Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, July 14, 1911, Image 1
YORKYILLE ENQUIRER.
ISSUED SEMI-WEEKLY.
l7*. grists sous, Fabiiihen.| % dfwwlt gwsgapn;: jfsr th{ {promotion of th^ political, ?ociat, ^grieullurai and Commercial interests of ih< Jeopt*. {
ESTABLISHED 185S. YORKYILLE. 8. C., FRIDAY, JULY 14, 1911. N"Q. ?6.~
f
ByTHOM
"""Stlf Copyright, 1911,
Pub. by Doublodaj
BOOK II?THE ROOT.
CHAPTER XVIII.
Tho Dane? of Death.
A flush of excited pleasure overspread
Stuart's face as he led his
beautiful hostess to the dining room.
He paused at the entrance with an
exclamation of surprise:
"Well, of all the wonders!"
"But you can't stop yet!" whispered
Nan, drawing him gently on.
Apparently on entering the banquet
hall they were stepping outdoors into
an enchanted pine forest. The walls
were completely hidden by painted
scenery representing the mountains of
North Carolina. The room had been
transformed into a forest, trees and
shrubbery melting imperceptibly into
the scenery on the walls, and mocking
birds were singing in cages hidden
high among the boughs of the trees.
Stuart gazed at the great panorama
painting on the wall, fascinated.
"Why, Nan," he gasped, "that's a
view of the river hills at home where
you and I used to roam."
"Well, if you hadn't recognized It, I
should never have rorgiven you.
"How on earth did your artists get
It so perfectly?"
"I sent him there, of course. He did
It In three weeks. There's something
else In that picture I thought you'd
see, too."
"Isn't It now!" Stuart laughed, as
they reached the head of the central
table. A boy and girl sitting on a
fence looking down at the river In the
valley below.
"The very spot we found that quail's
nest, you remember. You see I've begun
to rebuild your dream-life tonight,
Jim "
"It's marvelous!" he answered slowly.
"And there in the distance loom
the three ranges of our old mountains
until their dim blue peaks are lost in
the clouds. These tables seem spread
for a picnic In the woods on the hills."
"Are you pleased with my fantasy?"
she asked with quiet emotion.
"Pleased Is not the word for It," he
replied quickly. "I'm overwhelmed. I
never thought you so sentimental."
"Perhaps I'm not, perhaps I've only
done this to please a friend. Do you
begin to feel at home in this little spot
I've brought back by magic tonight
from our youth?"
"I'm arrald I'll wane ana nna 1 m
dreaming."
?- Stuart gased nn fHe magnificently,
set table with increasing astonishment.
Winding in and out among the solid
silver candelabra a tiny stream of
crystal water flowed among miniature
trees and flowers on its banks. The
flowers were all blooming orchids of
rarest coloring and weirdly fantastic
shapes.
"Those hideous little flowers cost a
small fortune." Nan exclaimed. "I'm
ashamed to tell you how much?I don't
like them myself, I'm frank to say so
to you. But they are the rage. I prefer
those gorgeous bowers of American
beauty roses, the canopies to shade my
guests from the rays of my artificial
sun shining through the trees. You
see how skilfully the artist has lighted
the place. It looks exactly like a sunset
in a pine forest."
Stuart noted that the service was ah
made for this occasion, silver, cut
glass and china. Each piece had
stamped or etched in it the coat of
arms of his native state, "Peace and
Plenty."
"And you've done all this in six
weeks? It's incredible."
"Money can do anything, Jim," she
cried under her breath. "It's the fairy
queen of our childhood and the God of
of our ancient faith come down to
earth. You really like my banquet
hall?"
"More than I can tell you."
Nan looked at him keenly.
"The world will say tomorrow morning
that I have given this lavish entertainment
for vulgar display. In a
sense it's true. I am trying to eclipse
in splendor anything New York has
seen. But I count the fortune it cost
well spent to have seen the smile on
your face when you looked at that
painting of our old hills. I would have
given five times as much at any moment
the past ten years to have known
that you didn't hate me."
"You know it now."
"Yes," she answered tenderly. "You
have said so with your lips before, now
you mean it. You are your old handsome
self tonight."
Apart from the charm of Nan's presence
Stuart found the dinner itself a
stupid affair, so solemnly stupid it at
last became funny. In all the magnificently
dressed crowd he looked in
vain for a man or woman of real intellectual
distinction. He saw only
money, money, money!
There was one exception?the titled
degenerates from the Old World, hovering
around the richest and silliest
women, their eyes glittering with eager
avarice for a chance at their millions.
It seemed a joke that any sane
American mother could conceive the
' J oollinfr hur Ho 11 CrY\ t *-?r to thpIP
lUCU Ul .1ciniib ?
wretches in exchange for the empty
sham of a worm-eaten dishonored title.
And yet it had become so common
that the drain on the national resources
from this cause constitutes a
menace to our future.
In spite of the low murmurs of Nan's
beautifully modulated voice in his ears,
he found his anger slowly rising, not
against any one in particular, but
against the vulgar ostentation in which
these people moved and the vapid assumption
of superiority with which
they evidently looked out upon the
world.
But whatever might have been lacking
in the wit and genius of the guests
who sat at Nans tables, there could
be no question about the quality of the
dinner set before them. When the Roman
empire was staggering to its ruin
amid the extravagancies of its corrupt
emperors, not one of them ever gave
a banquet which approximated half
the cost of this. The best old Nerc
ever did with his flowers was to covei
AS DIXON ^
by Thomas Dixon.
f, Pag* & Co., N. Y. fjft
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I
the floors of his banquet hall with cut
roses that his guests might crush them
beneath their feet. But flowers were
cheap in sunny Italy. Nan's orchids
alone on her tables cost in Roman
money a hundred thousand sesterces,
while the paintings, trees, shrubbery,
water and light effects necessary to
transform the room into a miniature
forest cost five hundred thousand
sesterces, or a total of thirty thousand
dollars for the decorations of the banquet
hall alone.
When the feast ended at ten thirty
the sun had set behind the blue mountains,
the moon risen, and hundreds of
fire files were floating from the foliage
of trees and shrubs.
Nan led the way to the ball room,
where the entertainment by hired
dancers, singers, and professional entertainers
began on an improvised
stage.
During this part of the programme
the women and men of the banqueting
party who were to appear <n the fancy-dress
ball at 12 retired to the rooms
above to dress for their parts.
Nan left Stuart with a pretty sigh
to arrange her costume.
"I'm sorry you never learned to
dance, Jim, but there are compensations
tonight. I've a surprise for you
later."
Refore hp could reDlv. with a wave of
her bare arm, she was gone, and he
stood for a momt-ni wondering what
further surprise could be in store after
what he had seen.
He noted with some astonishment
the peculiar sombre effects of the ball
room. He had expected a scene of
splendor. Instead the impression was
distinctly funereal. The lights were
dimmed like the interior of a theatre
during the performance and the lofty
gilded ceilings with their mural decorations
seemed to be draped In filmy
black crepe.
The professional entertainment began
on the little stage amid a universal
gabble which made it impossible
for anything save pantomime to be intelligible
beyond the footlights. Star
after star, whose services had cost
$1,000 each for one hour, appeared
without commanding the slightest attention.
At last there was a hush and
every eye was fixed on the stage.
Stuart looked up quickly to see what
miracle had caused the silence.
An oriental dancing girl, barefooted
and naked save for the slightest suggestion
of coverftig about her waist
and bust, was the centre of attraction.
For five minutes she held the crowd
spell-bound with a dance so beautifully
sensual no theatrical manager would
have dared present it. Yet it was received
by the only burst of applause
which broke the monotony of the occasion.
Stuart turned to the programme in
his hand and idly read the next number:
"A song by an unknown star."
He was wondering what joke the
manager was about to perpetrate on
the crowd when his ear caught the first
sweet notes of Harriet's voice singing
the old song he loved so well, the song
she had first sung the day he came
from the south.
His heart gave a throb of pain.
Who could have prepared this humiliation
for his little pal! He pushed
his way through the throng of chattering
fools until he stood alone
straight in front of the slender little
singer. She saw him at once, smiled,
and sang as he had never heard her
sing. Her eyes shone with a strange
light and Stuart knew she was in the
spirit world. The rabble of ignorant
a .? /H/l
Illtril UIIU ? uiiirn uciuic nci uiu 11v/v
exist. She was singing to an invisible
audience save for the one man who
looked up into her eyes, his heart
bursting with sympathy and tenderness.
To his further surprise Stuart saw
the doctor standing in the shadows at
the corner of the stage looking over
the grossiping, noisy crowd with a look
of anger and horror.
When the last note of the song died
away, quivering with a supernatural
tenderness and passion, he brushed a
tear from his eyes, lifted his hands
high above, his head and made a motion
which said to her: "Tumultuous
applause!"
She nodded and smiled and he rushed
behind the scenes to ask an explanation.
He grasped both her hands and
found them cold and trembling with
excitement.
"What on earth, does this mean?"
"Simply that I was engaged to sing
tonight?and I wanted to surprise you.
Didn't you like my song?"
Stuart held her hands tightly.
"I never heard you sing so divinely!"
"Then I'm very happy."
"How could you sing at all under such
conuitions?"
"I had one good listener."
"I could have killed them because
they wouldn't hear you."
But you enjoyed it?"
1 "It lifted me to the gates of heaven,
dear."
"Then I don't care whether any one
else heard it or not. But I did so much
wish that she might have heard it, or
her husband, because they are from the
south. I thought they would be as
1 charmed with the old song as you have
' always been and I'd make a hit with
them, perhaps."
"But I don't understand, your father
1 hates Blvens so."
A big hand was laid on his shoulder,
1 he turned and faced the doctor smiling.
' "But I don't hate him, my boy!
I've given up such foolishness. We've
buried the hatchet. I'm to see him in
' a few minutes and we are to be good
friends."
! "Bivens invited you here to discuss
a business proposition tonight!" Stuart
exclaimed, blankly.
"No, no, no," the doctor answered.
) "I came with Harriet, of course. Her
music teacher placed her on the pro'
gramme. But Mr. Bivens and I have
had some correspondence and I'm to
see him in a little while and talk things
over quite informally, of course, but
effectively."
"He has agreed to a conference
here?" the young lawyer asked, anxiously.
"Why, of course. His butler has just
told me he would see me immediately
after the ball begins."
Stuart breathed easier.
"That It's all right. I was Just going
to suggest that I speak to Mr. Blvens
for you."
"Not at all, my boy, not necessary, I
assure you. It will be all right. In
five minutes' talk our little differences
will all be settled."
"If I can be of any service, you'll let
me know?"
"Certainly," the doctor replied with
a frown, "but the whole thing Is settled
already. Still, I appreciate your
nflfpr "
Stuart was worried. He could not
press the matter further. He was sure
from the sensitive tones in which his
old friend declined his help that
his dignity was hurt by the offer.
He was positive there was a
misunderstanding somewhere. The
doctor's optimism had led him into an
embarrassing situation and yet his association
with Blvens as his first employer
had surely given him some
knowledge of his character.
He hesitated, about to speak, changed
his mind, and turned to Harriet.
"You look glorious tonight, little pal!
Funny that I never saw* you in evening
dress before. You look so tall and
queenly, so grown, so mature. You're
beginning to make me feel old, child.
I'll be thinking of you as a grown woman
next."
"I am twenty-four, you know," she
said, simply.
"I have never believed it until tonight.
I wouldn't have known you at first but
for your voice. I had to rub my eyes
then."
A warm blush tinged the pink and
white of the sensitive face.
"Oh, Jim, I can't tell you how sweet
your southern blarney is to my heart!
I dreamed of a triumph of art. I saw'
it was impossible before I sang, and
now the pretty things you've said have
taken all the sting out of defeat and
I'm happy."
"Then I'm glad, dear."
He paused, leaned close and whispered
:
"Won't you let me know when your
father has seen Mr. Bivens? If this
conference doesn't go well I may be
of some help."
"All right, I'll let you know."
The lights were suddenly turned lower,
approaching total darkness. The attendants
noiselessly removed the temporary
stage and cleared the great
room for the dancers.
As the chimes struck the hour of
midnight, skeleton heads slowly began
to appear peeping from the shadows
of the arched celling and from every
nook and corner of the huge cornice
and pillars. Draperies of filmy crepe
nowmg gently in xne Dreeze were itemed
by sulphurous-hued electric rays
from the balconies. Tiny electric
lights blinked in every skeleton's sunken
eyes and behind each grinning row
of teeth.
Again the chatter of fools was suddenly
hushed. The orchestra began
a weird piece of music that sent the
cold chills rippling down Stuart's spine.
Harriet's hand gripped his.
"Heavens!" she whispered. "Did
you ever dream of such a nightmare!"
Suddenly two white figures drew
aside the heavy curtains in the archway
and the dancers marched into the
sombre room.
The men were dressed as shrouded
skeletons, and the wopien as worms.
The men wore a light flimsy gray robe
on which skilful artists had painted
on four sides in deep colors the picture
of a human skeleton.
The women wore a curious light
robe of cotton fibre which was drawn
over the entire body and gave to each
figure the appearance of a huge caterpillar.
From the high perch of a balcony
|a sepulchral voice cried:
"The Dance of Death and the
Worm!"
The strange figures began to move
slowly across the polished floor to the
strains of a ghost-like waltz.
From the corners of the high balconies
strange lights flashed, developing
in hideous outlines the phosphorescent
colors of the skeletons and long, fuzzy,
exaggerated lines of the accompanying
worms. The effect was thrilling.
Every sound save the soft swish of the
ghastly robes and the delicate footfall
of ghostly feet ceased. Not a whisper
from a sap-headed youth or a yap
from an aged degenerate or a giggle
from a silly woman broke the deathlike
stillness.
Suddenly the music stopped with a
crash. Each ghostly couple, skeleton
and worm, stood motionless. The silvery
note of a trumpet called from
the skv. The blinking eyes of the
death-heads in the ceiling and on the
walls faded slowly. The figures of
the dancers moved uneasily in the
darkness. The trumpet pealed a second
signal?the darkness fled, and the
great room suddenly blazed with ten
thousand electric lights. The orchestra
struck the first notes of a thrilling
waltz, and presto!?in an instant the
women appeared in all the splendour
of the most gorgeous gowns, their bare
arms and necks flashing with priceless
jewels and each man, but a moment
ago a hideous skeleton, bowed before
her in immaculate evening clothes.
Just at the moment each caterpillar
threw to her attendant her disguise,
from the four corners of the vast room
were released thousands of gorgeously
tinted butterflies, imported from the
tropics for the occasion. As the dancers
glided through the dazzling scene
these wonderfully colored creatures
fluttered about them in myriads, darting
and circling in every direction
among the flowers and lights until the
room seemed a veritable fairyland.
A burst of applause swept the crowd,
as Nan's radiant figure passed, encircled
by the arm of the leader.
Stuart nodded and clapped his hands
with enthusiasm.
A more marvellous transformation
scene could scarcely be imagined.
When Nan had passed he turned to
speak to Harriet and she had gone. He
felt a moment's pain at the disappointment,
but before he could find her
the music ceased, the dancers paused
and the swaying of the crowd made
his search vain.
A soft hand was suddenly laid on
his arm, and he turned to confront
Nan. her eyes flashing with triumph.
her cheeks flushed, and her lips parted
in a tender smile.
"Well?" she asked in low tones.
"You're a magician, Nan," he answered
with enthusiasm.
"Come, I'm going to honor you by
sitting out the next two dances, and If
you're very good, perhaps more."
When she had seated herself by his
side under a bower of roses he was
very still for a moment. She looked
up witth a quizzical expression and
said.
"A penny for your thoughts? Am
I so very wicked after all?"
Stuart crossed his long legs and
looked at her admiringly.
"I'll be honest," he said with deliberation.
"I don't think I have ever seen
anvthins: more dazzlingly beautiful
than your banquet and ball, except?"
"Except what!" she Interrupted
sharply.
"Except the woman who conceived
and executed It."
"That's better, but you must give the
credit to the artists I hired."
"In a measure, yes; but their plans
were submitted for your approval. I
was Just wondering whether your Imagination
was vivid enough to have
dreamed half the splendors of such a
life when you turned from the little
cottage I built for you."
A look of pain clouded the fair face
on/1 oho liftori hpr IpwpIpH hand.
"Please, Jim, I'd like to forget some
things."
"And you haven't forgotten?"
She looked straight Into his eyes
and answered In even tones.
"No."
He studied the magnificent pearl
necklace that circled her throat. Its
purchase had made a sensation In New
York. The papers were full of it at
the time Bivens had bought it at an
auction in Paris, bidding successfully
against the agents of the Tzar of Russia.
Never had he seen Nan so ravishing.
Magnificent gowns, soft laces,
and jewelry were made to be worn by
such women. There was an eternal
fitness in the whole scheme of things
in which this glorious creature of the
senses lived and moved and had her
being.
"I suppose," he began musingly, "I
ought, as a patriotic citizen of the Republic,
to condemn the enormous
waste of wealth you have made here
tonight."
"Yes," she answered quietly.
"I ought to tell you how many tears
you could wipe away with It, how
much suffering you could soften, how
many young lives you could save from
misery and shame, how many of life's
sunsets you could have turned from
darkness Into the glory of quiet Joy;
and yet, somehow, I can find nothing
In my heart to say except that I've
been living In a fairyland of beauty
and enchantment. What curious contradictions
these hearts of ours lead
us Into sometimes?don't they?"
Nan looked up quickly and repeated
his question in cynical tones.
"Yea, don't they?"
"I know that I ought to condemn this
appalling extravagance, and I find myself
enjoying it."
Both were silent for a long while and
then they began to talk in low tones of
the life they had lived as boy and girl
in the old south, and forgot the flight
of time.
(To Be Continued.)
? The following editorial expression
appeared in Friday's issue of the New
York Journal of Commerce, apropos
the purported purchase of cotton lands
by English spinners. Not long ago
the fact was announced that a syndicate
acting for English cotton spinners
had purchased 32,000 acres of cotton
land? In the 'Mississippi delta,' with a
view to raising the material for their
mills in Lancashire. Now comes a definite
statement from Memphis that a
syndicate of Holland capitalists has
acquired 9,000 acres in Bolivar county,
Mississippi, with options upon considerable
adjoining property. It is said
to be 'confidently expected' that now
that the way has been blazed there
will be a rapid acquisition of similar
lands chiefly for cotton raising. In
the case of the Dutch purchases, of
which 6,000 acres are already under
cultivation, it is said that the land
will not be wholy devoted to cotton,
but corn and other grain will be grown
and live stock will be raised. This
may be the beginning of a movement
of much interest to the southern states.
It is generally acknowledged that their
agricultural possibilities are far from
being fairly developed, and the great
need is adequate capital and sufficient
labor of an industrious kind. The acquisition
of cotton lands with foreign
capital may be especially significant.
European manufacturers have become
seriously disturbed over their dependence
upon the American cotton supply,
but their efforts to stimulate production
elsewhere, chiefly in India and
parts of Africa, are having slow results.
It is well known to them that
our southern states have a decided advantage
in cotton raising and that
their capacity is far from being taxed,
but the supply that2can be counted upon
is capricious. Crops vary somewhat
widely from year to year and little effort
Is made to adjust the supply to
the demand. At times there is a disposition
to curtail the supply for the
mere purpose of maintaining a high
price, on the ground that a small crop
and a high price are more profitable
to the planter than an abundant quantity
at a low price. If foreign proprietors
come in with a motive for improving
cultivation, increasing yield
and economizing cost, it will have a
stimulating effect upon native enterprise
and may make the industry
more steadily profitable and of far
more benefit to other industries both
at home and abroad. It is much more
important that there should be a steady
and plentiful supply of this material
of almost universal use than that there
should sometimes be a large profit to
planters from the distress of great
manufacturing populations. Not only
is there need of Improvement in cultivation
and in labor conditions, but
there is a chance for progress in pre
paring cotton for the market and in
the methods of handling it in transportation.
The emulation excited by
the invasion of foreign enterprise ought
to have a salutary effect upon the industrial
conditions of the south."
A Freshie.?The baby across the car
caught sight of the bibulous individual
opposite and let out a shrill yell of
alarm.
The bibulous person leaned forward.
"Ralry attendin' college, ma'am?"
he asked.
"Xo. sir," the mother sharply replied.
and the baby yelled again.
"Thass ver' funny." said the Inebriated
one. There's certa'nly some
class to that yell."
Then he gave the child an atrocious
wink and fell asleep.?Cleveland
Plain Dealer.
pi0crUanrou$ grading.
THE SCHOOL BOOK QUESTION.
Appointive Members of the Board
Make Statement to the Public.
Statement of the appointive members
of the state board of education concerning
the adoption of text books:
In view of the misunderstanding and
erroneous statements that have grown
out of the recent protest issued by
State Superintendent Swearingen in
reference to the late adoption of text
books, the undersigned appointive
members of the state board of education
submit to the people of South
Carolina the following statement of
the fact Involved:
Fitness of the members to Judge and
select text books:
The undersigned members- of the
board have all of them been for many
veers lntlmntf.lv rnnneetpd with the
schools. Most of them are teachers of
many years' experience, ranging
through nearly every grade and every
kind of school.
Special Preparation For tho Adoption.
For something over two years, they
have had this adoption in view and
have In consequence, been acquainting
themselves with the usableness,
suitableness, and merits of the books
In actual use in the schools. This has
been done not only by examination of
the books themselves but by the questioning
of teachers all over the state.
For some six months prior to the
adoption, books to be offered begin to
come In and expert representatives of
the book companies began their visits
to the several members of the board.
The coming of these books and agents
increased in frequency, so that for
some three months before the adoption,
the members were called upon to
spend most of their time, not given to
their regular work, in the examination
of books and the discussion of them
with agents.
This prolonged and searching examlnfltlnn
nf tovl hnnlrg tn ho anhmlt
ted was supplemented by informal discussion
and comparisons among the
members themselves while in attendance
upon board meeting in Columbia
Hence the several members entered the
adoption with clearly defined views as
to the relative merits and suitability
of the various books, including those
now in use, and had in many cases,
their minds made up on their first
choice, or on the books which they
would be willing to accept in place of
this first choice, and with definite
ideas as to the opinions of their fellow
members. Consequently when the time
came for adoption, the members were
virtually ready to vote intelligently
without the necessity of much discussion,
though despite this preparation
there was full discussion on all important
books.
The undersigned members submit,
therefore, that with this experience
and this study of the books, it is reasonable
to conclude that their individual
judgment as to the merits of the
books submitted deserves the same
consideration, and is just as likely to
be correct, as that of Mr. Swearingen,
and that where a majority of them
were agreed upon a particular book, it
is just as rational, as well as democratic,
to assume that this majority opinion
was more likely correct than that
of Mr. Swearingen or that of any minority
which Included Mr. Swearingen.
Tha So-called 8ecrat Ballot.
It Is unthinkable that Superintendent
Swearingen intended in the slightest
degree to impugn or make insinuation
against the integrity of the members
of the board, either individually
or collectively. Indeed we have his
assurance that he did not; yet that
construction has been put upon his
protest and especially upon his reference
to a secret ballot. Hence we are
at a loss to understand why, when he
perceived that the newspapers so construed
his protest, he did not, in justice
to himself and in justice to the
board, immediately publish a disclaimer
of any such intention.
This ballot, it is due to say, was not
secret in the sense that any member's
vote was concealed. It is due to say,
further, that not only was the method
based upon the precedent of the adoption
of five years ago, but, In the
agreement to adopt the impersonal
vote, it was distinctly stated that, if
In the voting any member desired to
put on record anything about the vote
or adoption, he had the right to do so.
In the case of most of the books, especially
of the more important ones,
there was always a preliminary discussion
which revealed whether there
was any decided differences of opinion
among the members. Some member
then put a particular book in nomination.
There was yet fuller discussion,
including comparison with such
other books as individual members
thought worthy of mention. An open
individual vote was then taken. Thus
the whole board knew how each mem
her voted.
How the Members Voted.
On only three of the books adopted
were the undersigned members divided
in their final vote. These were the
basal set of readers, the geographies
and the English books below the high
school. The following voted for the
Wheeler Primer. Messrs. Daniel,
Glenn, O'Driscoll, Rembert, Thackston
and Toms. In the case of the first and
second basal readers, Messrs. Glenn
and Rembert voted for the graded
classics of B. F. Johnson & Co., as a
solid basal set. Messrs. Daniel, O'Driscoll.
Rice. Thackston and Toms voted
for the Wheeler first and second readers,
as adopted. In the case of the
geographies, the final vote stood for
Maury, Messrs. Daniel, O'Driscoll,
Thackston and Toms; for Frye, Messrs.
Glenn, Rembert and Rice. In the ca
of the grammars the following voted
for Kinard and Withers books: Messrs.
Glenn, O'Driscoll, Rembert, Rice and
Thackston. The following voted
against these books: Messrs. Daniel
and Toms. In each such Instance,
however, those who opposed the books
finally adopted cheerfully accepted and
approved the verdict of the majority.
In the final vote on all other books
adopted the undersigned members
voted alike.
Change of Text Books.
In reference to the change of text
books, it must be remembered that the
law itself anticipates the necessity for
change ii. providing for a periodic
adoption. The object, moreover, in inviting
bids is to secure not the cheap
. f 1.? l>?o. I.nnlia of thp
CHI IHIUna, l.'Ul IIIC ucDi uuvnn ....
lowest prices. The board showed its
recognition of this principle as a primary
end in the fact that, at its first
meeting and frequently in the course
of the adoption, it was repeated with
emphasis that the first duty was to get
the best books irrespective of reasonable
differences in price. One of the
most dangerous doctrines implied in
Mr. Swearlngen's protest is that which
tends to establish the principle that
books should not be changed and that
cheapness is the chief object.
No man's child should be compelled
to use Inferior text books even
though such books were furnished free
of cost. Time once lost by the child,
through poor books, is never recovered
and the damage done is Irreparable.
People living in the country, are as a
rule, not in position to keep up with
the advance in text book Improvements.
These advances are on a par
with, or ahead of, Improvements,
along other lines; and books that were
relatively good four or five years ago
may be relatively poor today. Surely
the country children are entitled to as
good hooks as the town children are.
This advantage the board was fully
determined they should have without
regard to criticism.
Increase In Prices.
Most of those who have made comparisons
between particular books of
the old and the new adoption have
fallen into serious and misleading error.
Primer and Reader.
In the case of the primer, although
the one adopted cost 13 cents more
than the old one, it contains 6,700
words of reading matter, whereas the
old book contains only 1,300. Thus
the old primer, pasteboard bound,
cheaply made, poorly illustrated, gave
only 110 words of reading matter for
one cent, while the new primer, cloth
bound, fully and beautifully illustrated,
gives 226 words of reading matter for
one cent. The judgment of the school
world upon this new book may be Inferred
from the fact that It has been
adopted in eleven states. So, also, are
the readers adopted superior to those
discarded.
Reading is the most Important subject
taught In the school, because the
child's progress in all other studies
Hononria iirmn hla ability to read. That
series of readers which enables the
child to gain this power in the shortest
possible time is In the end the best and
the cheapest. Such a series the undersigned
members of the board claim to
have adopted.
Geographies.
In the comparison between the old
and the adopted primary geographies,
the following Is the fact: The book
thrown out was confessedly unsuitable
and was not supported by a single
member of the board. The board was
Anally limited to a choice between
the new primary Frye at 40 cents and
the new primary Maury at 45 cents?a
difference of 5 cents and not of 12
cents, as alleged.
Physiologies.
It is equally unfair and misleading
to compare the cost of the three book
series of physiologies adopted with the
two book series discarded. The third
and added book is to be used as an
elective science in one of the high
school classes, and was adopted In
response to the most marked movement
of the day?the call for the education
of the people in health laws and
preservation. In the two lower books,
those adopted are so far ahead of the
old books that there is no comparison.
The primer of sanitation alone if
placed in the home of every man in
South Carolina and read and even
partly followed would save In one year
more money than the adoption will
cost.
Arithmetic.
The comparison between the old and
the new arithmetics is an Instance of
the glaring injustice done to the board.
The -following is the statement given:
Post nf old arithmetic, elemen
tary $0.22
Cost of old arithmetic, advanced
40
Total $0.62
Cost of the new arithmetic, elementary
32
Cost of new arithmetic, intermediate
36
Coct of new arithmetic, advanced
41
Total .. $1.09
Making the apparent increase on
arithmetics 47 cents. As a matter of
fact, the new advanced arithmetic
quoted as 41 cents in the second list
above was on the old list, and in a rtadopted
book.
The proper comparison should be:
Cost of old Went. * arithmetic
eiem 22
Cost of old Went, arithmetic,
adv 40
Cost of old Milne arithmetic,
adv 41
Total $1.03
Cost of new Milne arithmetic,
elem 32
Cost of new Milne arithmetic,
inter 36
Cost of re-adopted arithmetic,
ndv.. . . > dl
TotaJ $1.09
This makes the increased price only
6 cents. A change in the two lower
arithmetics was considered advisable,
since, in the Judgment of the board
they were out of date. Such being the
case, the adoption of the Milne was logical,
Inasmuch as the advanced Milne
was already on the list and the whole
series was already widely used in the
independent schools of the state.
Saving to the State.
Those who have commented on the
cost of the adoption have overlooked
the positive fact that this board has
secured what is confessedly the best
contract ever obtained from the publishers
in this country. For we maintain
that the credit for this contract
is due to no one man, but that the
contract was the product of the combined
Judgment of the whole board and
was unanimously adopted by it. By
this contract, for the first time in the
history of book adoption, "any old
book" in the hand of the child has been
given a definite money value and will
'je taken In exchange for any book of
a lower or higher grade in the same
series. By the same contract, too, the
length of time allowed for exchange
has been increased 25 per cent.
Both the method and the saving in
this exchange provision may be illustrated
with the readers. By the contract
the old Johnson Primer, which,
when new, cost the children 12 cents,
has now an exchange value of 15 cents.
That is to say, an old Johnson Primer
and 10 cents will buy a new Wheeler
DwimAK tVia ratal] nan t ro r? t nrlpp nf
which Is 25 cents. Or the same primer
and 10 cents will buy a new Wheeler
first reader, the contract retail price of
which Is 25 cents. In the same way, an
old primer may be used at this valuation
of 15 cents to help pay for any
reader?first, second, third, fourth or
fifth, whereas, in the past a primer
could be exchanged only for a primer.
Further, an old first reader, which
cost 20 cents when new, has by contract
been given a money value of 15
cents and may be used to help pay for
a primer or any other reader.
In the case of the geographies, the
old primary geography, which was
discarded by the board, and which cost
when new 33 cents, has by contract
been given an exchange value of 23
cents, being only 10 cents less than It
cost when new. That is to say, an old
primary geography and 23 cents will
pay for the new book adopted. Or the
old primary geography and 65 cents
will pay for the new advanced geography.
So, too, the old advanced geography
and 22 cents will buy the new
primary geography. Could any one
deny that money has been saved the
state?
Cost to the State.
It has been claimed that the board
by its action wantonly destroyed property
values estimated at 1500,000. This
sum is just a few thousand less than
the cost of all the school books bought
in South Carolina during the years
1906-1911. How preposterous this claim
is will appear from the following:
It assumes that all these books, even
those bought five years ago. are still
in usable form in the hands of the children
and are now worth what they
cost when new. It assumes also that
if all the old books had been re-adopted,
the children of the state would not
have had to buy any new books during
the coming five years. It rorgets tnat
each book now in the hands of the
child has not only paid its price in
use, but is by contract given an added
definite value, approximate 50 per
cent of its original cost.
The following analysis will show
that the apparent loss of the state
would in reality be only about $16,000
a year for the five-year period, or only
about 4 2-3 cents per child, instead of
the alleged loss of $500,000. As It is
claimed that the loss was entailed by
the assumed 80 per cent change, then
the entire value Involved would be
upon this 80 per cent or upon $400,000
instead of $500,000. It is, however,
generally estimated by teachers and
experienced book men that the average
life of a text book?especially in the
lower grades?is from one to three
years. On a liberal allowance then,
the books bought during the first three
years of the last adoption period are
not usable in class, though by the contract
they have been given an exchange
money value. This reduces the
possible loss to the books bought during
the last two years, or to twofifths
of $400,000, that is, $160,000. Now
not only iiave these books paid their
price in actual use, but they have an
, actual value of 50' per cent of their
) cost when new. This reduces the alI
leged loss to $80,000. If this loss be
, distributed over a period of five years
, ?a legitimate distribution, inasmuch
as the assumed loss covered that per\
lod?this makes a so-called loss of
. $16,000 a year. This leaves a so-called
! loss of $16,000 a year to be distributed
among the 340,000 and more children
I in the schools, or about 4 2-3 cents
apiece.
Thus, at this slight additional expense
of 4 2-3 cents, each child In the
i state would be supplied with new and
, better books. Surely this is gain and
not loss. For it is a serious injustice
to a child?an Injustice at once phy
sical, Intellectual, and aesthetic?to put
into its hands an old, defaced and filthy
book In any study.
We have gone Into these figures on
the assumption that the statement
that 80 per cent of the books have been
changed, Is correct. The correctness
of the statement we do not admit. Exclusive
of copy books and drawing
books, which are destroyed by use,
supplementary English classics and
duplicates, there were 53 books on the
old list. Of this number 23 only were
changed, whereas 20 were re-adopted.
Ten were entirely dropped from the
list. Owing to the extension of the
high school course, it becomes necessary
to add nine new books to the list
for high school use. Let each man calculate
the percentage of change for
himself.
Have No Apology.
The foregoing is a statement of the
essential facts of the adoption, of the
preliminary preparation of the members
of the board and of the fair and
rational view to take of the cost involved.
The undersigned appointive
members have no apology to make
either for the result of the adoption
or for the methods used. They entered
upon the task with only one purpose?to
further the beet interest of
the schools and of the children of South
Carolina. They brought to bear upon
this task their best experience, the
unremitting toll of months, and the
deepest Interest and sincerity. They
believe that with due allowance for
the fallibility of human Judgment
they have succeeded. To the test of
use. to those who know books and the
needs of our schools, and to the sober
second thought of the fair-minded
people of their state, they leave the
final verdict.
D. M. O'Driscoll, First District,
Hi F. Rice, Second District.
D. W. Daniel, Third District,
* ft niatrlot
j\. u. ncuu/ci i, r vutiii w?o??av?t
J. Lyles Glenn, Fifth District,
Nathan Toms, Sixth District,
A. J. Thackston, Seventh District.
EFFECTS OF THE DROUTH.
Deterioration In Many Crops During
Past Month.
Washington, July 10.?"Hot weather
and drouth have played havoc with the
crop conditions during1 the last month,'
was the statement made today by Prof.
N. C. Murray, acting chief of the crop
reporting board of the department of
agriculture, after the announcement of
the July report on grain and produce.
"The report," said Prof. Murray, "re
fleets the serious effects of the drouth
during June, most of the Important
crops showing a condition at present
which indicate a yieia Deiow mat 01
last year and below the recent average
yield of production.
"The feed stuffs?oats and hay?seem
to have been the hardest hit. Less than
two-thirds of a normal crop ot hay is
expected and the oats crop probably
will be more than 25 per cent less than
last year's crop and about 12 per cent
less than the average for the last Ave
years.
Corn Condition Bslow Average.
"The corn acreage is the largest ever
recorded, but the condition of the crop
is about 7 per cent below the average.
That indicates a production of about 5
per cent less than last year's record
crop, but nearly 5 per cent more than
the average production during the last
five years. The condition of the corn
crop on July 1, however, was critical.
"The potato crop promises to be unusually
short. The acreage has fallen
off and the condition of the crop now
is lower than at any time on July 1
in the last twenty-two years. A sensational
advance in the price of potatoes
has been made during the last
month. The average price throughout
the country, on June 1, was 63.3 cents
a bushel. On July 1 it was 96.3 cents.
Tobacco Also Short.
"Owing to the difficulty in the setting
out of tobacco plants the average
of tobacco has been reduced 28 per
cent from last year. This and the low
condition of the crop has reduced the
Indications to a total production of
63.3 per cent of last year's crop, or 77.3
per cent of the average for the last five
years.
"Notwithstanding the drouth, the
wheat crop, both spring and winter,
will be well up to the average in total
production.
"Tn general croD conditions the sec
tion of the country which appears to
have been hit hardest by the hot weather
and the drouth is the tier of states
comprising South Dakota, Nebraska,
Kansas and Oklahoma.
July Crop Rsport.
The July crop report of the United
States department of agriculture crop
reporting board, issued at 2.15 p. m.
today, shows the condition on July 1
and the yield per acre, as indicated by
the condition on that date, of the principal
farm crops and the acreage of
those not already announced, as follows:
Corn?Condition 80.1 per cent of a
normal, compared with 85.4 per cent in
1910 and 84.7 per cent, the average for
the past ten years on that date: indicated
yield per acre 25.5 bushels, compared
with 27.4 bushels, the 1910 final
yield, and 27.1 bushels, the average
for the last five years; area planted to
corn this year 115,939,000 acres, compared
with 114,002,000 acres in 1910.
76.8 Wheat Crop Figures.
Winter wheat?Condition 76.8 per
cent, of a normal, compared with 80.4
per cent on June 1, 1911, 81.5 per cent
in 1910, and 81.4 per cent, the tenyear
average; indicated yield per acre,
14.6 bushels, compared with 15.8 bushels
in 1911, and 15.5 bushels, the five
year average. i
Spring wheat?Condition 73.8 per
cent, of a normal, compared with 94.6
per cent on June 1, 1911, 61.6 per cent,
in 1910 and 87.8 per cent, the ten-year
average; indicated yield per acre, 11.8
bushels, compared with 11.7 bushels in
1910 and 13.5 bushels, the five-year i
average.
All wheat?Condition 75.6 per cent of
~ ? ? I oAmnoraH with fiA 1 rUMT PMlt
ci liunnai, \.\Jlllpo-i wu nn... vv.? -
on June 1, 1911, 73.5 per cent In 1910
and 84.4 per cent, the ten-year average;
indicated yield per acre 13.5 bushels,
compared with 14.1 bushels in 1910
and 14.7 bushels, the five-year average.
The amount of wheat remaining on
farms on July 1 is estimated at about
38,288,000 bushels, compared with 38,739,000
bushels on July 1, 1910, and
37,701,000 bushels, the average amount
on farms July 1 for the past five years.
Oats, Barley, Rye.
Oats?Condition 68.8 per cent of a
normal, compared with 85.7 per cent on ;
June 1, 1911, 82.2 per cent, in 1910, and
86.3 per cent, the ten-year average;
Indicated yield per acre, 23.2 bushels, 1
compared with 31.9 bushels in 1910 and
28.4 bushels, the five-year average. ,
Barley?Condition, 72.1 per cent of a |
normal, compared with 90.2 per cent on i
June 1, 1911, 73.7 per cent in 1910 and
87.9 per cent the ten-year average Indicated
yield per acre, 20.9 bushels,
compared with 22.4 bushels in 1910 and ,
24.8 bushels the five-year average.
Rye?Condition, 85.0 per cent of a
normal, compared with 88.6 per cent on
June 1, 1911, 87.6 per cent in 1910 and
90.8 per cent the ten-year average indicated
yield per acre, 15.5 bushels,
compared with 16.3 bushels in 1910 and
16.4 bushels the five year average area
planted to rye this year, 2,003,664 acres,
compared with 2,028,000 acres in 1910. j
Potato?*, Tobacco, Flax.
White potatoes?Condition, 76.0 per
cent of a normal, compared with 86.3
per cent in 1910 and 90.4 per cent the
ten-year average indicated yield per
acre 81.7 bushels, compared with 94.4
bushels in 1910 and 96.9 bushels the
five-year average; area planted, 3,496,000
acres, compared with 3,591,000
acres in 1910.
Tobacco?Condition, 72.6 per cent of
a normal, compared with 86.3 per cent
in 1910 and 86.0 per cent the ten-year
average; indicated yield per acre, 698.1
pounds, compared with 797.8 pounds in
1910 and 826.0 pounds the five year
average; area planted. 893,000 acres,
compared with 1,233,800 acres In 1910.
Flax?Condition, 80.9 per cent of a
normal, compared with 65.0 per cent in
1910 and 87,8 per cent the eightyear
average; indicated yield per acre, 8.6
bushels, compared with 4.8 bushels In
1910 and 8.6 blshels the five-year avern
art* nrpfl nlnntpri 9 A19 OHH onroa r?r?m
pared with 2,916,000 acre* In 1910.
Rice and Hay.
Rice?Condition, 87.7 per cent of normal,
compared with 86.8 per cent In
1910 and 88.6 per cent the ten-year
average; indicated yield per acre 32.2
bushels, compared with 33.9 bushels in
1910 and 32.4 bushels the five-year
average; area planted 706,000 acres,
compared with 722,800 acres in 1910.
Hay?Condition, 64.9 per cent of a
normal, compared with 76.8 per cent on
June 1, 1911, 80.2 in 1910 and 86.7 per
cent the ten-year average; indicated
yield per acre 1.08 tons, compared with
1.33 tons in 1910 and 1.41 tons the fiveyear
average. Acreage not announced.
Estimated Total Yield.
The approximate total yield of the
Important farm crops of the United
States, as indicated by the condition of
crops on July 1, estimated by the crop
reporting board of the department of
agriculture, upon the ratio of the average
condition on that date to the final
yield In the past five years, follows:
1911 1910.
indicated yield. yield.
Crop. Bushels. Bushels.
Corn 2,966,444,600 3,126,717,000
Wheat, W. .. 467,698,200 484.044,000
Wheat, 8. .. 244,932,600 231,299,000
All wheat .. 702,880,800 696,433,000
Oats 871,800,000 1,127,266,000
Barley .. .. 147,029,200 162,227,000
Rye 31,066,792 33,039,000
Potatoes, W. 286,694,600 338,811,000
Flax 26,911,800 14,116,000
Rice 22,723,640 24,610.000
Tobacco, Lbs. 625,642,920 984,349,000
Condition by 8tates.
Condition of Important crops in principal
states Include the following:
Winter wheat. July 1. 10-year ave.
Texas 62 69
Tennessee 87 80
Virginia 86 83
Maryland 79 86
Kentucky 88 81
North Carolina .. ..89 81
South Carolina 86 77
10-yearCorn.
Acres. July 1. ave.
Texas 9,240,000 46 76
Georgia 4,577,000 85 88
Kentucky 3,708,000 90 88
Tennessee 3,683,000 89 88
Alabama 3,666,000 86 86
Mississippi .. ..3,329,000 84 84
North Carolina. .3,072,000 91 88
Arkansas 2,884,000 79 84
Louisiana 2,618,000 72 81
South Carolina.. .2,616,000 81 84
Virginia 2,142,000 88 90
A GREENWOOD COUNTY GH08T.
Story of the Voioe That Haunted the
Old Isaac Burnett Plaee.
After leaving the old DeVore plaee
we come to a house, the site of the old
home of an early settler, Mr. Isaac
Burnett, where In the year f829, al
most one hundred years ago, waa observed
by hundreds one of the most
peculiar phenomena in this or any
other country. This place waa referred
to as the "Haunted House" or the
"House with the Spirit," etc. In early
childhood the tales of what had happened
here used to make the writer's
hair stand on end, especially when
told on rainy nights with other ghostly
tales. This "thing or that thing,"
as it was gener&iiy reierrea to, was a
voice that spoke from out of space,
recognised human beings by name,
told their history, and made the house
a point of interest to hundreds of visitors
while it lasted. The writer has
one or two old newspaper clippings
about it and has heard of it, as has
every one else in that and many
neighboring sections, as far back as he
can remember almost.
Mr. J. H. Burnett, here In Greenwood,
is a grandson of the Isaac Burnett
who owned the place then and
from him a short statement was secured.
The voice was first heard in 1829.
He only knows what his father S. J.
Burnett, told him of it It was first
heard as a whistle in a plum thicket
near the house. It attracted attention
because it was kept up and the family
thought it was some of the boys in the
neighborhood hiding in the thicket and
trying to get some one to look for
them. The whistle left the plum
thicket and gradually drew near the
house, that is it would be heard at
intervals, not all the time, but each
time it would be nearer the house
than before. When it had almost
reached the house the family noticed
that it was forming words with a
whistling sound. Soon what was said
could be distinguished very clearly,
though it was always with this whistling
or wheezing sound. The family,
notbeing able to see any one, and not
being able to solve the mystery, became
greatly annoyed and some of
them more or less alarmed. The voice
apparently recognized this, for it said
frequently that it would harm no one,
that it was useless to move out of the
house, that it would follow them, and
several times it saia mai it was
years old. People from miles and miles
around came to hear It. The Rev.
Nicholas W. Hodges, the pioneer Baptist
preacher, the one who is buried
at Mt. Moriah, came to hear It and
talked with It. The voice seemed to
get angry with him and Anally refused
to answer questions. The voice
seemed to get nearer a daughter of
Mr. Isaac Burnett, Martha by name,
than any one else and greatly annoyed
her. At the suggestion of the Rev.
Mr. Hodges she repeated to it the v
Testament verse, 1 Tim. 1:16. "This
Is a faithful saying, worthy of all acceptation;
Christ Jesus came into the
world to save sinners," and it left her.
Whereupon Mr. Hodges pronounced
It an evil spirit. The voice was heard
in two other places in the neighborhood
for a short time, once or twice
only, one time at a Mr. Rodgers' and
another at a Mr. Shettleworth's house.
Once a man named Wash Hall came
from Georgia to hear It; he had lived
in this neighborhood. The voice recognized
him and told him what had
happened to him since he left. The
voice left the house as it had come, after
a time being heard only In the
yard, then a little farther away, a little
farther each time until Anally it
had disappeared entirely. It lasted
almost a year.
rpuia (? at flrat
X Alls 11IC1I 10 ilic OiaiCiUVIH uv * ??
hand from a member of the family.
This remarkable "thing" exercised itself
in 1829. What it was. at this late
day and time, is a problem we will not
attempt to solve. The easiest explanation
is that there was a ventriloquist
In that neighborhood or In the immediate
radius of the house and that the
owner of that voice used It as above
described. The older people right
around It would never admit of this
solution, as no person could be found
who had such a voice or at least it
was never exercised around there anywhere.
and if such was the case the
owner carried the mystery with him
or her to the grave. Mr. J. H. Burnett
does not believe It was a ventriloquist.
though he says he cannot offer
any explanation.?Greenwood Index..