Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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.RES. NELL REPLIES TO CAPT. MINUS .ISSUES STATEMENT REGARD ING DISCIPLINE AT CLEMSON. President Board of Trustees Declines to Talk-Prof. Riggs Makes De nial and Capt. Minus Replies. News and Courier. Clemson College, April 19.-Dr. Mell, president of Clemson College, to-day made the following statement in reply to the statement by Capt. Minus, printed in The News and Cou rier this morning: "I decline to enter into~ a newspa per controversy with the retiri-ng commandant on the ,dministration of affairs at Clemson for the following5 reasons: "First. The issues he raises belong entirely to the jurisdiction of the board of trusz._s. This body has re -cently considered these affairs and have announced their decision. "Second. The war department, pithrough its inspector, Capt. Lenahen, made on April 6 and 7 a thorough and searching examination of the military department of the College rid the relationship of the president to the commandant, and this officer *expressed to me his entire satisfac tion with the affairs and stated that he would so report to the chief-of staff, Gen. Bell. As proof that h, did -so, Capt. Marcus B. Stokes has been .appointed to succeed Capt. Minus at once. "Third. Since Capt. Minus's. res ignation last January the discipline -of the College has been well sustained* by the acting coommandant, Prof. .Andrew Bramlett, and the conduct of .th;e cadets has been exemplary. "(Signed) P. H. Mell, President." Statement of Mr. Donaldson. Greenville, ApriI 19.-In an inter view with a representative of your \paper this afternoon Mr. M. L. Don .Pldson, of this city, who is a member - f the committee that 'vas asked to explain their attitude in regard to -the trouble at Clemson by the retiring commandant, Capt. Minus, said:. "Yes, I have seen what Capt. Minus had to say la the papers. I am . sorry he saw fit to pursue that course. I don't think it will do any good and I hope that it won't do any harm. ' "I do not feel called upon' to dis -euss the rather uncomplimentary Sreferences made by Capt. Minus to the president of the C.ollege, the fac ulty and the board of trustees. "I might add that- to the student body Capt. Minus proved himself a .good commandant and received noth ing, so far as I knew from the board, either collectivd!y <:e individually, but Swords of prais.e, and I feel sure that I voice the sentiment . of t'he board when I say that we regretted that he found grievances, whether real or imaginary, sufficient to cause., his res-. ignation. "I must say, in short, however, that I differ with Capt. Minus, as to the gruxesome picture he paints of af Ifairs at Clemson College with regard to~law arid order among the cadets. There was never a time in the !history of the College when the boys were more orderly and well behaved nor Swhen more or harder work in the classes was oeing done, and so long as that is -true, and the young men are meeting the expectations of par ents and guardians in the matter of education, these questions of author ity, whether trivial or not, will cut no ~great figure.'' - Prof. Riggs Protests. Clemson College, April 19.--To the Editor of The News and Courier: The use of my name by Capt. Minus in his article to-day concerning discip linary conditions at Clemson College Swas entirely unauthorized. Fearing that some may be misled I am com pelled to say that I am not in sympa thy with his criticisms. In my opm ion President Mell has not interfere I with Capt. Minus in the administra Stion of discipline, except when justi fled by the laws of the Colleg.e i'. the exercise of his presidential functions. W. 31. Riggs. Clemson College. April 19, 1909. Mr. Johnstone Declines to Talk. Newberry, April 19.--The corre spondent of The News and Courier asked Mr. Alan Johnstone, president of the board of trustees of Clemson SCollege, if he had any statement to make on the Minus letter, which was printed in The News and Courier to day, and stated to Mr. Johinstone, if e had The News and Courier would glad to print it. The only repl/. he made was: "I have no stateemnt to ake.'' E. H. Aull. Mann Not Ready to Talk. Walhalla, April 19.-The Hon. C. .Mann was interviewed this after oon reative to the letter of Coin man"dant Minus. lie said that he was not prepared to make any statement for publication. He wants more in formation and has no definite opin ion as to the charges preferred. He is simply awaiting more light. The following appeared in The State under Clemson date line April 19, and refers to the statement of Dr. Mell and Prof. Riggs: Capt. Minus' Statement. Capt. J. C. Minus, when shown the two statements, said: "In regard to the President Mell first point: If the board of trustees considered any affair between the president and me it must have been ex parte, for it is a settled fact that I was not allowed to come, before the board. The president's side of the controversy may have been told, cer tainly not mine. "In regard to the second point: I made the statement of the troubles that I encountered with the president as commandant to the inspecting of ficer, Capt. Lenehan. The stand that he took was to the effect that the position of commandant at Clemson is in a way a private arrangement between the officer on duty as mili tary instructor, the officer being de tailed as professor of military in struction and tactics, and the college. Consequently unless the lack of dis cipline shows bad effects upon the military instruction the war depart ment through its inspector does not care to enter into the controversy. If Dr. Mell knew anything about mili tary matters and the way the inspee tor handles his report he would know that the report ..of the inspector on the various colleges that he visited will not reach the adjutant general until June or July. Consequently Capt. Stokes is in no way affected by the report. "Third: I have made no charge in regard to the present state of dis cipline at Clemson College. Still Prof. Bramlett's statement as to whether or -not he has been interfered with and over-ridden by Dr. Mell would be more to the point. "In so far as Prof. Riggs' state ment is concerned I assert that my statement is correct. I do not claim that he authorized me to make this statement, I simply assert the state ment is true. Prof. Riggs expresses his opinion as to Dr. Mell 's inter ference; I claim that I base my statements on specific cases and ex pected, if I had been given an oppor tunity, to prove what I said.' "Will Prof. Riggs give the facts in the Covington case, the Clark ease, the Thornhill case, the Teague case, the Fikes case, the Wea:thersbee case, the Murray case, or the Ryan case, and show the public that his opinion that .Dr. Mell has not interfered has been formed on investigation of facts and not on the statement of a belief? Let us all deal with facts and not with beliefs.'' The following is an editorial in the Columbia Record, written by Mr. Jas. A. Hoyt, who, as correspondent of the News and Courier, went to Clemson in 1908 when the trouble as to discipline was on: Conditions at Clemson. The statement of Captain Minus in regard to conditions at Clemson Col lege is no surprise to those w'ho are familiar with the situation at the col lege. During the troubles at Clemson college following the "April Fool'' escapade. in 1908, the w.riter went to Clemson for the purpose of investi gating the conditions, and the result of his investigat-ions was published in The News and Courier at that time. It was very evident then that the previous failure t6 preserve discip line had been largely due to t'he un certain attitude of the president of the college, and .that it was only by reason of the strong and determined stand taken by the commandant, Captain Minus, tha.t the integrity of thle college was at that time pre erved. While the writer gave due credit at that time to Captain Minus for his courageous conduct in a difficult sit uation, it was deemed expedient not to bring out the temperamental weak ness of the p)resident, who in that par tielar instance :had managed to measure up to the demands made upon him, but in a p)ersonal letter written upon returning from Clem son College the following statement was made: "In the first place. I went to Clem son entertaining the impression, which I have had for some time, that Dr. Mell is not a strong enough man for the presidency of so important an institution, but I was determined, of course, not to let my previous ideas on this subject interfere with my analysis of the situation. I cannot say that my ideas have been changed, but I am convinced that it would .be very unwise from many standpoints, epcially the good of the college, to direct attention at this time to Dr. Mll's unfitness, if that unfitness ex ss. The iss a Clemson is discip line. notinig- else, and to bring in anything else would enable the boys to divert attention from the real is sue, and the result would be, or might be, what has been the result before the president would be sacrificed and the boys would triumph. It seems to me that Dr. Mell has in this crisis measured up very well, better than I was prepared to ascertain, and it was this crisis with which I felt it advis able to deal, not going into general conditions too much. Sooner or later Dr. Mell will leave, if the trustees really desire to put a big man at the head of the institution. I gathered at Clemson that he has not the full con fidence of the student body and col lege community, men outside of the faculty.'' T:his is the opinion. which is now expressed publicly by Captain Minus in the statement which he has given the press, the statement. which as signs his reasons for resigning as commandant at Clemson. Captain Minus unhesitatingly declares 'that Dr. Mell is uncertain and wavering in his judgments, and there is no doubt that this is the opinion of the Clem son College community. He is not in any respect a strong or big man, though in our opinion he is a good man and one who wants to do right, but Clemson is a big institution, a tremendous institution, and the pres I ident of Clemson should be a man of strong will-power and determined disposition. No other kind of man can handle the situation at Clemson, especially after at least two presi dents and three commandants have been driven from the college by the student body. It is extremely unfor tunate that Dr. Mell has not been able to measure up to the demands of the situation except on one occasion. The primary trouble at Clemson all along has been that the president was not expected to be president. The board of trustees have had too much to do with the internal affairs of the institution and the president has been allowed to be little more than a figure head. The same may be said of the commandant. It will take a stronger man than Dr. Mell to fight out this issue with the board of trustees. It has always been possible, as Captain Minus points out, to go behind the commandant to the president or to go behind the president to the board, and this .sort of thing is ruinous to discipline in any institution. It.may be said, however, that this has not1 been so much the condition a.t Clemson in the last two years since Mr. Alan Johnstone has been ebairman of the board. The board of trustees may as well realize that Clemson must either be, or not be, a military school. If it is to be a military school, then military discipline must be maintained in a military manner by a military man and the commandant must be held re sponsible for the discipline. Captain Minus would have fulfilled this con dition if he had been allowed to do so, for he jis a strict disciplinarian and a soldier who knows no fear. If military discipline is not to be main tained at Clemson, the sooner'- the form of military rule is done away 'with the better it will be for the in stitution. It cannot be half military and half - not military. This is, in a word, the problem which the board of trustees must solve. A New Sweetheart. At a recent fancy dress ball for children great fun was caused during one of the dances by the antics of a fiddler, who suddenly ceased play ing and glared after a wee maiden FOR It DEVOTEES OFe DAM E FASHION ti il ti ar*.m em .. Maes a dancing in a set of quadrilles. "What's the matter with you,I Scrapper?" bellowed the leader. "Dropped my rosin." "Well, never mind. Go on play ing, you'll got it presently." 'Go on playin' be hanged," came the reply. "My rosin'll be done afore the set. Queen Mary doown there has picked it up, and given 'alf on it to 'Amlet, an' they're eatin' it.''-Tit Bits. EXCUSION RATES VIA SOUTHERN RAILWAY. To Charleston, S. C., Columbia, S. C., Spartanburg, S. C., and Washington ,D. C. To Charleston and return:-Ac count Meeting of Shriners the South ern Railway announces very low round tip rates. Tickets will be sold April 21 and 22 limited for re turn, leaving Charleston not later than midnight, April 23, 1909. To Columbia and return:-Account Musical Festival very low round trip tickets will be sold April 21, 22 and 23 limited for return, leaving Colum bia not later than midnight April 24, 1909. To Spartanburg and return:-Ae count South Atlantie States Musical Festival very cheap round trip tick ets will be sold, April 19, 20, 21, and 22 for trains scheduled to arrive in Spartanburg before noon April 23, 1909. Limited for return, leaving Spartanburg not later than midnight April 24th, 1909. TTo Washington, D. C., and re turn:-Aecounit Annual Mereting Daughters of the American Revolu tion, Washington, D. C., very low round trip tickets will be on sale Apr. 15 and 16 only, from all stations, limited for return, leaving Washing ton up to and including, but not later than midnight, April 28th, 1909. For detailed information, tickets, etc., apply to Southern Railway tick et agents or address, J L. Meek, Asst. General Passenger Agent, J. C. Lusk, Division Passenger Agent, Charleston, S. C. CHARLE~STON & WESTEEN CAE OINA BY. Schedule in effect May 31, 1908. Lv. Newberry (C N & L) 12:56 p.m. Ar. Laurens 2:02 p.m. Lv. Laurens (C & W C) 2:35 p.m Ar. Greenville 4:00 p.m. Lv. Laurens 2 :3~2 p.m. Ar. Spartanburg 4:05 p.m. Lv. Spartanburg (So. Ry.) 5:00 p.m. Ar. Hendersonville 7:45 p.m. A r. Asheville 8:50 p.m. Lv. Laurens (C & W C) 2:32 pa. Ar. Greenwood 3:32 p.m Ar. McCormiek 4:33 p.m Ar. Augusta 6:15 p.m. Tri-Weekly Parlar Car line be twveen Augusta and Asheville. Trains Nos. 1 and 2, leave Augusta Tuesdiys, Thursdays and Saturdays, leave Asheville Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Note: Th.e above arrivals. and de partures, as well as connections with ther companies, are given~asibifor mua'tion, and are not guaranteed. Ernest Williams, Gen. Pass. Agt., Augusta, Ga Geo. T. Bryan, . Greenvine, S. C.~. choosing a corset, ex cise good judgment in e selection of this most iportant article of at re, for upon such choice pends the success of ich that makes a arming appearance id personality. ~e recommend the MERICAN BEAUTY CORSET A AMAZO0 CORSET CO. Exclusive Makers j fulfilling all such re irements and the fas ious woman who de ands the best and latest corset creations will :id pleasure and pride wearing them. c., 50c., 75c. and $1.00 very Corset a Bargain. ). K LE TT NE R Jot Down Your extravagances for the past month, then take a pencil and mark out those you could have just as well gotten along without, turn over a new leaf then and there and make up your mind to put in a bank that portion of your income that has heretofore been wasted. We Pay 4 per cent. on Savings Deposits. The Commercial Bank, NEWBERRY,S. C. JNO. M. KINARD, 0. B. MAYER, J. Y. McFALL, President. Vice-President. Cashier. TIE EXCHANG E B A NK Of Newberry, S. C. Bank Depositors are Entitled at All Times to Know What Security is Behind their Deposits. The paid up capital of this Bank is $50,000. 00. The accrued Profits or Surplus is $11 , 500,00. The Stockholders of the Bank are liable for an additional amount equal to the Capital Stock. The security we offer our de positors is therefore $1 1 1,500.00. This, in addition to the integrity of the men who have charge of its affairs. Below appears a list of the Officers and Directors of the Exchange Bank of Newberry, S. C, J. D. DAVENPORT, M. L. SPEARMAN, President. Cashier. E. R. HIPP, W.~B. WALLACE, V. President . Asst. Cashier. GEO. B. CROMER, Attorney. DIR ECTORS: .. A. T. BROWN, Newberry Hotel. W. G. HOUSEAL, M. D. CEO. B. CROMER, Attorney. EDW. R. HIPP, Merchant. J. D. DAVENPORT, Presid't. C.J. PURCELL, Merchar.t. C. C. GLASGOW, Planter. J. A. SENN, Merchant. M. L. SPEAR MAN, Cashier. SOME OF OUR POLICIES& To be conservative. .To 'pay four per cent. To calculate interest semi-annually. To.bond every enmployee. To be progressive- and accommodating. To lend our money to our customers. To treat our patrons courteously. To be liberal and prompt. To secure business from all classes. TO BE THE VERY BEST BANK FOR YOU TO DO BUSINESS WITH. Our institutionis under the: supervision of and regularly examined by the State Bank Examiner. The Bank of Prosperity, Pi osperity, S. C. DR. GEO. Y. HUNTER, DR. J. S. WHEELER, President. V. President. J. F. BROWNE, ~J. A. COUNTS, Cashier. Assistant Cashier. j The First Cough of the Season, ; *Eveni though not severe, has a tendency to irritate the sensi *tive mzembranes of the throat and delicate bronchial tubes. Coughs then come easy all winter, every time you take the *slightest cold. Cure the first cough before It has a ch-ance to * - *set up an Inflamation in the delicate capillary air tubes of the *lungs. The best remedy is QUICK R ELIEF COUOH 5YRUP. It at on~ce gets right at the seat of tr: 11bie gad re moves the cat:e It in fr?e fromi Morphiue arid is a este tor * .child as or an dult. 25 Cenltst at MAYES' DRUG STORE.