Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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/ ? 1 v. 1_ ^ ^^381 [^Bll ^ ' IgSPKD SB MI-WM?LT. i. m. orist's s0h3. Pubii.heri ' % ^amilj; Jlrirsgajjrr: jfor thf promotion o)f (ho political Social, 3,grien!trrat and <f ommorrial Sntrrfsti of till pooji^. SINGLE COPT. riTK CENTS. established 1853. york. s. c.. tuesd!a.y, jaxuary 8. 1318. sto. s' THE Y TR i By WILLIAM M< Copyright. 101", 15v Willi.'irri M? I ''IIAI'TKH XXIV. | Macdonald Follow* a Clue. Macdonald wan no sluKKurd. It was i his ha hit not t<> let the pleasure of the liiitht before interfere with the husl-j ne.ss of the mornlni; after. Hut in the,' darkness he oversh pt and let the town 1 w.ik? n before him. He was roused hy the sound of knoekiru; on his door ' Who it It?" he asked. "lf? me?Jones fJonher Jones. Say Mac, the bank ain't ojs-n and we can't I' rouse Milton. TIioukIiI I'?l com#* to | you. soiint; as you're president of the ' shebang." The mlne-ownei trot ii|> ami begun ' to (Itoss. 'Probably overslept, same as I ?1 l?l." ' That's the point We looked through 1 tin* window of his hod room and his ain't tioon slept ill." In throe minutes Macdonald Joined the marshal and walked down with ' hirn to the hank. He unlocked the ( front door and turned to the little ' crowd that had gathered. "Hotter wait here hoys. fJopher and ' I will go in. I expect everything is 1 all right, hut we'll let you know ahollt 1 that as soon as we find out." The hank president opened the door. 1 ht the officer enter, and followed him- 1 Self 1 The sun had not yet risen and the blinds were down. Macdonald struck a 1 match and held it up. The wood burn- 1 ed and the llame flickered out. "Hank's been robbed." be announced 1 luiotlv. "l/ooks like," agreed .(ones. His voice was uneven with excitement. ' The Scotch-Canadian lit another match. In the Hare of It they saw 1 that the steel grill cutting off the al- 1 co\e was open and that the door had ' been tdown from the safe. It lay on ' the floor among a litter of pn|?ers. sll- 1 vcr. fragment* of steel, and liits of ' candle. ' The marshal clutched at the arm of 1 the hanker. "Hid you see- that?" he ' whispered. ' Ills finger pointed through the dark- ' ness to the other end of the room. In ' the f aint gray light of coming day ' Mardonald could see a huddled mass 1 on the tlnor. s "There has heen murder done. I'll ' get a light. !>on't move from here, ! Jones. I want to look at things be- J fore we disturb them. There's np ^^'^"""floidver'Tai^e^iB^ nerve as the i next man when the sun was shining ' and he could see what danger he was 1 facing. Hut there was something 1 sinister and nerve-nicking here. He ' wanted to throw open the door and ' shout the news to those outside. Ity the light of another match the '< mine-owner crossed the room Into the * sitting-room of the cashier. Present- I l.v he returned with a lamp and let its < light fall upon the tlgurc lying slump- ' ed against the wall. A revolver lay ' close to the inert fingers. The head hung forward grotesquely upon the ' breast. < The dead man was Milton. His em- 1 plover saw nothing ridiculous In the ' twisted neck and sprawling limbs. The > cashier had died to save the money en- ? trusted to his care. 1 Mardonald handed the lamp to the < marshal and picked up the revolver. Kwrv chamber was loaded. "They beat him to It. They were probably here when he reached home. My guess is he heard them right away, got his gun. and came in. He's still wearing his dress suit. That gives us the time, for he felt the club about midnight. Soon as they saw him they dropped him. Likely they heard him and were ready. 1 wouldn't have had this happen for all the money in the 8a fe." "How much was there in it?" "1 don't know exactly. The books will show. I'll send Wally down to h?ok them over." "Shot right spang through the heart, looks like," commented Jones, following with his eye the course of the wound. "Wish I'd been here instead of him." i Macdonald said grimly. His eyes I softened as he continued to look down at the employee who had paid with his life for his faithfulness. "It wasn't an even break. Poor fellow! You weren't built for a Job like this, Robert Milton, but you played your hand out to a finish. That's all any man can do." He turned abruptly away and began examining the safe. The silver still stood sacked in one large compartment. The bank-notes had escaped the hurried search of the robbers. but the gold was practically all gone. One sack had been torn by the explosion and single pieces of gold could be found all over the safe. Macdonald glanced over the papers rapidly. The officer picked up one of dozens scattered over the floor. It ?.. */v tka S was a moriir.iur niur umuv vui w %? %> hunk by a miner. He collected the others Evidently the bandits had * utrn off the rubber, glanced over one or two to see If they had any cash value, and tossed the package Into the air as a disgusted gambler does a pack of cards. The bank president stepped to the door and threw it open. He explained the situation in three sentences. "I can't let you in now. boys, until the coroner has been here," he went on to tell the crowd. "But there Is one way you can ail help. Keep your eyes open. If you have seen any suspicious characters around^ let me know. Or If any one has left town in a hurry?or been seen doing anything during the night that you did not understand at the time. Men can't do a thing like this without leaving some clue behind them even though the snow has wiped away their trail." A man named Fred Tague pushed to the front. He kept a feed corral near thy edge of town. "I can tell you one man who mushed out before flee o'clock this morning?and that's Old Holt" The eyes of Maodoaald. cold and UKON 1IL cLEOD RA1NE. .( od Kaine. hard as jade, fastened to the man 'How do you know?" "That dog team he bought from Tlra Ryan?Well, he's been keeping It In my corral. When I got there thli morning it was gone. The snow hadn't wiped out the tracks of the runners yet, so he couldn't have left more than fifteen minutes before." "What time was it when you reached the corral?" "Might have been six?maybe a little later." "You don't know that Hojt took the (earn himself?" 'Tome to that, I don't. Hut he had 1/ot' tri t ho l.o rn n-Vtoro t Vio aloil n?o Holt has been putting up :it the hotel. I reckon it Is easy to find out if he's <till there." Macdonald's keen brain followed the racts as the nose of a bloodhound Iocs a trail. Holt, an open enemy ol tils, had reached town only two days efore. He had bought one of the be9t ind swiftest dog teams In the North tnd had let slip before witnesses the remark that Macdonald would soon [ind out what he wanted with the outlit. The bank had been robbed after midnight. To file open the grill and :<> blow up the safe must have taken several hours. Before morning the logs of Holt had taken the trail. If iheir owner were with them, it was a -afe bet that the sled carried forty ihoiisnnd dollars in Alaska gold dust. So far the mind of the Scotchman followed t lie probabilities logically, at at this |<oint it made a Jump. 1'hero were at least two robbers. He was morally sure of that, for this was not a one-man job. Now, If Holt had with him a companion, who of all [hose in Kusiak was the most likely man? He was a friendless, crabbed dd fellow. Since coming to Kusiak <ld Gideon had been seen constantly with one man. Together they had Iriven out the day before and tried liis new team. They had been with Kivh other at dinner and had later oft the hotel together. The name of the man who had been so friendly ivlth old Holt was Gordon Elliot? ind Elliot not only was another enemy >f Macdonald, but had very good reasons for getting out of the country lust now. The strong Jaw of the mine-owner itood oat salient ly as-he gav?abort. marp qrdeis .i-a.eii iu the *grtmd. Que vas to get the coroner, a second Wally Selfiidge another the United States district Attorney. He divided the est into squads to guard the roads ending out of town and to see that tobody passed for the present. As soon as the men he had sent for urived. Macdonald went over the icene of the crime with them. It was itlain that the dynamiting had been lone by an old-time miner who knew lis business, but there had been trains in the planning of the robbery"There is no Ivory above the ears >f the man who bossed this Job." Maclonald told the others. "He picks a light when we're all at the club, nore than half a mile from here, a doriny night when folks are not wanlering the streets. He knows that the vlnd will deaden the sound of the lynamlte and that the snow will wipe nit any tracks that might help to dentif.v him and his pal or show which ray they have gone." The coroner took charge of the body tnd Wally of the bank. The mineiwner and the district attorney walked up to the hotel together. As soon ts they had explained what they ivanted. the landlord got a passkey ind took them to the room Holt had ised. Apparently the bed had been slept n. In the waste-paper basket the disrlct attorney found something which ie held up in a significant silence. Macdonald stepped forward and took rom him a small cloth sack. "One of those we keep our gold in it the bank." said the Scotchman after i close examination. "This definitely :ies up Holt with the robbery. Now or Elliot" "He left the hotel with Holt about lve this morning, the porter says." rhis was the contribution of the landord. -# o?J? niu? o In t ni' ruum ui viuruuu umvi n?o ? :reat disorder. Garments had been nssed on the bed and on every chair ind had been left to lie wherever they lad chanced to fall. Plainly their >wner had been In (treat haste. Macdonald looked through the closet vhere clothes hung. "His new fur oat is not here?nor his trail boots. :>ooks to me as though Mr. Gordon md hit the trail with his friend Holt" This opinion was strengthened when t was learned from a store-owner In own that Holt and Elliot had routed ilm out of bed In the early morning 0 sell them two weeks' supplies. These they had packed outside the itore. "It's & cinch bet that Elliot took the rail with hlm."*ehe lawyer conceded. All doubt of this was removed when 1 prospector reached town with the lews that he had met Holt and Elliot xavellng toward the divide as fast as hey could drive the dogs. The big Scotchman ordered his earn of Siberian wolf-hounds made eady for the trail. As he donned his leavy furs, Colby M&cdon&ld smiled vith deep satisfaction. He had Elliot >n the run at last. Just as he closed the door of his -oom. Mncdonald heard the telephone >ell ring. He hesitated, then shrugged lis shoulders and strode out into the itortn. If he had answered the call le would have learned from Diane, vho was at the other end of the line, hat the stage upon which Sheba had itarted for Raima had not reached the oad house at 8mlth's Crossing. Five minutes later the winners of he great Alaska Sweepstakes were lying down the street in the teeth of :he storm. Armed with a rifle and a revolver, their owner was moshiwfl nto the hills to bring back the men srbo bad robbed bis bank and killed the cashier. He traveled alone because he could go faster without a companion. It never occurred to him that he was not a match for any two men he might face. (To Be Continued.) FINIS FOR A DESERTER. Ths End of His Story Which Dsvii Himsslf Nsvsr Knew. "The Deserter," which was published in last Sunday's Standard? and which Is, by the way, a story worth reading?was the last story . Ktchard Harding Davis ever wrote. He died before he had a chance to learn i the sequel. i There really was a "Mr. Hamlin," i although that of course was not his n;ime which nnlv those concerned in i the episode knew. The '"Uncle Jim" i of the story is James H. Hare, the veteran war correspondent; John, the I artist, is John T. McCutcheon, of Chicago; and Billy the kid is William G. I Shepherd of the United Press. It is Shepherd who tells the part of the i story Davis never knew. You will find it in his "Confessions of a War CorI respondent" Just published by Harper's. The Davis story ends with Hamlin i going back to his regiment. He had intended to desert?had even shaved > his mustache?but Davis talked him out of it. Hamlin knew, and the American newspapermen knew, that 1 the shaving off of his mustache and the overstaying of his leave would 1 lose him his stripes. 1 Two weeks afterward?Davis had 1 meanwhile sailed for the United States?McCutcheon, Hare and Shepherd had a note from Hamlin. He ' was on his way to the hospital at Alexandria. He had a letter to his 1 girl In New Orleans and wanted them to mail it for him so that the censor would not get his eye on it. Three months later Shepherd, in London, ran across Hamlin, on the Strand. He had on sergeant's stripes once more and wore u distinguished service medal. At Alexandria he had been operated on; then he was returned to England to a convalescent hospital in Manchester. When he was released he was notified that his I rank had been restored, and that u meilnl had been awarded him for dis tinguished service on the field?he had "rolled out between the trenches like a barrel" and brought in n wounded man. | "Do you know what this ribbon , meuns?" he asked Shepherd. "It means I'm a king's sergeant. I have not been promoted by any ordinary routine. My papers say that his majesty, the king, appointed me a ser, geunt in his majesty's army. And nobody can remove me but the king. , And if I get Into any kind of trouble ' any flfne, I'ye got a right to go'"*o -gjttfh Ingham pater*, an.'l appeal tfl-ths king himself." "Gee!" he went on. "That was a long time coming. And if it hadn't been for you fellows in Saloniki I'd have missed it. I never can thank Davis and you fellows enough for steering me the right way." ! The news of Davis's death shocked him. "Then he still thinks I'm yellow," he said. "If he thinks at all," Shepherd told him, "he knows now that you're all right." So they separated?the Deserter to go back to France?back to the war. ?New Bedford Standard. PALMETTO GLEANINGS Happenings and Events of Interest in South Carolina. The Greenville schools are not to open for a month from the date they closed for the holidays, the extension being on account of the lack of coal. The county board of commissioners of Sumter county has refused to recommend the usual appropriation for home demonstration work on the ground that the demonstration work Is not worth the money It has been costing. The frame house occupied at Camp Sevier by Brig. Gen. Samuel L. Faison, commanding the Sixtieth infantry brigade was destroyed by flre Thursday. General Faison, who had been slightly ill for several days, was alone when the Are broke out and barely had time to escape. His personal belongings and those of his two aides were destroyed. McCormick. January 3: Tate Bowen, a white man living two miles above Mount Carmel, killed his wife and self about 1 o'clock today. No details of the tragedy arc known here except that Bowen came to the house, read a letter, the contents of which is unknown, then turned to the bureau and got his pistol with which he shot his wife through the head. His son then came running into the house, whereupon Bowen begged the boy to kill him. The son refusing to do so, Bowen gave him $70 with which to bury himself and the boy's mother, and then shot himself through the heart. Both Bowen and his wife died instantly. A number of important elections will come before the general assembly at the approaching session. The terms of seven circuit judges expire and another has been commissioned in the National army. The term of dhe supreme court judge also expirea An insurance commissioner will have to be chosen to succeed P. H. McMaster, who will not offer for re-election. Two recess appointments to state officers have also been made by Governor Manning and will come before the senate for confirmation. These are Wade Hampton Gibbs, state game warden, and A. C. Summers, secretary of agriculture, commerce and industries. The supreme court the term of Associate Justice J. H. Hydrick, who Is elected for a term of ten years expires. Circuit Judges whose terms expire are: I. W. Bowman, first circuit; Hayne F. Rice, second circuit; John S. Wilson, third circuit; T. H. Spain, fourth circuit: 1 Ernest Moore, sixth circuit; Frank B. i Gary, eighth circuit, and T. J. Maulden, thirteenth circuit. A successor to Judge Mendel 1* Smith of the fifth circuit will also be chosen as he will enter the National army. The state i librarian also comes up tor election. . CONTROL OF TOE RAILROADS I 9 President Lays Plans Before Congress. GOVEINNENT OPERATION KECESSAIT | National Government Will Guarantee Dividend*, and Will Appropriate Sufficient Money to Make up Deft* cianc'ea in Earning*?Queetion ae ?- ??' r?. 4. d..n.ja ami IiW T??ye?r iu nvv*i*? ?? | Proper Consideration. Washington, Jan. 4?Legislation to s regulate the government operation of railroads and to guarantee the carriers compensation on the basis of their average operating income for the i last three years was asked of coni gress today by President Wilson In an address to both houses in Joint session. Bills embodying his recommendations and carrying an appropriation of a half billion dollars as a "revolring fund" were Introduced immfldi lately and an attempt will be made to rush thom to prompt passage. While the president's address met with general approval among Democrats and Republicans alike, opposition is expected to develop to a provision in the administration bill that federal control shall continue after the war indefinitely or until congress orders otherwise and other details of the compensation basis. i While the legislative wheels were | set moving Director General McAdoo i . spent a busy day planning a solution < of labor questions with heads of the ' four railway brotherhoods and llnady | decided to refer the brotherhoods' | pending demands for a general wage j increase to an advisory board of four | members to be appointed by him in i a few days. This board will investi- , gate all phases of the brotherhoods' i demands and recommend a course to Mr. McAdoo. His decision will -be effective as to wages from January 1. Only Wag* Requests. < The plan will affect immediately only the wage requests of the brotherhoods but demands which may be made later by other classes of organized labor probably will be handled in the same way. Mr. McAdoo reserving the right to make whatever decision he chooses without regard to recommendations of the advisers. Some increases, both to the brotherhoods and to other railway labor, are generally considered certain. The director general in a statement tonight promised every employe "that his rights and interests will be Justly deMt with," and appealed for a hearty spirit of enthusiasm and co-operation from every man. Efforts to speed the movement of coal and other freight continued today along with the legislative and labor ghasps of the railway, moyem-nt d$<t*'%p?crlal' orders were rflj" viding ftatfyK).Hun 'Mil WiT be furnished daily to certain speei- ' fled bituminous and anthracite mines, mainly in Pennsylvania, for supply Carolina, ranking Democratic memt>er of the interstate commerce committee. In addition to appropriating 1500,000,000 and providing for the compensation basis under which the government guarantees an aggregate return of some $900,000,000 a year, the measure sets forth in detail the condition upon which government operation is to be carried on. Under the last provision the president is expected to issue an order transferring to Director General McAdoo all functions vested in the chief executive. This will enable the director general to organize a corporation Pn? K n .11 In rr -nll-AA.4 aomieitioa irk an cordance with a plan now under consideration Railroad officials are expected to urge a number of modifications of the accounting method prescribed by the bill for reaching the standard return basis, but officials expect the scheme is outlined In the bill probably will be followed In the main. Some discussion is looked for over the bill's provision that new Federal tajcos unier the war revenue act are not to be charged against the revenue in computing the standard return as are ordinary taxes. The effect of this Mill be to require railroads to pay tvar taxes out of their governmental compensation. Broad Power Over Roads. The broad power which the administration would have over the roads is illustrated by the bill's provision that the president might order any extensions or improvements and advance funds necessary for these. The procedure in such cases would be for the road to issue bonds to finance the improvements and these bonds would ?e absorbed by the government revolving fund. Director General Mc\doo already has indicated that . he ?ill not hesitate to order new lines aullt, or adequate terminal or other facilities constructed wherever they ire thought necessary. Great significance was seen by congressional leaders in the section proHHIncr fnr nrmiiHitinn iind ODei'Ution ins New England. These problems forced Mr. McAdoo to postpone until tomorrow action on eastern passenger traffic officials' recommendations for curtailment of passenger schedules but he is expected to Issue orders then for abandonment of a number of trains and elimination of parlor and sleeping oars to a great extent. Referring to his negotiations with the brotherhood chiefs yesterday and tn.lnv tVio /^Irnotnr trnnnrQ 1 tnnlirht issued a statement saying: Praises the Chiefs. "I have been impressed with the spirit of co-operation and fairness shown by the brotherhood chiefs in their discussions with me and feel confident that an adjustment fair to the men as well as to the country will be reached. "This is a time of great stress and the attitude of every employe should be determined by the supreme need of the hour-duty to his country first of all. I cannot state too strongly the necessity for devoted and loyal service by every man in this emergency. Every railroad employe is now in effect a government employe and as much in duty bound to give his best service to his country as if he wore the uniform of the United States army and occupied the trenches at the front. Every unnecessary delay in a train movement vitally affects our soldiers and sailors and seriously impairs our ability to defend our rights and our liberties. Every man whose neglect or indifference causes such delays may be responsible for the loss of the son of some noble American mother or father. It is as serious to the country for an employe to be a slacker in his work as for a man to be a slacker in the army. "The present serious congestion and actual suffering for the want of coal and other supplies will be greatly improved and may be entirely reme- , died if every employe will do his ut- { most in his individual task." g Appeal to Exemption Boards. Mr. McAdoo explained today that although no general provisions can be made under the law for exempting railroad employes from the draft, he will not hesitate to appeal to local exemption boards to defer the calling of these workers if the boards of their own violition do not display a tendency to regard the railroads as aa essential industry from which a ePtloyes should not be taken for mil- t itary service. Why Roads Ware Taken. f In his address to congress, Presl- t dent Wilson, announcing his action s in taking over the railroads, praised ( the way in which the railroad execu- t tives went to work in an attempt to t unify their lines under private man- , agement, but said the war emergency ( demanded government action because , only under government adminlstra- ( tion could an absolutely unrestricted | and unemba rrassed common use be , made of all lines and facilities. Be t promised that "the common admlnls- t tration will be carried out with M j little disturbance of the present op- ] erating organisations and personnel ( of the railways as possible," and ti- t pea ted the aaauranca given in Ms ] proclamation last week that owners j of railroad securities should net art- t fer financial loei because of the nor | plan of operation. 1 i Prevleiene of 1WL. ? When the president concluded, taa 1 administration bill was kitrodnosd * i the senate by Senator Bmtth of flsej < )f water transportation facilities. Advocates of barge transportation on inand rivers and canals have conferred .vith the director general within the past week and received his assurance :hat water transportation would be jiven attention as soon as he has :ime to take up the question. If congress passes the bill with a SSUO.OOO.OOO appropriation this sum trill have to be raised by issue of adlitional Liberty bonds unless It should jecome apparent that economies unier the government pooling system ire sufficient .to counter-balance spe:iul expenditures and to meet a poslible deficit in this year's earnings xnder the standard return. WAGE WAR ON RODENT8. *. ' / department1 of Agriculture Advanced Organized Attack. Rat clubs, the purpose of which is o trap, poison, ohoot, "build out," and >therwise combat rats and mice, are idvocated by the United States department of agriculture as effective igencies to help in getting rid of these >ests and in making the country a saftr, more healthful, and less expensive dace to live In. Measures to combat he destructive rodents are especially lesiruble, In the opinion of the departnent, now that special efforts are beng made to reduce waste and so aslure a sufficient food supply in spite it war conditions. The rat, the department points out n a recent Farmers' Bulletin, "House tats and Mice," is one of the world's vorst animal pests. It lives in filth ind carries filth with It on Its visits o dwellings and store rooms, to polute and destroy human food. It car - ?- -I- 1 .?k.. Jlo it's DUDomc piuguc uiiu umci umrases fatal to man and so brings ibout the death of great numbers of persons annually. It destroys crops, iggs and young poultry, stored food, ind fabrics; causes flres; ruins artilcial ponds and embankments by burowing; and, by gnawing, damages oundatlons, floors, doors, furniture, ind much other property. The mouse, hough smaller, is almost as destrucive. It would be eminently desirable, the pulletln shows, completely to extermllate rats and mice. The task is a lifflcult one, however, since these aninals breed with alarming rapidity and idapt themselves to almost all conlitlons. Individual effort will accomplish little, since a dwelling or farm reed from the pests is soon repopuated by migration from adjacent erritory. It is for this reason that he department advocates the waging >r organized warfare on rats and m ncluding the formation of rat clubs. These organizations are not untried, he bulletin says, since they exist poth in the United States and in some breign countries. A club in Kent, England, destroyed 16,000 rats in three easons at an insignificant cost. Wo nen's municipal leagues In the Unied States have recently taken up the natter of rat eradication, notably In taltlniuore and Boston. The departnent believes there Is an excellent op>ortunlty for these activities to spread, ind expects boards of trade, civic societies, citizens' associations, women's dubs, both in town and rural comnunitles, boys' corn cluba, ~*oy Scouts, ind similar organizations to take up he work. In addition to the work of local orranlzattons, there is much that can >e done toward rat eradication by itates and cities, the bulletin points >ut. Through laws and ordinances, (ullder* and owners can be required o ratproof all new buildings, and ipeciflcatlons can be adopted In the construction of sewers, drains, wharves, ailroad loading platforms, and other itructurea, that will prevent rats flndng harborage about them. Better anltary measures can be enforced ibout markets and stores and throughmt cities, villages, and oountry dlsricta States may help the work by >rotectlng native hawks, owls and rther enemies of rats which destroy 'ewer poultry than rats themselves, ^hrmera may do their port by ratcrooflng dwellings and . boras, by breaking grain earlier, and by moving t from the farm promptly, so that cats and inios will not be harbored uod fed. Individuals everywhere may tetp by trapping and poisoning rata isd miss aad destroying thorn la othw ?H a ~y - s>->' % -. . &Y.\ SENAT0R8 IN REVIEW. Thirty-Two of Th#m Must Face th? ^Pooplo in 1919. A number of United States senator* have begun their campaigns for reelection, or are making up their minds whether or not they will be candidates again. There are 32 senators whose terms expire March 3, 1919. They must face primaries next summer. There is unusual interest in the reports that Miss Jeannette Rankin is to be a candidate for the senate. Senator Knute Nelson of Minnesota is candidating hard. The growth ol the Farmers' Nonpartisan alliance in Minnesota has not been viewed with pleasure by Nelson. It Is not at all certain that the alliance will support him. ^It was reported a few days ago that Nelson had sought and secured Democratic endorsement In the shape of a letter from President Wilson suggesting that he would be a satisfactory administration candidate. But Secretary Tumulty says no such letter was written. Thomas J. Walsh of Helena, Mont., has not been back in Washington since the adjournment of the special session. Reports from Montanta say that his health is not good. Miss Rankin, the woman member of the house, looms as a senatorial rival to Walsh, and it is confidently predicted that she is to be promoted from the house to the senate at the next November elections. Miss Rankin has been an active member of the lower house and one of her best acts has been to plunge the legislative scimitar into the Jaws of the Copper Trust dragon to the great delight of a lot of common people in her state. She championed the women in the bureau of printing and engraving and accomplished substantial reforms in their hours of labor, and finally took the scalp of Director Ralph of the bureau. Altogether Miss Rankin has qualified for promotion. William El Borah comes up for reelection next year and Is taking diligent notice of public sentiment in Idaho. Benjamin R. Tillman of South Carolina is approaching the end of his term. Tillman is seldom seen these days in the senate. He has been in failing health. West Virginia will choose a new senator in the place of Nathan Ooff. Once since he was elected Go ft appeared In the senate or perhaps twice ?once when he took the oath, and once afterward. GofT is what might be termed a senator emeritus rather than a functioning senator. He has been in public life so long that it really makes little difference :v>w what he does. In addition to his personal Income of approximately $260,000 a year, he draws a pension of $13 a month as a veteran of the civil war jnrt. another?ppnpltTO. .. 8" J) Jflllrfd Judge. He went into politics in 1867 when he was first elected a member of the West Virginia legislature. After occupying all the political positions known to West Virginia he was appointed secretary of the navy by President Hayes back in 1881. He served in both branches of congress and as a United States federal judge, and now he is rounding out his career as an honorary senator from his state. He will retire in March, 1919. John K. Shields, of Tennessee, au thor of the Shields waterpower garb, will have a chance to submit bis candidacy to the people of Tennessee next summer, and If they do not like having a senator who is primarily a representative of predatory interests, they will choose somebody else in bis place. Among others who face re-election are James Hamilton Lewis of Illinois, who says he will not be a candidate unless his present insomnia abates, 11 his health is real good he may get into the scramble. Meantime there is no doubt that Medill McCormick of the same state is a candidate for Lewis's place. McCormick used to be a Progressive. He was one of Roosevelt's most enthusiastic supporters. Then he became more or less regular and got into congress as a Progressive-Republican. Now he is regularly Republican, and has adopted quite a Republican attitude of criticism of the administration's war policy. McCormick has been abroad collecting data on the 1141 ? ?n<l hnr CO 11(11 UUI1 Vi AiUWIWU una vvuv* troops in Europe and expects to use this in his campaign. Thomas W. Hardwick of Georgia is a candidate for re-election. Hardwick is a member of the Democratic faction in his state, which has not been over-friendly toward the Wilson administration. He opposed the declaration of war against Germany, and if he is re-elected it will be on a clear cut issue of administration and anti-administration. In Nebraska there will be a tryout to determine how strong the old Progressive sentiment is in that state. George W. Norris comes up for reelection. He has always had a very large and enthusiastic following among the forward-looking voters of both parties who like a man of lndeendence and integrity. Norris has been very earnest and a useful sensor, and no doubt will be returned. Among others who will go before I t)i? iwonla am Tamaa IT. Vnninman of Mississippi, William H. Thompson of Kansst, WUllam Alden Smith of Michigan, Thomas Sterling of South Dakota, Oille M. James of Kentucky, William Hughes of New Jersey, Henry F. Hollis of New Hampshire, John F. Shaforth of Colorado, Wlllard Saulsbury of Delaware, Joseph T. Robinson of Arkansas, Joseph E. RansdeU of Louisiana, Robert L. Owen of Oklahoma, Thomas S. Martin of Virginia, Charles McNary of Oregon, William S. Kenyon of Iowa, Bert H Fernald of Maine, Albert B. Fall ol New Mexico, L B. Colt of Rhode Island. John H. Bankheart of Alabama, F. M. Simmons of North Carolina, Francis E. Warren of Wyoming and John W. Weeks of Massachusetts. GREAT NATURAL- BRIDGE. Justice Marshall Called It "GmTi Greatest Miracle In Ihaa* The great Natural bridge, which ie one of the natural wonders of the United State* overlooks the Jamas rtvar valley. In Virginia, being on the western slope at the Btoe anaaMaa It Is Just about the center of the state. It approaches Xlagra In grandeur and * exceeds it in height and awful mystery. It is a single block of limestone. > with many shades of color. The walls ' are smooth, as if cut with chisels, and 1 there is no sign of displacement. The visitor follows a tumbing cascade down a deep fissure in the moun1 tain under some of the largest arbor > vitae trees in the world, and turning d >wn a line of steps cut into the I precipice, suddenly finds himself by ( a swift stream in a dark canyon and the bridge far above him. i Washington when^a surveyor for f Lord Fairfax visited the Natural i bridge and carved his name, where it > may still be seen. The original bridge I tract was granted oy rung ueorge ; III. to Thomas Jefferson in 1774. > After he was president Jefferson 1 visited the place, surveyed it and made i the map with his own hands. Jefferi son spoke of the place as "a famous place that will draw the attention of the world." Chief Justice Marshall ' wrote of the bridge as 'God's greatest miracle in stone." Henry Clay wrote of "the bridge not made with hands that spans a river, carries a highway and makes two mountains one." A JOURNEY IN GEOGRAPHY. A Short Sketch of Pskov, an Important Russian City. Pskov, the half-way city between Riga and Petrograd, and a strategic point of prime importance, is described in today's war geography bulletin of the National Geographic Society as follows: ! The capital of a province of the same name, and one of the most ancient cities of the Russian empire. Pskov, with a population of 36,000, lies , directly in the path of a German land advance upon Petrograd from Riga. Pskov is situated on both banks ot the rivers Vellkaya and Pskova at their confluence. It is divided into four , quarters, the oldest and most important being the Kremlin, surrounded by white limestone walls in a fair state of preservation in spite of the fact that they have been standing for more than eight centuries. Petrograd lies to the northeast of Pskov a distance of 171 miles by rail, and Riga is almost the same distance to the southwest. The town lies nine miiAo oAuth nf T nVo Pskov into which the Yellkaya flows. For more than a thousand years Pskov has been a trading post for i merchants of south Europe seeking an outlet to' the Baltic by way of the na.; tural channel of the Vellkaya. As early as 992 the town was united with Its I sister trading center of Novorod, 125 miles to the northeast, to form a - bishopric, after which both places grew laptdly In importance and wealth. During the Mongolian invasion of Russia, Pskov succeeded in establish lng its complete* -?ce of Novl garn<1,.iifit>)r|r.vji * ?!, i . Vs~i?ti? a government which differed somewhat ; from that of Its rival in that Novgorod was dominated by a plutocratic meri chant class whereas in Pskov the poorer elements of the population usually maintained themselves in power. The princes of Moscow early in the sixteenth century succeeded In de i priving Pskov of its independence and from that time its rulers were subject to the overlords of the great Russian metropolis. Pskov owed its salvation in 1570 to a patriotic monk, Nicholas Sales, who, i by feigning madness, dissuaded the i ruthless Ivan the Terrible from his , determination to destroy the city be, cause it had been suspected of treai son to that monarch's cauBe. Eleven years later the citizens resisted the besieging army of Poland's king, ( Stephen Bathory, for seven months. It i was also besieged at one time by Gus; tavus Adolphus. Inside the walls of the Kremlin is the famous old Cathedral of the Holy ; Trinity, founded in 1138. The present t structure dates from 1691-99. Here are buried the princes of Pskov, among i them the courageous Prince Dovmont . under whose leadership the Teutonic , Knights were defeated In the 13tb i century and during whose regime the , city's first walls were built, enabling 1 the citizens of Pskov to make good their claim of independence from Novgorod. I For many years during the middle i ages Pskov was an Important mem' ber of the Hanseatic League, and a i German factory was established here on the left bank of the Velikaya. The Germans, however, were not especially popular in Pskov even in that day, . for they were not permitted to cross the bridge of boats from the factory into the main portion of the town, which at its zenith had a population of 60,000. Pskov Is an Important station for trade between Riga and Novgorod. Its exports Include flax, corn, honey, tallow, skins, tar and timber, while Its imports consist chiefly of woolens and manufactured goods. It has a regular steamer service with Dcrpat, on the Embach river, a tributary of Lake Pelpus. GENERAL NEWS NOTES. i ~~~~? Record of Current Happenings Col ictwu r rwm varivua ww> wa* i The Italian government has begun the Internment of all alien enemies. Seven mules were killed in a coal ' mine at Shenandoah, Pa., Wednesday ' by the bursting of a steam pipe. Mayor Hylan of New York, has Issued an order eliminating the "Gary" system from New York city schools. There were a total of 1,709 divorce proceedings begun In the courts of Philadelphia during 1917. Of these, 1,070 decrees were granted. Gold production in 1917 totaled , 14.086,689 ounces, valued at $84,464,. ' 900 in the United States. Sliver production totaled 74,944,600 ounces. Burglars ransacked an loe cream ' factory at Scranton, Pa., Wednesday, 1 and stole 1,000 pounds of granulated sugar. The Federal trade commission has begun an investigation to see if there is any Justification for the present "exceedingly high prices" for shoes In the United Statea V The private csrs of A1 G. Fieids's mlnietrel ahow have been sieaed by order of Director General McAdoo. fkMi and hie troop now trawl In ordinary day ooafhes. TOLD BY LOCAL EXCHANGES Nets Happenings ii Neighboring CoiDDHBltles. CONDENSED FOB QUICK BEADING Oealing Mainly With Local Affair* of Cherokee, Cleveland, Gaeton, Chea _! I - icr ina kinc?isivr, Fort Mill Times, Jan. 3: Present indications are that little interest will be taken in the municipal election which is to be held in Fort Mill on January 8th. at which time a mayor, six aldernen and a waterworks commissioner are to be elected (or the years 1918-19. At the closing of the books of registration Thursday night less than ono- ?v sixth of the vot.rs of the town had qualified for the election J. E. Williamson who for several years past has had charge of the two cotton mills of the Fort Mill Manufacturing Company has severed his connection with them and on Suturduy left for Flayetteville, N. C.. where he will remain until he takes up new work Miss Ada White, who for several years has been employed in the stenographic department of the Alaskan Railway commission at Seward, Alaska, has returned to her home In the township... ..Miss Catherine McElwee of Rock Hill, and Miss Margaret Flnley, of York, were guests during the past week of Miss Bess Spratt. Gaffney Ledger, Jan. 3: Mr. Lewis Humphries said yesterday tliut there was absolutely no clue as yet to the thief who stole his car lust Friday afternoon front in front of Carroll & Byers" store in Gaffney. Mr. Humphries said the ear was uracticullv new having been run ver> little since he purchased the same a short time uko Harry Caldwell of King's Creek, recently enlisted in the aviation corps of the National army and is stationed for the present ut Fort Thomas, Kentucky. Mr. Caldwell is a brother of Mr. T. M. Caldwell, Cherokee's clerk of the court Mrs. T. B. Butler was operated on Monday for appendicitis at the local hospital. Her many friends will be glad to know that she stood the operation splendidly und hopes to be soon entirely recovered Now. there is no Coca-Cola at any of the fountains In GafTney. and the CocoCola Bottling Works has none on hand either. Lots of old topers will feel the loss of the beverage. Reck Hill Record, Jan. 3: A Are alarm about 2.30 this afternoon carried the firemen out to the fair grounds, where the stalls for cattle were found In a blaze. About eight of the sheds were- destroyed 'wlaw ^ Tff3 firemenT\SZTiUcr me K611B.' tn. 1 other sheds being saved from de- . struotion. It is thought the Arc was I incendiary, of course?some men or \ boys, moct likely Luther Boyd of the aviation corps, now stationed at Morrison, Vu., is visiting his parents, Mr. and Mrs. R. P. Boyd Friends of Sadler Love, who is critically ill with pneumonia, will regret to learn that his condition today is not improved W. S. McDonald of Chester, who for some time past had been with VVylie & Co., of that city, has a position with the RoddeyPoe Mercantile Co. of this place Ther is a movement on foot to build a Presbyterian church at Ogden, Walter Dunlap having offered a site and other inducements toward the same, and others are interested. Gastonia Gazatta, Jan. 3: Thousands of spindles In Qastonlo, other thousands In the county and many other thousands throughout the Piedmont section of North and South Carolina are idle today because of the fact that the Southern Power Company found it necessary to shut off the power at noon today. No relief is promised before Monday. It is not absolutely certain that It will come then The Gazette is Informed by reliable citizens of Belmont that Isabelle Torrence, colored, who died at her home near Belmont on Monday, December 31st, was 116 years old. If this Is correct she was no doubt the oldest per son In Qoaton county Damage to the extent of about |1,000 waa done yesterday by Are which started about 5 o'clock In the storeroom occupied by the Auto Repair Company on North Marietta street. Just how the blase originated is not known though the workmen in the building stated tbat It started when an electric bulb broke and the wire probably come In contact with gasoline. At any rate the Interior was enveloped in flames almost in an instant. The Are department responded Immediately and soon had the flre under control. There were four automobiles in the place, two of which were damaged. Chester Reporter, Jan. 3i A wedding, of much Interest to a large circle of friends in Chester and elsewhere throughout the state was that of Miss Julia Phillip* and Lieutenant W. Carlisle White, which was solemnir.cd at the bom* of the bride's par* ents, Dr. and Mrs. D. G. Phillips, on York street last Friday afternoon in the presence of a few friends and relatives, Rev. C. Hynum Betts of Troy, officiating A negro by the name of Parks who endeavored to break into Mr. George Br&kefleld's store in the Armenia community during the holidays, was detected by Mr. Brakefield and shot Parks was then run down by Mr. Brakefield and captured. He was shot three times, and was severely wounded Mr. J. L. Glenn, Jr., who was commissioned a second lieutenant at the first officers' training camp at Fort Oglethorpe, and who Is now serving in France, has been recommended for promotion to first lieutenant Mr. J. L. Sanders and family, who have been living In Rock Hill, are moving back to Chester and win occupy their bom* on the corner of Church and College streets. Mr. Banders ia in the employ of the Hardaway Construction Co The Southern Manufacturing Co.. as a token cf appreciation of the splendid business they enjoyed during the year l?17 and of the fialthfal effort* of their employees gave the latter Chrietmaa week ae a holiday with Ml pay. ' ~ '* * /"'T '