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ft out. Prom Its appearance 11 looked to me OH If nome one had used gome kind of bur to prize lt looae. Tho work bad tho appearance of being well done. I reinuln, Yours, very truly, Columbia Plumbing und Cornice Works, H. B. Chapman, Mauuget. Telegram: Columbia. S. C., Feb. 18,1904. A. C. Dover. Ocalu. Flu. Did the State house roof show flush ings were torn out when you examined lt? (Signed) Prunk P. Milburn. Te legi um: Ocnla. Flu.. Feb. 18,1904. - Frank P. Milburn, Architect. Yes, some half dozen places absolute ly pulled away from wall. (Signed) A, C. Dover. Columbia, S. C.. Feb. 15. 1904. Mr. Prank P. Milburn, Deal Slr: I am a native of Georgia, but now a resident of Charlotte, N. C. I om a practical comice and metal and Kheet worker, with 22 years aetuul ex perience. 1 did a great deul of work on the State capitol at Columbia; had charge of tho sheet metal work of tho Inner dome and the outer dome, and alsc the guttering, ano the same was put ill according to the plans and details foi the same, by experienced workmen, in 4i good, workmanlike manner. I have read the published testimony of M ?; Hunt relating to my work, und tht same is in the main not true. "1 have this day been on the roof an examined the dome and gutters. Th door of the lantern of the dome hui been badly abused since the work wm completed and accepted. There hav< been holes made in the copper, whlcl cause leaks in the inner dome. Then is now a piece of timber there will nails in it, which might cause some o the holes noted. As to the guttering, the statement o Mr. Hunt ls generally not true. The; are made of Merchant's old method 1> tin, which Is the standard of America nml proper material for that part?cula work, lt rests on a granite foundatloi and has all the protection necessary Aller three years use lt h; lu perfec condition. I have had large experience will rOofs, and have bien familiar with tili mot', off and on, since lt was put or le this mattet, again the testimony o -Mr. Hunt is largely untrue, lt is aa phall and gravel, and not tar lilli gravel. None of the stone used In lt < oust ruction were one and a half o (WO inches, and the little slipping note is only some slight excess ol' materia ns ls common to such roofs. The cost of metal ceilings in 1901 an 1902 was very much less than lt wa in 1889, because of progressive Iden and methods hi this kind of buslnet and prices of material. Al hough I ha no Interest in the ceiling of the mai Joliby or elsewhere, n y work was nen it. and 1 had conversation with M Unkefer Ubout same, and 1 know tlw the new ceiling cost mor ? than lt woul have cost to repair the old one, but ( lix the old ont would require the in port?t ion of spei hil expet metal win 1 ors, and a great deal of time, willi would have resulted in Inconvenient to the legislature. Yours truly. (Signed) C. <!. Hay. To whom it May Concern: Gentlemen: I have read with sn price Capt. Hunt's testimony in r gard to thc rooting applied to the Sta house, .ind base the following to sui mit : The rooting on this building is win is known as "Warren's Anchor Bran .Natural Asphalt Hoofing," and was a plied by the .Charlotte Hoof and l'a lng company" of Charlotte, N. c.. a cording to tile plans and specM'cattoi adopted by the Warien Chemical ai .Manufacturing company of New Yo city. This roof ls what is known .mr "Standard Anchoi Brand Aspbl Hoofing," and has been applied accor in,c lo our plans and specifications, contain:: no coal tar. or xCOUl tar pro .acts, and is COmp03C(l out of asph: throughout. in reference to Cai Hunt's assertion that the roof is of I tie or no value, I might state th whll" tle ii' are some leaks in thc roi these leaks are oCCUSlOllod, not tlll'OUl the fault of the roofing, but for otli reasons not in the rooting contra Now. the pitch of this roof, as neal as I . au ascertain, is about four lind to the foot, and the roofing ls w adapted to this class of constructive in fact we do not hesitate to advoca and furthermore to apply this rot lng on buildings whose roofs have pitch of II!) six Inches and upwards the fool. The crushed quarts used i th.- graveling surface is such ?is v puss through a mesh from 6-16 Inch 1-2 inc!i in size, and 1 am at a loss understand how Capt. Hunt can s that be was able to lind stones as 1 as pigeon's eggs, or the size ol' a ma 'nand. i submit the above testimony defense of the Anchor Brand Roofli which has been attacked by Ca Html, aili! trUSi lt will be accepted such. (Signed) Walter K. Harris. Representing Warren Chemical ii Manufacturing company, 17 Batt I'lace. New York city. I notified tile Charlotte Hoof t Faxing company repeatedly to si nun to repair this roof. They s nen nioii. Mian once, hut dually '. Dover, the manager, told nie that so jff ?*l4W*^.,\-**?l "ie wa ?i tampering with the roof ? ?' ; "'..'?'flfchat he thought that witter was ri ihrough the copper work : t?tnl the windows, lt is a fact l '. 'of the t ra?nes and sash w Wi in during a severe windsl? . .ft:'iuiii!cr, and more than likely t * Su"!s fd some of the leaking ci . ; (if. Mr. Kay informed inc t Kfpr-'-' - had been punched in the cop '. . .?jfBF"dome. I cannot say as io this, ,... .> I do know that people w ere permit lo go and come at will. 11n tw o or more occasions I sent men lo Inspect Hie roof after it i . . ported to me that it had leaked. T reported that a scuttle, which ls ai three or four feet square, was loft and one time both scuttles were o l required that tin' roofing contri ors give a mia ranice for 10 ve which fully protected thc states terests. The committee say that a fine s loni vas tom off which cost the S a great amount of ninney, and t Ini tiier say that it afforded perfect ! lection. Mut they did not produi single witness to provo these assorti Wim told them? The absurdity Of statement is proved by the tact thc principal argument used in tin,': the appropriation for the imnr incuts was that "the roof was fti holts and baked like a solve." Bet being old and worthless ns a roof. I was a very small portion of the < on Hie roof, only that *?ri (hat c be se, n fioni the ground -that ls, steep mansard -the rest was of co and was sold for junk. Klffhth. Numerous objections to dome which are so disconnected a necessitate somewhat of a genera Ply. li should be dearly understood I originally planned for the const lion of Ibis -lome of cast steel, just the mat rial ii: ed fur the dome ol capitol at Washington, ('ol. Mar obie' i. d lo (his, and the cominis as I helli \". largely influenced h desire to satisfy him. directed change to granite. This change n sitated a greatly Increased load, ?i not only carefully considered Strength Of the main building to port it but. at my own exnenso, the i expert in this line to nial examination and calculation of pressure, on Ile- masonry, of the posed Increased load. The pm) change was feasible. but in of supporting 'bc dome on steel beams, as first designe had put in foiu- huge box girders, and increased the t lusa of all that metal. The e referred to sahl. "We mo satisfied that thar? ls no question ns to tho strength of this revised design." With this Change lt beet? in J necessary to give greater pitch to the roof thun origi nally intended, und to make numerous modifica tiona and changea In the spec ifications and detail drawings for thu work. For Instance, the change in pitch of the roof obviated the necessity for the ventilators shown in the orig inal plans, whh h would have been un sightly thereon. The modified and re vised drawings for this portion of the work ard still on tile In my office and pOUld have been seen by the invcstl gutlng committee und their "expert" had they so desired. It ls charged that tho window frames of the dome do not (lt. This appear ance IH ito doubt cairned by the fact that some of them were blown in dui - lng a severo storm lust summer. Awaiti, that there are kinks and crimps in the galvanized Iron of the inner dome., Hut these ?ire no doubt due to natural expansion and contrac tion. Again that some stones on tho out side of the dome are too short, and the contractors filled up the spaces. Now, the fact Is, you cannot keep the water out of a close Joint of ?tones; there niusit bo spa?e enough to calk und ce ment, and lt is necessary at that point. it must be understood that the little water oozing past the cement swells the oakum and this makes the Joint water proof. Hut the ?reut bulk of criticism of the work on the dome is that ll ls not according to plans and specifications, and that the ohms actually used are not what they should be. It is true that much of lt ls pot according to the drawing? and specifications Keen by tho committee and their expert, but uro a substantial complance with tho modified drawing? and detailed working plans. As to the criticism by Mr. Hunt und the commit tee of the plans as changed and actu ally carried out, 1 Insist that neither this contractor nor this committee are competent judges. Surely the members of the committee ore no better abie to Judge of the work, tit this time, than wen- the member? of the capitol com mission, who saw the work as it pro gressed and when lt was completed and accepted. Ninth. That the wood truss under the portico roof, called for by the draw ings. IK absent. After the commission decided to Omit the two columns before referred to, the wood truss was no longer prop er, tho drawings were changed and steel trussed pcrltn? substituted, Span? liing the portico the shortest way. Anti here nguiu the committee under takes to criticise the use of built up sections, US called for by the drawings, instead of expensive solid stones. In deed, they criticise everything except the conti act price, which every bo.ly knows was very low. Tenth. That a sheet of galvanised Iron 1-?2 of an inch thick is all there ls between? the Interior of tho building ami tho "wide, wide world," These gutters are not galvanized iron, but the best quality of IX tin. which is tho best gutter lining that can be used, i'tipper lasts longer, bul the expansion is too great. These gutters, which are of tho usual thickness for this class of work, are painted on the under Bide, caulked with lead in the stone und the gutter bcd lays flat on thc stone cor nice. Eleventh. That one of the large lin tel stoties in the rear portico ls cracked, this hoing tho last of thc specific < barges which is numbered. This ?tone showed no defect when the work WHS accepted, but has bro ken since then. I do not believe lt is likely tb "give away." Apparently per? feet ?tones will sometimes crack in n building and cannot he guarded against. Tho committee could have easily found evidence of ibis fact, had tlu-y desired lt. In several large stones, on the east side of the building, which are cracked and broken, as is also a very large stone on the south side near thc ivesl coiner. Next: Thal the contractors did nol protect Hie interim of thc building dur ing the work. ii ls almost Impossible to tully pro tect II building tl u "lng repairs and changes and let the occupants remain Inside-it ls not like an unoccupied building. I cmlil not. and did not, undertake lo prescribe just how thc contractors should protect tho old work, ami they claimed to the Commis sion that tin y had don.- all they could ? lo to i bat end. in this connection it must be remem bered that many of the stains from leaks in different part? of the building were there before the work under In vestigation begun. Next: As to the cement floors and water leaking from above Only one day last month I was sur prised to sec so much water in the passageway nuder the front portico, as it had nol rained for several days, lind I called the attention of Mr. Wil liam Hanks of The State to the condi tions, careful examination showed lhat tho wills of the building were sweating all around, but where the dirt wa? against the building il absorbed thc Witter, while it Was not so absorbed where the cement linois joined the walls. Tho walls sweat regularly. This would not have been the ease had they been bulli bollon in the outset they had enough thickness for air space in the centre. This is one of the most serious defects In any pan of the State house. 1 ha<l nothing to do with it. Next: A? to the defective water clos ets and plumbing. This work was all done before tho city had plumbing rule?, or an Inspec tor of sewers and plumbing, or even a sewer ige system. These rules vary in different cities, anti In the absence of any prescribed rules each architect uses ?lieh plans and methods as seem best, considering location and sur roundings, general appearance and sanitary rules. In all these matters there is constant Improvement, Just as wc have greatly Improved on old cuts ets in thc basement, which wen- in stalled when Col. Marshall wa? on the commission in charge of Hie State house Improvements. I trust that the State is able lo gel even more venti lation, by electric fans, as suggested, 01 otherwise, as the present location was mu bulli for this purpose, or then would have been inure ventilation. I think the following loiter will enubh Ila- public to form a correct estimait tif th? in? lina thin of this investigating committee to condemn everything in sight: imho of A. W. ".'dens, i'. B., Inspectoi of Rowers ?md Plumbing, it.n No. S. City Hall < 'olumhin, s. i '.. Keb. 15, 1D04. Mr. Frank 1'. Milburn. Dear Sir: At sour request I Ink? pleasure in stating thai the plumbing i nd -r the two porticos ol lb.- Stat, house will comparo favorably with an} plumbing that has come under my ob servation in th's city which was In stalled prior lo Hie passage of th? present city plumbing rules. The olos< . .ia und otb. r fixtures aro of good qual ity. The principal defect found wai Hie want of proper ventilation, Yours respectfully. (Signed) A. W. I'.dens. C. K. Next. it i? charged that the contractors ns ' naked trCSpasSOl'S," carried SW&) ami disposed of did material, whlcl wa? valuable property of the Slate and the committee says they attemp to justify Hie mi by an Item of tin specifications, which doe? not supper i lu- i onb ul lon. Tin? is another evidence that tin committee did not consider th*- repdrti of Hie. capitol commission, as the legis latine directed ll to do; for it appear; In one of those reports that under tin Hem of thc Specifications referred to Hie contractors, and other bidders wera told before bidding that the; would get all thc old muterli.l, except tho marble; that the contractors al lowed for the vulue of this old material in their bid; thai the commission fully investigated the matter; that the at torney general gave his otltelul opinion that the get einl opinion had been thut the contractors owned the old mate i lui. uad the commission could/ not claim lt, that the opinion of the attor ney general was approved by the com mission, excepting only Mr. Minshull; und the commission referred Mr. Gar funkel's proposition to lt to buy the old material from the contractors. 1 repeat thut 1 cannot believe that this investigating committee jnsid t red tho report, or knew ol these fuels. If they did, I think u discriminating public can see that they are determined to uphold Col. Murshull's minority re port, even If a suppression of cold tauts Is nece.ssury. Generally: As un evidence that 1 gave the Stute good und honest service In the expend iture of ils money on the Stute house, and. lu refutation of many churges made, but not sustained, by the In vestigating committee, I desire to sub mit the' following stutements of hon orable, widely known contruclora, not withstanding the chairman of that committee, on the lloor of the senute, where he was secure from reply, de scended to the tuctlcs of trying to be smirch und impugn any of and all wit nesses who dared to speuk tito truth, if not in support of lils report: Nicholas 1 liner, Contrudor. P. O. Hex tiOti, Atlanta, Cu. Atlanta, Cu., Murch 22,1901. Mr. Frank P. Milburn. Columbia, S. C. Dour Sir: Your lover of the 20th to hand. 1 examined the material and workmanship at eupitol building, und lind lt a m.a . ia:.:. job. I consider it u good, substuntlul pleee of work. *? Yours truly, . Signed) Nicholas lt mer, Contractor. Savannah, Cu., Aug. 17. 1P03. Mr. Krank P. Milburn, Columbiu, S. C. Dear Sir: In reply to your inquiry of August 7th in regard to the work re cently done on the State house, 1 will say that I hu Ve hud coiislderuble ex perience In large work, und have hud quite u number of contracts from the Culled States government. 1 was one ol' the ilrin of the Stewurt Contracting company, who bid lor the contract In Columbia. 1 was in Columbiu Aug. 14th, and while there Inspected the State house work. As a whole, 1 think the work very satisfactory. There may be some minor thing.s thut 1 would huvo done different If 1 hud been award ed the contract. Anyone looking to lind fault can always lind it. There is one thing certain, the Stute ol' South Carolina, in my estimation, nus re ceived full value for the money ex pended, und now bas a capitol that any Stale mi..hi well be proud of. This ls my honest und unprejudiced opinion. Yours truly, (Signed) J. E. It'urgess. Munuger, Savannah Contracting Company. Note. Mr. Purges remodeled Interior of postofnee building In Columbia, in l!'U3. Augusta, Cu.. Sept.-, lt?03. Mr. Krank 1*. Milburn, Columbia, S. C. Dear Slr: lu reply to your favor of Aug. 25th, Wanting an opinion from us on the new Stat?: Capitol In your city, we beg to say thc writer hus frequent ly gone over this building during con struction ami since ii was finished, and consider it as good a Job aa lt is pos sible to make out of a remodeling joli, and being familiar with the price paid tor the work, i consider the state se cured a regular excursion price on thai building. Wi* have had considerable experience in remodeling work, and know how difficult it ls to make everything per fectly satisfactory? as there is some thing always in the way that cannot be moved, VOU would have no trouble lo proie up values if tbe platter was investigated, as you know from rx perlcnco that it is much easier to crit icise than u is to execute. Yours very truly, (Signed) J, H. McKenzie ?C.- Sons. O enera I ? "ont met ors. By Charles K. McKenzie. Johnson <'iiy. Tenn., Sept. 20. 1903. Mr. Prunk 1'. Millan ii, Columbia, S C. Dear Slr: Roplylng to your Inquiry of Aug. 2.*>th, asking my opinion of thc work recently done on the South Caro lina State house, i will say that l con sidered the same well executed and ful ly up to the standard for such work. 1 nave had experience In remodeling obi capitols, and have found lt hard U idease every one, UM they do not un derstand the many troubles that wi have to contend with. I am suipiise, that any objections are raised In re gard to the Job, as I thought Hu qual ity of the work done, considoiing th? quantity, was well worth the prlc< paid for lt. I should think it would hi worth fully $200,000 to duplicate lb? same wauk now under the present con dillons of markets, i tc. Yours truly, Signed) J. 13. Punish, Contractor und Builder, Lynchburg Va. Columbia. S. C. Keb. 3. 1004. Mr. Krank P. .Milburn, Columbia, S C. Dear Sir: Roplving to your favor o recent date, in which you request us lt inspect the work done on the Stab capitol building at Columbia, S. c., wi beg io advise as follows: After a careful Inspection of th work, we are prepared to say that ii our opinion, that the work seems ti have been performed in a substautia and workmanlike'ma liner. In our oplti ion, the appropriation was entirely toi small for the amount of work under taken. Very truly yours, (Signed l W. T. Madlow Co., Ky C. 11. Hadlow. General Contractors, Jacksonville Kia. Columbia, s. < !., Keb. lf>, IU04. Mr. Krank P. Milburn. Dear Slr: I have this day bee through Un- capitol building at Cc lumbla, S. C.. and alter looking ove the work I am Satisfied that the win dinie by tin- contractor ls a fnlthft performance of the spirit and Inter of th? plans ami ppcclttcnllous, as th work done is worth ?< great doal mor than his contract price. i abc read Mr. Hunt's report ns t steel cidling and Moor light and ai satisfied that he is entirely too high i lils valuation of the ceiling, and Hw (h.- Moor light appears lo baie hoe used ol walked Upon before the ceinei set. iii which case the damages wami not appear for some time. Ami i would say further, that in iv pairing or adding to buildings t liol aie a great inane things Which n ability on ibo part ?d' the architect ea for see, and which have to be taken u as they develop; so. after can-lull looking over the matter, l am satlsflc Ihai the criticisms upon yourself an contractors are uncalled for and ni Just; i lind ?hal the granite used is.not i hard as the original granite; ll texture being coarser, it would tu take the same (lulah. I lind that ll specifications provide thai each da: and style of work Bhull he so mar cuis and the old work would not I taken hy Hie contractor as his guli in performing his work, while the gci eral style ami mit lines would be H sa me. I di, ucl . il-i that the romov of the i,.', coin ms mentioned in M Hunt's ri pie t would weaken ?be Still une. i think Ha- manner in which >a provided for Hie change was proper, find the thickness of the ceiling ai gutle-s are such us nie used on i good buildings. II ls my experience as u contract for Ho years that a number of roo leak for soins time after thc buildlt in computed, and to cover HUH a guarantee Iii ?Iven for ono year. The COppet' .liwl tile roof on ttie gOVi ei liment building- In Augusta lea If ed t i om time to time and gave the officers eon -ni, i billie trouble. Respectfully. (Signed) T. C. Drown ci Son, Per T. C. Brown. General Contractors, Augusta, Gu. TH li GOVERNMENT EXPERT. No doubt the publie ls curious to know something more of Mr. Hunt, upon whom the committee seehis con tent to rest for the .support of its nu merous criticisms of designs, plans und work, with the single exception of the plumbing. I bud understood, until last week, that the name of this winless was H. H. Hunt, and that he was a govern mcnt architect, as Committeeman Pat terson announced In thc house, and I made diligent inquiry lu Washington as to Identity and standing. In the limited time at my disposal since Thursduy. I have Inquired as to the work, position, etc., of Mr. S. S. Hunt, resulting in thc following in formation: Before going to Washington, Mr. Hunt enjoyed the reputation of being a good mechanic The Washington city directory for 11)03 contains his miine as a contractor. The congressional directory does not show any such office ns "superintend ent of constructing of the United States Capitol." The last congressional direc tory shows as connect (ni with the ofllee superintendent of the capitol: Superintendent, Elliott Woods, Con gressional hotel. Chief clerk. George H. Williams. 210 E. Stree! . Chief electrical engineer. Christian P. Gllem, 612 East Capitol street. Clerk, John Welch, 310 North Caro lina avenue, S. E. W. B. Kilpatrick wires: "Architect says neither S. S. Hunt nor H. H. Hunt, superintendent of con struction capitol. Never heard of sueh Hunt." / J. K.' Taylor, the supervising archi tect of the United States government, wires: "Ofllee has no knowledge of S. S. Hunt in connection with any of ItB work." Paul J. Pelz of Washington, pur of the three architects (and the only sur vivor) who designed the famous con gressional library, says that his name ls not In the government Pine Hook, that ho neither knows S. S. Heat us a builder, contractor or architect, and that if he had been of prominence In either capacity, he would have known him. Will South Carolinians endorse the libelous report of this investigating i committee, confessedly based on the opinion of this witness. In the face of the opinions of Nicholas Ittner of At lanta, J. E. Burgess of Savannah, Ch?ties P. McKenzie of Augusta, J*. E. Parrish of Lynchburg. G. H. Hadlow of Jacksonville, and T. C. Brown of Augusta? The following extracts from the rec ords of the Capitol COmml8S|on will no doubt prove Interesting to the public: "Upon motion of Mr. Dcrhum: "Resolved, That when the work on the State house is finished, prior to accepting the same, the architect shall notify the governor, who shall Call the commission together, who with the architect shall Inspect the work, and If the same ls satisfactory the cer tificate shall issue." Columbia. S. C., May 22, 1902. Hon. M. B. Mcsweeney, Chairman State House Commission: Dear Sir- 1 wish to report that MC llvain, Unkefer Co., contractors, have completed the work as outlined by me on the State house. That ls. the spir it. Intent and meaning of the plans, specifications and modifications of '. ie same, and are entitled to the final pay ment. Frank P. Milburn. P. S. This report to be filed when the commission are satisfied with the work as done. "Resolved, That lt appears to the commission for the completion of the State house that the work ls satisfac tory and that the contract has been substantially performed. Whereupon Mr. Marshall made the following motion as a substitute: Resolved, Thal in the opinion of this commission the work done under the contract to complete the State house has not been performed by the con tractors according to thc plans, specl fle.it! ms and contract, and therefore the work done is not satisfactory to the commission." . A roll call having been demanded up- ? on the question Of the adoption of Mr. .Marshall's substitute, the substitute was rejected by a vote of 7 to 1, as fol lows : Voting yes-Marshall- 1. Those vol Inp no-Mcsweeney, Jen nings. Mower, Johnson. Wilson, Bel linger. Derham-7. CONCLUSION. I have tried to briefly and calmly show the public the plain facts connect ed with the State house work, with out resorting to rant and cheap clap trap about bamboozling, etc. 1 have no desire to conceal anything from the public and I court the fullest investigation, feeling sure of a com plete vindication from the cruel at tack which has been made upon my character for the Hist time. Very icspei t fully. Frank P. Milburn. A IMtK.VCIIKU WITH A IU3?ORD. j The ROT. .ii.tin itiiii|i<- of Gaffney linn j 'ried 438 Matrimonial Knots. Special to The State. Gaffney, Feb. 15,-Rev. John Ruppe, I who has possibly marled more cou- ? pies than any other man In this coun ty, married two more North Carolina i couples last Sunday. These were Mi*. A. Moore and Miss L. E. Settlemyer, Of Henrietta, and Mr. C. A. Hawkins and Miss Hattie McSwaln. of Bolling Springs. This males a total of 438 knots tied by this aged divine. Many are the people who cnn date their greatest happiness to the time when they stood trembling before him. Miss Blanche Wilson has gone on a tri)) north. Mr. H. K. Osborne has announced I hlms?li u candidate for tho offieo of alderman from Ward Six. Mr. T. Davenport has sold his gro cery business to Mrs. T. Davenport, who will conduct the business at the same place. Mr. Davenport will be come a knight of thc grip. His line will bc groceries. Ilelp IN A |?|?i'ccl(tf ed. People's Recorder (colored). lt is indeed gratifying to note the Interest the Columbia Daily State, the white citizens of Columbia and else where, ahd Dr. Hay of lower Richland county are taking in raising and dis tributing contributions of money, food and clothing for and to the colored suf ferers ot lower Richland, AH remem ber how their crops were all swept away by hail, wind and rain last year, and how hundreds ol' tin poorer class have undergone almost starvation. Now these white friends, from their bounteous storehouses, are most liber ally contributing to thc needs of I bc sufferers. Being a Columbian, we flo jill the inore appreciate this manifest Chris tian beneficence. May the blessed Lord restore lo these benefactors ten fold. We thank them. Is about the only pay back that we cnn give. A Fatal Explosion. Huft'alo. N. Y.. Feb. 2!. -Two men were asphyxiated, one burned to death and several were seriously Injused In an explosioiv of blast furnace gas at the plant of the Lackawanna steel company today. The dead arc: Geo. Reynolds, a mason; Michael S. Smith, n mason. Frank Prenatt, employed in the power bouse. I GIRLS WHO LEAVE HOME. 1 V WritUu ?ur Tin- Sinti- !.> \V. U. W o.i.K. The miders of The Stute, or rather that portion of them who have paid the writer the compliment of reading his articles which have appeared from time to time In Its columns need hardly be reminded or his pusition on the subject of education. Thero Is, however, one thing in connection with fm- question to which he begs to enter a protest, although it ls done with a considerable degree of reluctance. lt ls possible, of' course, that this evil, and the word IM used advisedly, may not owe Its origin to our system of, education, but to u change of pub lic sentiment, whloh hus found de velopment outside of higher ?ducation. Then, too. the fact must be recogniz ed that in ti'l humnn uffuirs, it mat ters not how good the general ten dency ls, there must be some evil; but. while giving full acknowledgment to this truth, every effort should be mude to keep the evil Incident thereto to the lowest possible point. The evil to which allusion ls made ls the craze that has found lodgment In the mind of almost every girl that Just as soon as she leaves , the college or high school she must find some kind of employment, despite the fact th" t In the large mujorlty of cases lt involves leaving her home und being thrown with strangers. Any system of education or of public sentiment that instills a feeling of this kind Into the mind of a girl, thut she must be in dependent and make her own way in the world, ls radically and Inexcusably wrong. There are, of course, many cases where this seeking for employment is ? painfully necessary, sud where this ls the case a girl should be encouraged und rendered every assistance; but where this condition does not exist, I she Is both unjust to herself and her parents when she voluntarily leaves them Just at the time when they will derive so much pleasure from her p?eseme In the house. She has been sorely missed during the four years she has spent at college, but this separation was cheerfully borne by her parents, for they Could look forward to the time when she would finish her education and once more be with them to bright en their home. Independence and the desire to make one's own way In the world, is both natural and commend able, but there ls such a thing us car rying even a good Impulse too far, and there is eomething radically wrong in any system of home or school train ing that implants the idea in the mind of a girl that she should not bc do- I pendent on her father, even when he is abundantly able to provide for her wants. Even If it be granted that she can have more social enjoyment In the town or city than In the country home of her parents, this furnishes no SUfft cieut excuse for her to leave her par ents when her presence and help af fords, them such unalloyed happiness, lt often happens that the mother, get- ' ting on In years, ls worn out with toll ? and care. She has given all her ! strength and time to the raising and training of her children, and to her it is an inexpressible pleasure when her daughter Insists on assuming some of her duties and responsibilities, and enables her to enjoy a well-earned rest. A number of years ago it was tho I writer's good fortune to be a frequent visitor at a home where the condition above mentioned existed* The moth er's health was not good and the oldest | daughter had simply relieved her ot all household cares, not even allowing the 1 younger children to trouble her with j any of their troubles. 'This daughter j was accomplished, well educated, a j very fine musician and could easily j have secured a position to teach. This she would have liked to do, but she j felt that her Hist duty was at hom?', and the discharge of this sacred duty I will ever be the sweetest and tender- \ est recollection of her life, for when she was called on to see that mother ! pass away she was sustained nnd ! soothed by the consciousness that she j had done all that lay lu her power to make her mother's last years pass In pence and happiness. One of tlie greatest and noblest men Kotiert E. Lee-who has ever lived on this earth, made duty the watchword of his ?vbole life, and no sacrifice or danger ever restrained him from do ing what he conceived to be right. The path of duty often culls us to walk in ways that humanly speaking are ? the very reverse of the ones we would choose, but then there should ever be present the thought that after all the strongest happiness comes from the consciousness of having done our ut most to promote tho happiness of those ', who ar?; dear to us. Fortunate, in deed. ls the daughter who, when she looks for the Inst time on the face of her mother, with her tire ' hands fold ed across her bosom, can feel that she never brought tears to the now closed eyes or pangs of sorrow to the un selfish heart, which luis forever cens ed to tx nt. If she can feel thus then she has n peace and Joy that will he her greatest solace as long as life endures, for what ever, for weal or woe, the future has in store for her, this is something that . no earthly power can take away. A girl when she first leaves col- i lege and enters, as lt were, upon the | threshold of her life, stands in great . need of her mother's counsel and pro tection, and it is a misfortune when stress of circumstances deprives her of this safeguard. If there bo one thing on earth that comes as a gift from Heaven lt ls the love of a moth er for her child. No pen cnn portray lt: no plummet eau sound its depths, for lt ls ns deep and wide as a fath omless sea, to which no measurement can be given. The writer trusts that he may be pardoned for giving one more Illus tration of the sacrifice of Inclination to duty, the facts of which are Just as rein ted. A good many years ago there ex isted an engagement between two j young people, but there was. In the ! estimation of the young lady at least, I an Inseparable barrier in the way of I Its Immediate consummation, that ob stacle being an invalid mother, for whose care the daughter considered I herself responsible. After thc lapse of a good many years the mother pass led away and a short time after her (death the daughter married the gen tleman to whom she had been so long j attached. They, were both get ting along in years then, but can any one doubt that that loving daughter found great happiness In the few years of her married life? it is very easy to ? believe thai In tnis short time there came t<> her enough of earthly huppl- ; ness to compensate for her long years of sacrifice to a sacred duty. it has always been s source of won der to the writer that some truly groat writer has never made a special point of trying at least to portray n moth er's lOVO for a child, following out thal ? love from Its birth, and when lt first, j draws sustenance from her bosom, through the years of tts gradual mental and physical development? So far as the writer's knowledge extends this ls for the novelist an unexplored mine, waiting for the touch of a master hand to bring its Jewel: Into the light of today. Baltimore, Tren. 21.-it was thought ?hat not a life was lost In tho fire here, but a charred body supposed to bo th it of a colored man has been found In tho waler at Rowley's wharf. Tho body ls so badly burned as to be un recognizable. M .:/. A UDKAIIY DITCH. Ctinnl Cleft Through Hanlon t.nrr of All SHVV Uiblienl Itlchnea*. W. K, Curtis In Chicago Reco;d-Her nld. A Mont on the Red sea, Jan. 18. Bvery?veste) passing through the Suez canal ls compelled to take u pilot, be cause skippers of ordinary vessels can not be trusted to navigate the narrow channel, for the slightest deviation may cause .lainage that will cost thou sands of dollin s to repair. Each year, however, navigation Is rendered easter by the widening of the channel und by the excavation of additional sidings or basins where vessels can pass. Krom the moment the pilot goes on the bridge he takes charge of the move ments of the ship and ls responsible for whatever may happen, regulating the speed uccordlng to tonnage and draught. Vessels cannot pass In motion. When they meet the one which arrives first at the slgnul stutlon ls compelled to stop und tte up In the basin until the other goes by. These basins are found at tiitervuls of a few miles, and at .MI y bunin ls a "gare" or station In charge of u signal officer, who corre sponds to a train dispatcher on one of our railroads, and the block system is used to regulute the movement of vessels. Formerly no truffle wu? al lowed at night, but now lt ls carried on without Interruption by the aid of electric light? on the shore and search lights on the vessels. Tho cunal looks exactly what lt ls a big ditch on a deBert of sand on which foxes, jackals, hyenas and oc casionally lions arc seen by the watch men In the signal towers. At .some places the banks of earth on either side are so high that passengers on the steamer cannot see over them, but for most of the journey you have a wide sweep on both sides back to the moun tains that rise from the desert, and at a certain point for a mlle or two Mount Slnul la visible 37 miles to the southeast, and ls pointed out to you by the captain or the deck steward. Naked Arab boys run along the banks crying for baksheesh and easily keep abreast of the creeping .vessel, grab bing at pennies which passengers throw them from the deck. Half the coins roll down In the water, which ls exusperutlng to the youngsters. They do not like to stop and dive for them while there ls a chance of getting more, but I Imagine tl?ey mark the spots and come buck to recover lost bncksheesh when they have left tho vessel. There are only two towns of any account on the canal. One ls Ismnlln, a half way point, with a population of 4,000. It ls the only monument In honor of the Khedive Ismail, who dtd the moat and spent the most to darry out the enterprise, and lost his throne thereby, lt ls rather a pretty town, abundantly. Irrigated, and hence has lovely gardens and gloves of palms and other trees. Hore reside most of the engineers and other officers of the canal, because it is preferable to Port Said. There ls a hospital for sick em ployees, a club for the benefit of the officers, and several good houses, in cluding one erected especially for the entertainment of M. de Lesseps, when he should be pleased to use lt. Beyond Ismutta, as before, are occasional oases In the desert-groves of palms and luxuriant gardens surrounding the Stations of the canal officials, for wherever you cnn turn water on that lonely ?h*s, rt everything will grow with a wi'd luxuriance. It seems as if tho earth suddenly released germinating power that had been accumulating during centuries of suppreslon. The chief Interest ls found In the town of Rue/,, because lt ls the crossing Iliaco of the gloat caravans of camels that, furnish transportation betwen the two continents of Asia and Africa, and travel regularly between Cairo, Da mascus and Bagdad; also because bib lical historians believe that here the waters of the Ked sea opened 3,BOO years ago and allowed 3,000,000 of the j children of Israel to cross over upon dry bottom, lt requires a considerable concession to the Imagination and a strength of faith that a majority of mankind do not possess to accept this theory, but no one knows to the con trary, -ind experience has taught me never to doubt the faith of Interesting stories. If you do, you deprive your self and others of much pleasure. It is like analyzing the attraction of a pretty woman, or separating her fea tures Into lots, classifying them and measuring them hy the Venus de Milo. On the other side of the Red sea, which, by the way, is not red, but blue -as blue as the sky in June-you can see the purple peaks of the Sinnith: range, nial a few miles from the shore, which you can reach in three hours by donkey, one of these remarkable oases that are frequently found In the desert. This particular one ls called the Wells of Moses. There ls a com fortless hotel kept by an Arab, where beds and refreshment can be obtained, but lt ls better to start early In the morning, so ns to get back the same day, and take i luncheon In a basket from Suez. The trip can be easily made while the vessel ts coaling. The children of Israel, according to the Bible, wandered three days In the wilderness of ShUr and found no water, ?ind when they came to Marah they could not drink the waters, for they were bitter, and (he people murmured against Moses, sayln: "What shall we drink?" and he cried unto tho Lord a tm the Lord Showed him a tree which ho cast into the waters and the waters were made sweet. And they came to QI lin, where there were 12 wells of water, and three score and ten palm trees, und they encamped there by the waters. And Miriam, the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in ber hand, and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances. That beautiful scene, one of tho most dramatic in the whole Bible, ls believed to have taken place here, for these wells are the wells of Hilm, and three and ten palm trees still shelter a collection of a dozen or more springs. The village ls peopled by naked Arabs, sinewy, springy, en during fellows, whose flesh shines like polished mahogany, and who must re semble the young men of Israel when they started on the Journey that was not finished for 10 years. It ls difficult to understand why and how they happened to be wandering about so lout; down here. If you will look at the map yon will see that Suez is almost on a line with ('airo, and it was the most natural rendezvous of thc tribes, who were scattered nil along the N'ile from Memphis, which ls Just above Cairo, to Thebes, "\vhloh ls just beloW Luxor. The account In the Bible is condensed, and we are com-, polled t-i take a good deal of these tra ditions on faith, but, as I have already Suggested, ll is worth while to do so. The Ked sea is 1.400 miles long, and UH greatest width ls 200 miles. It Is about the shape of a sausage, and ta ilers at both ends. On one r?ldo ls Arabia, the most mysterious and prim itive of all countries, anil on tho other side are lOgypt. Nubia and the Soudan. At the north end what is known as the Sinaitic peninsula projects southward and divides ?he sea Into two arms, and near the point of the peninsula ls Tor, the landing place for Sinai. Op posite Tor ls Jebel Ez-Zolt. which ricans "the mountain of oil," where pe troleum was discovered some years ago and created great excitement. Hun dreds of thousands of dollars have boen expended In sinking wells and building docl.s. warehouses and refin eries, but have nil been abandoned, because, for some renson, tho manu facturers could not compete with the Standard Oil company or tho Russlnn factories OP thc Hhick and Caspian seas. People think that there ls a good deal rr>oro wealth In Arabia than we know of. It was once of greater Importance m than now, and In ancient days pro duced considerable sold and other met- ' al?, but now lt ship* little but dato?. wool and coffee, and ?-ven these are gradually falling off. Mocha coffee ie produced ut the extreme end of the Arabian peninsula, lu a province called Yemen, and derive? Its name from the little port lt ls shipped from. But the people have no enterprise, the coffee orchards have been injured by Insects and blight, and the trees have not been renewed. This ls acounted for by bad government. As everywhere else In the dominions of the sultan of Turkey, for Arabia ls nominally a part of the Ottoman empire, the officials receive no salaries, and live off blackmail. Hence, whenever a citizen gets a little ahead, when he shows signs of pros perity, he Immediately becomes an object of plunder and persecution by the tax gatherer and by every other representative of the government. There ls no Incentive for the cof/ee growers to extend their orchards or to Increase their product. One does not realize, until he comes face to face with the fact, that Arabia ls nearly half as large as the United States. Its urea ts almost as great os that cf India, and is nenrly equal to that of our States eomt of the Missis sippi river. The population is un .known, because there has never been a census, but lt is Buposed to be be tween seven and twelve millions. The distance from north to south ls more than a thousand miles, and from east to west lt varies from 600 to 800. Yet tn all this enormous territory there ls no centralized authority. The interior ls govereued by petty sheiks, each being absolute over the members of his own tribe. Along a coast line of nenrly 2,500 miles are only six ports, where the sultan of Turkey maintains pasha governors and garrisons to pro tect the collectors of customs, who are required to pay him a certain amount of tribute every year, and they wring lt out of the people any way they can. The relationship between the gov ernment at Constantinople and the B?douins of Arabia is very slender, und ls due solely to the cohesive power of the Mohammedan religion. There ls no law In Arabia but the Koran; there are no courts but the priests; there are no malls, no postofflees, no postage stamps, and a person who wants to communicate with a distant fried must send his letter by a messenger, which Is expensive, or by a caravan, which ls the common way. There ls no tele graph line, no newspaper, no railroad, i and, strange to flay, not a river in all thut vast area except a few shallow, rocky beds, which during the spring bring down water from the melting snow on the mountain tops to the sea, hut for nine months in the year are as dry as a crematory. The captain tells me that they pro duce a curious phenomenon. The coast of the Red sea is lined with coral hanks, built by thone mysterious and wonderful little masons who, like some men that I know of, hate fresh water, and wherever the spring floods fall Into the sea there ts ulways a wide break In the coral reef. The mountains of Arabia reach an altitude of 10,000 feet, and in spots where borings have been made the sand ls more than 600 feet deep. It Is the prevailing Impresi?n thut Arabia ls a vast expanse of desert, but that ls u mistake. There are wide strips of bar ren sand, which are irreclaimable for cultivation only because they cannot be reached by water, but two-thirds of the country ts capable of cultivation, ana. lying at nu altitude of 3,000 feet above the sea, might produce cotton, sugar and other semi-tropical staples in unlimited quantities. Although there are no streams plenty of water can be had for irrigation purposes by digging 20 or 30 feet, and the introduc tion of windmills would simplify the pumping problem. On the const lt Is Intensely hot, and the humidity of the atmosphere (luring the summer season makes life almost unendurable, but in the Interior, upon the table lands along the mountain slopes and in th* valleys, the mercury seldom rises above S5 de grees, even tn mid-summer. While the direct rays of tho sun are Intense. lt ls cool In the shade, and at night t he mercury often falls below BO. More than two-thirds of the popula tion nre Bedouin nomads, without per manent places of abode, who live In tents made of camel's hair. Just like the patriarchs of (dd. They have enor mous Hocks of sheep and goats, and herds of catie and camels. The follow the grass and move from place to place with all their possessions. There are, however, severnl prosperous cities of considerable population and commerce. Tindo ls conducted by camel caravans, which cross the desert regularly, and transport enormous quantities of dates, wool and other merchandise. William E. Curtis. A School for <. > o w n l |c<. Gastonln (N. C.) Oozette. The Statesville Landmark refers tn thc pluck of a boy 17 years old and of a man twice that age who recently buckled down to books at Bute's Creek academy without knowing how to road. The hoy didn't know his letters, the man began tn the first reader. Yes. thnt ls plucky In a sense. Not that the task ts so great, but that the nerve to get one's consent to undertake lt nt those ages ts so rare. But lt ought not to be rare. Tho task is not great, not diflicuit of accomplishment Blttle children who live with books and picture blocks learn to read be fore they are six years of age. learn without special teaching; with som? direct and regular Instruction they would learn sooner. We do not believe that there ls In, the Stnte an illiterate grown man of ordinary intelligence and Industry that could not learn to read in six weeks, write In ten weeks, nnd get a good beginning in arithmetic In a few more weeks, if ho would only give these things attention and reg ular study. Why hasn't somebody started a school for grown men who cannot read and write? The gap be tween the man who cannot read and the man who cnn-how great and how wide lt ls! What storehouses of rich ness and vast and fertile fields are shut away from him who cannot read. Beyond the Alps Hes Italy-and tho Alps in this Paso are not Impassable. The gnp is wide but not difficult to him who tries, and the prize ls so worth the winning! Tho man who cannot thinks the way ls hard; the man who cnn knows lt ls not. Thc prown man who cannot rend and write -somebody show him, somebody help him. Here's missionary work for one, and priceless happiness for two. SPROULATOKS IN TROUUM!. Have Hoon Martina War Rumor* tn Haly for Minley I'urpoMffff. Rome, Feb. 21.-Rumors of warlike preparations hy Italy having been ctri eulnted a seml-oftlclal communication has emanated from tho government which is In substance as follows: Stories of alleged armaments and of the movements of warships and troops for service abroad nro entirely false. indications exist that this false news ls connected with stock exchange speculations and those responsible have been brought before tiie law courts to be punished according to law with Imprisonment of from three to thirty months. The communication evidently alludes to the Insistence hy a portion of the press that Italy will be antagonistic, to Austria In the Balkans and to the predictions of international complica tions thus causing a fall In Italian bonds and n rise In the exchange on gold. Dr. Jamenon'* .?tueco**. Cape Town. Feb. il.--Dr. Janssen has succeeded In completing a, eaMaet.