Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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DAMAGING TESTIMONY AGAINST THE MEN LYNCHED. They Divided the Money and Hid the Checks That They Committed a Foul Crime to (Jet. Here is the testimony before the 4coroner's jury that investigated \Hie assassination of Mr. J. H. Smoak that -lead to the arrest and lynching of Frank Samuel and Qui'lie Sim mons a short time ago at or near Smoak's. B*n Minus, a young col ored man, t ,tfied as follows: "I was staying out, there and was watching Frank Samuel. On Thurs day evening I was going home. I had- promised my mother to carry ? something from Mr. Somak's and ?as going to carry them. I met Mr. Smoak oa my way - home. 1 heard some talk that was being talk ed, and I came back and told Mr. Smoak about it. 1 asked Mr. Smoak i: he was going to the other field next morning; he said he was, and I turned and went to my mother in-law's. Charles Duffie. Told Frank that Acquilla Simmons said he must be at home sure Thursday night, that he wanted to see him on par ticular business. I came down the road and - saw Frank Samuel and Acquilla Simmons out at the fence talking. 1 went up close* and stopped aad it was Acquilla Simmons, and Frank said to Acquilla as soou as he got a drink of water he would be ready to go home or to his own house. He came out and took ttp Kjs gun, and ,they .both went to Frank's house. 1 went oa behind thorn. When they* got in the yard Frank said to Acquilla to wait until he got a few mathces. I stood up then uutil Frank came out. I then got down on my knees. He open ed his ox stable and drove the ox out. i The ox commenced eating something and he cut him and he went off. Frank and Acqnilla went in and kneeled down. They were counting money. I could hear it ruttliug. Frank told Acquilla to go out iu the road and see if he could see anyobdy. When he came back I saw Samuel pass some money to Simmons. Samuel asked Simmons if he went to Hranchville to bring him a pint of xx corn, if ,he could not get the corn to get some other kiqd. Samuel asked Simmons if he has heard anything more about the ceef. he said it had been pretty hot, but was cooling down now. In this time- they walked on out, and Sim mons said Samual must come to Charles Simmons that night or" soon the next morniug. He came out by me. then. 1 went back to Mr. Srnoak's. Farnk said he would fix vv?rtt they left in the stanie tomor row,- 1 went aud told Mr. Smoak v. aat I had seen and that if he would go j then he would find something. Aad then I went home. I'was about fifteen paces from them when they were counting the money. I could aot- see whether it was silver or green backs. I heard the silver rat tie; I was outside of the field when they went in the stable, when they began counting the mow I went closer. I went in at the gate. They had been spending money. T*"hav not heard anything since that night. 1 did not know what he mean' when he said we will #eave this here and I will fix it tomorrow. They left home about five o'clock the day of the kiriing of J. B. Smoak. They <-eemed to be covering something cp in the stable before they came out." Mr. J. L. Smoak. the father of the murdered man, testified as follows: '*I hitched up my horse and buggy aad went to Wilson's on the testi mony of Ben Minus.1 I came to Srnoak's in search of a constable. Did not find him here; went to his house; Magistrate and Judge wer? there. The constable came back with me. We went to ask for help, ami fixing a plan to look after parties. A party of men went in search of Frank Siuauel. Quillie Simmons, Willie Stokes and to get stolen goods. Samuel was not at home, wife and mother were there. Some of our party searched the house. I went into the ox stable. About that time Mr. Kinsey came up. I dug in the stable and found a package in the presence of Mr. Kinsey. On opening it we found it to be the checks. We made several arrests. Simmons was arrested at Pink Garris'." Two or three colored men testi fied that they had seen Samuel and Simmons on the late afternoon of the killing with their guns going in the direction of the place where young Smoak was shot and killed. After Simmons and Samuel were ar rested they were turned over to a constable who started for Walter boro with them. On the way he was overpowered and the two as sassins taken from him and lynched as already stated. Shut Out Again. Some weeks ago when the eclipse of the moon took place the people In this section were shut out from see ing it by the clouds that gathered the afternoon the eclipse took place. This was a great disappointment, hut we consoled ourselves with the an nouncement that two weeks later there would be an eclipse of the >un. This was to come off on last Thursday afternoon, but the weather man again shut us out with ?oluds, behind which the eclipse took place on schedule time, but no one in this I section got even a peep at the per forinance. The fact 'hat it has been several years since an eclipse has been witnessed in this sccti"!i made1 the disappointment at not being able to see it the keener. PROGRAM FOR MUSICAL At Court House on Tuesday Evening, June the 22nd. The following is the program of the musical to be given in the court house on next Tuesday evening at 8:30 o'clock, under the auspices of the Young Ladies' Home Missionary Society of the Methodist church. The price of admission h?^ been fixed at 25 cents for adults and 15 cents for children. A great many tickets have already been sold and there promises to be a large audience pres ent. Music by orchestra. Vocal duet. "A Garden of Dreams," Miss Simsie McMichael, Mr. Mike Perryclear. Vocal solo, "Slave Song" (Del Regoi, Miss Athleen King. Reading, selected, Miss Ruth Hol man. Vocal solo, selected, Mr. Mike Per ryclear. Vocal solo. "A Whispered Vow" (Lyttjeton). Miss :Gertfude Smith. Operetta, "The Run-a-Way Bear" (Worrell). . Fairies, Alma Salley, Queen, Lo rena Wannamaker. Louise Perry clear. Annie Davis, Kathleen McGee, Olive Bates. Teddy Bears, Blossom Dukes, Ruth Stokes, Elizabeth Glaze, Ora Lee Thompson, Gladys Cart, Lois Bruner, Willie Scoville, Orville Wil son, Gus Rich, Dwight Moseley, Robert Fowler, Reddick Bowman, Milton Jeffords. Hordes. D. C. Ayers, Milton Hawes, James Owens, Junior Oliver. Music by orchestra. Vocal solo. "Raccoon Lullaby," Miss Ruth Holman. Vocal crTiet, "I Am Looking for a Sweetheart" (Klein), Blossom Dukes, Orville Wilson. .Vocal solo, "If I had a Thousand Lives" (Sohman), Dr. Willie Izlar. Violin solo. "Melody in F" (Ru nenstein). Miss Katie Mewborne. Vocal solo, selected, Miss Simsie McMichael. Music by orchestra. KILLED BY LIGHTNING. Number of Fine Hogs and Calf Kill ed in Cordova Section. Possibly the most severe electric storm which has ever passed over the Cordova section passed that way on Thursday about mid-day. A number of very fine hogs and a calf were killed. Also a number of peo ple who were out felt slight shocks. On the place of Mr. J. P. Smoak five hogs were killed. They were found all in a heap under a shade tree in the lot where they had gone, for shelter. On the place of Mr. H. A. Gib son a calf was struck while stand ing in the lot. Mr. Gibson and his son who were nearby at the time felt the shock distinctly. An Enjoyable Social Event. On Thursday evening a very pleas ant social event took place at the home of Miss Willie Copes. The affair was given in honor of her guest, Mis3 Lillie Thomas of Charles ton. A novel -contest was engaged 'in, each one present being given a clothes pin, which they were to dress up. as doll babies. The judges decided that Miss Bertie Barton and Mr. Izlar Sims had the best dressed dolls, and they were presented with the prizes, a handsome belt buckle and necktie. The following enjoyed the pleasures of the evening: Misses Warner Hair, Mary Chisolm,. Bertie Barton, Oressa Collier, Adelle Moore, i lorrie Oliver, Queenie Mobley of Columbia, and Lillie Thomas of Charleston; Messrs Oscar Lowman, Theodore Jeffords, Edwin Stokes, Gus Howell, Iziar Sims, Harold Zeig ler, John Henry Hydrick, Bob Mc Kewn. Klliott Salley and J. L. Mur phy of Charleston. ' Desirable Scholarship. The normal scholarships of the University of South Carolina have been raised in value. Each scholar ship is now worth $100 in money, besides remission of $4 0 tuition and $1S matriculation or "term" fee. The money is paid to the beneficiary at the rate of $12.50 a months for eight months, to assit in meeting the necessary living expenses. There 1s one scholarship for each county. The current high school movement has greatly increased the demand for well-equipped men teachers and the salaries that they will receive. Ex aminations will be held Friday, July 2, before the county board of edu cation. Applicants should be at least 19 years of age, and preferably) teachers. Write President S. C. Mitchell. University of South Caro lina, Columbia. S. C, for blank on which to apply. Will Vote Bonds. At a meeting of the citizens of St. Matthews, held on Tuesday night, i6 was resolved to submit the ques tion to the voters of the school dis trict whether or not to bond the district for the sum of $20,000 for the purpose of building an up-to-date school building, which is very much needed along with other school im provements. St. Matthews will lind this a much better investment than issuing bonds to build a court house and jail. Roll Call and Reunion. The Orangeburg |Bap(?st church will have a "Roll Call" and "Re union" of its members at the church next Tuesday evening at S:30 o'clock. Every member of the church is urg ed to be present. Married members are invited ti> bring their husbands or wives who are not members. In addition to the roll call a delightful social hour will be spent on the lawn and refreshments will be served without charge. LfcAF FROM (HE PAST anniversary of the battle of secessionville. Which Was Fought on James Island Opposite Charleston tPorty-Seven Years Ago. Forty-seven years ago last Wednes day the battle of Seeessionville was fought on .lames Island, across Ash ley river from Charleston, and upon the resi>" of which the fate of that city dep nded: Soi.ie of the Or angeburg troops took part' in tue .;a?t!e anc. helped drive the invaders back to their transports. As a boy we lived in Charleston when this battle was fought, and remember well the excitement it created in the city, woVr.j t :t report of the guns' could be distinctly heard. We all knew that if the Confederates lost the battle that Charleston would fall into the hands of the Yankees. The following is the report o" :he bat tle as taken from the order book of Geo. H. Moffett, adjutant of the Eutaw regiment, which will be read by many of our citizens, who had kinsfolks in it: Headquarters Eutaw Regiment, Camp Pettigrew. June 16, 1862. General ?"'-?ier No. 6?: The lieutenant colontl command ing this regiment, with the most profound thankfulness to Almighty God for His watchful providence, con gratulates the regiment on their first battle. Our flag can now be inscribed with the victory of James Island. We have met and vanquished the foe, and thus far our honors are safe. Whilst praising the good conduct and great coolness of the whole command under a heavy fire of small arms and an enfilading fire of artillery, it is not invidious to mention the names of those whom the fortune of battle placed in prominent positions. To Lieut. Blum and his gallant company, the thanks of the whole regiment are due, and their warmest, congratulations for endurance, for courage, and Cor constancy under heavy fire and disastrous loss. The lieutenant colonel commanding has" known him and them for years, they enjoyed his highest confidence, they have more than fulfilled his ex pectations. Their gallant dead, fallen in the noblest cause, and in defending their homes will be embalmed in the memory of their comrades, and of our mother, on whose soil they fell. Their names are added to the long roll of Carolina's noble sons, and on that roll they occupy no inferior position. To their comrades of the Washington Light Infantry, Com pany A. no further need of praise can be awarded than that they are worthy of their name, i To Capt. Sellers and his company deployed in front of the line, the commanding officer returns his warm est thanks. Eutaws! You have felt the fire and inhaled the smoke of battle. Henceforward our dear beckon us on to vengeance?let this nerve our arms, and steel our hearts, when again, and again, and again we meet our foes. . By order of Lieut. Cot. Simonton. Moffett, Adjutant. Official report of the engagement near Seeessionville on the morning of June 16. 1862: Headquarters Eutaw Regiment (25th S. C. V.). Camp Pettigrew, June 17th. 1S62?To Capt. Joseph Walker, A. A. A. General?Captain: I have the honor to make the fol lowing report of the result of the engagement of yesterday to my reg iment. Having been ordered tc move at reveille, I formed and marched my regiment to the field in rear of Hill's house, and having then reported to Col. Hagood, was placed by him in position behind a hedge. Upon be ing placed in position I was inform ed that Col. Stevens had a portion of hi.-- regiment, deployed as skir mishers in our front, and was or dered to take all precautions to pre sent our men firing into them. Shortly after we took position we were put under a heavy fire of small arms, directed principally against my left wing. In obedience to orders 1 kept my men under restraint and prevented any firing until being satisfied that 1 lit- enemy were actually in my front. I gave orders to lire. After a brisk fire of about a half hour they were driven off. During their retreat we were exposed to an enfilading fire of field artillery on our flank. Below I append a list of casualties. The behavior of my regiment was such as I could have wished. Lieut. Blum, of the Washington Light In fantry, Company B. whose company was chiefly under fire, distinguished himself by his extreme coolness, en couraging his men. He rendered most efficient aid in restraininc their natural desire to return the fire of the enemy. The conduct of his men could not be surpassed; they were under my eye all the tir:o. Two of his men. Privates Martin and T. G. Simons. Jr., the first wounded in the head and leg, and the other in three places with his clothing riddled, continued to fire until taken from the field. A large number of arms and ac coutrements were recovered from the field, and several prisoners were captured. Wish this I enclose the reports of Lieut. Blum, and of Capt. Adger, quartermaster. The arms and accoutrements are in the hands ol" the latter, subject to your order. Very respectfully, your obedient servant. (Signed) Chas. IT. Simonton, Lieut. Col. Commanding Eutaw Reg PROMISES MUST BE REDEEMED By St. Matl.'.cws Before Calling on Country People. We take the card printed below on the Calhoun county court house and jail discussion from the Cal houn Advance of Thursday: When a cause gets desperate its advocates realizing the pi-oneness of the average man to sign petitions, are now seeking this method to in fluence public sentiment in favor of a heavy bond issue upon the people. In the interest of peace, and with a desire to test the matter thorough ly, we suggest tha.t the following pre amble and resolution be incorporat ed in that document: Whereas, during the campaign the county was neither asked nor prom ised anything for a court house and jail, and, whereas, the town of St. Matthews guaranteed $20,000 as ample "to build a commodious and up-to-date court house and jail with out cost to the county," and, where as, there now seems to be a much more strenuous effort to pull the county's leg than that of the town, and, whereas, the guaranteed notes are "fishy" at best, and no possible chance to collect the whole under any consideration, Therefore, Re it Resolved, 1st. That the bond promoters take less interest in fche bond -issue (which has riothing to do with the case), and concern themselves more about the money of the town. 2nd. We consider it absolutely es sential that we be fed on more prom ises or legal opinions about the legal-, ity of the notes, but desire that cer tified checks be put up, and it will then be time enough to receive sug gestions from the county. 3rd. Until this is done, we con sider any further agitation about the county bond issue an insult to our intelligence and leave room for con tinued doubts and suspicions. JUSTICE. Doctors- in St. Matthews. The Orangeburg County Medical Society met at St. Matthews on last Tuesday, and the St. Matthews cor respondent of The NeA-s and Courier says it was pronounced one of the most successful meetings the asso ciation ever held. Excellent papers were prepared and read by Drs. T. H. Dreher, L. C. Shecut and T. H. Symmes, et\c,h of which produced liberal and favorable discussion by the members present. It will be re membered that Calhoun county has no separate organization of its own, but the physicians of the county still retain their membership in the old county organization, and it is not amiss to say that the progressive members of the profession of each county are realizing much benefit from these monthly meetings. Passenger Tram Wrecked. The passenger train on the Atlan tic Coast Line Railway that runs be tween this city and Florence via Sumter, Manning and Lane's was wrecked last Wednesday afternoon at half-past four o'clock just north of Scranton while on its way from Florence to this city. The tender of the locomotive, the mail car and the two day coaches left the rail, blocking the track. Engineer Mar ion Brandt, and Conductor Cotton, wore in charge. The wreck occurred just where the new rail is being laid, and its cause is unaccounted for. No one on the train was hurt. Travel was interrupted for several hours. Mayor's Court. Joe Simpson was first called, and charged with having, by some laps of memory, forgotten his road duty. Joseph had to forfeit $1, and pay $2 compound tax. John Hopkins, charged with fir ing off firearms in the city limits, was the next on the program. His bail of $2 was appropriated by the city, as he was not to be seen when his name was called. iment. Casualties in Butaw. regiment (2f>th S. C. V.): Killed. Second Lieut. Richard W. Creer, Washington Light Infantry, Com pany B. First Sorgt. Fleetwood Lanneau, Jr., Washington Light Infantry, Company B. Private Samuel Salter?, Washing ton Light Infantry, Company 13. Private Thomas II. Gadsden. Jr., ton Light Infantry. Company B. Wounded. Private J. 11. Taverner, Washing ton Light Infantry, Company B, mor tally. Private J. Campbell Martin, Wash ington Light Infantry, Company B, mortally. Bvt. 2nd Lieut Samuel J. Burger, Washington Light Infantry, Com pany B. severely. Private J. H. Devoe, Washington I Light Infantry, Company B, severe ly Private A. B. Glover. Washington I Light Infantry, Company B. severely. Private T. G. Simons, Jr., Wash ington Light Infantry, Company B, severely. Private A. S. Trumbo. Washing ton Light Infantry, Company B, slightly. Private J. H. Shuler. Washing ton Light Infantry, Company B. slightly. Private J. P. Gibbs, Washington. Light Infantry, Company B. slightly. Private E. V. Shuler. St. Matthews Rifles, slightly. Private G. M. DanUlcr, St. Mat thews Hilles, slightly. Private J. W. Wannamaker. St. i Maiihews Hilles, slightly. Sergt. H. A. Horton. Yeadon Light Infantry, slightly. J. ('. Martin survived and now lives at New Brocton, Ala. ACAUSliC KtPi-Y (Continued from page 3.) the judge had been inveigled. Refer to his article signed Citizen and mine in reply. Inveigled: To misrepre sent and mislead by false represen tation. Has he pointed out who did the falsifying? You will find that because he could not specify he beg ged the question, abused me, raised various reckless charges, which also fell flat. Read Judge Watts' letter: CHAMBERS OF R. C. WATTS Judge of Fourth Circuit. Cheraw, S. C, June 9, 1909. Dear Sir* Your favor of recent date addressed to nie at Orangeburg and herewith enclosures received. I have <no apologies to make for any remarks made by me to grand jury recently at your place in refer ence to new court house. I gave them my honest views and the bene fit of my observation and experience with other court houses and advised them to build a good one and not make a "make shift, as it were. Of coure, I knew that grand jury could adopt my views or not and that tne ?vhole matter was left to the people of the county. Only two gentlemen so.ke to me about it- - J Jr. Bates and Mr. Walker, and both hurridly an I neither suggested to niQ what vievs to take. 1 did not know there w..s any friction in the county over i. until some days later and I do not care, and don't suppose any other Judge cares what kind of a court' house the people of Calhoun build, whether large or small, but they will find it false economy in the long run to build a small, cheap one and if will be money thrown away in my opinion, but that is their affair and I recognize the fact that the people of Calhoun an; callable of running their own affairs; at the same time it was my privilege to give my views to the grand jury along this line and I did so and have nothing to take back. It is left to them to do as they please. I have no interest in the matter and am indifferent as to results. If I were a voter I should favor a nice court house, but would not quarrel with any one who dif fered with me. What I said to the grand jury was on my own responsi bility and I am capable of standing any criticism, and its wroug^ to at tempt to saddle Dr. Bates with in spiring it. We all know him to be an open, upright, frank gentleman, and one who acts according to the dictates of right and a clear con science. Yours struly, R. C. WATTS, To J. Skottowe Wannamaker, Esq. CHAMBER OF R. C. WATTS. Judge of Fourth Circuit. Dear Sir: I did not suppose Mr. Smoak would publish any extracts from my lette'r, although I did not care if he did publish the whole, but I did not presume he would. It was in answer to a letter he wrote me, en closing.an article he had written, and I construed his letter as written in a friendly spirit, but I am satisfied if he will show you the letter, the op ponents of a good court house will get scant confort out of it (the letter to Mr. Smoak). Had I have known it was the intention to pub lish extracts. I would have asked him to give the whole. I have no objections to any criticism of any official act of mine, but always ig nore them. Personally you know I do not give a "tinker's Cuss" if the good people of your county build a court house no bigger than a chicken coop, but with a rich, ambitious new county, I should think the people would wish a creditable building which will be a Baving in the long run. It would be a mistake to start with a "penny wise, pound foolish, policy." but it is a matter of indifference to me. I never would have known or cared lor a newspaper controversy over i it if Mr. Suioak had not'written. Yours truly. Ii. C. WATTS. To J. Skottowe Wannamaker. Why was it that Mr. A. K. Smoak. (lie seeker alter truth, did not pub- j lish Judge Watts' letter in full? Beg him to show it, or read letters: from him which 1 will gladly show. ' Judge Watts says, "The opponents ! of a good court house will gel small com fori out of my letter to Mr. A. K. Smoak." Why. oh why, was it thai Mr. A.I K. Smoak. the seeker after truth did not publish Judge Aldrich's let ter? Was he not willing for ihr?' public to know thai he could not j convict any one of having inveigled 1 Judge Aldrich, that Judge aldrich had expressed his honest opinion of; his own free tvfil and accord? Why, oh why, in the name of jus tice, is it that Mr. A. K. Smoak makes the statement that in case the town fails to comply and furnish tiie $?_'ri.fiOO that the $30,000 would build a..creditable court house and jail? We will never have the $30.- ' O00 if the town fails. No election will be held in Calhoun county until the $20.000 is furnished in cold J cash, and We are going to discharge our duties, every one of us, includ- j ing Tn> good friend, Mr. A. K. Smoak, and I feel satisfied that there I is not a single note maker that will j be any more certain to discharge his l obligation than Mr. A. K. Smoak. Why. oh why, make such a reckless insinuation? It has been stated time and time again thai no electiou will be held | in Calhoun county on the bond mat- < ter until the $20,000 is furnished in cold cash. Mr. Marlin D. Keller says ii-' told Mr. A. K. Smoak 'hat ! tiiis was the agreement reached. ll told him tin' same tiling. It has been published, oh. so often. I urge that Mr. A. K. Smoak and the public read the letter published lu this issue from farmers living in various sections of the county out aide of St. Matthews. We have quite a number of letters and petitions urging that we leave the matter of i an additional bond issue of $30,000 tu a vote. 'these letters are from every section of the county. Why, oh why, does~7r. A. K. Smoak claim thut 1 am attempting to force this bond issue. We visited other coun ties, gathered all information pos- i sible and have made a unanimous report. It is now with the voters, but they wi* not be concerned with it until we furnish our $20,000 in culd cash. Mr. A. K. Smoak brought himself into tins mosi unpleasant predica ment, by yielding to a weakness com mon to bumanuy. It is a great sur prise to me that my friend, with auun a i/uiet, souer, deliberate dispo sition, and a man of good judgment, should have allowed himself to yield to this weakness. "And there's a lust in man no charm can tame, Of louuiy publishing our neighbor s shame; On eagle wings immortal scandals iiy. While virtuous actions are but born and die.'' I do not hesitate to say that Mr. A. iv. SoiuEu, in his voyage tor truin n?ta raiaeu a. Storni, iiub he ottered any soiuticji'.' n he had 1 have nut beta au.e to lind a single man vi uu can puiin it out, or show where he has thrown any new light on the subject. Mr. A. K. Smoak, in his voyage for truin, hao encountered a storm and iiis preaicamcDtr arc very much like the following: "la the midst, of this sublime and terrible storm Dame Parrington, who lived upon the beach, was seen at the door of her house with,mop and pattens, trundling her mop, squeez ing away the Atlantic ocean. The Atlantic was aroused. Mrs. Parring tou's spirits were aroused. Hut I need not tell you the contest was unequal. The Atlantic ocean beat Mrs'. Parrington." "Of ail the cant, that are canted in this canting world though the cant of hyprocites may be the worst, the cant of criticism is the most tormenting." Whaf (earthly good wiil these tirades do? The voters of Calhoun county are intelligent to think and vote as they see lit and cannot be led by appeals to predjuice. This* day has passed. There are, of course, still "Some village statesmen who talk with looks profound with words of learn ed length and thundering sound. In writing to these village statesmen own their skill. For even though vanquished, they can't write still." Mr. A. K. Smoak is a valuable war den of St. Matthews. He has served long and faithfully. He has done valuable work, as a warden. The commissioners were furnished with a paper which Mr. A. K. Smoak drew, binding the town to bond for the purpose of building the court house and jail. Mr. A. K. Smoak signed this paper in his oflicial capacity. We invite and urge that any maker of a note wno feels that it would be proper for him to do so, come for ward aad pay his note in cold cash. We will ghe him his note and a re ceipt countersigned by the county treasurer. The commission is, of course, leaving the matter' of the $20,000 with the town of St. Mat thews and the note makers. We feel perfectly satisfied that we will get the $20.000. Don't you feel the same way? As soon as St. Matthews has furnished the $2 0,000 the ques tion of the additional bond issue will be submitted to the voters. In re sponse to the request from the coun ty voters and county property own ers. Air. A. K. Smoasv in his oflicial capacity as warden can be of much assistance in helping the town to discharge the obligation which tie hleped to place on her by his official signature. Mr. A. K. Smoak is one of the many god-fathers to Calhoun county. 1 Jieg that he now help us to dies.-, her as she should be. Why fall out over what the baby should wear? I would rather send her into the world with only a nakin on (t'ie twenty thousand dollar court house and jail we guaranteed, than to fall out over a full suit of clothes. 1 am sincere when I tell my friend, .Mr. A. K. Smoak, that 1 deeply re gret thai this unpleasant controversy arose to mar our most pleasant re lations. I beg that lie blot out the unpleasantness as I do now. i,ei each of u.-. shoulder his full share of the blame which 1 do now. Put end shoulders to the wheel and help to discharge our obligation to the | very last cent. After that is done, I will be ample time to take up the question of the additional bond is sue. I learned on Monday that Mr. A. K. Smoak had acknowledged the au thorship, hi thinking over the mat ter .Monday night I concluded that although my reply could not be per sonal a.- it was in reply to an anony mous article, as I had already stated, that it was not intended to be person al, still on account of our very pleas ant rehtions and on account of our business rompetitnon for fear I might possibly be misundersood. I went to the Advance officey Tues day morning and added the follow ing: "I intend my reply to be only logical, humorous and pleasant, and not in the remotest degree personal." Remember. life i> short. That it will soon be time for us to make our (innI report; ?'Tie- thoughts we are thinking our | ' fathers would think. From the death we are shrinking our fathers would shrink. To the life we are clinging they also lOUl NtWb iftMS.} PICKED UP ALL ABOUT BY OUR. REPORTERS. What is Happening in the Country as Weil as in the Cities and The band concert on last eveniag was enjoyed by a large crowd. ' Several papers report cotton blooms in different parts of the State. Prof. J. R. Crouch was in town Wednesday shaking hands with his numerous friends. Mr. H. C. Murphy, representing H. G Leiding Company, of Charles ton, was in the city yesterday. A cotton bloom was sent ns yes terday which had been taken from the field of Mr. B. K Hutchins, a thrifty farmer whose farm is about a mile above Bowman. The eclipse of the sun occurred at seven o'clock on Thursday evening. The clouds kept the people in this section from witnessing it, but that it was beautiful, we have no doubt. A warrant was sworn out before Magistrate Branson on yesterday morning by the wife of Henry John son, charging him with assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature. , Mr. M. M. Lane, of the Two-Mile Swamp section, left at our office oa yesterday a cotton bloom, which he had picked the day before, He said that this bloom was taken off of a l? acre field and there were many more. Deaths from lightning have been Quite numerous in this State this season. Most of them could have been prevented by a little caution on the part of the victims. When ever a thunder storm comes up don't expose yourself. We publish in this issue Mr. J. Skottowe Wannamaker's reply to Mr. A. K. Smoak. In our next is sue we will publish all the letters and documents referred to by Mr. Wannamaker n his letter. Be sure and read them in Tuesday's issue so as you can get it all. There se^ms to be no doubt of the two negroes who were lynched near Srnoak's being the murderers of young Smoak. They divided a lot of money between themselves one night and the stolen checks were found buried in the ox stable of one of them the next day. Mr. S. A. Dantzler, of Autaugors ville, Ala., is visiting relativesSin this county. Mr. Dantzler went from Orangeburg to Alabama many years ago, where he has prospered in the lumber business. He has a host of relatives in this county, who will be g'r. to see him again. A ?v. ,ter in the Columbia State, from Denmark, v.no signs himself "Merchant." .cal'u attention to the numerous robberies and other crimes In this part of the State recently, and says if the local authorities are inadequate to protect us would it not be well to call on the chief ex ecutive to do so? Notes From Bowman. Bowman, June 18.?Special: The McMichael-Smith wedding on Wed nesday morning, notice of which was published in last week's issue of this paper, was an elaborate affair in all of its details. The groom left litre with his bride on yesterday morning's train for a bridal' tour to Washington, after which they will be tit home to their friends at St. Matthews. The rain continues and is proving disastrous to some of the crops. Cul tivation has been retarded. No plows running at all the past few days and grass is getting on the ram page. There seems to be no sign of abatement, as it is raining yet this morning. A cotton bloom was handed to your correspondent yesterday from the field of Mr. S. H. West near Bowman, the first reported in this section. DUNDEE. Charged With Perjury. H. L. Solomons, who at one time lived at Norway, came very near be ing arrested in Columbia by the dis pensary winding up commission on Thursday for denying, while testi fying before the commission, th;:.t he had not while a whiskey drum mer entered into an agreement to pay the dispensary people rebates for orders for whiskey. After start ing out after ;i warrant, however, the prosecution decided not to make the arrest now as this would force the State to bring out facts it does not wish to reveal. Solomon now lives at Est ill. where he is engaged in banking and the newspaper busi ness. Worked His Way Through. Among the young men who re ceived diplomas from Wofford College this year was B. Muroaka, a young Japanese, who entered Wof ford four years ago, coming from San Francisco. He worked his way through college by giving lectures on Japan during the summer vaca tion. He has taken a high staud in the college and bears the respect and esteem of the students and tho ptofessors. He was befriended by many good people In different parts of the State. During the summer of 1007 he spent several weeks In this city as the guest of the famliy of Mr. F. S. Dibble. He will return to .Japan a missionary. would eling, Bui ii sp.is for us all like a bird on the wing." .1. SKOTTOWE WANNAMAKER, Chairman Board of Commissioners.