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(?l?t? Newspaper H ^with VOL. 84 EDGEFIELD, S. C., WEDNESDAY. AUGUST 18, 1920 No. 23 JOHNSTON LETTER. Meeting of W. C. T. U. High School Opens September 6. Family- Picnic at Ward Friday. The August meeitng of the W. C. T. U. was held with Mrs. Olin Eid son on Friday afternoon, Mrs. T. R. Denny presiding. The devotional was conducted by Mrs. Mamie Huiet, and Mrs. Herbert Eidson arranged an instructive pro gram on the assigned topic. The'chief business was in the dis cussion and plans made for the State convention whi?h meets here Octo ber 2, 3, and 4. The sessions will be held in the Baptist church and on Sunday after noon, the mass meeting will be held here and a cordial invitation is to be extended Dr. Lee ^of Edgefield to ad dress the assembly at this time The State president, Mrs. Sprott, asking the hostess union to invite the speaker for this. The honor guest of the convention will be Mrs. Perkins of New York, National Superintendent of Child Welfare. She will speak both Sunday morning and evening. Mrs. Mamie Tillman of Edgefield will be invited to assist a local di rector with the convention music. The two business sessions will oc cupy Monday and Tuesday and lunch will be served these two days in the ' church. \ The medal contest) in charge of State superintendent, Mrs. Lena Smith of' Leesville, will take place Monday evening. Several committees have been ap pointed to make arrangements, and these will act at an early date so that the convention, as far as it depends on local effort, can move along smoothly. The High School here will open on September 6 and the new superin ldent is -expected .at .an. early date - -?**' .'i*ff<**f*^?i vim nsm pftumnflL reside at the school manse on the ["] campus. Messrs. Ed Walton, and Tom Youngblood went over to Columbia on Thursday evening to stand an ex amination for service in "the U. S. Navy. Mr. Lod Milford, who joined the navy last week is stationed at Newport News, Va. Mrs. J. L. Walker entertained the members of the "We-Are-Twelve club on Wednesday afternoon, and besides the members there were sev eral other guests. Chatting and sewing occupied an hour or more and the guests were then invited to the dining room where they were seated at a beauti fully appointed table and a delicious repast was served in courses. Baskets of shasta daisies made a pretty decoration about the rooms. The annual picnic of all the Smith relations of Edgefield and Saluda counties was held Friday at Ward, in the large grove there, and from Johnston there were quite a number to attend. A very happy day was had and a very large picnic crowd was present which proved that the Smiths were numerically strong, as well in these two counties- ^ Mr. Willis Holmes has purchased from Mrs. Alice Cox the lot and residence now occupied by Mr. Hen ry .Dobey and he will take possession October 1st. Misses Maude Nickerson and Hor tense Padgett have gone to Waynes ville to spend two weeks. Misses Rachael and Marguerite Simmons are at home from a visit to their aunt in Asheville. Mrs. T. R. Hoyt, Misses Laurie, Johnnie and Marion Hoyt have been for a visit to Sullivan's Island. News comes that Mrs. Ida Stevens who has been at the Greenwood Hos pital for treatment is much improv ed. Mesdames H. W. Crouch, L. S.' Maxwell and Grace Crouch have re turned from a few weeks' stay in Hendersonville, N. C. A very pleasant afternoon party was had on last Tuesday, Mesdames H. W. Crouch and C. P. Corn being joint hostesses, the occasion being in the home of the former. Rook was the chief diversion, eleven tables be ing arranged. Mrs. John Wright and Mrs. Herbert Eidson making the highest score, cut for the prize a bot tle of toilet watej:, the former re ceiving this. Mrs. Price Timmerman, an honor guest was presented with a bottle of Hudnut's toilet water, al so. A dainty salad course was served. Mesdames P. N. Keesee and E. R. Mobley entertained on Friday after noon in honor of Mrs. Price Timmer man, a recent bride, the reception being in the home of the former. Mesdames^ M. R. Wright received the arrivals and Mrs. J. A. Dobey carried them to the receiving line, which was composed of the two hos tesses and Mrs. Timmerman and her sister, Mrs. J. Howard Payne. There were many cordial good wishes for the pretty young bride. Later several games of rook were played which was enjoyed. The honoree was presented with a beautiful cut glass compote. Pink and white block cream'and bride's cake were served, those serv ing being Miss Elise Mobley, Mes dames J. L. ?Walker and Walker Mob ley. Messrs. M. R. Wright, Wiley Der rick and J. N. Lott and J. N. Lott, Jr., leave this week for Baltimore fcp purchase fall merchandise. Mrs. P. N. Lott and Mr. Staunton Lott have been for aj visit to Charles ton. Miss Browne is visiting Miss Janie Bruce, these two being class mates at Coker College. ^ Mrs. St. Julian Harris, of Albany Ga., spent last week here with her mother, Mrs. P. N. Lott. Misses Ellen, Ruth and Edith Prescott of Greenwood have been for a visit to their sister, Mrs. F. L. Par ker, f Miss Sue Timmerman had as her guests last week, Misses Bedsie Wardlaw of McCormick and JDessie Dean of Saluda. She arranged sever al pleasant affairs for her guests. Guests last week of Mrs. Joe Cox ?vere. Misses Blanche and Lily. Preach ?r and Hazel Ypumans ?f Fairfax, ind Margaret Ashaw. orte, r?TC, faking a Dusiness course. B. L. Reames is at home from a ;rip to relatives in Arkansas and. Louisiana. Miss Annie Holmes Harrison has jone to Asheville to visit her sister, Mrs. James Culham. Miss Antoinette Denny is at home from a visit to Mrs George Galphin it Ninety Sty. Mr. and Mrs. Robert Kenney and Miss Nelle Beckham were visitors here recently. Mrs. Herbert Eidson and children are at home from Wrightsville Beach Mrs. Bessie Bean has returned from a visit to Mrs. Carl Lowry in Warresboro, Ga. Miss Louelle Norris now ~bf Co lumbia is spending a while in the home of her sister, Mrs. M. R. Wright. Death of Mrs. M. T. Cloer. Another sad death occurred in the Meeting Street community Thurs day, August ?3, when Mrs.' M. G. Cloer passed away. She had been sick for several weeks with rheumatism and other complications. Each day she grew weaker untilvat last she was no long er able to resist the disease that was sapping her life away. She was a consecrated Christian, a devoted wife and loving mother. She had only been in our community a few years, having moved here from Lenoir, North Carolina, but she had made a host of friends and loved ones who will mourn her death. Her family and loved ones did everything that human hands could do but nothing could restore her to health. God wanted her to dwell with Him, therefore, He took her. Alhtough her home is darkened here, her Heavenly home is brighter and happier because she is there. Her tired body was laid to rest in Stevens Creek cemetery Friday after noon, August 13, Rev. W^ J.' Brooke officiating. She leaves besides her husband, six children and a host of friends to mourn her death. R. Bury the Boll Weevil with a Ford son. SPECIAL for Saturday only, One Lot of Florsheim Oxfords at $5.95 CASH. *' REYNOLDS & PADGETT. Meeting of Farmers in Court House. Pursuant to the announcement l??t week a large number of farmers, and other business men assembled in the,.Court House Tuesday to hear the specialists from Clemson College speak. The meeting was held under the auspices of the Edgefield County Cotton Growers Association and was presided over by Mr. J. Wm. Thur mond, the president of the associa tion, who requested Dr. R. G. Lee to open the meeting with prayer. After giving utterance to appro priate remarks Mr. Thurmond intro duced Mr. D. W. Watkins, the as sistant director of the Clemson Col lege extension work, who spoke at length of the advantages derived from the proper grading of cotton' before it leaves the hands of the pro ducer. He stated that there are 20 official grades of cotton and that the farmers lose by selling without^ grading, as spinners always buy by grades. He stated that there is a loss every y . of $25,000,000 in getting cotton from the producer to spinners and that farmers have to bear this. Mr. Watkins urged farmers to have their cotton graded and then sell by grades only. Mr. L. T. Fryhurn, deputy ware house commissioner, spoke of the loss to farmers through country dam age nor the leaving of cotton unpro Ntect?d in the weather. The loss last, year was estimated to be from $6.50 to $16 per bale. He urged the build ing of more warehouses in order to:: protect cotton from the weather and;; too, to enable farmers to hold for a' higher price, as banks will always^ accept warehouse receipts as collat^; eral. . Mr. T. M. Anderson of? Clemson^ College made, a practical and helpful ; talk on the boll weevil. He stated, that in addition to the weevil '.two! other enemies of farmers have ^p^ j pear?d, these being the pink boll '. vtyrm in Texas and . the European corn bcreri^W&mast"actfre-'^e?od7*' of the weevil is between August 15 and September 1. During this time they fly from one portion of a field to another or from one field to an other. A weevil lays about 150 eggs and then dies. It requires about 30 days to produce an adult Weevil from the time the egg is deposited in the square. Mr. Anderson does not ad vise the picking up of squares after the 15th of August. He urges the plowing under of cotton stalks,/ as early in the fall as possible and the destroying of every other hibernat ing place possible. Of the millions of weevils that go into winter quarters only about 7 per cent live, to operate the following spring, this number de pending upon the severity of the winter. The next and last speaker was Mr. B. Harris, commissioner of agri culture. His address was practical and helpful from start to finish, hold ing the attention of the audience, notwithstanding,, the lateness of the hour.. Mr. "Harris has not grown any cotton on his farm in Anderson county for 40 years: He only grew two crops of cotton after he began farming, then abandoning it for stock and grain raising. He said he was unwilling to produce a crop for which he could not fix the price. Un der the present system of selling farmers have absolutely no voice in fixing the price of cotton. In nrder to change this condition Mr. Harris urged organization and an increase in warehouse facilities so as to hold cotton off the market until a profit able price could be obtained. He cited the action of the frain growers of the west in building grain eleva tors to prove the wisdom of such a course. He urged farmers to join the cotton association, which has added madean gholdinpbaiaf-gttcoe $50 per bale to the price of cotton. Mr. Harris made an earnest appeal for diversified agriculture as the on ly salvation for southern farmers. His address was well received. The meeting was regarded as very successful. Great is the pity that every farmer in the county could not hear what specialists and experts had to say. It matter not how much a farmer may know, like merchants, lawyers and doctors, there is always something else to learn. Your farm "is not complete unless you have a Fordson. Australian Ballot Must Be Complied With. The Australian ballot law enacted ?by the general assembly has been embodied in the rules of the Demo cratic party of South Carolina and must be complied with by the ;managers in conducting the election. The text of the law is as follows: 1 Section 1. In every primary elect ?tiph in this state there shall be pro vided at each polling precinct one .booth for every 100 enrolled voters, br majority fraction thereof. The nopths shall be made of wood, cheap .metal or any other suitable sub ?st?nce, shall not be less than 32 : Roches wide and 32 inches deep, and : 6 feet 6 inches high, and shall be provided with a curtain hanging from the top in front to within 3 fe^t of the floor, and shall have a suitable shelf on which the voter can prepare his ticket. Provided, The provisions of this Act shall not apply to any precinct where there are less than fifty (50) voters enrolled on ' the club roll at such precinct. ' Section 2. The polling places shall ? be provided with a table for the man- . agers. The polls shall be provided With a guard rail, so that no one ex- , 'cept as hereinafter provided shall approach nearer than 5 feet to the hooths in Wjhich the voters are pre- . paring their ballots. , " Section 3. The tickets shall be ; printed on clear white paper in the i usual manner, but shall have a cou- 1 pon at the top perforated so as to be i easily detached. On the coupon shall be printed "Official Ballot." "Club -^_ Ward _ No. -.-/' The numbers shall run seriatim for each club. There sHall be 50 per cent more ballots . titian there, are voters enrolled at . each voting place. - Section 4. The managers s" al1 be 1 responsible for all ballots fun., aad. 1 ?When, a voter, presents himself he . ?hall be given a ballo?. The managers ; W^^U^^M5 jenter: ; the humber of the ballot next the : name of the voter. The voter shall : forthwith retire alone to one of the ? booths, and without undue delay ; prepare his ballot by scratching out ; the name of the candidate for whom i he does not care to vote. No voter i shall remain in the booth longer ? than 5 minutes. After preparing his ] ballot, the voter shall present him- 1 self to the manager. His ballot must l be folded in such a way that the num ber can be seen and the coupon can , be readily detached by the manager ; without in any way revealing the ] printed portion of the ballot. If the , voter is not challenged, and takes the ( prescribed oath, the manager shall , tear off the coupon, put it on file, , stamp the ballot, and the voter shall \ deposit his ticket in the box, and , shall immediately leave the polling , place. If a voter shall mar or deface ? his ballot he may obtain one i addi- ? tional ballot upon returning to the manager in charg? of the ballots the , ballot so marred or defaced, with ? the coupon attached. The manager in , charge of the poll list shall change , the number of the ballot on his poll list, and place the defaced ballot in file. No voter shall be given a sec ond ballot until he has returned the first one with coupon attached. Section 5. No person shall be al lowed within the guard rail except as hereinafter provided. If a voter cannot read or write, or is physical ly disabled, and by reason thereof did not sign the enrollment book, he may appeal to the managers for as sistance, and the chairman of the managers shall, appoint one of the managers, and a bystander to be designated by the voter, to assist him in preparing his ballot: Provided After the voter's ballot has been pre pared, the bystander so appointed shall immediately go behind the guard rail. Provided further, That in cities containing 55,000 inhabi tants or more, the chairman of the managers shall appoint two of the watchers representing different fac tions to assist him in preparing the ballot; after the voter's ballot has prepared, the watchers so appointed shall immediately go behind the guard rail; Provided further, That if , there be no such watchers available, the chairman may appoint two by standers who are qualified to vote in such primary to assist the voter in th? prepartion of his ballot. . i Section 6. From the time of |he A opening of the polls until the an nouncement of the the result and the signing of the official returns, no per son shall be admitted to the polling place except the'managers, duly au thorized watchers and challengers, the chairman of the executive com mittee or members of the executive committee appointed in his stead to supervise the polling place, persons duly admitted for the purpose of voting, police officers admitted hy the managers to preserve order or| enforce the law. Provided, however, That candidates for public office va ted for at such polling place may be present at the canvass of the votes. Provided, Canvass of the votes shall be open to the public. Section 7. If the watchers or offi cers of the law who are admitted to the polling place by the managers shall interfere with the managers or obstruct the voting, it shall be the duty of the managers to suspend the election until order is restored, or as may be provided by the rules of the party.' No person shall be allowed ko approach polling places within 25 feet while polls are open, other than the persons herein provided for. Section 8. Upon the close of the election, managers shall account to the executive committee for all bal lots delivefed to them, and make the following return: (a) The number of official ballot's furnished to each polling precinct, (b) The number of official ballots spoiled and returned by voters, (c) The number of official ^allots actually voted. J. Ii. M IMS, County Chairman. A Beech Island. Edgefield has proved herself very patriotically prolific in being the mother of four other counties. She bas been cut on the North, the South, the East and the West. Aiken was the first county, then Saluda, Green wood and McCormick-all of them prosperous and thriving offspring. When we think -of the long muddy miles our forebears had to ride to reach the Court House in the past, tve surely think it best that these new counties have been created and Edgefield, the dear, noble moth er that she is, can point like Cornelia of old, with pride to them all and say "these are my jewels"-they still bold our own precious relatives, bone of our bone and flesh of our Flesh. The most of Beech Island was tak en from Edgefield District and the Lord never made a more fertile and lovely land than Bppch Island. As ive pass through rich bottoms and over productive hills with large fields of hay, long rows of tall corn, cotton, planted five feet apart and locked in ?he ro'js, the broad Savannah River on one side and large trees all drap ed in long festoons of moss on the left of us, we are reminded of the 23rd Psalm and we are led to ex claim "He maketh me to lie down in ?reen pastures, He leadeth me be side the still waters"-or in the lan guage of Childe Harold "Oh, Christ! it is a goodly sight to see, What Heaven hath done for this delicious land What fruits of fragrance blush on every tree, . What goodly prospects o'er the hills expand." In company with Miss Kellah Fair, May and Willis Duncan and young Albert Dozier we had' the pleasure of visiting Beech Island last Satur day. Our thanks to the courtesy of that princely Southern gentleman, Mr. Warren Fair. We were shown many of the beautiful farms and stately mansions of that country. Mr. Fair himself, lives in a large house of some eighteen rooms and his charm ing wife is still youthful looking. She is a daughter of Dr. W. B. Eve, who formerly lived there. The farm has 700 acres of as fine land as God ever made. The one great figure that stands out like a Colossus in the galaxy of great names that adorn the history of Beech Island is the name of Gov. J. H. Hammond Edgefield District produced many great men, but Gov. Hammond stood in the lead amid the greatest and in some respects, perhaps the greatest of them all. In the versatality of his gigantic intel lect, because he was not merely a statesman,' but learned in the deep est regions of science, history and especially that most important sub ject, agriculture. His picture is that of a well form ed, large man of handsome face and high brow and at a glance one can see that God had set the marks of genius upon his intellectual and gen tle face. This remarkable man has left the fcrot prints of his greatness upon the sands of time, v Upon an eminence stands "?J?S home-a stately mansion three stories high, with about 18 rooms, each room being over 20 feet square and a hall in the centre 22 feet wide and. over 50 feet long. mhe inside finish is elegant. He has two separate libraries, one on the second floor, as large as a public library, containing many thousand volumes, even now; and up above the alcoves are busts of many of the great men of the past. On one side the busts of Caesar, Alexander and Napoleon. On an another, Demosthenes, Cicero, Hen ry Clay, John C. Calhoun and Shakespeare, also a host of others. His library down on the basement floor was mostly scientific works and laboratory and here he spent his time in his latter days. In the parlor you can see copies of the finest paintings by the old masters of Rome. Solid mahogany furniture and silver plates in the din ing room. And the whole house re minds you of a palace of some noble man. Out in the front abound air sorts of trees, hedges, vines and flowers, and an avenue of gigantic magnolias leading off for over a quarter of a mile. . This great building though nearly a century old stands out in perfect preservatism as it was built of tim ber now unobtainable. Mrs Julia Richland who lives in this large home showed us some china cups of the most beautiful, design which she took from a solid mahogany side board and said that no servant ever was allowed io .handle this chinante Mrs.' 'Hanimorid w?ttra^av? ii Suv* piggen of warm water brought to the table after a meal and would wash it herself. Governor Hammond was a suc cessful business man and amassed a fortune by farming. We have never' been able to understand how a man who had made a failure in the man agement of his private business could be expected to attend success fully to public affairs. The greatest achievement of Gov. Hammond was the organization of the "Beech Is land Farmers" Club." He believed that a man who made two ears of corn grow where only one had grown before was a great benefactor. Gov. James M. Cox, our next president, said in his late speech "Agriculture is the basis of industry because upon it depend the good supply." This Beech Island club was formed in 1853 with the following as leading charter members: J. H. Hammond, H. R. Cook, S. J. M. Clark, A. W. Atkinson, J. J. Da vies, P. W. Whatley, G. B. Mills, Johnathan Miller, (who lived to be 102 years of age) E. S. Hammond, R. Bradford, W. H. Atkinson ( who was Gen. R. E. Lee's private? secre tary during the war) G. W. S. Twiggs, Goode Bryan, Lamars, Dunr bars, Fairs and many others. And-' later William Gregg, J. F. Fair, W. R. Eve, M. D., Dunbar Lamar, D. J. Walker and W. L. Mayson. This: club meets on the first Saturday in each month and has never missed: but one meeting during all these years. They meet in the same club House, a good substantial building nestling amid the shady trees in a lovely dale. The club has no officers, only a secretary and treasurer ap pointed once a year. At each meeting some one is chosen to preside and he selects some subject connected with agriculture for discussion at the meeting next ensuing, and appoints some member to open the debate. The chairman shall call on every one present for his opinion on the sub ject under discussion but no one shall speak over 15 minutes. Every member shall be expected to take at least one agricultural paper and also try at least one agricultural experi ment each year and report the same in due time in writing. No potitical topic can be discussed. (Continued on Eighth Page.)