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TRIPOLI or OPPR] OVER a section of northern Af rica, where the legions of im perial Rome once held sway and where various races and civilizations have contended for supremacy, Italy, the mod ern successor to the Rome of the Caesars, is seeking to establish her sovereignty. Only yesterday, aa history measures the life of nations, Italy sprang into "nationhood and now this puny suc cessor to the world-conquering Rome cf the consuls and the Caesars is .reaching out for part of that terri tory over which Imperial Rome exer cised her authority from the Red sea ito the Pillars of Hercules. But of all that vast region there is .little now that is not pre-empted. ?Egypt is securely anchored to British authority-securely at least for the present generation. Far to the west lies Morocco, where French dominance ts assured. East of it lies Algeria, and further east, Tunis, both as securely French as Egypt Is British. And then lying in between Tunis and Egypt and extending southernward into the sands of the desert Iles Tripoli, with Its de crescent floats in impotent protection When Carthage Was Supreme. Tripoli formed a portion of the an cient empire of Carthage, which had Its beginning, according to legend, in the city founded by Queen Dido, near the modern city of Tunis. The Car thaginians, like the Romans, were ?empire builders and gradually came into possession of the rich cities and colonies founded by the adventurous Phoenicians on the African coast, ?ultimately controlling the whole ter ritory extending from the Pillars of Hercules to the Great Syrtis-a dis tance of 2,000 miles. At the height of 1er power Carthage was the greatest J maritime nation in the world, as then constituted, and her enterprises on the sea led her on almost Inevitably to engage in foreign conquests. In tier colonization schemes in Sicily she ?first 'came into contact with F.omn.n power and the first Punic war, in .which the Carthaginians suffered de feat, was the result. This war began in 264 and ended In 241 B. C. and if ... thage was compelled to cede Sicily land Sardinia to the Romans. The .second Punic war, provoked by Car thaginian conquests in Spain, broke cut in 218, when the great Hannibal led his soldiers across the Alps and l)y vigorous campaigns and several bloody battles brought Rome almost to the brink of ruin. But Rome tri umphed in the end, breaking the power "f Carthage in Spain and de feating Hannibal In the decisive battle cf Zama, In Africa. The third Punic jwar. begun in 150 B. C. by Rome, ended in the destruction of Carthage ?.nd the Roman absorption of the rich lAfrican territories, including Tripoli, .which for centuries had been under Carthaginian sway. Northern Africa remained in <Roman, or Byzantine, possession until the fierce Inroads of the Vandals carly In the fifth century of the Chrls itlan era. These savage warners had ?wept a short time before across the (Pyrenees into Spain and had estab lished an Independent kingdom Tandalatia, the modern Andalusia. (The hordes which crossed with their igreat general, Qenseric, Into Africa, ?Boon overran the country and occu pied it until 533, when their power rwas broken by Belisarius, the famous commander of Justinian the Great, fthe emperor of Constantinople. . But disintegration had well begun ?to the provinces of northern Airica ?nd soon the power of Rome as well ???te of the Byzantine empire, founded %j Constantine, was restricted to the {neighborhood of Carthage and other ?points on the coast. The Barbary Wtatea thus became an easy prey for the fierce and fanatical Arabs, who ?wept from Egypt into the region in rthe mid??'e of the seventh century and ~|who teca caabuished their supremacy. ! in A VICTIM DSSION <.? [ Tripoli and the other Barbary states j were a chaos from that time to the present. Changes of dynasty were I frequent and states sprang into despot ! ic independeHce, only to dissolve again i and form new political and geograph ical divisions. In 1146 Tripoli was cap tured by Roger BL of Sicily and was retaken by the Moslems in 1184. For a time it was subject to Tunis. Early in the sixteenth century it was taken by the Spaniards and was later trans ferred to the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, in wliose hands it remained until 1551. when the Turks took posses sion. Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli, all were finally brought under the govern ment of the sultan of Constantinople. Algeria passed under French dominion in 1830; Tunis shared the same fate in 1882; Morocco, the ancient Maure tania, has been a sultanate for many centuries and probably will soon be ! absorbed by France. Thus of the old ' Barbary states only one-Tripoli-re ' mains under th^Turkfsh flag and that flag will soon give way to the standard of modern Italy. Tripoli and Its People. between the Atlas mountains and the j Mediterranean is fertile and is capable of teing successfully tilled. But the curse of Turkish rule is over it and agriculture and industry are stagnant. All the fruits which grow in the trop ics may be raised and at the period of Roman ascendancy .prodigious quanti ties of olives were produced in Barca, then famous for its fertility; now in large sections a veritable sandy waste. The natives, consisting of Berbers, the descendants of the original settlers; Arabs. Turks, Mamelukes, -Jews ?nd negro slaves, are engaged in agricul tural and pastoral pursuits. Some of the people carry on manufacture; and Tripoli has a reputation for fine woolen goods and fabrics fashioned from goats' hair. Considerable quantities of ivory, spices, gold dust and dyes are transported by camel caravans from the sandy interior to the coast, though not to the extent that obtained in the days of Carthaginian rule, when, we are to'.d.itwas not unusual to see a caravan of 13,000 camels bearing the products of the Interior to the marts of the littoral. In Tripoli as throughout the whole of the Barbary states there is great di versity of races. Bedouins roam over Its arid sands and far in the interior are the hardy Berbers, cat-like in movement, intolerant o? restraint, proud of lineage which is lost in the twilightbf history, quick to resent an Injury, but hospitable to strangers. Some of them still five the lives of the :ave men. Some find shelter in tents, >r in huts made from the branches of :rees and daubed with mud. In the owns and setiements they rise to the Iignity of dwelling in stone houses. I'o a large extent they are pastoral and s hen their resources run low they be :ome robbers. In its past history the United States las been at war with Tripoli and ithers of the Barbary states; and some if the most brilliant achievemenis of he American navy were performed in he waters that lave the northern coast f Africa. What may be the future of Tripoli ests securely among those unsolved roblems to which history holds the ey. Italy, into whose possession it ls estined to fall, has had little experi nce as a colonizer. Her attempt in byBsinia was disastrous and ended i the tragedy at Adowa In 1896, hen ber army suffered defeat by the j ?Howers of Menelek. But in Tripoli ie will find a better and a clearer eld, within a short sail from her jfn outpost islands in the Mediter mean. The country is capable of .eat development. The native races, handled as carefully and as justly i France deals with the peoples of Igeria and Tunis, will prove tract )le; and with the fruits of their bors assured to them will become dustrlous and provident. THE ONLY TAING FATDERTIM DOLLARS GROW WSEN PLACED IN QmJSm Copyright 1909, br C. E. Zimmerman Co.--Nc. 1 ? ,.^.r?. ? ."? - . THERE is only one thing Father Time adds to -that's money in the bank. He tears down most everything else, but; Keeps building up money. Be prepared so that he may add to yours. Bank of Edgefield ?T\??* J* C' SnePPard> ^Te3- E- J- Mim3> Cashier KJ??ICBTS W. W. Adams, Vice Pres. J. H. Allen, Ast Cashier jr* . - J. C. Sheppard, W. W. Adams, J. H. Bouknight,Thos. UlYBCtOTS H. Rainsford, J. M. Cohb, B. E.?Nicholson, A. S. Tompkins, C. C. Fuller, W. E. Prescott. Patapsco, Mastodon, and other famous FERTIL IZERS of the Georgia Chemical Works of Au gast a have an established position which is uuequaled by any other goods on the marist'. ^8 years of exper uack up ever}' bag of these -goods. No sucir^reas^" surance as this can be furnished by others. Then why experiment with the uncertain? For prices, terms, eto., call on THE EDGEFIELD MERCANTILE CO. Edgefield, S. C. A. E. P ^ect, President Thos. H. Rainsford, Vice President W. H. Harling, Cashier ' W. A. Byrd, Asst. Cashier The Farmers Bank STATE, COUNTY AND TOWN DEPOSITORY Capital and Surplus Farnings $110,000.00 Total Resc over 300,000.00 After 20 years ot successful banking, greeta the public and its patrons for thc year 1912 with bcs't wishes, thanking them for their patronage and confidence in the past. Conservative business solicited Interest paid on special deposits. Your account ap preciated.- If not already a depositor, begin now. PIRECTORS: Thos. H. Rainsford, Dr. C. P. DeVore, W B. Penn, E. H. Folk, S. B. Mays, C. A. Wells, AV. H. Harling, A. E. Padgett. Augusta's Leading Jewelry Store We invite our Edgefield friends to call at our store when in the city, and inspect our large stock ot silverware, Cut Glass> Watches, Diamonds, Gold and Silver and novelties of all kinds. We are constantly replenishing our stock with the latest and newest designs from the most reliable manufacturers and importers. Our prices are very reasonable. It will be a pleasure for us to serve you. ?. J. Renkl, 706 Broad Street Augusta, Georgia. Pianos and Organs At present we desire to call especial attention to the Adam Schaff' piano, which is used exclusively in the public schools of Chicago. The factory has been established forty ve;irs. lt is a strictly high grade standard piano. Priers of uprights are from .$300 to $5'><>. Farrand Organs. We have sold over 1,500 Farrand organs rind all of them art: now giving satisfaction. We also car ry a line of other makes of pianos and organs. Any of our goods are sold on liberal terms of payment. Satisfaction guaranteed in every particular. Holland Brothers, Greenwood, S. C. ?????^??????????????iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin? Stock Feeds We are distributors for the highest grade^feeds on on the rnarket. |5Bf"SUCRENE-both dairy and hoise Tennessee horse" and mule feed which is ground corn oats and alfalfa. Dried beet pulp-5 per cent, to your dairy feed daily will increase milk supply very materially. ERRINGTON BROS. & CO. P. S. Mr. M. Gary Satcher is with us and will be glad to see his friends To Our Friends and Their Friends: The roads a**e drying off rapidly and the business farmer will soon be lookirg to his 1912 arrangements. Allow us to remind you that we are amply prepared to care for our customers and uiviivK-rmar iiiTiiy jvu tt_f use us whenever and wherevei we can sei ve you. There will be quite a re duction in Fertilizers and Fertilizing materials for this year, and it will afford us pleasure to discuss with you, Fertilizers, Groceries, Plant ation Supplies, and Planta tion and Builders Hardware. Come in, a warm \velco*ne and a hot stove await you. Yours Truly, W. W. Adams & Co. FIRE INSURANCE , E. J. NORRIS, Agent Edgefield, South Carolina Representing the HOME INSURANCE COMPANY, of New York, and the old HARTFORD, of Hartford, Connecticut. The HOME has a greater Capital and Surplus combined than any other company. The HARTFORD is the leading com pany, of the World, doing a greater Fire business than any other Co. See Insurance Reports PRUDENTIAL LIFE "HAS THE STRENGTH OF GIBRALTAR." E. J. Norris, FIRE AND LIFE INSURANCE. J