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OUR PUBLIC FORUM IV.-F. A, Vanderlip On The Business ot Banking The farmers of this nation to come into their own must study business. We must, as a class, understand the fundamental principles that underlie every industry, its functions to society and its relation to agriculture, for there can be no intelligent cooperation without under standing. Mr. F. A. Vanderlip, president of the National City Bank of New York, when asked, "What is a bank?" said in part: "The first and most familiar function of a bank is that of gathering up the idle money of a community, small sums and large, and thus forming a pool or reser voir upon which responsible persons may draw as they have tempoiary use for money. It is evident that this makes large sums in the aggregate available for the employment of labor and the development of the community. But much more is accomplished than the use of the money actually deposited in the banks, for by the use of drafts, checks and bank notes the efficiency of money is multiplied several times over. A very large business, for example one of the great beef packers, may use very little actual money; on.one side of its bank account will be entered the checks and drafts it ls daily receiving from everywhere in payment for meats, while on the other side will be entered the checks it draws in payment for cattle, etc., its only use of money being for small payments, to labor and otherwise. If there were but one bank in a community and everybody paid all bills by drawing checks on that bank, and everyone receiving a check imme diately deposited it in the bank, the amount of money in the bank evidently would not change at all and the entire business of the community would be settled on the books of the bank. And the situation is but slightly changed when there are several banks, for they daily exchange among themselves all the checks they receive on each other, which practically offset themselves, although the small balances are paid in cash. This is called 'clearing' and | in every large city there is a 'Clearing House' where representatives of the banks meet dally to settle their accounts with each other A bank is constantly receiving from Its customers, particularly those that are shipping products to other localities, drafts and checks drawn on banks in other cities, which it usually sends for deposit to a few correspondent banks in the central cities with which it maintains permanent accounts. In this way these scattered credits are consolidated and the bank draws upon these accounts in supplying customers with the means of making payments away from home. As each local community sells and buys about the same, amount abroad In the course of a year, these payments largely offset each other. It ls evident that the banks are very Intimately felated to the trade and Industry of a country. The banker ls a dealer in credit much more than a dealer in money, and of course his own credit muet be above question. He exchanges his credit for the credits acquired by the customers, and lends .credit for their accommodation, but he must conduct the business with such judgment that he can always meet his own obligations with cash on demand. This is the essential tiling about bank credit, that lt shall always be the same as cash." ["OUR PUBLIC FORUM j V-E. P. Ripley On Relations of Railroads and People The industrial leaders of this nation are talking to the public face to face through the columns of this paper. The time was when if a corporation had anvthing to say to the people they sent a hired hand, whispered it through a lawyer or employed a lobbyist to explain it to the legis lature, but the men who know and the men who do are now talking over the fence to the man who plows. When the leading business men of this nation get "back to the soil" with their problems, strife and dissen sion will disappear, for when men look into each other's faces and smile there Is a better day coming. Mr. B.- P. Ripley, president of the Santa Fe Railroad, when asked to give his views in reference to relations existing between the railroad and the public said in part: "Frequently we hear statements to the effect that these relations are improving, that the era of railroad baiting has passed and that public senti ~~r~*- ment now favors treating the railroads fairly. As yet this change in publio sentiment, if any such there be, is not effective in results. It is true that In the legislatures of the southwestern states during the past winter there were fewer unreasonable and unreasoning laws passed Mian usual, but a consideration of the hostile bills Introduced shows that there ls still reason for much disquiet even though they were defeated by more or less of a majority. Moreover, the idea that the railroads have been harshly treated does not seem to prevail in the offices of the State Railroad Commissions which seem to cherish a notion that their business is not to act as an arbitrator i between the railroads and the people, but which proceed on the theory that the railroads are able to take care of themselves and that their duty is to act as attorney for the people even though In so doing they deny justice to the railroads. It requires no argument to demonstrate that the railroads are entitled to justice equally with other citizens and taxpayers. That they have not received it and are not receiving lt is perfectly susceptible of proof. That they have practically no recourse in the courts has also been determined. The situation therefore is that the people, through their representatives, must elect whether the services of the railroads shall be adequately compen sated or not; and it requires no fortune teller or soothsayer to predict that in the long run the service will take tb; class that is paid for and no better. The natural competition between the railroads and the natural desire to perform first-class service has heretofore resulted in giving the public much more than it was willing to pay for. Continuation of this will be impossible and no laws, however drastic, can lcng accomplish the impossible." OUR PUBLIC FORUM VI.-F. C. Howe On The Advantages of Free Ports Mr. F. C. Howe, Federal Commissioner of Immigra tion, who Is one of the best American authorities on marine commerce, in discussing the relation of free ports to the development of sea trade said in part: "Ships will go hundreds of miles out of their way to avoid ports surrounded by a tariff wall. The only way, therefore, tor a country with a tariff to compete in the shipping world with a free trade country is to establish free ports at strategical points along its coast line. Germany has done so, and in a comparatively short period has built up a carrying trade which before the war was seriously threatening England's supremacy. Hamburg, one of the three German free ports, now ranks as the second greatest seaport in the world, its total foreign commerce in 1913 being only .$6,000,000 under that of New York. The free port would offer great opportunity for financial operations, now made possible by the recent currency act. It would stimulate international banking, and would tend to shift the financial center of the world to this country. And America, by the logic of events, has become the natural center? for the world's financing, just as London became that center several centuries ago, when it shifted from the cities of the Netherlands. But the financial center will only move to this country when it becomes a clearing house of goods as well as of money. For credit the world over is created by cur rently created wealth in transit or change so that even our financial expansion is dependent upon the opening up of American ports to the clearance of the wealth of the world. A port should not operate to yield a return on the in vestment, but to develop the prosperity of the country." In recapitulating the advantages, Mr. Howe brings out the importance of the free port in de veloping our shipping, and linking us with South America, Asia and Africa, and then concludes: "The most Important gain is the direct gain to America. It will cheapen commodities by bringing great quantities of goods to our doors fer importation or export, as trade needs demand. It will stimulate the growth of exporting houses, which can hold goods for an Indefinite period without the payment of tariff dues (often equal to the cost of the article itself) for disposal to meet the trade demands of the whole world. It will upbuild international credit, and shift to America an increasing and ultimately a predominant share in international exchange. Finally, America is the natural country to be the counter of the world. Its seacoasts face every other continent; it is the greatest of all reservoirs of raw materials and foodstuffs. In iron and steel and standardized produc tion it is in a position to compete with the world. But International trade, (and Olia ls always overlooked) must be reciprocal. It cannot be one-sided, and credit balances cannot for any prolonged period be paid in gold. They caa only be paid by exchange of wealth." Don't Make Curiosity Telephone Calls "Because ?.030 idle curiosity seekers In ninclum ton asked 'Central' where the fire was, an emeraency call for an ambulance was held np for nearly 15 min utes and ibis delay resulted in tbe death o f-. Physicians say that h.id the ambulance been seemed at once-'i life raizht have been saved." -Elmira Advertiser. SOUTHERN BELL TELEPHONE AND TELEGRAPH CO. Box 42, Columbia, S. C. IT is beyond the bounds of possibility to answer promptly the mass of cu riosity telephone calls that threaten to swamp our ex changes every time there is a large fire. Calls for physicians, the am bulance or the police, held up at such times might result in the loss of human life. For your protection, as well as for the protection of your neighbors, we ask you not to call the telephone operator merely out of curiosity. After all, she has no more informa* tion than you have. COOK IN COMFORT THIS SUMMER ^/TOU can make your kitchen I as livable as your living room -if you have a NEW P?R FECTION Oil Cookstove. No wood-box, no ash-pan, no coal-hod to bother with. A clean, cool kit chen, and half the drudgery gone. The NEW PERFECTION is quick and handy like a gas stove. It lights instantly, and gives you a big volume of heat, easily regulated just by raising or lowering the wick. It is easy to operate, easy to clean, and easy to re-wick. 2,000,000 women say it's ugas stove comfort with kerosene oil." Ask your dealer to show you his NEW PERFECTION line stoves with one, two, three and four burners. Note particularly NEW PERFECTION OVENS, especially made for use on these stoves. Ideal for roasting and baking. Use Aladdin Security Oil or Diamond White Oil to obtain the best results in oil Stoves, Heaters and Lamps. PEU OJ ION ES: STANDARD OIL COMPANY Washington, D. C Norfolk, Va. Richmond, Va. (New Jersey) (BALTIMORE) Charlotte, N. C. Charleston, W. Va. Charleston, S. C. FARM LOANS! Long-Term Loans to Farmers a Specialty. Your farm land accepted as security WITHOUT ENDORSER or other COLLATERAL. Unlimited funds immediately available in de nominations of Three Hundred and up. Established 1892. JAS. FRANK & SON, Augusta, Gi. ?S? Write me and I will explain gjtt ^ how I was cured in four days fg^ of a severe case of Pile of 40 tyears' standing without pain, knife or detention from busi- * ^?S ness. No one need suffer from ' this diseaae when this humane g| jg? cure can be had right here in ag fe?, South Carolina. 3JT? R. M. JOSE, jg ^ ^ Route 4. ^ ^ Lamar, S. C. |B GEO. F. MIMS OPTOMETRIST Eyes examined and glasses fitted only when necessary. Optical work of all kinds. EDGEFIELD, S. C. J. C. LEE, President BBHSBBBK F. E. Gibson, Sec. and Treas. FARMERS, MERCHANTS, BUILDERS, If you are going to build, remodel or repair, we invite your inquiries. COMPLETE HOUSE BILLS A SPECIALTY. We manufacture and deal in doors, sash, blinds stairs, interior trim, store fronts and fixtures, pews, pulpits, etc., rough and dressed lumber, lath, pine and cypress shingles, ftooring, ceiling and siding. Distributing agents for Flintkote roofing Estimates cheerfully and carefully mane. Woodard Lumber Co. AUGUSTA, GEORGIA. Corner Roberts and Dugas Streets. Our Motto: SEE Instead ofWoodShfa$?l@s erjlate cmmimr Metal, Shingles The roofing that lasts "as long as the building and never needs repairs. They won't burn, crack, curl or rot like wood shingles, nor have they the great weight or brittleness of stone slate; besides they are inexpensive and look better than either. For Sale by STEWART & KERNAGHAN EDGEFIELD, S. C. ARRINGTON BROS. & CO. Wholesale Grocers and Dealers in ? ? Corn, Oats, Hay and all Kinds of Feeds Corner Cumming and Fenwick Streets On Georgia R. R. Tracks Augusta, Ga. YOUR PATRONAGE SOLICITED See our representative, C. E. May. SWIFTS WAR MESSAGE Safety First Fight for Maximum Crop Yield. WIN WITH SWIFT'S TOP DRESSER "It Pays to Use Them." Insufficient plant food means to the growing plant just what in sufficient food means to the human body. Why buy Nitrate of Soda? SWIFT'S TOP DRESSER produces better results with less money invested-means ECONOMY, RE SULTS, SATISFACTION. Cotton acreage has been reduced and plant food curtailed, there fore crop conditions require immediate application of SWIFT'S TOP DRESSER to assure COMPLETE maturity, which means bigger profits. SWIFT'S TOP DRESSER ls well balanced-high In QUICK acting Ammonia-sufficient Phosphoric Acid and Potash to supplement needed plant food. Use SWIFT'S HIGH GRADE TOP DRESSER. Means more crop! More Quality I More Money! SWIFT & COMPANY FERTILIZER WORKS CHARLOTTE, N. C. Factories: WILMINGTON, N. C. - COLUMBIA, S. C. - CHESTER, S. C.