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Abbeville Press and Banner E8tabHshedTl844. $2.00 the Year. Tri-Weekly. Abbeville, S. C. Friday, December 10, 1920 Single Copies, Five Cento. 77th Year. ILL HEADS SEE WAGE REDUCTION TEXTILE MANUFACTURERS REP RESENTING 75 PER CENT OF THE COTTON AND WOOLEN INDUSTRY OF NEW ENGLAND AND NEW YORK STATE, AN NOUNCE THAT THE TIME HAS COME TO REDUCE Boston, Dec. 9.?A wage reduction of 22 1-2 per cent in textile mills in New England and New York state was forecast today in a statement is sued after a conference of textile manufacturers Approximately 75 per cent of the industry in this section, j representing makers of both cotton and woolen products, was represented at the conference. T,he industry em ploys 300,000 persons. Such a reduction, according to the 1 J 1?J ? ? 4>1*a Tiro era statement, wouia uring schedules back apace to the figures that existed a year ago and would leave the wage standards generally more than double those of 1915. The present stagnant condition of ' the extile industry made considera tion of a wage reduction necessary, it was stated. After explaining that all sections of New England, as well as New York state, .were represented by the manufacturers who took part in the conference, the statement said: "It is evident from what has trans pired in the past few months that there has been an insistent and com pelling demand on the part of the % public that the cost of living should be lessened by a readjustment of the Drices of commodities entering into the expense of daily life. This de mand has been, and Is, countrywide, and it becomes the duty of all those interested in industries which affect immediately the cost of living to give serious consideration to this subject. "Manufacturers have been reluct ant to make any radical changes in wages because of its effect at a time when there has seemed to be so lit tle willingness on the part of the re tailer to do business on a lower basis of price. "But conditions have recently come about whereby this situation has been materially affected and prices of ar-' tides entering into the cost of living have been reduced to a considerably extlnt. Now that the process of re adjustment hsa operated in the wage earner's favor, and living costs are still further to be lessened as the pre sent low prices of raw materials are reflected in retail costs, the manufac turer can properly take some action to lessen the labor cost involved in production. "The refusal of buyers to purchase j goods for the past four or five months on a high basis of cost has led to a stagnation of the markets upon which the manufacturers depend so that at the present time many of the textile mills in New England have been ob liged to shut down; many more are working on short time and unless something is done to remedy these conditions unemployment will be in creased and continue. Golden Makes Reply. New York, Dec. 9?The United Tex tile Workers of America "will cross that bridge when they get to it" John Golden, president of the organization said today when informed of the fore <? tfr cait by ;New England and New York eotton-aad woolen sloth manufactur - rers in Boston of a general wage re duction of 22 1-2 per cent in mills em ploying about 300,000 persons, Mr Golden said no formal notifi cation of action to reduce wages as forecast had been received and that until such reduction had been official ly announced, the United Textile Workers would have nothing to say. DR. CAMPBELL TO PREACH Dr. Charles A. Campbell, of Quit man, Ga., will arrive in Abbeville Saturday afternoon and preach in the Presbyterian charch Sunday morning and evening. He will be en tertained while here at the home of Mr. J. Allen Smith, Sr. ; BANKERS ADVOCATE ACREAGE REDUCTION Join Farmers in Agreement to Cut Production of Cotton Fifty Per Cent?Some Think Plan Too Drastic.?Great ly Discussed. Memphis, Dec. 9.?A 50 per cent, cut in cotton production in 1921 and curtailment in the acreage planted in cotton to one-third that of the. total area in cultivation, was agreed upon at -the acreage reduction conference here today of Southern bankers, mer chants and farmers, and to make the plan effective machinery was set in motion to restrict wherever neces sary credits to individual farmers, merchants, factors or banks unwill ing to agree to the acreage reduction plans. The plan, embodied in the report of the acreage reduction committee, was adopted by a practically unani mous vote of the conference late to day It includes the formation of an organization in every township in the cotton states to secure the support of the growers, and their adherence to nledees of reduction. Organiza tion work pledged the bankers present will begin immediately and under the provisions of the plan will be practically complete by January 15 next. The resolutions adopted call on the bankers and credit merchants in the cotton states "to uso their utmost en deavor to bring about the enforce ment of a cotton acreage reduction by refusing to advance any money to anyone interested in farming of any kind who does not plan enough food and feed crops for their own use." Land owners are asked to share in whatever crops may be raised on his lands on a percentage basis and not j require any fixed sum of money on [ pounds of cotton for rent. A system of bonded warehouses I fny onf+nn onrJ a rlassifiefltion of COt-I ton that will be ample to protect it | from weather damage and make it aj safe collateral, on which to borrow I money was indorsed. system of cooperative market ing of crops was favored and the work of the American Cotton asso ciation in effort to stabilize the price of cotton, bring about a reduction of acreage, improve marketing methods and in educational campaign for di versification of crops, was approved. An additional resolution offered from the floor and adopted by the conference gave its indorsement to "all safe, sound plans looking for the extension of long credit to foreign countries" and also to a bill to be introduced in congress which will provide for government census of all untenderable cotton held in the Unit ed States. The acreage reduction plan, as of fered by the committee of which Col. W. B: Thompson, New Orleans, was chairman and composed of a banker a merchant and a farmer from each of the cotton states, was adopted after spirited debate Some of the | speakers stated they believed tljatj the acreage reduction provided for was too drastic. However, only a few dissenting votes were cast against its adoption. At the morning session addresses were made by E. T. Stuart, president of the First National bank of St. Louis, who urged diversification as the only solution of the problem of the cotton grower. Gov. Charles H. Brough of Arkansas, who also ad vocated both acreage reduction and diversification, and C. P. J Mooney, editor of the Commercial-Appeal Memphis, who urged the conference a ?*?/? oAV^nrn fn fko QProQCP I i<w auu|/u uiiu uuiibi v w vtiv reduction plan. MR. BROWN SELLS. Mr. I. C. Brown, of South Main Street, has sold his stock of mer chandise to Charles Elder and others of his creditors. On Account of his recent fire and the depression in busi ness, Mr. Brown found it impossible to run his business with profit, and for that reason made the sale. His creditors were paid in full in the transaction. COUNTY SAVIN CLOSES ' The Coqpty Savings Bank dot ed tis doors at noon today. The Bank fall* the first victim of the "deflation" which is sweeping the country. The Bank is amply sol vent; that is, it has assets suf ficient to pay all its debts, but in* ability to realize on its papers, causes it to be unable to meet the demands on it as they mature. Being a new bank it is without established credit and the officers of the bank at a meeting this morning decided to close the doors of the institution and turn the Bank over to the Bank Ex* aminer for such action as may be advisable. Whether the Bank will go into the hands of a receiver, or whether it may be rehabilita ted and enabled to go on cannot yet be told. The County Savings Bank was organized last fall. The capital stock it about $20,000. It owns the beautiful bank building in which it has been engaged in bus iness since its opening. The of ficers of the Bank are Dr. G. A. BAPTISTS BOUGHT THE BAPTIST COURIER Will Consider Purchase of Chick Springs Hospital?$24,000 Paid For Good Will and Mailing List of Pap sr. Columbia, Dec. 9?Purchase of the Baptist Courier for $24,000, election of trustees ftjr the various colleges and strong addresses by several speakers and the appointment of a committee to look into the advisabil ity of purchasing of Chick Springs Sanitarium for a Baptist hospital were the outstanding events of the second day of the 100th annual Bap tist convention here Wednesday. The day session was given largely to considering reports of various boards and committees on the ac tivitias of institutions. The session last night developed considerable in terest and a warm debate on the re port of ihe nominating committee. Afte? hearing the report of the committee of 15, headed by T. T. Hyde, in which it was recommended that the Baptist Courier be purchas ed, the report was adopted by unani mous vote. This purchase includes the subscription list and good will and the paper itself. It does not include the Courier plant. The convention also voted to establish a board of trustees of 15 to handle the paper and these will be elected today after a special nominating committee of five has made its recommendations, me deal is to be closed by Dec. 31 TODAY'S MARKET After closing at a few points above Wednesday's close yesterday, the market this morning opened, up in the early trading, but later receded from its high mark, only to advance again on the close. January futures were at the end 15:83 against 15.76 at yes terday's close. Spots in. Ne)V York re mained the same. Good cotton in Abbeville today I sold at from 16 to 17 cents. One ex tra good bale sold for 17:65. The following telegraphic flashes were given out today by the William son Cotton Exchange: New York reports buyer of goods expecfing still lower prices to effect purchases. TVliu of+ornnnn mnrltst hraced Hi) a bit on report from Washington that the senate will pass the War Fiance corporation measure this afternoon. Today there is a meeting in Chica go of the most influential bankers of the States which will continue until1 tomorrow to consider forming a cor poration to improve the American credit situation. It is one of the big gest financial pLns ever proposed in this country. GS BANK DOORS TODAY Neuffer, President; R. E. Cox, Cashier; and the directors are such well known business men as Dr. C. H. McMurray, Albert Henry, D. H. Hill and G. A. Neuffer. The immediate cause of the closing of the doors was unex pected demands which came on the bank today. The city had of fered this mornins to make a de posit of several thousand dollars with the bank, but the officers declined the deposit for the rea 4on that they did not feel they should accept it when the credit* tors of the bank were making in sistent demands for the payment of money borrowed. ] Depositors of the bank .need i not worry about their deposits. They will be paid with interest, the stockholders of the bank be ing liable for double the amount of their stock. Besides as stated the assets of the bank are suf- - ; ficient with careful handling to i pay the entire debts of the in stitution, leaving a balance for stockholders. HELP FOR CHINA URGED BY WILSON i Fifty Millions Reported in Want? President Appoints Committee { Of Men and Women to Col lect Funds. | Washington, Dec. 9.?The Ameri- , can pebple were asked today by , President Wilson to "respond as tjjey" to the "appealing cry for help'' with famine stricken China. At the same time Mr. Wilson an- ( nounced the appointment of a com mittee of 130 men ar.d women in all parts of the country to collect the funds contributed. "Our diplomatic and consular agencies in China inform us," said , the president, "that the loss result imr from death in distressing form , may run into millions of souls." 1 Mr. Wilson added that Jie realized < that the task of giving today was not a light one, but that he ventured to make the appeal "not only in the name of humanity, but in that of the friendliness which we feel for a great people in distress." \ New York, Dec. 9.?The Chinese I famine for the relief of which Pres- ' ident Wilson today announced the appointment of a national commit tee, affects five provinces, accord ing to a caible message from Ad miral Tsai Ting^Kan, director gen [ eral of the Chinese Red Cross, made public here today. They are Chili, I XTnnon QlioriQi oris? Slipn. I Uliaill/UUg) J.JLV1UAU) Mt.v* ?/ ? ? [ si, in Northern China. The total population of the affected district is estimated at 87,000,000 persons of | whom between 45,000,000 and 50, 000,000 are in want. Of these, 20, 000,000, the Chinese Red Cross offi cial reported actually are starving or dying of hunger and cold. The famine followed a year of virtually complete drought after j three or four years of gradually i failing cops. In large areas the crop I year did not run more than 1 per cent, of normal, faliure to return the seed planted. In a few .districts there were about one-third normal. -1 Admiral Tsoi Ting-Kan reported ! that all of the people of some dis- ' tricts are living on weeds and leaves. Entire families have taken I their own lives while parents are selling and drowning their children. i i HAS FINE STRAWBERRIES Gaffney, Dec. 9.?Delicious ripe i strawberries are being offered on the ] Gaffney market by Stacy Westmore- I land, who has a truck farm on the outskirts of the town. The vines bear all the year around, and Mr. ! Westmoreland says he paid twelve ; dollars per dozen for the plants. He ! says that he has gathered from five : to six quarts from each plant this : year. ] ADMIRAL McGOWAN WILL RETIRE SOON In Recognition of Service During War?Resigns as Chief of Bu reau of Supplies and Ac* counts, Effective De cember 31. Washington, Dec. 9.?In recogni tion of his signal services during the European war, President Wilson and Secretary Daniels have consented to the request of Rear Admiral Samuel McGowan that he be permitted to re* tire. * The admiral, who is one of the most prominent and popular South Carolinians in Washington, has also resigned as chief of the bureau of supplies and accounts, his resigna tion being effective December 31> 1920. During the 78 years this bureau has existed, only" two-officers have served longer as its chief than Ad miral McGowan. One of these served during and after the Confederate war and the other before, during and after the Spanish-American war. Admiral McGowan established a reputation during the European war which was recognized even in Eu ?/-wna Via -aroa HopnmfpH hv spvpra! foreign countries for his faithfulness and great ability in discharging the duties of his office. As chief of the bureau of supplies and accounts he instituted many innovations" which increased the efficiency of the depart ment and reduced its expenses With the secretary of the navy, it is said that no other officer is more popular than Admiral McGowan, and that he permitted the retirement only because of the fact that in following the request of the admiral, he could prove his appreciation of service and merit. It is understood that several lucra tive positions will be open to Admi ral McGowan when his resignation is effective. Admiral McGowan is a native of Laurens and is an alumnus of the University of South Carolina. Washington, Dec. 9?Rear Admiral Samuel J. McGowan has resigned as paymaster general and chief of the bureau of supplies and accounts of the navy and has retired from active duty, it was learned today. His res ignation has been accepted by Pres ident Wilson to take effect December 31. The admiral retired under the 20 year clause affecting bureau chiefs passed by congress last year. Admiral McGowan has been pay-| master general of the navy since j July 1, 1914, a period of service as chief of the bureau of supplies and accounts only exceeded twice in the history of the service. He was charg ed during hie war with the task of providing the navy with supplies of all descriptions and since the war the great surplus of stocks has been! disposed of under his direction. Admiral McGowan entered the navy in 1894 from South Carolina and at- i tained the rank of rear admiral in 1916 He will probably be succeeded by Rear Admiral C. J. Peoples, who will act as chief of the bureau prob ably until March 4. THE LADIES FLY HIGH The air plane which has been in town for the past week has given 9ome of our people a thrilling time. Thursday afternoon M^ss Maggie Link took a flyer up in the air and described her sensation as most de light|jtf and the trip well worth a hund&d dollars. Misses Gertrude Calvert and Sarah Hughes were also passengers and according to Son ?v ? ?? Akoftwar 15111 Wno WHb mi luicicswu wova W4| Miss Calvert inquired of the aviator if he had plenty of gasoline, re marking that there were "no filling stations up above'' and as soon as the trip was over "she went straight home to put some more powder on her nose." Connecticut leads the New Eng land States in the matter of women lawmakers. - The membership of the lower house of the next legislature in the Nutmeg State will include five women, of whom four are Re publicans and one a Democrat. TAXES OF NATION 10 REMAIN HIGH REPRESENTATIVE LONGWORTH SEES NO CHANCE FOR REDUC TION SOON?PRQSPECTS ' FOR REVISION OF TARIFF LAWS ARE HAZY?IMMEDIATE PROB LEM IS TO REVISE AND MODI FY PRESENT LAW. New York, Dec. 9.?Life insurance in its relations to many other phases of American life was discussed today before insurance executives from nearly every state in the union and Canada, at the 14th annual conven tion of the Association of Life-in surance Presidents. There will be no substantial reduc tion of taxes in the near future, said Representative Longworth, a merii ber of the house ways arrd means committee, which frames revenuie measures He predicted that con t # gress would make a cut approximate ing a billion dollars from estimates aggregating more than four billions presented by the executive depart ments. This, however, would not parmit any general reduction in taxes. Life insurance companies of Amer ica have loaned more than $230,000 000 on city and farm real estate mortgages in the first ten months of this year, according to Haley Fiske, president of the Metropolitan Life In surance company, another speaker. Mr. Fiske said that now the "com panies have the enormous sum of two billion eighty-two million dol lars invested on bond and mortgage throughout the country, almost equally divided between farms and cities and have made commitments for many millions more." Mortgage loans generally have con stituted the largest percentage of life nsurance investments, he continued, adding that he refuted the criticism that the companies had not done ll. /.iv ??* w Ann An ^ i ? /-? f A V All a UI1C1I uuisjr 1X1 icopuiiuiug wv mc UVUO" mg shortage. v New York, Dec. 9.?Tariff revision to restore the principle of protec tion for American industries forms a task hedged about with so many new problems difficult of solution that no early action by ^ongress is to be expected, Representative Nicholas Longworth of Ohio, a mem ber of the house ways and means jommittee declared tonight in ad dressing the Academy of Political Sciences. Earlier in the day Mr. ^ongworth told the Association of Life Insurance Presidents that sub stantial tax reductions in the near future were impossible. "I sincerely hope that I am wrong" Mr. Longworth declared in discuss ing tariff revision, "and that during :he extra session we will be able to complete a thorough and scientific revision of the tariff laws, but I am bound to confess that so far as I can now see into the future, the prospect is decidedly hazy " Chief among the problems to be confronted in such a revision, the speaker placed determination of the Attitude of the United States toward assisting in the economic rehabilita tion of the powers associated with it !n the world war. Such aid should be extended, he said, but never "at the sacrifice of American industrial in dependence" through throwing down the tariff bars to foreign products. EDWIN BARKSDALE KNOCKED 'OUT Rtn-lroHnlp has rptirpd from the list of lively talkers for the next tew days. At a practice game of bas ket ball Thursday he fell and split his tongue and it is entirely too large y iow to be used for talking pusposes. Edwin is a game sport and will be on .he job again in a few days. Mrs. W. A. Lee left yesterday for Atlanta from there she will come to Elberton where she will visit her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Smith. J