The Abbeville press and banner. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, May 15, 1922, Page PAGE TWO, Image 2
Established 1S44.
THE PRESS AND BANNER
ABBEVILLE, S. C.
The Press and Banner Company
Published Tri-Weekly
Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Entered as second-class matter at
post office in Abbeville, S. C.
Terms of Subscription:
One Year $2.00
Six Months $1.001
Three Months -50 j
(
Foreign Advertising Representative |
AMERICAN PRESS ASSOCIATION
MONDAY, MAY 15, 1922.
CRITICISING THE COURT.
I
The Newberry Observer inquires:
"Not criticising the court; but
didn't Judge Smith trench some
what upon the functions of a
jury when he decided the Foster
rates in the telephone case are
"excessive and confiscatory?"
Judge Smith certainly did notj
trench on the functions of the jury |
in the case referred to. In the first!
place the case is in equity and is not;
triable by a jury at all. In the second [
place, we take it, the Observer is i
either not acquainted with the status
of the case, or is not informed as to i
the rules of pleading. The complaint j
in the case, in a nutshell, alleges that j
the rates complained of are confisca-j
tory. The defendants have not yet:
answered the complaint, and it must;
be taken as true in all its allegations 1
until it is denied, certainly at this]
stage of the case. Instead of answer-!
ing, the defendants demurred, which
means in plain English that for thej
purpose of their motion they admit;
all the allegations of the complaint, j
including the allegation that the rates
are confiscatory, but claimed that'
notwithstanding the action could not
be maintained. Judge Smith did not
decide that the rates are confiscatory.
The defendant admitted this by de
murring.
Judge Smith merely held that upon
the face of pleadings the action could
be maintained, but he gave the de
fendants thirty days in which to
answer the complaint, and to put in
issue any or all the allegations there
of. When this is done the case will
be-tried on its merits. The court will
then determine as a matter of fact
whether the rates are confiscatory.
This statement of the status of the
case will, we believe satisfy the Ob
server and others that the case is
proceeding along proper lines, and
that Judge Smith made not only a
legal, but a sensible order in the
case. We imagine that if the case had
been brought before the Observer
and the other side had admitted that
the rates were confiscatory, so good
a newspaper as the Observer would
have held as did Judge Smith. If the
legislature had passed an Act provid
ing that the Observer and Press and
Banner should carry state or county
advertising at five cents per inch, and
if it had been mandatory under the
Act that such advertisement be car
ried at this rate, we, of the newspa
per fraternity, would have thought
that we had very poor courts if we
could not have relief from such leg
islation. We do not say that the rates
of the telephone comnanies are not.
too high, but when a litigant for the
purpose of a motion, admits that the
rates are confiscatory, the courts
would be impotent to dispense jus
tice if the rates could not be en
joined.
We regret to see so good a news
paper as the Observer, a newspaper
noted for the soundness of its edito
rial writings and the conservatism of
its speech, making such criticism of
the courts, because criticism it is,
whether so intended or nat. The
courts are the only bulwarks of lib
erty in this country. If you succeed
in undermining the confidence of
the people in the courts, as will be
done by euch criticism, every thing
is bedlam.
As we said above we express no
opinion as to the question of fact
about whether telephone rates are
too high or too low. But it is a little
strange to us that when the state had
a unounai witn power to couecx iacts
and make reasonable rates for tele
phones, railroads and other public
carriers, the legislature itself under
took, under circumstances where it
could not make a judicial and fair in
vestigation, to fix rates for a public
carrier. It smacks a little to us of
persecution and confiscation! Either
the railroad commission should be
abolished or it should be allowed to'--**
fix rates for public carriers. If the c
present scheme of selecting the men &
who compose that body is not condu- .
I s
cive to selecting good men, then letU
I
us try some other scheme. But in j t
dealing with the people who invest t
their money in the state, let us deal' t
fairly, let us give them a fair hearing
beiore a competent tnounai, wnere
there can be a full hearing and a
judicial determination of the facts of
every case. As long as we do not do
that and undertake to do otherwise
the courts of the country will deter
mine under the Constitution, of the
United States whether property is
being taken without due process of
law.
THE WHEELS OF
INDUSTRY ARE MOVING
(Manufacturers Record.)
Railroads are ordering material to
a greater extent than for a good
many years. Building contractors are
finding an increasing and almost an
incessant demand for their work.
Building materials are tending to
lvgher prices and to an increasing
J
scarcity of supply. The demand for ^
lumber grows apace and the trend of .
prices is upward. In some sections the 1
supply of skilled- labor is scarcely 1
equal to the demand, though there is
(j
still a large amount of unskilled la- .
bor out of employment. *
r
Highway improvement is proceed
ing at a rate which must soon tax
the facilities of highway contractors
and the people who supply road-build
ng equipment. With the certainty
that the country has entered upon an
era of highway building of which as
yet we have seen only the beginning,
there is a vast volume of business a
head for highway workers.
The demand for pig iron, long dor
mant to such an extent that the in
dustry seemed almost dead, is in
creasing, and the advance in steel
and pig iron has not lessened the de
mand for these materials. Indeed,
people always buy on a rising market
and cease to buy on a declining mar
ket. No sooner had the country come
to a full realization of the fact an
nounced many months ago . by the
Manufacturers Record that the entire
financial policy of the country had
been reversed, and that President
Harding's boast that lowering dis
; count rates and thus stimulating the
credit facilities of the country was ^
one of the most important actions of
h'"s administration, than the far-see
ing people of the country began to
get ready for business.
1 I
| With every decrease in interest .
| rates there has come an advance in
| the price of government bonds and
in the general security market, ful
filling in that respect every state
ment which the Manufacturers Rec- .
ord has made during the past two
years. The demand for new securities
has been so tremendous as to aston
ish the country and show the enor- C
mous buying power of the American C
people.
Co-incident with the lowering of '
discount rates and the advance in
\
the stock and bond market has come
a betterment in farm conditions with
. . . . . ... -
higher prices for agricultural prod- ^
ucts. The War Finance Corporation
has continued its active operation of
lending money to assist farmers and
livestock raisers, and in many cases
|C
the very fact that this corporation j
was prepared to advance money for'^
these purposes has caused local banks j,
to loosen up in their credits, and thus
the money actually loaned by the]
War Finance Corporation has been I .
only one of the benefits derived from i
its operations. i *
Business is not yet by any means
r
at full tide, but it is moving forward
rapidly, and when it reaches full tide .
every transportation facility in the ^
country will be heavily overtaxed
u/ifVi q 1 arnror tta!nma fVio*?
can be handled, and the manufactur
ing interests and the building and
construction work of the country
c
will likewise be fully taxed. 1
All of this condition can be hasten- .
ed by a lowering of freight rates,
which would stimulate the volume of .
traffic exactly as the lowering of dis- .
count rates stimulated the revival of
| confidence and building operations.
High discount rates and high freight
rates have been a burden on business. c
The tide has turned. The surge is
on. But if we would reap a full meas
ure of prosperity we must hasten
the plans for better financing of the ^
agricultural interests on a safer and
broader foundation than agriculture
has ever had before; hasten the low- c
Jering of freight and passenger rates, i:
i.nd when these things have been ac>
:omplished we shall go forward wit!
l stride of seven league boots to t
>rosperity which will furnish profit
ible employment for the day laborei
ind the mechanic, for the capital 01
he country and for profitable produc
inn in aoriculture. in manufactures
tnd in mineral operations.
Glory be, a change has come, anc
he wheels are moving!
COTTON LETTER
May cotton has crossed 20 cent*
ather rapid confirmation of our sp&
:ial report issued just over a weel
tgo, although the advance into thii
5TOund naturally was not sustained
t was a sort of , testing movemeni
_j j;-i _ j 1
inu Cbisiu'ugeu *:uxisiueiaiuie scuixi^ a\
night have been?iwas?expected
Short as the time has been the ac
ion of the cotton market points, w<
lelieve, to an early movement of the
lew crop months into 20-cent terri
ory and w? suggest the purchase ol
)ctober and December contracts or
ill recessions.
The market should ease off some
vhat. The advance of $7 to $8.50 i
ale recently has weakened the tech
lical position. The advance has ibeer
hie almost entirely to speculative
nterest in the market and the de
nand for the actual has not de
eloped yet, although it will in du(
ourse. Liverpool and Japanese buy
ng as well as purchases iby spol
louses testifies tothis. It is verj
ivident that consumption, the com
ng year, will be well in excess oi
he 1922 crop. The current year':
:onsumption already has gone mud
>eyond the 1921 out-turn. We dc
lot look for dullness to develop, bu1
ather anticipate a moderate reces
ion followed by a new advance thai
nay fbe even more suddenly develop
id than the recent movement.
Springs and Co.
.OWNDESVILLE AND
LEVEL LAND INFESTED
WITH BAD MEP>
Mrs. W. L. Bowman of Lowndes
ille was an interested spectator an<
in unusually bright witness in thi
ase before Judge Gary Saturday in
'olving the custody of an infan
ihild of that community. Mrs. Bow
nan has been residing around Lown
lesv'ille a good many years but ha
lot yet succeeded in reforming th
>ad men in that section it would seen
rom her testimony, because whei
tsked if she thought a man who ha<
ecently been convicted of manu
racturing and selling liquors was i
iroper custodian for a girl child the:
n the custody of another, she replie<
hat she did not think him any worsi
han a good many other men whon
;he knew who w/sre running aroun<
Irinking liquor and gambling. Tha
s somewhat of a strong indictmen
>f the men about Lowndesville.
Not stopping there she even ac
:used some of them of going as fa
>ver as Level Land to engage in li
luor-drinking and card-playing. Shi
lid not say so, but we judge shi
vould regret to hear her Cousin Da
ris and Uncle Jim had visited in th<
vicinity of Level Land, and prehap
inticed some of their unsuspectinj
riends into that alleged ill-behavet
iquor-drinking and card-playinj
leighborhood.
Mayor Walter Wilson should cleai
iut the bad men in his town at once
f he does not it may be necessary
or the Press and Banner to run it
loll-weevil machine through the vil
age and give it a dusting. If we can
lot clean up Level Land and Lown
lesville that way perhaps somebody
vill nominate Mrs. Bowman for th<
State Senate, where she could be o:
,rreat assistance in relieving the situ
ition of which she complains, that i:
f the present Senator cannot fi:
flings, /vs maneis nuw otanu i
eems to us that Mrs. Bowman be
ieves the men about Lowndesvilli
tnd Level Land about as bad a
i man who takes a bath in his nigh
:lothes for no other reason thai
>ecause he has 'em on when he fall:
n the bathtub.
Mrs. Bowman will be rememberec
n Abbeville as one of the attractiv*
laughters of Dr. D. S. Benson, wh<
esided on his plantation near Abbe
'ille, the plantation being made uj
if three tracts known as Zigzag
Sheep-walk and Muttonham.
Beethoven was 12 years old whei
le became organist in a chnrch a
ionn, Germany.
About 89,000 British soldiers, in
luding 2,000 officers, lost limbs dur
ng the war.
I TROOPS CALLED OUT
AS NEGROES STRIKE
More Than Fifteen Hundred Quit
' Work at New York Brick
Plants.
3! Haverstraw, N. Y., May 13.?A
handful of state troopers from White
11 Plains tonight were patrolling the
streets of this Hudson river town,
ready to quell any disorder which
might result from a sudden strike of
1,500 to 1,800 negro workers who
s have succeeded in shutting down 16
- brick plants scattered along about
c two miles of water front.
3 It was reported during the day that
. mere troops would be brought from
t 'Albany and Troy but it was decided
3 that enough men now were on nand
.'unless any trouble occurs tomorrow
- which ordinarily is pay day.
;| Most of the strikers arrived within
?i the last few weeks from the South.
'Employers described them as "float
Ejing labor," explaining that they were
1 accustomed to hire extra hands in
| spring and fall, as brick making was
-|a seasonal industry.
i The only disturbance of the day
was a fight between a trooper and a
> negro, in which the latter had an
i arm broken.
LIBRARY BENEFIT
OPERA HOUSE ,
TUESDAY, MAY 16th
"BEAUTY'S WORTH"
With Marion Davies, Forrest
Stanley and others.
Come out and see this beau
tiful nicture and helD the
. V
V 15c. ADMISSION 35c. V
U. S. Geological Survey has a huge
camera which has to be operated by
small electric cranes.
Buy Val
losing sight of <
effort to quote
Consider wnat you ge
Our aim is to see hou
not how much we can leav
We offer you SUMM]
quality and service.
Summer Suits $12,
o
M
Gi
| 1 he hgypti
* an Op
Presen
I 50 STUDENTS OF
s
LEGE and
Abbeville 0
WEDNESDAY, M
|j BENEFIT ABBEVII
I ATHLETIC A
)| CHILDREN .. 35c;
fi PFQFRVFn WATS
Ill ?
ue! Don't Be Ini
By Prices Alone
quality standards, offering chea;
"low prices."
t for your money?not just the
r much GOOD QUALITY we ca
e out.
ER CLOTHES that are backed
.50, $13.50, $15.00, $1*
F R Rr I
wen Brothers
arble and
ranite Co.
gners
ufacturers
:tors
largest and beat equipped mo?
lental mills in the Carolina*.
geenwood, s. c.
an Princess
eratta
ted By......
WOMAN'S COL
ERSKINE
.at....
pera House j |
AY 17,8:30 P. M.
jle high school | ;
ssociation :
.. ADULTS 50c. |j
i 75c. j ,
ply made, inferior Clotb
i price.
n get into our SUITS?
by a GUARANTEE, for
$.00, $20 and $25.00
\hhst, I