Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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ABSOLVED) OF CRIMNAL ]'NTE'NT.:C Evidence Discloses no "Criminal In. E ten(," But Not Altogether Blameless. News and Courier. Columbia. June 17.-W. T. Brock, assistant adjutant general of South Carolina, and candidate for position of adjutant general in the approach- ] ing primary, is absolved of the charges of wasting the State's nt t.ey with criminal intent, but the court of 1 inquiry, which made its report at 11 1 o'clock thi evening, finds that there! were some things for which Coi. Brock was to blame and some things I which a lack of system in the office of the adjutant and inspector general I made possible. The court says, in its report: "If the charge is iaten:ed to imply criminal intent the court holds and, finds that the evidence fails to disclose Pny criminal intent on the part of Col. Brock, but that he was unfortunately ignorant of the responsibility of the high trust reposed in him and care less and extravagant in his adminis tration of that trust." Condemning the system of account ing, in vogue In connection with thei turning in of expense accounts, the court says: "This system of accouint ing the court condemns in no uncer tain terms, for the reason that wheth er so intended or not, it is renderivg false accounts; it affords no correct, 'information to the officer, whose euty it is to scrutinize the accounts; it of-; fers no protection to the person whose accounts are to be scrutinized, at a time, possibly, when he is not 1 position to explain, and if such system is allowed to obtain in the State's gov ernmental officers, it will as surely lead to petit thievery, as the night fol lows the day. This court, however, does not charge Col. Brock with petit thievery." Finds No Political Treachery. The court exonerates Col. Brock from the so-called political charges. In this connection the court says in part: "We find, as matter of fact, that so far as he learned the situation, Col. Brock reported it correctly to Gen. Boyd, and this court is of the opinion that there is no foundation in fact for the charges made against Col. Brock by Gen. Boyd, in respect to any mis representation, and also find as a mat ter of fact, there is no fact upon which to base a charge against Col. Brock that he had proved a traitor to; Gen. Boyd. On the contrary, the court is of the opinion, from the testi mony, that at all times Col. Brock has been entirely loyal to his superior and that the charges of the ad.iutant gen eral to the contrary are entirely groundless."~ On the question of the broaching of the political discussions, the court finds that "so far as the testimony shows, the subject was invariably broached by someone other than Col. Brock." The court of inquiry, at 11 o'clock, following a session of two hours this evening and a morning session of sev- 1 eral hours, behind closed doors, gave out its report on the situation. The report is made to Gov. Ansel, who requested that the same be given to the press tonight. Charges Considered Seriatim. The court says: The charges against Col. Brock, which the court! for convenience denominates the sec ond charge, are found in a letter of the adjutant general, dated May 4, and addressed to the people of South. Caro lina. The charges therein contained Will be taken up seriatim: "'The first part of this charge ino ves the matter of . the expenditures made by Col. Brock in making the~ annual inspections of the State mi1i- ~ tia, in the years 1907, 1908, 1909 and. 1910. "A careful examination of the ex pense accounts of Co'l. Brock shows 'that his expenditures for these years were as follows: For the year 10, Col. Brock spent,. aside from railroad cost of travel, the sum of $175.00 during the periods of the inspectioz,s he purchased of the Southern Railwny company three 1,000-mile books at -a d total cost of $75, making his total ex- C penses for that year $250. C 4.In the year 1908, Col. Brock spentt for personal expenses, aside from mil-t -eage, the sum 'of $300. During the period of inspection that year he also filed contingent vouchers for the pur chase of four 1,000-mile books, at a cost of $100, making his total expendi tures for that year $400. "In the year 1909, Col. Brock dr~ew C contingent warrants for $320 for per sonal expenses and received the mon- C ey thereon, and in addition thereto C drew warrants for the purchase of four 1,000-mile books, at a cost of $80, making a total of $400 drawn that C I year. Team Hire. "In the expense accounts, filed by; Col. Brock, there were quite a number of charges, at different ~places, for hire of teams, amounting to $47 in the aggregate. Col. Brock admitted that those items did not represent any expenditures at that time, but that the C mount thereof was subsequently us d in inspecting proposed rifle rang ites at Spartanburg and Sumter. Al owing this credit, his personal ex )ense account would be thus reduce( rom $320 to $273, and his total in .pection account reduced thereby t 333. Col. Brock also claimed credi or one mileage book, left over eac] rear after the inspections were over Ieference to this will be made late! "In the year 1910, contingent war -ants were issued and the mone: hereon turned over to Col. Brock, t he total amount of $550. Of thi mount, we find, he spent for his per ,onal expenses $165.90, and for thi )urchase of four mileage books thi urther sum of $80, making a total ex )enditure by him for this year o )245.90. Of the remainder of th 550, Col. Brock covered back into th 5tate treasury the sum of $72. Th )alance, amounting to $232.10, h oaned to Lieut. Bennett, of the regu ar army, who was detailed to mak he inspections on behalf of the Unit yd State, to defray his expenses. A Difficult Question. "In attempting ato decide the ques :ion of whether or not Col. Brock ha wantonly wasted the State's mone; Lnd whether he has spent more tha was necessary, the court is confront d with a question, for the solution o vhich we have no fixed rule to guid is, and hence is not without som liifficulty. "Col. Brock attempted to justif iimself by the adoption of a rule, bas d, as he supposed, upon a custom C :he office or what he thought to b :he custom of the office, that in ex ending the money of the State ar propriated to defray his expenses h mas entitled to the best. We are ur ible to accept this rule as the tru -uide. On the other hand, we do nc think that he should be held to suc in economical administration of th rund as would amount to niggardli aess and would tend to bring the o licer and office in contempt. "Public office is a public trust, an f possible, the expenditure of th )ublic funds entails upon the office )xpending them a higher trust and w :hink the funds should be, and woul iave been, expended in such an econc nical manner as is consistent wit' -easonable comfort and convenienc( 1o more, no less. Applying this rul ;o the expenditures of Col Brock, w ind that he expended for what migh le called, and what we have hereto ~ore denominated, his personal ex )enses, during the four years, the fol owing sums: For 1907 -$175. Fo 908 $300. For 1909 $273. For 191 ~165.90. Present Year's Expenses a Basis. "It will be seen that during th rear 1910 his personal expense Lmounted to i:'uch less than either c :he two preceding years, and is to a] )ractical intents the same as his ex penses for 1907. We think, under th :estimony, it is fair to take his expen litures for this year as a reasonabl >asis by which to judge him, especia] y as it was claimed that the cost o iving is higher this year than an: )revious of the four, and in view c :he further fact that it was in testi nony that at some places during th' previous 'years part of the expense were paid at the stations to which Co] Brock was sent, but that this custon >efore this year had practically ceas ~d. "The court sought earnestly fo: ome reason wh the expenses for th< rears 1908 and 1909 were so mued igher than the other years, but wa tave to report that the reason has no .ppeared satisfactorily to us ani hat, in our opinion, his expenditurei n the two years named, 1908 and 909, were unnecessarily large. Parl 'f the increase we are able to accoun1 or, as follows: "Col Brock testified that after he tarted on the inspection tour and .ad occasion to return to Columbia ither to inspect the four companies dja cent thereto or to attend to.busi ess in the office, he charged to the tate his cost of living while in Co imbia. "Without going into an extended iscussion~ of 'this matter the court is f opinion that by no rule can this harge 'to the State be justified, and dat the necessary steps should be ~ken to recover the same back to the tate. Finds No Criminal Intent. "In the charge made in the letter o1 ~en. Boyd, he uses the language 'has rantonly wasted the State's money. f the charge is intended to imply riminal intent, the court holds and .nds that the evidence fails to dis lose any 'criminal intent on the pari f Col. Brock, but that he was unfor unately ignorant of the responsibility f the high trust reposed in him ant. areless and extravagant in his ad ainistration of that rust. "With reference to the charge thai ~ol. Brock, without authority, loaned he State's money to Lieut. Bennett he court finds that while he did lend he State's money to Lieut. Bennet1 .nd possibly without autL ority of laws or so doing, at the same time it was one with the knov.iedg and conseni - of the adjutant general. "In view of the further fact that the - loan is entirely good and every dol - lar will be recovered, or rather paid I back to the State, and the further fact - that the State of South Carolina, ulti ) mately, has to bear part of the ex t penses of Lieut. Bennett, we are not k, prepared to criticise Col. Brock in this matter. We do find, however, that the matter is irregular and the - practice should be discontinued. r Matter of Mileage Books. > "The charge is made that Col. i Brock never used 4,000 miles of v-ans - portation in making the inspections a any one year. "We find that, in 1907, Col. Brock - purchased three mileage books, and I in the years 1908, 1909 and 1910, he a purchased each year four mUeage books. The most accurate data which the court had before it as to the num ber of miles necessarily traveled in - making the inspections showed that the mileage absolutely necessary was - about 1,600 miles. "In addition to this, Col. Brock tes tified that he was at various times called to Columbia, off of the route, which entailed extra travel, in round numbers to the amount of about 500 miles. He further claimed that at', 'the end of each inspection tour he had left practically a thousand miles of unused mileage, and in fact exhib ited to the court two mileage books, bought in April, 1910, which contained 7 f in the neighborhood of i,000 unused - miles. This would account for the f mileage purchased in 1907, but would e fail to account for, from 800 to 1,000 - miles of the mileage bought each in - the other three years. The testimony e also showing that Gen. Boyd in one - year used two mileage books and In e the other years had one mileage book, t It appears to the court that the public hL business did not demand so much e travel on the part of the accused of ficer. "With respect to the charge that Col. Brock's accounts are in a tangled condition we find the following: e System of Acounting Condemned. r "Col. Brock was in the habit, upon D his return from an inspection tour, of 1handing to the comptroller general' - what purported to be an itemized ac 1 count of his expenditures, to cover , the contingent warrant previously e drawn. Col. Brock admitted that the e items set forth in these various/ ac t counts did not represent what they - seemed to represent, but that many - of the entries embraced other charges - than appeared therein. r"This system of accounting the Scourt~ condemns in no uncertain terms, for the reason that whether so intended or not it is a rendering of a false accounts; it affords no correct s information to the officer whose duty f it is to scr'utinize -the accounts; it 'of 1 fers no protection to the person whose - accounts are to be scrutinzed, at a Ste,psil,when he is not in posi -otoexplain, and if such a system a is allowed to'obtain in the State's gov - ernmental offices, it will as surely f lead~ to peit theivery as the night fol r lows the day. This court, however, f does not charge Col. Brock with petit - thievery. S"A Ridiculous Farce." 3 "Several of the expense accounts .handed in by Col. Brock, were'appar i1 ently scrutinized by the adjutant gen - eral, but the approval endorsed thereon is not in the handwriting of SGeneral Boyd, but that of i Colonel Brock. It may be i possible, and very likely probable, Sthat Col. Brock was authorized to tuse the name of the adjutant general I from time to time, but the idea of an officer passing upon his own accounts and vouching them in the name of the officer supposed to have examined them is such a ridiculous farce that it brings the matter of alleged over sight into contempt. "Col. Brock claimed that in his methods he was only following the custom of the office. If such is or has been the~ custom of the office it' (Continued on page seven). The "Square Deal" Store You get a square deal here be -cause the goods are right, the prices are right, the treatment is right. We train our clerks to "e as m ticular for our customers' interests .as they would be in buying for themselves. So you get, always, the freshest goods, and the purest. We allow no other kind to be sold over our counters. Some delicacies have just arrived, among them a consignment of rare ELECTA COFFEE for those who appreciate quality. This brand has no equal for true coffee excellence. Slow cooking aad other exclusive ElIecta processes, are au imprrovemnent on anything used Ly other coffee importers. The sealed tin cans keep all the iight.rul coffee aroma ins, and a 1 the -lust and dirt out.] Get a can today so you VD h1ave it. for break!ast tomontow. E M LANE & Co L 3 R.EME] you w The Best ! SSterling Sil~ Cut Ga Pid Mayes' B W "HOUSE OF A TI Want Goo Black Pays The Southern, Seaboard, and Cc the South. All pass through Rich go out on next train. Shipments 1 in S. C. the next morning. All goods guaranteed under Puri Imperial Hollan 4 Quarts $4.oo. 8 Quart Red Deer Corn 3-C Red Deer Gin 3-C Belle Haven Rye 3 C Sydnor XXXX Rye 4 Qts. $2 Sydnor XXXX Corn * 4 Qts. $2 Sydnor XXXX Gin 4 Qts. $2 Name 4 qt: Old Capitol Rye $ Fern Spring Rye4 John Black's Private S. - 4.C I. E. Goff AAAA Rye3 Goff's AAAA Rye 24 Pi Bell Haven Rye .24 Pt Red Deer Corn 24 Pi Red Deer Gin .24 P Sydnor XXXX'Rye .24 P Sydnor XXXX Corn - 24,LP Sydnor XXXX Gin , 24. P In Bulk. i gal. AA Rye $2.50 AAA Rye 3-50 Straight 8 Yrs. Old Rye 5.25 AA Corn 2.50 AAA Corn -3.50 - AA Gin s2.50 AAA Gin ' 3.50 IMPORTED AND BONDED G are in Stock. Price list sent on ap Remember, I pay' express charge: Post-office Order, Express money o: exchange or Cashier's check. JOHN I 712 East Broad St., Wants to Help Some One. For 30 years J. F. Boyer, of Fertile, V0., needed help and couldn't find it. Phat's why he wants to help, some me now. Suffering so long himself le feels for all distress from Back che, Nervousness. Loss of appetite, assitude and kidney disorders. He hows that Electric Bitters 'work -nders for such troubles. "Five ottles," he writes, "wholly cured me nd now I am well and hearty." It's iso positively guaanteed for Liver 'rouble. Dyspepsia, Blood Disor ters, Female Complaints and Mal tria. Try them. 50c. at W. E. Pel tam & Son. Chamberlain's Stomach and Liver ['ablets will brace up the nerves, anish sick headache, prevent de pondency and invigorate the whole ystem. Sold by W. E. Pelham & Son. Notice of Sale of School Building. Te ndersedas. tenutees of the K1BER!S ill find T T 5election of ni .res and Mirrors LT ook Store LOUSAND THINGS.". d Whiskey? the Express. iast Line reach nearly every point in e mond. Orders received on one mail a nade from this point reach any place a Food and Drugs Act. 0 0 d Gin 100 per ct. t n s $7.75. 12 Quarts $11.oo 0 5.75 '8.50 0 5.75 8.50 C 0 5 75 8.50 .6o. 8 Qts. $475 12 Qts. $7.00. .6o. 8 Qts. $4.75- 12 Qts. $7.00.* .6o. 8 Qts. $4.75. 12 Qts. $7.0o.- e .8 qts. Case12 qts. 1 5$11.00 -$15-oo'~I c 8-75 - 12.50 0 7-75 10-50 o 6-75 9-50 :s. $9.50-. 48 Half Pints $10.00o :s. 9.00. 48 Half Pints 9.50 ~s. 900o. 48 Half Pints 9.50 C ts. 9.00. '48 Half Pints 9.50 ts. 7.50. 48 Half Pints 8 oo s. 7.50. 48 Half Pints 8.oo ts. 7.50. 48 Half Pints 8.oo0 2 gal. 3 gal. 4 gal. a $-5$6.85 $9.10 a: 6.8o 9.20 12.20 10.00 14.75 78-50 d~ 4-75 6 85 9.10 tl 6.8o 9.20 12.20 3j 4-75 6.85 - 9-10 6.80 9.20 ' 12.20 OODS, Brandies, Wines and Beer fSi plication. s on all goods except on beer. Send v rder, Registered letter,' New York le St a. Richmon~d, Va.ti til Rutherford school will sell the pres-c ent school building at public auction to to the highest bidder therefor for ar cash on Saturday, July 2, 1910, at (10 o'clock. The purpose in. selling the building is to erect a rnew and more fr modern building and one~ suited to theol needs of the school. i Jos. L.. Heitt, P J. D. .Nance, -. J'no. P. Wicker, Arthur Lominick, Robert Lominick, 6-7-td. Trustees. of Ends Winter's Troubles. ea To many, winter is a season of w trouble. The frost bitten toes an1# feE fingers, chapped hands and lips, chil- ] blains, cold sores, red and rough ses skins, prove this. But such troubles en f19 before Bucklen's Arnica Salve. A un trial convinces. Greatest healer of tin Burns, Boils, Piles, Cuts, Sores, Ecze ma and Sprains. Only 25c a W. E. Mi Peinam & Son's 5-1 LODGE DiRECTORY. Woodmen of the World. Maple Camp, No. 437, W. 0. W., eets every first and third Wednes ly reLing at 7.45 o'clock. Vijit. .g brethren are cordially welcome. D. D. Darby, Burton, Clerk. C. C. Newberry Camp, No. 642, W. 0. W, eets ciery second and fourth Wed .sday night in Klettner's Hall, at o'clock. B. B. Letzser, C. C. J. J. Hitt, Clerk. Amity Lodge, No. 87, A F. IL Amity Lodge, No. 87, A. F. Leets -very first Monday night 'cloik in Masonic HaI. V'siting brethren cordially Harry W. Dominick, W. Earhardt, W. Secretary. Signet Chapter, No. 18, -. A. . ' Signet Chapter. N,o. 18, R. A.- M., teets every second Monday night 'at o'clock in Masonic Hall. Fred. H. Dorriick, :arry W. Dominick, E. H. P. Secretary. Golden Eule Encampment. Golden Rule Encampment, No. 23, 0. 0. F., will meet at Klettner's [all the 4th' Monday night in ea-4 onth at 8 o'clock. W. 0. Wilson Chief Patriareh. W. G. Peterson, Scribe. - Palaski Lodge. Pulaski Lodge, No. 20, L 0. 0. F. rill. meet Friday night, June 24, i Klettner's' Hall, at 8 o'clock. Let very member attend. C. G. Blease, r. G. Peterson, Noble drand. Secretary. Bergell Tribe, No. 24, I. 0. . N Meets on Thursday - nights at -8 'clock. Next regular- meeting on sec rid of June, and every two weeks 1ereafter until September 15,- after 'hich time will meet every. Thursday ight at K]ettner's Hall. 0. Kiettner, C. R ateeche s'unell, No. 4, D, Meets on .Tuesday riights 'clock, at Ki'ettner's Hall. Net. tar nieeting 'on 31st May and .ev ro weeks thereafter until Septe 5, after whichi time' will meet. uesday night 0. Klettner, Newberry Lodge ~"of Meets every second and f uesday night at, 8 o'clock, at ty Hall. - Van Smi ,A. Bowman, -C. L.of R. & S. If you are not satisfied after using :cording to directions two-thr'ds. of bottle of Chamberlain's Stomhch id Liver Tablets, you can have your oney back. The tablets cleanse' and. vigorate the stomach, improve thd gestion,*'regulate .the bowels. GI9'e em a trial anad get well. Sold by '.E. Pelham & SOIL WINTHEOP COLLEGE. ~holarship and Entrance Examina. tion. The examination foi- the award of ~cant scliolarships in Winthrop coI ge and for the admission of new udents will be held at the county aurt house on FrIday, July 1, at 9 m. Applicants must be not less an fifteen years of age. When holarships are vacant after July 1 ey will be awarded to those making e lighest average at this examina mn. provided they meet the condi. mDs governing the award. Appli nts for scholarships should wr4te President Johnson before the ex aination for scholarship examina. mn blanks. Scholarships are worth $100 and se tuition. The next session will en September 21, 1910. For further lormation and catalogue, address es. D. B. Johnson,' Rock Hill, S. C. University of South Carolina. Scholarship Examination. rhe University of South Carolua ers scholarships in the department education to one young man from ~h county. Each scholarship IS 'rth $100 in money and $18 term with free tuition. ixamination will be held at coun t July 1. Examination of ste ;s generally for admission to iversity will be held at the Le. Write for Information to S. C. tchel1l, President, Columbia, S. C 0-3t.