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DISPENSARY AFFAIRS STILL UNDER PROBE DISPENSARY PROBERS REPLY TO "WHITEWASHING" CHARGE. Notilie: Governor's Criticism in Newberry Interview, Committee Renews Invitation. ^'ninmhin 21.?To the cliarse Governor Blease made against them in his Newberry interview, that they were "whitewashing" their friends and devoting their time to attempting to find something to discredit him and hi? administration, tho dispensary investigating committee made reply late this afternoon. Arter receiving the j governor's refusal to appear before j the committee and submit Ms proofs j and evidence, which he says he has,! and of the governor's refusal to turn j j over the Felder letters, the committee |j says that the "governor can hardly be serious in his statement that the com*milte-c is attempting to 'whitewash.'" Blease Again Invited. They recite the governor s repeaiea ref'.i.sa? to assist the .committee, butj ivneV their invitation to him to come j forward and give out what he knows, j The committeetsays it is attempting to ! probe without fear and without favor. | To this end the committee invites any i citizen of South Carolina, who has j any knowledge of any one who has had criminal or unquestionable connection with the late dispensary, or. who saspccts any one of any knowledge of unlawful acts to come for- | "v\yrd arc assist the committee in] probing into everything.' Governor Blease is included in this invitation, end the committee states that they "would be very glad to have the governor present any proof or -evidence he L\ty have. "Show Down** Has Come. The "show down" has come and the committee issues the invitation boardcast. Their next meeting will be on April 3, at 11 a. m., in the State house library, and any one who can throw light on the dispensary matters I is asked to be on hand tl^en and be | ready to give the committee his in- I formation. "The investigation is go- j ing to be thorough and will be with- I out fear and without favor" was a ! statement which sums up the attitude I of the committee. Sext Session April 3. The dispensary investigating committee has taken a recess until April ^ 3, in order to allow the Blease wind- , ing-up commission to make their final report, which must be in by March' ^ 28, so that the committee can examine them at their next hearing. An expert , acountant has been employed to check . the books of the Ansel commission and the Blease commission, and the i j v report of th-e accountant will be considered at a later meeting of the investigation committee. The decision to take a recess for two weeks was decided 011 at an executive session of j; the committee this afternoon, following the examination of witnesses. ; Agreement With Blocks. The chief feature brought out at the' session of the committee this morning was the statement by Mr. B. L. Abney that the Blocks, of Macon, Ga., had paid $12,500 as their part of the overcharges of the Richland Distiling company, in which they were stockholders, and of their agrement to pay $12,500 more when the indictment against ; them, now pending at Chester, was1 r.ol prossed. Mr. Abney was employed by the Blease commission to collect the overcharges due the State : from the Richland Distilling company on a basis of the Folder contract, 50 i per cent, of the amount collected to go to Mr. Abney as his commission. Other witnesses examined at the session today were Henry Samuels, of Chester, a former liquor drummer who escaped prosecution by turning State's evidence; W. 0. Tatum, former dis-j pensarv commissioner who is under1 indictment in the "label case;" Senator W. J. Johnson, of Fairfield; and former Editor Edmunds, of the Fairfield News. All of the members of: the investigating committee were, present with the exception of Sena-; tor Clifton, of Sumter. Ex-Editor Edmunds oil Stand. i Ct. P. Edmunds, of Ridgeway, a for-; mer editor of the Fairfield News, was : the first witness. Mr. Edmunds said that while he was editor 110 statement i appeared in his paper that Jim Far-; num paid more money than the $-5,000; fine. It has been stated that the Ridewagy paper published the statement that Farnum paid $45,000 more | than his fine and the committee wanted to know all about the statement. H. D. Rantin wilt be subpoenaed to tell about the paper, as he was editor j at the time the paper was alleged to have published the statement about Farnum. Mr. Rantin is now a resident of Clinton. Mr. Abncy Testifies. Mr. L\ L. Abney, of Columbia, was iJCWU 11 Our first bought of tl berry and si 26th, 1912. and will be Hat a mode W e ;he second witness. He assisted the ittornev general in the prosecution of Farnum and the other dispensary 'graft" cases. Mr. Abnev related the :acts of the trial of Farnura, and of lis subsequent plea of guilty and the fine of $5,000, which Farnum paid. Witness knew of no other money paid by Farnuin. Mr. Abnev was asked if tie thought the Felder contract a reasonable one, and he stated that under the conditions he thought the con :ract a reasonable one. Mr. Abney said he represented the Blease commission only in the Richland Distilling company case. He said he had reached an agreement with th; Blocks, who were stockholders in the Richland Distilling company; that t Blocks had paid $12,500 and were to pay $12,500 more when the indictment against them was nol prossed. The Richland Distilling company' had been adjudged guilty of overcharging the State some $500,000 by the Ansel commission. The Bernheims, one-third stockholders in the com- j panv, paid $34,700 back into the State j treasury before the Ansel commission . IijZ 3 m r* ^3 + V* ^ D1 AOOQ />Am iYlic ciS lii eu, anu. iuc sion employed Mr. Abney to collcct the balance of the overcharges on basis of 50 per cent, of any amount ; he could collect. The Blocks were stockholders in the Richland Distilling company, and Mr. Abney stated that he had affected an agreement | with the Blocks whereby they had j paid $12,500 and were to pay $12,500 j more when the indictment now pend- j ing against the Blocks in the Chester county courts was nol grossed. Mr. Abney said the Ansel commission was competent and zealous in j their work for the State, an 1 praised j them highly. I Mr. Abney was subjected to a run-' uing fire of ueqstions from almost j every member of the committee. Sen-1 ator Carlisle conducted the examina-; tion, basing his questions on the j charges made in the governor's mes- | sage, No. 4. Mr. Abney thought the! prosecution of the criminal cases j could not have been more vigorously | or zealously handled. Mr. Abney was , associated with Attorney General i.y-, on in the prosecution of the dispcn-; sarv " graft" trials, along with Mr., W. *F. Stevenson, of Cheraw. Henry Samuels Testifies. Henry Samu-els, of Chester, a former 1 liquor drummer, who turned State's evidence in the "graft" trials, was next examined. He testified that he commenced selling liquor to the State dispensary when the last dispensary board took charge, viz., Rawlinson, J opening was a \ hp Rpantiful Ha IAV <b?.a & irrounding coun Hundreds of on display in 01 J of spring 1912 / t fhe Sto t I Black and Wylie. He named the liquor houses he represented, saying that he did all his business through Joe B. Wylie. Said he had no business transactions with Rawlinson and Black. He then gave a resume of his dealings with Wylie and of <the payment of graft" to wyne. jne saiu ms> uuusw paid Wylie some $5,000 or $7,000 "graft" and he knew of other payments made to Wylie. His testimony was a resume of the rebates Wylie received which was told of in the trials of Black and Farnum. Samuels was put through a grilling examination at the hands of Senator Carlisle, who did the questioning. Samuels gave a history of his connection and dealings with the old State dispensary. Samuels told of having7 been employed by Farnum to visit the county dispensaries to sell whiskey for the Richland ? Distilling company. Said Farnum paid him $300 per month and travelling expenses; that when an order was secured from a county dispensary a copy of the order was sent to Mose H. Mobley, the clerk of the dispensary board, and a copy to Farnum. Said he never used any undue , influence in securing orders from | rnnntv disnensers. Said that on ac-, count of disagreement between Farnum and the dispensary board none of the goods sold the county dispensaries was ever shipped out. Senator Johnson Questioned. After a fifteen-minute recess, dur- j ing which the committee was in exe-, cutive session, Senator W. J. John- \ son, of Fairfield, took the stand, Sen-1 ator Johnson is a resident of Ridge- j way, and Senator Johnson was asked j if he recalled seeing the article in the j Fairfield News that Farnum had paid I I ~ ** ? ^ ~ i some $45,000 more tnan ms uuu. .vn., / Johnson said he heard some such ru-, mor and remembered having seen it j in some paper, but did not recall what j paper printed it. He did net recall i seeing it in the Ridgeway paper. Said he saw the article in some paper intimating that Farnum had paid a large * sum of money for his immunity. Senator Johnson said he had criti- j cised the Ansel commission on the, floor of the senate and bis criticism was aimed at the large amount of money paid the attorneys. He said his main criticism was aimed at Felder, and he thought the contract the commission made with Felder was an unreasonable one. I Senator Johnson was asked what he i thought of the contract the Blease i ! ; commission has with Mr. B. L. Abnev in collecting the overcharges from the I. J 1 AT fifiiH aau Kiur. great success, ts, and again w< ties to our secoi new hats have ir Millinery Pa: ! newest. Com \ >re of 1 Richland Distilling company, and Mr. Johnson said he thought it an unreasonable contract. This contract is a duplicate of the Felder contract and on the same per cent, basis. Senator Johnson said he thought 10 per cent. of the amount collected would have I been a reasonable fee for Felder. "I was not consulted by Governor Blease prior to his message Xo. 4, and in fact I saw very little of the governor," said Senator Johnson, replying to a question by Chairman Carlisle. "Can you suggest any persons going to prove charges in Message No. 4, or of the name of any persons having knowledge of rascality in the dispensary affairs," asked Secretary Evans, of S-enator Johnson, to which the latter replied, "Xo." Senator Johnson knew Dr. Murray and Mr. J. Steele Brice, of the Ansel commission, ana) he considered them high toned, honor- j a'ble men. He did not know the other three members of the Ansel commission. W. 0. Tatum, of Cope, commissioner of the State dispensary from March, 1904, until the dispensary was abolish ed, was the next witness. He explained that the duties of dispensary commissioner had nothing to do with purchases. He made no requisitions for purchases while he was commissioner. Said the board or their clerk ordered whiskey. He had nothing to do with it. Mr. Tatum stated he was under $75,000 bond, had nothing to do with ordering goods and he only took charge of goods after they arrived. He told of the large amounts of whiskey which came in, and often he had no room to store the whiskey and would refuse to receive the goods He explained what his duties were. Mr. Tatum is one of the defendants in the "label case," an indictment in which is now pending in the Richland ] county court against W. 0. Tatum, j John Bell Towill and L. W. BoyKin. ' What reasons did the board give for ordering so much liquor," asked Chairman Carlisle. "They gave no rea- j son, but seemed to be in sympathy' with my protest against such large orders," replied the witness. He knew of no money paid by any one to influence purchasing of liquor. Mr. Tatum held the position of com" tli? dienonsarv nhont ten JillS>E>Iimci <1 1, months afrer Dr. Murray and th? Ansel commission took charge, and he spoke of Dr. Murray's ability and his efforts to do all he could for th? State , in winding up the affairs of the disi p::i?J:iry. He spoke highly cf Dr. Murray and of his hard and earnest work. ' 4 W (2& , ww w&a, hundreds cam* 3 invite the Lad tid opening Tuei i been received rlors on that d e? you are welc< Tie Bes I Wood's Seeds For 1912. Our New Descriptive Catalog is fully up-to-date, and tells all about the best Garden and farm Seeds. Everv farmer and sardener should have a copy of this catalog, which has long been recognized as a standard authority, for the full and complete information which it gives. * We are headquarters for ^ Grass and Glover Seeds, Seed Potatoes, Seed Oats, Cow Peas, Soja Beans and all Farm Seeds. Wood's Descriptive Catalog mailed free on request. Write for it T. W. WOOD & SONS, * Seedsmen, - Richmond, Va. XEWBERRY OPERA HOUSE FOB REXT. The City Council of Newberry, S. C., I invites sealed bids for the lease of the i \Tewberry opera house for a term ol three (3) years, beginning April 25. 1912. House has a seating capacity of 900. Only theatre in Newberry county. I Town has population of 6,000. Bids ! must be filed prior to April 1, 1912. Rent to be paid monthly in advance \11 bids to be accompanied by a certified check for $50, as evidence of*good *'aith. Checks will be returned to unsuccessful bidders. Successful bidder will be required to give surety bond for five hundred ($500) dollars tc guarantee performance of conditions of lease. Right reserved to reject any tnd all bids. For further information, iddress, and file bids with Jno. R. Scurry, C'.erk and Treasurer, Newberry, S- C. 1-19-tf. >OTICE OF FI>AL SETTLE Jl E 31. Notice is hereby given that I will make final settlement of the estate of I. H. Dominick, deceased, in the Probate Court for Newberry County South Carolina, at 11 o'clock in the forenoon, on the fourth day of April, 1912, and will immediately thereafter apply for i final discharge as administratrix oi 'he estate of *the said deceased. Mrs. Alice Dominick, Administratrix. i i ? iMM-nrrm M* "$2*0? Ma gggHB 5, saw and 7 } ies of Newsday, March I by express ate. Every ' < )me at > , t" k I I I ?.?abb *%aa ufkAIIM ! STUMAUH IHUUHLtS Cured By Vinci?Here is Prc?? Seymour, Ind.?"I was troubled with a chronic stomach trouble, and five weeks ago it got so bad I had to give % f up work. I bad tried various medicines without relief, and was finally induced to try Vinol. After taking the first bottle I was greatly benefited. Am now on the third bottle and ready to resume work. Am rapidly gaining in weight and strength." Edw. Nieman. , It is the curative medicinal ele- M | ments of the cods' livers, combined j with the strengthening properties or h ! tonic iron contained in Vinol which -fl j makes it so successful in restoring j perfect digestion and at the same i time it builds up the tired, overworked and run-down system. f Try a bottle of Vinol with the onderstanding that your money will be returned if it does not help you. , For sale by Gilder & Weeks. STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA, COUNTY OF NEWBERRY. By Frank M. Schumpert, Esquire, Probate Judge. WHEREAS, Mrs. Jane C. Whitman ^ and Mrs. Sallie Eargle made suit to me to grant thert letters of administration of the estate of and effects of t-> r^. r. tvuuuiau, THESE ARE THEREFORE to cite and admonish all and singular the kindred and creditors of the said E. P. Whitman, deceased, that they be and appear before me, in the Court of Probate, to be held at Newberry, S. C., ' . on the 30th day of Jlarch, next after publication thereof, at 11 o'clock in the forenoon, to show cause, if any they have, why the said administra- ( tion should not be granted. ( GIVEN under my hand, this 14th day of March, Anno Domini, 1912. Frank M. Schumpert, J. P. N. C. 4 NOTICE OF FINAL SETTLEMENT. Notice is hereby given that the undersigned will make a final settlement of the guardianship estate of James Bernard Shackleford, minor, in the of fice of the Probate Court for Newberry county at 11 o'clock a. m., the ' j 20th day of April, 1912, and immediate j ly thereafter apply for a discharge as ! such guardian. Ordessa Shackleford, Guardian of James Bernard Shackleford, minor. March 19, 1912. I * " ~ T >o>v is tlie time to subscribe to The Herald and News, $1.50 a year. | I I