University of South Carolina Libraries
Bftffi'" ' Eajfevr p- - ^9|H ^ 'f p , = VOL. LII. WINNSBOBO, S. C., WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 1897. NO. 19. ll ECKLES OWNS UP 1 AND THEREBY PUTS HiS FELLOW ; | GOLCBUG31N A HOLE. He Admits th? Insufficiency ol Oar 2Ionty H? Recommends Ih? Expansion Through I l.WTgfcr Issues of National Har IJ3--Soma Striking Figures. Tbe annual report cf James H. asgfc Eckles, comptroller of tfce currency, n^ior the year ended October 31, 1897, Bens with a brief review cf the bis, BV7 of the legislation -which consti s the present national bank actaid invites the attention cf congrtss to amendments lo the law recommended in former reporis without specifica:ly repeatirg them. On the subject of bank not circulation the comptroller says: "It is noticeable that all thechanges which have been wrought in the ^ national currency act from its incep tion to tne present i:mp, tne leaiure subject to criticism, but which was intended should consti uie the principal benefit to bs confer.ed, has remained comparatively unchanged, D?meJy, the note isiuing function. "Whatever justification there was ia tie first instance for restricting the issuing of notes against the bonds of the government deposited with the treasurer of the United States to 90 per cent, of par value thereof has long ceased. ' In the report of every comptroller of the currency during the past 20 years the wisdom of chancing the exlew cr? KnYlt<f STld thrOU^h ^ . thern the communities in which located, might have the additional tenefit of an added loanable capital has been urged. Despite all this, the law still remains wiibout amendment. Not only should the bank act be amended in 'his particular, but congress should seriously consider such a change in the method of bank note issues as will , enable the banks of the currency to more adequately meet the demands of , trade and commerce in all sections of the country. The business of banking, * like every other form of investment, must be made attractive to capital. If rr it is placed upon a footing different v.' fri m other undertakings, embarrasst d through unnecessary restriction?, and deprived of proper sources of profit, the result cannot be otherwise than that mvestible capital will seek oiher means of employment and to suoh extent deprive the people of the benefits of the agency most requisite to com mercial activity. "Tt is hv pvptv oreat cam merciai government*except the United I States to be the sole province of backs j to issue paper which cii crates as cur- jj k rency. The belief in a bank note cur ; f rency as being better and safer than a government paper currency prevailed unquestioned in this country until under the apparent exigencies cf the war the government undertook to is sue paper currency. Even under such circumstances the promise was ' always given, however, that it should be retired at the earliest practicable the admission freely made that it was neither a wise measffi nor a safe fcrm of currency. ^Between the competition of the Bernment note issues on the one BjRid and the unnecessary restrictions j pgP^^impcsed by law upon the other, to-1 f -with Ihft im*!r easing Tiricsoff r bonds required to be deposited as security, the note issuing function of the banks has been permitted to become merely an incident of the conduct cf the national banking associations of the country. It has been se riously suggested more than once that the bank cote issue bs done away with and all ps per be Issued by the go v k ernment instead. The dinger of such a course is not to be overestimat|j*_ ed. Tie experience of every governH ment has been that governmental cur1IS| rercy pajer is a source of weakness and danger. In the United States, HHjkK where there has been the nearest ap proach to success, with the.volume of the Federal paper comparatively limitH ed in amount, the credit of the gov Bf ernm :.it has baen more than once put BBfc in jeopardy through it and the bus: Kf ness interests of the country subjected to umecessary loss and confusion. "Ihe argument, that the government, better than ihe banks, can pro f vide for the redemption of paper note issues will not stara ihe test of a care * ? mi - 4. iui. analysis, me gGYrrumeub ws u.u means for carirg: for iis demand ]ia bililies except through borrowing and through the levying of taxes. Upon the other band, the banks hava asse:s "which can b9 promptly converted into cash meet their cutsancing notes when presented. Their abili:y to command gold has always been bey or d that of tAiiim m ii 111 i i( fiii ' i i 'i fia&Ecial jp> exigency whi.'h has confronted the government tbe banks have furnished to it the amounts necessary to mantain itssolvency. It is impossible to believe that with a system of bank note issues based in pari upon securities and in part upon bank assets, the country r cannot be provided with a sound, safe and elastic bank note issue,ai ways C3m mensurate with and responsive to de ^ mandsof trade. The bank of England, tank o' Sothnd and tee bank o? Ire land have been four.d to be ample in their resource; to provide the note issues for use in the trace cf the United Kingdom. The same is true of tbej bark of Fr&rce. The DeutscheRicbs- j bank, or German Imperial han& has 5 ^ for more than 22 vears issued^bankj ^^^^note paper against assets which hasi fl|SHtayintained its value and has been sc j Hkclled as to successfully meet the! BB^MWgseds of the empire " -r ^ The comptroller calls attention ic the organization cf this bank and publishes some interesting statistics in connection therewith. Teetotal number of national banks organized since the system was put into operation in 1S63 is shown to have been 5,085. On Oct. 31 last there were in active opera-1 tion 3 617, having an authorized csni j m tal of $630,230,295. The total outIP standing circulation of the binks then j ' in operation was $229,199,SSO, of! which $202,894,555 was secured by j ?* - bonds of the Unit:d States and the balance by mosftv cODOsiitd with tne treasurer of the Uaitec1 States. ^ The total c'rculation outstanding of ?-r ; all national ban::s cnO-jt. 31 lsst was wss ?230,131,005, cf which amount 55S,SC0 was secured by bonds held for account cf insolvent, and liquidating banks, and $25,205,325 by lawful money deposited for their account and by active banks redueirg circulation. The ret decresse in the amount cf circulation secured by bonds during the year was ?12.536,334. and the gross decrease in the circulation was *4,851,292. ; The 3,617 Links in operation are divided geographically as follows: 5SS,; with an authorized capital s'.cck cf. ?159,291,620 in tho New England j Slates; 9S6. with an aggregate capital stock of $195,121,275, in the eastern J states; 516, *ith a capital stock of $20,- j 761,900, in the soul hem States; 1.046,1 wiih a capi.al stock of $160,163,967, in I the middle States; 357, with a capital! stock of $32,654,160, in the western States, and 124, with a capital stock of $17,465,000 in the Pacific Slates. During the year 44 banks were orgasized with an aggregate capital stock of $4,420,000. Duricg the year 71 banks went into voluntary liquidation. There was paid to creditors cf of icsolvent banks during the jear , - ~/\ " J!..: ] J ~ w^orvv,; ji-i l&y.vsi m uiviueuus. uj^UI aide of this unequaled rtcord, the re port says, will b* more forcibly ilius traied if considered in the light of what has been accomplished hereto fore in the way cf dividend payments to the creditors of insolvent instiiu lions. In 1S93 there were paid in dividerds. $8 433 647; in 1S94 $5,124 577; in 189o,$3,3S0,552; in 1896, $2,451,959, andinlS97 ?13,109,781, makins: a total of dividends paid wiihin five year f'om 1S93 to 1897 cf $27,560,516, or 36i per cent of ail the dividecds that have ever been paid to creditors of ic solvent national batiks. i?'rcm 15S310; 1S97 there has been paid in dividends] $75 835,925, and in the year embraced j in this report $13,169,7S1, or 171-3 per ce-t of all the dividends that,have been paid during the period of 34 j jeirsof the *xi;terc.icf the system. Since October 31 at the end of the report | year 17 additional dividends have been j ordered, amounting in the aggregate | to about $625,0C0. 'The report con-j tains the latest compiled statistics relative to the worla's monetary system and the s'.cck of gold, silver and paper currency. A very interesting feature of this statement is the per capita amcuni cf each kind cf money in the countries named. The per capita averages in the principal countries are as folia^s: CJnited-States, $33 70; the j United Kingdom, &2J.65; France, j ?3163; Germany, $LS95; Austria-:Hungary,,19.33, and Russia, $3.95 The comptroller renews nis recom j mendation of last year, urging that national bank examiners be paid in annual salaries instead cf fees as now. Lock Oat lor Burglars. Willistcn, in Aiken County, vras i? t 1?~ ?~ VlSltSCL Oy UUIiJicUra \J1SV iijguu iiwv j week. The store of the Williston Sap-1 ply company was entered through the j front door, -he safe blown open and j robbed of about $250. The pc-sicffise was broken into also, and a safe dyna- I mited but it proved to be the wrong one. The office had changed hands Wednesday. Miss Marie H&rley taking the place of Mr. E E Bruce, and and all {he moneys, stamps, etc., had been changed from the old safe to a new one. The old safe was the one chosen for destruction and from it | ihev eot nothing. The new safe contained $700 or $800. It was not troubled. Three strangers spent Sunday night at the Williston Inn and were seen in town Wednesday. The Inn porter s?>ys he saw these men gamb j 'intr with snnsn cecroes Sundav after- i nooa, but he did not inform the nroj prietcr of this until they had gone.' These are the suspects. Telegrams, have been seat in several directions in the effort to intercept them. One of the men was about 50 years old. one about 25 and ihe other seemed to be not ever IS. The above is taken from the State. A special to th3 Register from Batesburg says: Three well dressed white men, supposed to be the Williston safe burglars, were captured here tonight and are now in the lock-up. They made their appear-J ance in town about 7:30 o'clock this evening, coming across the country, from the direction of Williston. After taking supper at the hotel, they went out on the streets, where their general appearance, taken in connection with the way in which ihey came to to to. aroused susoicion. About 9 o'clock the town marshal, accompa-l nied by a score of citizens, approach j ed the trio and told them to consider themselves under arrest. They immediately "showed fight," and, drawing pistols, told the citizens to stand back, on pain of getting their heads shot cif. In an instant the saspects were covered by a score of pis'ols, wiiere upon they quietly submitted to arrest. They gave their names as Charlie Jones, Harry Joces and Joe John stoa. When searcfced there was found upon their persons ?19 in silver, three pistols, several valuable diamonds, and a number of pieces of fuse. There is little doubt that they are genuine crooks. Tho 21<&sarc cf Strength. A ! .4. 1 I iin amusing siury nets uccu the rounds of the newspapers lately, A gentleman saw at a lecture one night his barber. Tne next time he wss in the barber shop he asked tbe barber if he enjoyed ihe lecture. ''Not at all," was the response '"M? whoJe eveoing wss a failure, for from where I sat iu the gallery I cculd see that your hair was not parted straight." This man is fairly representative of a large proportion of people iu this ?rorid. With them one defect bio's ouievery possibility oi eoj Jjmentand happiness, It is the same in th^-ir es:;mate and er j jyment of people The one defect cf character obliterates u e ninety Dine virtues; the one act cf vrbich ihey disapprove blots out the memory oi the manj cf which they do approve. It is wisdom ic count the pleasures, ir.e inspirations, the possibilities, the virtues, which are a part uf cur life, and to let the^.i blot cut, as th?y surely outnumber, the sorrows, the weights, the defeats, the sins, of cur lives. Is there greater folly than to go through life watching the crookei p?.st? It I takes strength oi rnind, and phibso j phy, which is but another name fori intelligence, to tester the defeats j the disagreeable things that j come to us. And it cannot be disput- j ed that the positive evidence of wtak I :.es5 in any character is that of count- j int; only,the thicks that subtract from the joy of living. There are people 77ho think that the measure of righteousness is the inability to laugh. There is no relation between dy spepsia and righteousness. G?d mads this world beautiful to make his children happy. The trials of life, great and small, should be accepied like the hills and mountains met in a journey?difficult of ascent, but presenting greater beau j ty and bringing the climber nearer heaven in proportion to ice strength ! called for in'the upward journey. | That msn does not go far nor high < vrho sits down to look at the dirncul- j lies that lie below him. His intelii-; gciice and power of reaching the full: measure of the image in which he was ' created depend on his ability to forget the pisi and live ia. the present of triumph. HIS MANIA WAS TO ?J,.\Y. EXTRAGSD'In^RY career of vachER, MURDERER OF MANY PERSON . j Hii Serl' ? of Gileses?Tw?aty thrco Asstesln-.tlors 3cc-u&ht H?me to Him? K< cord Without Parallel?ii&cd of ijJrasglers ia Paris ard I 3 Chief. Thsre is Eothicg in modern histcry with which to compare the sanguioa rv career of the Frscch slaughterer, Yacher, savs the London correspondent of the New York Sua. The Jack the Ripper murders in London ten years ago arc c:<mple!?ly eclipsed by it, and the revelation is still incomplete. Twcatj th-ce assissinations have already been brought home to this blood-thirsty wretch, and sc^rely a day passes that another is not added to the list. It is doubtful if the murderer himself knows the number of his victims. He nonchalantly tells the story o* some fresh tragedy io the ex amming magistrate from time to time ; as the details recur to his diseased mi^d- Investigation ia each case so far has produced full corroboration of the murderer's narative. Tne;e cases include several crimes not heretofore discovered, but the victim's body has in each instance been found where in dicattd?in a disused well or ioneiy thicket The story of this man, who killed merely forth? Saki ofkiJJiag, should be made kno rn throughout Christendom. for it constitutes the most start liDg warning of modern tirre; against the criminal folly of turning loose upon society an iaaividu-?l subject to tiis of homicidal nniiia Vacher, who is only about 25 years old, vras a Diasant liviog near Lyocs. Hi served his military term in a regi ment cf zouaves, and proved so good :i soldier ;hat he was made a non comm issioned cifisfr. It was complained o? "him that he was brutally severe to the ra cruits uader him. A ^ouLg m*n, a member of a renowned French i^miily,tells hnw Vacher onse abused him so savagely while drilling him that he lost his temper and sprang at the joung martinet. Luckily for the sol-! dier, his companions seized him be j fore h& had succeeded in striking his j tormentor, otherwise court martial1 and sentence to death for assaulting ail -cfucar might have been his fate under the stern la^s cf military dis cipline in France. But there was no suspicion or ground f:>r suspicion of Vacher''s san* j ity at that time. Just after com - j pleting bis service, Vacher was ill in j the hospital for several we^ks. Dur- \ ing his cjnanement he attsmp'.ei to : blow out his brains with a revolver, i and ha still carries the bullet somewhere inside his skull. The shot produced recurrent fits cf insanity of so violent a charactor that he was confined for a time at the lunatic asylum at Dole. Di. Gilbert, the well-known expert- in mental diseases, says that the physicians at the asylum released | Vacher, although the?"knew he was not fit to be at large, because they were afraid of an outcry in the press against the arbitrary confinement of a citizen under the pretest that he was insane. That was three years ago. Since that time Vaeher has wandered I through the country districts of France, leaving everywhere a trail of ; blood, but undetected, even uasuspec j ted, until by mere chance he was caught almost red nanded near Lyons abcu1: three weeks ago. Most of his victims were shepherd bays and eirls, whom he found tending their flocks in lonely fields or on hillsides,^bat sometimes he killed men and women. In each case he seemed seize! with a *-< >-"~ ttwl-ini- (intsTi hie xriffim XX Ci- JUJ aikCi mv n m a*4w i av*?mmj ; and cut and slashed and often dis membered the body. He told the magistrate one day that he considered himself a source, sent by Providenci to slU'et humanity. But his motive was often more rational and sordid. Oae man he killei because his victim wore a clean-looking shirt wiaich Vacher coveted. Sometimes, he admits, he killed because he needed money j and food. The murderer was always remarka I ble clever in shifting suspicion from ' hirr-self. Two years ago he killed a j shepherd boy on a country road a few j miles from Lyons. He hacked the: body almost into pi^c^s and then j strolled on Within a few minutes; the mu.ilated corpse was discovered j ana there was immediate search for the murdrrer in all directions. A gendarme mounted on a bicycle soon overtook Vacher, and ceiled upon him to pr.jcuse his papers He readily handed over his discharge from the z:-ums as a non-commisiio^ed officer. "Why, that is my old regiment/' exclaimed the tfesdarme. "I am hun iog a man who just cu'. a bo>'s throat. Have yc.-u seei. anj suspicious character a< you came aloug?" "O*-, ?es," responded the murderer witfcou. the least siirn of discomposure. '"I saw a maa running acri ts the fields to thenor?h about a mile b^ck " And lL? geisdaime hurried off afier the imaginary culprit Oocasivnaiij by some J inky chance a victim escap d him. A boy of 13, samtd Rosier, was h-;rding c:>ws nesr Clermont Ferrand ore cay in ; Oclober, a year ago, when he saw an lugly looking, fringing fellow, approach. He was a tramp, poorly a hicr h-i.o- on his bsck and a heavy stick in his hand. The bo; was frightened at the tramp's appearance, and as the strar>ge- came near, ycutig Rodi'.r, under pretense of minding his cow?, ran away. The stranger, Yacher, followed. "' It's bitter cold," he said when be came near '"Why don't you light a fire? If you want matches, I cm give you soma." "I want none," s\id the boy, ".snd don't be roming afier me, but keep cn the path." But V^cher came cn, and the boy kept moving off until ho got to the brow of the hiil, where a man and a woman were digging. Y7hen the tramp saw them, he stopped short. T.iey ejed him also, snd thought there was something wrong about him. The man wss so sure Vac her meant mischief that he tock up a pitehferk to be ready for the fcrst- The tramp said: 4,This is a horrid country. The people are worse than dogs. I have wn fasting for twodavs. and nobody hss enured m2 a crust." Ee had, not 20 minutes before, murdered Rosine, the ii year cid s^sier of youns: P.odier. but her bed 7 was not feu ad until a week lateh At another time three cr four women in. turn eiCiped him. A Mme. ilarchand has identified Yaeher as a man who attacked her on the road 4 near L^ons at Easier, 1895. She <- as I returning from market, where she had sold some oranges, and a man came behind her and seized her by the ihroat. She struggled violently, managed to scratch hc-r assailant's face and succeeded finally in screaming. Several persons heard her, "but before they reached her her assailant I fiei. Three ether women were at I tacked in the same way that afternoon l but were unable to escape in a similar manner. Yscher's most t-rominent victim was j the Marquis de Villeplaine, who was I killed while walking in his park in I southwestern France, not far from l the Spanish frontier. The murderer crept up behind him, felled him Dy a blow on the head with a heavy stick nnd then cut his throat. The murderer carried off bis victim's coat aDd a portfolio containing some baik notes Vacher went to Spain soon after this murder. One of his more rccent crimes, which might never have become known but for the murderer's boastful volunteered description of it, was the killing of a boy of 16 named Bully near Lyons, poacher and chicken siealer, so that bis disappearance was made little account of. Vacher told the magiitate this week that he met B jlly en the hi^h road and dispatched him in an unoccupied house, where they went to pass the night, Bie spent soma hour? in cutting the bedy to piec?s and finally threw it down a well on the premises. Parts of the remains b*ve now been recovered by following Vacher's directions. Tnis extraordinary criminal is sane enough under ordinary observation, I and therein, of course, lies thd danger \ to society from creatures with such .,?An^v,r.nl.,. Thj rvinct r] icjn sf i 71 Or O X.AJ.V i?4VU W f-> feature of the wbo'.e frightful record is the fact that a criminal, sane or in sane should bs able to go about for three jears in a civilizjd, weii p)pu ialed country,taking life at will ana in an almost wholesale way was, and ^et j ba comparatively free from :he pursuit of ihe aeenls of the law. It is the fashion in Europe, to rcgari America cs a more or less lawless wilderness, i where human lsfe is cheap. In ihe i i face of this revelation in a country which prides itself on the skill of its j detectives, America should be safe, for j a time at least, from the repetition of j these slanders. j THE COMMON CRiME OF MURDER Its WcXul Picvaleccs ThrcaghouJ th? United States. There is not a Sia'.e or Territory in the Union in which there is not a trial for murder psnding. In the State of! Kentucky therj are forty-seven cases! Cjiiueriiiiig Ninety uisc unsji^ia murder awailiag trial. *Ia'Virginia there are at least tweaty three charges of murder. Ia the first State only saven of the men in j til to be tried lor the capital offence of murder are ae?recs;ia Virginia there are eight. North Carolina has twenty cases or more, Georgia twenty-seven, Lo?r.siaa a ic )re, Texas thirty two or thirtythree, Missouri twenty-four, Illinois sixteen, Icdiaaa sevea, Michigan three, Ohio ei?ht, Peansylvania twenty six, New York forty-two Cca necticut, Rbode Island aad Vermont one each. New Hampshire has just 'settled one of her three by si sentence j o* thirty years imposed upon a crazid i assassin. California has twenty-seven ! cases on her docket, aad. altogether, with a dczm more or less, there are 2S0 charges of murder cn the criminal dockets of the various States aad Territories. South Carolina, we re ^ret to say. has her full share and more. Some of these have only passed as yet from the hands of the coroner or committing magistrates, others are on trial, some are on appeal, and a few aave gone through ail the judicial procedure, aad the convicted men are only awaiting the executive action of the law to complete their record. There is no domiaatinf? cause of these ? ? ? 1 ?* "U <N r i V> * 1 rt crimes, uniess it us mat m ^ | cities they are more frequently con neeied with robbery. Love, revenge, madness, pure thirst of sneddingjbiood gain, j >alousy, political wrangles, family feudb and drunken brawls are a few of the'sources from which the nomicide acts have origin. Some seem not to have even the plea of madness, to which so many of the [ causeless crimes are referred. I-, is a ; mooted point whether legal punish j ment has any deterrent effect upon | crime, but no one can note the terribly j suggestive figures given abore without | an earnest wish that punishment have i a real test. I The Comp roller Issues Another Gircalar. | Comptroller General Ecton is pus'v ; ing the matter of the returns of the ! property and capital of new eaterj prises. He sent out the following1 i litter to county auditors, asking for i;.formation whic.i will tell him j whether auditors are doing their drtty ; ia tr;is matter or not, The letter j r.^ads: [ Dear Sir: la CDmplvine with the I duties rfqiiredof your of Hie under | St-cti'cn 267, Rjfis-d Statuses 1S93. j will you please jjivs me the number | o? J2x j&y srs placed on youradditional j cuplicite; also, give me the number o? names turned over to your county : superv sor as delinquent returns u^ider ; Section 263 Rjvised Statutes, 1S?3. | Yours verv truly, *L P. Eotcu, Comptroller General. ! i The report of the auditors to the ! comptroller's offi;?, in compl anc3 with tbis letter, will necessarily ini elude a report of the number and value of crigina! package establishments doing business in this Slate. All of the original package businesses have j baen established sines ths closing of the auditors' original duplicate and < ^ill be amoni: those oa the additional J lists. The delis q tents reported to the ! ! etmc.yiTie~.f2 V>T7 Ki;r$ifnr Will UMb?- j | 'oiy be only tne transient stand keep- j j ers who move about from placs to j J clace and seldom pay o:her than city j j license taxes. j Suicide at a Jadge. ! Judge Horace R. Buck, associate | j.;s!.ice of the supreme court cf Men! una. shot himself through the right I fye about midnight at his home in ; L'enox, a suburb of Helena. He had ! spent the evening with a party of friend* at a neighbor's house, seeming very cheerful. " After chatting for a vcbile with his family, he went t) his 'room, and soon afterwards the shot j that ended his life was heard. H:s wife ran up stairs and found him lyi ing on the floor, dead. The judge Lad * 1 -1 ? ? * I L?cH DreS.JiiDg UU.Y.U 1:1 i;cai.o ivi j j some time s-nd it is thought vras seized! | with a sudden impulse to end his un-! ; easiness. He vras 41 years of age, aj i native cf Vicksbur^, Miss., acd a; i graduate of Yale. He c^me to Mon-, : taca in 1879. a THE COTTON PROBIEM. TME FARMERS MUST FIGHT THE DEVIL WITH FIRE. Th? Colcmb'.a Statd JastJy Contends that ! as Long as Iras*.# Exist tlie Farmers are JastlC^d la Orgsa'z'.ng Oao to Frotec: T bemsslvej. Prof. R Means Davis contibutes to The S:ate a thoughtful letter 011 the issue of the day in the south?the means of raising the price of cotton, be reducing the acreage, cornering the product, or otherwise. We print it with pleasure, although we do no' agrf e vcith several of his conclusions. Oar friend is a teacher, a professor of poli'icsl economy. It is his duty in life to announce certiin rigid doc trices, to teach them and to adhere to theoa regardless of consequences. It is the obligation of others, in other cc cupations, to maie theory conform to necessity, to make an honest living even at the cost of subordinating doc trines theoretically s -und. Farmers may disspprove of trusts, but if they steno present pros; est of destroying those that already exist to their oppression and have the hope that by -organizing one of their own they may secure living n.'ices for their great staple, they will not eisily fce persuad ed to stay their hands. Tne pinch of | poverty is ever more powerful than | the allurements of "blanked barren idea ity." Hence we do not thick j that any consideration of consistency j will keep them from going into a cct ton trust if they think a cotton trust | -will relieve them from th^ir present I financial plight. j As we have said in previous ariicle?. ! we gi-eatly doubt the ability or the miili jc farmers of the south, widely scititred over a great area, variously 'circumstanced and unused to cooperation, to effect and maintain a combina| tion for the purpose of reducing the cotton acreage: and the same difficulties attend the plan of organizing a cot ton trust to corner the staple. Yet we would not discourage either ol these movements, cecauss if either should li3ppen to ?U2C3ed it would be of great value to ibe farmers and the people of the south generally. Even if they ihould not be organized and operated, the free dkcassion of them would concentrate the mi^ds of ths cotton plant ers upon the necessity for a curtailment of production; and might promote by individual action that which could not be gained by cooperative ac tion. To realize the nature of a ciseas is to make c.a advance toward cur- J |ing it; and the disease we suffer from j ! is an excess of cotton on the brain. : I Prof. Davis is seriously misinformed, j we think, as tj the area in E?ypt suit- j I able for cotton culture. Oar under- j J standing is that it is quite limited, j The India cotton is very inferior and j j can never ta the uiace of our fine j white staple. Ia Russia the industry j is in its earliest infancy. In none of these countries could it be rapidly ex pand^d, in response to a rise in price, to a degree which would supply the mills of the world from other fields than ours. Even at the cotton famine prices of our yjax lime, though the cul j ture was very profitable, the foreign supply could not app.-oach the demand. It would take very high prices, maintained for years, to make outside production formidable to us. That theso'jth can produce cotton more cheaply than any other part of the world is admitted by Prof. Davis. Bui why should we for this reason produce all we can ? Because we can raise it at a cost of 5 cents a pound, is it rational to raise so mush of it that it can onlv brimr 5 cents? Surely not. If the crop is uuDroficable it ought to b3 abandoned by those who cannot make money out of it?let those who can, keep up their production, and increase it if they like. If the total crop is so great as to make the pries run down to the average cost of production, then the total crop should be re duced until the average farmer can make something by planting it. We entirely agree wiih Prof. Davis) that what we commonly call over-: production is rather underconsumption, ciused by the impaired purchas ing power of the people under the operation of the gold standard. For this we are seeking by the ballot a financial remedy, and when we get it a crop of 10.000,000 bales will not be too much. But for this relief we must wait years; iur iijc ui uo j trusts we must wa t years; for every- [ thing save what we can accomplish i unaided by Jaw we must waitjeirs. <* In the meaatime are we to go on giv- j in? our time, labor and thought to the j : uclimned production of a crop that o'o.sn't pay? Not if we h-ive i?.aif-j sense. Tue farmers of the south will not be j likely lo arq lire a love for trusts if] they make a cotton combination. Tne ; trusts pinch theca, as well a^ our friend, too hard and in too many j places They will be glad enough to' sacrifice t^eir o&n for ibe sake of sweeumj? a:vay ihe hundred owners jM^anwhile, it is possible lor ttrm with propriety to denounce all trusts while ?a>iiiir that so long as trusts are pe-mitted ihey intend to create for ifct rnselv-'S sucla as ih^y f q ur^ W'-iii we accept the name of trust; as applied to Mr. Rodd^y's proposed | : crgan'z *tion we do not admit its ap j <plicabiiity 'o trie proposed cjaifiia < i ii ;n of farmers to reduce ihe acreage j ' in cotton. The two things are very j ditffrent in character and purpose, i Oae is a close corporation created to stifb competition, and pliader the | public; the other a mere association,! aiming to include a miiiion men, hav- i in?rno purpose to destroy competition, I and aiming only at cooperation in re- j ducing the excessive planting of an: unprofitable crop. A siagle piea will j justify ic, and that is, self-preservation. ?Sta'.e _ _ U id>3 Skxii ilis V? laoivs. The house comcnitiee met Wcdnes } day and took action that is intended to ? correct the alleged repidly growing ! abuie or young women marrjing old ; soldiers and sailors for th^ purpose of I becoming their wido*s and drawing j a pciisi'-n i'rora the ^overnmc-nt. This j subj-Ci has been much disousred ini vie .v of the cor.parutiueiy lsrge num- j cer of vriuow claimants on account of j the revolutionary war of 1S12 and; Mexican war service of husbands, j The committee au'.hcrfz :d Chairman . ?>_?? r-Umir, *V a nnmmilt!!? r>-n ! bU \J KJ iiC'Ui V? . , rules an order or rale permuting an j amendment to the pension appropria-; tion providing that no pension shall | hereafter be graced to the widow of a I soldier or other person who is married j to such soldier or person after the; passage cf ihis act, excepting, how; ever, ail soldiers, sauors, officers, etc.; now in or who may hereafter enter < the military or navai service of the; United S'.ates. k CONCERNING COTTON j A Plan to Abolisli Gambllrg lr Faturta. The following is the full test of Representative Stokes's bill which! will be introduced by him at an early! day: A Bill to Abolish Gambling in Cotton \ Futures and Others Agricultural' Products. Section 1. From and after the pass- j age of this act, it shall be unlawful for any individual, or corporation cr association to c-ngage in gambling operations whose tendency is to affect artificially the market price of cotton or other agricultural products. Bee. 2. D or tie purposes ot tn;s act, gambling operations include all contracts for purchase and sale, commonly known as "futures." in which the tender and delivery of the actual commodity named in the contract is not made. Sec. 3. Eich contract for future delivery of cot ton, corn, wheat, and oats shall relate to one gradd only and all such contracts shall specify the amount and grade contracted for. and no under of a different grade from that named in the contract shall be a legal tender. Sec. 4 Any pt rson or corporation or association, their agents, representa lives or officers. violating any of the provisions of ibis act, shall upon conviction there of b3 fined in a sum not less than $L,C00 for each offense, cnehalf of which See shall be paid to the informmt; or imprisoned for not less tban six months, or both fined and im pris >ned in the direction of the court: Provided, That in addition to said fine acd imprisonment, any person rho has suffered injury by r. ason of such unlawful operations may recover rfamAops in anv rnurt of comr?3tent jiiisdiction. Sec. 5. All :c'.s and parts of acts ia- j consistent with the troviiiocs of this j act are hereby repealed. Dr. Sickts was seen Wednesday af j ternoon after the adjournment of the! house, at his room at the Metropolitan Hotel and made the following: statement ia reference thereto: ' The purpose of this bill is plain and its provisions if enacted into law will do ail that legislation can do toward the end in view. 'i have made a close study of the problem since the cotton growers' convention met in Columbia last month and appointed me a delegate at large from my sta:e to the interstate cotton growers' convention calledtc meet in; Atlanta on the 14th inst. At that! meeting, I will present a plan of co nTji.0omnrtf /^'Yfrnr; Cr.?rt?7f>rs t.hftt * will them control cf the spot! market. This bill will wip3 cut the gambling market and leave the pro j ducersof CDtton in position tocontrol j the price of their product within reasonable limits. It is needless to say that under the provisions of the bill, the same remedies may b3 applied j ist as effectually to all other agricultural products?corn, wheat, oats, etc. I speak of cotton speciacally bec iuse my people are mostly interested in it. "The section of the bill requiring ea3h contract to relate to one grade only w'li of itself revolutioniz) the transaction on the cotton exchange, j Under th3 existing rul-s the sailer of j futures can deliver any grade from gocd ordinary to fair. This shuts ouS !i spinners and actual buyers of actual | cotton, practically, from the cotton ex-j change, because the spianer when he buys cotton wants to buy a certain graci3. j '"If we compel the delivery ct the j grade specified, then spinners can I have a snowing 021 the exchanges. "Irepcit; the bill will give there- j lief the farmers need, if it becomes j law; and it will become law if the farmers demand it." A Llqior-Dzinktes Boat. They say that the Dsmocratic is a drinking party. Pennsylvania elected overwhelmingly a Republican, legislature last fall, and this is the record it left when it attended the dedication of General Grant's monume-iS in New York: Table supplies . ?....?$L,67S SG'I Wines and liquors 3,02560 j /-* _x T-*. l-i i_ -_ 1+1 nn I cupper ai .raiiaaejpiiia...... qi jv j Cigars. 450 Of-) Hire of silverware. lS7 5f'.' Service of waiters.... 240 00 ] Stoves...................... 70 001 Freight... 8 27 | Building kitchen 175 00 | Car fare cf waiters.........* 209 50 j j Total $6,107 12 ! To iiq iors returned......... 157'!0| To s.*i-rof s'oves............. 32 00: I Total ...$5 91116 } This Vita saoh aa -us utTiirj th&t 'he g- viroor ve'oed t'oe an;;r< j pria'ioci. It s<^eds that ;>a!y $2 869 60 >. wortb of wine- Hctii :rs e n> ] su^ed by the 250. Whether th* ii j q a rs ar#? *ver oaidi for cr not, thess j zcxz'itjg Re >u'ihcin- d-*a-:k t'aeoi L >oks Life- ? ?.rop<. We havp. rec ivfd Lsrhaoi, Ajpx*n-, d-r & Co's crop f3l*'arxyi3 of t~e 7g^ | as follows: 'k3ising our coii elusions upon a a exhaustive co ves ; poncence with all the cotton-gro^ieg j counties in ih-3 Southern States. rein | bio information secured from travelers i through i>* sou'b, ar.d upon the psr-; c'jctages c' the crop m?.rk9ied at nu tn&rous. points, the following is cures-: timate cf the 5it-Id by Slates. We; submit it v*ith the confident belief that:: it will prove as i.exrly correct as anj that could b3 made at this date, after a carsf ui consideration cf the cotton movement thus far this year: To'al CiCp of Alabama. 1,109,000 bales; Arkansis, 852,000; Florida, ?6,000; Georgia, 1.430,000: Louisi&n?, 7u3,000;j Mississippi, 1 373.003; North Carolina} Si)iOCO; South Carolina, 875,035; Tennessee, etc.. 395.000; Tpx*s ?>td Indian. Territory. 2 7S5.000. Total 10,188,COO Sales.1' Greai Neiii: "Where -yo a id we have b^en if we had a c;o? failure ? Won 2\>r Snirit-r. When the 8:ate Boatd cf Control met Thursday in Coiumbiathe following loiter was read: Ssmic-r, D^c. 8. 1S97. State Board of Control, Coium'e;*.. 3. C. The county beard of control of Sum- j ter county requests that the shsra oi ] net profits from the cispensary be not j paid to the city, but that a constable j be emplojed to suppress the ilL cii; sale j of whiskey here. The city councilhas rented:: store to an c. p. dealer. J. T. Hayes, Chairman. H. C. Cutiixo. Clerk. W. J". Dejects. i Upon toe strength of this cjtmn/uni ! cation the board decided that the share of dispensary profits gcir.g to the city of Sumter to ^ithr.eld. THE WILSON VS. THE DINGLEY ACT. rhs 2Torxn?r Better than ths Letter aa a Bsvonne Salter, The Dingley Tariff act &s a producer of revenue promises to be a three toone failure when compared with the Wilson law. Upon the basis of resu'ts so far attained, it is estimated bj unprejudiced authority that the first year s deficit under the Dingley law wiil equal the deficiency for the three vears under the Wilson law. The statement made by Secretary Gage that the excess of expenditures ever receipts for the' first year under thenew tariff wiil not go beyond $25,000,000 is ridiculed by financial experts. Even permitting Mr. Gage to use tbe entire $58,000,000 derived from the sale of tbe Union Pacific railroad, as though it had been obtained tbrouh the collection of duties on importations, his estimates are still below those mzid* by reliable accountants in the government service at IseTr York. The officials of the administration have become so alarmed at the continuous deficit producing character of theDingley bill that ttiey have resori ' ed lo unusual methods in endeavoring to hide its defects Such an opportunity was presented when the Union Pacific railroad was sold to the reorganization syndicate, ana the first payment on this account, ?13 615.250. anceared vesterdav in th? treasury statement among; the ordinary receipts of the government for November. By thus jiggling with figures Secretary Gage was aMe to! present a surplus of receipts over ex-1 pecses for the month. Tne deficit by months since June 30 hss been: July 11,673,000 August 14,565,0001 September 3,235,000, October 9 310.000 Novcuber 8.543,0001 Secretary Game's figures for Novam i bsr, secured by carrying into the cash 813,645,250 daid on account of the Union Pacific sale, niakes a surplus for the month o? $5 553,000. Bit this money is no pari of tne revenue derived from the Dingley act, and must be deducted from govercm3nt revenue? to ascertain ^tat the law is producing. When President ilcKinlev succeed ed Mr. Cleveland the available cash|in tae treasury was $211,S37,255. Immediately the preparation of a high tariff bill commenced, and under its influence, importers having taken advantage of lew duties and fearing much higher ones, the cash in the treasury was increased from March 1, lo August 1, until it reached $233,010,000. From this point, with the Dingley act in full operation, the atlbit has continued until November 30, when it was, for that portion of the fiscal year already completed, $46,000,000, and running at a ratio of more than $100,* 000,000 for the entire year. During the three years the Wilson act was in operation the deficit was: 1895... $?2,S05,000 1S96~?.??? 25,203,000 1S97 18,052,000 Total 86 060,000 Admitting that there will 12 an increase of importations during the latter pari; of the year, it is claimed by experts whose authority caDnot be questioned, that the deficit will reach at least $S5,060,000, -will be as much of a delhis in one year as was accumulated under the Wilson act in three years. When President Cleveland assumed office March 4. 1893, there was an available cash balance in the treasury of $124,C00,0C0. When Mr. McKinley became President on Msrch- 4, 1897, there was an available cash balance of $212,000,000. This balance aside from the ordinary revenues for Mr. Cleveland's term, was increased by the sale of bonds to mest the excessive and permanent expenditures that had been saddled upon the treasury by the preceding It'.publican congress. These bond issues were made as follows: 1. February, 1894....$ 50,000,000 5s 2. November 1894.... ?0,000 000 5s 3 February. 1895..... 62,315 400 4s 4. February, 1896..,. 100,000,000 4s Total $262,315,400 Upon these issues the premiums realized amounted to $31,138,786 (cents j omiied), as follows: | First issue........ ........$ S.6S3.295 ,Second issue.............. 8,538.400 I Third is>ue.... 2 S0U:S44 Fourth issue 11.166,246 [ Addins the principal and premium ! the Cleveland admiui-lration iacreas ed its revenue from this ex'raor *inary source to the extent of $293 454 186 Ar.d of this amount Cleveland left to his successor ?212,000.000 The ^orJsoJ ? Fiend. Oae of the most atrocious and inhu I m?o tfiurders oo record in the south ; was committed 'Vt-d:;esday niaht in jt.^e ed&e of S:d p-on counly Miss I Brosrn Smith, a farmer, aad a son of i 2X-Rei^r sestaiiv-e Ed Smith, o Simp sou c vjfctv. ]ef: hi.5 faa::i> at his name in ii'i c u:.trv, t-: g<>ir> to-^n for shop pi?? pu." noses, of no possi i'o'edaoger 'or th m. Thursday morn iuz whtn .-;e returned ha found his wife acd five children, welte i g in their bleed a c apparently all dead An alar.n wiisr^iocd i33mediately and : me entire neighborhood turned cut to bum for the inrpelratcr of ibis fouJ t &i d blocdy crime. I Tne:e be jag 110 t ieersph connec ! i- j,f/<ma in j UT lAilS Ui. iOJL Uiuv.i vwuav **-. slowly, but it was reported Thursday evesisg that one of thglittls girls sup j posed to have b:en cea^ has revived j enough to tell what she knew of the (occurrences. Sba said she kno^s ths ! man who committed the deed, that i! f a negro, and <Iescrib:d him. A posse is cow on the trick cf the aurdertr. and there is great probability that ha wiil be apprehended Jbe'ore rurrsiog, and there can be but little doubt of his meeiicg speedy justice ; -'hen caught, without awai'icg the : formality of a court. It is learned : that Mrs Smith and four of her chil; dree. are dead, and that one of the chil 1 ' - r. t ;rc. i'lre.i is s;iii iiTing-. oiieriu* i of Lincoln. and Thompson of Copiah J counties have gore to the scene cf the i murder, each with a pack cf trained blcodJhcunds. j Tortured lo Uontb. The Athens correspondent of The O.hroiiicie s'.ys :lut oa Monday last t?/0 soldiers m the imperial service at i the Yildiz Kicsh, the paiace cf the j sult2.11, made an attempt on the life cl i ihs sultan. This was frustrated bj I the attendants. The sultan had the : men. tortured in ths hope of extract! icg the names of the instigators, but both succumbed without revealing ; anything. 'Ji I .TfllSIDEM'S MESSAGE. SENT TO CONGRESS WHEN THAT EODY MET LAST WEEfO It Is Quite a Lengthy Document and la v More Bemaxkable Tor What It Hoes Contain than What It Does. When Congress assembled last week President McKinley sent in his first annual message. The message after declaring everything is lovely ani the goose hangs high immediately proceeds to show wherein it is not and commends a currency reform which is without material differemc8 the same that has been advocated by President Cleveland and Secretary Carlisle for the past few years. He calls attention to the necessity which the government is under of paying * gold on demand, without the ability to demand gold -when it receives its revenues; to the further fact that there is no way to procure gold except by bon'd issues and requests that legisla t|pn facilitating the secretary of the treasury in these issues, on long or I short time, be passed, if it is intended to continue the present system. JbLe recommends that national b%aks be allowed to issu; notes to the full faca value of the bonds they deposit, and be taxed only one-half of 1 pep cent on their issues, .which shall be in notes of $L0 and upwards. When baLkers or others bring United State3 notes and demand gold, he recommends that these notes be not'again pxid out ezsept for gold. The president admits the failure thus far of the effort at international agreement for the coinage of silver, but still holds out the hops that it may D2 accomplished. President McKinley devotes a large nart n* hie rr.PccflcA ttiA rjnhan question, and reviews it fully in all its bearings. He declares th'3 recognition o! Cuban independence is out of the q lestion, and the recognition of a state of bslligerency would prove a great hardship upon the insurgents.He outlines the great improvement that has taken place under the government of Sagasta sinca the withdrawal of Weyler, and declares it is the duty of this government to longer wait for the test of the new uolicy that Spain has entered upon. H9 says there are no longer any American prisoners in Cuba, and the conditions Jiave been greatly ameliorated for the non-fighting Cubans. He thinks there is promTTTO* -!1 flio nour idc ui cuuiu^ tu? n ax uuum huv mv n regime and contends tha-; it is our duty to await a fair test of it. His positions are plainly taken and forcefully argued hut will probably prove a disappointment to those who think Spain has trifled already too long,and that this government should go promptly to the relief of the insurgents. He favors a prompt ratification of the treaty for the annexation of Hawaii, and recommends material changes in the laws relative to Alaska. The message commends the principle of international arbitration, and approves the enlargement of the scops , and effectiveness of the civil service. The enlargement of the navy is re* c'jmaiciiucu ill ouuiv puuviuaia, ?? the need for mo^-e dry docks is emphasized . These are the only subjects treated at length in the message. History repeats itself in the course of McKinley. Before aDd while he was a candidate he was an outspoken advocate of Cuban independence. He assured at least one man we know that if elected it would be his aim to accomplish it. The platform upon which' he was elected committed the Republican party to give "independence" to the island. But now that he is President, Mr. McKinley professes himself satisfied with a scheme of au- , tonomy which is clearly .farcical and fraudulent, and ignores liis own and his party's committal to the promotion of absolute independence. The reasci is the same as in Grant's case. The moneyed men of the east who elected him do not care a snafp for platforms and sneer at sentiment rr" ?* * lflCy UU JJLUL W aub U U>3 ed" by any patriotic or humane manifestation. A drop in stocks or an increased rate of maritime insurance might come from the recognition of Cuban belligerency or independence, and they simply put-the screws to j their man in the white house to prevent anything of that sort. We do not share their sordid spirit, but we cannot altogether blame these easterners for making McKinley stultify himself to please them; they bought his election and they are entitled to his services We rcah'zj too well the extent to which the money power has bound President McKiniey to put the least faith in his suggestions of ultimate action on the line of his past professions. The e are mere sops to placate a public grealy shamed and deeply ,,fc A KIaa^o/^ nnl. ILLL jJH.' ICU v UJ U"Ji lUC Wiu wivuwvu |^VA icy of their government. Tbey mean , do more than did Cleveland's hints of j in'errtntion at some unstated time, j Until V7t- have a President elected by the preference of the masses rather . than by the money of the few we cannot hops for a policy in accord with ths? sentiment of tho masse?.?State. Cub s Patriots 2Iak? a Baiae, A. dispatch from Havana says it was officially announced from Spanish i headquarters that a "group of rebels" | had entered Chaimanera, near Guani tanamo, * favored by tJhe treason of an officer/' Cainuxnera. is the port of Guantan?mo. is situate 15 miles by rail fron the latter place. Caimanera : is on the bay of Giuntanamo, o'her. wise Cumberland harbor. The insur' geat force, the official report adds consided of forty guerii Jas, volunteers and i natives of Cuba. They are alleged to i have piuadred a store and to have car;! ried oil the sum of $30,000, which was on a wharf, and which had recently ' ?^ art-rived at Caimanera from Hyasa. It is a]so said that the insurgentl killed the police inspecior.3 and two gendarmes on duty and seriously wounded a Spanish paymaster named Jose Vigil. More Spanish guerillas, the official announcement concludes, have joined the insurgents. zx. iitauuiiLi vuiiuuu Instead of breaking a bottle of wine ever the prow, when the Japanese launch a new ship, they liberate a i large number of singing birds from a ; cage zvrirgisg from t..e bowsprit. The i c ge is so constructed thai pulling a : s'.rin,?. j ist as the vessel slides down j the ways, causes it to fall to pieces i. and the birds flut cer merrily about the : new ship that is to skim the waves :; like a liberated bird. It is a pretty ; ngure, ana ramer uas me ? a vantage : over the broken bottle, i i. ' - is