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: H A f *" ' ] ISSUED SEMI-VEEEL^ i. *. geist's sons, Fvbiishon. } ? jfsmitj ^or the promotion of th? |o!ificaIt Social, Agricultural and (Eumnurcial Jtntfrisis of the fftoplj. {T'B* cim*"0E' ESTABLISHED 1855. YORKVILLE, 8. C., FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 1905. MO. 16. [Copyright, ->00. ly A. N CHAPTER V. After supper that night the three gentlemen remained at the table after the ladies bad left, to smoke and drink their wine. The windows of the big dining-hall opened like a door onto the veranda, and Capt. Winkle, faultlessly attired in Tuxedo coat, low waistcoat and snowy shirt and necktie, watched the three ladies furtively as they, arm in arm, promenaded back and forth in the light of the big kerosene lam; on a post where the carriages stopped. It was not the colonel's habit to dress for the evening meal, especially in the hot season, so he still wore his cool suit of brown linen, and, in this respect, Mr. Hard; was glad to keep him compt ny, as he had really come to the country for an easy, unceremonious outing. The colonel liked nothing better then good listeners, and, as he sipped his wine and smoked, his pink oomplexion fairly shone while he discoursed on a favorite topic of his?the beauty and m any virtues of the only lady guest in his house, Mrs. Lancaster, a snowy-haired widow not far from the colonel's age. "I am glad she came to-day," he arid. "8he is hard to get at; she travels so extensively, and 1 am sure we never would have her now if it were not for Evelyn; they love each other like mother and daughter. Why, I'll bet Mrs. Lancaster doesn't stay in her Charleston home one winter in five; does she, Hardy?" v "No, 1 think she likes Italy," said the gentleman appealed to. "I think I should have had the pleasure of meeting her before this it she were often at home, hut she goes out very little in Charleston and has few intimate friends. I should say she was by all odds the most exclusive woman in the city." "Iam pretty sure," remarked the colonel, tentatively, "that she is very well to do?that is, I judge so by the life he leads; it is one of expensive luxury from beginning to end." "I happen to know that she is decidedly rich," replied Hardy. "It seems that her husband, who was killed in the war, owned extensive lands in the south upon which phosphate beds have since been discovered." "Her husjband was not killed while actually in service," explained fiasbrooke, "and his death was a most tragic one." The colonel looked round the room and seeing James, the black butler, standing behind his chair, holding a napkin and corkscrew, he said: "I shall ring when I want you, James." When the negro had bowed himself from the room, Col. Hasbrooke contin ued. "Yes, Mrs. .Lancaster's me nas been a sad one; she has revealed the great grief of her life to very few, and then only to her most intimate friends. She had been married to Lancaster only about two years when the first shot from Fort Sumter set bis blood on fire. He was one of the first in South Carolina to offer his services, and as he had had some military training and was i highly educated he was made a captain of a company. He made a good record 1 but was taken ill when his regiment j was stationed at a little town in the ! mountains of East Tennessee and was ordered home on a furlough. As it was in the month of August, Mrs. Lancaster thought that the climate of Charleston would not be so good for him as that of Tennessee, so she telegraphed him to wait and she would join him. She met him with her only child, a baby in arms, and they started through the mountains to a retreat that had been recommended to them as a highly suitable resting place. But on that journey they met with the catastrophe which blighted her whole life. The mountains in that section, like the mountains here, were infested with bandits who lived upon plundering stragglers, no matter of what politics. And It was a gang of these reckless ruffians into which they ran. They were in a spring wagon driven by a negro, who had all along shown himself to be an arrant coward. The first notificaton of danger was the sudden appearance from the bushes of half a dozen armed men, who demanded that the party alight that the vehicle might be searched. Evidently Capt. Lancaster, who hap -? pened to be holding the child in his arms, thought that immediate obedience was best, so be got out, telling the men that he had in bis pockets all the money and valuables tbe wagon con tained. He was still holding the child on one arm and opening bis pockets with another when the negro, seeing that the robbers were not noticing the wagon, whipped up tbe horses and 0 drove away at full speed. Mrs. Lancaster tried to stop him, but he was wild with terror, and as the robbers were oow firing after them, he ducked his bead and applied the lash. The woman was helpless; the negro was stroug and half insane. She argued with him and pleaded with bim to stop and let her out, but he drove on like a roadman. It was not till they bad reached a farmhouse nine miles from the scene of the robbery that she induced the negro to stop. Here they were received by a family in which there was one man too old to do service in the war. He said he was willing to do what he could for her. but that the 'bushwhackers,' who were a power in the land, would hang him if he molested their plans. He went out to s6e if he could get together any of his neighbors who would help her, but - 1- . * V A wnen ne returned ax uusk ue uruugut the intelligence that he could find nobody who would dare take a hand la such an enterprise. She spent that night in the farmhouse and the next day she drove back absolutely alone in search of her husband and child. Near the spot where she had been separated from them she found her husband'shat, the little cap worn by the baby, stained with blood, and a pool of blood by the roadside. She spent all that day alone on that road and returned at night to the farmhouse. Here she stayed a month making inquiries and searches in all directions for more conclusive proof of the death of her child and dSL- -1 7 . ICallocc Nmpiptr Cs.1 husband. Finally the old farmer came to her one day with tha report that one of the robbers had just died and that he had made a deathbed confession that he had shot and killed Capt. Lancaster. The baby, he said, was cot killed at the time, as there was some reluctance among the men as to who should do it. They had gotten over this difficulty by drawing straws and the man upon whom the task had fallen had promised that he would drown the child, that its death might be an e; .y one. This was the only crumb oi comfort the poor lady got; think of that, gentlemen, she could only hope .hat her son's death had been quick and painless. The dying man refused to tell who bad undertaken the crime." The colonel paused, stroking bis gray Van Dyke beard. "Is it any wonder that her face is sad and her hair white?" "It is reported In Charleston that she has had many advantageous offers of marriage," put in Mr. Hardy, as he emptied his wine glass. "Hundreds of them," enthused the colonel. "Why, Gen. Beauclare followed her about like a slave and so did Senator Waugh; I couldn't count the men who were in love with her, but she turned 'em all dowr-.." The promenaders had quitted the veranda, and there was a light touch on the piano in the drawing-room and a sweet voice singing an old song. "That is her!' cried the colonel whose enthusiasm was not often governed by rules of grammar. THE LITTLE CAP WORN BY THE BABY STAINED WITH BLOOD. This was the signal for leaving the table, and the men went into the big. ancient-looking parlor where the iSrrVifc Ktirnn/1 Ion; on/1 tKl* hrooTA frr.m "6"4- *"* ? * ? tLe distant tuourtains fanned the lace curtains into the room. Evelyn sat in a rocking-chair, her eyes on the singer's face. Caroline wa? noiselessly placing a whist table and playing cards near the center of the room She. uei father. Mr. Hardy and Capt. Winkle were the only 611 e6 who were fond of the game. "But we shall interrupt the singing." protested the colonel, when he noticed the preparations. "1 shall stop if you don't go on with the game." declared the gentle old lady, a smile crossing her sweet, sad face; "and furthermore. I shall not sing unless you all talk over your game." To this the jovial host agreed under protest.and the whist-players took their places. Evelyn sat at the end of the piano near enough to touch the elbow of the singer. There was infinite pathos in Mrs. Lancaster's voice as she sang: "Dey ain't no use fer to fret an' pine. Steady on de way, believers. It's de same ole worl' w'en de sun don't shine. Steady on de way. believers." The colonel was dealing the cards, but he made a mistake lu the count, and with a low laugh he threw the cards down. "1 must wait till that one is over, anyway," he whispered. "That blamed thing always get:: the bent or ? . M roe. "It's de same ol' wort' In de sun an' de ruinSame on de hilltop an' same on de nlaln, 80 keep up yo' ahoutln' an* keep on yo* prayln'Steady on de way. believers. "Dey's a great big blossom 011 de watermelon vine. Steady on de way, believers; Fur peace come 'long w'en you done wld pain, So keep up yo' ahoutln' an' keep on yo' prayin', Steady on de way. believers." There was just the faintest quiver in Mrs. Lancaster's voice, which Evelyn lone noticed, and a hint of moisture in her eyes as the melody died in the still room. She turned towards the card piayprs, who. with the exception of the dapper captain, seemed deeply moved by her song. "1 knew I would stop your game," ihe laughed, "you are too polite to enjoy life. Come, Evelyn, let's take cinothrr stroll.'The view from the veranda was beautiful, and as the two walked back and forth across the wide floor arm in arm they enjoyed it silently. The moon had risen and hung like ? great globe of yellow light just beneath a floating canopy of filmy clouds. Two rows of wind-moved elms stretched out past the great iron-wrought gates and between gleamed the white chert rirlve. On a sloninc lawn to the left lay luxuriant parterres of flowers diversified by well-kept walks, and smooth plots of grass. Near the center stood a fountain, its sprays gleaming like rain in an April shower against the dark background of magnolia trees. The air which fanned their faces was laden with the perfume of hyacinth and roses. When they had walked several minutes in silence the}- paused at the window front which they had reached the veranda, and looked in on the players. Mr. Hardy was deuling the cards and Capt. Winkle was relating some sort c f experience of his own which seemed to have roused the interest of his host. "Of course," the captain was saying, "the fellow's challenge was a great surprise to me. I confess that I did drive against him out of pure devilment, for 1 had heard what an egotistical, pre sumptlve ass lie was, arT I wanfed to pay him back for throwing my tip :n the river as if he were the prince of Wales, but heaven knows, I didn't think I'd get a bloody duel on my hands. As you know, colonel, there was nothing for me to do but 1o? to make him see the absurdity of the thing." "I suppose not," returned the colonel, In a noncommittal tone. Whatever may have been his secret opinion of Winkle's valor he knew his duty as host too well to impugn it, or to render bis guest uncomfortable by sharp criticism. "And what did you say to him?" he ended. "Why, I told him, of course, that his challenge was a proof of downright cowardice; that he knew well enough that a man in my position could not fight a man in bis. That settled him. He retired like a whipped cur." "And you did not explain or apologize?" slipped almost unconsciously from the lips of the colonel. "Not I, I assure you; ba, ha! Apologize to him! That would have ruined him forever." Evelyn grasped the band of Mrs. Lancaster, nervously, and drew her across the room to the players. "Your story, Capt. Winkle," she said, her eyes flashing, "reminds me very much of a piece of Action I have read somewhere. The circumstances were identically the same except that the officer in the 6tory allowed the hero to humiliate him by cutting off the buttons and shoulder-straps from his uniform. I am so glad your experience did not end that way. The truth is your case was far more agreeable than the fiction in the other." Capt. Winkle paled and interlaced his fingers tightly on the smooth top of the mahogany table. For one second he glared like a condemned man at the speaker and then the fierce stare of her eyes bore his own to the ground. "Perhaps," spoke up Mr. Hardy, whose jests were rare and often too personal, and whq did not admire the captain, "perhaps Capt. Winkle did not tell us all the story after all. I noticed that he was not wearing his togs today." Capt. Winkle seemed to have lost his speech. And the colonel, fearing that bis daughter had inadvertently made a disagreeable comparison, frowned up at her. "What are you talking about, Evelyn?" he asked sharply. "Oh, only a little story I have read," she said, coldly. "I shall try to look it up. It had a beautiful moral." With that parting shot at the cowering victim of his own folly, she drew Mrs. Lancaster again out on the veranda. "Why, dear, you have almost frightened me," said Mrs. Lancaster, under her breath. "What did you mean by what you said?" ? - ?-~..l *~i meant to cut iuc jxij vu* v* little coward, If be has one," the girl aid, fiercely. "I almost feel as If I ought to have exposed him to the others before whom be was posing as a bra.ee man when he is no more than?" Evelyn had been speaking so rapidly that her words ran upon one another and became a jumbled, unintelligible mass. Mrs. Lancaster turned Evelyn's white, impassioned face towards the light of the moon and grasped her rigid hands. "You almost frighten me, darling," she repeated; "what has wrought you up to such a pitch of excitement?" "I think I ought to tell you all about it," answered Evelyn, after a moment's deliberation, "but it must be in confidence." "You can trust me, dear," the sweet old lady assured her. They sat down in a hammock and Evelyn kept it in motion with her slippered feet as they rested lightly on the floor. "Do you remember the young man I showed you at church that day?" "The one," questioned Mrs. Lancaster. "who tou said had saved your lift?" "Yes; do you remember him?" "Quite well; his face made a wonderful impression on me, and I have thought of him a hundred times after all you told me of bis struggle to better his condition and educate himself. 1 don't think 1 ever saw a finer specimen of physical manhood; he had a superb face. Were you alluding to him?" Then in a low voice full of agitation Evelyn explained. For several minutes after the girl had finished the old lady remained silent, then she asked gently, cautiously, as if she were treading on ground upon which she had not been invited: "Do you realize what all thia means, dear Evelyn?" "I realize that Mr. Fanshaw is a friend of mine, and that Capt. Winkte has tried to humiliate him in public." "1 did not. mean exactly that," the widow corrected, quickly. "It is your own danger that I am thinking about." "Mv danger?" Evelyn emphasized the first word. "Yes, you see it is difficult for a young girl to be wholly in sympathy with such a noble, suffering character as this Mr. Fanshaw without running a risk of becoming dangerously interested. Young girls are prone to core for what is withheld from them, and you may not be an exception to the rule. You ought to keep the fact always before you that nothing but disaster could come from an alliance with one so far beneath you, at least in point of birth; you see what I mean." Evelyn drew herself up stiffly. "You need have no fears in that direction," she averred. "We have neither of us thought of that." "But," gently persisted the old lady, "you may not even now know your own heart. I am afraid you could not have been so fierce just now had the captain been talking about any other man." "I don't like to think for a moment, Mrs. Lancaster, that Mr. Fanshaw is beneath us in any respect." "Ah," interrupted the older woman, "that is still another proof of your peril; you even want to feel that he is your equal, when, my poor child, all that you may know him to be mentally, morally or otherwise cannot make him so. Remember your father's pride?the high standing of your family. It would break his heart, Evelyn." "What would break his heart?" burst petulantly from the girl's lips. "It would break his heart to refuse you anything, and yet he could not consent to your marrying into such a family as Mr. Fanshaw's." Evelyn's face was very white, and in the moonlight it looked ghastly. "I have never dreamt of such a thing," she said, quite truthfully. "I have thought only of his hopclne???I have only" prayed thai he might triumph over all the obataclea In bia way to success and happiness." The negro quarter, consisting of a village of about thirty log cabins, lay on the left of the mansion, and from its intricate, lanelike streets came three mulatto musician*, carrying a guitar, a mandolin and a mouth organ. They paused at the steps and began playing. This caused the card players, who were evidently tired of their game, to rise and come out on the veranda, the colonel last of all, clapping his fat hands in unison with the music. Mrs. Lancaster spoke quickly, as if she feared the others might come down to where she and Evelyn sat. "T fondly hope Mr. Fansbaw will sue ceed. He may become a great man in time, but he ought not to be hampered by anything, and I know of no greater hindrance to a young man than for him to love some one above hi* station. Therefore, dear, you must be very careful; you must not allow him to fall in love with you." "In love with me?" the word* were spoken scarcely louder than a whisper, and then Mrs. Lancaster felt a shudder pass through the figure in her arms. Evelyn was thinking of a look she had seen in Ronald Fanshaw's eyes as they sat alone that morning. At this juncture the couple saw Capt. Winkle sauntering down the veranda towards them. "He is looking for you," said the widow; "shall I leave you alone with him?" Evelyn's voice sounded harsh when she replied: "I presume you might as well; it ia plain that he wants to have it out with me. I think I can manage him." Mrs. Lancaster rose as the officer drew near. "I think I shall ask the musicians to play my favorite," she said, Bpeaking at Winkle, to whom she had nodded. As she moved away the captain started to sit in the hammock beside its occupant, but Evelyn promptly stood up and leaned against the balustrade. Her action was greeted with a grunt of disapproval on the part of the young man. "It is just a little cool at this end," she said, half apologetically. "You make me feel that it is decidedly so," he retorted. "But I hope you will bear the temperature a moment, longer." tnaolr ir\ Trtp He was evidently under great agitation and he seemed to reduce his voice to calmness only by extra effort. MI have for some time suspected that you were allowing yourself to become interested in that country bumpkin," he said, almost brutally; "but I did not drtam till to-night that you were in correspondence wtth him." "Most of your dreams occur at night, do they not, captain?" Evelyn had lifted her eyebrows and was smiling coldly, defiantly. "I guess there is no dream about your corresponding with him?at least that he has written you to-day," returned Winkle, in a white heat." "You have been in the house all the afternoon, and besides no one but him could have? could have?" Winkle found himself sliding into a pitfall of his own making, and the startled vacuity of his small face caused Evelyn to laugh out immoderately. "Oh!" she exclaimed, "you think he wrote me about the shearing process." For a moment the captain could only itare stupidly, then a lame 'defense came to his lips. "I could not think of anyone else who could report such a lie to you," he 8!. 111. "Then I am not to believe that it really happened?" queried Evelyn. "The very idea is absurd on the face of it," was the captain's perturbed response. "I can't believe that Mr. Fanshaw would write me a deliberate falsehood," she returned, still smiling tantalizingly. "He is quite truthful and honorable." Winkle's lip curled and quivered impotently. "Do you consider it an honorable thing to write a lie about a man?a?a ?rival? I presume I may call him that, since you have encouraged him to that extent." "He has never thought of you as a ?a rival," mocked Evelyn, with a pronounced sneer. She moved towards the others, but he grasped her arm and detained her. His fury was now unbridled. "I shall report this to your father," he threatened. "You intend to tell ray father that I correspond with Mr. Fanshaw?" she asked, sternly, coldly. "I shall feel it my duty as his friend, knowing that he would disapprove of It, and that you are doing a most foolish thing." "Then you will tell him a falsehood," she said, with a white smile, and eyes which flashed like diamonds in the moonlight. "You do not correspond with him? He has not written to you to-day?" "He has never written me a line in his life. I happened to be a listener to his challenge and a witness to your cowardice. As for his unique humiliation of you, I actually quivered with delight when he cut off your brazen badges of bravery. He repented of having done it?like a brave man would?when he saw that I had seen it all, and he gave me the things to sew back on ycur coat, but you are lighting with a woman now, and T shall retain them. I may need them In the future." He shrank from her as if she had struck him in the face. And with a little taunting laugh. Evelyn left him. She was fo agitated that she avoided the others who were listening to the negroes as they sang a spirited ballad. to be continued. Emperor William a Hard Worker. ?Emperor William is certainly a working man. The record of each of his days at Berlin or Potsdam, as given in the press, shows that every hour from dawn to long after dusk brings its duties?duties demanding wide observation, close study, concentration of thought, and decision. Nor is his attention bounded by German Interests. He is a keen student of the world at large. At various interviews there was ample evidence of his close observation of the present president of the United States, and of appreciation of his doings and qualities.?Andrew White in Century. tiT An idle rumor only awaits a chance to get busy. POWER OP THE SOUTH Has Only To Will To Control The World. SENATOR M'LAURIN TO CONVENTION. It It a Long Hard Fight, Wall Calculated to Try tho Faith of tho Elect; But If the Farmers of the 8outh Will Only Remain True to Each Other, There Can Be No Other Result Than Victory. Columbia State. Wednesday. Mr. John L. McLaurln of Bennettaville electrified the Cotton Growers' convention yesterday. His speech might not stand a Democratic microscopic examination without showing something distasteful to the party which favors "tariff for revenue only," but whatever arguments he made in favor of protection had the force of logic In the attractive manner In which the subject was presented. Mr. McLaurin quite captured the convention, and for the 40 minutes of his speech there was rapt attentior. Frequently there were outbursts of applause. While he was given a flattering reception when flrst called upon for a speech, yet the,applause at its conclusion was very much more demonstrative. "Just a few years ago," he said, "the farmers of Kansas and Nebraska were bunting grain to rec^ice a surplus, as we have heard recently of burning cotton in Georgia and Texas. For the few yea re past the crops In the west hAve been the largest on record and yet wheat Is today selling at nearly $1.20, the equivalent of 12} cent cotton, while outs, corn, barley, rye and all other breadstuffs are proportionately high. There Is a striking analogy between wheat and cotton; they are the two great agricultural export crops of the United States; more and more, the civilized world is looking to our country for food and clothing. 'It is interesting and Instructive In this crisis to And out why it is that the wheat farmer has been able for the past year to hold prices so high above the European party. I haven't made the comparison in some time, Hut not long ago I did and while the European farmers were getting about 80 cents the American farmer was receiving about $1 per bushel. Right across the border In Canada, wheat was selling for much less than It was in Michigan. The wheat farmers know that sooner or later European supplies will be exhausted and they must draw on the United States. Making due allowance for war. which always makes provisions higher, would not answer the question, for that would mean that European prices should be higher than in ^e United States. "A shortage in the American crop of 75,000.000 bushels from last year is not sufficient explanation. The great competitor of cotton Is wool, and trade Journals speak of the almost complete failure of the wool crop of Australia, and it seems to me that under the ordinary laws of supply and demand this should be a factor in fixing the intrinsic value of cotton, but we fall to see Its effect. "Nature has given the cotton planter a great advantage over the wheat grower. While the south enjoys an almost complete monopoly In the production of cotton, wheat Is produced oil OI-&,. tHo world from the Arctic to lower temperate zones. "There Is but one answer to the problem, the wheat farmer Is organized and has learned the lesson of how to manage his affairs on the business principles that govern the other Industries of the world. The Lullaby of "Overproduction." "A few years ago they were singing1 him to sleep with that same old song 'overproduction,' coined by selfish greed to enable the privileged few to rob the many. He was pointed, as you are. to the laws of supply and deman I ?another law of God that has been prostituted und made to turn the products of honest labor into the coffers of those 'who toil not. neither do tney spin.' "The wheat farmers of the west replied to these doctrinaires, 'away with your devil's gospel of greed; we do not believe it. Every grain of our wheat is consumed each year, and yet we hear of famine in Ireland, England, India and Russia; the wail of the hungry poor of New York. Liverpool and Paris reaches our ears. There are bread riots elsewhere, while we burn corn and feed wheat to cattle. Your economic theory is all a lie, for you tell these millions that they starve because there Is no bread, while you tell us thut we starve because of Its very abundance.' That is just what Is being told the cotton farmers today. As. Tom Watson said at New Orleans: 'If we make no crop, it Is ruin; If we make a crop, it is ruin too.' It Is the devil, fellow citizens, not God, who promulgated the creed, 'You can and you can't, you will and you won't, you are damned if you do and you are damned If you don't.' What Wheat Farmers Did. "What did the wheat farmers do? They first organized. They built warehouses all over the west. When the farmers can store their wheat they get a certificate for this, and they can go to any bank and draw their money on it whenever it is needed. He needn't force his wheat on the market until the price is an inducement. The trade journals told us a year and a half ago that the farmers had passed the word around that they wanted and intended to have $1 per bushel for their wheat, and in spite of the combined efforts of the speculators more than a year ago wheat went to J1 a bushel. For a few weeks they forced the price under 90 cents, but the farmers simply refused to sell, and today its equivalent in cotton would be 12J cents a pound. Even in the far off Argentine they have taken the cue, and fixed upon 80 cents as the price they demand for wheat, and at every shipping point there is a warehouse where wheat Is stored until it brings the price. Fellow citizens, cotton Is the only product in the world where the price is fixed entirely by the purchaser, and the man who makes the article has no voice in it. You haul a load of cotton Into town, you go to a buyer; he says. 'Walt till Liverpool comes in.' 1 In a few minutes it is chalked up on the blackboard, and you are told what you must take. Gentlemen, this coat I have on stayed on some merchant's shelf until I paid his price for It. He told me what he would take and I either had to pay his price or go without. "The coal trust, the meat trust, all fix the price of their products, and they keep them until they get that price. You may starve, vou may freeze, you may go naked, but you must pay their price or go without. Declaration of Independence. "All that the New Orleans plan means is xnai we, xne producers or the material that clothes the world, Intend now and henceforth and forever to have a voice In fixing the price of the products of our labor. (Cheers.) To talk about the law of supp'- and demand to the planter is under present conditions an Insult to his Intelligence. Only a year ago cotton that had been sold for consumption and exported to Europe was borrowed, relmported Into this country and dumped on the market, used again and again, until Sully was broken and prices given a blow from which they have never recovered. "The laws of supply and demand! What chance have you to take advantage of the laws of supply and demand when the government Itself discriminates agali>st your product, when the wheat farmer Is given 25 cents a bushel protection against wheat from Canada and the Argentine and cotton can be brought here free of duty and used to depress the price of your product? Cotton is the only great staple product not protected. Wheat gets 25, corn 15, barley, oats, rye and everything else have thrown around It the fostering care of the government, while cotton is left to shift for itself, and it Is our fault. If we had had a duty of 5 cents a pound on cotton imports, Sully, Brown and Hayne could have held the market until it would have declined materially under the InAuence of a large crop and this crop would have averaged you 10 cents a pound. "The laws of supply and demand, indeed! How much good are they to you when the" agricultural department spends $1,000,000 a year collecting accurate statistics on acreage and conditions and before you ever get a chance to market a bale the whole consuming world knows to almost a pound what you will make. What chance did you have last fall after the December report; In a few hours cotton was below the cost of production. "Wherever they can beneAt them the laws of supply and demand are absolutely denied the cotton farmer, while others glory In their beneAcence. Fellow citizens, the New Orleans convention calls upon you to organize for self preservation. I have heard the sneer. 'Oh you can't get the farmers to unite, the thing will fall.' To these I reply the farmers of the west are organized, they control the situation, and the southern cotton planter, in patriotism. Intelligence, patient endurance, self-control and courage, is the peer of any man, anywhere in this wide world. (Cheers). A Cotton Monopoly. "Will you seize the opportunity or will you trample underfoot the advantages given you by God and nature? Let us begin, let us organize for the monopoly given us by God In the production of raw cotton; it is the Arst step toward that time when within our borders we shall spin all the cotton made and exporting nothing but the finished products make the south rich beyond our wildest dreams. There Is a fierce battle going on for commercial supremacy. This will not stop with the addition of a cent or two to the price of cotton; there are Issues of greater moment, It Is a fight for the supremacy of the south In the great Industrial war now being waged in this world. The watchflres are lighted on the hilltops and the bugle has sounded the call to arms: the tramp of the legions may be heard from the Cape Fear to the Rio Grande. "The convention at New Orleans threw down the gauge of battle and the captains of the tens and hundreds are mustering Israel's hosts. The War on Wall Street. "I warn you that the fight will be long, hard and bitter: If we fall It means the world's contempt for a people who could not use God given opportunities. If we succeed. O, men, and the sons of men, who followed the starry cross over the hills of Virginia and amid the swamps of the Mississippi, who rejoiced with Jackson at Bull Run and wept with Lee at Appomatox, It means, O, Lord God, of battles. that thou hast reversed thy verdict at Gettysburg and Appomatox, it means victory, victory for the south without the shedding of a widow's tear or the loss of a single drop of human blood. "Fellow citizens, the Issue was made at New Orleans, It Is Dixie avenue against Wall street! The man who falters and hesitates Is the man who who would make a few paltry dollars, by increasing his acreage at the expense of his patriotic neighbor, he is a coward and a traitor to his own section and people. (Cheers). "The New Orleans convention found Itself confronted by two propositions. "First, to take care of the present surplus of 2,000,000 bales. "Second, to curtail the acreage of the current year. "Third, to find new markets by 1907, so as to put our Industry on a stable basis and prevent a recurrence of npoonnl conditions. I "For the 2.000,000 bales of cotton a pool has been formed with ample capital to back it. If trusts are to be the order of the day, we will cease to be the only victim, and we will have a I cotton trust too; not a secret, darklantern arrangement, but a trust formed for self-protection. In broad open day, by the representatives of 25,000,000 people In twenty states of this union, producing the crop upon which the whole world relies for clothing material. "This is the most gigantic combination ever dreamed of. What the re- J suit will be no man can tell. "One thing Is sure, If you carry It out like every other trust It will be effective. Refuse to sell your cotton, but Instead deposit it in a warehouse and draw your money at the banking agencies established by the cotton] trust, and in addition reduce your acreage; It means that the men who form this pool will have the consumers and bear speculators at their mercy, and you can dictate prices for the ' next crop. Whether the power would be abused or not is another question: but I do say, that it makes you for the time the complete masters of the cotton world, and that you will have to be consulted about the price of your product. No one will tell you what he will give, but will anxiously inquire what you will take for your cotton. "I say further, fellow citizens, that conditions which force a whole people to attempt the organisation of a trust, which, like every other trust, has for It* object the overturning of the natural law of supply and demand, brands as something false and wrong the political and Industrial conditions under which It occurs. It presents a problem that cries out for solution along reasonable, natural lines. The statesman who denies it Is a fraud, the political economist who shirks it is a hypocrite, and the Christian who passes it by is a traitor to his God and country. As to whether such a gigantic trust, with its millions of members, can succeed, and its effect on public interests, constitute problems too deep for me. There Is no other solution offered for the,immediate situation, and it is your duty and my duty to stand by the New Orleans convention, and organise every county and precinct in the state. Texas and other states are thoroughly organised, and South Carolina will be there when the long roil ounds, or prove false to all of her traditions. I thought and said at the convention that the permanent solution of the cotton problem would come from wider markets for cotton goods. No intelligent and concerted action has ever been made on a large scale In this direction. "Among the 400,000,000 people of China we can And a ready market at reasonable prices for all the surplus cotton the world can produce. It has been figured out that the world can use 42,000,000 bales of cotton. "There is another thing that is being done on a constantly Increasing scale, the Chinese are Importing yarns from this country and weaving it into cloth on their hand looms, like those our great-grandmothers used back in slavery days. What a field there is here among these people, rich with the stored up wealth of centuries. The cotton plant in China is a little stunted thing, with almost no staple; they can raise too many other crops of greater value for them to make cotton. Sell them- our cotton goods direct and bring back their camphor, hemp, spices and teas. I derived most of my Information about China from Minister Wu, and he said the south would fipff Its salvation in the China markets, and he should certainly know." Mr. McLaurln' called attention to the fact that while the merchant fixes the price on his wares and refuses to 'sell until he gets a price satisfactory, the cotton farmer must take whatever price Is offered. He is th^-'bnly class In the world offering a commodity for sale who has absolutely nothing to do with the fixing of the price of that commodity. In 1898 when there was a surplus crop, one firm opened a new market In China and disposed of 820.000.000 worth of manufactured goods. He had been a member of the committee to visit the president and to appeal to congress. He had seen the president Monday and had received assurance that Mr. Roosevelt would give the weight of his office to promoting the Interests of the greatest industry in the world. He declared that the representatives at Washington get far away from the people sometimes until the people spank them and teach them better manners. This being taken as a philosophical and good natured acknowledgment of his own political errors'. was greeted with laughter and applause. For the reason that the representatives get so far away, he argued. they should be admonished by just such an organization as this. The Tariff Question. In conclusion Mr. McLaurin spoke as follows In reference to tariff revision: "Why should the wheat farmer use free twine to wrap his protected wheat while the cotton farmer uses protected bagging to wrap his free cotton?" He showed how the south is f criminated against In the tariff. Eastern monopolists have schemed cunningly to plunder the south. Ninety per cent.of the Imports which are admitted to competition in this country are competing with products of the south. "Let us demand that in the coming revision of the tariff our representatives see that the south gets her share of all that is going, that we are recognized as an integral part of this union, ready to share Its burdens and If need be fight its battles, but demanding in return a full share of all the benefits of national life. "Let us organize but keep our organization out ol politics. Let the watchword be "measures not men." I have no confidence in help coming from any political party now In existence. until we are strong enough to force it from any party that may happen to be in power. A man never gets justice until he is strong enough to force It with a 'big stick.' "The great questions with which we are confronted have no place in the little cabals, factions and caucuses of political parties, for there petty Jealousies and selfish ambition ever outweigh the country's good. "In conclusion, fellow citizens, I give you this sentiment, God bless South Carolina: If she Is right I am with hw If she is wrong, 'bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh, God bless her still. I am with her.'" Rbindeetr In Alaska.?That scheme for Importing reindeer Into Alaska from Siberia, which met with criticism and even with ridicule when first suggested a few years ago by Sheldon Jackson, Is now proving the salvation of the Alaskan Esquimaux. While the original thought was only to repair the rapidly lessening food supply of the natives, yet It has developed Into a veritable reindeer Industry. So successfully has the plan worked, in fact, that not only does it furnish the natives with food, clothing and means of transportation, but holds out the prospect of putting Alaska In a few years in the position of supplying deer meat to an outside market. Reindeer does are prolific, and an excellent cheese is made of their milk. As carriers they have already supplanted dogs for the United States mall, and may be ridden, or will carry easily a pack of 151 pounda In fact, the reindeer industry is already a very important one, with widening significance.?Outing. ' FEWER BALE8 MORE MONEY. President E. D. Smith to 8tate Cotton Convention. On his election to the presidency of the South Carolina Southern Cotton association last Tuesday, Mr. E. D. Smith of Magnolia, S. C., spoke as follows : Gentlemen of the Convention: I congratulate South Carolina and the entire south upon the fact that we have lived to fee the dAy when all class distinction has been obliterated; wiien the entire south has rallied to a call to protect her financial Interest. This la not a farmers' fight, it is a question that invclves the welfare of every individual throughout the entire sovthland. W? have heard the old cry that you cannot organise the farmer. Judging the future by the past, this is true, and he should not have been organised upon the plans heretofore attempted. Because cotton is the primary basis of southern prosperity and the farmer attempting to organise himself and arraign himself against the mere hi mt, the country against the town, a false principle, which being wrought in the real life must have Inevitably, as it did. work itself out in disaster. The proposition that confronts us today is a simple one, capable of solution. It is a question whether 16,000,000 of cultured people have a monopoly of the greatest product known to mankind for the power to control or whether t ley have not. American cotton at 10 cents oer pound Is without a competitor as an article of clothing for the world. Vlie 3&J only other competitors are wool, flax and silk. Wool cannot be compared to cotton as an article of clothing for the millions of mankind upon ^ basis of 10 cents per pound for cotton. The limited area capable of flax culture H makes It Impossible tor flax to enter as a competitor. The production of a yard of s>lk Is so costly that It is eliminated when compared with cotton at 10 cents per pound. Foreign cotton cannot enter Into competition with American cotton for the reason tiat the process of Its culture and marketing are so costly that It cannot compete with American cotton: therefore, ^ the only competitor that American cotton can possibly have is American cottnri In >th?r wnrrtu th? onlv thlnar thai can bring the price of American cotton below 10 cents per pound is for the American producer to raise a s jr?' plus beyond the world's requirement and to place this surplus on the m&;-ket, to give in competition what :he world demands. Hence the solution of this question depends upon the wisdom with which the southern people, who having practically the monopoly of cotton at 10 cents per pound, whether they will be guilty of the folly of disregarding the law of supplying a demand, disregarding the simple law of Increasing and diminishing returns and again next year place upon the market a surplus which carded over from this year will inevitably reduce the price of cotton far below the cost of production and bring stagnation, If not bankruptcy, to the entire business world of the south. In order that you may understand the issue before us, last year and this year see r to have been placed by ( Providence In sharp contrast making the lesson taught us so plain that a way-faring man, though a fool, may not mistake. We take last year's crop at 10,000,000 bales which at 10 cents per pound bcougnt to tne souui 5500,000,000. This year, having p)t><luced 13,000.000 at the present price of cotton would have brought In the south only 3390,000,000, making a difference in favor cf the lesser crop of $110,009,000; adding to this the $20 per bale to produce the extra 3,000,000 bales, ve have to the profit account of the leswer crop $170,000,000, or In other words, $10 per capita for every man, woman and child In the southern states. This $10 per capita means increased schools and school facilities, It means Industrial development, financial development, social development, every form of prosperity. In other words, a development of trie wonderful resources of the nouth. Eliminating this $170,000,000 we have left to the south the broad ability to reproduce another monstrous crop upon which the speculative world may Increase Its account, heap up Its fortune at our expense, which in no sense enriches us "but leaves us poor indeed" and in view of these facts the southerner, the native born southerner, who toes not Join In this movement so clearly defined for southern prosperity Is a dastard In his heart and a traitor to his country. Every financial organization in the south has responded nobly to the cali. The bankers In convention assembled have pledged their support; the commercial bodies that have been approached have opened their purses and already we have accumulated $37,000. The dawn is breaking and those of us who have toiled in darkness and doubt will soon stand In the glorious dawn of a liberated south, liberated from the narrowness, the Ignorance and the domination of political demagogues who for years have taken advantage of our poverty and of our ignorance and have led us far astray, but the farmer of today Is not the farmer of a decade ago, neither Is the business man of today the business man of a decade ago. We have learned our lesson through a bitter experience that "United we stand, divided we fall." We do rot look to politic*?that apple of Sodom ha* already turned to ashes in our hands and left Its bltterr ;8s In our hearts. We do not look to toe farmer alone, he has done his duty as he has seen It In all the years pant. We do not look to the bankers alone nor the merchant alone, but to the united south, one who has never known defeat and who 40 years ago in the face of tremendous odds, though overcome by numbers, wrote Its name on the immo.tal shaft of fame as being the bravest and most heroic people that the world ever knew. The blood of these heroes Is In the veins of the men before me today and with the Issue clear-cut, the battle cry clearly defined, no power under God's Heaven, save our own maintenance of our. principles can stay the golden dawn of success. Or Professor (lecturing upon the rhinoceros)?I must beg you to give me your undivided attention. It is absolutely impossible that you can form a true Idea of this hldebus animal urtlfss you keep your eyes fixed on me.