half miles of the Columbla-Sumter road in Sum ter county will be received n, the state highway department May 3d. This work will be 1* foot hard sur faced paving. on the same date the Sumter permanent roads com mission will receive bids for the construction of about one and one half miles of the Gamden road and about three miles of the Pinewood road. These bids will be received in conjunction with the state high way department. TALKING OF BRIDGE Chamber of Commerce Trying to Raise Approach Fund Columbia. April 2:?. ? Sumter authorities and the Columbia chamber of commerce still have under discussion the raising of funds for the VVatcree river bridge approaches at Garner's ferry. The Sumter Officials have already guar anteed their pari of the funds and tin- Columbia chamber of commerce is undertaking to raise $ for this county. Under a recent agreement with the highway department Sumter and Richland are to furnish $ He rnia ?-ach for the approaches and the department will furnish Ji'1, ii?i?>. The approaches will consist of a temporary road and bridges on the Sumter side of the bridge ^ until a permanent road and bridges can be built. Chinese Battle For Peking j Peking, May 1.?The battle tor f the possession of Peking is con tinuing with the advantage appar ently going to the forces of Gen. YVu Pei-Fu driving toward the cap itol from the south.. The tide of battle is rolling eastward towards 'the southern walls of Peking.'