Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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E. H. AULL, EDITOR. Entered at the Postoffice at New f'erry, S. C.. as 2nd class matter. Friday, July 23, 1909. The railroald commissioners passed an order at a meeting held at Glenn Springs last week to require the At lantic Coast Line to have its passen ger coaches cleaned at Greenville and Charleston. It is a good time to see if we could not get this road to instal a parlor car service between Green ville and Charleston. The decision of the Supreme Court in the matter of offices in the court house in dispute leaves it entirely -with the board of county commis sioners. The board will meet on the 31st of July and unless there are further legal proceedings will determine the matter finally. If tiey hold to their former decision, of course, the auditor -will move to the little office in the rear and the probate judge will be moved into the office now occupied by the auditor. It is very unfortunate that this matter could not have been finally de cided before the metal furniture was placed in these two offices or that it should become necessary for the pres fnt board of county commissioners to reverse the decision of til court house commission and t1he board of county commissioners who had pre viously assigned the offices and ar ranged the metal furniture. The metal furniture in the audtor's office as now used by him will not be suitable for the use of the probate judge, and neither will the metal furniture in the little office which was arranged for the probate judge be at all suitable for the auditor, and it will necessitate tihe expenditure of consid erable money in refitting these two offices and then the next board of conmmissioners may come along and order another ehange whieh will ne cessitate an a-dditionail expenditure of money. And as we understand the fmnancial condition of the county we 'have very little money to t)hrow at the birds.. THE FARMER AND THE 'PHONE. The telephone is one of the most potential agencies of modern civiliza tion in existence. It has eliminated the factor of distance, removed diffi culties once deemed insoluble, and brought our peop.le together into one great family. It would require an ar tiede of great length to set forth the blessings attributable to tihe tele phone. The News, in its second sec tion to-day carries an elaborate story, setting forth the plan of having farm hous-es equipped with telephones, thereby bringing the city and sur rounding country into close commu nication. The- telephone puts the farmer in touch with the world almost as much as if th lived in the city, and yet at the same time allows him to breathe the fresh air of the woods and to en joy that free life of the farm, where he may be enehanted with or-chestras in the tree tops, and enjoy sermons in stones, books in running brooks and -good in everything. The News is glad to recommend the rural 'phaone, and it hopes the proposed farmers rally in the interest of this movement, and which the Greater Charlotte Club and the Merchants' Association en dorse, will result in a large increase of farmer-s' 'phones. In 1900, according to the United States census the population of Meck lenburg county was 55.268. The in erease for nine years which nearly make up another decade is estimated to be 12.5.)3. The perceeutage ot in crease is 29.5. The population of the cities and towns of the county was given by the 1900 census as follows: Charlot te. 18.091: Davidson, 904; Matthews. 378; Miri H ill, 192; Pine ville, 585, a tot al of 20,150. In the county, outside the towns, the population was put at 35,118. Assuming that in this number of country people there are five members to each family. which we believe is the accepted average, ther-e were 7, 022 happy countriy homeInS !n Old Meeklnbare m te aanw rate o 'r.u- a year henc. Evr fame E;ewhere in The Herald and News to-day we present a statement of facts showing the remarkable increase in the number of phones in Newberrv county during the past year. As is t-ated in the article in ou.r local col umns., the telephone is one of the three t!hings which have contributed most to the development of the South dur ing tie past few years. Not only is the telephone an important asset in business. but it is a great educator, because it keeps people in touch one with another. And it is, as well, a better protection for isolated coun try homes than anything else yet de vised. Newberry county cannot have too many telephones. Every station which is installed is a step in t'he progress the county. The Idler should come down street oftener. We have noticed that the one man cart. for which The Idler offers a reward. has been put to work, and, therefore, the reward will be paid to the first one making applica tion and discovery that it was at work. We are glad to see that the cart is. out working and we are satisfied that the appearance of the streets will be much better during the entire day. THE ROADS COMMISSION. Some time ago the good roads league stated in the column used for exploiting the question of good roads that Mr. W. K. Sligh and the editor of The Herald and News had selected the commission iamed in the act au thorizing an election and providing for the making of permanent roads. That is correct, and the men were se leeted on account of their business capacity and financial standing and their character and without any ref erence to politics or bank conneetion. These questions of banks and politics and locality should have nothing to do with the merits of the question. A.re the men on the commission honest and wort!hy of confidence and will they administer the trust faithfully?i We think they measure up to that stand ard and therefore they were selected. We do not mean to say there are not hundreds of other men of like ability in this county, but if others had been chosen, somebody would shave raised similair objections that do pot bear on the subject. We want to say that no't one of the men on the commission wanted to serve, and we had to insist on their letting us use their names. They have plenty to do in matters per taining to their own affairs, and are wot seeking any of these positions. We regret that these questions were brought into the discussion. Let tihe~ issue be joined, on its mer its, and if the people do not want to build roads let them say so. Suppose one bank shoula hold all the money, what difference would it make to the people, so that it was properly cared for and spent for roads? That bank must pay five per sent. and any first class bank. like all of the banks of Newberry, can borrow money for less than that rate. -" Besides, the act prohibits one bank having all the money and sev eral banks are represented on the commission. We doubt if any one bank in New berry would wvan~t the whole sum at five per cent., when they can get money in sums of this size for less elsewhere. "RUNNING THE GAUNTLET." W\e bjegin in The Herald and News to-day a story by C'ol. Dickert, "Run ning the Gauntlet."' which will go throu2Ih several issues. in order that vou may not miss any issues von had better begin your sub scription now and if you time has expired you had better arrane it at once. We have been so busy for the last month that we have not taken off prom ptly. all of tho( e whose time had inr list. reciles the inieldenits of th return 01 his company from the army. The Iar*y Was (omposed not only of the members of his company but of ot'iers who de-ired to join. ineluding about 1O( men. (ol. Dickert, as he states. could not -et his consent to slrrelVt'r. anld when it was annonneed that the Southern army would surrender he and the men who joined him decided to take the chances of returnin home with their arms and without surren derin to the enemy. It was a. perilous undertaking and the ystarted on it with a full apprecia:tion of what it meant. Col. Dickert in his usual forcible style relates the incidents and ex periences of his company on its re turn trip, and we are satisfied that it will be read with great interest, not only by :the few who survive, but by all of our people. MR. JONBS' SUGGESTION. We desire to direct especial atten tion to the communication of Mr. A. C. Jones. That Newberry should have a Y. I.M. C. A. we do not think anyone would question. We hope that the pastors of the churches in the city will take hold of the suggestion made by Mr. Jones and push the matter vigorously. We believe if they will go at it wi,th earnestness there can be no doubt of success. Whether or not it will be wise to use the old court house a. a. building is a matter that should have serious consideration. The Herald and News advocated retaining the old couirt house with the view of having it used -as a rest room for the ladies of the country. It might be well for the Christian Association to have charge of it and provide these rooms. In order to carry out the idea of rest -rooms it is necessary tha-t some or ganization occupy the building and take care of it so that it might be used properly for this purpose. If the building is to be used as at present we are most heartily ijn favor of hay :ing it 'torn down. The library idea might be added to the Y. M. C. A. organization and the building is amply large for all of these pu'rposes. The~ upper story could be fitted up for an auditorium for the public meetings. and there are plenty .frooms down stairs for the library, rest room for 'the~ ladies and offices for the Y. M. C. A. All these matters can be discurssed and acted upon if the pastors will adopt the suggestions of Mr. Jones and take the lead in the matter of organizing a Young Men 's Christian Association. The suggestion is worthy of serious consideration. * THE IDLER. * * * * I wonder sometimes if anybody reads what The Idler has to say in this column, and if they do read it if t-hey ar'e in the least helped. Now this thought does not come from any de gree of importance whi<-h I attach to anything I say, but you know some times I wonder to myself if it is worth while. I am too old now to be worried about what anybody thinks of me. It makes absolutely no sort of difference to me. I am trying to say things that are helpful and that carry no sting. -0 I was thinking about what that preacher said-I mean w'hat The Idler said he said. ~And another thought came to me. I reckon it is a thought. Some one was saying to me the other day as a gentleman passed along, "'You know he doesn 't speak to me. Why I do not know.'' I noticed it myself but I wasn 't going to say any-. thing about it. Well, I have heard of people who would not speak to other p)eople in the same community. I sup pose it is a way t:hey have of punish ing people. It may give them some. sort of satisfaction but I really be lieve they punish themselves mores than they do the other fellow. -0 I never could do that. I like to be (on friendly terms with everybody. In fact I would rarberz have the grood will 'f a d'ur than it .il wll I lov. al! bm1 (ine. and~i if We wanhi-d to and 1ried ever SC hard. we could not call baek a single step we have taken, but there is plenty of time in the passing moment to be gentle and kind and po lite, and to say a word that would be helpful. and I believe these sour peo ple who have never a kind word and w.ho pass their fellowman without a word of greeting and of cheer will some day regret it. for they sooner or later will surely -realize that they are the ones who will suffer. Maybe this is none of my business and possibly I hould not write it. but it is writ, and it is up to the editor to blue pencil it if he wants to. I heard some one the other day speaking of some afflicted persons who had not been out of their rooms for years, say that even though this were true. yet they were as bright and cheerful as if they were enjoying the best of health. In fact it was re marked that they were the sunshine not only of their own homes but of the entire community. Now I will guarantee that they never try to pun ish people by casting up their heads and refusing to speak. -0 The editor was telling me this week that a gentleman from way up in No. 7 came in the office of The Herald and News and wanted to know who The Idler is. but the editor said he could not tell him. Well, whenever the edi tor makes known my identity then I will cease to grind for this column. It maikes little difference who I am. But I understand this gentleman wanted to shake my .hand for something I had said. I thank him and would ask him to push it along if it was a good thing and if it wasn 't why then knock it. T see from the Observer that the mile of experimental road has been completed and that it cost about $450. Now, I understand that there are peo ple who.are kicking about tiis ex penditure of t.he, labor of the convicts. and who claim that this was a good road already. Well. I have been on this road once o.r twice during my residence in Newberry, and if this could be called a good road I would hate to see a bad road. Of course, as I remember it. it never was muddy, -but I would rather have a little mud sometimes than to have heavy sand all the time. And the experiment was* to be made wit:h clay and sand road. I have not seen the road since it has been worked by the expert but I un derstand that it will have to have at tention until it gets thoroughly mixed. That is, until the sand and clay get mixed. -0 So far as I am concerned I believe that a mile of good road anywhere in the county will help me, and, as I have before remarked, I neither own an automobile, nor a :horse, nor a mule, nor an ox, and it is a very rare, thing that anybody who owns one ever asks me to -ride in or on one, but I re peat. that you can't build a mile of good road in this co'unty without helping me. And it is strange how some people can muster up th'e cour age to proclaim that they want good roads and then oppose any method that anyone suggests to get them. Why, if there should be a little bridge washed away in some remote corner of the county that would take probably a half hour to repair, in stead of doing it, word will be sent to the supervisor to send the chain gang and away it goes. Now I don't know muel about fi nancing anything, and especially as big a thing as Newberry county, and the running of a chain gang, but I do believe as at present managed, and as for that matter as it has been managed since it :bas existed, or has been, that the chain gang is about the most expensive luxury the county has ever indulged in. It seems to me that a year or two ago the legislature pro vided by act that the chain gang should be put on permanent work and designted what roads should be worked and the order of the working. I would he glad to have some one tell me whether I am correct in this or not and if I am how the thing worked. It seems to me with thirty able bod ied conviets, if they were p)ut on per manenlt work, and the road laws were enfored, that we could get a few miles of good road each year and that the roads could in the meantime be kept in fairly good condition, but so long as the p)eople depend on the chain gang to do the patching and t-he piddling and the superviso-r does it we will never have any roads. -o But this is none of my business and I reckon I should not have said any thno. But since I am too old for road dt it beho~oves rme to tell oth]er pen 'ho in do ihe tiling. I wouild I ke mne doing~ '' a~. But then when I lok around me I aim envin&ced that the people do not want to see any Georgia of Tech A TLANTA, TECHNICAL INSTI whose graduates occul positions in engineer Located in the most progreE the abounding opportunitie the South's present remark Advanced courses in Me< tile and Civil Engineering, Chemistry and Architectur< Extensive and new Equi] ratories, etc. New Librarn ratory. Cost reasonable. Students received at any Next sess on begins Septi For illustrated catalog, a K G. MATHE thing do-ing. They would rather have the patching and the piddling and the pretense than the real thing. It is al right with me. -0 I have read that decision of the supreme court in the matter of ths al lotment of offices in the new court house. I reckon you call it a decision. It is written by Associate Justice Gary. It seems to me that he wasted a great deal of ink and paper and printing. I reckon it will be printed in the reports. About all there is to it is the title and the conclusion. It could have been written in three or four lines and contained all there is in it. It simply dismisses the petition with costs. - If any reason is assigned or any argument engaged in I fail to see it. But I reckon it is alright. It is the deliverance of the supreme court and must be right. Under this decision the board of county commis sioners could say to the clerk of court you must get out of your office and let the auditor have it and he would have to git. It means to say that the court house commission that arranged the offices and fitted them up did not know what tihey were about. But I reckon that is the law and if it is it must be right. It suits me alright and the people are willing to pay the cost. --- They tell me that Mr. Childs and Mr. Williams have not only not arrang ed the ticket office according to some suggestions I made some time ago, but that they now have refused to furnish ice for the drinking water in the union station. People who are aiting for the trains and want a cool drink of water during this hot weath er ha'd better take notice and wrap up a piece of iOe and take it along with them. Ice is mighty cheap and we manafacture it right here in New berry, too. If these big railroads are really too poor to buy ice I will take subs.riptions to an ice fund and ask the editor to acknowledge .receipt of all contributions from week to week. I believe that is the way to put it, but if not, I will ask the editor to fix it right. I mean t:he acknowledging. -o As nobody seems to know what has become of that one man cart for street cleaning which for so long a time or namented Summer Bros. corner, I am going to offer a reward of five cents for any infor.mation with proof to convict which will lead to its discov ery. The money is up with the editor. I am afraid it has strayed or is stolen. I mean the cart, not the five cents. It ought to have a man hitch ed to it and should be doing service on the new paved street every day. -0 By the way. I see that the commis soners of public works are going to give a day current on Sunday. I suppos5e that is for the purpose of running fans in the churches. Well, I reckon it is alright. Many times I have wi shed the current was on. I saw the other (lay in the papers where t:he fruit growers of Georgia had requested (ov. Brown to suspend the law against working on the Sab bath so that they might gather and market their fruit on that day and be said he had no authority to suspend a riminal statute. I do not believe in too many blue laws myself. I be lieve man is a free moral agent and whn lhe loes not interfere with the happi ine--:- or ruhits of other people Over in IAuren5 they. have a Sunl-, a. l.a- tat will not permit a resi School ' 'nology GEORG A TUTE of the highest rapk, y prominent and lucrative ing and commercial life. sive city of the South, with s offered its graduates in able development. :hanical, Electrical, Tex Engineering Chemistry, :ment of Shop, Mill, Labo r and new Chemical Labo time during the year. ember 22, 1909. ddress SON, A. M., LL. D , Pres., Atlanta, Georgia. dent to buy a eigar on Sunday but stranger or visitor can purchase sue necessary supplies. A visitor was a the hotel the other Sunday and a cit izen walked up and said to him, "Buy me a quarter's worth of ci gars." The visitor at first did not understand what his friend meant, but he bought the cigars and the resi dent gave him the quarter with which to pay for -them. Well, now, I have no patience with any such sham and hypocrisy and such pretense at good ness by statute. Better not have any such laws. That is what I mean by saying that I am not in favor of too many Sunday and Blue laws. , My observation is that the less law you have the better you can govern. And what laws you make see that they are rigidly enforced. But I am going to quit talking for this time. I have already said more than I should, but it is all said in the very best of good will to all mankind. I read somewhere not long ago tha~ it had been discovered that the An-I gora -goat was one of the best forag ers known, and that they were now used in cleaning out under brush and removing weeds and grass from fields and -roads and that there was nothing equal to them. I make no charge for calling' the attention of city council to this new discovery. It may be 'bet ter than the geese I suggested some time ago. I will look up the article~ and see if I can get The Herald and News to print it. The Idler. News From St. Philips. St. Philips, July 22.--The cropsa' growing and looking fine in this s tion. Mr. D. B. Ruff, counting t'he bofll and shapes on one stalk of cotton i his farm, found one hundred an seven bolls and shapes. Last Saturday night I gave an i cream festival at Mr. W. B. Kibler'. The crowd was small, owing to th bad weather. Everything went nicely, and -the small crowd had jolly old time. We believe thr would have been a large crowd but the rain prevented them. Many thanks for the kindness Mr. and Mrs. K-ib ler sihowed towards us. There seems to be a tight race be tween the marriages and the barbe cues this year. Mr. G. W. Sheely and family spent last Sunday with his aunt, Mrs. W. F. Ruff. Mr. D. B. Ruff also spent the day with them. Messrs. G. W. Sloan and S. B. Ber ley. of Poma'ria, visited at the home of Mr. W. B. Kibler last Monday. Miss Etta Halfacre. of Mississippi, is visiting relatives in this section. Miss Annie Sligh, of Newberry, is visiting her uncle. Mr. W. B. Kinard. Miss Louise Counts spent Saturday night withi Miss Laura Koon. -Wade. The Line He Was On. Two telephone girls were talking over the wice. Both were discussing what they sihould wear. In the midst of this important conversation a mas euline voice interrupte$. asking hu bly for a number. One of the gir became indignant an!d scornfull asked: "What line do yon think you a1 on. anvhu''~ \Wel" .'' i il te man. *I aml 1) SureO. but1 judging from~iT whiat I :3a sheard. I should say I was on a cloth ine'.-San Francisco Call.