Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, September 25, 1908, Image 1
^ ^ ISSUED SEMX-WEEKL^ ^ ''
l. m. grist s sons. publishers, j % Jfamilg Bemspaper: ^or the promotion of the political, Social. Agricultural and Commercial interests of the people. {T''SiS'Shi.Vivec nt?!an'k
established 1855. YORKVIL L E S.~C., F* RI PAY ,~8E jPTEMBER25," 1!)Q8." XO. 77.
BATTLE 0T
The Political Lea<
High
TWO SIDES TO THE
Mr. Bryan Puts Charges 1
Roosevelt In Manly, S
Letter?Mr. Roosevelt
Looks Like a Crusher
Governor Haskell Giv<
For More Talk.
Mr. Bryan Demands the Proof. I
Detroit, Mich., Sept. 22.?Tne mosti
sensational development in the present
campaign was the sending today Dyi
William J. Bryan, Democratic candidate
for president, of a telegram to
President Roosevelt, demanding that he
produce proof that Gov. Charles N.
Haskell of Oklahoma, treasurer of the
Democratic national committee, ever
was connected with the Standard Oil
company.
Copies of the telegram were given
out for publication just before Mr.
Bryan's departure for Ann Arbor, late
In the afternoon. The programme of
the local committee Included an opportunity
to Mr. Bryan to take a long
rest in the forenoon, but the statement
of President Roosevelt, published this
morning, in which the president endorsed
the charges made against Gov.
Haskell by William R. Hearst, that
Gov. Haskell had been connected with
the Standard Oil company and had attempted
to bribe Attorney General
Frank Monnett of Ohio, was sufficient
to cause him to forego that much needed
luxury and devote himself to the
subject of preparing a reply. He call
ed to his assistance John E. Lamo 01
Indiana. Edwin O. Wood, national committeeman
from Michigan, ancf several
others of the Democratic leaders, and
also held lengthy conferences over the
long distance telephone with New York
and Chicago. Altogether Mr. Bryan
consumed five hours in these consultations
before concluding to address
his telegram to the chief executive.
Up to a late hour tonight he had received
no reply from Mr. Roosevelt.
. The Telegram.
The telegram is as follows:
"Hon. Theodore Roosevelt, President
of the United States.
"Dear Sir: In a statement given out
by you yesterday and published in this
morning's papers you endorse a charge
made against Gov. Haskell of Oklahoma
to the effect that he was once in
the employ of the Standard Oil com
pany and as such employe was connected
with an attempt to bribe cr influence
Attorney General Monnett of
Ohio to dismiss suits pending against
the Standard Oil company. In endorsing
this charge you attack rtie Democratic
party and its candidate, saying
that 'Gov. Haskell stands high in the
councils of Mr. Bryan and is the treasurer
of his national campaign committee,'
and you add that 'the publication
of this correspondence not merely
justifies in striking fashion the action
of the adminstration, but also
casts a curious sidelight on the attacks
made upon the administration
both in the Denver convention, which
nominated Mr. Bryan, and in the
course of Mr. Bryan's campaign.'
"Your charge is so serious that I can
not allow it to go unnoticed. Gov.
Haskell has denied that he was ever
employed by the Standard Oil company
in any capacity or was ever connected
in any way whatever with it
or with the transaction upon which
your charge is based.
"Gov. Haskell demanded an investigation
at the time the charge was first
made, offering to appear and testify,
and he demands an investigation now.
I agree with you that if Gov. Haskell
So oroiltf OC nhoro-Dil ho is unfit to be
connected with the Democratic national
committee and I am sure you will
agree with me that if he i* innocent he
deserves to be exonerated from so
damming an accusation. As the selection
of Gov. Haskell as chairman of
committee on resolutions at Denver
and also as treasurer of the Democratic
national committee had my approval
and endorsement. I feel it my
duty to demand an immediate investigation
of a charge against him endorsed
by the president of the United
States. Your high position, as well as
your sense of justice, should prevent
your giving sanction and circulation
to such a charge without proof and I
respectfully request therefore, that you
furnish any proof which you have in
your possession, or if you have no
proof, I request that you indicate a
method by which the truth may be ascertained.
Without consulting Mr.
Haskell. I will agree that he will appear
for investigation before any tribunal,
public or private, which you
may indicate, and I will futher agree
that his connection with the national
commitee and this campaign shall
cease in the event that the decision
of such tribunal connects him in any
way with this charge, or in case you.
after an investigation of the facts, say
that you believe him guilty of the
charges made.
"As the candidate of the Democratic
party I shall not permit any responsible
member of the Republican organization
to misrepresent* the acts of the
Democratic party in the present campaign.
I have assisted you to the extent
of my ability in remedial measures
which I deemed for the public
good which you have undertaken; I
have urged Democrats to support such
measures and I have advocated more
radical measures against private monopolies
than either you or your party
associates have been willing to undertake.
"The platform of the Democratic
party is clear and specific on this subject.
as on other subjects, while the
platform of the Republican party is
uncertain and evasive.
"The Democratic candidate for vice
president. Mr. Kern, joined ttlth me in
requesting the Democratic national
committee to fix a maximum of $10,000
for individual contributions and to
publish before the election all contributions
above $100 and the committee
THE GIANTS.
tiers are Stirred to
Pitch.
BRIBERY QUESTION
Against Haskell Up to Mr.
Itraight From the Shoulder
Comes Back With What
for Governor Haskell, and
2S Out a Reply That Calls
acted favorably upon the request. The
Republican candidate and the Republican
national committee DroDOsed. not
publication before the election, but
publication after the election. I submit
that our committee has given the
better evidence of its freedom from
connection or obligation to the predatory
interests. Our committee has not
knowingly received a dollar from an
official of any corporation known as
a trust, and it will not receive tiny
money from such. If any money is
contributed by such persons without
the knowledge of the committee it will
be returned as soon the fact is discovered.
"The Democratic party is making an
honest and an honorable fight in defense
of the principles and policies
enunciated in its platform and it expects
and will demand fair and honorable
treatment from those who are in
charge of the Republican campaign.
"With great respect, etc.,
"Very truly yours,
"William J. Bryan.
"Detroit. Mich.. Sept. 22."
President In Reply.
President Roosevelt and cabinet
spent all of Wednesday in preparing
a reply to Mr. Bryan, and Wednesday
night mailed him the following, which
was at the same time given out to the
press:
"The White House. Washington. D. C.
"September 23d, 1908.
M T? trvlnrrro m T'All
I CMI. Ill %>\?ui ICICfti Clin j vu
speak of so much of the charge against
Governor Haskel! as dealt with his
relations, while in Ohio, with the
Standard Oil company. You omit the
charge as to his relations with the
Standard Oil interests as shown by his
action while Governor of Oklahoma,
this very summer, this action being in
part taken while he was at Denver,
where, as you state, he was by your
wish made chairman of the committee
which drafted the platform upon which
you are standing. In my statement I
purposely made no specific allusion to
the Ohio matter, and shall at this time
make none, in spite of its significance,
and in spite of the further fact that
Governor Haskell's close relations with
the Standard Oil interests while he was
in Ohio was a matter of common notoriety.
In Oklahoma it is a matter of court
record. By this court record It appeared
that the attorney general of the
state, elected by the people, obtained
an injunction to prevent the Prairie
Oil and Gas company from building a
pipe line: and that Governor Haskell
found this out while he was at Denver,
as appears by the representations for
the dissolution of the injunction made
in his name on behalf of the state, before
a court of superior jurisdiction to
that which had issued the injunction.
In this the governor states that the
acting governor, in his absence, had
asked that the hearing be postponed
until he. the governor, might return
and have an opportunity to investigate
the controversy. The governor sets
forth in his petition that he is the sole
authority to demand such matters, and
that the attorney general and the judge
of the lover court had no right in the
matter, and that the action of the judge
of the lower court represented "an encroachment
by the judiciary." The attorney
general opposed the dissolution
of the injunction, stating that the Prairie
Oil and Gas company was a foreign
corporation which had not accepted the
provisions of the constitution applicable
to such corporations and that without
authority of law it was employing
a great force of men and teams to dig
up. across and into various highways
of the state for the purpose of laying
its pipe lines.
The governor prevailed, the injunction
was suspended and the pipe line
was permitted to continue its work, to
use the words of the attorney general,
"without any color of law." I call your
attention to the fact that the question
is not whether or not the judge erred,
or whether the injunction was proper.
The point is that the governor was
alert to take out of the hands of the
attorney general what the attorney general
felt was his sworn duty to prevent.
an alleged instance of the breaking
of the laws by this particular great
corporation.
"As far as 1 have seen, Governor
Haskell has not even attempted anything
which can he called a defense of
this action of his. It thus appears that
his action was as inexcusable as it was
wanton, except on the theory that in
defiance of the attorney general of the
state and at all hazards he intended
for some reason of his own to protect
the interests of a great corporation
against the law. It has been suggested
on his behalf, after all. he did not favor
the Standard Oil company but merely'
the Prairie Oil and Gas company.
This claim is disposed of by the testimony
of the Standard Oil company itself
taken in the latter part of 1H07 in
the suit now pending before the United
States court at St. I?uis against the
Standard Oil company. In this testimony
the Standard Oil company, upon
being required by the governor to
put in a list of all the companies in
which it held stock, or in which its
subsidiary companies held stock, reported
among others the Prairie Oil
and Gas company, total capital $10,000.000.
of which the National Transit
company's proportion was $9,999,500;
and. furthermore, it appears that the
National Transit company had si capital
stock of $25,455,200, of which the
Standsird Oil company owned $25,451,650.
In other words, this Prairie Oil
and Gas company was owned, all except
$500. by the national Trust com
pany, and this National Transit company
was owned, all except about $3,r>50,
by the Standard Oil company.
"Now contrast your action in this
case of Governor Haskell with Mr.
Taft's action as regards Senator Foraker,
as set forth in his letter of July
20th. 1907, which I quoted in my statement.
It was a matter of common notoriety
about Senator Foraker, as it
has long been a matter of common notoriety
about Governor Haskell, that he
was the defender and supporter of certain
great corporation interests and
therefore hostile to the policies for
which the administration has stood.
There was no such convincing proof
against Senator Foraker at that time,
however, as there was against Govern
or nasKen, wneii, as yuu aay, nc ??s
with your approval made treasurer of
your campaign committee. But Mr.
Taft refused to be a party to the renomination
of Senator Foraker, even
though it was represented that only
thus could he advance his own interests,
showing by actual deeds, that his
words were true when he said, "I do
not care for the presidency if it has to
come by compromises with any one on
a matter of principle." With a hundred-fold
clearer evidence before you
as to the connection of Governor Haskell
with the Standard Oil than Mr.
Taft then had. as to the connection of
Senator Foraker with any corporation,
you nevertheless, having secured Governor
Haskell as chairman of the committee
to write the platform on which
you stand, put him in as treasurer of
vour campaign committee.
"Let me add that Governor Haskell's
utter unfitness for any public position
of trust, or for association with any
man anxious to make an appeal on a
moral issue to the American people,
has been abundantly shown, wholly irrespective
of this action of his in connection
with the Standard Oil interest.
As an American citizen who prizes his
Americanism and his citizenship far
onv mipstinn of nartisanshiD. I
regard it as a scandal and a disgrace
that Governor Haskell should be connected
with the management of any
national campaign.
"I have not the space in this letter
to discuss Governor Haskell's conduct,
for instance, in vetoing the child labor
bill; or the fact that his name appears
as one of the defendants in various
suits brought by the government
to prevent the Creek Indians from having
certain of their lands fraudulently
taken: or his connection with various
matters of the kind, but let me call
your attention to his conduct in prostituting
to base purposes the State
University, as set forth in an article,in
the Outlook of September 5th last under
the heading of "Shall The People
Rule?In Oklahoma?" rn this article
you will see that Governor Haskell was
given full opportunity to make every
explanation, and that he made none.
After setting forth the facts as to Governor
Haskell's conduct, the Outlook
article concludes as follows:
" "On this state of affairs we have
two comments to make and two questions
to ask.
" 'The people of Oklahoma are taxed
to support their educational institutions,
from the primary school to the
university. They pay their money to
have their children educated. When
the politicians use this money to promote
the interests of a political machine
or a church sect, they are guilty
of a breach of trust. What do the tax
payers of Oklahoma think of the use
which their public servants are making
of the public funds? What do they
think about this financial policy?the
taking of the money due their sons and
daughters and diverting it for the benefits
of politicians, ecclesiastical and
civil?
" 'Governor Haskell was one of Mr.
Bryan's right hand men in the Democratic
convention, and at Mr. Bryan's
instance, has been made treasurer of
the Democratic national committee. It
is appalling to think what would be the
results in the educational systems of
the Philippines and Porto Rico, in the
digging of the Panama canal, in the
work of irrigation and reforestation, in
the administration of the postofflces,
the interior and agricultural departments.
in the appointments of foreign
ministers and consuls, if the spirit
which has actuated the Democratic authorities
in the state of Oklahoma
should be permitted to take control of
the Federal government at Washington.
Governor Haskell, by actions
which speak louder than words, has
declared his disbelief in Grover Cleveland's
motto "A public office is a public
trust." and Mr. Haskell is a representative
leader in the Bryan Democcraey.
What does Mr. Bryan think of
Mr. Cleveland's principle? What do
the American people think of Mr. Haskell's
contemptuous reversal of it?'
"You close your telegram by saying
that you expect and will demand
fair and honorable treatment from
those who are in charge of the Republican
campaign. I am not in charge
of the campaign, but am greatly interested
in it. I have shown you in
the above fairly and honorably that
Governor Haskell is a man who, on every
account I have named, is unworthy
of any position in our public life. No
further investigation of these facts is
required. They are spread on the record
before you, and they were available
before Mr. Haskell was chosen for
his position as treasurer."
Haskell Hits Back.
Guthrie. Okla., September 23.?
Governor C. X. Haskell tonight issued
a statement to the Associated Press
in reply to President Roosevelt's letter
to Wm. J. Bryan, dealing with
four specific charges against Mr. Haskell.
namely: That he is subservient
to Standard Oil: that he vetoed a
child labor bill: that he dealt extensively
in Creek Indian lands and that
he had allowed politics to dominate
in the removal of members of the faculty
of the state university and the appointment
of others to succeed them.
Governor Haskell took up the four
charges as dwelt upon by President
Roosevelt in turn, dealing with each
in a characteristic manner.
The Prairie Oil and Gas company
charges Governor Haskell declared to
be a "joke on Roosevelt's stupidity,"
asserting that he had done nothing
which would confer upon the Standard
Oil subsidiary company more .authority
than it already possessed under
a franchise granted it by Secretary
Hitchcock.
"1 assert that it is fair for me to
assume that if my case was to be dignified
by an all day cabinet meeting
that beyond question Mr. Hearst
and his campaign associate, President
Roosevelt, left no sftone unturned to
blacken my character. That being
true, they certainly raked Ohio fore
and aft concerning the Ohio Standard
Oil cases of 1899 and finding absolutely
nothing reflecting on me, the
president tried to waive his charge of
last Monday aside by saying he will
make no allusion to that. He drops
this subject because-his original statement
was untruthful and he must
know from what he knows and tried
to find in Ohio that I spoke the truth
when I said that I never in all my
life had any interest in, connection
with nor service for that company.
"I say the president knows now that
my statement is true and I regret that
he tries to brush it aside without doing
me candid justice. Were I to
adopt the character of language so
commonly used by the president, 1
would spell it in rewer letters man
'falsehood.'
"Mr. Roosevelt, I hope to speak
in Ohio soon. May I hope to divide
the time with some partisan of yours
or Prince William, who will defend
your action in this instance?
"President Roosevelt comes to Oklahoma
and finds a substitute for his
Ohio failure, does he, in the case of
the state against the Prairie Oil and
Gas company, which he complains I
compelled to be dismissed!
"Yes, I did have it dismissed. We
all know that the Prairie company is
a Standard Oil offspring, and don't
forget the president claims to have
known this also, and I charge that
the political allies, Hearst and Rooseveft,
both know that I acted properly.
"First, the Prairie Oil compahygot
its franchise in our state, not from
me, but from Roosevelt's secretary of
interior, long before statehood began,
and had its main line built and operating,
and congress in our statehood
bill was careful to declare that our
new state, when organized, must respect
all such vested rights and existing
franchises. That was all I did and
the Federal courts stood ready to call
me down if I violated the Roosevelt
territorial franchises.
"Now, Mr. President, why did your
secretary of the interior grant what
you knew to be a Standard Oil pipe
line franchise in our then helpless
territory and fasten it on our new
state by a permanent statehood bill?
Will Mr. Hearst or the president
please answer? I will also remind the
president that the company tried to
enlarge its rights so as to include a
gas as well as an oil privilege. Tnis
I defeated, and even last April, Mr.
President, your secretary of interior
tried to help the Standard Oil to get
gas privileges against my protest by
actually granting them a franchise to
lay an interstate gas line also. I notified
the secretary that with statehood
your days of giving valuable
franchises in our state had passed
and I would resist laying the pipe
only after you yielded and cancelled
your unlawful act.
"I again assert that my act in that
Qase was not only required by what
Federal authority had been unable to
do, but that the public interest of our
own people, based on conditions
growing out of your original special
favor to the Standard Oil company in
granting that franchise, required me
to pursue that policy in the case you
criticise,
"The president comes to the local
affairs of our state and assails me for
vetoing a child labor bill.
"True, I did so, simply because the
bill went too far and included things
not desired by our people. Union labor
representatives approved my veto.
T hnrio 1h? nresidfint will survive this
veto of a local bill and permit us to
run our local affairs.
"The president complains that we
removed certain professors from our
state university, our three state normal
schools and preparatory school in
violation of civil service rules. That
is, the president, in his usual impetuosity
and reckless disregard of others,
misstates the facts. Less than
one-ftfth of the faculties are changed.
All changes were for good cause
other than politics and done by boards
of regents and not by the governor.
The president complains that there
are several suits pending against me
to reclaim Creek Indian lands. The
president should have gone further
and said that 1 was not a dealer in
Indian land and only came in as a
subsequent purchaser and was only
incidentally a party without personal
interest at all, and especially he
should have said that it is quite apparent
that those who are being sued
in those land cases appear to be, and
apparently are, the victims of political
chicanery, which the president
can better explain than I.
"In short, the president and Mr.
Hearst picked the wrong man and are
now driven into ward politics rather
than surrender like men.
"The president assumes that all
Oklahomans are grafters just because
his territorial associates Justified the
name: that all ex-railroad contractors
are bad just because Paul Morton
needed his protection; that we all in
Oklahoma violate the civil service law
just because Mr. Roosevelt removed
the best United States marshal we
ever had, the only reason being he
voted for a good Democrat instead of
a bad Republican and then the president
appointed his cousin to fill the
vacancy
"As to the reports of labor on a.
child labor bill, and my work in the
interest of labor, Mr. President
please remember, with me, it's doing
things. With you it's talk only. You
are the same president who threatened
to turn down our constitution
because it provides a jury trial in certain
contempt cases. Don't forget,
Mr. President. I flatly dared you to
make that objection. Rut as the price
of your approval you did compel us
to cut the prohibition or removal of
personal injury cases against foreign
coifx rations from state to Federal I
courts and several other good provisions
that would benefit humanity
and curb special interests. Xot content
with your own threats against
our constitution, you sent Secretary
Til ft here t<? spean in our campaign a
year ago to induce the people to vote
to turn down the best constitution
ever written. We remember that we
preserved Mr. Taft's speech. It differs
widely from his speeches of thif
vear.
"Knowing all these things, the
president must pardon us for thus
taking issue with the occupant of the
high office we all respect. Let us hope
that in the future he will appreciate
and preserve its dignity and not try
to reflect upon the character of a
humble citizen.. We fail to concede
his false position when he knows it is
false.
"C. X. Haskell.
iUioccllanmuo Reading.
REPUBLICANS ARE ALARMED.
Looks Like New York Situation Is
Very Doubtful.
"What are you fellows trying to do?
scare us this early in the campaign?"
Inquired a man who is conspicuous in
business circles here, of an officer of
the Republican national committee this
evening.
'What do you mean?" the latter
asked in turn.
| "Why the newspapers are full of
matter tending to show that Bryan has
Taft on the defensive, is stirring up
the middle west against the Republicans,
s.nd expects to carry- New York.
Is thai: true or not, or are you folks
planning a raid on our bank accounts?"
The Republican politician's answer is
immaterial, for the point to this Uttle
colloquy Is that a genuine scarethas set
In among the so-called big Interests,
particularly those with Republican
leanings. Most of the news that has
reached New York tells of Democratic
aggressiveness in the states which are
debatable?Indiana, Ohio, Kansas, Nebraska,
Illinois, etc.
These tidings have been so consistently
of the same general trend that at
last Republicans have awakened to the
fact that a real danger confronts them;
that confidence begot of former triumps
may be misplaced and that Democracy
is making headway which, if
unchecked, will sweep Bryan into the
presidency.
It was pointed out in a previous dispatch
that, as a general rule, the larger
business interests of the metropolis
preferred the election of Taft to
that of Bryan, and that this preference
was inspired by the belief that commerce
and industry would more readily
be restored to normal conditions if the
Republicans continued in power at
Washington.
When Bryan came here he was quick
to discern this sentiment, and started
in at once to attempt to counteract it.
In his speeches he repeatedly declared
thot tKoro woo tin ron ann fnr ctinh r1i<3
quietude in business^circles; that Democratic
administration did not signify
turmoil, disaster, or hard times. That,
he assured his audiences, was a Republican
deception practiced with success
in the past, and should not frighten
the people any more.
In pursuance of a definite plan to
conciliate business men who have been
opposed to him in the past, he directed
the national committee to send all radical
stump speakers to the middle west
and assign only men of proved conservatism
to proclaim Democratic doctrine
in the east. This is illustrative of the
tactics this consummate political leader
is employing these days.
Now that the Excitement incident to
the Republican and Democratic state
conventions and the visit of Bryan has
subsided, the managers of the two parties
are beginning to take stock. The
Democrats find more cause for satisfaction
than the Republicans do, for
reasons specified in recent dispatches.
Tlie Democrats have more to accomplish
in order to carry New York than
the Republicans, because the state has
been in the control of the Republicans
since 1894, and they have had plenty of
time and opportunity firmly to intrench
themselves. But their adversaries have
succeeded in weakening their grip, and
now the Republicans must regain what
they have lost.
This means they have less an advan
tage than they had a week or two ago,
but still some. If they prove their
ability to prevent further inroads by
the Democrats, to adjust their own differences,
and to get into a position
where they will no longer be on the defensive,
the chances are the electoral
vote can be saved for Taft and Sherman.
If incompetency characterizes
the management of their campaign, internal
dissension does not cease, and
much is left to luck and Providence,
Bryan will finally score a victory.
In summarizing the situation in New
York at this stage of the campaign, it
may be said that Taft should carry the
state, if?
First, the support of the business interests,
whose disposition since 1896
has been to assist the Republican party,
is not alienated to a more palpable
degree than at present.
Second, Governor Hughes maintains
his inherent advantage over Lieutenant
Governor Lewis Stuyvesant Chanler,
due to his services at Albany, and
his being the initiator of various reforms
to which his Democratic opponent
has subscribed.
m u: ~ /i Tr>flo?\nn/1onnp rmrtv Tin
I IlIIU, IIIC lUUCi'Viiuviivv ,
(ler the skillful leadership of William
R. Hearst, polls the vote its friends
are predicting?between 170.000 and
200,000?or, the Republican managers
anticipate, about 100,000.
Bryan should swing the state into
the Democratic column if?
First. Tammany Hall's professions of
support and loyalty prove to be absolutely
.sincere, and it does not trade
votes on the presidency for votes for
the state, legislative, and county tickets.
There is still some suspicion as
to Tanjmany's pretensions in high
Bryanite circles.
Second, certain large business interests
satisfy themselves that they no
longer need fear Bryan as chief administrative
officer of the nation, and that
his repeated assurances to this effect
are to be depended upon.
Third, Republican disorganization
continues in consequence of the interference
by the national administration
last week with the Saratoga convention.
These are the primary factors which
will contribute to the success of one
party or another. By the middle of
October?by the third week of next
month at the latest?the campaign will
have passed the formation stage, and
the developments should he sufficiently
susceptible of intelligent interpretion to
enable one to judge in which direction
the tide is inevitably running.
Today, as previously stated, the odds
still appear slightly in Taft's favor,
although they have heen noticeably reduced
by the ingenious and effective
tactics of Bryan and his managers.?
-xr?i. i ontVi *<? \Vrnchintrfnn
,\CW I OI K spruun, .uiii . ?
Post.
Rkmovkd Fhom Sight.?A small girl,
Inst at Coney Island, was kindly cared
for at the police station until her parents
should he round. The matron
endeavoring to keep the child contented.
had given her a candy cat, with
which she played happily all day.
At night the cat had disappeared.
and the matron inquired if it had been
lost.
"No." said the little maid. "I kep*
it most all day. But then it got so
dirty I was shamed to look at it, so I
et it."?Youth's Companion.
NOT MEXICAN WEEVIL.
Report That Pest Exists In This State
Is Erroneous.
The following articles, contributed by
Mr. H. W. Barre, botanist of the South
Carolina experiment station at Clemson
college, and Mr. A. H. Conradi, enI
tomologist of the experiment station,
will prove of interest to the farmers
of the state, in view especially of the
recent reports that the boll weevil had
h#>An foiinil In this state.
Mr. Barre's statement concerning the
cotton pest is as follows:
"Anthracnos a Boll Disease."
"Articles have appeared in the various
newspapers of the state within
the past few weeks stating that the
Mexican boll weevil was present in
some sections of South Carolina and
was causing an immense amount of
damage to the cotton. On investigation
these reports, without exception,
have been found to be erroneous and
the trouble has been found to be due
to a fungus disease which' is known
as anthracnose.
"Anthracnose is a kind of boll rot
which Is caused by a minute vegetable
organism, a fungus, and is in no way
connected with any insect work. The
symptoms of the disease are such that
it can be readily recognized. It first
appears on the bolls as small oval or
round, dark-colored. sunken areas.
These spots or diseased areas increase
in size until they sometimes cover onefourth
of the surface of the boll, or
several spots may occur at different
points on the boll at one time, and
these as they increase in size converge
and form large irregular diseased
areas. In the later stages of the disease
these spots are covered with a
pinkish, powdery mass, this pinKisn
coloration is very characteristic of the
disease. The powdery looking surface
is a mass of the fungus spores (tiny
seed-like reproductive bodies).
"Bolls affected \ylth the disease open
poorly or not at all. Where they do
open, the locks of cotton are stained
and rotten so that the diseased bolls
are a complete loss. In some cases
practically all of the bolls on a stalk
will rot in this way.
"The organism which causes the disease,
as indicated above, is a tiny, parasitic,
thread-like plant, or a fungus
which penetrates the tissue of the boll
and ramifies it with filaments which
are so small they can not be seen except
with the aid of a compound microscope.
The growth of these threadlike
structures in the boll either cause
the tissue to be broken down or secretes
some poisonous substance and
retards the growth of the boll. This
causes the affected parts of the boll to
rot, the general effect being somewhat
like irots of fruits, potatoes, etc. The
fungiis is reproduced by the little seedlike
foodies or spores, which are produced
by thousands in the pinkish
areas on the surface of the diseased
bolls. These tiny spores are blown by
the wind, carried by insects or washed,
by rain to neighboring bolls and there
start the disease anew.
"With this very efficient means of
reproducing itself, the disease spreads
rapidly when weather conditions are
favorable and is truly characterized as
a contagious disease. This makes it
hard to fight, for anything that blows
about everywhere in the air or is washed
about by rain water readily spreads
at will. It can not be controlled by
spraying, because it would be too expensive
to spray large cotton fields.
Like seed plants, though, these fungi
pass through a dormant period. They
thrive during warm, damp weather,
but their growth is checked when the
weather is dry or when winter comes
on. It is when they are in the dormant
condition that we must fight them.
The anthracnose fungus lives qyer the
winter In the dead bolls and stalks and
in the soil, and it is there ready to attack
the cotton when it comes up in
the spring. By rotating crops in such
a way as to not plant cotton on the
same field two years in succession we
can starve out the fungus and in that
way get rid of it. At the same time it
is necessary to select seed from stalks
or from fields which are not affected
with the disease, for if seed are planted
from diseased stalks the fungus will
germinate about the same time the seed
does and infect the seedling plants as
soon as they are up.
"We find also that some varieties of
cotton are more susceptible to the disease
than others. In the variety tests
at the experiment station we find some
varieties badly diseased and some
scarcely affected at all. Information
will be given out later to those interested
as to what varieties show most
inclination to become Immune to attacks
of the disease.
"Anthracnose is becoming a serious
pest. It occurs to a certain extent in
every section of the state and unless
some effort is made to check its spread
and to blot it out, it is sure to become
ever more destructive. The botanical
division of the South Carolina experiment
station are making a special
study of this disease and will be glad
to give out any further available information
to individuals by personal
letter. H. W. Barre,
"Botanist South Carolina Experiment
station."
Mr. C'onradi has this to say about the
insect which has been found in cotton
bolls in this state:
Cotton Boll Weevil.
"There have been reports in the
newspapers of the state concerning the
occurrence of cotton boll weevil on
cotton plantations of South Carolina.
These reports have been carefully investigated
and personal inspection
made as far as possible by the botan
ist ami entomologist of the South Carolina
experiment station. These insects
proved to be the acorn weevils, which
are very common ail over the southern
states at this season of the year. They
breed profusely in acorns and emerge
from them at this time to go into
winter quarters. These weevils are
larger than the Mexican cotton boll
weevil and have a longer, more slender
and somewhat more curved proboscis.
One way of distinguishing the cotton
boll weevil from the many other weevils
that occur in the southern states
is to carefully examine the knees of the
front legs. Immediately above the elbow
there is a swelling on each front
leg. which bears two spines, a larger
and a smaller. It Is not necessary to
have a magnifying glass to observe
this character, but a careful observer
will notice It by examining the Insect
with the naked eye.
"We wish furthermore to state that
the Injury by the cotton boll weevil is
caused by its habits of puncturing or
boring into the squares and bolls.
These punctures resemble openings
made by a coarse needle and where the
insect only fed from the square these
holes are left open, causing decay in
the square. Where the female, however,
has deposited her eggs in such
an opening It is carefully sealed in every
Instance with the chewed material
when making the puncture, and this
work may be readily recognized by
conspicuous pimples. Generally within
seven days after tnts puncture taxes
place the square will drop to the
ground. The eggs will hatch in the
course of two days and the young larva
will eat the Inner contents of the
square, transform to the third stage,
known as pupa, after which It becomes
a full-grown weevil. All this takes
place inside of the square, the weevil
eating Its way out after It Is mature.
"A. G. Conradl,
"Entomologist South Carolina Experiment
Station."
PRINTERS' BLUNDERS.
Comic Effects Frequent In the Days
When Bad Copy Was the Rule.
Typographical errors that produced
weird or comical effects are described
by the St. Louis Republic in an article
recalling the days when all of that
newspaper's type was set by hand, before
the introduction of typesetting
machines, when the copy, instead of
being typewritten, was turned over to
the printer in an infinite variety of
good, bad and indifferent chlrography.
Comparatively few of the errors
were allowed to contribute to the gayety
of the subscribers, as the majority
were squelched in the "house of correction,"
as the proofroom was facetiously
termed. From a collection
made by a proofreader the following
instances of ridiculous misreading of
copy are taken:
"His blushing bride" was transformed
into "his blustering bride."
A captain was said to have "served
with destruction in the Confederate
army," but the writer thought he
wrote "distinction."
Two pictures entitled, "The Galley
Slave" and "Each In their Turn"
were referred to as "The Galley I
Love" and "Enoch In Shin Town."
Having Irr mind the Influence of former
citizens of the land of the shamrock
upon the political destinies of the
town, what more natural than that the
printer man should set up an "Irish
district court" where It had been the
"first district court?"
Professor Frank Geeks was mentioned
as having rendered "violent selections"
rather than "violin selections."
Somebody was quoted as saying that
"all the singing folks on the vaudeville
stage have hundreds of wives," but the
copy, when carefully examined, was
found to read "husbands or wives,"
and a sensation In the theatrical world
was averted.
"They sailed for three days around
the cape an'd finally slaughtered a small
Italian'" was corrected to read "sighted
a small Island."
On one occasion the reporter wrote
of certain "dwarfed and hungered children."
who' were made to appear perhaps
more pathetic when the compositor
substituted the words "doorfed and
haggard."
"He takes delight in talking on his
family shame" was a shameful thing
to say about him, for "favorite theme"
was meant.
"Red Cross Society Will Fight Corbett"
was the way the typesetter transformed
the copy concerning a crusade
against cholera.
THE IDEAL HEIGHT.
For a Man It Is an Inch and a Half
Under Six Feet,
Recruits who are much over six feet
tall are not desired for the United
States army. There are exceptions, of
course; but, as a rule, men who run
much over six feet lack depth of chest
and by reason of inadequate lung
capacity fall below the average in power
of endurance.
The ideal height for a man, according
to observations from a military
point of view, is an inch and a half under
six feet. It does not seem to be intended
by nature that the male human
animal shall exceed this stature if due
regard is to be had for development at
all points. On the other hand, It is
an obvious disadvantage for physical
effectiveness to be under the average
number of inches. At five feet ten and
a half a man attains his best development
of muscle and bone, with highest
vital efficiency.
Just what is the average height for
a man seems to be not satisfactorily
settled. Obviously it differs largely
with race, we and the Japanese representing
among civilized peoples the
two extremes. On the other hand, the
American Indians are taller than we
are, and the aborigines of Patagonia are
\ no amnph
lue iwiueai iwirv. in mc ?unu,
as the men commonly run over six feet
in height. When the early Spanish
explorers described them as a race of
giants they were not far from the fact.
Even in the United States the-stature
seems to vary considerably with locality.
During the civil war, from the
beginning to the end of which our government
put into the field and on board
of fighting ships more than 2,500,000
men. the tallest recruits came from
Kentucky, averaging over five feet
eight and a half Inches. Kansas, Minnesota.
Missouri, Californta and Nevada
came next in the order given, all of
them over five feet eight. Maine, Illinois
and Michigan averaged five feet
seven and four-fifth inches and Ohio
and Pennsylvania a trifle less. Recruits
from Massachusetts and Connecticut
stood at the foot of the list, measuring
five feet six and a half inches.
After fifty years of age the human
body begins to undergo a progressive
shrinkage. Not only do the muscular
tissues lose bulk, but even the bones
become smaller. Meanwhile there is a
contraction of the cartilaginous tissue
between the vertebrae of the backbone,
...i. i ?i, ? Iaoo r\f hoicrh t a TTlfl Fl
WHICH a v/oo v/i uviQMt,
originally six feet tall frequently losing
as much as an inch and a half of
his stature by the time he is seventy
years old.?Saturday Evening Post.
tv The grasshopper jumps about 200
times its own length.
DEATH OF A WOMAN.
There It Need For More Humanity In
Thit Christian World of Ours.
A woman killed herself Monday night
because her child was 111 In a distant
state and she had no means by which
she could reach It.
The woman was earning her bread
in the sweat of her face. Her child was
in Oklahoma. The woman's husband
was dead. The woman had few acquaintances
and no friends here. She
was a stranger in a strange land. She
felt that If she did not reach her child
at once she would never see it alive,
yet she knew no one to whom she could
turn for aid or sympathy.
There is no condition that is so destitute
among strangers.
A destitute man can get food and
clothing for the asking. All that he
has to say is that he is without work
and out of funds, and men will give
to him and ask no questions in return.
With a woman it is different. Often
if she seeks aid she is Insulted. Often
she is Jeered at, and men and women,
if they do not know her, in her hour of
distress turn away from her as something
unfit to receive a kind word or
material aid.
A man can walk the streets, sleep
in an open lot today, get a Job tomorI
w/vitf on/1 of fKo on/1 /\f Via nr/Wilr TIT I Vl
ivyn, anu at biiv vtiu v*. tuc n> wn* *?
wages In his pocket, can stand the
peer of any other man on earth, asking
no favor and able to fight any battle.
If' prosperity follows him, and he be|
comes rich, he will talk over his wine
and walnuts of his early struggles, of
his hunger and of his beggary.
And a woman- is prouder and more
sensitive than a man, and rather than
make her destitution known she is content
to die. A woman will starve rather
than beg, not so with man.
There is a man who owns a building
in New York city today, which stands
opposite a great park. This building
13 worth probably 110,000,000. The man
himself is worth 130,000,000. Once he
sat by a window in this building which
he owns and looked across at an iron
seat in front of the city hall, and here
is what he said: "Many years ago I
came to this country ignorant of the
English language. One night I slept on
an iron bench, which I now see under
the tree in the park across the street.
The next morning I had to beg for a
chance to work to earn money to buy
my breakfast."
A woman can have no such expe
rience. Women are weaker than. men.
They are less able to struggle for existence
than men, but with all that,
the struggle is made harder for them.
Our civilization Is strangely out of
joint and our system of society Is
strangely unfair, that we make the
struggle for existence easier for strong
men than for weak women.
We hope the good God was merciful
to the woman who took her own
life because she could not get the
money to go to see her dying child, for
she suffered much when she lived.?
Memphis Commercial Appeal.
AN HONE8T ARTI8T.
He Would Not Paint a Lie Even For
a Napoleon.
There was no love lost^ between the
Emperor Louis Napoleon and his
cousin, Prince Napoleon, whom the
Parisians called "Plon Plon." The
prince used to make abusive speeches
agralnst the emperor, which people
were only too ready to repeat to him.
"Let him alone," Louis Napoleon would
reply. "He Is too well known. No
one would turn me out to place him on
the throne."
The emperor was correct, for no one
said a good word about "Plon Plon."
He was commonly believed to have
shown the white feather In the Crimea
and never exposed himself where the
* A ? TTW.^1I?V* 1 rsAir
ieaa was iauin^. ah ^iigiisii mu;
who In her younger days mingled with
French society tells in her "Foreign
Courts and Foreign Homes" a story
as discreditable to Prince Napoleon as
it is honorable to a French artist.
While the artist was painting the ,
historical picture of the battle of the
Alma, which the emperor had ordered,
Prince Napoleon called at the painter's
studio to make known to him the facts.
On leaving he said he * wished the
prominent figure in the battle to be
himself mounted on his white charger.
He sent the horse to the artist, so that
he could paint its exact portrait.
When the picture was finished and invitations
were sent out for a "private
view," the white charger was seen, a
pVominent figure in the battle, but
without a rider.
On hearing of this terrible omission
the prince sent an aid-de-camp to ask
the reason. The honest artist said the
horse should remain if the prince
wished, but no rider would be on it.
."Tell the prince I have never yet
painted a, lie." The hint was taken.
The prince ordered the horse to be
rubbed out.
A CASE IN POINT.
Why the Postmaster Leaned Toward
the Sheriff
There is a town in northern New
Hampshire where the families have intermarried
to such an extent that it is
difficult for an outsider to make the
least criticism on one person without
the danger of offending some of his
family connections. When an unfortunate
visitor commented on this fact to
Mr. Corbin, the postmaster, Mr. Corbin
nodded violently.
"Bill Harmon, that's our sheriff, complained
of that no longer ago than last
week," said he.
"You see, it took him more'n a fortnight
to arrest Nate Giddlngs because
Nate got wind that he was wanted on
a little matter o' selling hard cider,
and he went on a round o' visits
among his relatives?aunts, nephewsin-law
and I don't know what all?and
'twasn't till he'd had his fun and went
back home to his wife that Bill could
make the arrest without seeming to
kind o' butt in. as you might say, and
spoil the reunions."
"I should think he would make a
queer kind of sheriff," said the visitor.
t.i " *1 * oAMflmanfol
\. aitins Ull II1UL 11I11C 1U1 sciiuiiictimr
reasons and then arresting a man
when he went home just because his
poor wife wasn't a relation!"
Mr. Corbin drew himself up and assumed
a remote expression.
"That's as you look at it," he said in
a chilly tone. "I may be a mite prejudiced
In Bill's favor, as he married my
son-in-law's youngest sister. Anything
that concerns him concerns me, you
understand."