Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

13 BM Published We?kly ARBEVILLB, 8. C. Splendid shopping weather ? gel ready for Christmas! Beware of a meek-looking man or mule. It may not last Some men smile in the face of ad versity, but they don't mean It Perhaps a girl's red hair is for the purpose of keeping her temper warm. Many a married man spendB the rest of his days wondering why he did it Most people manage to get stuck j on themselves without 'tie aid of any adhesive. Compared with the Balkans affair Mexico's war looks like the comic opera kind. Sometimes a man trl>s to please his wife Just the opposite way he would any other woman. The trouble with the man who Bays a smart thing is that he always books It for a return date. A southern aviator woo Jumped from a biplane proved that It cannot be successfully done. We may be sure that It Is a wise ten which eats a cement floor In or der to lay hard-shelled eggs. The i discovery that typhoid fever Is 1 carried also by bugs and roaches adds j a few more things to be swatted. Eloping In an aeroplane accomplish es the seemingly Impossible by In creasing the hazard of matrimony. That the stlngless bee is the pre cursor of the singless mosquito Is the earnest prayer of New Jersey people. November has no hay tever, no Christmas rush, and no spring fresh ei?. i ei very lew yueio diub praise. New York's barroom for women is variously considered. Some inno cent observers are envious and some are not About the only thing that can be Bald for the eclipse of the moon is that one may watch It and smoke at the same time. A Texas woman left $100,000 for the support of old maids. But how are they going to be convicted of being old maids? ) Nobody denies that automobiles are becoming cheaper, but then one can not eat even the costliest cuts of an automobile. That man who pleads for anesthet ics fnr rsts wonld ttrobably want chlo roform administered to the fly before swatting him. A story from Chicago says there are calves there worth $5,000. That'B noth ing; there are calves on Fifth avenue. New York, worth $6,000,000. The dictates of fashion has put the ban upon switches and puffs. We will soon know what our best girl really looks like without her disguise. There, are some things we do not understand. One of them is the mad and almost universal desire to change j the color of a meerschaum plpa ! A Los Angeles youngster stood on j his head on the top of skyscraper to "test his nerve." He was arrested for shattering the nerves of passers by. A taxlcab In Athens, according to an exchange, Is called a pollpolytan- 1 toclnetharraoxaxe. That's what a ; taxi chauffeur Is called In this country when he presents his bill. 1 Milk makes an excellent tonic for j the hair, according to the prima donna j who discovered the $15,000 lump of ambergls. Those press agents do have to work hard for their money. i ! Beef Is probably going higher, but ' rabbits will soon be on the market, i At the same time they will not be widely popular until Bomeone invents a device to dig shot out of the teeth. A playful person threw a melon into a passing taxicab in Brooklyn the oth- ; er night. Many an actor along the great white way is praying that mel- : ons do not become popular substitutes for hen fruit America's oldest doctor says modern physicians are not much better on ! cures than the healer of a half cen tury ago. But the old fashioned doc tor didn't have all the ailments and diseases to treat they have nowadays. An increase of more than one-third j? r\f oicorottoq pnnqiimftrt Ill LI1C UUUIU^I U1 v>o>..v..' ( in three months is another proof that advertising pays. Mayor Fitzgerald of Boston favors a law limiting hatpins to b!x inches. ! The county will await with interest ' .his attempt to enforce it. "Woman makes the most of her self," says an "ad" writer for a de partment store. But that doesn't pre vent the department store from offer ing her all the aid sho will accept. Again the playful gun Is in evidence in different sections of the country. .Until the joke of taking chanceB in pulling triggers of supposedly un loaded weapons is foregone by trust ing Jokers, funerals will continue to follow the joke. When a submarine is cut in two by an ocean liner, and a torpedo boat de Btroyer is put on the damaged list by a tramp freighter, the mind goes intc curious speculation over the check tc eea power that might be administered by a tough little tug. FROM THE PALMETTO STATE Latest News of Genera! Interest That Has Been Collected From Many Towns and Counties. Washington.?President Taft nomi' hated the following South Carolina postmasters: Rachael M. Mlnshall, Abbeville; A. C. Clinkscales, Belton; A. R. Garner, Timmonsville; Miss Roberta McAuley, Woodruff. I Sumter.?A spectacular fire recent ; ly entertained passengers waiting at i the A. C. L. station and delayed the incoming trains a little. In the low er end of the freight yards several scanty cars caught fire and burned with a fierce blaze. Columbia. ? Governor Blease has paroled during good behavior Cain Green, who was convicted of man slaughter at the June (1910) term of ! court, for Williamsburg county, and | sentenced to three years' imprison ment. - Pinewood.?The town election pass ed off quietly with a new set of .war- j dens elected, A. P. Lide, Howard I " tti 1 <-< _ J J: A T M I DCUll, Hi. V^. ueuuiugs auu JLi. 11. wick. E. P. Geddings was elected intendant, which now is a salaried of fice at $100 per year. Spartanburg.?The county commis sioners in session decided to appro priate $5,000 toward the erection in this city of a pellegra hospital pro vided the appropriation is authorized by special act of the legilsature at the approaching session. Columbia.?The governor commis sioned W. C. Swaffleld as member of the city school commissioners. Mr. Swaffield, who succeeds his father, the late Wm. C. Swaffield, represents the trustees of the Columbia academy on the board. Greenville.?More than half a mil lion dollars?to be exact, 572,667? was invested in new buildings in this i city in the last 11 months. This is \ the amount as taken from the city J engineer's books, and of course it | Ka +otan oc ronroflPntlTlnrob- ! ma. J UC langu uo ? 0 ^ _ ably less than two-thirds value. Florence.?Besides the complaints j of forest fires raging through the ; county, which has destroyed a great j deal of timber and fencing, pastures : and sheds and the like, there is se rious complaint of the scarcity of wa ter in maHy sections. Creeks thai have never been known to go ffry have gone dry recently and welle ! have given out and water has had tc | be hauled for domestic uses by many farmers. Columbia.?The chamber of com ! merce has determined to operate a j freight bureau In connection with itt [ other works, and H. R. Jackson, whc , formerly conducted the city institu i tion, has been employed to conducl it Mr. Jackson is an experienced traffic man and the merchants will i get the service through the chambei of commerce which city council de cided it was not the business of the city to conduct. . Lancaster. ? News reached this place recently of the total destruc tion by fire of a large gin house newly equipped with all modern gin ning paraphernalia and machinery and containing ten bales of cotton be longing to N. P. Robinson, one of the county's largest land owners and mosl successful farmers, who lives several miles north of town. The fire was of unknown origin, and when discov j ered was so far advanced as to make j St, George.^-In an election held I here for the purpose of issuing bonds j In the sum of $18,000 for the estab- j lishment of a system of waterworks | in St. George, the proposition was de j feated by a vote or to an. iu? vuic was exceptionally light, only about | half the total vote being cast at this ! election and not anything like so many ' as ^as cast at the former election j which was had several months ago for the same purpose and which voted for the issuing of the bonds by a large majority. Pickens.?The Boys' Corn club met I in the office of the coupty superinten- j dent of education, R. T. Hallum. Su perintendent Hallum, Farm Demon- ! strak>r Bowen, and an expert from I Clemson graded the corn and award- j ed the prizes. Seven boys were pres- j ent with their reports and samples oi ' corn. The prizes were awarded on j the largest yield 30 per cent, best ten ear exhibit 15 per cent, best written j account showing history of crop and I all expenses 25 per cent, cheapest ! yield 30 per cent. A nT^llrar onn of . bUUlKJ. AUIUUUJ T? amv,i, .. Mr. and Mrs. S. O. Walker was acci dentally shot in both legs. The young man was rushed to the city hospital where Dr. S. B. Sherard probed for the bullet and removed it. Lexington.?Much cotton is being sold on the Lexington market during the last few days. The advance in ! prices is causing the farmers wbo \ have been holding to turn loose. The ' price has reached 13 1-4 cents during ; the last week, being the highest price j of the season. It is said that there is j much cotton yet in the county that j has not been placed on the market, j Columbia.?One of the largest ver- I diets returned recently in a Richland J county case was awarded the plain tiff in the case of Roberta C. Stone, as administratrix against the Atlan- ! tic Coast Line Railroad Company, the amount of the verdict being $20,000. Lexington.?Adam Benedict Mayer, ! one of the most highly esteemed and j best known citizens of this county j was instantly killed several days ago j while cutting down a tree near his j home. It seems that a limb from the j tree fell, striking him on the top of | the head and causing immediate j death. I Sumter. ? The Sumter Gas and : Power Company has turned on gas ! and is busy making connections. The officials of the company say that they have had a most auspicious opening Columbia.?E. J. Watson, commis sioner of agriculture for the state of South Carolina, has been invited to preside at a session of the Panama canal conference in Atlanta, Decem ber 10 and 11, under the auspices of the Atlanta chamber of commerce The commissioner will preside at the session devoted to the discussion of "The Effect of the Panama Canal Up on the Agriculture of the South." GOVERNORS FORM PERMANENT BODY PERMANENT ORGANIZATION IS FORMED OF THE GOVERNORS OF THE STATES. ISSUE PUBLIC STATEMENT Yearly Meetings Are to Be Held by Executives for Exchange ^of Views. Richmond, Va.?Permanent organi lation of the governors of the vari ous states of the United States in an association to be known as "The Governors' Conference," was effect ed here at the annual conference of the state executives. Annual meetings of the organiza tion "will be held. Its active members will embrace the governors and gov ernors-elect of the various states. Ex governors will be admitted to the conference as honorary members, with all privileges of the organization 'except the right to vote. Colorado Springs, Col., was selected as the place of meeting for the con ference next year. iThe date of the meeting, which probably will be ear lier than December, will be decided upon later. ? In announcing the formation of a permanent association, the governors attending the meeting here made plib lie the following statement concern ing the purpose of the conference: "The functions of the governors' conference shall be to meet yearly for an exchange of views and experi ences on subjects of the several states, the promotion of greater uni formity in state legislation and the attainment of greater' efficiency in state administration." PANICS CHARGED TO U. S. By Secretary MacVeagh in Annual Report to Congress. Washington.?Strongly urging radi Cell reiurxu ui uue uiii casuucu auu unscientific" banking and currency system of the United States, Frank lin MacVeagh, secretary of the treas ury, freely warns congress in his an nual report submitted that the Fed eral government, as long as the pres ent scheme exists, will be exclusively responsible for the commercial, indus trial and social disasters which flow from panics and attack, directly or indirectly, every home in the nation. The present system promotes and develops panics and legislation is urg ent, declared Mr. MacVeagh, In out lining ms juea ul uie u^cssai j> gcu eral provisions of an adequate relief measure. Aside from affording flexi ble and elastic currency and reserves such a revision, he says, should bring the banks into organized co operation and provide for a central agency through which they could work to gether, free of political or trust con trol According to the estimates of the treasury department, the secretary foresees a deficit of $2,556,023, exclus ive of Panama canal expenditures, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1914, the first fiscal year of President Wil son's administration. Including the canal expenses the deficit is estimated at $52,730,455. The canal expendi tures, he adds, however, may be paid under the law from bond sales. The estimated receipts for that year are $710,000,000, while the ordinary ap propriations are estimated at $732, 556 023, and the canal expenditures at $30,174,432. Cost $1,159,446 to Elect' Wilson. Washington.?It cost the Democrat ic national committee $1,159,446 to carry the election for Wilson and Marshall, according to its final state ment of contributions and expenses filed with the house. Charles R. Crane of Chicago was the heaviest contrib utor, with $40,000, closely pressed by Cleveland H. Dodge, of New York, $35,000, and Herman Ridder of New York, as treasurer of the funds col lected for the committee, $30,073. The total of $1,110,952 contributions re ceived by Jhe committee came from 9,854 separate contributions, of which all but 1,625 were in amounts less than $100. Use of the Torch by N. Y. Firebugs. New York.?"Of forty fires a day In this city one-fourth are set with, fraud as a purpose," declared Fire Commissioner Johnson in defending his fire prevention bureau from at tacks made upon it by the factory in vestigating commission. The commis sioner insisted that incendiary fires were a growing menace and that measures to cut down their number were needed. "There are firebug blocks in this city," he added. "There is one in which eighty-three incendia ry fires have been set. Burned the Jail and Themselves. Crawley, La.?William Collier of Los Angeles and an unknown com panion were burned to death in the local jail after they had started the flames in the hope of making their escape. Collin Lebeu. also a prison er, was seriously burned. Collier and the unknown prisoner were being held on a minor charge. According to Lebeu the two men started the con flagration, despite his efforts to dis suade them. They both were over come by smoke in their cell, where their charred bodies later were found. Wants Immigrants Turned to South. Chicago.?"We should close Ellis Island for about five years and make some of the Southern cities ports of entry," declared Rev. Charles Stel zle, secretary of the bureau of social service, New York, at the federal council of the Churches of Christ. The Rev. Mr. Stelzle said that immigrants coming to America's shores should not be permitted to lose their idealism and that their finer qualities should be developed. He said he would be gin by closing Ellis Island. t nomas Sterling, the newly cno?en senator from 8outh Dakota, Is a law anH llv#?>t In Vermilion. He was born in Ohio and admitted to the bar In Illinois. He went to Dakota when It was a territory and was a member of the constitutional convention of the state. He has been a -member of the legislature, but has held no other public office. MERGER DECLARED ILLEGAL SUPREME COURT SHATTERS THE UNION-SOUTHERN PACIFIC ' MERGER. Immediate Dissolution Ordered Even if It Should Involve Receiver ship for Properties. Washington.?Edward H. Harri man's great railroad combination, ef fected after his titanic struggle with James J. Hill, by which he acquired control of the Southern Pacific rail road, was declared illegal by the Su preme court. In a notable decision the court held that the crowning event of Mr. Har riman's life was an act which the Sherman anti-trust law declares an il legal restraint of trade. The great Harriman merger was created when the Union Pacific Rail road company bought 46 per cent, of the stock of the Southern Pacific rail way system, and thie was split asun der by the Supreme court of the Unit ? wlnlofinn r\ f the .Qhor cu oiaico ao a Y iumu.v44 vi vuv M-w man anti-trust law. Then with the end of the merger before it, the court sent forth its portentous declaration that "while the law may not be able to enforce competition, it can reach combinations which render competi tion impracticable.'' . Justice Day announced that unani mous opinion of the court Judge Vandeventer took no part In the con sideration of the case, but his per sonal finding when he was a Judge of the Utah circuit court, to the effect that the two roads were not competi tors and therefore no violation of the law had resulted from the purchase, was reversed and annulled. Instead of following the reasoning of Justice Vandeventer and Judges Sanborn and Adams, the court, in substance, ap proved tne minority uummg 01 ouugc Hook that it was just as much a viola tion of the law for one road to buy the controlling stock of a competitor as it was for a holding company, as in the Northern Securities case, to buy the controlling stock of two compet ing companies. The circuit court for the district of Utah was directed to supervise the separation of the two roads The Union Pacific, If the circuit court sees proper, may retain control of the old Central Pacific line from Ogden to San Francisco. The decision of the lower court in the attempt to acquire the Northern Pacific stock and the stock of the Athchison, Topeka and Santa Fe railway company, after wards abandoned in the San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad company, was allowed to stand. New Orleans Adopt Commission Rule. New Orleans.? ine commission form of municipal 'government has been inaugurated in New Orleans. Martin Behrman, mayor for the past eight years, was sworn in for another four-year term. Under the new form of government the mayor is also | "commissioner of public affairs." Four jother commissioners complete the or ganization: Adolph O. Ricks, W. B. Thompson, Harold W.. Newman and Edward E. I-aFaye, commissioners, re spectively, of finance, public utilities, public safety and public property. i Nnt a New Problem. uuat ui i-ivoy ?-- ? - - - Philadelphia.?According to the au thorities at the University of Penn sylvania museum, the high cost of living and excessive transportation rates were as much a problem in Theadelphia, a small city in Egypt, 1.800 years ago as they are today in the United States. In an ancient Greek manuscript, just deciphered by the museum's evperts, a collector of internal revenue tells of the graft and excessive profits demanded by the trust magnates and political leaders of those days. Tags Are to Be Placed on Birds. New York.?"The American Bird Banding association'' has just been organized here for the purpose of placing identification bands on wild birds. This is said to be the only practical and reliable method by which ornithologists can study bird movements and tell where arid how far they fly. In the majority of cases aluminum bands will be placed on the legs of young birds unable to fly found in nests. The bands will not injure or impede the bird's progress. 1,090 PERSONS HAVE PELLAGRA SYMPTOMS OF THE DISEASE ARE BECOMING MUCH LESS SEVERE. DISEASE NOT DECREASING But the Commission Has Not Discov ered the Origin of the a : i .1 MiiineriL. New York.?After four and a half months studying pellagra In South Carolina, the Thompson-MacFadden pellagra commission reported that while its data on the epidemology of the disease was the most complete ever obtained, the mystery enveloping the origin of the ailment has not been dispelled. It will take months to get the details into such shape that any thing like a logical conclusion may be drawn and the probability is that the cause cannot be positively deter mined without further exhaustive in vestigation. The commission has expended only half of the fund of $15,000 donated by Col. Robert M. Thompson and John H. MacFadden of Philadelphia. For this reason a second expedition will be sent to the same locality next spring. These general facts were'ob tained: It is certain that exclusive of ,the cases that have proved fatal there are at present 50.000 persons in the South afflicted with pellagra. The symptoms of the disease are becoming less se vere, but the number of cases Is not decreasing. The ailment which for merly was almost exclusively confined to the poorer classese, probably on ac count of their generally unfortunate surroundings, is spreading more and more among those who are prosper ous. EIGHT PERSONS ARE KILLED ___ / When an Engine Ploughs Into Rear Coach of Paseenger Train. Zanesville, Ohio.?Eight lives were sacrificed and five persons are not ex pected to live as a result of a wreck on the Pennsylvania railroad neai Dresden, Ohio. Four persons were killed outright and four died soon af ter the crash in a hospital The cas ualties occurred in the rear coach of a passenger train when the engine of another train ploughed through, re ducing the car and its occupants into a tangled mass of broken bodies and steel and timber. A Cincinnati and Muskingum Valley train was following a Cleveland, Ak ron and Columbus division passenger on the single track between Trinway and Zanesville. The engine of the latter broke down and a trainman was npnt to flae the Cincinnati, Muskin gume Valley train, but the latter was too close. The engine ploughed through the rear coach and completely demolished It The dead and injured were all in this coach. Several escaped by jump ing. The eight who were fatally hurt were scalded by escaping steam. Sheltered "Gyp the Blood." Chicago.?Samuel Kramer, wanted In New York as accessory after the fact in the Rosenthal murder, was ar rested here by Chicago detectives af ter a desperate resistance in which Kramer was beaten unconscious. Act ing on telegraphic information from " ?-*- - fnimj Vm. iS'eW lorK tne ucicgiiYco iuuuu mer hiding in a house on the police list in the west side levee. Kramer is 23 years old andf is known under a number of other names. He was charged with having sheltered "Gyp the Blood" and two companions in his Brooklyn home after the Rosen thai shooting. Sneed Found Not Guilty. Fort Worth, Tex.?J. Beal Sneed was found not guilty of the murder of Capt. Al G. Boyce, Sr. John Beal Sneed shot Capt. A. G. Boyce to death January 13, 1912, at Fort Worth, soon after Sneed had returned from Winni peg, Canada, with his wife, with whom Al G. Boyce, Jr., son of Cap tain Boyce, had eloped. Captain Boyce was sitting in a hotel lobby when Sneed entered and almost im mediately shot him. Honeymoon Pair Saved by Wilson. Hamilton, Bermuda. ? President elect Woodrow Wilson was a princi pal in a "first aid" case. He rescued a honeymoon couple. who fell from their bicycles in front of his house. The bride was slightly injured and one of Mr. Wilson's daughters assist ed in bathing her wounds. Governor I Wilson heard the first tariff discussion since his election as president of the United States. He visited the Ber muda parliament, where he was cheer ed and sat among the members for three hours. Cooks Needed More Than Governors. Indianapolis, Ind.?"Good cooks are more necessary than governors." said Gov. Thomas R. Marshall in his ad dress on "The Personal Touch" be fore the local council of women. "I do not think there is any one in this world, aside from my wife, that is more competent than my cook. I think she is well educated. I don't suppose she would be received at many of the social functions, but she does her work as It should be done. TV.QT-Q fc nnt a working- woman in this city that Is doing more honest work. River Is Dragged for Body. Charleston, S. C.?Searching parties have dragged the Ashley river in a vain search for the body of Joseph M. Thomas, a well known merchant of this city, whose overcoat and hat, found near the edge of the boulevard, are believed to mean that he commit ted suicide by leaping into the river. A reward of $300 for the recovery of the body has been offered by Mr. Thomas' son. Members of the family are at a loss to assign a motive which might have induced Mr. Thomas to take his own life. Edward E. Browne is the newly elected congressman from the Eighth district of Wisconsin. His horn* is ( Waupaca. UNITED STATES' EXPENSES OVER A BILLION DOLLARS IS A5t\fc.U UK WINtlHtSS |IU null GOVERNMENT. Estimates Indicate That Sum Will be Required to Keep Government Going. Washington.?It will cost $823,415. 14 to conduct the affairs of the gov ernment for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1914, according to various | department heads, submitted to the | speaker of the house by the seretary | of the treasury. This amount, which , does not include any provision for the j postal service, which is expected to j be self-supporting, is an increase of. $72,078,248 over the appropriations made for the present year by the last session of congress. Of this in crease $28,312,220 appears in. esti mates of the secretary of the navy , and $20,597,297 represents the in- j crease asked by the navy department i in the appropriations for building and equipping new vessels. The estimates would provide for three new battle ships to be laid down during the year. This would make up for the lapse of one ship from the two battleships a year program of the department, caus- { ed by the action of the Democratic I house in providing for but a single I ship at the last session of congress.i A NEW MAP FOR TURKEY Terms Accepted by Allies Said to Be Favorable to Turks.' London.?The work of charting a new map of what hitherto has been European:Turkey began immediately after the signature of the armistice by the plenipotentiaries of the Turks and allies. The comparatively favorable terms which seem to have been offered to Turkey are so different from the orig inal proposals that they suggest the idea that the governments of the Bal kan League realize that with winter gripping the country, Turkey has J gained an ally which will prove more fatal to the armies fronting A<Jrian ople, Scutari and Tchataja than have been the Ottoman cannon. No adjustment of the Austro-Servl an dispute is yet visible. Vienna con tinues to show pessimism and the newspapers there maintain their very tnreaienrag aiuiuue; uui m ajjn.tr ui ( this, official relations between St Pe tersburg and Vienna seem to have be-j thought in diplomatic quarters that j come somewhat more cordial, and it is eventual that Servia will' secure a small mercantile port on the Adriatic In the meantime, however, Servia has trod on Italy's toes by quartering i a regiment of the troops which re- j cently occupied the port of Durazzo in the Italy school buildings there. j Dog Causes Death. Greensboro, N. C.?Two accidental fatalities were recorded here with the death of Benjamin Clarida and Os borne Smith, the former a well-to-do farmer, and the latter a son of C. A. j Smith, a sawmill owner of the county, i Clarida stoopped to pick up a rabbit' which he had shot when a dog in the chase jumped at him, catching hit foot on the hammer of his gun and causing its discharge. The entire load of shot entered his side. Young Smith was injured while operating a saw at his father's mill. Fast Train Wrecked. Albany, N. Y.?When New York Central train Xo. 45, westbound from New York, traveling at an estimated speed of between 50 and 60 miles an hour, was derailed at HofFmans, seven i miles west of Schenectady, not one of the 200 passengers was injured, al-; though all were thoroughly shaken up.! The chef of the dining ever, the only person injured, sustained several brok-1 en ribs, and is in Schenectady hospl-1 tal. The passengers were transfer j red to another train. Farmer Blows Head Off. Lindale, Ga.?Without any known ?wiiiiam Drummonds. a GO-vear-1 old farmer and cotton rail] operator, I committed suicide at his home neai j Wax, six miles from here, by blowing ; off the top of his head with a single- j barreled shotgun. Drummonds, who has a wife and four grown children, was employed by the mills in Lindale and he boarded with a relative while his family resided out on a farm where they made a crop. C0NTAIN8 SUMMARY OF AGRI< CULTURAL ADVANCE DURING HI8 SERVICE. RECORD IN PART IS GIVEN The Venerable Secretary Saye That the Farmer Has Become During the Past 16 Years the Headstone of the Corner.?Good Work Done. Washington.?After 16 years, & record of service in the Cabinet, Sec retary of Agriculture Wf 3on submit ted to President Taft the last annual report he will make as head of the ^Jnited States Department of Agricul ture. The report is more than a re view of the past year's work; it con tains summary of the agricultural ad vance of the country during the ven erable Secretary's term of publl<j ser vice. "The record of 16 years has been written," he says. "It begins with a yearly farm production of $4,000,000, 000 and ends with $9,532,000,000. Six* teen years ago, the farmer was a joke of the caricaturist; now he is like the stone, that was rejected by the builder and has become the head stone of the corner." The tiller? of the soil were burdened with debts he adds, "but prosperity followed and grew with unexampled speed. Begin nings have been made in a production and acre increasing faster than the natural increase of population. There has been an uplift of agriculture and of country life. .l :'I "During the past 16 years, the far mer has steadily increased the wealth ? production year by year, with the ex ception of 1911. During the 16 years the farmers' wealth production in creased 141 per cent "Most productive of all agricultur al years in tne country nas oeen iviz The earth has produced its greatest annual dividend. The sun and ' the rain and the fertility of the soil heed ed not the human controversies, but kept on working in co-operation with the farmers' effort* to utilize them. The prices at the farm are generally profitable and will continue the pros perity that farmers have enjoyed in recent years. The total production of farm wealth is the highest yet reach ed by half a billion dollars. Probe Into Mileage Books. Washington.?An investigation in to the mileage book regulations of practically all railroads east of the Mississippi and south of the Ohio and Potomac Rivers was ordered by the Insterstate Commerce Commission. Complaint was made by the South Carolina Railroad Commission that existing regulations were discrimina tory as between interstate and intra state traffic. The railroads interested may file with the commission on or before December 20 statements of their position with respect to the in vestigation. Effort to Repeal Order, Fails* Washington.?An attempt led by Representative Bartlett of Georgia, to strike a $2,000 Civil Service item from the legislative, executive and judicial appropriation bills as a protest against President Taft's recent order placing about 26,000 fourth class postmasters In the classified service failed in the House after a heated debate as Rep resentative Matin challenged the Dem ocratic members to pass it " and place themselves on record for the spoils system." More Indictments Returned. Steubenville, O.?Seven more In dictments, six -.-I which were made public, were returned by the Jefferson county grand jury in the investigation of alleged election irregularities mak ing a total of 15 now returned. In dictments made public are against John D. Bel nap, probate Judge-elect; Samuel Stark, treasurer-elect and Fred Stone, defeated for probate judge. All charged with violating the corrupt practices act p?nudLate Sentiments of Gov. Blease Richmond.?A sweeping resolution repudiating the remarks of Governor Blease of South Carolina, in support of lyneh law, was adopted by the gov ernors' conference by a vote of 14 to 4. Governor Biease, defending him self, snapped his fingers in the faces of the other governors and declared that he cared not one whit what the conference did or left undone. The resolution was introduced by Govern or Mann, of Virginia, as an amend ment to one offered by Governor O'Neal of Alabama. Most Baffling Obstacle. New York. ? The use of alcoho, among officers of the army and navy is declared to be the 'most baffling obstacle to progress" in a report by Col. Mervin Maus. The report is made public in the journal of the mil itary service published by the officers at Governors Island. Dr. Maus recom mends that "no one who uses alco holic beverages should be appointed to important positions, civil or mili tary, to the command of miiltary or naval forces, or any other position of importance and responsibility." Woman Gets Sentence. Logansport, Ind. ? Mrs. Josepk. Lang, the bride of one day, who shot and killed Mrs. Mary Copple, was sentenced to serve from two to four teen years in the women's prison at Indianapolis and pay a fine of $25. The woman pleaded guilty. Mrs. Lang said the Copple woman declar ed her "ugly" and that Lang could have done better in choosing a wife. The Copple woman was a guest at the wedding. Mrs. Lang said she wished her act to stand out as a warn ing to all women who gossip.