Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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^ ISSXJEO SEMI'WEEKL^^ l. m. grists sons. Publisher.. } % Jfamilg JBeurspaper: 4or the promotion of the political, Social, ^flricullural and <Eommei;rial Interests of the People. {TKs??olecopI ?vbcent"vavck established 1855. YORKVILLE, S. O., FRIHAYiOOTOBER 2, 1908. NO. 79. V ~'i 77 77 7 I SERVING ] BY SARAH BRll Some years before the civil war, when northern medical colleges were mostly filled with southern students, in one particular city their dissolute and disorderly ways had become a terror and a reproach. There were certain taverns and restaurants almost appropriated to their nightly gatherings, where many a wild scene was enacted, and such were their numbers, their weapons, their gold, that the police took scant notice of disreputable affairs, of ten hushed up by the professors themselves to save the credit of respectable families. Amid the seething mass of turbulent and uncontrolled spirits, many of them thrown for the first time alone into the temptations and corruptions of a large city, bloody frays sometimes took place that left scars about whose making, in after days, sober manhood would be ashamed to speak, for bowie knives were more plantiful with these embryo surgeons than harmless lancets, and pistols more familiar than the scalpel; and when at last the theater parquets were fairly taken possession of by bodies of armed and pugnacious youths, the authorities woke up to a determination to abate the nuisance, and at the instigation of peace-loving citizens and order preaching press, decided to make strong and intimidating example at the next opportunity. Among the class that year were two who, having been graduated in a southern college, had come north to attend the lectures of a celebrated professor. They were from the same town, both of good blood, and that gentle breeding which made them very knights in courtesy where women were concerned; both highly educated, neitner with any marked character as yet developed, and with just a shade of unfriendliness rankling between them. Arthur Fletcher had been early left an orphan with a small property, and, having no near relatives, had spent his childhood and youth principally at schools; while Charles Paget was the son of a rich and prominent man of his locality, and was very full of ideas of family Importance; so that when he surmised that Fletcher had formed an attachment for his only sister, he secretly chafed at and resented it as a possible match that should by no means have equaled her expectations. Something of envy, too, was added to this almost causeless dislike and bitterness by Fletcher's personal superiority, who had evidenced an unusual versatility and excellence in accomplishments; and though this smoldering enmity had lacked reasonable opportunity for display, there had been small, irritating signs of it that more than once had tried the other's forbearance. For he sincerely loved Constance Paget, and had already set it before him as his dearest hope and intention in life to labor faithfully to win her. It was. therefore, with some annoyance that he thus found himself associated with her brother in the pursuit of their studies, especially as he sus pected that Paget's principal inducements thereto was a wider and freer run of pleasures than their native place afforded, rather than any leaning to learning. Fletcher had a remarkable and natural aptitude for his profession, which quickly attracted Professor Girtney's attention, and gradually interested him so much that he particularly distinguished him both in class and society. This added to Paget's animosity, though he himself made small endeavor to win any such appreciation, dropping in but irregularly at the lectures, and spending much of his tl ne in a fast and demoralizing set. Two or three times, with the thought of the dear sister at home. Fletcher approached him with the hope of influencing him, and was repulsed at first coldly, then almost offensively, so that at last they only met in college, or at occasional convivial parties, for Fletcher " ,,A""?"? n?\/4 V*/-\f _ Klnnrlo<l tan QFIfl > UUii^ anu livi-yjuvuvu, >wi M..v. (lid not disdain the enjoyments of this world within certain limits. But one night. at an invited supper held in one <?f the noted taverns, he found himself in a tnad and wild company where the wine flowed too freely not to affect him also, and where the uproarious mirth gradually changed to an argumentative and quarrelsome tone Paget was among them, far from sober where all were more or less intoxicated, and liquor had produced the effect of disclosing his ill will to Fletcher in a cool insolence that even at the best of times the other could scarcely have ignored. Even In the confusion of his brain, Fletcher's chief aim was to avoid a contest with her brother, and he rose in his place with the intention of making his way out from the noisy mob. A few words of most cutting insult, directed to him alone, and scarcely heard by any one else stayed him: a man's ? inutontlv firorl his hinnii n I1UIC JfJCVOoiv/11 liiovuiibi^ II* vvi ...? ?| a red mist swam before his eyes, and appalling fury that for a moment made him as white as death and as composed at Fate, seized upon his nature and startled the careless lookers-on into sudden silence. Then a pistol shot rang sharp through the air, and all was confusion. horror and dismay. The pistol dropped from his hand as soon as discharged; the report scattered the fumes of wine and the bloody haze; he saw a dead body prone upon the lloor. a woman's face flitted an instant before his sight, and he fell down, as though struck by lightning, beside the man he had slain. When the police came they found their prisoner easy enough to take, in a deep swoon, which they at first also mistook for death, and the boon companions nearly all decamped. The authorities obtained their chance for example at last, and the occasion was too important and impressive to be neglected. The trial was unusually short and sharply prosecuted: all the witnesses reluctantly admitted that they had seen or heard the shot fired and saw the victim fall; each was under the impression that there had been provocation, but were compelled to ac ??????T HIS TIME >C?5 STEBBINS. knowledge that they were all too far gone under the Influence of liquor to remember much more than the scene, which sobered them. When the prisoner was brought to the bar, he looked ten years older than on that fatal night; his changed appearance excited the commiseration of those who had known him before, but to the majority of spectators he was simply a representative bloodthlrster tnat, witn unaiscipuneu lempei cuiu ever-ready weapon, brought disturbance and dread into the peaceful community. One friend he had who did not fail him?the professor before spoken of. Dr. Glrtney?who, in his pecuiiar estimate of men, had taken a curious liking to his southern student, discovering in him promises and characteristics which Fletcher himself did not then know he possessed. So when the companions of a day returned to their homes and left him to his fate, when the press and outside world branded him with prejudiced malignity, when his own soul was torn with the tumults of remorse and despair, this faithful friend kept at his side, and did all that one man could do, even to arousing against himself unpopularity, and an outcry, that he encouraged and upheld the evil practices and wild doings of those whom it was his interest to conciliate. Still Dr. Glrtney stood well in the esteem of his fellow citizens as one high upon the roll of his profession; his word had some influential weight and he used part of Fletcher's patrimonj judiciously in his defense; but the majesty of the law was to be vindicated, and the judge pronounced the severe sentence of twenty years' imprisonment with hard labor. It was all over at last; Fletcher had been borne away to his weary doom, the excitement had subsided, and in a little while he and the Incidents connected with him would have faded from the public mind: but alone in his chamber that night Dr. Girtney could not sleep, walking the floor excitedly, and ever and anon his perturbed thoughts broke out in agitated speech. "My God!" he said, "twenty years? twenty years of living burial for a mind like that! The man is a born healer?he has got the unerring eye, the skillful hand, the inductive brain that never can be merely made by practice or study. He is a genius and does not know It himself. I have watched him and weighed him. There is not his like in all the rising men of the profession. "He only wanted time and opportunity to develop greatness. Good heavens! to think a moment of folly, an impulse of rage should undo and prevent all this! It is a loss to the world, and he and it are equally blind to the fact. It is not only a man that is put away and done for; it is a whole generation of suffering and disease that may cry in vain for such a helper as it is in him to be. It is the progress of science that is held back by the fettering of such a one that twenty years would have made abler than any of us. There is something in him, too, greater than art?I have seen it these last days?that, when all the rubbish of hot blood and youthful passions had effervesced, would have left him clear, noble. There's patience and modesty, unselfishness and sensitive honor, truth and justice, such as go to the making of no common man! What a career cut off?what a power quenched! It cannot be; it shall not be! The earth is too barren of such beings to afford to lose what I see him to be. He shall have his chance in spite of judge and jury?I'll find a way if I die for it! He shall be free!" It will be seen by his soliloquy that it is rather a difficult thing to determine whether Dr. Girtney was most influenced by enthusiasm in his profession or personal interest in Fletcher. The motives of man are very complex, so that they themselves cannot always separate them; and there were those who had said of Girtney that he was more of a physician than a philanthropist. and that his profession ranked often in his mind before persons. The next day the professor presented himself at the prison for a last interview with the lonely captive he had befriended, and who was henceforth condemned to the company of convicts. Nothing and no one that he met on his way from the entrance to the cell escaped his keen observation, from the stony-eyed warden, with a face hard as the wall, where never a shade of comparison or tenderness stirred the fixed and inflexible expression of cruelty and brute force, to the turnkey who carried the keys and used them as though he had a kind of sullen spite against them to be vented in rough handling; from the massive gates to the impregnable locks that seemed to shut out hope from all upon whom they closed. It struck Dr. Oirtney strangely that, after some preliminary conversation entirely unconnected with matters both naturally had in their minds, and in consequence of an almost casual remark, that Fletcher should say to him: "My friend, the punishment of crime is meted out by (rod and man. I believe. from what I have seen here, that some receive only that which is rendered to them by their fellow-creatures; but for those who have lived higher up. for those whose hearts, whose consciences, whose intellects have been cultivated, for them the real punishment is of God?the true expiation must be made to Him. Do you think that all those years of incarceration which stretch before me can cause me to suffer by their length and infliction what I have already endured in this den? What are the hardships, the ignominy, the dreariness of such a life compared to the terrible throes that have convulsed my anguished soul! What are the whips and scourges of the law beside the remembrance of lost hopes and the disgust and distrust of my own nature! But, doctor, I have thought out this?I speak not in van i ity?sitting here a condemned man, with all of earthly happiness swept away from me forever, despising so i much of myself that there are times when I loath my own flesh so that I could tear it with my nails. I speak only out of a sort of faith in something within me that is not vanity, and, believe me, far enough from pride; but I do feel that, with the educated acquirements, perhaps I may say also the abilities, of which I cannot but be conscious, there is better use that a man like me can be put to than making wooden chairs for twenty years. I am resolved that somehow these stone walls shall open to me before then. I do not impugn the justice of my sen tence. I snail suomu to it, neavy as It Is, but in a different way from this. I can serve my time better by expiating to God than to prison authorities. If I can once go forth through these bars again. I can make my profession an atonement. I would give all my life to the poorest, the lowest, without money and without price. Not one day of judgment would I abate; but I think I could make the world the richer for my sin?not by a few chairs, but by lives saved and souls uplifted. Some day, doctor, I shall find my way to freedom of the body, and In the moral imprisonment of my purpose I shall work out my salvation." Never in his life had Dr. Glrtney been so touched. He sat quite silent for a moment, his eyes bent upon the ground; he could not trust himself to speak: the earnestness, the resolve, the selfabnegation, betrayed more even by the manner than the words, stirred him with unusual sympathy, not only because he had been before possessed of something of the same idea, but also he was impressed with the intense verity of the spiritual individuality. "I came to talk to you about this," he said, at last." "I, too, have this faith in you. You and I, I think can safely take hold of a higher law than the law of the land. I will compass this end. These bars shall be undone, these walls shall be opened to you. But it will be a matter of time. Have patience to wait. All the philosophy of life is in that one word?wait. Do you think you will know how to wait without chafing your heart out?" He gazed steadily as he spoke into Fletcher's face. No joy flashed into it; no light of hope illumined the eyes; no gladness quivered the sad mouth. Only a stern solemnity deepened all the lines, as, with a long breath, he lifted up his thoughtful brow. T, ?_ ...III > ?,? <<c<noo ho 11 IS uuu a n III, Iic oaiu, ouiw nv has sent me such a friend. If it was for anything this world could give me for myself, I would not care to wait. I could vegetate and brutalize here till my death; but to keep alive my manhood for the only reparation that I recognize as fitting?ah, yes, I can wait." As Dr. Glrtney was passing on his way out, he said to the turnkey: "This is a sorjy business of yours; do you like it?" "There's not much of liking goes with it," was the reply; "but a fellow must take what he can get to do, and not what he likes." The doctor slipped him a coin, and by the way the hand closed on it he knew it had an itching palm. "Be as good to my poor friend as you can, will you?" he ventured. "Ay, sir, it's hard times for such a gentleman as him." There was something bucolic in the man's manner, which was coarse without being hansh, that could not escape the doctor's sharp sense. "You were brought up in the country?" he said, carelessly. "Yes, I was," the turnkey answered with a short sigh. "I was a drover once, and had a place of my own;" and he gave the keys a vicious jingle as if he hated them. "Ah. well, well," returned the doctor, "we all see many changes in a lifetime; perhaps you'll get out of this some day." And he nodded kindly to him as he left him at his post, and went past the stony-eyed warden out into the free air again. , "Discontented and avaricious," he mused?"pitiful and pining for the fields. That's my man!" Slowly the summer went by. Fletcher lived within himself and waited? waited and exercised his fortitude to consider labor, deprivation, disgrace as the accidents of his fate apart from his real existence, or as instruments of a training for future use. His turnkey watched the traces of youth pass away from the sorrowful face, and noted, in his dull way. that the elasticity had left the graceful figure, and, for some reason or other, he twisted and clinched his keys more savagely than ever. About nutumn it was suddenly announced in the newspapers, with a mingling of pride and regret, that the city had lost the celebrated Dr. Girt* * ? ? ? " - V-? 1 rrVi ney, wno naa oeen raufu iu mc inquest professional chair in the metropolis, and had departed to New York with the regrets and best wishes of all the community. Then dragged along more weary months?days of waiting, weeks of endurance?and then, one morning, the hard-faced warden was astonished and infuriated to find that prisoner Number 281, as well as one of the stoutest turnkeys, had both disappeared. There was a great outcry, of course, and a long and energetic search; and when this, too, proving unsuccessful, had dropped into oblivion, a sturdy drover chuckled over his cattle on a small ranche far out west, and, at an humble office amid the lowest haunts of vice and poverty in New York, a certain Dr. Anthon began his ministrations to suffering humanity. Thus was begun a new life?a life of utter self-sacrifice, of untiring, unceasing labor, of obscure but incomparable utility, of marvelous advance in professional experience, wisdom and skill?a life of severest privation, devoted to others?the pauper, the outcast; those that perished in the byways called to him in their hours of need, and found hint always ready. In foul places he fought the pestilence that walketh in the darkness, and dragged up Into life and light, from the jaws of death and the depths of degradation, the social lepers that tainted the moral and physical air; into the slums, where the priest even dare not penetrate, he went, fearless and unscathed, to rescue souls as well as bodies from awful sloughs of vice and ' disease.. And they?the low, the vicious, the ' outlaws?looked up into his face from the slime of their gutters, as he passed them bv* as though it had been the said to Dr. Oirtney: "But what can Anthon do with his money? When he cured my wife, a year ago, I sent him a check which would be a small competence to some men, though poor enough even then, I thought it, for the life he gave me back face of an angel, feeling themselves stirred a step toward goodness, lifted a little toward better things, by the strangeness and rarity of the tenderness that warmed them toward this one who, "without money and without price," gave to each and all, in the time of trial, not only the unflagging care and ungrudging talent, but an ever-gentle touch, an earnest and helpful interest, and wise and loving words. To sufferers In wretched garrets, with whom medical aid had been a dream of impossible accomplishment, I he brought reiter on nis rooisieps, aim i when he took the sick children In his arms the mothers felt as If a blessing went from him that made them whole; while to men cut and slashed In horrible and brutal encounters, It seemed as If he did but lay his hands upon them and their hurts healed, though oftentimes some grave word ol' his went deeper than the wounds, and took root In the uncultivated humanity underlying their barbarous passions, and brought forth fruits meet for repentance In self-control and order. The perfect purity, courage and labor of his life gave him a moral weight that made him as much a missionary as physician. Such a man as this could not be hidden away. As time went on rumors of his skill were noised abroad. It became known that Dr. Girtney, now the most fashionable medical authority consulted him In all his most difficult cases. At length one of the chief hospitals appointed him to its principal post; he. positively, declined to accept It; then one association after another pressed positions upon him, but he resolutely refused them all. He shrank from all ! honors, avoided all notice, took every means In his power to prevent his reputation from extending, but the only effectual one of abandoning his neverending work. Only at Dr. Girtney's request, or at some urgent and not-to-be-denled necessity, would he enter the houses of the rich; but. in spite of all, he could not help but make some great cures among people who were known, and an overwhelming practice poured In upon him. Then It was discovered that he was the author of some valuable discoveries and papers, contributed anonymously to the medical Journals and other periodicals rlnrinir those ohscure davs of toll when he had partially supported himself thus, and his fame widened and reached over the land. Perhaps Dr. Olrtney, grown secure with years as regarded the recognition of his friend's personality, had some hand in all this. In all things else, however, he had kept a faithful heart toward him, though he never ceased to consider him as a wonderful study, and he curiously watched the effect of this altered phase of experience. The poor, too, who knew that he had become an acknowledged great man, watched him also, and, not having too much faith in the fineness of human nature, half expected that he would forsake them for these open fields that tempted ambition and cupidity. But neither friend nor pauper patient found any change in him; he kept still his humble office, wore always the plainest clothing, fared hardly, came and went In the service of the lowest and lost the same as ever. Once the professor could not resist putting him directly to the test. He wanted to judge unerringly whether the disinclination for distinction was a natural Indifference, or the result of habit, or whether it actually grew out of a young man's resolve so long: before in the cell of a prison, the stern self-denial of life expiation. For these two were men of the world, and nsver talked of that old time, almost forgotten by one, never for one moment unremembered by the other. He became the bearer of an honored offer that he himself might have been proud to accept, to which were attached the names of the best men In the city, an opening- so rare for an upward course to the very highest place that could be presented to science?an advancement so unusual that he said in his heart: "He must be superhuman if he relinquishes this!" He laid the important paper before him In that shabby, confined office, not much larger than the prison cell had been: he watched him read it quietly through, marked the flush that rose to the pale forehead, saw the hands clinch with a strong tension, as if to keep them from trembling, beheld a sudden light transfigure the careworn face? waited almost breathlessly an instant while he noted one long outlook into the might have been. Then the flush faded, the fire left the eye, the old patience crept over the deeply lined brow, while the hands shook a little as he laid the manuscript down, saying, faintly: "It cannot be." "Why not?" rather curtly asked the professor. "Because Arthur Fletcher may not accept It for Dr. Anthon." "There is no Arthur Fletcher," re plied the doctor; "there has only been Dr. Anthon these many years." "My friend." the other answered? and the sweetness of his voice thrilled through his hearer?"my best friend, no one knows better than you that Dr. Anthon must be always true to Arthur Fletcher. No blood-stained hands can touch a crown like that. I am only a convict serving my time; my duty lies low down, where no one else cares to minister. To accept this would take me too much among those able to procure other skill?would divert my time and toll from a sacred purpose?and my poor I must have always with me." Dr. Oirtney was not a man given to the display of emotion, being one of those sturdy souls that scorned mere sentimentality; hut there were tears in his eyes as he laid his hands on the other's shoulders, and hoarsely said, "My son. God bless you!" and turned away and went quickly out, with a great reverence in his heart, and a love for him he left alone, passing the love of woman. Of course it made a talk?the refusal of such a chance. So constant a withdrawal from eminence drew more attention to Dr. Anthon's way of living; and one day one of those who had exerted himself in this last interest?a merchant prince and master of millions? BRYAN AND ROOSEVELT. Democratic Candidate Gomes Back At President. WILLING FOR VOTERS TO DECIDE. Another Strong Letter In Remarkable Controversy Between the Heads of the Two Great Political Parties. Rock Island, 111., September 29.?"I have lived in vain If your accusations have lost me a single friend," said William J. Bryan in a letter addressed today to President Roosevelt, replyiny to that of the president written Sunday as by a miracle. Yet why don't he show for such things? There must be more than I have done likewise." Dr. Glrtney was no respecter of persons, and was more than half Inclined to give a rough answer to what he considered an impertinence; but he reflected a second, and then said: "I can tell you this?that the only gladness I ever see In Anthon's face is when he receives such a check." Then the man of millions, with the natural instinct to pick a flaw in the character of which he knew no other 111, musingly remarked: "Then he must be a miser." Dr. Girtney changed the conversation, but after a little while he asked: "Have you ever been in Besmer Street?" "Yes," replied the other; "only once, when I took my life in my hand out of sheer curiosity, and went through it escorted by two policemen, armed to the te?th. It is one of the vilest and most dangerous holes in the city." "It s changed somewhat and safer now," replied the doctor. "Will you do me the personal favor, for which I have a particular reason, to walk through Besmer Street again?* You can go alone now without any fear, and come back and tell me what you have seen." It was an odd request; but the character that made it caused it to be one not easily slighted, and Croesus could see that a something more was meant that would be explained hereafter. So, without delay, he proceeded straightway to the dreaded locality, which had dwelt in his memory as a very limbo of filth and crime and horror. To be Continued. SOUTH CAROLINA NEWS. ? The old battleship Texas, which took a prominent part in the battle of Santiago bay, is to be permanently stationed at the Charleston navy yard. ? Columbia special of September 28, to Charlotte Observer: Internal Revenue Commissioner J. G. Capers, for many years Republican referee for this state, was here today and after a conference announced that his party would put up the following electoral ticket: Electors-at-large, L. W. C. Blalock, Goidville; A. C. Kauffman, Charleston. Electors: Isaac H. Norris, Yorkville; George R. Mayfleld, Greenville; Thomas F. Brennan, Columbia; James Powell, Aiken; L. W. Belton, Columbia; P. L. Grantly, Charleston; J. A. Baxter, Georgetown. ? Edgefield special of September 26 to the News and Courier: Last August a public cotton weigher for this county was elected on the assump nun inui iut;re \>aa tt iuw auiuuii&ni? the same. Recently it has come to light that the last legislature repealed the law. Although the weigher has been here ready to perform the duties of the office, he has only weighed about twenty-one bales, the buyers having their own employees to do the work. A meeting of the farmers who sell cotton here was held here to-day and passed a resolution asking that buyers agree to allow all cotton sold or stored to be weighed by the public weigher. This the buyers refused to do. Apublic subscription was taken up with which to employ a buyer, the cotton purchased to be weighed by the public weigher. The situation is unfortunate and has created considerable friction between sellers and buyers, and is calculated to injure the business of the town. ? Winnsboro News and Herald: Judge Hydrick in his charge to the grand jury made a most favorable impression upon this his first visit to Winnsboro in an official capacity. He magnified the office of grand Juror, seeking to Impress upon the grand jury the great responsibility that rests upon them. Not only are they grand jurors during the session of the court but at all times. While no one could be convicted or acquitted without their decision, yet they are not all power. There is no absolute power in our form of government. There are checks and counterchecks. The success of a law depends upon how it is administered. The law is just what the people make it. And what they make it is just what they want it to be. Judge Hydrick deplored the perfunctory manner in which oaths are so frequently administered and the common custom of administering the oath the grand jury, first to the foreman and then requiring the others to take the oath that he took. The secrecy of the work o:' the grand jury must be preserved. All that is done in that room must be as a whole. The talking to jurors, petit or grand, must not be permitted. The man who seeks to defeat the end of justice in this manner is an undesirable citizen. Such an approach should be resented as a personal insult. There should be no favoritism on the part of the jurors. justice Dy iavurilism ia UIIIJ unc BIC|J from anarchy. The responsibility for the administration of justice Is with the jurors. All this talk about the sharpness and shrewdness of lawyers Is nonsense. The failure to administer justice is due to the stupidity or lack of backbone on the part of the jurors. ? Columbia special of September 25, to Charlotte Observer: Comparison between the Insurance carried on property in this state and the values fixed for taxation throws an interesting- sidelight on the low average value at which property is assessed in this state. Of course, there is no way of arriving at exact conclusions as to the per cent of market value property appearing on the tax books over the state generally, but the Insurance -figures obtained from the comptroller general's office afford some entertaining comparisons on certain classes of property. In 1906 buildings and merchandise were insured, according to reports made by the insurance companies, at a total of $133,056,182,45. This was almost wholly on city property, a large per cent of country buildings not being insured at all and much of the remainder carried in mutual companies which make no reports. This was also exclusive of the greater portion of factory property, which is insured in the mills mutuals. That year this property was assessed at a total of $63,475,886, of which $29,140.153 was charged against personal property supposed to include merchandise in the country as well as in the cities. The comptroller general's office estimates that a total of $250,000,000 insurance was carried that year on all classes of buildings and contents, and the insurance is supposed to cover only from two-thirds to three-fourths! of actual value. This $250,000,000 was more than the total tax values of all [ kinds?lands, railroads, factories and all classes of personal property. In other! words, according to these figures, property is assessed not at half its market value, but at less than one-fourth its value. In this connection it is said that one of the attempts that will be made in the new legislature to remedy matters will be in the form of a bill seeking to extend the law of Mississippi to.this state, which is said to provide that in case a man insures his property for more than he returns it) for taxation he can be estopped from collecting the insurance in case of fire. Representatives of the cotton mill interests, which complain that this class ' - ? 1 Al.. A 1 ~ A O A or propeny.is unjusuy uixt-u m cent of market value, while other property. particularly land, is returned at from 10 to 2f> per cent of actual value, are said to be quietly gathering evidence in the form of affidavits which will create a sensation when they are made public, involving some prominent men and showing them up as tax dodgers. Some of these men, It Is said, have for years been members of important assessing boards. last. Mr. Bryan points to his record and declares that it Is sufficient answer to the Insinuations of the chief executive that he is in sympathy, with, or controlled by the trusts. Reverting- to the charges against Governor Haskell, Mr. Bryan says that the president in response to his request did not deign to suggest a tribunal which could determine those charges, but instead proceeded to pass judgment upon him, and he informs the president that the occupant of that high office cannot deny to the humblest citizen the right to protect his reputation and vindicate his name in the courts. An Attempt to Shift the Issues. The letter is as follows: "Rock Island, HI., Sept. 29, 1908. "Hon. Theodore Roosevelt, President of the United States, Washington, D. C. "Dear Sir: A brief reply to your last letter is all that is necessary to call attention to your attempt to shift the issues raised. In your letter attacking Mr. Foraker, you inserted an attack upon Governor Haskell and attempted to use the charges against him to connect the Democratic party, and me as its candidate, with the trusts. I asked you to name a tribunal before which the charges could be investigated or, if you would not do that, offered to leave It to you to say whether, in your judgment the charges justified Mr. Haskell's withdrawal from the organization. You did not deign to suggest a tribunal, but proceeded to pass judgment upon him. He immediately resigned his position that he might be more free to prosecute those who brought accusations against him. Thus his connection with the organization ended, I had no authority to submit, rllrl nnf aiiKmlt + r\ VAI1 fhb nilaQHftn llllU U1U IIWW OUUIIiik) tv J wu k*?v of his guilt or Innocence for final decision. Even the president cannot deny to the humblest citizen of the land the right to protect his reputation and vindicate his name in courts established for the purposes where witnesses can be examined and evidence submitted according to the rules in law. "In my first letter to you, I resented the imputation that any charges made against Governor Haskell could be justly construed as connecting the Democratic party or me as its candidate, with any trust or law-defying corporation. You replied that the charges were a matter of general notoriety, and I asked you why Mr. Taft did not mention them when he made speeches against Mr. Haskell in Oklahoma. You at once endeavored to confront me with new matters which arose after the Denver convention and, conscious that those charges were insufficient, you have since given wings to accusations that no distinguished party would make against another without investigation. Willing For Voters to Decide. "I am willing that all your charges against me shall be submitted to the] voters of the country. I submit my de- | nlal of any knowledge or Information that could, In the remotest way, connect me with any trust, monopoly or law-defying corporation. My record Is sufficient answer to your Insinuation. I have lived In vain, If your accusations lose me a single friend. I challenged you to name a trust official who Is supporting me, and, after searching the country, you produce the name of one man, not a trust official but the focal attorney of a trust. Without Inquiring whether he votes for me because of his connection with a trust, or in spite of it, or because of his 'fear of business adversity,' under Mr. Taft, you accept his statement that he will vote for me as conclusive proof that I am In league with the trusts, although you admit that trust officials are supporting the Republican ticket. "You compliment me when you measure me by a higher standard than you do your political associates, for you Insist that Mr. Rockefeller's contribution to Governor Hughes' campaign fund was no reflection upon him and I take it for granted that you do not criticise Judge Taft's recommendation of a Standard Oil attorney to the Federal bench, a place where the judge might have to pass upon the charges against the very trust for which he had been attorney. "While the trust attorney to whom you refer Is not an official of a trust, I will warm him and through him his clients that if I am elected, I will not only vigorously enforce against all offenders the laws which we hope to have enacted in compliance with the Democratic platform but that I will also vigorously enforce existing laws against any and all who violate them, and that I will enforce them, not spasmodically and Intermittently, but persistently and consistently; they will not be suspended, even for the protection of cabinet officers. "You say 'the attitude of many men of large financial interests' warrants you 'in expressing the belief that those *- ?-1 ~ C trust magnates wnuse tear ui ut-uifi prosecuted under the law by Mr. Taft Is greater than their fear of general business adversity' under me and will support me rather than Mr. Taft. You have attempted to word that statement in such a way as to claim the(support of all the trust magnates, and yet put it on the ground that they are supporting your party for patriotic reasons rather than for the promotion of a selfish interest. That is ingenious but it is not sound. The trust magnates are supporting the Republican party and the Bible offers an explanation, 'The ox knoweth his owner and the ass his master's crib.' "You admit that you gave permission to the steel trust to absorb a rival, and thus increase its control of the output of steel and iron products. I will leave the American people to pass Judgment upon that act and compare your position on the trust question witn mine. Campaign Contribution. "You refer to our campaign fund in 1896 and accuse us of allowing two men to contribute largely to the small fund with which the committee conducted the campaign. I am not sure about the figures, because I have not seen an authentic statement of the contributions, but I was informed that the largest of the two sums which you mention, was not all contributed by the man to whom it was credited, but inoAntrlKtitlnnu frnm fithprfl flfl well as that which he gave himself. But if you want to be fair why do you not give the amount of the Republican campaign fund that year and the sources of it? I am willing to have both funds published; are you? If some of those who contributed to our fund of less than $300,000 had a pecuniary interest in the result of the election, how will you explain the enormous contributions to the Republican fund? If you will remember, the Democratic platform candidly declares the party's purpose. If the carrying out of that policy would have been of advantage to any one, the whole public had knowledge and the publication of the contributions would not have affected the result. Publicity as to campaign funds is not needed to make known that which is disclosed by the platform, but to direct attention to secret agreements, expressed or Implied, which would otherwise be concealed from the public. You certainly pay more attention to the mote than to the beam when you find fault with our national campaign fund of 1896 and ignore the significance of a fund almost as large, which at your request was collected from a few persons in 1904 and was used in one state and was only a small item in the fund collected that year. Accusation Against Voters. "But your letter presents a defense of your party's position and an accusation against the voters which emphasizes an issue already prominent. You are the first conspicuous member of your party to attempt an explanation of the party's opposition to publicity before the election, and the admission which you make will embarrass your party associates. Your position is that the publication before election of the contributions made to your compaign funds would furnish your political opponents an opportunl - 1 1 ?> ?V,AI ty "to give a raise impression us iu uic fitness of the candidates. You cite as illustrations the contributions made to Governor Hughes' campaign fund, the I contribution collected by Mr. Harriman | and the contributions which are now being collected for Mr. Taft's campaign fund. You charge, in effect, that the people are so lacking In intelligence that they might condemn as improper contributions which you declare to be proper. If the voters differ from you on this question, are they necessarily ignorant and wrong? Must the members of the party organization act as self-appointed guardians of the people and conceal from them what is going on, lest the people be misled as to the purpose and effect of large contributions. Is this your explanation of the action of the Republican leaders in the national convention in voting down a publicity plank? If you will pardon the suggestion, I believe that a better explanation can be found in holy writ, for do we not read of men loving darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil? Not a Personal Question. "You attempt to make a personal question of it and ask whether any one will accuse such men as you, Governor Hughes and Mr. Taft of being in fluenced by contributions. That is not the question. If it Is found that a party to a suit has given a sum of money to one of the Jurors, the court does not stop to Inquire whether or not the Juror Is an incorruptible man or whether in accepting the money he explicitly stated that it was accepted with the understanding that he was under no obligations to consider it in making up his verdict. The court would hold that the giving of the money by an interested party or the receiving of money was a contempt of court and an interference with the administration of l justice. Public officials occupy much the same position as jurors. They are I constantly called upon to decide questions between the favor-seeking corporations on the one hand and the people on the other and there is a very general Impression that officials of these favor-seeking corporations do not put up large sums of money from purely patriotic motives. Mr. Havemyer testified before a senate committoo snmA vf?nrs aeo that the sugar [ " trust made it a business to contribute to campaign funds and that it was its custom to give to the party in power in the state. "I do not mean to say that Mr. Hughes was influenced by the contributions made to him by the trust magnates whose names were given in the after-election report. I do not mean to say that you were influenced by the contributions collected by Mr. Harrlman, neither do I mean to say that Mr. Taft will be influenced by the contributions that are being made to his fund by the trust magnates; but I do mean to say that the American people have a right to know what contributions are being made, that they may Judge for themselves the motive of the givers and the obligation imposed upon those who receive. The reflection upon the people involved in your charge that they would misuse the knowledge which publicity would give, is unworthy of one who has been elevated to so high an office by the votes of the people, and I venture the assertion that you cannot procure from Mr. Taft an endorsement of your defense. He Is now before the people; he is offering himself as a candidate for the presidency, he dare not tell the people to whom he appeals that they have not sense enough to form a just and correct opinion as to the purpose which leads parties interested in special legislation to make big contributions. Fight For the Whole People. "You fear that we would misrepresent the motives of those who are contributing to the Republican campaign fund, and cast an unjust suspicion upon Republican candidates, if the names and amounts were made known before the election. Your argument, if sound, would prevent publication after election, for why should any unjust suspicion be cast upon officials after the election any more than before? Does not the secrecy before the election In crease this suspicion? we are going to give you an opportunity to misrepresent the motives of those who grlve to our campaign fund, and to arouse all the suspicion you can; we are going to prove to the people that we are making a fight for the people and not for those who have been enjoying privileges and favors at the hands of the government and we expect that the honest sentiment of the country will rebuke the party whose convention refuses to endorse any kind of publicity and whose candidates are not willing that the people should know until after the polls are closed what predatory interests have been active In support of the Republican party. With great respect, etc. "Yours truly, "William J. Bryan." LEPER'S GLOOM LIFT8. Silver Lining to Clouds In the Pension Awarded Him. "This means more to me than you can imagine. It removes anxiety from my mind regarding the future welfare oi my wire ana cnna, saia jonn n~ Early, the leper, to a Washington Star reporter, as he laid dowii his pen after signing the pension papers entitling him to $72 a month. "As far as I am concerned the money means nothing-," he said, as his lips parted in a sad smile. "But it makes me feel good to know that the little wife is placed beyond want It lifts a great weight that has been bothering me for some time. "The world is not so cruel after all." Early signed his voucher and certificate in the presence of Henry Clay McLean, acting health officer, a physician, several newspaper men, his wife and the two guards who have been attending to the wants of the afflicted man. All possible precaution was taken by the health officials to prevent any possibility of Early's hands coming in contact with the pension papers. The voucher has to go through many hands before it finds its way to the archives of the pension office. The certificate will be retained by Mrs. Early. There were two places on the voucher -that Early was required to sign to make it effective. The voucher was folded and placed in a long yellow envelope, the kind used by the health department for official business. Two slits were cut in the envelope, each one large enough for Early to write his name through. Thus, nothing touched the voucher except the point of the pen. The envelope or cover upon which his hand rested during the signing was destroyed after the voucher had been removed by Mr. McLean. "Well, doctor, there'll be no danger of any one becoming Infected by this transaction," Early said, as he completed the last stroke of his name. The latter was written in a clear, firm manner. The unfortunate man appeared greatly elated. He chatted freely with his callers and laughed heartily several times during the conversation that followed. He seemed in no way dejected and said he had not felt so well for a long time. "The principal pain is in my feet and legs," he said. "They hurt off and on ?something like a weather barometer. I guess my feet will be the first part of me to go. "Possibly I contracted the disease in my feet. My hands are swollen somewhat and look a trifle bad, but they trouble me none. + a <o rtna T alnan QAlinHlv illy to uue? * D.wp at night. I would recommend open air living and regular hours and diet for everyone If they care to enjoy good health. With this, Early arose lightly from the chair he had been sitting on In front of a small table near his tent. Throwing back his well-shaped head he took a long deep breath and drew up his arms, as one does in exercising. Possibly to further show how well and strong he Telt, he picked up his chair with one hand and the small table with the other, and carried them to the tent. During all this time Mrs. Early remained seated in her hammock, which is hung beneath two sycamore trees on a small mound about twentyfive feet from her husband's tent She said nothing, but watched the proceedi.-.o>o intpntiv Her eves seldom rested anywhere but on the one so dear to her. # LEPERS IN LOUISIANA. Provision Made by the 8tate For Care and Treatment. The so-called leper colony is an asylum or home provided by the state of Louisiana and maintained by it, where lepers are under the control of mild and humane regulations and receive regular and expert medical treatment. with the result that not a few patients have been cured and the condition of others ameliorated and improved, says the New Orleans Picayune. The institution is governed by a state board, and the internal arrangements are in the hands of a group of Sisters of Charity. The Lepers' Home of Louisiana occupies the buildings and a tract of land formerly part of a large sugar plantation. Additional buildings for the accommodation of the patients and attendants have been erected. All who are able to work or perform any useful service, are so employed, while they have books, music, and all proper diversions for their leisure hours. But it is not proposed that Louisiana shall undertake to care for all the lepers in the nation. Other states can do as Louisiana has done; and as for the United States government, It is Its bounden duty to take care of its own soldiers and sailors who have become infected with the disease while on foreign service, and this care should be extended to all civilians who worked for the government in those foreign stations. The American people are going to wake up to the fact that their territorial possessions in tropical countries will in the course of time produce a numerous crop of lepers in the various states?north, south, east and west. ? Chester special of September 28 to News and Courier: It was stated h<?re today that notices signed "Night Riders" were found posted on the two ginneries at Fort Lawn yesterday morning, warning the proprietors to cease ginning until cotton brings better prices. Fort Lawn people do not seem to attach much Importance to the incident, it being the general belief that the warnings were posted by mischievous boys.