The Abbeville press and banner. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, September 25, 1912, PART I, Image 7
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. !