The herald and news. (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, November 24, 1908, Image 1
2~
~Tj~t 0 era au ..j~ ew~
WA ____________________
VOL XLV NO.94 NEWBERRY~ S. 0.. TUESDAY. NOVEMBER 2~. 1908. TWICE A WEEK. $1.50 A YEAR
GRAND J"URY"S PRESENTMENT.
Exhaustive Report, Dealing With Af
fairs of County, and Making
Pertinent Recommendations.
The grand jury made its final pres- -i
entment on Friday to the court of i
sessions, Judge Memminger presiding, <
and the jury was discharged for the i
term. The work of the grand jury
has been very thorough, as is evidenc
ed by the following exhaustive pres
entment, and the highly complimen
tary remarks of Judgt Memminger I
to the grand jury upon receiving it:
To His Honor Judge R. W. Mem
minger, Presiding: We, the grand
jury for Newberry county for the
year 1908,. beg to report that we have;'
considered all bills handed to us by 1
the solicitor and have reported our
findings on same to the court.
We have examined the books of the
treasurer, auditor, superintendent of
education, supervisor, sheriff, master,
probate judge, and such of the work
of the clerk of court as comes under
the supervision of our body, and find
them, without exception, kept in such
manner as to refleet credit upon the
persons who are responsible for the
conduct of public affairs in each of
the public offices above enumnerated.
We are especially gratified in find
ing the following statement regard
ing the financial condition of the edu
cational department of our county,
viz., Amount on hand at beginning of
the last scholastic year, $46,692.88;
amount expended, $34,720.25; balance,
on hand, $11,922.63; which, taken in
to consideration with the fact that
several new and modem and comfor- 1
table school buildings have been erect
ed, valuable libraries placed, up-to
date furniture and other parapher
nalia installed, and a school term com
mensurate with the ability of the
people to patronize, evinces a degree
of progress which pronises much for
the near future.
For some few years the supervisor
nas been compelled to borrow from I
the sinking fund commission amounts I
ranging from five to seven thousand
dollars to meet the public necessities I
of the county, entailing an interest I
account of $350 per year. We feel 1
that this is not good policy in the j
conduct of affairs, and recommend to i
the senator and representatives-electt
the passage of an Act by the next gen
eral assembly authorizing the levyt
and collection of a tax of 4 1-2 mills<
for Newberry county, this being 1 1-2 1
mills in excess of the 3 now levied,a
which only produces $22,000, while
the books of the treasurer show 'ant
expenditure of $27,947.66.
.rour (4) millIs would be sufficient
to place the county upon a cash basis
in two years were it not that the late 1
disastrous floods have entailed, a loss
of several thousand dollars, which I
must be provided for if we would keep
Newberry off of' the "Book of Re
mnembrance'' of the sinking fund com- .
mission. c
The county home is reported by the '1
committee charged with the inspection
of same to be in good condition. So I
far as it can be maintained by the
keeper, the inmates are as healthy as
age and' infirmity will permit; well
provided for as to food and raimnent I
and faithfully attended by the coun- I
ty physician.. We would suggest to I
the supervisor, however, that this con
diton will not continue to exist unlese
prior recommendation, coupled with s
present instructions of this body, re
suit in repairing the roofs and white
washing the walls of the houses. i
We would suggest that rock be ob- l
tained from the quarry on the lands It
belonging -to the county at the home, I
and used in building walls on the I
-northern and eastern sides of the new .3
court house lot, and that said lot be
sodded with Bermuda or other gras- 1
sep; also that a walk twelve feet int
width, from College street to the front'c
steps, be built. of such material as is
-used in the formation of sidewalks byv e
the town.
We would recommend that the old1
'court house *be thoroughly cleaned I
and put in such condition as will in
'luee the rental of all rooms on the
ground floor, and that the upper storyI
be renovated and used for such pur
poses as may be nermitted by a corn- t
-nittee consisting of the clerk of t
-+ort taor of .the .to.wn,.andi chair- J
nan of the board of health. Also thal
:ie basement be-put in such conditior
i may be found sufficient by the sup
-rvisor and health officer of thE
*own.
The jail was found by the commit
,ee of inspection to be kept in firsi
Iass condition as to sanitation and
)rder. The brick wall on the reai
needs repairing; also the one on the
front at the larger gate. It is alsc
iuggested that the supervisor hav(
>Aaced on the western side of thE
1ounty barn qear the jail, such gut
ering and piping as will prevent the
water from the roof of said barr
Crom flooding the property adjacent
We have examined the books of re
,ord of the magistrates of Nos. 1, 2
3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, and 11, and find thai
there is a growing proficiency amon.
them for which they are to be hearti
ly commended, eases being properl
:1ocketed. and findings plainly idi
-ated witl) treasurer's receipts cover
L1g fines imposed in every case ex
iept one or two which are in cours(
f adjudication and collection. Fron
a, more intimate knowledge of th<
-onduct of affairs of .Magistrat
Blease, of Nos. I and 8, we feel thai
we would be derelict in our dutj
zhould we fail to call attention to th(
efficient and intrepid course pursuei
by him throughout his whole officia
3areer in .the preservation of peac(
and the conservation of justice; ani
we bespeak for him, on his retiremeni
from office, that confidence which i(
the need of duty faithfully perform.
:.,d.
We would further recommend thai
all cases growing out of the main
enance of nuisances be reported t(
the magistrate of the township ir
which they are declared to be loeated
ind that said officer proceed at one(
ta investigate said charges, and, il
aroven to exist, to take steps to abatE
ame in the manner provided by thE
itatute.
The grand jury desire to expresi
heir appreciation of the lucid and
iighly pertinent remarks embodied it
iis general charge to that body by thE
judge presiding, and wish in this pub.
ic. manner to assure him of their
fighest consideration of his services,
>oth as a man of untiring zeal and a
urist of unflinching perspicacity;
tnd, following with profit the line of
hought suggested by him, recom
nend to our representatives that they
:ake steps at the forthcoming session
>f the legislature to render inopera*
;ive all statutes that exempt the indi
ridual from public service as jury.
nan in the courts of t7he lanfl, leaving
he matter subject to the discretion
iry powers of the judge presiding.
We would also recommend to that
~ame body serious thought along the
ine of conservation of principles in
olving the well being of the social
'abrie, for we are forced to believe
hat the rapid increase of crime is
~ontingent upon a growing disregard
~f the courts. even when founded up
~the most intelligent interpreta
ion of statutory provisions. The sub
titution of pecuniary consideration
or the more effective species of pun
shment for criminal offences tends to
he liberation and infliction upon the
neans of the law-abiding a class of
eings whose existence is a menace to
oeiety. Chain gangs, jails, peniten
iaries, and the gallowsare institutions
~rowing, it is true, out of cruel nec
ssity, and yet they are undoubtedly
uch as make for the preservation of
nnocence. The case of a few dollars
nd the consequent peonage of the
gorant cultivates a desire to get
yen with society and a determination
o enjoy something beyond the bare
teessities of existence, which ex.hi
iits itself in theft, arson, and even in
aurder. For this condition of affaire
ve, the majority, a.re solely responsi
>e; and we need but to lift our eyes
o see, blazing in the firmament, our
ondemnation-short-sightedness, en
y, greed. We again ask our repres
ntatives to rise superior to the situa
ion and stand upon a plane of equal
tv with the occasion and contend for
aws beneficial along this line in this
ntter, and far-reaching in results.
We join with His Honor in an ex
ression of our appreciation of the
ervices of thie commission upon whom
ho~ duties conieri,nent ipon ther eree
istnc eohivednf. n tmleo
We congratulate them upon their
coneeption of the wishes of the.patrio
tic majority of the citizenship of our
county, and assure them that their
names are graven deeper in the hearts
of all true Newberrians than they
are upon the tablet which lends en
chantment to the tinted wall of its
heanteous entrance hall.
We recommend that the fee usually
allowed to our clerk he deroted to the
purpose of procuring a suitable mat
to be placed at the front door so that
visitors may contribute to the efforts
of its occupants in keeping its floors
free from disfiguring stains.
F. W. Higgins,
Foreman.
Judge Memminger, in receiving the
presentment, said it was a very fine
report and that it would receive, and
cerfainlvdeserved.theattention of the
people of Newberiv county. "You
have discharged the work you have
had to do here this week." he said.
"rapidly, and with judgrment and dis-'
eretion." Judge Memminger also
thanked the grand jury for the kindly
expressions contained in the present
ment regarding the-court.
The following six members of the
grand jury were drawn, in accord
ance with the law to serve on next
year's grand jury: J. D. Davenport;
W. A. Reeder, R. S. Hawkins, W., E.
Fulmer, J. W. Wilson, W. D. Smith.
WOOD PRINCIPAL MATERIAL
IN BUILDING CONSTRUCTION
Great as the advance in fire-proof
construction has been during the last
ten years there has been no let-up in
the use of lumber, and both architects
and builders find themselves so de
pendent on wood toda that they are
compelled to admit that the forests of
the country are likely. to be the
chief source of building material for
Imany years to come.
'"The use of cement, terra cotta,
brick and stone, with a framework of
steel, will make it possible soon to do
away with wood entirely," is a re
mark often heard, and, indeed, whern
one stands on lower Broadway and
looks up at the towering skyscrapers,
the statement seems to contain much
truth. As a matter of fact, however,
the popular idea that fire-proof ma
terials will do away with the need of
using lumber in a comparatively few~
years'in a very erroneous one. All
of the various fire-proof materials
going into the approved construction
-of the more substantial buildings are
used in greater quantities now than
the world dreamed of a few years ago,
yet the heavy demand for lumber con
tinues.
~That wood predominates is shown
by the 'annual bu.ilding records. Ot
the permits used for buildings erect
ed last year, approximately 61 per
cent were constructed of wood, and
the remaining 39 per cent of fire re
sisting material. according to a re
port issued by the Geological survey
on operations in forty-nine leading
cities of the country. These figures
are the most significant when it is
realized that they only represent the
building activities in the largest ci
ties-, they do not take :into account
Ith e construction of dwellings, stores
and other buildings in the thousands
of small cities and towns scattered;
over and not included in the forty
nine cities on which the reckoning is
made.
In towns and small cities wood is
usually the predominating building
material and it is safe to say that if
the statistitcs had included figures for
all places of whatever size, the per
centage of wooden construction would
Ihave been much greatetr. These
'figures, as a rule, are only for the cor-.
porate lim?its, and the suburbs of these
cities have each very large amounts to
be added. The cost, also, is relatively
'higher in these cities than in towns
Inearer the base of the supply.
Bill'Nye is his earlier days once ap
proached the mnaniear of a lecture
bureau with an application for em
plhyment, and w'o sked if he had
ever done anything in that ine. ''Oh.
ves;" said Bill. "What have you
done'?'' "Well,'' renlied Bill, "mv
last job was with a dime museum,
se'o ea her--al w;+ the M at
'a he-d sticking ont-no.ing as the
.4res ostrich eg in antivity."
JOHN IRVING HOUSEAL.
Dies In Memphis, Tenn.-Native of
Newbrery-Brother of Dr. W.
G. HouseaL
A couple weeks ago Dr. W. G.
Houseal received a message that his
brother, Mr. Jno. I. Houseal, was crit
ieally ill. He went to see him and
had the pleasure of seeing him and
talking with him once more. His sis
ter ,Mrs. Mattie V. Werts, of Salis
bury. N. C., went with him. On
Thursday Dr. Houseal received the
news of the death of his brother. An
other brother. Mr. W..P. Houseal. left
last week for Memphis, but his bro-t
er died before his arrival.
John Irving Houseal died in Mem
phis. Tein., November 18, 1908, and
was bnried in that city November 20,
1908.
He was born near Beth Eden church
Newberry county, S. C., January 26,
1845. W. W. Houseal moved with his
family to the town of Newberry in
1853 and his son, John I., was a citi
zen of the town from that time until
1875 when he went west to better his
fortunes.
His education was received at New
berry college but before completing
his course he answered the call of 'his
country to battle for her rights and
in 1861, he enlisted in Company F,
20th South Carolina Regulars, under
Capt. Jno. M. Kinard of the Confed
erate army. With this company he
fought at Fort Sumter and was at
the seige of Charleston in 1861. He
was put on guard duty at the surren
der of Fort Sumter. He served in
Gen. Lee's army in the campaign of
1864 at Richmond, Va., at the bat
tle of the Wilderness, at the second
battle of Cold Harbor and at the seige
of Petersburgh. He was then trans
ferred to Gen Early's command and
fought Sheridan at Cedar Creek, Va.
He was then transferred back to
Richmond and finally to South Caro
lina and met Sherman in his march
through Georgia. He surrendered
with his company at Salisbury, N. C.,
in 1865. His career as a soldier was
remarkable in that he was never
wounded nor was it ever necessary
for him to enter a hospital.
Most of his life was devoted to
railroad work. He served his time
and learned the. machinist 's trade at
the old Helena shops of the C. & G.
R. R. and was afterwards an em
pioyee of that road. For a time he
retired from railroading and entered
he employ of a mercantile house of
Neberry and at one time was a mem
ber of the firm of Houseal & Jones
(Jno. I. and E. C.) Later he was
lerk in the sheriff's office and forI
several years was chief 'of police of
iewberry.
During the dark days of reconstrue
tion he answered every call of duty
that was made upon him and his was
Sst:ong arm of defense and protee
ion. He was arrested and incareerat
ed in the Newberry jail .s *a member
>f the Ku Klux Klan, but was releas
id without ever having been brought
to trial.
In 1875 he left Newberry. and w,ent
West to reenter railroad work after
in ab)senlce of seven years from that
eeupation, and was cortinuously se
engaged until last August when he I
as granted leave of' absence on ae
ount of failing health-a period of
hirty-three years. During that time 1
ae was engineer on the Ala. & Vicks
urgh R. R., the E. T. & G. R. R., and
:he azoo and Miss Valley R. R.,
which was absorded by the Ill. Cen. in
[893. Since the latter year he was in~ i
;he employ of the Ill. Cen. R. R. Co.
le was also foreman of the railroad I1
hops at Memphis for five and one- jc
alf years. During his whole careert
f railroad work he was only in one
vrek being slightly burned. He nev- s
r had a collision and no railroad pro-- a
erty under his care was ever dam- t
ged. He was a popular foreman of
R. R. shops and passenger engineer
md highly esteemed by his employers.
He wae married to Miss Augusta G.
Addy of Newberry, S. C., March 23, F
[871, and is survived by her and four
dldr en: John Fi .derick, an engin
3 of the Ill. C. Ri. I?.. who ha:s two t
;ons and one daughter; Eugene I
ereht, Miles Buddele and Iva al- 1
;( by three brothers and one sister:
Tas. E. Houseal, of Cedertown, Ga.;
Yim. P. Houseal, of Columbia, S. C.;
Glnttie V. Wertz, of Salisbury, N. C.;
ind W. G. Houseal, of Newberry, S.
2. He was a member of the Masonic
'raternity, of the K. of P. and the
[. 0. 0. F. In the latter years of his
ife he was a consistent member of
he Baptist church.
He met the grim monster, Death, as
ie met the vicissitudes of life and
:he foe on the field of battle-brave
y and unaIsid. When told by his
)rother, a plhy.eian from his faraway
Sewberry himue; twat at best I.e 'il
>nlv a f wee1 more to livo he did
20t murm r )- co-platu nor was .e
1n the least purturbed. He said: "It
.s all righ: with me, I am not a 7.aid
: die."
MODERN LIFE A SCRAMBLE.
Dr. Cromer, at Y. M. C. A., Paints
Grahic Picture of Present-Day
Conditons.
The Hon. George B. Cromer. ex
aresident of Newberry college and a
.eading member of the South Carolina
3ar, addressed a large and intensely
.nterested audience of men at the
T~oung Men's Christian association
resterday afternoon. His subject was
'The Discontented Young Man." No
esume of it can give even i poor re
"lection of its strength, literary ex
ellence, (some men demand this if
10 other good quality,) interesting il
ustrations or brilliant epigrams. In
ill truth and soberness it can be said
hat every man of the many present
vas genuinely entertained -and, better
et, stimulated to higher ideals.
By way of parenthesis, while speak
ng of money the distinguished visitor
;aid be had noted the fact that the
_arleston Y. M. C. A. needed money
rom citizens to help run its big
vork. "I take it for granted that a
)oor little community like Charleston
annot afford to support a live Young
fen's Christian association in decen
y," he said in effect, if not verbatim.
Speaking on the subject mentioned
bove Dr. Cromer said modern life is
scramble. The impotent man at the
)ool is a good picture of conditions
oday. Strong men push aside the
veak, weak men the weaker in the
ace for place, power and money.
rhere is discontent everywhere. Dav
d in the case of Abdullah drew to
urn men of the ''Three D'' class
nen in debt, dissatisfied, dise'ontent
d. That is another picture of the
ame. conditions.
The rich young ruler -who came to
esus presents a dramatic picture of
aan 's dissatisfaction. This man had
>ower, money and moral character,
nd was dissatisfied. He had three
hings, but, lacking one, he laeked all.
selfishness or selfrighteousness spoils
fe for any man.
Then followved a telling appeal for
gh ideals, faithfully followed in
very day life. Viewed from any
tandpoint, the address was a treat
nd an inspiration to those who heard
t.-News and Courier, 23rd.
iBCOND CONFERENCE OF
GOVERNORS IN WASHINGTON
Washington, Nov. 19.-The much
alked-of inventory of t-he nation 's
esources is now practically com.plet
d. To consider the material it has
rought together the National Con
ervation Commission has just an
onced its firs't full meeting for
uesday, December 1, in Washington.
t that meet:ing the first steps will be
aken toward putting into tangible
hape the results of the six months'
ard work on taking stock of the
oun try 's waters, forests, lands, and
ainerals.
One week later, after the commis
ion has gone over the inventory, i,t
vill hold a joint meeting in Washing
on with the governors of the States
id Tr -ritories, or their represent:a
're At this meeting the invent' '
ril e fointhor discussed and the re
ort whioh the president has request
the commission to make to him by
ar - 1. will be formulated.
T - less than six months in which
o p a the inventory, the four
ran. .nto which the commission
r dvimd aided by t'he cooperation
of ithe government departments, have
brought together what is probably the
most useful collection of facts about
the material things on which national
industrty and progress are based that
has ever been assembled at one time.
Reports presenting these facts and
pointing out their significance have
been prepared. These reports, sum
marized and indexed, will be submit
ted to the commission at its coming
meeting.
All throguh the summer general in
terest in the work and object of -the
Conservation Commission has . been
growing. The public is now well post
ed on a subject of which only a few
specialists had knowledge at the time
of the conference of Governors and
experts at the White House, in May.
The governors carried the spirit of
the conference home with them to
their own people, and have kepr
things moving ever since by appoint
ing State commissions to study local
problems, by writing and speaking
upon the subject of conservation, and
by keeping in close and helpful -touch
with the national commission. They
are ready to take part in the ap
proaching joint meeting. The bare an
nouncement that it had been set for
December 8 resulted in a number of
acceptances before the formal invita
tion of the commission had even got
into the mails.
When.the conservation movement
was started, specific information
about the actual state of our* resour
ces was partly wanting, partly inac
cessible. Certain facts were broadly
known. It was at least unquestiona
ble that our resources had been waste
fully used, and that some of them, no
tably the mines, were sure in time to
be completely exhausted, while oth
ers, for example the forests, could
still be kept perpetually useful by
right management. The first work
was to get the facts, to show exaot
ly what t'he situation was and how it
could be improved by measures that
would work. Without an inventory
of the resources which should show
the present condition of the re
sources and the way to develop them
to -the best advantage, conservation
was in danger of staying up in the
air.
But the work is now practically
done. The facts are tuere, in dollars
and cents, tons of coal, board feet of
timber, acre-feet and horse-power of
water, acres of land. And the pos
sible refrom measures have been
weighed. The final report to the
president will be .the necessary sup
plement to the addresses at the White~
House conference. The note of those
addresses was a note of warning. The~
report is, expc4ted to show that the
warning mus't be heeded if the ex
haustion of ,'atural resources is not,
one day, tL, impoverish the nation,
and it will also undoubtedly bring out
how the country's resources can be
developed so as to last the longest
possible time and serve the greatetst
good of the people.
Too Dangerous.
Old Aunt Hepsy Garside never
had seen a moving picture show be-'
fore. She gazed in speechless wonder
at the magic contrivance by -which
messenger boys were made to move
with breakneck speed, barbers to
save their cntsomers in less than a
minute, and heavy policemen to dash
along the street at a rate never at
tained by a livng specimen, either on
or off duty.
It was all real to her. She could
not doubt the evidence of her senses.
All things were taking place exactly
as depicted.
Presently an automobi,1e came in
sight in the far background, moving
directly toward the audience at the
rate of at least a mile a minute. Just
as a catastrophe seemed inevitable it
swerved aside, passed on and disap
peared.
Aunt Hepsy could stand it no long
er. Hastily grasping the hand of her
little neice, she rose and started swift
lv for the door.
"Come vlong. Minervy !" she n'id.
"It ain't enfe to stav here any long
ri that tLing didn't miss me more