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ESTABLISHED 1814 sec The Press and Banner J? ABBEVILLE, S. C. ,f ?a? it Wm. P. GREENE, Editor. ' co; fO! The Press and Banner Co. ro> Published Every Tuesday and Friday dr Telephone No. 10. of hij Entered as second-class mail mat- ia ter at post office in Abbeville, S. C. ^a! a _ " sa Terms of Subscription: th One year $2.00 ar Six months 1.00 th Three months .50 su Payable invariably in advance. f0 ar A -rr T\T^r?T7?"ljr'DT?'D 1 rj 1Q1Q TU HlOJL'ii. I I I^iLi^?ilUiJUXV XI, xvxu> of THE CHAIN GANG. saco When the State Board of Chari- . IS ) ties and Correction was created by pr Act of the legislature, we were ^ among those who opposed it, chiefly oecause we believed it would call for ro another set of office-holders who re would make considerable noise for a;. be little while, and then cease to do! I a anything except draw the salaries j gg provided by law. j ge We were, however, agreeably sur-j^ I VI prised when we saw the members of j ^ the board take up the matter of j free tuition in state institutions of cr ' teaming, with the result that a great ^ many people perfectly able to do so, but who had been imposing on the j state, were forced to pay their just, obligations to the state for the edu1 ta cation of their children. It has been I CC stated that the saving to the state in, . . is! this matter alone justifies the creation of the board. i d< It appears, too, that the members ja of this board have not been idle in' . ar other matters, They have been m-jot estigating among other things, that; k i ca old friend of ours, the county chain: ^ gang, and what they have to say j makes interesting reading. It is ^ confirmatory of what we have been t telling the people of Abbeville coun- ^ ty for the last several years, but| t-( , the long suffering people of tbisL county have been sitting idly by, al-! Vj( lowing this pet institution to eat up ^ the entire resources of the county, ? ' with no visible results, justifying it , CI on the ground that other counties I were making good use of the chain , ' ?' rang. |? I 0( >\ It would seem however, that thei , i h observations of the secretary of thei Board disprove the statement that; other counties have profited by hav-j ing the chain gang work the roads, ia those counties. With regard to j ' road building by the convicts in the th overal counties the report of the' Secretary says: . 80 "From our four years' intimate w] knowledge of the chaingangs in n( South Carolina we have reached the tii conclusion that the entire system is e(j wrong and should be abolished by co the legislature. We know many coun-! th !. i ties which are working less than ten! r 12 men, with hired white men for guards. One county was work-. ing five convicts, to guard whom i -p. ' ?j j AU?1 tnree men were nirea ana ieu uy tj county. This is a losing proposition | ki for the taxpayers. The best that i ;V( can be done with such a gang on the! road is repair or patch work, which . tears up again before the gang works j ,r, ten miles away. The treatment by the authorities of the men is not ^ what it should be. in any respect, and it never will be so long as the fore-j men and guards are men chosen for their positions because of services " rendered to the supervisor in his campaigns. We recommend the abolition of the county system, and urge that the convicts who have violated State laws and have been tried and sentenced in State courts, be punished by State officials instead of by county officials. "We believe that the convicts hould be used for road work, but fMAMQmAfMAnf A# TV*or* 4-V??% % , i?uc luouaguucuu wx vue iuv^y i^uv #jv- .. v * V ' V ' # *<3 ' J lection of food for them and of guards to care for them should-be under the authorities of the State penitentiary. The actual working of j the men on the roads should be done *y the State highway commission.' This system would allow enough men to be concentrated into one camp to reduce overhead costs to a minimum and would allow for the hiring of a higher type of manager. In addition' better roads would be built by train-j ed engineers. Supervisors have' bragged to us of their ability as! road builders, but we have yet to^ m i a really first class road which s been built with county convicts an elected supervisor. The time makeshift roads has passed, and is high time we began building ncrete roads, flanked by dirt roads r animals in dry weather. These ads will never be built by the inridual counties, but if the convicts the State are turned over to the jhway commission and the peniteniry they can build roads which will 5t quite a number of years. For the ke of the convicts themselves, for| e sake of the people who use roads,' id for the sake of the finances of e counties we urge the abolition of e county convict system, and the bstitution for it of a State road rce, managed by t"he penitentiary id the highway commission." Whether or not the employment convicts on the public roads un-j ir state authorities, where larger uads can be worked with more mpetent overseers and engineers,1 advisable, is a matter yet to be oved. Until the plan is tried out 3 could not express an opinion, ar own idea, at present, is that the ad is a poor place to undertake to form criminals. It would be far stter, we think, to employ them on state farm, which might be made lf-supporting, and where, at off asons, they might be taught useful :cupations, which after all is about e best way to keep the criminally sposed from committing other imes. There is little opportunity 1 the public roads for the ordinary >nvict to learn anything. He meredoes* time. But the general conclusion that xes will be lowered when the iunty chain gang systems are abol hed, and that the work which is >ne by the convicts on the roads >es not pay for the enormous outy for overseers, guards, foreman, id for buying mules, supplies ffnd her things needed in the , convict imp, will be shared by every oughtful man in any community, he chain gang has not paid in Abiville County, nor has it paid in any her county, we believe, unless perips it has been in the larger counas where, as stated by the Secre,ry, larger squads of convicts have ?en worked under the supervision : competent engineers. The roads may be much more leaply worked in any county on ie contract system, or by the peoe themselves, or by hired free la >r. We hope that we have seen i last of the chain gang. THE CASUALTY LIST. The Sunday casualty list carried e name of Anson Kempton Billgs, who was severely wounded metime ago, and an account of hich we have already given. Thej ?ws from Kempton is that he con-i lues to improve, and as^the wound-1 i are being brought back to this untry, we may hope to see him on is side of the water before long. The following names also were on inday's list: Sergeant C. T. Gam-j ell, -Antreville, wounded; Andrew Bennett, severely wounded; Er-j ist Coleman, wounded; Tony Jeh-1 ns, wounded and Benson Williams, j I junded. Inquiry at the office of the local I ard shows that Sergeant Gambrell] .is not sent to the front by the Ab-' iville authorities. It is likely that^ i lives over the line in Anderson' mnty. Andrew T. Bennett is a negro, sent; They Have A The Fore thegjfLabi that you have been f< or come to Greenwo< will do. Will give yc you want to see. Th< a mule will. JNO. I. c up by the McCormick Board. Ernest Coleman is from Abbeville, lie formerly worked at the Ice plant )s night fireman, and was one of the first colored men to go to the front. Tony Jenkins is also from Abbeville, his home being on the Blue Hill. Benson Williams is also colored. In his questionnaire he says that h was reared by Mr. E. E. William?, and that he was living \ with him when called into the service. Chaney Jones, the shoemaker, in forms us that his son has been wounded also, the news coming tc him in a telegram Saturday night He went to France from Camp Jack son in the company of Lieut. Sweten burg. NOTES FROM THE CALHOUN FALLS SCHOOL Woodrow Wilson Literary Societj of the Calhoun Falls School elected the following officers to serve for lsl term: f President?Evelyn Tucker. Vice Pres.?Carlton Manning. Secretary?Howard Milford. Treasurer?Clara Parker. ( The Society meets every tw< weeks on Friday afternoon. The pro grams consist of debates, essays readings, recitations, and current e vents. The Society chose as their mott< ?B2. For the colors they selectet purple and gold and the nationa flower?goldenrod, for the flower. The Society hopes to do good worl j during the school term and much in tereat is being taken in this phase o their school work. Honor Roll. B"V>w P?A?a Pnth Wi'lfnrd TToW I 1VUWJ A WV1 V| w* ?W .. I ard Milford, Uine Tucker, Evelyi ! Tucker, Eula Mae Hall, Ada Martin ! Anderson George, Ruth Manning Alice Manning, Carlton Manning Clara Parker, Richard Ammons, Aus I tin Fowler. Ruth McLane, Principal. I i v > V SANTA CLAUS LETTERS. * W < Hester, S. C., Dec. 14, 1918 My dear Santa Claus, I'm a little boy six years old DIa^ha ^^nr? win o fFinv/?lo WifV> tllh X viiug uiv u Mtv^vtv - >? ber tires, boy scout suit, horn, train rocking horse. Bring my little bro ther a small wagon and street cai Don't forget all kinds of fire works. Your little friend, Calhoun Burris. Dear Santa: Here I come again, this year, hop< you have not forgotten me. We ar< ill looking forward to your cominj and I want you to bring me a wrisi watch, two bicycle tires (No. 24) also a doil and carriage. Your friend, Lavinia McCuen. FATHERLESS CHILDREN OF FRANCE ADOPTEE The following adoptions have beer made since our last issue: John McMurr^y A boj Methodist Sunday School Class, No 9 A gir Previously reported: Tary and Bill Greene A Gir Sixth Grade, Abbeville School Boy and Gir Gilbert and Ellen Nabers A Boj Miss Maggie Brooks A Boj rrived I Tractor or Saver ;r . lokingpfor. Write us >d and see what they >u any demonstration 3y will pull any place CHIPLEY ireenwood, S. C. EDISON-RECREA 770A l^hnnnno nnnA 17nri nii nws fPrnrVh^. As SUIIC JL ffl/Z/C/V/ wur r V?* vwvwvw* y ? - - ^ j - ? Hempel at the Metropolitan in "The D . of the Regiment." : Ave Maria?Cavalleria Rusticana. An t from the Intermezzo by Mascagni. Violin by Mary Zentay. Aloha Oe. (Queen Liliuokalani.) Assisted bj k ion Quartet. ^ My Old Kentucky Home. (Foster.) Assis ^ / Criterion Quartet. ^ Emmet's Lullaby, (J. K. Emmet.- Assisted w erion Quartet. > Long, Long Ago. (Bably.) W STOVES RANGES | HADDONS I Have the Goods to E 1 for the Boys who will jjj V 1 I See our line of beautiful Cr? r 1 Quilts and many other useful ai i I life more comfortable and attrs j 1 Many useful Christmas gifts r I , I White Bed S | Sheets, Pillow C? | Table Napkins, T< I rpl __ 9 I Jloth, bilk and < jloves, Silk Shi 3oats which have very popular. . ^ j > 3gISf3J3J3fSMSJ2J3?SMSI3?3JSJt A careful look through our st r% h e. ?i r ILSon i rorgei oit muiuicijr u show the latest Winter styles in Haddon-W ils I ifpfjglpfjilfgfp]ffi]frJJ7^J7^JTJJT^Jr^JT^Jnyr^ DA HEMPEL I NS EDISON I "The most richly endowed soprano 1 America" is what the critics call Miss Hj =3!jSjj> Hempel of the Metropolitan Opera. A true artist, her ambition to have her voice pre-^B Kfaflltf. j _ 11 !._ i ] _..j ; _T j iW I'l ocrveu in an its spienuur uuiweigneu ?ii mA 111 other considerations. She has joined the Jlp! || Edison group of stars. Henceforth she J will sing for the only instrument which ^j| | can Re-Create her superb voice. > Miss Hempel heard Re-Creations of otk, er great artists;. noted their superiority to 3'it anything she'd ever heard before and de' cided to investigate. She went to the |i " Edison laboratories; made a Re-Creation; then submitted it to the searching trial ol Ik the tone test. She herself sang in direct ?Jfll comparison with the instrument. If you've cvei ucaxu ncx vuicc uxi uuiviiig mauniiict^n ' you can conceive her joy in hearing it Re?| ^ Created with such fidelity and perfectioi^H ty * that no human ear could distinguish artisl^H w ah' from instrument. It was enough. TherJH and then she resolved that henceforth thJB instrument for her voice was HmB i The I NEW EDISON I , s-sesc?I ttThe Phonograph With A Soul" H ' *&&& . HR 1$ So now you can hear Frieda Heirfl? pel. Not a mere imitation on a talkHj by iss ^ but ^fiss Hempel herM| aug ter gej? a{. our store an(j hear tk^R Re-Creations listed on this page. BB idaption jjwi obligato . E^igon Re-Creations should' noHj be played and cannot be playe^H r Criter- pr0perly on any other instrumenfl| Tf -fViQTT /irvnlrl Vua fVio marmf5ir?fnrArHHB J.1 IUV/J wuiu K/\s) VUV JLuu>uvu.MvvvaA sted by wh0 seek t0 profit by Mr. Edison'M| research work would be able tJH by Crit- make tone test comparisons, sucflR as we have made with the New Ed^B son before two million music loveiBB HOME OUTFITTERS JVSflM /ILSON. CO. I frighten up the HomeH Soon be Coming Back! jtonnes, Lace Curtains, White H tides which go to make home BH ictive. i t i _ i i. HI may De rouna in our siucn. ?m !?S?3J3I3M5MSISM5J3J2ISM3?2j HsfiS i preads, Blankets, SHj ises, Table Linen, MM owels, Table Oil |j^| :otton Hose, Kid |gjg| rt Waists, Long been and still are 8B UgiSISJSI5J5J3i5J5I5I5J5ISEf5EISISJ5I3 mBeM ock might prove advantageous. BHfl department which is prepared toBM Hats, Ribbons, &c. HjS on Company I jgjagjQaB?BI35JBEfBj5f5HSI3SM5J2M5J5HSJSM5H3JSfafai^HH