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YORKVILLE ENQUIRER. i isangrgp skmi-wbkklt. k l. *. okist'8 sons, Pnbiiiheri. j % Jfirsjjajjr: J; or the promotion of the political, Social, Sgrieultural and (Tommercial Interests of the |toj4. J ESTABLISHED 1855. YORKVILL^S. C., TUESDAY, JANITAPY .12, 1915. NO. 4 IYoyemb THE DETECTIVE By HESKETH fc Copyright, 1913, by Hesketh Prlch CHAPTER XVIi. The City or the Woods? Although Dandy Tomlinson's bullet had passed through Joe's shoulder It had left a very ugly wound, but the young woodsman's clean and he>althy life stood him in good stead, and the process of healing went on rapidly. We had fetched a doctor from Priamvllle, who left a string of Instructions, which Linda carried out as closely as she could. Indeed, she would have devoted most of her time to Joe, but he managed to make her spend a good part of each day out of doors. Sometimes he would beg for 1 a fish for his supper and she must catch It herself to prove how well she W had profited by his teaching. There k were half a hundred things he suggested, not one of which was obvious Mk or trifling, until I marveled at his ingenuity. "You are finding the time long, Joe?" I said on one occasion. "No, Mr. Quaritch, the hours slip past quick enough. I've never had a lie-by and awhile for thinking since I been a man. There's a gocd few puzzles to life that wants facing one time or another, I s'pose." "Which puzzle is it that you are facing now?" "Mr. Petersham wants to be the making of me." 'Then you're about the luckiest young man in this hemisphere." "Just so, and I feel his kindness is more'n I deserve. He'd make me head warden here for a bit first and then send some kind of a professor to teach me how to talk and fix me up generally." He paused. "Well, that sounds very reasonable," I commented. "And after they'd scraped some of the moss off me he'd put me into his office." * I hid the astonishment I felt at this announcement. "After that it'd be up to me to make good. He'd help all he knew." "It sounds a very brilliant future for you, November." Joe was silent for a moment. "It does, Mr. Quaritch," he said at length in a different tone. "And it gives me something to think about. So they caught Muppy all right? Him and Puttick '11 find prison a poor place after the woods." , "I can feel for them," said I, "for I } am leaving the woods tomorrow myself. I must get back to Quebec." ( "Huh, yes! There's no call for you ( to stay longer." "As to that, you'll be here for quite , awhile yourself." j He made no reply, and when I turned from the window to look at him he was lying with his eyes closed, and, thinking he was tired, I left him. , At the south end of the veranda was situated a small detached room , which we had turned into a work- ] shop, and early the same afternoon ] I went around there to repair a fav- ] k orite fishing rod. The veranda was \ empty as I passed through it, but , presently Petersham joined me. ] i "That fellow November Joe is ar. in^ fernal fool!" he said presently. "He j B is a dolt without an ounce of ambi- ] tion!" "In his own sphere"?I began. "He is all very well in his own ] sphere, but he should try to raise ; above it" "He has done uncommonly well for himself so far," I said. "He has made good use of his brains and his experience. In his own way he is very, very capable." "That is true enough, but he has got about as far as he can go without help. As you say, he has done all this for himself. Now, I am ready to do a good deal more for him. I'll back him in any line of business he chooses to follow. I owe him that and more. Heaven knows what might have happened to Linda but for him." "You owe a good deal to November." "I am well aware of it," replied Petersham. "I am convinced I owe him Linda's life." Something in his tone showed me his futher meaning. I dropped my fishing rod and stared at him. I knew Linda had enormous influence over her father, but this was beyond imagination. "You'd never allow it!" I exclaimed. "Why not?" he retorted angrily. "Isn't Joe better than that Hipper dude? Or Phil Bitsheim or than that Italian count with his pedigree from Noah in his pocket? Tell me where is she going to find a man like Joe? Why, he's got it in him to do things?big '< things?and I hope I'm good enough republican not to see the injustice of ' nailing a fellow down to the spot where he was born." "Eut November would never dare look so high! He's modest." "He'll get over that!" "I doubt it," I said. "Besides, you are reckoning without Linda. How do you know that she"? "Naturally I don't know for sure about Linda," he answered, shortly; then, glaincng at his watch, he got up. "Just about time to get my mail : ready." We had been speaking in low tones, for the subject of owr conversation naturally did not lend itself to loud talk, and besides, during the last quarter of an hour or so a murmur of voices from the veranda had warned us to be careful. We had not shut the door leading to the verandah, as it was the only one. and we needed it open for light and air. Petersham walked toward it, but, instead of stepping out, he turned and laid a hand like a vise on my arm. "Quiet! quiet for your life!" he whispered. "She must never know wo w??rp hprp' "Put. Joe, you're mistaken, Joe. I wish it!" It was Linda's voice, shy and trembling as I had never heard it. "Ah, that's all your great goodness. Miss Linda, and I haven't earned none of it." ier Joe. OF THE WOODS. PRICHARD. ard. I pointed frankly to the door. We must shut that door and shut out those voices, but Petersham swore at me under his breath. "Darn, you know those hinges screach like a wildcat! It can't be helped, for it would kill her to know we heard a word of this." We crept away into the farthest corner of the workshop, but even there phrases floated to us, though mercifully we could not hear all. But father would help you. for you know you are a genius, Joe." "All I could ever do lies in the woods. Miss Linda; woodsways is the whole of It. A yard outside the woods and the meanest chap bred on the streets could beat me easy. I can't thank you nor Mr. Petersham the way I'd like to, for my tongue is slow." Here his voice fell. "But if you hate the city life so much you must not go to the city." It was Linda again. "Live your life in the woods. I love the woods, too." "The woods is black and bleak enough to them that's not born among the trees. Them that's lived outside r alius wants more, Miss Linda." A long interval followed before the trAUao hanomu Qlldihlp JlMin "Oh, no, no, Joe!" Petersham clutched my arm once more at the sound. "You're so young. Miss Linda, you don't know. I'd give my right hand to believe different, but I can't. It wouldn't be best?not for you." November's tone moved me more than Linda's passion. He was a man fighting it out against his own heart. I knew well the power of attraction Linda possessed, but somehow I had not guessed how it had worked on Joe. I had, indeed, been right in so far that he had not dreamed of aspiring to her; nevertheless the episode would mean pain and loss to him, I feared, for many a day. Once more I heard him. a "Don't you think I'll be proud every b hour I have to live that you was so good to me. Miss Linda? I shan't never forget it." "Joe, I think I hate you!" she cried. ? And then the quick tap of her footsteps told us she had run into the house. e There was absolute silence for a 0 minute or two. At length Joe sighed heavily and with the slow laborious movement of weakness went to his room. 1 When all seemed safe, Petersham 0 and I stole out of hiding like thieves, e and, though we exchanged no word, ^ Petersham was swearing violently 11 under his breath until he shut his offlee door. s Rather to my surprise November t Jce came out for awhile after sup- a per, because he said it was my last ^ evening at Kalmacks. Neither he nor i. Linda gave any sign tnat anyming unusual had passed between them. " Indeed, we were gay enough, and we v had Charley Paul to sing us some v French-Canadian songs. t After saying goodby as well as ^ Brood night to Linda and her father, c [ followed Joe to his room. p "I won't wake you up in the morn- v ing, November," I said. "There's g nothing like rest and sleep to put you f in your legs again." r "I've been trying that cure, Mr. Qua- e ritch, and I won't be long behind s you." r "Oh, where are you going to?" "To my shack on Charley's brook ? I'm kind o' homesick like, and that's r the truth." tl "But how about Mr. Petersham's 13 e svish to give you as in his busi- c ness in New York or ntreal?" 1 "I'm not the kind a guy for a city. Mr. Quaritch. All the chaps 'd ? ?et turning round to stare at the poor p wild fella, and I'd be scairt to sleep I in one of them up in the blue sky c houses anyway!" he laughed. "But you would soon be used to " city ways and perhaps become rich." e "That was what the mink said to t the otter: 'Go you to the city and see 0 the sights,' says he, but the otter ii knew the only way he'd ever see the c city would be around some lovely ^ ?lrl's neck." v November Joe had no idea how far [ could read into his fable. "And what did the otter say?" p "Huh, nothing! He just went down t his slide into the lake and got chasin' n fish, and I guess he soon forgot he t missed seein' the city all right." n "And now anout you. joe: ' \ "I guess I'll get ehasin' tish, too, Mr. Quaritch." g When I arrived at the depot at Pri[imsville in the morning* to my surprise I found November Joe there bo- 1 fore me. " "Why, Joe!" 1 exclaimed, "you're d not tit to travel." 1 "I thought I'd go on the ears with 1 a you. Mr. Quaritch. if you'll have me. v There's a good many times to change o before we gets to Silent Water, and 4 I'm not so wonderful quick on my " feet yet." i! He soon grew strong again, and he o wrote me of his trapping and shoot- s ing. so at any rate he is trying to ^ forget all that he renounced at Kal- i macks. But will Linda have no fur- s ther word to say? And if she? s I wonder. 0 The End. c n r-1 m a M f rnnn IV niiniibb vnvr 3 Senator McLaurin Points to Federal ?' Reserve Bank. Senator McLaurin, in the extra sea- v sion of the legislature, said in a speech 1 to the senate that under the new cur- J rency law agricultural paper, with c state warehouse receipts as a collat- 2 eral, would be discounted by the Fed- * eral reserve bank in Richmond, for six ^ months, and could lie renewed for an- t other six months, and that there was ample power, through this channel, to provide funds to finance the entire J] cotton crop. In a public statement ,j 1- .. -1? f.>f < mailt' a111 i a ui|j iiaoiiiiibiun, ?" > :he purpose of conferring with the Federal reserve board, he made an analysis of this section of the act and said that it was "up to the banks." He sailed upon the banks to agree upon a iefinite course in this respect, directing their attention to the fact that the sentral board in Washington, if necessary, could accept such paper without the indorsement of a member bank. If this were done, discounts of this character of paper would not be charged up against the capital stock of the bank. Senator McLaurin said last Thurs Jay that there were two distinct classes of paper having separate channels; one not exceeding four months ind limited to 10 per cent of the capital stock and surplus, this being the terms of the act; the other is not limited in any way by the act itself, but, jnder a regulation of the board, they limit it to 25 per cent of the capita) stock, but say that this limit will be ncreased from time to time as condl;ions may demand. "I do not know that any of this six nonths paper has been presented except as hereinafter stated," said Sena:or McLaurin, last Thursday. "Every janker that I approached insisted that ie could only handle the four months japer. "Last week I drafted a form of a lote which would show, as provided jy the terms of the currency law, that t was for agricultural purposes hereofore used In the production of the jotton enumerated in the receipt,' " :ontinued Senator McLaurin. "The lote was drawn for 1500 and there vere thirteen bales of low grade coton enumerated In the state warelouse receipt which we estimated neant 7 cents a pound, middling basis, rhe note was given to the Peoples Naional bank in this city, which very tlndly consented to make the transacion. It was sent forward, in the ordilary course of business, without a vord of explanation, and in the same vay the money was placed to the :redit of the Peoples National bank, ind by it transferred to the man who iwned the state warehouse receipt. "I am making this public to show vhat we can do by putting ourselves n a position to take advantage of the acilities afforded," said Senator McLaurin. "The Peoples National bank ndorsed this note, but if the general lecessity were made apparent to the :entral board in Washington there is 10 reason why the cridits'now locked ip in the vast amount of cotton on torage in South Carolina should not >e released. Of course one bank, or wo or three banks, can not relieve the ltuation, but if all will act together lo one need tell me that it can not be lone. Such action would enable the armers to pay their debts and coninue to hold their cotton, so that the dvance in price which is now on will ie maintained." THE NEW SPEAKER ?ketch of James A. Hoyt Who Now Presides Over the House. James A. Hoyt, who was today electd speaker of the South Carolina house if representatives, is a native of Coumbla, having been born in that city n 1877. His father, the late Colonel ames A. Hoyt, was at that time edior of the Columbia Register, but Colnel Hoyt in 1879 moved to Greenville, stablishing the Baptist Courier, which ie for many years owned and edited n that city. The son attended the Greenville raded schools. Completing the public chool course, he entered the preparaory department of Furman university nd in 1897 was graduated from Furnan, with the degree of bachelor of rts. In college he took an active part n all college life. Upon graduation, Mr. Hoyt entered lewspaper work with his father, then he editor and proprietor of the Greenille Mountaineer. He had previously, ^hile attending school, learned the printer's trade in his father's office. Vhile working on the Mountaineer, Ir. Hoyt represented, as Greenville orrespondent, several out-of-town lapers. His newspaper work won fa orable attention and he was given a lace on the city staff of the Columbia State. He remained with the State or seven years, working as proofeader, reporter, editorial writer, city ditor and news editor. In 1906, he became Columbia correpor.dent of the News and Courier. He etained that position until January, 909, when he resigned, upon being lected clerk of the house of represenatives. In March of the same year, epresenting a syndicate, he purchased he controlling interest in the Columiia Record, becoming editor and genral manager. Mr. Hoyt remained in harge of the Record until January, 912, when he disposed of his interest n the paper. Shortly afterwards he rganized the Peoples bank of Columiia, of which institution he became resident. This institution is now the 'eoples National bank of Columbia, apitalized at $100,000. Mr. Hoyt is lso vice president and general manger of the Homestead bank, operating The Morris Plan," and is also intersted in other financial institutions in Columbia. Mr. Hoyt has held the office of clerk f the house for three terms, and durng that time, six years, has given lose study to legislative procedure nd parliamentary law. He served as resident of the Democratic state conention last May. His candidacy for the house of repesentatives in Richland county last ummer was the first time he had apeared before the people as a candidate or public office and in the second primary he was elected at the head of the icket, there being no election among he sixteen candidates in the first prinary. In 1904 Mr. Hoyt was married to liss Clare Haynsworth Kinard of Coumbia. They have two children, a irl and a boy. ? During the past year, eleven coton seed oil mills discontinued busiess in South Carolina, according to he report for the year by the state epartment of agriculture. This leaves 00 mills in the state, and several of hese operate ice manufacturing plants nd other industries. There is now inested in the oil mill industry $11,32,227, which is an increase of $150,71 over the preceding year. The valie of the annual product for 1914, mounts to $15,347,711, which is an ncrease of $2,366,800 over the results f the operations In 1913. "This coniderable increase in the value of the nnual product shown in the year 914, is attributed to the fact that the 913 season opened late, thereby enoing consiueraoje ui inc [?uuun o the market in 1914, and that the eason of 1914 was an unusually early ne sending a large percentage of th?j rop to the mill before December 31," Vrites Commissioner Watson. Last ear, 2,880 persons were employed in he mills, exclusive of the salaried ofIcials and clerks, which numbered 84 males and 10 females. There was decrease of 183 actual employes and n increase of 15 salaried managers nd clerks. The mills paid out in k'ages $721,929, which is $57,689 more han was paid out in 1913. Only four icrsons under 16 years old were emiloyed in the industry. In 1913, the otton seed oil mills crushed 411,92 tons of cotton seed, against 240,55 the preceding year, i'p to Deember 1. 1914. the mills had crushed 89.246 tons, against 171,426 tons on he same date in 1913. ? The oil mill and one of the warelouses at Simpsonville. in Greenville ounty. was destroyed by fire. Ttiesay night. The loss is estimated at 25.000. McLAURIN MAKES REPORT # Operations of Warehouse System Laid Before Assembly. LAW NEEDS IMPORTANT AMENDMENTS The Appropriation Wai Too Small to 1 Warrant Operations On a Suffi> c'ently Extended Scale and the Commissioner Ought to Have Authority -I that Will Enable Him to Negotiate J Loans and Make Other Transactions in the Interest of the Owners of Cotton. Gentlemen of the General Assembly: ) Under an act passed at the extra session of the general assembly last , year, and approved October 30, 1914, ' the sum of fifteen thousand dollars I was appropriated for the purpose of i establishing and putting into operation what is commonly known as the state warehouse system. That system has been organized and is now in opAvnon/lifiipoo ill"* f A ci anuu, aim tuc cApvuutvui vu UK ?w this time are less than twenty-one hundred dollars. This report covers the period of opi eration from the middle of November, as we could not pet our blank forms before that date. Beginning so late in the season, in the face of unprecedented financial conditions, a small appropriation and an amendment forced on the bill in the house forbidding payment of rent for warehouses until after all of the operating expenses were paid In full, I only attempted to organize the system and perfect the machinery, depending upon this general assembly to enlarge the powers and provide the means for its development. We now have twenty-eight warehouses, with an aggregate capacity of 45,000 bales. I will file a supplemental report as to the amount of cotton on hand, rates of insurance, and every item of financial transactions. Plan of Organization. I did not have funds to pay insurance in advance, and operating expenses, as the standard warehouses connected with a bank have, and I devised a form of contract taking over warehouses at a nominal rental of one dollar per year, allowing the leasor to fix the rate of storage and pay all operating expenses, including three cents per bale per month to the state, which I calculated, if fifty thousand bales were stored for ten months, would pay the expenses of the system. This does not, however, carry out a J proper conception of a state warehouse sysiem, wnicn snouiu pruviue us iur lows: 1. Cheap storage, with a low interest rate, so as to encourage the gradual marketing of the crop. 2. Reducing the cost of marketing by bringing farmer and spinner into direct contact, eliminating middlemen's profits, to *tHe "advantage of producer and manufacturer. 3. Transforming cotton into a negotiable security that will pass current in the money markets of the world and afford an acceptable collateral for use under the agricultural section of the new currency law. The last named has been acomplished, but 1 have not been able, under the terms of the present law, with the >15,000 appropriation, to build warehouses, nor have I been able to equip them with proper fire protection and mechanical appliances for handling cotton, so as to give the cheapest storage obtainable. As I have stated, I have only been able to lease them at a nominal rental. I desire also to call your attention to the fact that there is no authority provided under the Warehouse Act for me to aid persons with cotton on storage to negotiate loans, nor is there any authority to make sales of cotton to either domestic or foreign spinners. What Can be Done. After careful investigation, I am prepared to say that the state of South Carolina can build warehouses and store cotton at a rate of ten cents per bale per month, and put by a sufficient amount in a sinking fund to pay for the property in a period of twenty years. With a compress, and with authority to act, I could sell cotton direct from such a warehouse to the foreign mills, saving the charges of from six to eight middlemen in each case. A small commission on such loans or sales would soon pay for warehouses, and provide funds, after that, for constantly adding to the number. Middlemen's Profits. If the state had one plant, as a beginning, located in Columbia, with a compress, just at this time, the sale of a single cargo of cotton in Europe, at twenty-five cents a pound, which is being paid there, would have a tremArol afVont In oHirunnino' the IllCllUUUd IllUiUI Clibvi III M-VITW.iViilQ k..V price of cotton. The enormous profits which have been made in buying cotton at six cents and shipping it to Europe, is well illustrated by a statement made to me in writing by a wellknown citizen and former newspaper writer of this state, that certain brokers in Savannah made up a pool and floated bonds for a half million dollars to finance the purchase of several vessels, in which cargoes of cotton were shipped to Germany. This cotton was sold there, these gentlemen stated to my informant, at a net profit of fourteen cents a pound. If any argument were needed, this mere statement should be enough. Here is one man producing a bale of cotton at a loss of twenty dollars; here is another making seventy dollars clear for finding a market. What excuse has a government for existence which cannot correct such gross inequalities in the distribution of wealth? In time of peace I have seen the estimate of expense from farm to mill placed at from seven to ten dollars per bale. A saving of five dollars per bale would amount to five million dollars annually. When we consider that the price of cotton is fixed ubroad, and i hat which is sold abroad makes the price of that entering into domestic consumption, it is easy to see that an increased price in the foreign market would raise the price of every pound sold to our own mills. Credits Locked Up. No man can accurately predict the length of this war, nor just what the consumption of cotton will be, but this is a sixteen-million-bale crop, and it is evident that a large surplus must be carried over in 1916. The borrowing power of this surplus cotton will lie fixed by the price which we are able to force for the cotton which enters into consumption. Never in the world has there been a finer spirit snown man uy ine auuiu m una kiwi crisis. There has been the utmost forbearance on the part of the merchants end bnr>P? with the most perfect willingness on the part of the farmer to warehouse his cotton and give thereeeipts to his creditor to enable him to f.nance himself. This great holding movement I attribute in large measure to the agitation in South Carolina and Texas for state warehouse measures, and the extra sessions of their legislatures. This has been the potent factor in this splendid holding movement, and th< present advance of two and one-hall cents from the low level is due largelj to these two states. It has saved millions of dollars to the south, but it has nearly reached its limit, and something further must be done. C? 1 J J A#??r ?Uouannr ocveil uuuurcu auu mi; iiiuuoum bales of cotton, with all its potentia credits locked up, is paralyzing the industries of this state. With the samt conditions existing all over the south it means that the producing power ol our section is curtailed, and business all over the country stagnates. This condition will continue unti these credits are unlocked by a sale ol cotton. Other factors are now coming in t< sustain the price of cotton, and if t foreien selling movement can be started, while there may be recessions ir prices, we are over the worst. Foreigi spinners are buying futures in New Orleans and New York, at constantly advancing prices. The short sellers know that spots will be demanded and that they are in for a loss if th< holding movement continues, and il can only be successfully continued b> taking advantage or tne nign prices offered abroad. The marketing of cotton Is of worldwide import, because when the gold standard was Anally adopted cottor became the corner-stone of international finance. There can be no solid improvement in business until oui cotton goes abroad and starts the tide of gold to these shores. It is through cotton that the United States controls the balance of world trade, and the great aim of the south should be not only to export Its cotton from southern ports, but that the gold which it yearly brings in should be deposited in southern banks, Instead of going to New York to maintain a supremacy which rightfully belongs to the section which produces the only distinctively gold crop. Reduction of Acreage. Of course any student of the economic situation realizes that the future price of cotton is going to depend upon the acreage and production ol 1915. One of the reasons why cotton is now advancing, under very difficult conditions, is that astute observers gather from the wheat acreage figures recently made public by the agricultural department, that acreage reduction is becoming a certainty. If the June acreage report on cotton confirms the small grain figures, there will certainly be a sharp advance in prices. Last year the cotton states had 6,253,000 acres of winter wheat. This year there are about 15,000,000 acres. The increase in South Carolina is, I regret to say, only twenty per cent., ?a i.i?? win if nmuauiu ouuno an mwicaoc u& one hundred and eighty-five per cent., Mississippi one hundred and twentyflve per cent., Georgia one hundred and eighteen per cent., and North Carolina seventy-five per cent. Add to this the enormous increase in oats and rye, and the knowledge of the fact that the increase is taken from the lands heretofore in cotton, and it would appear that there must be a reduction now of about forty per cent in the cotton acreage. It must also be remembered that fertilizers will not be used as heretofore. If intelligent restraint is exercised as to acreage, and we can find an outlet abroad, the price of cotton will, within one year, compensate us for the sacrifice which good citizens are now making to prevent the confiscation of our property, not through lack of money, but the destruction of credits. The Truet Principle. . The principle upon which rests the prosperity of this country, as a whole, is co-operation. The power, concentrated in the hands of a few, to fix prices, makes the so-called trust. Every article entering into consumption, except raw cotton, has its price fixed in this way. This price should never be so high as to check the consumption, nor so low as not to yield a fair profit to the producer. With all the other business interests oi me country uunuutieu upon una basis, we have reached the point where it is impossible to continue to raise cotton at a profit unless the producers control the surplus, and througn it, fix a minimum price for the commodity. Voluntary organizations among the twenty million people, scattered from the Atlantic to the Rio Grande, will always fail. The warehouse systems of South Carolina, Louisiana and Texas, are attempts through our state governments, to secure that co-operation, which, in the nature of the case, is otherwise impossible. The civilization of South Carolina, and the well-*being, directly or indirectly, of every citizen, depends upon our cotton crop. Therefore the conservation of its profits demands and should have our best thought and wisest statesmanship. It costs, including interest on the investment, ten cents a pound to produce cotton. If more is placed on the market during the fall than can be absorbed at a profit, the price must fall to a point under the cost of production to induce purchases on the Investment basis. To secure its full intrinsic value, we must, to some extent, not only control production, but provide the means to withhold the surplus from the channels of trade, so as at all times to maintain the equilibrium between supply and demand. If the southern states last August had each had warehouse systems in operation, it would have been easy to have secured concert of action through the heads of the respective systems, ana, unaer ine runny ui me ocuciai; of the treasury, a comprehensive use of state warehouse receipts would have transformed our cotton into a negotiable security which would have prevented the terrible depression of the past three months. We could hav6 established twelve cents a pound as a minimum price for cotton, and seventy-five per cent of that value would have been the loan basis. This would have stabilized prices, and the domesI tic mills would have taken cotton at that price, and, knowing that it could go no lower, would have been spared the heavy expense they are now undergoing in making hedge sales and continuing a form of speculation which has ruined many of the ablest mill men in the south. In finance, England is the model for all the nations. Here is what she did for her Indian and Egyptian cotton planters: She passed a decree forbidding more than forty per cent of the lands heretofore in cotton to be again planted in cotton. In addition, she has been lending money direct to the cotton planters to purchase their cotton from them at a stated price, and they have fared far better than the people in this country. 1 think that the following extract from, the London Statist of November 28 1914. will be of interest to you, in this connection: "At the beginning of this month, the Egyptian government announced that it was enabled, owing to the action of the British government, not only to provide for advances being made to oiiUitratnfo r*r? tholr nnttnn PPnns hilt also to purchase from the fellaheen whose crops are too small to allow them to obtain an advance on them, and who might otherwise be compelled to sell their cotton at prices much below the ruling rates. Therefore, it was prepared to buy from" small cultivators in lots not exceeding 100 cantars. and to pay at the prices fixed by the government's agents at various places. The prices so fixed are low. We learn that the mere fact that the government has fixed a minimum price has pone far towards allaying the apprehensions that have been excited, for the fellaheen are not coming forward to sell in large numbers at the prices fixed. In other words, knowing that the government will buy at a fixed rate, they are waiting in the hope that the trade may bid somewhat higher. It is earnestly to be wished that it may do so. In any event, the alarm which had seized the fellaheen that they might be obliged to sell at ruinous rates has greatly abated, and there is a much better feeling amongst them. Furthermore, the trade, seeing ' i that the price cannot fall below what i has been fixed by the government, Is ; likely to bid somewhat higher; while J the readiness of the government to I r lend upon cotton tends greatly to re- 1 store confidence." i Germany did much the same thing f for the protection of beet sugar. This is the big money crop of Germany. < 1 When the war be??nn. Germany imme- I I diately bought the beet sugar, and provided ships from Holland and Nor- . n ? j u?J * ? I ~ UnkU I i way. bngmnu imu uren III mc nauu . of buying this sugar, and was obliged [ to have it. She winked at this action j on the part of Germany, until England got her supply, and then she declared 1 an embargo. It is not far from the f truth to say that Germany largely financed her war by selling her sugar ) crop to England, and England appears l to be trying to finance her war through 1 the cotton crop of the south. 1 If cotton were a monopoly in Geri many, England or France, who doubts r that they would promptly nationalize ; it, and hold the balance of the world in tribute by its power? , No other country has such a mono- I : poly as the south has, in her cotton. L Germany has pursued the policy to 1 ' which I have called attention, with her I i potash. England has pursued this policy with her gold, by becoming the < world's banker. Sweden and Norway ' i do the same thing with iron and steel, i i No people have such an opportunity ' ' as we have, through our state govern- < I ments, to establish a credit system of 1 our own, entirely independent of out- ' i side aid. All that we have to do is to 1 i make our own ports cotton distribut- 1 i ing centres, and our own banks the 1 ' depositories for the gold for which our i . cotton sells, instead of being as we ! n ? ? Ka mnPA q cranf a an/1 vnaflplfl i . of New York and London. I A Step Forward. j ! The present Warehouse Act is but a small beginning in so great a work, but it is a distinct step forward. I realize that the fiscal condition of this state precludes the possibility of a large appropriation, but there are two pieces of property in the city of Columbia, belonging to the state?or vir1 tually belonging to the state?which ' can be acquired and made to answer the purpose of the Warehouse Commission, at comparatively small cost. Suggestions. The state has an equity in the state dispensary property, on Gervais street, , of about $100,000. The state owns the , eight acres on which is situated the Richland Distillery. No one is using these buildings, and they are rotting down. The purchasers of the state dispensary property are willing to let the state have it back. It has a threestory brick warehouse, with a sprinkler system, capable of storing 7,50i i bales of cotton. Why not utilize the money invested in one property to develop the other? There would be nothing to buy, then, except a compress, and if he Sinking Fund were authorized to boi row money, it could be repaid from the profits which would acrue. The commission on placing a few cargoes of cotton in Germany, at present prices would pay for the entire plant. There is absolutely no risk, because the property purchased, and its improvements, would stand for Itself and be self-sustaining. t I recommend to your earnest con- \ sideration that the Sinking Fund Com ] mission be authorized to use the proceeds arising from the sale of the old state dispensary building to provide a compress and suitable warehouse facilities, on the property known as the ' RlrhlnnH DiHtillerv on as to enable the State Warehouse Commissioner to build modern warehouses, with every mechanical appliance, to give cheap ; storage. Amendments Suggested. I suggest that the law creating the Warehouse System be amended in the following particulars: 1. That the State Warehouse Commissioner be authorized to make sales, when requested by parties having cotton on storage, to either foreign or domestic spinners, and that you provide i the sum of ten thousand dollars to be i used in the inauguration of this feature. 2. That the provisions in the act as to certain counties being permitted to build county warehouses to operate under state management, so as to get the advantage of the state receipts, be extended to all the counties of the state, and thus localize the system in the various counties, and thereby cheapen the cost of operation, without weakening in any way the strength of the State Warehouse svstem. Cotton from these county warehouses could be shipped, on milling rates, via the compress, and go at one rate of freight from the farm to a mill in Europe or elsewhere. Insurance Rate*. One of the most expensive features connected with the operation of the ?iaie vvarenouse aci i? me tiem-vjf , rate of Insurance. If there is any way < In which it can be done through the < Sinking Fund commission, so as to get f a cheaper rate of insurance, I would be t glad to avail myself of the opportuni- f ty- i I think, however, if I am given the c funds to put in the double sprinkler t system to which I have called your c attention, that, under the rates now offered, I could get insurance at ten ^ cents per hundred instead of the pres- ^ ent rate, which averages about $2.25 t per hundred dollars. I will include in my supplementary report, as directed by the act, a list of , the warehouses, locations, names of managers, amount of cotton on storage, and such other details as may be necessary for your full information. I have the honor to be, 1 Your obedient servant. ! Jno. L. McLaurin, s State Warehouse Commissioner. s i?. t Lovely Land of North.?Though a much is written about western Canada nowadays, writes P. H. Godsell, r in the January Wide World Magazine, 1 one hears very little of the vast north- r ern wastes of that dominion, where a the conditions of life vary but little I from what they were a century ago. ' Until very recent years the great ^ wilderness of swamp and forest 0 stretching from the head of lake f Winnipeg east to Hudson bay, and ? northerly to the Arctic Circle was known as the district of Keewatin. a With the exception of small de- s tachments of Northern Mounted Po- ? ' I '>'> ? riAnff A??A/1 m loolAnoi?lna Q nH nt'tr, a icw awaucicu miooiuiiaiivo ? ??? q the Hudson Bay company's traders v and employes, this vast district Is ^ peopled entirely by Indians of the r Cree and Salteaux tribes, and, in the p far northern portion, a few wander- d ing Eskimos and Chippewayans. ? This country, in which winter of al- s most Arctic severity holds sway for h eight months in the year, is a net- n work of large lakes, rivers and small- ^ er streams draining into Hudson bay. g Along most of these navigable waters, n situated from 100 to 250 miles apart, stand the lonely trading posts or r forts of the Hudson Bay company. These forts usually consist of a pick- C eted or stockaded square inclosing a n number of log or frame buildings, P usually four or five, with a tall flag- g pole in the center, from which, on C special occasions, floats the red ensign of the company. The staff of the smaller outposts a generally consists of one white man w, as officer In charge, with two or three n half-breed or Indian assistants or dog drivers As in most cases these d posts are situated In a virgin wilder- ? noss, far from civilization, the trader nr may not see a fellow white man for p six months at a stretch, and has only C the society arrorded Dy nis nair-Dreea k i servants. h rOLD BY LOCAL EXCHANGES News Happenings In Neighboring Communities. CONDENSED FOR QUICK READING Dealing Mainly With Local Affaire of Cherokee, Cleveland, Gaaton, Lancaster and Chester. Gastonia Gazette, Jan. 8: Announcement i8 Just made of a change In local business circles, which will be of interest to a large number of people. Mr. James R. Baber, a member of the Harry-Baber Co., wholesale and retail grocers, since the organisation of that concern in 1910, has sold his interest to Capt. R. O. Underwood of the United States marine corps at Washington, and his brother, Mr. E. R. Underwood of Chicago. Mr. Baber retains a small interest in the concern but retires from active connection with it at the close of this week. He has purchased an interest in the Thomson Mercantile company and in the future, beginning Monday, will be ictively identified with the management of that company Mr. W. 5. Grissom and daughter, Mra Hope A <lni%*a 1a#A * V. io mAiml nff ftIT n AV _ nuaiiiOi ten taio iiivimiio iv> miv*ville, Tenn., to be at the bedside of the former's son, Mr. J. S. Grlssom, who is quite ill from tuberculosis.. ... Woodrow, the year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. G. Meldln, 602 South Broad street, died Wednesday afternoon at 2 o'clock, from pneumonia. Funeral services were held at the home on yesterday at 3 p. m., by Rev. J. H. Henderlite and interment was at Holywood cemetery Two bridges in :he Pleasant Ridge section were washed away by the recent heavy rains. The Grlssom bridge, above the Boyd bridge on Crowder's creek, ivas washed away on Christmas day. Wednesday of this week, the R. L. 3troup bridge below the Boyd bridge, was washed away. Both of these were wooden bridges. As previousy stated in the Gazette, Crowder's creek has been higher during the rerent rains than at any time since.it was dredged some three years or nore ago Elsewhere in today's Gazette, the B. F. Carpenter Sons Co., >f Stanley, offer a reward of $100 for the capture and conviction of the person or persons who entered and set Ire to their store, last Monday night As yet no arrests have been made, though the officers have some suspicions and clews that may lead to some arrests at any time. The company had $7,000 Insurance, $2,000 m the building and $6,000 on the stock. Their net loss is estimated at 16,000 or more. Fortunately, the sooks were saved, having been locked n the safe. The Messrs. Carpenter lave not decided whether they will *ebuild, though it is probable they will resume business in the near fu:ure Messrs. Barry & Frazier, who lave for the past year conducted a >, 10 and 25 cent store here, have lied a voluntary petition in bankruptty. Their store has been closed since the first of the year. As yet no rustee has been appointed. The schedile of assets and liabilities of the firm las not been made public. * * Gaffney Ledger, Jan. 8: Fire of an inknown origin about 7 o'clock Monlay afternoon, did great damage to :he stock of the Star Cloak and Suit :ompany in the Littlejohn building on Limestone street, while the building tself suffered considerably. The Are vas confined to the rqax, but for sometime It appeared as if the build-' ng was doomed. The Are department lsed chemicals to a large extent in >rder to prevent ruining the Arm's stock with water. The telephone ex:hange operators were considerably sxcited, since the exchange is located jpstairs in the building, but no damige resulted to the telephone service. "The Royal Theatre" will be the lame of Gaffney's second moving Jicture show, which will be opened n the Wood building on Limestone itreet tomorrow. The building has seen completely remodeled and renovated, and will be thoroughly com'ortable in every respect Mr. 3. G. Clary has purchased the Farm;rs' Supply company on Frederick itreet from Messrs. A. B. Kirby and V. W. Clary, and will in the future :onduct the business as a cash grocery itore. Messrs. Kirby and Clary are >lannlng to enter business in another ine, it being understood the wholesale commission business Ac- , sording to the estimate prepared by he county commissioners upon which , :o ask the general assembly to base he tax levy for Cherokee county his year, it will require $42,295 to jay county expenses in i?i?. j-?asi rear the estimate was placed at $55,145 Thomas Webb and M. C. Ireen, local policemen, were vindi;ated of charges of Informing blind Igers when they were to be raided, it an investigation by city council iVednesday afternoon. After a thor>ugh investigation, the council found here was no foundation for the iharges and declared the policemen ixhonerated Mr. H. S. Mullins, vho has been living in the Beaverlam section of the county, has moved o the city, and purchased an interest n his son's, Mr. G. W. Mullins, gro ery store on Limestone street. Mr. tfullins will be actively connected vith the business In the future. King's Mountain Herald, Jan. 7: U a meeting of the town council Monday night, Chief of Police Fisher itated that he had been wholly unible to collect any dog tax. He said he folks just wouldn't talk to him : ibout it, but would Just walk off when le mentioned it. The board instruct- ! 'd him to enforce the law, which neans that he collects the tax or < tills the dog Mr. Benton Put lam, who for the past year, has been i alesman at Kiser & Mauney's, has j iccepted a position with Mauney < 3rothers' grocery store to succeed i dr. G. W. McDaniel, resigned ] i*he general store of R. C. Ellsl was ] lurglarized at Grover, Tuesday night < if last week. The entrance was ef- ] ected through a wincfow in the rear ( if the store. The three panes at the 1 ottom of the window were already 1 iut, but it was protected by iron bars , .bout six inches apart. The burglars < eemed to have taken a crate as a i ulcrum and prized against a bar, 2 lowing it up just a little and then ] rawling through between the bars 1 /here the panes were out. Mr. El- 1 Is could not ascertain just how much 1 tuff was taken, but certainly some i lothing and shoes Capt. F. DH- 1 Ing has returned from his annual i leer hunt at Green Pond very much 1 efreshed and recreated. While there 5 ie killed the largest buck he ever l aw In Ihnao narts said buck weleh- t rig 202 pounds On Wednesday ] ight before Christmas, Mr. H. F. ] 'eterson, general manager of the t Ciser Lumber company, of this place, ? ave a banquet to his employes and a t umber of invited guests. c 1 Lancaster News, Jan. 8: Mr. J. 'rawford Cook, the incoming county upervisor, has sent his bond on to I 'olumbia, and is expecting his com- e llssion today. Mr. Cook has ap- r ointed Mr. James R. Horton of Ker- a haw, superintendent of the chain- I ang One night during the 1 'hristmas holidays, Jailer A. T. ? arnes was sitting around the fire i liking to his children about Santa t laus, when he heard a strange noise c cross the hall in the dining room, e 'hich in ante-bellum days was known v s the "debtor's room." Thinking t erhaps one of his prisoners was v ying to make his escape and little t reaming that anything in the shape n f man or beast would try to break | p ito the jail, he proceeded to recon- f oiter. Going into the dining room, | C istol in hand, to his surprise, Mr. i ii arnes found the intruder to be an | c Id-fashioned molly-cotton-tail of the l are or rabbit species. Now, rabbit i unting out of doors had been a boy- t hood aport of the jailer and the hills of old Buford township were his accustomed preserve in days gone by, but catching a hare indoors was a new experience to him, yet easy withal. Before the visitor knew what had happened it was in safe keeping, along with the other prisoners, later affording Mr. Carnes and his family an excellent dinner dish. It is probable that the rabbit had been enjoying the turnips and other vegetables in the splendid winter garden of the jail and frightened by a dog or cat. dAshed through the cat hole in the outer door, pushed upon the wire door of the dining room and found itself a prisoner. However, the occurrence came about, the Jailer's surprise was not greater than his pleasure in se curing such a fine, fat morsel of meat with so little effort Two young negroes, Luther Ballard and James Foster, were up before Mayor Hood for celebrating Christmas the wrong way. It seems that these two colored youths took advantage of the Christmas demand for turkeys, and like the old darkey, who did not pray the Lord to send him a turkey, but to send him after a turkey, they went after several turkeys and got them. They took one from the premises of Mrs. Lillian Miller on Christmas night and four from Mr. J. C. Edwards on the same night. It seems that they were out, not only for turkeys, but for clothes as well. On January 2, they took a suit of clothes from the Peoples' Supply company's old stock and on the 4th. instant, a pair of trousers from the same company. They plead guilty to the various offenses, Ave In number, and the mayor gave them 1100 or 30 days in each case. Not having the wherewithal to pay the fines, they had no alternative, but to take the days, 150 In all, which they will work out on the chaingang. t # Cheater News, Jan. 8: Mrs. Sarah Ann Allen, aged about 75 years, died Wednesday at her home near Harmony. of the disabilities of age. The funeral services were conducted yesterday, and the burial occurred in the Harmony Baptist cnurcn graveyard. Mru. Allen -a ? an active church worker and possessed a lovely Christian character Miss Ethel Lee, the attractive daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J. O. Lee, of the Armenia community, was married to Mr. L M. Grant, Wednesday night, at the Capers chapel parsonage, by the pastor, the Rev. W. T. Duncan. Mr. and Mra Grant are at home at Mra Grant's brother's, Mr. J. C. Lee, on Lancaster street Their many friends in this city wish both of them much happiness and success..... . .Mr. W. W. Blair, one of Chester's leading contractors, says that last year, despite the break in business conditions in the fall, proved the best year he had ever had. While he does not expect any vast volume of business this year, he anticipates a good deal of building. He remarked that a number of school house jobs in this county was being hold up owing to the failure to sell the bonds Supervisor Anderson received a wire from Governor Blease on yesterday, inquiring how many convicts there were on the Chester county chalngang. He immediately replied that there were 28 when Superintendent 8. O. McKeown made his last report on December 81st Oliver, alias Buck Garner, white, wanted in Chester county on the charge of stealing a 822 suit of clothes from J. H. Kenster's son at the Eureka village, and went from here to Union and was arrested, made his escape yesterday morning about 4.17 o'clock at Carlisle, while en route to Chester in charge of Special Deputy Sheriff T. H. Murr. He had handcuffs on and was standing beslda Mr. Murr as the train came* in. Jtm aa the engine neared them at a rapid clip, Gamer leaped across the track and escaped. This is the first prisoner to get away from Mr. Murr in 20 years' service A report from Baltimore this morning, stated that Mr. J. R. Terry was rapidly sinking and that it was feared the end was not distant. Chester Reporter, Jan. 7: The annual meeting of the Woman's Home Mission society of the South Carolina conference, as it was before division, will be held at Bethel M. E. church, in Chester, January 19th and 20th. County Treasurer S. E. Wylie up to January 1st, had collected $78,037.28, as compared with $106,027.70 for the same period the year before, which represents a decrease of $27.990.42 A quiet home wedding was that of Miss Minnie Rothrock and Mr. Jno. S. Collins, which was solemnized at the residence of the bride's mother, Mrs. Ellen Rothrock, on Valley street, yesterday afternoon at 5.30 o'clock. Rev. H. A. Bagby, D. D., officiating. Later in the evening Mr. and Mrs. Collins boarded the L. & C. train for Richburg, where the groom is a prominent young farmer and business man The plans for the improvements at the new Chester sanatorium are in the hands of the contractors, and the contract will be let in a few days Handsome new steel office fixtures are being Installed in the office of the deputy clerk of court. Walker, Evans A Cogswell of Charleston, have the contract A marriage license was issued yesterday evening, by Judge of Probate A. W. Wise, to Mr. Leon Mills Grant and Miss Janie Ethel Lee, both of Chester Mr. B. Harris of Pendleton, former president of the state Farmers' Union, was here Tuesday, and addressed a number of farmers at the court house with a view to re organizing the Chester county Farmers' Union. * * Fort Mill Times, Jan. 7: Misses Frances and Mabel Green of Rock Hill, and Mary Beamguard of Clover, were visitors recently in the home of Mr. A. D. Lee. in this city The Rev. W. A. Hafner returned Thursday from Sharon and Bullock's Creek, where he spent the holidays with relatives and friends .Miss Bessie Poag of Rock Hill, formerly a teacher in the Fort Mill public school, was a guest in this city, the last week, of Miss Louise McMurray T. N. Lemonds and family moved on Tuesday from Fort Mill to Grattan, where Mr. Lemonds holds a position with the Charlotte Brick company Dr. and Mrs. A. Theo. Neely, who have been occupying rooms in the Ardrey hotel building on Faulkner street, are this week, arranging to move to the Mills residence on Main street McElhaney & Co., the Port Mill firm which was placed in :he hands of a receiver on Monday of ast week, opened for business Satjrday morning, with S. A. Epps in iharge. The business, which is being run on a cash basis, will continue mder the management of Mr. Epps jntil the affairs of the concern are itraightened out A new hotel .'or Fort Mill will be opened during he next week in the Ardrey hotel on Paulkner street, under charge of Mrs. Sffle Thomson. The building will be horoughly overhauled and refurnish id. It Is Mrs. Thompson's intention o accomodate transients, but she will :ater more particularly to regular joarders. Rock Hill Record, Jan. 7: Miss Svelyn McAlpine, daughter of Rev. tnd Mrs. R. E. McAlpine, former esidents of Rock Hill, now residing it Magaya, Japan, was married on December 31, at Peneafly, N. J? to lev. Robert S. Spencer of Madison, C. J., who is a Methodist missionary n Japan. They will go to Japan In he spring Secretary Tlmmons if the chamber of commerce, recelvd a letter today from a party who rants to buy a carload of sweet poatoes. Farmers having any for sale rould do well to see or phone Secreary Timmons. Three or four farmers night be able to ship their surplus (otatoes ..J. H. Miller and W. J. toddey left last night for Atlantic Mty, where they will attend a meetng of the Equitable Life Insurance ompany managers. The first step toward failure is to hink you are going to fail.