Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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of the peon, are in Mnost instances disregarded, and he is obliged to pay an enormous price for every thing he buys, and is alowed to run in debt beyond the amount of,-his wages in order to prevent him leaving his mas ter. * * -* * One of the most objec tionable features of the system is t4at the master is not obliged to maintain the peon in sickness or old age. When he becomes too old to work any lon ger, like an old horse who is turned out to die, he can be cast adrift to provide for himself. These are the leading features of peonage, and in spite of the new -name it bears the impartial reader will not be able to make anything else out of it than ,slavery." Counsel for the state attempts to -distinguish this Act from the Alaba 'ma statute, which the Supreme Court of that State, in Toney vs State, 67 L. R. A., 286, deeolared unconstitu tional. That Act made it a penal offence for a, person who had Con tracted in writing to labor for or ser ve anotherfor any given time, after wards without the consent of the oth er party and without sufficient ex cuse to be adjudged by the Court, to leave such other party or abandon such contract or leave or abandon the leased premises or land, and to take employment of a similar nature from another person, and they at tempt to draw a distinction between the words, ''without sufficient ex cuse to be adjudged by the Court," and our statute, which declares it a misdemeanor ''wilfully and without just cause to fail to perform the ser vices,'' etc. We cannot perceive any essential distinction between the words, 'without sufficient excuse' and the words '' without just cause.'' It is also claimed by counsel that the statute of South Carolina is sub stantially identical with Section. 4, 730 of the Code of Alabama, with Judge Jones in his opinion on the peonage cases, 123 Fed, 690, held to be constitutional. That Section is as follows: ''Any person entering into a written contract,for the performance of any acts or service with intent to injure or defraud his employer and thereby obtains money or personal property from such employer aid with like intent and .without just cause, and without refunding the money or paying, for such property, refuses to perform such act or service, must on conviction be punished as if lie had stolen it.'' This Alabama statute it will be seen. is of a general nature. It applies to all persons who enter into contracts with intent to injure or de fraud, and declares that persons who obtain money with such intent shall be punisied as if they had stolen it. The essence of this statute is the ob taining money with fraudulot in tent, which in many of the states is declared a criminal offence. The es sence of the South Carolina statute is the coereing of personal service in liquidation of a debt, and the eases cited by eounseh arising in thme state kof Georgxia , where a statuate some what similar to that of Alabama was under review, illustrate the distinc tion. In Lamar vs the state, 47 S. E. (Gecorgia,) the Court says: ''T-f the Act prescribes a punishment for a simple failure of a contractual duty it is beyond the p)ower' of the General Assembly, but if its purpose is to p)unish for fraudulent and deceitful practices it is valid, even though the fraud or deceit may arise from the failure to comply -with the contractu ail engagement. Thie right of the law making power to declare fraudulent practices a crime does not seem to have been ever seriously questioned. It is reasonably (clear that in enact ing the statute now under considlera tion the Legislative pur'pose was not to punnishi one simply for a failure to pay a debt, but was to punish the act of securing the money or property of Sanother with fraudulent intent .not to erform the service, thle ,promise to which was the considIeration f'om iih money 01' propeity. '' Other cases in the samne state are to the same Meet. Banks vs State, 52 S. E. 74, ere L umpkin, ,Just ice, says : ' 'On face of it the purpose of the Act Fto punish frauidulenit. practices, not. ie failure to pay a debt. Thus con sidered it was constitutionall, other wise it- would not h)e so.'' * The same counsel seemed to consider aphrase of Mr'. Justice Browm in Rohbeitson vs Baldwin, 165 U. S., 275, as furnishing some support for t.hei r view. The passage quoted is this : ''A breach of a contract for person al service has not, however, been ree ogniz~'ed in tFhis~ acountry as involving the liability to criminal punishment, except in the case of sailors and sold ier's, and possibly some others, qior 'would public op)iiion tolerate a statunte to that effect,'' and the argu ment is that the phlrase, ''possibly some others,'' followed by the words, 'pulicm opiiion,'' indicates thIiat the Supr eme Court reognized that there mnight, he except ions toa the general rule forbidding involuntary servitude, and that whierevei' pu~blic opinion tol orated such exceptions the Courts are vi bound to recognize that public opin- C< ion as the sole tribunal for the red- a: ress of any evils complained of. In p Robertson vs Baldwin four segmen w who had been arrested in accordance d with the provisions of Section 4,958 p of the Revised Statutes, sought their d release by habeas corpus on the a ground that this section was ip viola- a. ti&n. of the Thirteenth Amoidment, tl and the Court held that this amend- p Alit was not intended to introduce p any novel doctrine with respect to cer- ei tai descriptions of service which had- tc always been treated as excoptional, ti sneh as the military and naval estab- Ci lisliients, or to disturb the rights of S parents and guardians to the custo- i dy of their minor children or wards, p an(d reviewing tle history of the mari- T time law and the grounds upon which a it rested, .says: ''From the earliest b historical period the Contract of a h sailor has been treate(d as an excep- ji tional one, aod involvin to a certain h extent hlis persoiali liberry uring the b 'life of the conlract. Indeed, the busi- o -nes of iavigationl could scarcely be a carried on witliout some guarantee a beyond the ordinary civil remedies a llpoln collracts 1hat tle sailor will not I1 dksert the ship at a eritical moment v or leave hter at some place whei-e sea- ' mie are impossible to Ie otaliIC(, as C Molloy forcibly expresses it, 'to rot iI in her neg-leeted brine.' Such deser- a' ition might. involve a long delay of the vessel while the master is seeking an- w other crew and aba-ndonment of the a voyage, and in some cases the safety r: of the ship itself, hence the laws of s< nearly all maritimenationshave made aI provisions 'for securinf the ipersonal y attenlance of the crew on board and l( for criminal punishment for desertion g or absence wi,thout leave during the oj life of the shipping". artieles.'' Coun- l sel .have with apparen seriousness at- i tempted to maintain that the case of a the petitioners here is analo-ous to si tha. of sailors who had embaiked on 'bi a voyage; that their continuance in ai the service of their emiiployer was as ti essential to the safety of -he crop as 1) the service of sailors to the safety of p, .1he shili. In other words, that these ai meii who hIa( made a coitraet for t service last. year may Ie arrested and hN imprisoned in Januariy, when proba- 11 ly there is .not a seed in the grouid. m and such arrest be vindivated Iy the o immemorial usage which requires sail- Ii ors to remain at their posts. It may 0. he proper to say that the section of i the Revised Statutes above referred r< to has been repealed since this opin-~ ion, was flied, but the itack of analogy a between the two elasses is too ap- cl parent to require discussion. el The fact that there might be ex- h( ceptioiis to the general lainguage of m tile hirteeith Amendmenti led the rt Court to attempt to lay (lown some -i rule wherohy11 i aNy givell a it a ouild be doterminedI whether tle in- ti v0lunit1ary servitu(de coiplainled of a Tall, within the inii)iionis of (the', Const i-tution, and in answver toi th le uestio n: whiere shiall thle lini he 1)1 drai'wnl, the Court says: ''We kiiow ofi w nO heite an'iiiswei' :t0 ma''ke' thi:mi to say al hat services whli ch have fromi time a immemoial 'hieen Itreated1 as excep- p .tionai~l shall not be reg~ar'ded as withiin its purview,'' and fronn the wvhole et opinioni it is clear that a -breach of h coatracilt for personal services was nt 1l regarded as falling within the excep- hi 'tioii, aiid manifestly the '' puiblic h( opinion.'' whichi the leai'ned ,Just ice si said wvould iiot tolerate a statute to n, tihat effect, was the public op)inion of (, the counti'y at larg~e, whlichi had made td itself manifest in the amendment to y the Constitu.tion abolishing slavery y with all its biadges and incidenits. a Anotheri viewv has been presented I withi much eai'nestness, which de maiids coinsideration,1 and( that -is, it while not denying thle ,jurisdiet ion or 'I the power of the Fedei'al Courts to a: issue ha-beas corpu)is to one allegred to si lbe restriaiied of his libiert.y by a a St ate Cour't ini violatIion of thle Con- t ~Utiution 01' laws of f-he United Stales, n it is contIenided,'thatI we ar in iot bouniid w to exercise thiis powver: Ithat it is a tI matter of discuetion, and t hat thle ac- ei eused'( sho~uild be put1 to his wrii t oIf ir er'roi' from thle hig~hiesl Court of thle i1 state. It is a quest51ion of great de- g licacy, foir Ithe Feeral Courts should hi' and genera'lly (10 assume t hat a state p Leugisla ture will not wil fully disre- h gard the Coast itut ioii of thle Uniited1 v States, and that the State Cour'ts will tl pei'form an oblig'alory (duty and ad- et minaiste .i just ice ini confomity with hi t halt Const itution. Ini the absence of f< special and urgent c.ircumstances t,he ih Fedei'al Cour'ts should never allowv fa the writ of -habeas coirpuis to lie con- sa ver'ted into a wvrit of eri'or to reviewv o thue actions of any of the tibginals h which the state has organized foi' the p administiration of jiist ice. Upon a-n.y w quest ion which is fairly debatable, gi and espec.ially ulponi quest ions involv- al iiei'eel v thle ighlt s of~ pro(per'ty, this Court wvould be very u'eluctant to is ai-un' jurlisdhic'tion1, anid to declare ei an Act of the Leg'islatuure of a state to be unconstitutional. It has this di ry week refused to do so, where thf munsel for a great corporation in al rgument of great cogency, has im Dached the validity or an Act o hose constitutionality it had grav ubts; but inl a question involvin 3rsonal liberty, where it has n( >ubts, and where the cireumsttnee ,e urgent, it cannot refrain, fron 'iy consideration or delicacy, from ic performance of a plain duty. Th< 3titioners in this case are of th >orest and liniblest class of citiz is. It would be a mockery of justie > say to them: You must carry you ppeal from this unjust judgment rst to the Circuit Court, thenl to th upreme Court. of the state, and i ?eessary, by wirt of error, to the Su remie Court of the United States heiir ease lias been brouglit here bi youllg meaber of this Bar, himsel 31ongini to i race that i) ( lhe pas is suffered throuhIt ceiihiries of in. Istice a.nd o.ppression. whose lear is been touleled by tlie Cry i of tih Wiy, anid who, apparent(ly at hi x1n cost fromll slieer love of libelrt id ha.1tred of IMIo.nIP, makes til )peal for th libelert-y to which the; .e entitled under every sanetion o le Constitiution amd laws of t-hei IIIi IV. It were better that th Ianite walls which support tihi aurt of justice be erumibled into (Is tan that its doors be closed to sue] >peal. Another argument is preseiited, no ithout his force and not without it )peal to state pride an(d to thos ice instincts which doubtless fo me wise purpose are ineradieable id that is that the le.-islation com, lained of is a part, of a systee o (Cal admi-nistration ill matters o eat concern to the in(dist ril if the state; that under our system o cal self-government the answer o IC state in tihat sphere il supre<i id that the white people of th ate. now cliarged% witht the responsi lity of its governmeint being bettei .quainted witi the negro, his capaci es aid limiations. ean determin :'ter thanl t1hose outside of it, wha )iey will best subserve his interes id their own. In much of this con iflion tLe writer of this opinli 1 ful concurs. Other men's dvotion t( e state may reqire p roo fs, ti arks ofI his are w'itten in Ohe lem, its enemies ot his person. le be nves as firmly today as in his youn 'r (days that local sel f-governmen the foundation stone upon whiel sis the perpetuity of this Republic (1 belonging by birth and by th ;sociatiois of a life time to tha hss of slave owners and land hold s in whose supposed interest thi 0islatio-n is eiacted, an(d in whos any virtiies lie has a jiist pride, anI il y conscious of thie tri,ls and dir culties whic still eneomi pass tilen )d lm1vin- shared the averse um me which overwhelmed them all i: (omm11on11 ealamity, it is not wit'houl *ofioud sympathy that lIe has look 1 upol e(1 veryW effoi maide tl smn ciuntl. thle uncp:iralleled dlifficultile hieb'1 eniron4) tw race so('5 dissimlil -, bound to live on the same soil am~ icder thle sameii laws. The <iestio resente d c oes not1 per'mit of -brie eat menit, and1( thle priolem preCsen I is ,possibly beyond any human sc ion. The one sutlicient answer t Ie argumelnl(t is th.at thle qulest ion o una lib erty is niot one0 of merel cal concern. ]t rests upon the Coi itutioni of the United1 States, an d dut y rests mor~ie impehuratively ufl 1 its Courts than to be wratcful o ie const ituct ional rights of its ci tic 1(d to( const rue liberally all the prc isinons for the securtly of person id the equality of rights, whichi ue foundat ion of free goverunent. If timec permittIed it is believed thn could1( he dlemionist rated that thi gislatlion is as econiomiealhy un wis it is const it utiinally illegal. On ate thlroughl lpublic appropriation icd private (cont1ribut1 ~ is, is no4w at( rely anld ea rncest ly engaged in pIc otinug mimigrattion). TIhose -effcor il be iuiiavailinig so lonig as our str te hooks hol lcegislat ioni ten(hdig I enteI ( a systemil of forceed Iabhor whie its essenit ils is as dlegrading a i:n1 of' slavery. D)esirable immn ian Is fiom forignK lanids Ilook for nd( of fr'eedom,ii where labor is r'es weted anid priot ected'4, and( all thle al remuenits oft scil andc climate will b ill t.o 1tempt)t t,he m to a state whecr eyv will bc in c'ompetitionl with for d1 Iabor. Al Ihouli ini its pract ica [c app1lica tion athIiis legi slat ion af els the negrro only, in its termsi dlirect ed against all laborers o urm lands(1, and( conustituctes a menae11 crely calculated to r'epel the comin P white meni. Communities whic ave attainued thec highest degree o rosper'it.y have no such statutes, an o may b)e sure t'hat intending immi 'ants will have pointed out to then I such'l disernin atIing laws. The lot of the4 agrIicultuiral lbore at bcest a hcard 0one. 1lie has beec lIed ''Ilhe brother 14o the( ox'' UnO 'eary isolation have a nat ural tend eney to drive him to more inviting ii fields. Manufacturing establiii - ments, the railroads, lumber camps E an,d phosphate mines drain the best a labor from the fields of agriculture, and whatever may be the remedy for existing conditions, certainly the re medy is not to be found in statutes whialh chain him to the soil and force him to labor whether he will or not. IHumaii nature revolts at it, and lie will escape it if lie call. It is by im proving his condition, and not still forther degrading it t'hat the remedy lulay e fliound. 'The statile in question violates tile lli Iteelt h1 and Fourteenth e aioidillenits of the Constitution of the United States, and laws made in . pursuancee thereof, and is null and V void. Tie prisoners are discharged. r M r. .1. Fraser Lyon, attorney gen . oral, st.ated yesterday that it is quite I probabbl' tihat there will be anl appeal to the Ilnited states suipremie court tromi 0 . decision of .1tidge Brawley inl the sm.1ealled ''.)e(one cases.'' As a annoiletd ill Tle Stte yesterday the dcviion was filed Thursday. Mr. f Lyon is very inmuelh iiplressed witi the Ii mnn11er in which dudg-e Brawley de a livered th1e opinionl of I tle court, but Slie wishes tle supreme court to pass upon tle qiestion hef'ore it. is yield i ed that the state's la.bor laws are un conistitutionial. t ''I should say that parts of Judge SBirwle *'s decision should be trans 3 -lated into German and French and e seattered alill over Europe,'' was Mr. ,Lyon's comm111ent yest erday. ''RT wouttv iideed show to tle working people r over there that our courts are fair C and that they may get the best of 3 treatment in t1his s4te under tile law. P 'The, more freedom that is given to C farm labor, the more it. will appeal to setilers to come here. The at tractiveness of soil alld climate are - iisuffixieit of themsel.ves.'' r. Nothing has aLect.ed the conditions - in Soulthi Carolina so seriously in 3 yelirs as this decision of Jiudge t Brawley. Fortunately it has conie at I a time when many farmers have their - crops ill verY good condition, aid 1no - demoraliz.ation may result. There will > be alple ltme for tIle fariliers to imake arran2menients for the far work I next yatr. in case the TTnited States - supreile court suslains Jluid.-e Braw - ey. I The unconstitutionalitv of the act I of the legislature is said to be ana logous to an act which would im 2 prison' for debt, which, of course, is t not permitted. The decision of Judge - Brawley, which gives a resume of the s fNets inl the ease, should be read by every South Carolinian. - JAMESTOWN EXPOSITION. H, Ites from Nwh(erry S. C., as fol - lows: I Se.ison Ticket, $19.55. Sold daily I April 19th to November 30th. - t;1 Tay ticket $10.30. Sold (111 - Apriil 10Oth to Novembler 30th. it (5lay ticket $1-1.30. Sold daily - April 19th to November 30th. (oachi Excursion $S.553. Sold each lTuesday; limit 10 days. Endorsed. s' 1w s e the kind of tol has the natural gratify thc hung cost than all oti Steadily increasi - proof is in the ch< 1 R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Companny WInstonSalen i.i "Not good in parlor or sleeping ears." Through Pullman sleeping cars, via Atlantic Cost Line Railroad company. Write for a beautiful illustrated folder containing maps, descriptive mater, list of Hotel, etc. For reservations or any informa tion, Address, T. C. White, General Passenger Agt. W. J. Craig, Passenger Trtffile Man-ager, Wilmington, N. C. Farmers Oil Mill. The annual meeting of the stock holders of the Farmers' Oil Mill will meet on Wednesday, May 29, at 11 o'clock, a. Im. in the court house. W. C. Brown, Secretary. CHARLESTON & WESTERN 0AR OLINA RY. Schedule in effect January 27, 1907. Lv. Newberry(C. N. & L.) 12:36 p. m. Ar. 1aurens 1:49 p. in. Lv. Laurens (C. & W. C.) 2:10 p. im. Ar. Greenville 3:35 p. in. Lv Laurens 2:07 p. in. Ar. Spartanburg 3:40 p.m. Lv. Spartanburg (So. Ry) 3:50 p. in. Ar. Hendersonville 6:25 p. in. Ar. AslievilRe 7:30 p. m. Lv. Laurens (C. & W. C.) 1:50 p. in. Ar. Greenwood 2:46 p. in. Ar. McCormick 3:40 p. m. Ar. Augusta 5:30 p. in. Pullman Chair Cars between Au gusta, Laftrens and Asheville, tri weekly. Leave Augusta Tuesdays, Thursday and Saturdays ;leave Ashe ville Mondays, Wednesdays and Fri days. Note: The above arrivals and de partures, as well as connections with other companies, are given as infor mation, and are not guaranteed. Ernest Williams, Cen. Pass. Agt., Augusta, Ga. Geo. T. Bryan, Greenville. S. C. Gen. Agt., Prevent Headache. Force them? No-aids them. Ra mon's treatment of Liver Pills and Tonic Pellets strengthens the liver and digestive organs so that they do their own work and fortifies your con stitution against future trouble. En tire treatment 25 cents. Winthrop College Scholarship and Entrance Examination. The exainil1tionl for the award of vacInt Seholars1hips in Winvithrop Collegc and for the admission or new stildelnts will be iIld at, the Conit,y Coutlt 1oulse on Friday, July 5, at 9 a. in. Applicants must, be not less than fifteen years of age. Whe.i Scholar ships are vacatied after July 5, flhey will he awarded to t hose matking t he hiighes. alverIage al. this examiiination p ro)vid1ed t hey meet thle (con0dit.ions ?overin g the -awardi~(. Ap)plicanits for Scholarships should write to Presi ur advertisement nex sek in this paper pose the real recasons >acco used in "Sch stimulating qualities :r of chewers, and at icr kinds of tobacco nlg sales inldicaKe dent Johnson before the examination for Scholarship examination blanks. Scholarships are worth $100 and free tuition. The inext session will open September 18, 1907. For further information and catalogue', address Pres. D. B. Johnson, Rock Hill, S. C. 4w. 1785 1907 COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON. Charleston, S. 0. 122d Year Begins September 27. Letters, Science, Engineering. One scholarhilp to ,each county of South Carolina, giving free tuition. Tui tion $40. Board and furnislied room in Dormitory, $11. a month. All can didates for admission are permit ted to compete for Vacanlt oyce sehol arsitps which pay $100 a year. EN TRANCE EXAMINATIONS will he held at the county court house on Friday, July 5, at 9 a. m. For catalmue address. lHarrison Ra?nlolph, Presidenit. ECZEMA and PILE CURE FREE "nowing w"t it w to suiffer FR E 1will givel'REEOFCH1ARGE4' to any aillieted a positive cure for Eeze ia, Salt Rhum, i!;rysipelas, Piles and Skin Diseases. Instant Relief D>on' suffer longer. Write F. W. WILLIAMS 400 Manhattan Avenue, New York. E ose Stamp. TOBAOOO IS a delicious chew, made from the best North Carolina leaf; a leaf that has a spec ial texture, a special flavor and which makes RED EYE a specially fine and satis fyingchewingtobacco. Most people prefer it to tobacco costing one dollar per pound. Ask your dealer for it and insist on him keeping it. MERCHANTS Write for Special Prices. W11 why that