Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, June 21, 1902, Image 1

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' " ISSUED SBXX-VIEHL^ l. m. GRIST & SONS, PnbUshers.} % ^amilg JReirspajjcr: 4or (he promotion of the golitical, jSotial, Agricultural, and gommeijiial Interests of the geogle. { TBBMs.mo^cqVVi^'ototY8a''I!E' ESTABLISHED 1855. ~~ YQRKVILLE, S. O., SATURDAY, JUNE 21, 19Q2. . NO. WHEN BOYS BY JOHX a Author of "Helen's Bti iiigtoi) Copyright, 1901, by John Habberton. CHAPTER VII. IN THE ENEMY'S COUNTRY. fE rode into and through the town, out by the road on which we used to do picket duty as Infantry, across the bridge which we had laid and relaid so many times, far out to where we used to see the cavalry outpost's picket. We rode past the picket also. He was iu the same place, as if he had been there ever since the Ninety-eighth went away. After that we began to eye each tree and fence for rebels, for were we not in the enemy's country? Except for this feature of the ground we might as well have been anywhere else in Virginia for anything that was of interest. The fields of yellow cornstalks looked so much alike that one might easily have been taken for another. and the bits of woodland between were as like as two fragments of a single forest. The negro cabins were all of logs, the farmhouses of wood, nainted white, and there were not many of either. The road, like all other roads in the south and everywhere else in farming countries in the United States, was just about wide enough for two wagons to pass each other, so it allowed us to ride only four abreast Sometimes the road bent and suggested that there might be a chauge of view beyond, but there wasn't. There was absolutely no change of scenery that we could remember for the first 12 miles of our ride that day, so we really felt some pleasurable excitement when we halted at a railroad crossing and saw near by a station building, a freiirht denot. a tankhouse. a black smith shop and a store building, though our captain told us that all had been unoccupied for months. We fed our horses with oats which we had taken with us on our saddlebows. with instructions as to Just bow much to give at a meal, and dined on hard tack from our haversacks and water from a brook. The long ride had given me such an appetite that I was sorry that 1 had not brought at least part of my ration of pork. It might pass for butter when a man was very hungry. I was somewhat comforted, however, to note that my horse, which was tied next to Mick McTwyny's at the long rail fence beside the road, had frightened Mick's horse and eaten that animal's outs before tasting its own. Bruinard and 1 met at lunch, and I bad just asked him how he liked being a trooper, and he had expressed the hope that the Confederacy might feel as shaky on its legs as he, when we heard a shot or two in the advance. A sensation passed down the line, and we all started on foot to see what was the matter, but the captain ordered: "To horse! Mount! Remember your fours! Forward!" Looking out the road, we could see by the dust cloud that the other companies "were in tne saauie ana moving rorward. We rode about Ave minutes, bearing from time to time a few shots, but no bullets. Suddenly, however, across a field of wheat stubble came one of our men on horseback, making a great noise as he appeared to be trying to check his horse's gallop. "A cavalryman ought to be able to manage his horse without so much fuss," said I, with some pride, for I had been taught to manage horses by the rein alone. "The poor fellow Is hurt." said the lieutenant who commanded our platoon. "Seems to be his thigh. I guess his horse is hit too." Down went my heart into my boots or up into my throat, I couldn't determine which. If this was war, I wanted it to stop at once. Just to imagine myself coming wounded and screaming across a field like that poor fellow made me feel deadly sick. I strained my eyes in the direction from which the wounded man had come, but saw nobody else. Meanwhile the surgeon had gone out to meet the man, who now was quite near us, and called to some one to take down part of the fence so the horse could reach the road. By the time the poor fellow reached the roadside he was very pale and leaning low on his horse, and we could see a broad red stnin along the leg of his light blue trousers. He was helped to the ground, and the surgeon quickly cut away uis ciotuing aim cxuiumeu the wound, while we moved on, my heart still being elsewhere than in its proper place. On, on we rode, and the farther we went the more I wished we were going in the opposite direction. I am ashamed even now to remember how many different kinds of coward I was that day, but I was giving my entire mind to the subject, and in such circumstances a man can accomplish a great deal. Fortunately it was Impossible to keep up the strain a long time, so within an hour or two I was cool enough for anything. I was too exhausted to be anything else. When I regained my senses sufficiently to think of something besides myself, I was astonished at the coolness or carelessness of our lieutenant, lie had once been a private soldier in one of the older companies, which were at the head of the column, but he did not ride ahead to ask questions, nor did he even dismount to speak to the wounded man. though he must have known him. In the middle of the afternoon WERE MEN. ABBERTON. ibies," "George Waslii." Etc. we passed a member of one of the oia companies going to the rear for something, and our lieutenant asked: "What is it?" "Xothin' much," said the man. "Their pickets was layin' for us." "Nothing else?" "No. except Big Brown's boss was killed. lie got one of theirs, though: that's all." "Nothing much!" "That's all!" If a poor fellow, shrieking with agony over a broken thigh, which was being hurt still more ut every step of his horse, was "uotbing much," what would be regarded as something? If the "pickets layin' for us" could inflict so much misery, what would be the result of a full battle? Again I wanted to go 1 uuiutr. But no battle occurred that day, and we dismounted before dark and prepared to bivouac iu the woods for the night. a stream crossing the road sup- i plying ample water for-men and horses. 1 Brainard and I wanted to go right up to the front and learn all about the '< fight with the pickets, but the captain told us not to stray far from our 1 horses. Some of the men began to ask when and where were the cook and the evening cofTee, and when they learned that the cook had not come and that he should have dealt out ground coffee with the other rations, so that each man could make some for himself, there was a terrible hubbub, which reached' the captain's ears and made him say dreadful things about the cook. But ' none of the fuss yielded a bit of cof- 1 fee. I was fortunate in never having contracted the coffee drinking habit, but , what I lacked in thirst I made up in 1 hunger. 1 already had eaten a full uays ration or nara tncK, out n seem- < ed only a mouthful. I consulted Hamilton, who had been named commissary sergeant, about the possibility of our getting anything else to eat during the three days, but be gave me no encour- 1 agement. Nevertheless I borrowed one | biscuit of the nine which constituted the next day's ration and promised my- 1 self I would eat a light breakfast. Then I reminded myself that at home 1 I often had goue without breakfast for ' the sake of starting early for a mom ( ing of fishing. Why could I not do like- 1 wis ?in Virginia? I regarded the proposiiion with enough favor to borrow j another biscuit. But those bits of ' hard bread did not seem to fill the aching void that longed for them, and 1 when I learned that most of the com- ' puny were as hungry as I and were act- ' \ He was vcrtj pale ami leaned low on his horse. Ing according to tlio scutiment, "Eat. drink and be merry, for tomorrow wo may die." oven though the death was to he by starvation. I followed their example with such industry that by the time I was ready to sleep my haversack was its empty as when it first came from the quartermaster's. Never before had I enjoyed any meal so thoroughly, yet 'twas nothing but hard bread seasoned with Virginia air. It seemed only a minute to breakfast time, so soundly did I sleep during nature's effort to make amends for the wakeful night before. No sooner was I awake, however, than I began to think of breakfast and of not. having anything of which to make it. If misery loves company, cur troop ought to have been a most sociable lot. tor nearly all had beeu as improvident as I. Soon I began to stroll desperately about the forest in which we were camped. I hoped to lind at least a slippery elm tree from which to tear some bark to eat, hut the trees were mostly pines, among which the elm seldom grows. At uiv oiifci* ui mi* i\ i;wii n uij ? ivi>> tield. into which I sprang and tore open Bonie husks, hoping to llnd a belated ear which might he soft enough to chew, hut nil the corn was hard. I plodded so long between the rows that suddenly I saw before me the roof of a cabin. There might be rebels in it. thought I, but if they took me prisoner they couldn't refuse me something to eat. No matter how rebellious, the southerner never lost his reputation for hospitality. I was greeted at the cabin door by an old colored woman who looked at me savagely and said: "Don' yo' come no furder, Mas' SoJer. Dey ffin't nutlin lef to steal. Yo' iiion dun tuk ev'ryt'lng In de house Ins' night." I took n silver quarter from my pocket. "fwus n birth year pocket piece which I had carried for years: but, as Satan remarked the only time on record when he told the truth, "All that a man liath will he cive for his life." I tL. /.7/y-ri "Don' yo' come no furder, Mas' Sojer." held the coin up between my thumb and finger, and as the old woman's countenance changed pleasingly I said: "1 don't want to steal anything, aunty. I'm almost starved, and I'd like to buy a mouthful to eat I don't care what." "Yo' don' mean it, honey? Yo' ain't foolin'?" "No; here's the money. Take It?give me something?quick!" "Bress yo' soul!" said she, dragging me into the house. "Jess yo' set down In dat cheer, an' I'll make yo' a co'hn pone in a minute." She raised a board from the floor, scooped some cornmeul from a hiding place, mixed it in a pan with water and poured the mass, which was exactly like the food we made on our farm for young chickens, into a heavy iron pan that was in the fireplace. On top of the pan she put an iron lid, on which she piled hot coals. It seemed to me the cooking consumed at least two hours, but 'twas only ten minutes by my watch when the woman took off the lid and lifted out an immense loaf of what In Summerton would have **?? 11 n/l ltd a/1 /tiil/tlrnn fno/1 hiif UIX'II tailfU uaatu vuit.a\;u lwvu^ muv which in the south is called corn pone, sometimes hoeenke. And how good it was! How, as I nte one fragment after another, I felicitated the ghosts of past generations Df my father's chickeus on the enjoyment they must have had in eating Just such breakfasts! It was solid, a little of it occupied a great lot of room Inside my belt, but that was Just what I wanted. There was neither salt, eggs nor baking powder in it, as there always was in corn bread at our house in Summertou, but the taste of Lhe raw meal was delightful for its Dwn sake. And the loaf was so easily made too! I then and there resolved never to go on another scout without n little bag of meal in my haversack. As I ate. the old woman told me of the trouble she had in keeping in the house anything to oat. The southern iOKliers, she said, stole everything she had whenever they came that way, as Llid the northern soldiers, so she had learned to keep her chickens, pigs and L-orn in the woods far back from the road, where nobody would be likely to find them, and her husband always watched them when any soldiers were in the neighborhood. I wondered what the people in the north would think about such treatment of the colored people, for whose benefit some of them seemed to think the war was conducted, hut my ?I'AMA Infnumrvtn^ htr fho I nuu^iiia ? ? ir niivi i u^k\.u wj Vuv sound of a bugle. "Take do res' along, honey," 6aid the Did woman, "an' "?here she looked under the floor again?"hyah's some yams [sweet potatoes]. Tuck 'em in yo' pockets an' ions' 'em in de hot ashes when yo' gits hungry." I hurried away with profuse thanks, a full slomach and an entire willingness to face, single handed, the whole southern army in battle array. Many months later, when I had some soldiers under my own command, I gave more attention to the cookhouse than to my other duties combined. And how grateful were the smiles which Bralnard, Hamilton and Cloyne gave me when I divided my surplus hoccake among them! Brainard said '.hut bit of hoccake saved his life, so I had done the government as great a service as if I had brought a new soldier into the field. Again we started, and as wo rode the captain and lieutenants looked frequently at the horses' heads to see that euro hits were not chained too tight or hanging too high or too low and that the horses were not worried by being ridden with too tight reins. Most of the recruits wanted to make their horses arch their necks I.ice souners' liorses in statues and military pictures, ami when the captain made thcq^stop they muttered that war wasn't much fun. I>ig I*at Callahan said that a soldier was not only a dog, hut he was expected to let his horse he a plug, which proved that the government was a condemned fool and deserved to he wiped out by the rebels. lie did not get much sympathy from Mick McTwyny, for Mick was trying to carry the dignity of his new ollice. and it was such a heavy contract that he had no mind for anything else. His recruits, however, agreed fully with big I'at Callahan and cursed the government fluently. and the captain didn't reprove them, which scorned to me gross neglect of duty. We rode nearly all day, hut nobody could tell us where we were or what we were expected to do or when we would do it, all of which, when prolonged for hours, began to be enraging In the extreme. When we halted al noon to feed the horses, I complained to Cloyne that if we never were tc know what we were to do we might ae well be so many machines. "That's just what we're expected tc be," said he, "and the sooner you realize it and live up to it the sooner you'll be a trustworthy soldier." This was depressing, it was simpiy awful. Could there be uo way of release for a mind which could not help working? I asked Cloyne how high In rank a soldier tnust be to do some thinking for the government, and he replied: "General In chief of the army, as a rule, though before you've been long In the cavalry service you'll have an occasional chance to use all the brains you own and wish for another beadful to help you through." This was encouraging for a little while, and then It wasn't. During the day I found something besides the conduct of the war to think of. The dust raised by more than a thousand horses in front, our company being next to the last In column, was blinding and choking, besides getting Inside my clothing and making me feel unspeakably dirty. How I wished I might take in rapid succession all the baths I had with great effort avoided wlien 1 was a small boy! The water in my canteen became disgustingly warm, for the midday sun was hot, and I had not learned how to cool a canteen, yet my mouth and throat were parched. My legs ached intensely from the steady pressure on the saddle, yet the horn of the saddle was so high, with the roll of blankets strapped to it, that I could not get relief by riding "woman fashion" for a few moments, as was the custom with farmers' boys at Summerton. Poor Brainard, who never before had done any riding, said he was sure his legs were being so bowed that they would have a wider spread than his shoulders, which would be extremely inconvenient, aa well as unsightly. But there was one comfort?Mick McTwyny insisted that his legs were that bad that when he reached camp he was going to the hospital and remain there for life. Suddenly, an hour after the afternoon march began, I was given a new subject for thought. A bugle call sounded from the advance, which was passed down the column by successive buglers. It was a call I had not heard before, so I asked the lieutenant what it was. "It's 'Charge!' That's what It is." TO BB CONTINUED. pisallatKOUji fading. XOT STUCK OX CHARLESTON. A Visitor From Oregon Criticise* Frankly and Freely. The following roast of the city o! Charleston and her people was wrltter by A. W. Miller, a citizen of Oregon for the Portland Oregonlan. It Is rather severe in some particulars?posslblj too severe: but it contains a greal deal that is to be recognized as being pretty nearly true: TV*** firct imnroaalnn nnp CPtS of P place are generally the most lasting and the conviction that Charleston Is unlike any other city grows on tht stranger. From the time you approach the city limits, among the first intimations you get that you are nearing tht historical city of "blue bloods" is th< presence of the chaingang, composed of Negroes in their zebra uniforms each with a chain fastened to his ankl< and guarded by white men armed witl the ever-prominent shotgun. Wher there Is any public work to be done there is no advertising for bids or contracts let; but instead the required number of able-bodied Negroes are arrested on any old charge, are taker before the magistrate and sentenced tf the chaingang for the time required to complete the work on hand, whict also furnishes soft jobs for the political heelers who guard the prisoners. The people of Charleston have mud to learn before they can realize thai their city is not all there is of th< world, and that there are over 70.000,000 people in the United States alone occupying territory outside of theii city, who do not enjoy the hoavenlj bliss of living in Charleston and havt not had that exquisite privilege of ex tracting "blue blood" from some ok black mamma in their infancy, ant are thus debarred from admission int< the cream of Charleston society ant enjoying the feasts served by theli poor, pumpkin-colored relatives. And though many who boast that they hav< never heen outside of the city or stat< are well read and Informed on Euro pean countries, they could not locatt half a dozen states in the Union. The: ? A - " ~" nU/Mtf CtiMfrrarlontl CkY\t can it?11 you uu auuui pnikAcuauu the Alps; but are not sure if the Rock: Mountains are in Africa or Soutl America, and I have had quite intelli gent looking persons ask me if the: spoke the same language in Oregor that was spoken in South Carolina. T< a native Charlestonian the word Yan kee means all that is mean, low, dis honest and despicable, and is appliec to all strangers as well as to every thing not from the immediate vicinity The American flag is the Yankee flag Blue cloth is Yankee blue. Condense! milk is "Yankee milk," and so on. Be ing slaves to their prejudices, they in still them into the minds of their chll dren- which keeps them far behin< their neighbors. Though the aid the: need stands at their elbows waiting t< serve them, yet, owing to their blini prejudice, they refuse to recognize it and continue in their old rut, nursinj their hatreds and blaming all their mis fortunes on the Negro, while othe sections of the south which have ac cepted the situation and made the bes of it are prospering. No other city is so given to vauntinj of hollow and sham times, or lives s< much in the past and Its former gran ; deur, having passed her 320th birthdaj : and for tne last 40 years at least ha [ dreamed of past achievements, an ? even the terrible earthquake of 16 year I ago failed to awaken her out of he trance. The Charleston citizens tak > great pride in pointing out their ol graveyards, scattered throughout th ! whole city. They worship their ancier cobwebs, their tumble-down building! ' rotten wharves, filthy markets an streets. i Volumes could be written about curl i ous old Charleston, so different fror > any other city on the continent, wit its dirty old Market, which is simpl a covered, narrow street, with stall ' on each side occupied by old blac 1 aunties selling vegetables, though mos vegetables, as well as fresh fish, ar 1 hawked about on the street by Negroei who carry their loads on their head in shallow baskets and cry out the! ! goods in a language that no one ca ' understand. Fresh meat, "such as I ' is," is sold in small shops about tow by what are called green grocer! though each one is compelled to rent ' stall in the Market whether he occu ( pies it or not. One of the odd sights to a strange . is the flocks of turkey buzzards at th ! Market, which are protected by the au thorities and act as scavengers b . picking up the offal about the place keeping it free from decaying mattei [ The buzzard does not confine hlmsel ; to offal alone, and when a Negro kill a pig or "mutton goat" he brings It t , the Market In his oxcart, and while h , Is negotiating for a stall, Mr. Buzzar , Is inspecting and sampling his goodi He also manages to keep the sidewalk > and roofs of neighboring buildings we fertilized with refuse, which is aftei I wards washed down by the rains lnt ) the cisterns, giving the drinking wate , that rich flavor the natives boast 01 ; For if there is one thing the nativ Charlestonian takes pride in, it is ths i he never adopts anything nev I Charleston's ancient buildings ar > nearly all after the same pattern. Th ; dwellings are usually built with thel > ends on the street, with verandas r several stories on one side, usually tlia facing south, and overlooking the gar i den, which is generally enclosed wit a high brick wall and iron gates jf th 1 style of the eighteenth century. Man 1 of the residences have very elaborat white marble front steps and walk paved with marble. If you should visl the back yard you will find an ol privy that has not been cleaned sine the "wah," located within a few fee of the cistern that supplies all the wa ter used by the family. This, added t the stench from the filthy streets, de caying wharfs and manufactured fer ; tllizer, makes one wonder how the cit ever escaDes eDidemics. for the ol burg has been decaying ever since he citizens sawed off the limb they sa on, by firing the shot that vibrate ^ around the globe, some 41 years ag< and which marked the most Importan epoch In the world's history. But let us be charitable with ou p erring brothers, who are still clingln L to their old narrow-minded and con r tracted Ideas, for their ways are nc our ways. Yet it Is amusing to hea them tell you all about the northerner and the mean, dishonest Yankees, an ' the conditions In the No'th, and in th same breath boast that they were bor and raised In Charleston, and have nev> er been outside of the city limits. It 1 useless to try to convince some of th natives that there are other parts c j the world outside of Charleston as larg and of as much Importance. ' Fort Sumter now resembles a pile c ' debris, topped off with a large ifram 1 house, a light house and a few othe 1 out-buildings, and two long guns o ' the parapets, while old Fort Moultrl (now Fort Getty) located near by o ' the point of Sullivan's Island, shows little more life, with her large nei 1 guns, new officers' quarters and Unite ' States soldiers. Old Castle Pinckney 1 ' now a buov deDOt and light house sup 1 ply station. The exposition has proven a deplor able failure financially as well as ever 1 other way, the cause being too numei 1 ous to mention In a newspaper articl* One is a great lack of good manage ment on business principles. The com pany opened its gates on the date se r taking the admission fee from visitor ' when their exposition was yet incom ' plete. The visitor got nothing for hi money, returned home disgusted an told his neighbors that the expositto was no good, which kept many awa from the show. Another serious mis take was the lack of consideration fc the comfort of both exhibitors and vis ' itors. No provisions were made fc " drinking water, though there wer quite a number of dispensaries on th ground where liquors were sold by th ' I pint, quart or gallon, and every res f taurant and sandwich stand had I "blind tiger" connected, where drink f of all kinds could be had. Gamblin and skin games were run all over th grounds openly, and flourished, as southerner's idea of a fair or expositlo consists of horse racing and games. The board of managers framed them selves into a mutual admiration sock ty, and nearly every day was som special day when they would rang themselves on the stage of the auditc " rium and throw bouquets at them " stives, which may have been consid * ered very trifling matters; but the - were some of the causes that kep . thousands away from the best exposl tion ever held in the south. Let us hope, then, that the preser v t?av nt lpast oDen their eye f to the fact that there are others o 3 this planet, and if they will not lear I and be benefitted by the exposition c 1902, we have the satisfaction of KnoA ins that more American flags hav r floated in the breeze in Charleston dui . ing the six months of the expositio than ever before during her existenci A few weeks more and the Sout - Carolina and West Indian expositio t will pass into history, when the exiltfrom the dear old Webfoot State wi be made happy by once more turnin ? their faces towards God's country an > returning to Oregon. I- JOHN JAMES HEMPHILL. r, 3 Ex-Representative of the Fifth Court Kreaalonal District of South Car's ollnn. tr From The Successful American for e June. d John James Hemphill, the subject of e this sketch, comes from good old lt Scotch-Irsh ancestors, both on his pa' ternal and maternal side. His grand^ father came to America from the north or Ireland wnen quire young, ana nrsr located in Pennsylvania, where he ren celved his education, having graduated h at Dickinson college, Carlisle, Penny sylvanla. His name was John Hemp8 hill, and he was of old Covenanter k stock. Near the close of the Revolutionary war he removed to Chester e county, South Carolina, permanently J> settled there, and preached until his 8 decease. Mr. Hemphill's grandmother r was a daughter of Colonel Nixon, who n was a conspicuous officer in the army !t of the Revolution, winning distinn gulshed honor at the battle of King's 3. Mountain, and was afterward killed by a the Tories in South Carolina, i- Mr. Hemphill's father, whose name was James, as well as his uncles, John x and William Hemphill, graduated at e Jefferson college, Pennsylvania. His t_ uncle John was an eminent Judge, who y was chosen as the first chief justice of ? Texas, and prior to the civil war repr resented that state in the United States If senate. Mr. John James Hemphill. 8 whose father practiced law for 65 years 0 in Chester, South Carolina, was born e at Chester, on August 25, 1849. After d graduating at South Carolina college, 3 at Columbia, S. C., in June, 1869, Mr. s Hemphill took up the study of law and II gave to it his entire attention for two years, when, being admitted to the bar, Q he entered upon the active duties of his profession at his place of birth, and ? has ever since continued to practice there. The existence of a law office in ? the same community for a period approaching 70 years and descending from father to son is an unusual experience 6 in the United States. So thorough had ^ been his work of preparation that Mr. ' Hemphill's qualifications as an attor' ney and counsellor were quickly flis| covered, and he obtained almost from ~ his very start a lucrative practice; and his later great success is owing to the fact that there are few members of the legal fraternity in any part of the country better informed professionally than he. During Mr. Hemphill's ser:t vice in congress he made many friends throughout the whole country, and the e impression he gained amonst them as :t a strong and succesful lawyer has led " to his being frequently called from his 0 home in South Carolina to participate in important legal contests in the courts of the National capital and in y other portions of the country. Probably no lawyer from the south has been r more frequently employed In recent l* years in legal matters beyond the limIts of his own state. ' A man so well equipped in legal lore lt as was Mr. Hemphill could not, In such a state of born politicians as is South r Carolina, be permitted long to remain S in private life; and hence, in 1876. when he had Just entered upon his 27th (t year, he was chosen a member of the r legislature of South Carolina, and was 8 continued in that position by succesd sive re-eictions until 1882, and then, at e 32 years of age, he was nominated by n the Democrats and elected to represent the Fifth congressional district of his 8 native state, being the youngest meme ber, save one, of the Forty-eighth congress; and in that position he served e through five elected terms, from 1883 to 1893, for four years filling the position of chairman of the committee on the e District of Columbia, as well as servT ing on important committees. There n being no right of suffrage in the Dlse trict of Columbia, the people are withn out any representative in congress, and a all legislation relating to the Nation's IV capital comes from the hands of the ^ committee on the District of Colum13 bia of the senate or house. While Mr. Hemphill presided over the house committee it made an unusual record for wise legislation in matters entrusted to y it for consideration and report to the house. Mr. Hemphill, during his service in " congress, was a close student in questions relating to finance and taxation, ^ and took an important part in their diss cussion. In the Fifty-first congress he WftS appointed oil me tuiiiuiincc iv 13 which was referred the proposed New d Election Law. In the remarkable conn test in the house of representatives on y the well-remembered Lodge Bill, known l" as the Force Bill, reported from that ,r committee, Mr. Hemphill led the Democratic phalanx. Mr. Lodge, now "" United States senator from Massachue setts, had charge of the Republican e side of the fight. e For 25 years Mr. Hemphill has always taken active interest in politics, a and being an excellent debater, has, s under the auspices of the Democratic g National committee, done efficient duty e on the stump in many of our states. a His first entrance in public life as a n legislator was during the exciting campaign of 1876, when, under the lead of General Wade Hampton, the white people of the state of South Carolina e overturned the carpet-bag government. e While Mr. Hemphill is not personally engaged in the industrial development of the south now attracting such gen" eral notice, his wide acquaintance >t amongst business people north and 1- east has enabled him to serve as a cont necting link between the enterprising ,s business men of South Carolina and n the money of the north seeking south? ern investment More than one large establishment in South Carolina has been greatly benefitted by his connec - tion, and others are in a fair way to n Uomnhiii la a thorough believ ^ er in the great industrial possibilities n of the south, and has been a strong '3 advocate for the opening of all possible markets for the products of this cound try* Mr. Hemphill was married in 1891 to Miss Elizabeth S. Henry, a greatgranddaughter of John Henry, one of the earliest governors of Maryland, and who was associated with Charles Carroll, of Carrollton, as first United States senator. STORIES ON PETTIS. They Sonnd Well; Bat Are Not Altogether Trne. The average newspaper men about Washington, especally those who cater to the local Journals, find among certain senators and representatives fit bases for anecdotal superstructure, particularly when events of no great pith and moment are agitatng the news mediums. And, alas! it must be admitted to the confusion of some of tVioao Arkft nrtlata In fVin ^nmoln nf PltQ. uitoc uciv at bioco lit tuc uvuiam vi. vuwtom-made stories that their little tales do not always hang from any substance of fact. In the Washington Post and in The Times on Wednesday morning appeared two different stories of the venerable junior senator from Alabama, who is a favorite subject for both truthful chroniclers and not unkindly fiction framers. One of the stories was a reproduction of an incident of the civil war as used by Senator Bacon, of Georgia, in his speech the other day on the Philippines question. That senator told, in order to contrast General Grant's manner of extorting truth from prisoners with the devices alleged to be employed for the same purpose by American officers In the Philippines, of the capture of Mr. Pettus when he was a Confederate colonel at the siege of Vicksburg, and how, when the commander of the Union forces asked him what troops confronted him, his prisoner respectfully declined to answer on the ground that it would be improper for him to give such information. It was then that Grant desisted at once from his examination, and, turning to one of his officers, directed that the prisoner be treated kindly. The other story was about the Alabama senator's habits; how he rose at 5 o'clock and was at work every morning In his office. Your correspondent, a little curious to learn what measure of corroboration the grand old man, who is not Pettus If not frank, would lend to the two stories, approached him with the observation; "Senator, I see you are still a kind of anecdote target." "Yes," he replied, "I suppose they look upon me as a lawful prize." Then he said that the story which was rehashed from Senator Bacon was substantially correct. "General Grant," he added, "treated me very graciously; he told them to take good care of me, but I got away that night and was fighting 'em all the same the next day." The story of his early rising and methodical habits was thus disposed of by the senator: "That's all a pack of lies; and the biggest in the pack is that I get up regularly at 5 o'clock in the morning. They wake me for breakfast; they have waked me for breakfast for the last 50 years." "No, sir; my habits are regular, irregular and defective."?Nashville American. Postal Currency.?An administration bill for the establishment of a postal currency has been drafted by the commission appointed to consider the question. The bill authorizes the postmaster general to be caused to be issued, under such regulations as he may from time to time prescribe, postal checks of fixed denominations, not above one dollar, even In multiples of five and ten cents. These are to be redeemable or payable at any money order postomce. a iee in auuiuuu the face value will be charged for check issued, one-half of which fee may be allowed as compensation for services rendered in the issue or sale of such checks. It is provided, however, that to increase the amount of any postal check adhesive postage stamps may be affixed to the face thereof, not exceeding nine cents, which stamps shall be left uncanceled until the checks shall be finally ledeemed. These postal checks will not be negotiable nor payable after the expiration of three calendar months from the last day of the month which may oe written or stamped thereon, but a duplicate may be issued any time thereafter by the postofflce department without charge. Duplicates will be similarly valid for the three months. After the postal check is once paid the United States shall not be liable for any further claim for its payment. All statutory provisions relating to money orders, as far as applicable and consistent, are to apply to these " checks, and the expenditures will be met in the same manner as in present money order offices. The postal checks are to be of uniform size and shape, bound in books, and will be sold wherever the regular stamps are sold. Family Pride.?An uptown reader tells of the "break" made by a tot of the family who was one of a party of little girls at a recent strawberry festival In the vicinity of her home. She had been valiantly boasting of the manifold advantages of belonging to her family, and had managed to hold her own against the vainglorious and ingenuous discourses of her companions. They had gone from clothes to personal appearances, then to interior furnishings, then to the number of tons of coal consumed in the home of each during tne past winter, and finally brought up at parental dignity. The minster's little girl boasted: "Every package that comes for my papa is marked 'D. D." "An* every package that comes for my papa is marked 'M. D.,' " retorted the daughter of a physician of the neighborhood. Then came a fine snort of contempt from the heroine of this anecdote. "Huh!" she exclaimed, "every package that comes to our house is marked 'C. O. D.' There now!"?Philadelphia Times.