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fAliii. l'Uvft Established 1844. THE PRESS AND BANNER ABBEVILLE, S. C. The Press and Banner Company Published Tri-Weekly Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Entered as second-^ass matter at post office in Aobeville, S. C. Tei Q> of Subscription: One Year $2.00 Six months $1.00 Three months .50 MONDAY, MARCH 28, 1921 THE PLIGHT OF THE RAILROADS Official railroad reports for the month of January last are certainly calculated to make the nation sit up and take notice. They cover 143 roads, in all parts of the coun try, with an extent of 178,329 miles; . being about 75 percent of the entire mileage of the United States. Reports of their operation and condition are therefore practically reports on the whole land transportation system of the nation; one of the two largest and most important industries in which the American people are en gaged, and o*ne of the two upon which most of all, ev^ry other business de pends. The one outstanding feature and fact of these reports is that in the month of January, 1921, these 143 roads?and therefore the transporta tion system of the United States? , did not earn enough to pay their way. Their total receipts from .open.tion < . were not sufficient to pay operating k expenses, rent, taxes and interest? their fixed charges. Their total oper ating revenues were $370,223,676, and their total operating expenses were $352,453,886. There was thus left only $17,769,970 for non-operat .ing expenses, which it fell short of meeting by $3,120,435, their deficit for the month. That in itself was bad. It was and is still more ominous when it is rec ognized to be no mtfre adventitious circumstance but.a part of a consist ent and apparently inexorable pro cess. For years the roads have been steadily falling behind, with expenses increasing more rapidly than reven ues, and therefore with the net oper ating income steadily declining. Note the figures: Net operating income, 1917, $934, 068,000. Net operating income, 1918 $638, 568,000. Net operating income, 1919 $454, 990,000. Net operating income, 1920 $62, 264,000. What the continuation of that pro cess must mean is obvious. In fact, it already means it. With the begin ning of the present year an ominous milepost was passed on the road to ruin. The steadily decreasing surplus vanished altogether and was replaced by what we must fear to be a steadily j increasing deficit. For this'the cause, or tra;n of causes, is apparent. There has been an enormous fallincr off i?i traffic, and that, too, at the very time when there is an extraordinary a-j motmt of merchandise awaiting ship ment and when there is peculiarly] urgent need for it to be shipped. That, in turn, is largely because of the high! rates charged by the railroads. The prices of commodities of most kinds are falling, and must fall more. But railroad rates are kept up, thus dis couraging if not prohibiting ship, j ments, save of actual necessities. j It would be idle to attempt to lay the blame for this state of affairs up_ j on the managers of the roads. They; are not such fools as to try to dis credit themselves and the existing j order. ?f things, in railroading. *Last j Ja'nuary was the first .month since the j restoration of the roads to their own. I ers in which there was a deficit. Thej managers reported tke fact withi great reluctance, because it spoke | badly of the restored system of af_ j fairs, intimating that private owner, i ship and control was not as efficient! and economical as government man.j agement had been. They are, indeed, | the victims of -circumstances. Theyj can apparently avoid ruin only by in. j creasing their volume of business, j and they can do that onlv hv oucahi- I sging patronage with lower rates; and these are possible only through decrease of expenses, of which the chief are wages. For the most striking feature of the whole situation is the increase inj wages. The aggregate payroll of the, roads has increased, from $1,739,-] 482,000 in 1917 to $3,600,000,000 in 1920, or more than 107 per cent. At the same time the compensation paid by the roads to invested capital has risen from $419,010,000 to $475 000,000, or only something more than 13 per cent. Such facts as these give force to the contention of the roads that wages must be reduced. It is certain that-they must be reduced if j the expenses of the roads are to bo j reduced, and if the expenses are not I if Jiffiniilf f r\ ??na Vi aitt ICUUtCU AO ID U1L, b\s I bankruptcy is to be avoided. An un | favorable balance is to be transform i ed into a favorable in one of two J ways. Either the income must be in_ j creased or the outgo must be deqreas. Jed. To increase the income j)y still j further raising of, rates would 'be im_ i possible. A raising of rates would so i prohibit traffic as to cause loss rather 'than gain in income. The alternative I is, then, to decrease the outgo. That ! is the problem now before the trans, j j portation system of the country.? j I Harvey's Weekly., j Mr. Charles M. Schwab, back from ja European trip, unhesitatingly pre' ! diets that "Germany will recover j 'from the effects of the World Warj 'much sooner perhaps than any other J j of the European countries involved! ' in it." For that sound judgment there j I is ample basis, in the fact that Ger_ ! j many suffered froip the war far less j I than any other Continental belliger. { ) ent. She has no ruined cities to re_ \ build, no devastated and prostrated i industries to restore. Such an opinion! as Mr. Schwab's ought to go far to. i ward doing away with the mushy! I folly which pictures poor Germany j as the greatest sufferer in the world and as an object of sympathy even j above her victims?-a delusion which j M. Lauzanne explodes in the current! North American Review, as we point | out elsewhere in these pages.?Har-j vey's Weekly. BIGHAM EXPECTS TO BE ACQUITTED j Florence, March. 27.?When seen! through the bars in his cell at the Florence county jail at^noon today, Edmund Bigham, who is on trial for the murder of his brother, L.: Smiley Bigham, this the one of five indlct j ments against him for murder chos-1 en by Solicitor Gasque for trial at! this term of court, showed no sign j of the strain under which he must have labored during the several hours he was on the witness stand yesterday and last night battling for his life. As a matter of fact, he was in a rather cheerful mood and^chat |ted. about the case for some time. He Expressed regret that he had overlooked bringing in one point which he said would have been a solar plexus for the state. "I had so much to say, that I clean forgot it," he said. Bigham has no idea that he will be convicted. "I just know that I am coming clear and when I ge. rut I am going back to South Georgia. I wouldn't live on I the home place ?or every acre in it. ; Bigham seems to realize that he is not wanted in that neighborhood and spoke of what he termed the unfair ness of witnesses who testified against his character who had not seen him, he s^id, since Jbe was a lit tle boy until he came back to the farm last September. Just as Big j ham would not say what he referred jto in the testimony he forgot, he re fused to say to whom he referred when he said today: 'Thos^ people; who have been stirring up this thing and spreading all sorts 6f false re ports about me in connection with this case wanted a piece of the pie." Bigham indicated that some| people were after the estate. EASTER WORSHIPPERS Mrs. James Hester, Mr. Willie \ Hester, Misses Hester and Saunders came to Abbeville Sunday frim Mt. i Carmel and attended the Easter ser j vices at the Episcopal church in the iHVi JUAii?, . iUX. l/ci IlliC O CA^CUlCUl' sermon well repaid them fop the trip. THE CORP. GOES TRAVELING Mr. and Mrs. J. D. Kerr spent Easter Sunday in Union with Mr. and Mrs. Thos. Es^es. They took an early start and made the trip in the "she-dam" with Billy Bradley as driver. They returned to Abbeville Monday night. Messrs Maxcy Turner, Bennie Tal- i ber, and George Lomax, four busy ' young men from Greenwood have i made several vis:ts to Abbeville since 1 last Thursday. ] THE BAPTIST SUNDAY SCHOOL SURPASSES ITS RECORD The Baptist Sunday school sur passed all its previous records in at tendance yesterday there being 262 present in the classes when the rolls were called. The school had set as a goal for the day 250, and had adver tised in the Press and Banner that it hoped to reach that number It will the alter, surrounded "by a bank of ferns and lilies rose, a large white cross, studded with tiny electric lights. The scene was impressive. The choir had prepared an excel lent musical program. At the morning service a large class was received into the member ship of the church as a result of the meeting just held. Under Mr. Peele's ministry the church has grown, forty new mem bers 'being received . into the church since the last conference and the preceding year, fifty new members joined the church. THE METHODIST 6JIOW Sunday, March 27th, was the cul mination of the protracted services held at the Methodist church. Rev. B. R. Turnipseed of Greenwood did the preaching. At the first evening service the church was well filled. There was not a ^ervice at which in terest seemed to lag, but steadily increased.- At times the church was filled to capacity. The preacher" was at his best, his reputation as a popu lar pulpit orator was fully sustained. He has a clear grasp of the teach ings of the word of God, and with his vivid imagination and wealth of illustrations, he sent the messages 4- /-v liuuic i/U ins ncaicifi. As a result of the meeting eigh teen were received into the Metho ? dist church last Sunday morning. Others are yet to be received. The church is now in an unusually pros perous condition, forty-two have been added to the membership since last conference. The congregations are large. The Sunday school is growing. There is an encouraging spirit of optimism running through all the work of the church. EPISCOPAL SERVICE As is ttie custom the Episcopal church was beautifully decorated Sunday for the Easter service. The altar was draped in white and trim med in evergreens which was inter spersed with wreaths of bridal wreath and woo?biti$e, macy beautiful vases of "Fi^s Inc^jther^hite flii^Br.9jvveCfe used 4ls <fec<fratjons. J J? Rev. A. J. Derbyshire pleased the large congregation present with his sermon wh;ch was appropriate to the day and the season. The reguar union services were held at night in the Methodist church and Mr. Derbyshire preached an en tertaining and instructive sermon. The crowd was so great that many people were turned away from the J - - uuurs. SELLING CANDY. The attractive home made candy displayed at Austin-Perrin's Drug store is still on sale and has been a successful venture for tl^ ladies in terested. Stop by and try the candy ft is "good to eat'' and is cheap. Jj be seen tnat aaverrisnig/ in cms paper pays. * / There were thirty-three young men in a class just organized for ^1. a+Uavp p>/\vi+ 4-Vi/iiv* Lllf III I aim mail y irwiicia CKruu until names to be enrolled, who were4 un able to be present at the time. The following officers were elected for this new class: President, C. C. Wal lace; first vice president, Wm. F. Jones; second vice president, H. S. Howie; third vice preside/it, Paul Link; secretary, J. F. Hill; treasur er, J. C. King, assistant treasurer, J. N. Armour; reporter, D. T. Smith, Jr. EASTER SERVICES AT METHODIST CHURCH The Easter services at the Metho dist church were unusually interest ing and came as a fitting close to the very successful meeting which has ju9t been held in th^ church. The decorations were in the hands of a competent set of women and were admired by all who attended the service. The chancel rail and the choir were draped in white and over this were garlands of spanish moss, in front of the alter were twi pedes tals in white holding brass bowls of whjte flowers while at the back of CONEY STILL LIVES Natchez, Miss., March 26.?Early tonight the condition of Lieut. W. D. Coney showed but little change. He was still conscious and resting easily.. He has made no further statement, as it is the desire of his physicians to keep him as quiet as possible. His mother is due to arrive here at noon Sunday. At 8:30 o'clock tonight Drs. C. T. Chamberlain and J. S. Ullman issued the following bulletin re garding Lieutenant Coney's con dition: "Lieutenant Coney spent a fairly comfortably day. His condition is practically unchanged. Temperature 100; pulse,. 88; respiration 20." At the request of the Natchez chapter of War Mothers, special prayers for the recovery of the transcontinental flier will be order ed at all the local churches Easter morning. The mother, aunt and brother of the injured flier who are on their way here are kept posted regularly as to the lieutenant's condition through the efforts of the local post j of the American Legion. I ? MANY USED TRAINS Total of Ptuengm in Big Figure*. Washington, March 26.?Passen gers on American railroads in 1920 totaled 1,234,222,829 as compared with 1,174,721,842 in 1919, accord ing to figures given out today by the interstate commerce commission. The increase in railroad fares ap parently resulted in only small de cline in travel 99,181,982 persons paying fares in December, 1920, as compared with 100,805,201 in De cember, 1919, before the fares were increased. The average passenger traveled 36.71y miles in December as com pared with 37.73 miles in the same month the year previous. Gingham, Voile, Dotted Swiss, Ratines, and Organdie Dretses, by CO-ED on display at The Rosenberg Mercantile Company all day Wed A... M L 1AlL ALL NE\ This er be of thii ginnii look i be pL U.J 1 lidu Galvanized corrugated Roofing in 8, 10 and 12 foot lengths. "Globe" Galvanized Shingles, a splendid Shingle for all purposes. Prices right The Rosenberg Merc. Co. TALKING No matter what n you are going to t or miss wnax is d< music. This beinj the plainest kind c choose the machir most perfectly th< going to use? There is only will play Cictor f that is thVe machi records were n TROLA. "The Reall IV ALU nuu' ILK !AT: IfPr WEST SPRING i is an apportunity fore offered the 3 community at t\ lg of a season. < them over. Yoi eased with the qi don-Wi COMPANY JfS/BJS/SfSIS]2IS?SJHSJ2J3f2J2M3I2ISISfSJSiSJSI2f __An unusual' opportunity to see first Land the models of what Fashion accepts as the last word in summer styles in dresses on Wed nesday, March 30th. The Rosenberg Mercantile Company. >ME DAY 0U ARE OING TO OWN A MACHINE ciachine you buy >uy Victor Records 3st in the world of g the case, isn't it >f common sense to / le that Nwill play e records you ar?.' one machine that Records perfectly, ine for which the lade?THE VIC lusical Spot in eville" ice COLORS i=j s> r nev ladies le be come will lality.