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cwe ADVTNTURE or KII) CIRCLE e (Continued.) "Well, Mrs. Warren, I cannot see that you have any particular cause for uneasiness, nor do I understand "why I, whose time Is of some value, should interfere in the matter. I real ly have other things to engage me." So spoke Sherlock Holmes, and turned back to the great scrapbook in which he was arranging and indexing some of his recent material. But the landlady had the pertinac ity, and also the cunning of her sex. She held her ground firmly. "You arranged an afTair for a lodger of mine last year," she said?"Mr. Falrdale Hobbs." "Ah, yes?a simple matter." "?iUt ne wuuiu uevci i.immu.0 of It?your kindness, sir, and the way in which you brought light into the darkness. I remembered his words when I was in doubt and darkness myself. I know you could if you only would." Holmes was accessible upon the side of flattery, and also, to do him justice, upon the side of kindliness. The two forces made him lay down his gum-brush with a sigh of resigna tion and push back his cbair. "Well, well, Mrs. Warren, let us hear about It, then. You don't object to tobacco, I take it? Thank you, Watson?the matches! You are un easy, as I understand, because your new lodger remains in his room and you cannot see him. Why, bless you, Mrs. Warren, if I were your lodger you often would not see me for weeks on end." "No doubt, sir; dui uiib is uiuvivuu It frightens me, Mr. Holmes. I can't sleep for fright To hear his quick step moving here and moving there from early morning to late at night, and yet never to catch so much as a glimpse of him?It's more than I can stand. My husband Is as nervous over It as I am, but he is out at his work all day, while I get no rest from it What is he hiding for? What has he done? Except for the girl, I am all alone in the house with him, and It's more than my nerves can stand." I Holmes leaned forward and laid his long, thin fingers upon .the woman's shoulder. He had an almost hypnotic I power of soothing when he wished. 1 The scared look faded from her eyes, and her agitated features smoothed Into their usual commonplace. She sat down in the chair which he had Indicated. "If I take it up I must understand every detail," said he. "Take time to consider. The smallest point may be the most essential. You say that the man came ten days ago, and paid you for a fortnight's board and lodging?" "He asked my terms, sir. I said fifty shillings a week. There is a small sitting-room and bedroom, and all complete, at the top of the house." "Well?" "He said, 'I'll pay you five pounds a week if I can have it on my own terms.' I'm a poor woman, sir, and Mr. Warren earns little, and the mon ey meant much to me. He took out a ten-pound note, and he held it out to me then and there. 'You can have the same every fortnight for a long time to come if you keep the terms,' he said. 'If not, I'll have no more to do with you.'" "What were the terms?" "Well, sir, they were that he was to have a key of the house. That was all right. Lodgers often have them. Also, that he was to be left entirely to himself, and never, upon any ex cuse, to be disturbed." + " iNOimng wiy wuuueuui iu uiai, surely?" "Not in reason, sir. But this is out of all reason. He has been there for ten days, and neither Mr. Warren nor I nor the girl has once set eyes upon him. We can hear that quick step of his pacing up and down, up and down, night, morning and noon; but ! except on that first night he has never once gone out of the house." "Oh, he went out the first night, did he?" "Yes, sir, and returned very late? after we were all in bed. He told me after he had taken the rooms that he would do so, and asked me not to bar the door. I heard him come up the stair after midnight." "But his meals?" "It was ms parucuiar uireuuuu inai we should always, when he rang, leave his meal upon a chair outside his door. Then he rings again when he has finished, and we take it down from the same chair. If he wants anything else he prints It on a slip of paper and leaves it." "Prints it?" "Yes, sir; prints it in pencil. Just the word, nothing more. Here's one I brought to show you?SOAP. Here's another?MATCH. This is one he left the first morning?DAILY GA ZETTE. I leave that paper with his breakfast every morning." "Dear me, Watson," said Holmes, Etaring with great curiosity at the slips of foolscap which the landlady had handed to him, "this is certainly a little unusual. Seclusion I can un derstand; by why print? Printing is a clumsy process. Why not write? ' What would it suggest, Watson?" j "That he desired to conceal his handwriting." "But why? What can it matter to him that bis landlady should have a word of his writing? Still, it may be j as you say. Then, again, why such j laconic messages?" mcatccs of IIRLOCK I01ME5 trGomnhoylc "ions by V.LBarnes "I cannot imagine." "It opens a pleasing field for intelli gent speculation. The words are writ ten with a broad-pointed, violet-tinted pencil of a not unusual pattern. You will observe that the paper is torn away at the side here after the print ing was done, so that the 'S' of 'SOAP' is partly gone. Suggestive, | Watson, is it not?" "Of caution?" "Exactly. There was evidently some mark, some thumb print, something which might give a clew to the per eon's identity. Now, Mrs. Warren, you say that the man was of middle size, dark and bearded. What age would he be?" "Youngish?not over thirty." "Well, can you give me no further indications?" "He spoke good English, sir, and yet I thought he was a foreigner by his accent." "And h? was well dressed?" "Very smartly dressed, sir?quite the gentleman. Dark clothes?noth ing you would note." "He gave no name?" "No, sir." "And has had no letters or callers?*' "None." "But surely you or the girl enter his room of a morning?" "No, sir; he looks after himBelf entirely." "Dear me! that is certainly remark able. What about his luggage?" "He had one big brown bag with him?nothing else." "Well, we don't seem to have much material to help us. Do you say nothing has come out of that room? absolutely nothing?" The landlady drew an envelope I from her bag; from it she shook out two burned matches and a cigarette end upon the table. "They were on his tray this morn ing. I brought them because I had heard that you can read great things out of small ones." HolmeB shrugged his shoulders. "There is nothing here," said he. "The matches have, of course, been used to light cigarettes. That is obvi ous from the shortness of the burnt end. Half the match is consumed In lighting a pipe or a- cigar. But, dear "There Was Evidently Some Mark, Some Thumb Print." me! this cigarette stub Is oertainly remarkable. The gentleman was bearded and mustached, you say?" "Yes, sir." "I don't understand that. I should say that only a clean-shaven man could have smoked this. Why. Wat son, even your modest muBtache would have been singed." "A holder?" I suggested. "No, no; the end is matted. I sup pose there could not be two people in your rooms, Mrs. Warren?" " xno, sir. ne eats so iiiue xnai i often wonder it can keep life in one." "Well, I think we must wait for a little more material. After all, you have nothing to complain of. You have received your rent, and he is not a troublesome lodger, through he is certainly an unusual one. He pays you well, and if he chooses to lie con cealed it is no direct business of yours. We have no excuse for an in trusion upon his privacy until we have some reason to think that there is a guilty reason for it. I've taken up Keeps Out of Gander With Fishing Line Tied to His Leg Has Lively Time With Pickerel. A Wisconsin gander was so upset by experiments made upon and through him by a mischievous boy * * A A. ? I ? ? ? *4 ? Ka TTT/Mllrl Ortt O t\ mat lor iX lUUg urno uc nuuiu uw E>W into the water. The gander's determination to ab stain from water as a means of bath ing grew out of the following circum stances: The boy thought he would tie a flsh j lng-llne to the gander's leg and wltb a hook properly baited turn the bird out into the water. The bait was a frog. The gander went Into the mill pond, where he swam around for half an hour, turning "flip-flaps" and diving for food. Suddenly he felt a pull at Unr ov*s3 lrn-vlrnH qo onrnrlcorl fls thft 1113 ICfc, ttliU A wwntu *AK> "lone fisherman" when he caught a whale. The gander concluded that tbere was something the matter, and he looked to ascertain the cause. The pickerel on the hook gave several jerks, whereupon the gander decided that he wanted to go home. He at once started for the shore, but the pickerel on the hook wanted to go the other way. > The gander < the matter, and I -won't lose sight of It. Report to me If anything fresh occurs, and rely upon my assistance if It should be needed. "There are oertainly some points of interest In this case, Watson," he re marked, when the landlady had left us. "It may, of course, be trivial? individual eccentricity; or it may be very much deeper than appears on the surface. The first thing that strikes one is the obvious possibility that the person now in the rooms may be en tirely different from the one who en gaged them." <, "Why should you think so?" "Well, apart from this cigarette end, was it not suggestive that the only time the lodger went out was im mediately after his taking the rooms? He came back?or someone came back?when all witnesses were out of the way. We have no proof that the person who came back was the perBOn who went out Then, again, the man who took the rooms spoke English well. This other, however, prints 'match' when It Bhould have been 'matches.' I can imagine that the word was taken out of a dictionary, which would give the noun but not the plural. The laconic style may be to conceal the absence of knowledge of English. Yes, Watson, there are good reasons to suspect that there has been a substitution of lodgers." "But for what possible end?" "Ah! there lies our problem. There is one rather obvious line of Investi gation." He took down the great book in which, day by day, he filed the agony columns of the various Lon don journals. "Dear me!" said he. turning over the pages, "what a cho rus of groans, cries and bleatings! What a rag-bag of singular happen ings! But surely the most valuable nunting-grouna mat ?vei who 6"^" ?? a student of the unusual! This per son Is alone, and cannot be ap proached by letter without a breach of that absolute secrecy which is de sired. How is any news or any mes sage to reach him from without? Obviously by advertiseriient through a newspaper. There seems no other way, and fortunately we need con cern ourselves with the one paper only. Here are the Daily Gazette ex tracts of the last fortnight. 'Lady with a black boa at Prince's Skating club'?that we may pass. 'Surely Jimmy will not break his mother's heart'?that appears to be irrelevant 'If the lady who fainted in the Brix ton bus'?she does not interest me. 'Every day my heart longs?' Bleat, Watson?unmitigated bleat! Ah! this is a little more possible. Listen to this: 'Be patient. Will find some sure means of communication. Mean while, this column.?G.' That is two days after Mrs. Warren's lodger ar rived. It sounds plausible, does It not? The mysterious one could un derstand English, even If he could not print It. Let us see if we can pick up the traoe again. Yes, here we are? three days later. 'Am making suc cessful arrangements. Patience and ? ?j- ?411 ?n ? prudence, rne ciouub wm pane.? Nothing for a week after that. Then comes something much more definite: 'The path is clearing. If I find chance signal message remember code agreed ?one A. two B, and so on. You will hear soon.?G.' That was in yester> day's paper, and there is nothing in today's. It's all very appropriate to Mrs. Warren's lodger. If we wait a little, Watson, I don't doubt that the affair will grow more intelligible." So it proved; for in the morning t found my friend standing on the hearthrug with his back to the fire, and a smile of complete satisfaction t-1 upuu uia iauc. (TO BE CONTINUED.) Simple Faith of Bretons. There ia probably no place in France where the peasantry are more Inclined to believe in the so-called hidden forces of nature, and where the unscrupulous charlatan has so good an opportunity of deceiving his listeners as in Brittany. Whether in sickness or in health, the people of Brittany look for an answer to their demands in the mysterious kingdom of the supernatural, and with a faith which, to the educated, is sometimes almost unbelievable. A curious in stance of this widespread superstition is cited by M. Paul Genlaux, a well known French folklorist. The Inhabi tants of Muzillac and district, in the Morbihan, firmly believe that the only effective method of curing their chil dren of the colic is to carry them to a certain chapel, that of St Mamers, and deposit them on the altar. There they mumble a short prayer, the text of which you can never get them to confess?and the cure is immediately effected! Artist Regains Drawings. M. Bucas, the French artist whoso paintings when bought by M. Quittner and signed by him, won their new owner honors at the salons where the original painter failed eveii to get them accepted, has succeeded in re gaining 29 of the pictures. Water Now seemed frightened at first. Then he evinced signs of anger and tried to fly to shore, but the pickerel pulled him back. After half an hour of the hardest work he had ever done, the gander came ashore dragging a six-pound pickerel up the bank. The boy toojt oft the pickerel and baited the hook with another trog. He tried to Induce the gander to go In for another swim, but no amount ol persuasion could get the bird to do so. He simply could not be driven in. For many weeks the gander would not go into the water. He would proceed witii the rest of his flock to the wa ter's edge, but there he would stop. He would seem to be arguing with them with reference to the danger th^y were courting. Not in the Dictionary. A teacher waB reading to her class and came across the word "unaware." She asked if any one knew its mean ing. One small girl timidly raised her hand and gave the following defini tion: " 'Unaware* 1b what you take off the last thing before you put your nightie on."?Harper's Monthly. I EDUCATION BOARD HELD A MEETING SEVERAL MATTERS OF INPORT ANCE TO SCHOOLS OF STATE WERE DISCUSSED. COKER COLLEGE ACCREDITED The Report Was Made on High Schools Applying For State Aid.? The New Supervisors Were Also Named?Other Work Done. Columbia.?Several matters of im portance were discussed at the meet ing of the state board of education which was held in the governor's of fice. Superintendent D. T. Kinard su perintendent of the Dillon schools, representing the Sixth congressional I district, and Superintendent Luecoj Gunter of Rock Hill schools, repre senting the Fifth congressional dis | trict, the two new members of the I board, were in attendance. J The committee to ekamine the cur | riculum, standing, faculty and equip ment of Coker college recommended that this institution be placed on the list of accredited schools whose grad uates are entitled to teachers' certifi cates upon the presentation of their diplomas. In their visit to Hartsville the committee found Coker college to be in admirable condition and doing excellent work. The report was unan imously adopted and this institution who takes rank with the accredited schools of higher learning for girls. No other change in the list of ac credited schools was made at this time, but the board will announce a revised list both of whites and of negro colleges in 1913. All accredited SnotftiiHnnn will he exDected to recruire 1 a full and accurate knowlege of i Buehler's grammar from all appli cants. The president of each institu | tlon will be asked to furnish a com ! plete list of new students showing the j school each applicant attended and ' the grade completed in this school. The new. reading circle course for | teachers was adopted and will be ! ready for distribution in a few weeks. The date of the next regular teach l ers' examination was set for Friday, ' October 4. The board hopes to avoid i the necessity of ordering an extra I teachers' examination in January as 1 was done last year. All teachers | without certificates, and all prospec j tive teachers were required to con ' fer with the several county superln j tendenti in order to inform them j selves fully respecting the date and ! scope of this examination. A Lara? Meeting of Farmers. E. W. Dabbs, president of the State Farmers' Union; J. Whil:ner Reid, secretary of the State Farmers' union; A. G. Smith of the United States farm ' demonstration work and E. J. Watson, ! commissioner of agriculture of South j Carolina, spoke to a large and enthu siastic gathering of farmers at a union picnic at Halfway school house ! in this county. Headon Collision on Southern. Fast freights No. 71 and No. 72 on the Southern railway, came into head on collision at Cheddar, about three ; miles south of Williamston. Fred .Caudle, engineer on the south-bound, suffered a broken leg and cuts and bruises; Jack Elliott, engineer of the northbound, sustained a sprained back as a result of jumping from his en gine; Dave Thomas, who was beat ing his way to Columbia, was perhapn fatally scalded, and Fireman Howel was badly bruised. Both engines wer<; wrecked and many box cars wer<; thrown from the track and splintered Seize Much Beer and Whiskey. | Sheriff A. M. Shalley and assistants:, emptied a large quantity of beer anc'i whiskey in the sewers in the court house and on the court house square. The contraband stuff was taken from - xi_ _ a a n1* n,U? ; tii? premises ui a. luautv oiuivca, wuu , was convicted at the recent term of , the criminal court for violating the whiskey law. Guilty of Violating Dispensary Law. A Mack Stokes, who was convicted at the recent session of the court of general session for Orangeburg I county, of violating the dispensary law, having been convicted upon every count charged, has been arrest ed in Augusta and held in that city. Requisition papers have been applied for by Sheriff A. M. Sally and up to last report they had not been re ceived. They will reach here soon it is hoped. Stokes was tried in his absence and the verdict of the jury , was that of guilty. Position of Governor Overthrown. | The position of Governor Blease j wjth reference to the appointment of i magistrates was overthrown by the CunrAma Pmirf in o mo rvr*i + \r rloniointi JUJJ1 t nit WUl I. AAA l* UlUjUi JIJ UVViVlVM , by Associate Justice Woods. The cas j es were argued several weeks ago. There were two cases. One from Spar tanburg county and one from Ander son. In the Spartanburg case the ma . jority opinion was delivered by As i sociate Justice Woods. The decision i in the Anderson case was unanimous and was also written by Associate Justice Woods. I Died From Eating Match Heads. Frances Phillip, the two-and-a-half year-old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Geo. R. Phillips, of Sumter, died at the Sumter Hospital after having eat en the heads from the matches in a box with which she had been play ing. The funeral services were held from the residence on Bartlette street. The little girl had already eaten most of the match heads when discovered, but she was not thought to be in a dangerous condition at the time, al though she was taken deperately ill a short time afterwards. HAVE DISMISSED MASSEY The Lancaster Confederate Veteran is no Longer at the South Carolina Confederate Home. Columbia.?That Veteran Samuel Massey has been dismissed from the Confederate Home was admitted by Maj. H. W. Richardson, the chairman and treasurer of the board of commis sioners. Charges of maltreating one of his comrades, Thomas Whittle, hitt ing him over the head with a chair, resulted in the trial of Veteran Mas sey by the board September 6th and' | 7th and the outcome is the final dis missal of Mr. Massey. Mr. Massey and the Confederate Home have been in the public print for some weeks. The matter first started with the alleged charges that Major Richardson was attempting to influence the old soldiers to vote for Governor Blease, followed closely by the board suspending Massey for 30 days on the charge of being disor-. derly on the premises. A temporary restraining order preventing this from being carried into effect was granted by Judge Gary on application of Attorney John J. McMahan for Massey. Therefore Massey again took up his abode at the home. Then came the charge that Mas sey hit one of his comrades, Thomas Whittle, oven, the head with a chair, and the case was considered by the board on September 6th and 7th. At that time Major Richardson declined to give out anything for publicaion. However he admitted that Massey had teen permanently dismissed from the home. Veteran Massey is from Lancaster county and was an ardent supporter of Jv;dge Jones. Major Richardson and - the members of the board' of commissioners of th? home are strong supporters of Governor Bleaae. South Carolina New Enterprises. The following is a record of new enterprises taken from the books in the office of the secretary of state: Commissioned: People store of Pel ham in Greenville county, capital $15,000, the petitioners being O. King, E. J. DeCamps, T. E. Green, C. M. Wood. Chartered: Gramling Gin com pany of Gramling, capitj.l $8,000, of ficers being Ben M. Gramling presi dent, secretary and treasurer. Com missioned: Bank of Lydia of Lydia, capital of $10,000, the petitioners be ing J. W. "Maynard, B. S. Josey, D. T. McKeitlian, E. G. Cook, W. W. Davis. Commissioned: Myrtle Besich Farms company or jrayrue ueacn, capital $200,000, to do a general mercantile, run a hotel, parks and grounds, deal in real estate, ect. ' . Politic* In Orangeburg County. At the meeting of the Orangeburg county executive committee, held at the court house, a subcommittee, con sisting of J. W. Meek, chairman, J. G. Smith, 'Jr., A. A. Dantzler, A. C. Bozard, J. J. Fairley, was appointed to look into and investigate the re turns, holding of and any other mat ters incidental to the first primary hi Orangeburg county and to hear any matters that may be brought before it. This committee will hold its meet ing to hear complaints and to report on investigations in the near furture. The matter of recount in the election for supervisor of this county will in all probability be brought before this committee, wihch committee also has the power to declare the result of the second primary in Orangeburg coun ty, because of the unsual close vote between the four leading candidates. Samuel Hyde Declared Sane. It was learned that the commission nnnninf-ert hv fJnvprnor Rlefl-Sft to P.x amine into the sanity of Samuel N. Hyde, the Anderson county wife mur derer, has reported that Hyde is sane. Hyde's attorney asked the Governor to commute the sentence to life im prisonment on the ground that Hyde was insane at the time he committed his awful deed. Hyde is confined in the death house at the state prison awaiting electrocution. He was con victed in Anderson of the murder of his wife and father-in-law and sen tenced to die. Twice already he has been granted reprieves but it is be lieved here that the report that he is sane will mean that Hyde will have to pay his crime wjth his life in the electric chair. Heavy Rains do Much Damage. While definite information could not be secured, it is currently stated that the almost continuous rainfall for the past week has worked serious damage to the cotton crop in Charles ton county. The principal injury is the beating out of the staple which is rapidly opening' in the bolls and the lowering of its quality by the dirt spattering it gets in such heavy downpours. It was reported that much of the staple had been beaten out upon the ground, and that the farm ers would be heavy losers. Politics in Aiken County. The county executive committee held a meeting to canvass the results of the primary, but adjourned without declaring any of the four candidates as nominees for the house of repre sentatives. Another meeting will be held soon, as one or two of the boxes , are still missing, but the vote in these will not materially alter the standing j of the four legislative candidates. J Hugh Long of Wagner is still in the i lead, J. Chester I3usbee following, but ! revised returns alter relative stand- | ing of R. J. Wade and E. Bigham. To be Best Fair Ever Held. The directors of the county Fair Association are actively at work in an endeavor to make the Abbeville fair this fall one of the best yet held. Negotiations have been entered into looking to the appearance of an aero plane exhibition during the fair. The premium list, which is now. in the hands of the printer, will be ready for distribution at an early date. Many valuable premiums have been offered for exhibits in all lines of farm and , household endeavors. LOOSED IIPROTEST WITH THE PRESIDENT?OBJECT TO ABOLISHING INTERNAL REVENUE DISTRICT. BY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE The Letter to President Taft Wag Prepared By Secretary Hamby.? This Matter is of Interest to All ' \>i . l * ' South Carolinians. Columbia.?The Columbia Chamber of Commerce, through Its secretary, A. McP. Hamby, has addressed a com munication to President Taf{, present ing reasons why the internal revenue district of the state of South Carolina should not be abolished or merged with the district composed of only a portion of North Carolina. The Chamber of Commerce sub mits that the abolition of the dis trict in this state could not be satisfac torily explained to the rest of the country and would be a detriment to the state's commercial interests. The letter in part to President Taft follows: "I have the honor, on behalf of the Columbia Chamber of Commerce and by direction of the same, to pre sent for your consideration the follow ing reasons why the internal revenue district of the state of South Carolina should not be abolished or merged with a district composed of only a part of the state of North Carolina: "It would seem to us that if the two districts muBt be merged that the district composed of only a part of North Carolina should become a part of the district composed of the whole state of South Carolina, with headquarters in Columbia, instead of the reverse, with headquarters in Raleigh.) i "We would submit that the revenue collected during the past fiscal year in this district amounted to about $185,000 and that inasmuch as the difference between this amount and the revenue collected by some of the states which are not to be abolished, is acutally enough to pay the expense of maintaining this district, that the district of the state of South Caro lina should not be abolished." Murder Mystery Has Been Solved. Anderson.?A homicide which oc curred eignt weeKs ago in tne lown 01 Belton, and which up to now has been shrouded in mystery, was completely cleared up when Waites Sumter, a young negro man who claims Sumter as his home, confessed to having thrown the rock which killed Will Grove, another negro, as Grove stood in his tent in the interurban construc tion camp. Sumter was arrested or suspicion on the morning after th killing, but w.as released after being held about a half hour. Two weeks later the officers got in behind Sum ter and rearrested him in Greenville He was brought to the county jail here, and his confession was made ^n his cell. Small Wreck on Southern. Columbia. ? Southern northbound train 41, Columbia to Spartanburg; collided with through freight number 175, at Fornance, just outside of Co lumbia, resulting in minor injuries tc members of the passenger train's crew and damage to the caboose oi the freight. Traffic was delayed about an hour. Conductor "Jim" Weaver and Engineer D. G. McAllis ter suffered minor injuries from the accident as did Hal Robinson, a negro, who was fireman on the passengei train. Promary Returns For Chesterfield. Chesterfield.?As a result of the second primary in this county R. A. Rouse of Cheraw was declared elected to the office of superintendent of education and H. F. King was de clared elected to the office, of super visor. It is not thought that there were Irregularities of much conse quence in this county in the first pri mary but the people here are very much interestd in the results of the Investigations in the other counties. Thackam Acquitted of Murder. Cnliimhta?Robert O. Thackam. constable for Magistrate, Fowles, has, been acquitted of the charge of mur der. Constable Thackam was charged with killing Ira B. Hunt, a prisoner, while taking him to jail last February, Hunt attempted to run and Thackam shot to scare him and accidentally mortally wounded the man. This was the defense. J. R. Eddings, whose trial for assault with criminal intent took place recently and a sealed verdict or dered, was found guilty of simple as sault and battery. Conference at Winthrop. Winthrop College, Rock Hill?A very Important conference was held at Wn throp College in regard to the exten sion work throughout the state in mill village betterment, canning and poul try clubs and home economic work j It was attended by President D. B. | Johnson, Mr. O. B. Martin, represent | ing the United States department of agriculture at Washington; Mr. W. L. English, representing the United States of South Carolina and the ex tension of Clemson College and others. Summerville Highway Impossible. Charleston.?Charleston County san itary and drainage commission was to the effect that the Summerville high way had been rendered impassible as i result of the cloudburst in the v'c inity of Ladson several tlays ago and that it would scarcely be possible for traffic to be resumed until the middle )f next week. Engineer Reid Whitford 3tated that the bridges on that portion Df the road in Berkley county had >een washed away, and other dam iee done. jFROM THE PALMETTO STATE Short Paragraphs of State News That Have Been Gotten Together With Care by the Editor. V Washington.?It was announced." here that sealed proposals will be r** ceived for dredging in Ashley river' and Shipyard creek until September 25. Full information may be had from > Maj. G. P. Howell at Charleston. Spai*tanburg.?Spartanburg is going to vote on the question of adopt ing the commission form of govern ment Petitions asking the mayor to. call an election have been in circu lation and are largely signed. Spartanburg.?Sam J. Nichols, who was appointed a member of the board! of regents of the State Hospital for ik/v T>1?? iuc xuoouc uy uuv dicwjc, iiub ueviiu* ed to accept the appointment. Mr. Nicholls was appointed to succeed J. Wright Nash of this city, who resign" ed. Mr. Nicholls -says his duties 'here will not alio whim to give the time necessary to the work ' required of members of the board. Hampton.?Incessant rains for the past several days have damaged the cotton crop of this county to a very great extent, just how much cannot be estimated. The crop was from 15 to 25 per cent, short of last year's crop any way, and now farmers are very despondent over the outlook. It is es timated, by some who ought to know, that not more than 65 per cent can be hoped for, if no further damage is done by rain. Sumter. ? Ulcy Croots, & young brick mason from Lexington, N. C? was seriously- injured here when he fell from a shed adjoining the room in which he was staying, on a partly open gate below. The body was torn open for several inches near the groin, and a great many stitches were need ed to sew up the wound. The young man was reported late as getting pn UlV/Ol^ f W X WJLL bUC yiVUOVlUbJ UL X OVUf" ery In several -weeks. Columbia.?Young men In business In Columbia will take advantage of the law course in the University of South Carolina the coming session. These young men while continuing in their offices, stores and banks, have arranged to take two law lectures In a day at the university. In this way they can complete the coure in about two years, the university's graduates in law are admitted to the state bar without examination. Heath Springs.?The fifth annual meeting of the Woman's Missionary Union, Auxiliary to the Moriah asso ciation, was held with the Woman's - Missionary union of the Heath: Spring Baptist church. A number of the societies composing the union were represented by delegates. The union succeeded in raising more than its apportionment of $466. Mrs. R. E. Small was reelected superintendent and Mrs. Eugene Funderburk secre tary. Spartarnburg.?J. H. Stone, a men chant at the Spartanburg Junction, was arrested recently on the charge of assault and battery with Intent to kilL The charge against Stone follows the shooting of Wallace Whitlock, a men chant and beer agent at that place re cently. Whitlock wits shot from am bush and returned the fire. Stone ap peared with an eye bandaged and is said to have claimed he was shot bj an unknown person. Sumter.?The official figures of the race between H. L. Scarborough, and L. I. Parrott, the present clerk ol court, for that position, gives Scarbor ough 1.033. Parrott 968. elvine Mr. Scarborough a majority of 65 vote* Nine and a half years ago at a bi election caused by the death of the clerk of court, Shepherd Nash, the same gentlemen contested and Mr. Parrott- won then by a majority of 41 votes. Sumter.?The new city council has taken notice of the Increasing traffic on the streets and the necessity foi more far reaching laws and regula tions to govern it. It has just passed an ordinance that is very thorough and covers nearly every traffic condition. The ordiance not only regulates the movement of the automobiles but ol all animal drawn vehicles and an; man propelled or motor propelled ve hicle. In the man the ordiance de. fines on which sides of the streets vehicles must move and condition* to be observed by persons leaving vehicles on the street. Bamberg?Investigation of the cor oner here, of the killing of W. Paul Riley, cashier of the Peoples Bank ol 1 Bamberg, was featured by the testi mony of G. Moy Dickinson, manager of the local Southern Cotton Com pany, who has admitted the shooting of the bank officer. Johnson.?One of the new enter prises recently opened up here'is the cotton gin installed by John P. Hoyt and Alonzo Horn. It is run by elec tricity and will be a great innovation to the farmers, in as much as the number of bales ginned per day will be greater than tl" steam gin. Winnsboro.?The county fair asso ciation will Hold a fair here on Octo ber 1 and 2. Arrangements are being made for a fair with many attractions. .vMinU <rrr411 jnui dc i auco auu &uuu iuudiv> nui amuse the crowds, which are expected from the town and county. Columbia.?Governor Blease ap pointed C. R. Bramlett county com missioner for the lower section of Greenville county vlte John M. Aus tin resigned. The Governor has com missioned Halcott P. Green of Co lumbia as special judge for the next term of the court of general sessions for Darlington county. Winsboro.?Cotton is now being brought into market every day. Mr. Mijlet bought first bale of the season for 11 cents from J. C. Willingham. Ed May, also sold a bale on the same day. Saluda.?Several bales of new. cot ton have been marketed here. The highest price paid was 11 3-16 while so far as can be learned 10 7-9 was the best price in all nearby towns. It I is said that there will be several buyers here for the season and it is purposed to keep the price here just a little above that of any town within a radius of 15 miles. !