Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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~$ ~ z A .-.,r-.---~ C 'N.. *-C~ij~4~j' ml V$4 L P Oil! JEW. fl-a -. TWICE A WEEK, $1.50 A YEAR. VOLUME L, NUMBER 14. NEWBERRY, SOUTH CAROLINA, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 1912. THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY IS NOW NEARING CLOSE WAREHOUSE BILL AGREED UPON BY SENATE AND HOUSE. The Features Of The Bill As Argued Upon By The Free Conference Committee. Columbia, Feb. 14.-The free con ference committee report on the State warehouse bill came in tonight. The report is harmonious and an agree ment has been effected. The report will be printed and the bill will be adopted and go to the governor in the form reported by the conference -- committee. The conferees were Messrs. John stone, Clifton and Montgomery, and Belser, McQueen and Arnold. The points of difference as agreed upoi in the essential features are: Change in Section 2. That Section 2 be amended so as to read as follows: Section 2. The chairman of the board thus created shall be designat ed by the general assembly at the time of the election, provided for in section 1 of this act, whose duty it shall 'be to preside at all meetings of the commission,' and hav'e general su pervision of the management of the business of the commission, subject, however, to the approval of the ma jority of the niembers of said com mission, and it shall be his further duty. to enforce,and carry out all such Tules and regulations as may be adopted by said commission for the control and management of the busi ness. provided for in this act. As to Section 3. That Section 3 be amended so as to read as follows: Section 3. It shall be the duty of the State\ warehouse commission to provide, by purchase, lease or other wise, a system of warehouses at the most eligible sites in this State capa ble of storing not less than 250,000 bales of cotton, and the commission is hereby given power and authority to employ clerks, architects and such other agents and employees' as in theii- judgment they deem necessary, and adopt rules and regulations not contrary to the- provisions herein set forth, which, in~ their judgment, are necessary to carry out the .intent and purposes of this act, and the said commission shall have the power to enter into contracts with relation to the matters contained herein, and may sue, and be sued in any of the courts of this State: Provided, that 'only the property held by the said 'warehouse commission for the pur poses herein mentioned shall be ans werable in any suit or action against them. As to Nanager. S.ection 4. The manager of the Stat-e warehouses shall be appointed, and his duties prescribed, by the board of commissioners, who shall fix the compensation of such manager, and the said manager shall be sub 3ect to removal by the board of comn missioners whenever, in their judg ment, the public interest demands it. Section 6. The State warehouse commissioners is empowered to ac-a quire such property as they may deem n-ecessary to carry out the purposes of this act, such property to be ac quired by lease or purchase and said commission is empowered to establish a compress in connection with. said warehouse system at any point or points in .this State where, in the judgment of said commission, it is necessary or practicable to carry out * the purposes of this act. Sectio'-i 7 refers to what shall be stored. Issuing of Bonds. Section 8. The State warehouse commission is hereby and herein au th'orized and empowered to issue con pon bon.e. in amount not to exceed $250.000, in enominations not less than 500 cach,- and runr.ing fora term of +bWty yearn from the date of issIYe, 1, .'. intere.;t at a rate not1 to e'xcel A per c'ent. ner annum, the; ,.interert cn said -bonds to be payable semii-ann::ail, and! to E 'ecumP ?s se -c '' ommission may then own, with th iight to said commission to retire, bi aurchase, any or all of said bonds a he end of twenty years from the dat >f issue, the proceeds of said bonds t< >e used only for carrying out the ob ects and purposes of this act. May Borrow Money. In the meantime, and until said com nission shall find itself able to issu nd negotiate the sale of said bondi is herein provided, it shall have pow r and authority to borrow money up )n the notes of said commission, no ?xceeding the sum of $250,000, sait aotes to run for not exceeding fiv rears, and to bear interest at a rat ot exceeding 6 per cent. per annum said notes being subject to renewa Erom time to time in the discretion o said commission, and the proceeds o said notes to be used in carrying ou the objects and purposes of this aci .nd that as security for the money si borrowed on said notes, said commis sion shall have the right to pledgE by way or mortgage or deed of trusi property, real, personal or mixec which it may then own: Provided that said notes shall be taken up an< retired when the bonds herein provid ed for have been issued, negotiate and sold. Not Debt of State. Provided, further, that the bond and the notes herein provided to b issued are not to be a debt or obliga tion of the State of South Carolina Provided, further, that nothing con tained in this section is intended t prohibit said commission from bor rowing, temporarily, from time t time, on its notes such amounts c money not exceeding $20,000 as it ma find necessary for the proper conduc of the business of said commission. Pay of Board. That Section 14 be a nended so a to read as follows: Section 14. The compensation c the chairman shall be $2,100 per an num, and the compensation of th other members of the board shall b $6 per day for each day's attentiol and two and one-half cents per mil for each mile actually travelled, an other necessary expenses actually in curred in the discharge of their dutie hereunder. To Test Validity. Section 16. The sum of $5,000i hereby appropriated for the contir gent expenses of said board and $250, 000 divided, into two equal instal ments of $125,000, in 1912, and $125, 000 in 1913, to carry out the purpose of this 'act is hereby appropriatei provided that- the attorney general 0 the State immediately after the al> proval of. this act shall institute in th supreme court a proce.eding agains the said commission for the purpos of determining the constitutionalit of this act, and that no part of th moneys herein and hereby appropriat ad shall become ava.ilable until th termination of said proceedings. Tb premiums on all bonds required c oficiers and employees under th terms of this act shall be paid out . the funds of the commission. XII. Acdd section e ..o read as foi lows: Section 17. This act shall go int ffect immediately upon its approva y the governor. R~ace' Track Bill Passes. The house of representatives 03 Wednesday agreed to the senat mendments to the Charleston rac track bill, and the act will be in th hands of Governor Blease as soon a it is ratified. By concurring in the senate amend nents, the house agreed to strike ou the injunction feature of the bill an to have the law become effective Jul: t, 1912. The race track bill was passed b: he senate Wednesday afternoon without a dissenting voice, no roil :all vote being asked, and it was sen :o the house for concurrence it me.dments. The bill was sent to the house fo: :oncurrence. It had been expecte< at some fight would be made on thb racir.g bill before it was passed bu ?vieny its opponents saw that the senators were solidly lined up on thb just as any other criminal statute, r there being no statement therein as t to the gambling in question being a a misdemeanor. - DISPOSITION OF LIQUOR FUND. Provided For in Senate Bill Sent to House.-Other Matters. Columbia, Feb. 12.-The senate this morning sent to the house a bill to prov, de for the distribution of the t dispensary fund in hand among the common schools of the State the mon ey to be opportioned among the sev eral counties according to the enrol ment in the public schools of the county, this enrolment to be judged by the report of the State superinten dent of education for the year ending t June 30, 1911. The division is to be made by the State superintendent of education, the State treasurer and the comptroller egneral, and no coun ty is to spend more than one-fourth of its share of the money in any one year, except where the money is to be used for past indebtedness, and in such a case the whole share may be . spent. d The bill was introduced by the edu cation committee, and it is consider ed an important measure. It was de bated to a considerable extent this morning. e The bill provides that "the county boards of education of the respective counties shall use this fund in o strenthening weak schoofs, in encour aging school improvement and in pro moting the educational interests of their counties in such manner and at such time as they may deem most t helpful to the cause of education, un der the general direction of the State superintendent of education. This fund shall be a county board fund, s and the time, place and manner of its distribution shall be determined by f the several county boards of educa tion by and with the approval, in e writing of the State superintendent of e education." 1 Labor Instead of Bail Bull. e The bill introduced in the senate u; d Senator W. J. Johnson, to allow a person committed for a crime less s than felony to labor in lieu of baill -and to provide for his compensation by the deduction from his sentence, if he is convicted, a number of days Sequal to those worked by him before -his trial, was killed today by its en -acting words being stricken out, the ,vote to kill it being 15 to 14. The bill s was debated at length, the ground 1, of the chief opposition being that the f State has no right to allow a person -to enter into voluntary servitude. e There were some half dozen senators t to speak on each side of the bill. TO ELECT COMMXISSIONER. Bill Passes House Putting Commis e sioner of A griculture .in General e Election. e The~ power of appointing the corn missioner of agriculture, commerce and industries was taken out of the hands of the governor and the office placed at the disposal of the voters in the general eleaction under the terms .1 of a bill passed to third reading in the house Tuesday morning. The sen ate has reconsidered its action in re fusing to pass a similar bill. 2 The bill, which was introduced in e the house by Mr. Browning, originally e provided for the election of the com e missioner for a term of four years by s the general assetnbly, but under an amendment, offered by Mr. Wells, - which th-6 house adopted, the office t was placed in the general election, Mr. Searson's two amiendments pro viding that the term of office of the commissioner should begin on Jan uary 1, 1913, and that the -present .commissioner should r'emain in office - until then were adopted by the house. t K. P. Smith amended the bill to i rovide that the commissioner of ag riculture, commerce and industries r should hold office for two years in stead of four, as provided in Mr. 3 Browning's bill. t Met Oppo~ition. In its original form the hill met with determinei onoition. Mr. Saw 1 wr and Mr. Pembert led a filibuster THE LETTER WAS CHAGED SAYS CASHIER MATTHEWS i - -I Cashier Writes Blease About State 1 Loan Dispute.-Cashier Answers Questions of Jennings. Columbia, Feb. 13.-Correspondence relative to the famous State loan dis- ' pute was given out tonight. State 1 Treasurer R. H. Jennings asks Mr. 1 J. P. Matthews, cashier, three ques- 1 tions: First. "Was it necessary fo: the governor to go to New York to effect the loan?" Second. "Was it intended to lend the money at a low er rate than was offered in the bid?' Third. "What was the agreement as to interest?" Replying, Cashier Matthews said' "I will say that it was not necessary for the governor or any other officer to go to New York" for the money of fered at 3 per cent, under the bid of April 17 It was the custom of a State official to go to New York "for the protection that such officer could give sto the State." Second. "It was not intended to get or offer cheaper money than was bid for." Third. "There was no agreement as to in terest." Matthews Writes to Blease. Then Mr. Matthews wrote Gover nor Blease a long letter, the purport of which is that Mr. Matthews dic tated a letter on the loan matter at the governor's office, and that it was not as he dictated it. Mr. Matthews says: "When the letter was presented to me to be signed, my attention was called to the fact that there had been some repetitions in the wording of the original draft, and to the fact that the letter had been rewritten. I was very busy at the time, and on being assured that the letter was in all re spects substantially the same, I sign ed the letter, without comparing it with the original draft, except for the first paragraph. Declares Sense Different. "I now find that, in copying the let ter, certain- changes had been made, which makes the sense different from what I intended, and somewhat mis leading. I did not get the -opportunity to look over the copy of the letter signed till late yesterday afternoon, as I was not only very busy, but had to be out of my office for two hours in the afternoon. I learned, however, that you had already sent in your message to the legislature." Mr. Matthews says: "The matter of paying interest on balances was not referred to at all during our entire trip." Says "Heretofore" Added. The word "heretofore" as paying in terest, was not in the first copy. The word "heretofore" was added in the copy signed, and did not appear in the original. Mr. Matthews goes on to say:. "In reading the letters .over you will no tice that other mistakes have been made. In'other words, in attempting to revise the wording of the letter, it has been very much confused and the meaning completely twisted. I think it nothing but proper to call your at tention to these changes, which i did not notice when I signed." The correspondence further confus es -the issues made, but settles certain questions, apparently. DEIES LETTER WAS CHANGED. Gov. Blease's Stenographer Writes to Cashier Matthews. The fcllowing letter from Gover nor Blease's stenographer, Mr. W. F. Blackburn, to Mr. J. P. Matthews, cashier of the, Palmetto National1 bank, of Columbia, has been received by the News and Courier with the: request that the same be published:1 Mr. J. P. Matthews, Cashier Palmet-: to National Bank, Columbia, S. C.-1 Dear Sir: My attention has been call ed to a,1etter from you bearing date i F ebruary 9, in which you state: "Yesterday when the letter was pre- I sented to me to be signed my atten-i tion was called to the fact that there I had been some repetition in -the word ing of the original draft and to the i fact that the letter had been rewrit "I was very busy at the time, and I on being assured that the letter was a1I -na.ct enbatentia.vV the same, I t with the original draft, except for he first paragraph. I now find that n copying the letter certain changes ad been made which makes the sense i lifferen from what I intended, and omewhat misleading." And in which you further state: "In reading the letters over you will notice that other mistakes have )een made. In other words, in at empting to revise the wording of the etter it has been very much confus ;d and the meaning completely twist In reply thereto I beg leave to state hat your letter of February 7 is just LS you dictated it in the governor's )ffice to me, with the exceptions which were called to your attention, when I presented to you Letter No. 2. Uetter No. 2, as I designate it here o identify it, was written out by me; yarried to the Palmetto National bank and handed you by me in your private office; you were sitting at your deslk; I showed you both letters, :he one you signed in the governor's ffice, No. 1, and letter No. 2, pointing )ut the changes which had been made and compared the first paragraph with you. You continued reading Letter No. 2, and after you finished reading the entire letter you signed it and tore up your copy of Letter No. 1, and threw it in the waste basket under your desk; hand&d the original letter, No. 2, back to me and asked me for a copy thereof, which I gave you. I then .left the bank. An examination of the original let ter will show two pencil marks made on the margin thereof, indicating the places where the changes were made. A further ezamination of the original letter, No. 2, will show that you init ialed page one on the margin, sign ing, "J. P. M.," clearly showing that you did read the letter, and in order to protect yourself from any chances, as a business man, you initialed the first page, and one the bottom -of the letter (the second page) signed "J. P. Matthews, cashier, Palmetto National Bank, of Columbia, -S. C." Your statement that the letter was twisted by mo is absolutely mislead ing and really amusing. The idea of a man, the cashier of a 'bank with a capital stock of $250,000, a surplus and profit of $100,000 and deposits of $2,500,000 (approximately) signing a paper involving a $500,000 transaction without reading it over, and without knowing what he was signing, simply doing so at the request of an humble tenographer, working for a small salary, is absurd. If this be true, Mr. latthews, it is time for your board of irectors and the depositors of your bak to begin to investigate what oth er papers or transactions might have taken place with your signature, with out consideration or without reading. To be frank, Mr. Matthews, I have no objection to you playing "twittle um and twittle dee" with the gover nor and the State treasurer, trying to hold the friendship and influence of both for your bank, making one statement when you are in the pres ence of one and another when you are in the presnce of the other; neither o I object to your playing with the State treasurer that little game of tickle me, Robert, tickle me do; you ickle me, Robert and I'll tickle you," in order to hold the deposits of the State for your banking institution; but I do seriously object, my friend, Mr. Matthews, to you endeavoring to make it appear that I twisted your etter or that I made a false statement o you in order to get you to sign a etter when it is not true; but, in or er to save yourself in a transaction, which from your two letters, one is ~orced to judge that you have been laying double. No, Mr. Matthews, rou read the letter over very careful y, you initialed it, in order to show rour caution, as all good business nen do, and now, Mr. Matthews, don't )lay the baby aot and try to throw he blame off on a poor humble steno ~rapher who has to work hard for his ittle salary and who has nothing to nakd his living out of except his )rain and his good name for faithful ees anid honesty, while you are en renched with you'r 'na'y t-io,ma f dollars in a handsome paying po ition, wealthy, infuer.'!2l an.in endent. THE CHINESE EMPIRE BECOMES REPUBLIC lULE OF MANCHUS ENDS AFTER THREE HUNDRED YEARS. Edict Proclaims Abdication-Sover eignty Vested in People, Who Desire Republic. Peking, 'Feb. 12.-After occupying the throne of" China for nearly three centuries, the Manchu dynasty, rep resented by the child Emperor, Pu Ti, abdicated today. Three edicts were is sued, the first proclaiming abdication, the second dealing with the establish ment of the republic, and. the third urging the maintenance of peace and approvin-g the conditions agreed up on by the Imperial Premier Yuan Shi Kai and the Republicans. The text of the first Imperial edict, issued by the throne at noon today, is as follows: Edict of A" tion. "We, the emperor of China, hare re spectfully received today the follow ing edict from the hands of her ma3= esty, the dowager empress. "In consequence of the uprising of the republican army, to which a the people of the provinces of China have responded, the empire is seething like a boiling caldron and the people are plunged in misery. "Yuan Shi Kai was, therefore, com manded to dispatch commissioners to confer with the republicans with a view to the calling of a. national as sembly to decide on the future form of government. Months have elapsed and no settlement is now evident. Acquiesce in People's Desires. "The majority of the people are in favor of a republic. From the pref erence of the people's hearts the will of Heaven is discernible. How could we oppose the desires of millions for the glory of one family? "Therefore, we, the dowager em press and the emperor, herby vest the sovereignty of the Chinese empire in the people. "Let Yuan Shi Kai organize to the full the powers of the provisional re publican government and confer with the republicans as to the methods of union, assuring peace in the empire Iand forming a great Republic with the union of Manchus, Chinese, Mon gols, Mohammedans and Tibetans. "We, the empress dowager and the emperor, will thus be enabled to live in retirement, free of responsibilities - and cares and enjoying without 'inter ruption the nation's courteous treat ment." URGE AN EXHIBIT. Former Governor of California Speaks to Legislature on Panama.Paci fic Exposition.. "The exposition will show what we have done in building a nation and a great -empir-,'' said ex-Gov. Gillett, addressing the members of the gen eral assembly Tuesday. He extended an invitation to South Carolina to par ticipate in the Panama-Pacific. expo sition to be held in San Francisco in 1915 in celebration of the comple tion of the Panama' canal. Gov. Gil-. lett explained to the members of the general assembly the purposes of the exposition and gave a clear history of the movement that will be consum mated by the completion of the Pan ama canal-the great trade artery of the world. Awful Prospect. Village Policeman (who has locked up his quarrelsome wife)-There! I~ shall have a little peace now! But how about tomorrow when I let her out?-Fliegende Blatter. thought your manliness will prompt you to apologize for the insinuations which you have made in endeavoring to make the world believe that your letter was "twisted to bolster claims to credit," and that you were not so careless or so reckless as to sign a paper of this ,magnitude and impor tnce without havirg read it very carefully. Don't plead guilty, Mr. x tthwe.. t, s'ieh folly; it looks bad c'r such a great finan!cie. Yours very truly, , c;;eg > W. F. Blackburn.