Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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CONT S.C 'NSAYJL 118 O 4 VOL. V. MAN NING, CLARENJ)ON CUTSC., WDESA, JL OUR FATHER'S HOUSE. Sermon by Rev. T. DeWitt Tal mage, D. D. The Heavenly Mansion Likened to the Old Home on the Hill-A House of Many Rooms-How the Mortals of Earth are Welcomed in the Celestial Palace. " Rev. T. DeWitt Talmage preached recently at The Hamptons, N. Y., on the subject: "Our House on the Hills." His text was John xiv., 2: "In my Father's house are many rooms." Following is the sermon: Here is a bottle of medicine that is a cure all. The disciples were sad and Christ offered heaven as an alterative, a stimulant and a tonic. He shows them that their sor rows are only a dark background ofabright picture of coming felicity. He lets them know that though they now live in the low lands they shall yet have a house on the up lands. Nearly all the Bible descriptions of Heaven may be figurative. I am not posi tive that in all Heaven there is a literal crown, or harp, or pearly gate, or throne, or chariot. They may be onlyused to illustrate the glories of the place, but how well they 'do it! The favorite symbol by which the Bible presents celestial happiness is a house. Paul, who never owned a house, although he hired one for two years in Italy, speaks of Heaven as a "house notmade with hands," and Christ in our text, the translation of which is a little changed so as to give the more accurate meaning, says: "In my Father's house are many rooms " This divinely authorized comparison of Heaven to a great homestead of large ac commodations I propose to carry out. In some healthy neighborhood a man builds a very commodious habitation. He musthave room for all his children. The rooms come to be called after different members of the family. That is mother's room. That is George's room. That is Henry's room. That is Flora's room. That is Mary's room. And the house is all occupied. But time goes by, and the sons go outinto the world and build their own homes, andthedaughters are mar ried or have talents enough singly to go out and do a good work in the world. After a while the t Cher and mother are almost alone in the big house, and, seated by the evening stand, they say: "Well, our family is no larger now than when we started together forty years ago." But time goes still further by and some of the chil dren are unfortunate and return to the old' homestead to live, and the grandchildren, come with them, and perhaps great-grand children, and again the house Is full. Many millennia ago God built on the hills of Heaven a great homestead for a family In numerable, yet to be. At first He lived alone in that great house, but after a while it was occupied by a very large family, cherubic, seraphic, angelic. The eternities passed on and many of the inhabitants be came wayward and left, never to return. And many of the apartments were vacated. I refer to the fallen angels. Now these apartments are filling up again. There are arrivals at the old homestead of God's chil dren every day, and the day will come when there will be no unoccupied room in all the house. As you and I expect to enter it and make there eternal residence, I thoughtyou would like to get some more particulars aboutthat many roomed homestead. "In my Father's house are many rooms." You see the place is to be a off ito apartments. We sh in" Ieavcn, but th . v g people R yb e would not want to live with in the same room. They may be better than we are, but they are of a divergent temperament. We would like to meet with them on the golden streets and worship with them in the tem ple and walk with them on the river banks, but I am glad to say that we shall live in different apartments. "In my Father's house are many rooms." You see Heaven will be so large that if one wants an entire room to himself or herself, it can be af forded. An ingenious statistician, taking the statement made In Revelation, twenty first chapter, that the heavenly Jerusalem was measured and found to be twelve thou sands furlongs and that the length and height and breadth of it are equal, saysthat would make Heaven in size 948 sextillion, 98S quintillion cubic feet, and then reserv ing a certain portion for the court of Heaven and the streets, aud estimating that the world may last a hundred thousand years, he ciphers out that there are over five tril lion rooms, each room seventeen feet long, sixteen feet wide, fifteen feet high. But I have no faith in the accuracy of that calcu lation. He makes the roomstoo small. From all I can read the rooms will be palatial, and those who have not had enough room in this world, wasi~ nave plenty of room at the last. The fact isi that most people in this world are crowded, and though out on a vast prairie or in a mountain district people may have more room than they want, in most cases it is house built close to house, and the streets are crowded and the cradles crowded by other cradlos, and the graves crowded in the cemetery by other graves, and one of the richest luxuries of many people 3n getting out of this world will be the gaining of unhindered and uncramped room. And I should not wonder if instead of the room that the statistician ciphered out as only seventeen feet by sixteen, it should be larger than any of the imperial rooms at Berlin, St. James, or Winter Pal ace. "In my Father's house there are many rooms." Carrying out still further the sym bolism of the text let us join hands and go up to this majestic homestead and see for ourselves. As we ascend the golden steps, an Invisi ble guardsman swings open the front door and we are ushered to the right into the re ception room of the old homestead. That is the place where we first meet the welcome of Heaven. There must be a place where the departedspirit enters and a place in ivhich It confronts the inhabitants celestial. The reception room of the newly arrived from this world-what scenes it must have wit nessed since the first guest arrived, the vic tim of the first fratricide, pious Abel. In that room Christ lovingly greeted all new comers. He redeemed them and He has the right to the first embrace on their arrival. What a minute when the _ascended spirit first sees the Lord. Better than all we ever read about Him, or talked about Him, or sang about Him in all the churches and through all our earthly lifetime, will it be, just for one second to see Him. -The most rapturous ideas we ever had of Him on sac ramenta~l days or attheheight of some great -revival, or under the uplifted baton of an oratorio are a bankruptcy of thought com pared wxii tae nrst tiasa of ins appearance in that reception room. At that moment when you confront each other, Christ look ing upon you, and you looking upon Christ, there will be an ecstatic thrill and surging of emotion that beggars all descriptiou. Look! They need no introduction. Long ~ago Christ chose that repentant sinner and that repentarnt sinner chose Christ. Might jest moment of an Immortal history-the first kiss of Heaven! Jesus and the soul. The soul and Jesns. But now into that reception room pour the glorified kinsfolk. Enough of earthly retention to let you kaow them, but with out their wounds 'ir their sickness or their troubles. Seo what Hleaven has done for them. So radiant, so gleeful, so transport. ingly lovely. They call you by name- They greet you with an ardor proportioned to the anguish of your parting and the length of your separation. Father! Mother! There is your child. Sisters! Brothers! Friends'i I wish you joy. For years apart, together again in the reception room of the old home stead. You see they will know you are com ing. There are so many immortals filling all the spaces between here andHeaven that news like that fies like lightning. They will be there in an instant; though they were in some other world on an errand from God a sigflal would be thrown that would fetch them- Though you might at first feel dazed anid overawed at their supernal splendor, all that feeling wil be gne at their first touch of heavenly salutation, and we will say: "0 my lost boy!" "O my lost companion !" "O my lost friend, are we here together " What scenes have been witnessed in that reception room of the old homestead; There met Joseph and Jacob, finding it a brighter room than any thing they saw in Pharaoh's palace; David and the little child for whom he once fasted and wept; Mary and Lazarus after the heartbreak of Bethany; Timothy and grandmother Lois; Isabella Graham and her sailor son, Alfred and George Cookman, the mystery of the sea at last made manifest; Luther and Magdalene, the daughter he be moaned; John Howard and the prisoners whom he gospelized; and multitudes with out number who, once so weary and so sad, parted on earth but gloriously met in Heav en. Among all the rooms of that house there is no one that more enraptures my soul than that receptih room. "In my Father's house are many l~ms." Another room In our Father's house is the throne room. We belong to the royal fami ly. The blood of King Jesus flows in our veins, so we have a rightto enter the throne room. It is no easy thing on earth to get through even the outside door of a king's residence. During the Franco-German war one eventide in the summer of 1870, I stood studying the exquisite sculpturing of the gate of the Tuilleries, Paris. Lost in ad miration of the wonderful art of that gate, I knew not that I was exciting suspicion. Loweritg my eyes to the crowds of people I found myself being closely inspected by gov ernmental officials, who from my complex ion judged me to be a German, and that for some belligerent purpose I might be exam ining the gates of the palace. My expla nations in very poor French did not satisfy them and they followed me long distances until I reached my hotel, and werenot satis tied until from my landlord they found I was only an inoffensive American. The gates of the earthly palace are closely guarded, and, if so, how much more severely the throne room. A dazzling place is it for mirrors and all costly art. No onewho ever saw the throne room of the first and only Napoleon will ever forget the letter "N" embroidered in purple and gold on the up holstery of chair and window; the letter "" gilded on the wall, the letter "N" chased on the chalices, the letter ".S" flaming from the ceiling. What a con flagration of brilliance the thrdhe room of Charles Immanual of Sardinia, of Ferdi nand of Spain, of Elizabeth of England, of Boniface of Italy. But the throne room of our Father's house hath a glory eclipsing all the throne rooms that ever saw scepter wave or crown glitter, or foreign embas sador bow, for our Father's throne is a throne of grace, a throne of mercy, a throne of holiness, a throne of justice. a throne of mniversal dominion. We need not stand shivering and cowering before it, for our Father says we may yet one day come up and sit on it beside Him. "To him that >vercometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne." You see we are princes and princesses. Perhaps now we move about incognito, as Peter the Great in the garb of a ship carpenter at Amsterdam, or as Queen 'irzah in -the dress of a peasant woman eeking the prophet for her child's cure; but It will be found out after a while who we are when we get into the throne room. Lye! we need not wait until then. We nay by prayer and song and spir tual uplifting this moment enter the throne om. O king, live forever! We touch the rorgiving scepter and prostrate ourselves at bhy feet. The crowns of the royal families f this world are tossed about from genera :ion to generation and from family to family. there are children four years old in Berlin aho have seen the crown on. three em erors. ut wherver coronets of this wori rise or fall they are de In'meet n one place. And I look and see them ioming from north and south and east and west, the Spanish crown, the Italian crown, the English crown, the Turkish crown, the Russian crown, the Persian crown, aye, all the crowns from under the reat archivolt of heaven; and while I watch gind wonder they are all flung in rain of .liamonds around the pierced feet. Jesus shall reign where'er the sun Does his successive journeys run, His kingdom stret-h from shore to shore Till the sun shall rise and set no more. , that throne room of Christ! "In my 'ather's house are many rooms." Another room in our Father's hou'se is the nusic room. St. John and other Bible wri ers talk so much about the music of heaven that there must be music there, perhaps not such as on earth was thrummed from tremb ing string or evoked by touch of ivory key, but if not that, then something better. There are so many Christian harpists ansi Chris Ian composers and Christian organists and hristian choristers and Christian hymnol ,gists that have gone up from earth, there must be for them some place f especial delectation. Shall we have music in this world of discords and no mu si in the land of complete harmsony? I can sot give you the notes of the first bar of the sew song that is sung in Heaven, I can not imagine either the solo or the doxology. But Reaven means music, and can mean nothing sie. Occasionally that music has escaped the gate. Dr. Fuller. dying at Beaufort, S. C., said: "Do you not heart" "-Hear what?" xclamed the bystanders. "The music? Lift me up! Open the window !" In that music-room of our Father's house, you will some day meet the old Christian masters, ~dozart and Handel, and Mendelssohn, and Beethoven, and Doddridge, whose sacred poetry was as remarkable as his sacred prose, and James Montgomery and Will iam Cowper, at last got rid of his spiritual melancholy, and Bishop He er, who sang of "Greenland's icy nountains and India's coral strand;" and Dr. Rafies, whowrote of "High in yonder realms f light," and -Isaac Watts, who went to visit Sir Thomas Abney and wife for a week, but proved himself so agreeable a guest that they made him stay thirty-six years; and. side by side, Augustus Toplady, who has got ver his dislike for Methodists, and Charles Wesley freed from his dislike for Calvinists; and George W. Bethune, as sweet as a song maker as he was great as a preacher and author of -'The V'illage Hymns;" and many who wrote in verse or song in church or by eventide cradle, and many who were passionately fond of music but could make none themselves. The poorest singer there more than any earthly prima uionna, and the poorest players. there more than any earthly Oottschalk. 0 that music room, the headquar-ters of cadence . and rhythm, symphony and -hant, psalm and antiphon I May we be there some he'ir a-hen Haydn sits at the keys o'f one of his own oratorios, and David the psahust fingers the harp, and Miriam of the lRed Sea banks claps the cymbals, and Gabriel puts ls lips to the trumpet and the four-and twenty soldiers chant, and Lind and Parepa render matchless duet in the music room of the old heavenly homestead. "In my Father's house are many rooms." Another room In our Father's house will be the family room. It may correspond somewhat with the family room on earth. At morning and evening, you know, that Is the place we now meet. Though every mem ber of the household have a separate room, In the family room they all gather, and joys and sorrows and experiences of all styles are there rehearsed. Sacred room in all our dwellings! Whether it be luxurious with ottomans and divans and books in Russian ids sanding in mahogany case, or ther-e be nly a fewv plain, chairs and a cradle. So the family room on high will be the place where the kinsfolk assemble and talk over the family experiences of earth, the wed dings, the births, the burials, the festal: days of Christmas and !Thanksgivmng re un'ion. Will the children departed remain hilren there? Will the aged remain aged there? 0, no;- 'everything is perfect there. he child will go ahead to glorified maturity and the aged wvill go back to glorified ma turity. The rising sun of the ,one will rise to meridian and the desending sun of the other will return to meridian. However much we love our cnildren on arth we would consider it a domestic dis aster if they stayed children, and so we re oice at their growth here. And when we meet in the family room of our Father's house we mml be lad that they have grand ly ana gioriousiy maturen; wnu our parents who were aged and infirm here we shall be glad to find restored to the most agile and vigorous immortality there. If forty or forty-five of fifty years be the apex of Physical and mental life on earth. then the heavenly childhood will advance to that and the heavenly old age will retreat to that. When we join them in that family room we shall have much to tell them. We shall want to know of them right away such things as these: Did you see us in this or that or the other struggle? Did you know when we lost our property and sympathize with us? Did you know we had that awful sickness? Were you hovering any where around when we plunged into that memorable accident? Did you know of our backsliding? Did you know of that moral victory? Were you pleased when we started for Heaven? Did you celebrate the hour of our conversion? And then, whether they know it or not., we will tell them all. But they will have more to tell us than we to tell them. Ten years on earth may be very eventful, but what must be the biogra hy of ten years in Heaven? They wiil have to tell us the story of coronations, story of news from all immensity. stoi'y of conquer ors and hierarchis, story of wrecked or ran somed planets, story of angelic victory over diabolical revolts, of extinguished suns, of obliterated constellations, of now galaxies kindled and swung, of stranded comets, of worlds on fire, and story of Jehovah's ma jestic reign. If in that family room of our Father'shouse we have so much to tell them of 'what we have passed through since we parted, how much more thrilling and arousing that which tltev have to tell us of what they have passed through since we parted. Surely that family room will be one of the most favore.1 rooms in all our Father's house. What long lingering there, for we shall ne er again im in a hurry. "Let me open a window," said an humble Christian servant to Lady Raties. who, because of the death of her child, had shutherself up in adark room and'refused to see any one; "you have been many days in this dark room. Are you net ashamed to grieve in this manner, when you ought to be thanking God for having given you the most beautiful child that was ever seen, and instead of leaving him in this world till he should be worn with trouble, has not God taken him to Heaven with all his beauty? Leave off weeping and let me open a window." So to-day I am trying to open upon the darkness of earthly separa tion the windows and doors and rooms of the heavenly homestead. "In my Father's house are many rooms." How would it do for my sermon to leave you in that famitly room to day? I ant sure there is no room in which you would rather stay than in the enrapturcd circle of your ascended and glorified kinsfolk. We ntight risit other rooms in our Father's house. There may be picture galleries penciled not with earthly art but by some process un mnown in this world, preservitg for the text world the brightest and most stupend >us scenes of human history. And there nay be lines and forms of earthly beauty preserved for heavenly inspection in some thing whiter and chaster and richer than Venetian aulpture ever wrought. Rooms eside rooms. Rooms over rooms. Largk rooms, majestic rooms, opalescent rooms. .methystine rooms. "In my Father's house ire many rooms." I hope note of us will be disat>pointed bout getting there. There is a room for us f we will go and take It, but in order to each it it is absolutely necessary that we ake the right way, and Christ. is the way: d we must enter at the right door, and :hrist is the door. and we must start :, ime, and the only hour you are sure of is he hour the clock now strikes and the only second to one your watch is now ticking. [ hold in my hand a roll of letters inviting you all to make that your hote forever. The New Testament is only a roll of letters iviting you, as the' spirit of them 1 practically says: "My dying yet im nortal child in earthly neighborhood, I I have built for you a great residence. It is ull of rooms. I have furnished them 1 s no palace was ever furnshed. Pe.arls ire nothing, emeralds are nothing, brsophrsus is nothing; illumtned pantels f sunrise and suntset, nothing; the surora of the Northern hteavens, ttoth ng-compared with the splendor wit which 1 htave garnitured thtem. Btut you nust be clean be fore you can enter theire, d so I have open ni a fountain where you nay wash all your sins away. L'otnte ntowI t your weary but cleansed feet on thte pard pathway. Do you not s.ee aid thte thick foliage ott thte heav'ently hill tops the ld fatally b~omnest'ad P" "in my Fathter's oe are mar~y roonts." -As friend after friend leaves thtis world by death, antd passes into the eterntal state. l all or nealy all of one's dearest earth ly rrieds have gone to the othter side, te mur'ivor's thoutghts itatturally turn to the state whithter they htave gone. Thte great ruture itncreases, and the pr'esent and tran icient scene lessens in their relative at tractiots. Thtese absent oites mav well be bjects of his thought, as hte pursues the enaining journey of life without them. uc a persont surely needs the hope of neeting themt in another and better world. -N. Y. Independent. -The movement toward Sabbath observ- 1 ace by the railroads has made an impor- I tant attainmtent by the closing of the ticket flces in the city of C'hticago. By a utnani nously signed petition (of the clerks antd eneral pssenger' agents, the ticket-offices1 i be closed. Those at the depot will be pen for a short time before the startinig of the few pastenger ttrains wvhit a continue to1 p out.-lnterior. -He that mtay hittdet mttischief and yet permits it is an accessory.-l'oreman. -BESET BY ICEBERGS. 1 rhriing and Perilous Voyage of the Bark Ivigtut. PHILADELPHIA, July 2G.-The bark rvigtt, which arrived yesterday from : vigtut, encoulntered a remarkaly st ormy 1 md perilous passage, occupying mn all i ~orty-eight days, dturing which forty-< eve icebergs were passed. She sailed tne 0, and on that day became fast 1 jammed in an ice pack, the area of which 1 oull not be determined from aloft. As < far as the eve could reach, nothing bt. ~tlong waste of thickly packed ice coutld -l be seen. Little or no0 headway could be t made. For seven long (days atnd nights, tmil great sulfferings, the battle wit h the t ice continued, and finally thle craft found: herself gliding through clear water once Inore. On the following day the thter- I mometer gave indications of ice again,: md it was but a short time until twenty-i ve tremendous, glittering monsters< loomed up in full view. On the 15th i ~eventen bergs, equally as large, were I sighted, and on the 16th five were seen. THE STANDARD OIL OCTOPUS. Reaching Out for the Absolute Control of the Natural ('as Business. IsmNAroustL, J uly 26....-Thie Statndarid Oil Company is endeavorinlg to get conl-1 rol of thle ntutral gas lands in Indianai,i evidently with the inltentionl of conm trolling the entire gas field ultimately. It will be necessary some time soon for the pipe line companies of Indianapolis, Lafayette and other cities to sink wells in new territory, and unless they secure leases for this purpose they will be wholly at the mercy of the Standard Oil Company. Large numbers of leases have been taken in the best gas terni tory near Indianapolis within the last two days, and it is b~elieved it will be found that the Standard Oil Company dlready holds the most desirable land elewhre in the Hoosier gas belt. THE STATE ALLIA CE: OPENING SESSIONS OFTHE FARM ERS FAVORITE ORDER. An Accurate List of the Delegates Pres ent-Quite a S prinkling of Former Fol lowers of Tillman-The Present Officers Re-Elected When Willing to Be. (From the Columbia Daily Register, July 5.) At 10 o'clock yesterday morning the annual convention of the State Farm ers' Alliance of South Carolina was called to order in Agricultural Hall by the Dresident, General E. T. Stackhouse of Marion. The enrollment of delegates was the first business undertaken and resulted in finding the following ACCREDITED DELEGATES PRF E\T: Abbeville-J. R. Blake, Jr. Aiken-J. M. Cobb. Anderson-A. C. Latimer and D. K. Norris. Barn well-D. Paul Sojourner. Berkeley-J. S. Porcher. ('hester-T. J. Cunningham. Chesterfield-John H. Turner. Clarendon-J. E. Tindal. Colleton-L. E. Parker. Darlington-E. E. Evans. Edgeficl-W. J. Talbert. Fairtield---T. S. Brice Floree-Z. '. Kershaw. Greenville - M. L. I)onaldson and John l. Harrison. llorry--Jeremiah Smith. Kershaw--J. R. McGill. Lancaster -George W1. Jones. Laurens - G. W. Shell. Lexington--George M. Wilson. Marion-D. W. McLaurin. Marlboro--W1. D. Evans. Newberry-Joseph L. Keitt.. Oconee--E. E. Verner Orangeburg-E. R. Walters. Pickens--R. G. Gaines. Richland -A. P. Bntler. Spartanburg-N. F. Walker, R. M. imitb and George B. Dean. Sumter--R. M. Cooper. Union--M. B. Kelley. Williamsbirg-J. W. Kennedy. York-A. H. White. PRESIDENT s'TACKHOUSE'S ADDRESS. After the enrollment of delegates, 3eneral Stackhouse delivered his annual address as president. The address was eferred to a committee- of five, to re >ort on the various matters and recom nendations contained therein. This ommittee comprised Messrs. J. R. Mc ill, W. ). Evans, J. S. Porcher, D. K. forris and Jeremiah Smith. ELECTION OF OFFICERS. Upon motion, the election of officers or the ensuing year was gone into and esulted as below, there being no disposi ion to make changes, what changes rere made being caused by the with trawal of candidates: President, E. T. Stackhouse, Marion. Vice-Presideut, D. Paul Sojourner, 3ar well. :e:retary, J. W. Reid of Reidville, partanhurg County. Treasurer, F. P. Taylir, Chesterfield. Ch aulaiu, Rev Jh e4. f on e of ' airfield. Lecturer, W. J. Talbert, Edgefield. Assistant Lecturer, H. McRae, Ma i0n. I )oorkeepcr, J. W. Kennedy, Williams >rg. Assistant Doorkeeper, A. R. Walter, lorry. Sergeant-at-Arms, J. E. Janigan, harion. Executive Committee, for three years, . T. D. Lancaster, Spartanburg. The ther members of this committee hold ng over are: Lucas Mcintosh, Doves ile, and TP. P. Mitchell of Woodward. THE GIFT OF A GAvEL. The president preserves ordler with a )andsomel gavel presented to the order >y Mr. W. W. Keys of Greenville, a ilver plate bearing the inscription The C'oton Plant to State Farmers' lliance." The hammer of the gavel s made of walnut fromn the- "Piedmont -neampnent," the handle of wood from he Pee Dee section. and the tablet to s struck of wood from Barnwell. A onmmittee, consisting of Messrs. H. lehle, MX. L. Don~aldson and D). K. ~orris. wvas appointed to draw up suit ble resolutions of thanks to Mr. Keys or his gift. AT THE EVENING sEssioN. After the recess, the installation of ificers took place, Mr. Ben. Trirrell of 'exas, the National Lecturer, conducet-1 g the exeises.- Ai the conclusion of his business the National Lecturer was nvited to deliver an address and did so o the extent of occupying some over an iour in expounding the privileges and >ossibilities of the order. At the conclusion of the speaking mtsiness of a routine character was -alsatedl. The executive committee -eported the books of the secretary and reasurer as having been examined and oundl correct. A STATE nUSINESS AGENCY. At the meeting of the State Alliance ni Decmber last the excntive commit eeC ma~de the following report as to a musiness system: "The m'embers of our order through t the SItte are enquiring eagerly for oe business system for the ensuing car. We have been unable to formu ate anV sistem which we are willing to ecomen'Id for i mmediat~e adoption. In onsideration of the fact that our or ~anzat ion is in it~s infancy in the State. ud that any mistake made now would ar a very unhappy effect on our rder, and uplon our brother farmers ~o have niot yet joined, but who we 1 ope wvill soon'(10 so, we think it better< o make haste slowly. "We commendt to youe consideration] le system adopted in North Carolina, md known as the North Carolina Busi- 1 less Agency Fund, and suggest that, if he system meet with your approval, you opt it or some similar one at your. cxt. annual meeting in July, when y~ou] an elect an agent and go to work to aise a ftund for him to operate with. In he meantime we recommend that the ounty and subordinate Alliances,i brough their business agents, make the >nest local arrangements they can." 1 At thie samec meeting, S. J. Hester as electeil State business agent until he July meeting, anld the following eso lutiofn wa*s adoptedl: "RCY~tes/re, That tIhe executive commit ee be charged with the duty of report ng a plan for the establishmecnt of a tate business agency at our meetimg in l, and that subscriptions be called or'immediately thereafter to the capital 1 tock of the State business fund, thej ame to be payable October 1st, 1889." At last evening's session of the alhi ec this subject was broached and the: liscussion of the report on the State gney set for to-day. The Macune 1 geneyv system wvas also discussed to, ome extent. The following committees were -ap- 1 lointed by the president: Constitutional umendments -Blake, Turner, Harrison, 1 abrsn- anel W' I) Eans Jnte Bag- 1 ging- Latimer, Porcher, Brice, Deane McLaurin, White and Butler; Commit tee on Consolidation with the Agricul tural Wheel of Farmers' Alliance-Tin dale, Cunningham, Jeremiah Smith, Jones and Walter. At this point in the proceedings the question of having a night session camle up and there was somewhat of a disposi tion to hold one, but on the statement of the hard-worked Secretary that it was absolutely necessary that he have the time to make out the warrants for the per diem and mileage of the members, there was just as general a desire not to have him prevented from being able to perform this important duty, and it was decided to have no night session. An adjournment was accordingly made until this morning. It is possible that the Alliance will he able to complete its business and adjourn to-night, which seems to be the general wish of the delegates, but it is doubtful if it prove practicable. Second Day. (From the Columbia Daily Register. July 26.) Yesterday proved to be the last day of the deliberations of the State Farmers' Alliance, and while a great deal of time must have been occupied in talking yet a very considerable amount of business was transacted, and definite action taken on several important matters. The Alliance met at 10 o'clock a. m. As a committee on mileage and per diem the president appointed Messrs. McRae, Jeremiah Smith and G. W Shell. The entire morning session was occu pied in the discussion of the question of establishing a State exchange or busi ness agency, the discussion arising over the report on the subject submitted by the executive committee. The merits of the Macune system. now in operation in exas and Georgia, were thoroughly can vassed and facts given as to the work ings of the system in use in North Caro ,ma. It was finally decided by vote to es :ablish a State Agency in this State, the plan submitted and recommended by the Executive Committee being adopted with ;onie changes The details of the plan or system re erred to are somewhat intricate and will be given to the press for publica ;ion later. The scheme provides for the ormation of a joint stock company for vhich a charter from the State is-to be ecured. The capital stock is to be *50, 00, divided into shares of $50 each, but )usiness is to be commenced when $5,000 ball have been paid in. In this joint stock company < he stock is to be held by he sub-alliances of the State < s organizations and not by individuals, 1 is such. With the fcnd comprised in 1 he capital stock as a backing, all goods 1 nd articles needed by the members are o be purchased in large quantities at i he lowest cash price possible, and sold hrough County Alliance agents to mom- 1 >ers at prices only sufficiently advanced 1 Lbove cost for the profit to pay running 1 xpenses. No part of the capital stock is to be 1 Lsed to pay salaries, those being pro- 1 >sed to be paia out ot the profts. Toe tire management of the affairs of the ompany will be vested in a board of irectors and officers chosen by the lliances holding stock, acting through a tate business agent. -At about 2 o'clock a recess was taken or dinner and the State Alliance recon rened at 3:30. A VOTE FOR CONSOLIDATION. After a somewhat prolonged discus ion in reference to the ratification of the 1 tction of the National Alliance, which t its last meeting at Meridian, Miss., roted to unite with the "Agricultural1 Vheel" under a joint constitution, a vote] vas taken on the question, and by a vote >f 23 to 12 it was voted to ratify, thus ndorsi ng the proposed consolidation. THE COTTON COVERING QUESTION. 1 A resolution was adopted heartily en-1 lorsing the action of the various County lliances as to using cotton bagging as a I overing for cotton. 1 The following preamble arid resoln-< ,ion presented by Mr. W. J. Talbert of Edgeield were also adopted: "'Whereas, in view of the great im- 1 >ortance of the introduction and perma. tent adoption of cotton bagging instead >f jute as a covering for cotton, be it . "Resolherd, That we, the members ofi he State Alliance, in con' ention assem- i led, do earnestly appeal to all sub-i illiances in this State to make every i ifort to secure the same, and that they ise only cotton bagging, or, if a sufficient uantity of cotton bagging cannot bce ~btained, then that they use any other< ubstitute from straw, or even common omespun, or anything but jute." APPOLNTED AND ELECTED. Thbe following were appointed as mem >ers of the State judiciary committee: dessrs. M. L Donaldson of Greenville, W. D. Evans of Marlboro, and J Stoney orcher of Berkeley. Mr. M. L. Donaldson of Greenville vas elected State business agent. The following were appointed to repre ent the State Alliance at the next meet g of the National Alliance, to be held mt St. Louis. Mo.: Messrs. T. P. Mitch 1, D. K. Norris and W. J. Talbert;1 iternates -J. E. Jarnigan and A. P. 3utlr. ROUSING RESOLUTIONs. The following resolutions were adopted luring the session: "Resoired, That we recommend to oipr Jounty Alliances the passage of a reso ution to use no fertilizers not put up in otton sacks.1 "Resolced, That we memorialize thei .egislature to enact an anti-trust law, imilar to such laws passed by the Legis atures of Kansas, Missouri and other, tates. ' This resolution was proposed-by Col.1 i. P. Butler, the delegate from the ichland County Alliance, which had ithorized and directed its introduction. Another resolution was adopted en lorsing the action of the National Cot on Committee, and pledging that the ;tate Alliance would do all in its power 1 assist in perfecting the combimation 1 ontemplated. A resolution of thanks was adopted o Mr. Ben. Tirrell, of Texas, the Na ional Lecturer, for his address before~ he Alliance. GREENviLL.E AND THE COTTON PLANT. 1 Resolutions were adopted strongly enI lorsing the Cotton Pla nt as the organ of1 he order in this State, and commend ng it to the liberal patronage of members is entirely worthy of their support. It was voted to make Greenville the1 >lace of holding the next annual con-1 7ention of the State Alliance, which will ake place on the fourth Wednesday in ruly, 1890. After some unimportant discussion ie convention adjourned sine die at 0:30, many of the delegates having eft for their homes, however, before PRESIDENT STA1 KIUcSE'S MESSA : To the State Farmers' Alliance in Conver tion Assembled. Below is given in full the annual ad dress or "message" of President Stack house to the State Alliance, delivered at the opening session on Wcdnesday: BROTiHERS OF THE STATE ALIAXCE: During the first year of our existence as a State organization our nuimbers have increased from :1,000 to 20,4)0. We now have 754 sub-Alliances and :;1 County Alliances. At. the date of our State organization we had 162 Sub. and 10 County Al liances. The growth of the organiza lion in the other cotton States has not been less marked. Its unprecedented growth and the devotion of its members to its principles best indicate their belief in the necessity for the organiza tton and the success of its mission. The desire t, avert the ruin which must re sult from the continuesl centralization of money and of political power causes thoughtful and patriotic people to strive by organization and education to arrest ts rurther progress. CO-OPERATIVE BUSINESS METHODS have not yet been fully and fairly tested, but the experiment warrmt.ts the hope of ultimate success. Where it has been tried under the greatest disadvan tages, it more than compensates for the time and attention devoted to it, while the more advantageous methods are securing advantages which should soon place the entire business uIpon a strictly cash basis, and to this nd the Alliance in this State should de ote its best efforts. No true Alliance man will now think )f fixing a money valuation on the MENTAL, MORAL AND SOCIAL WORK >f the Alliance. That which elevates t mnd directs the mind in the contempla ion of life duties and responsibilities-- i >roadens the conception of life's oppor ;unities; that which teaches and de- t nands a rigiti discharge of moral obli y rations; and that which lifts to a proper e appreciation of social life-unites a )rotherhood for enltivation and practice i f the virtues which ennoble human ature-teaches the necessity of Divine v uidance in all things-is above and be- s ond money valuation. s Your executive committee Wili submit t plan for the establishment of a STATE EXCHANGE OR BUSINESS AGENCY. This is the most important matter that vi claim your attention at this session, or upon its wise establishment will de end very largely the success of our rganiz:ttion in this State. While the special session last Dc- I ember fixed the responsibility of ( eporting a plan on your most a mportant committee, and while I rely 1 pon the fidelity 'and ability of that t om'mittee, I may be pardoned for mak- f ng one suggestion in reference to this e ery important matter. The limited I ime that I have been able to devote to ( he study of this subject induces me to t eliese that, in its establishment, every 'eature that savors of the credit system ( s an evil of such magnitude as to de- : nand its abandonment. I uur e~tors tu, e oeenThrected I o the improvemenl i us system, and t efforts, I am satisfied, are materi- t beneficial both to the debtor and 1 ,reditor classes, but in the establishment t )f a State agency, which is designed to t e a permanent fixture, it should be lone on a correct system-the only cor- f ect system-the cash system. t Cannot our people by a greater effort, s , close application to business and the 1 ractice of a more rgid economy, re-gain c e lost year? The establishment of an C gency that gave assurance of absolutely S tir dealing and the very lowest prices C at eould be procured by wholesale cash I urchses from the producers would be a -i owerfulincentive to make the effort to do r o. Then, too, why could not many who C re now supplied on thme general credit g ystem on security, upon the same or the C lest security available,, borrow the oney and buy for cash? Without a c itate agency this i~s incomparably the letter plan. With an agency the advan- C ges obtained should be largely in- I reasedl. You are to vote, during this session, I n the very important qjuestion submit d by the National Alliance at Meri- i0 an, Miss., of CONSOLIDATION. The question has not been discussed your State organ (nor elsewhere, to ny knowledge,) a-s its importance dle- 3 ~anded. Possibly it has been dliscusSed *J your subordinate and County Alli nes, and it may be that you are in. r tructed ats to how you shall vote oii this 1uestion. If, however, such is not the a ase, and you are free to form conclu ions, and to vote in accordance with c 'our best judgment, I invoke your very areful. consideratien of this question: an the organization be consolidated in t nity and act in harmony? This is'the t reat central question for our considera- e ion. If there arc auf known coin itions which create a reason- r bl doubt on this point, we I: hould vote against consohildation. Fort vhile we might withdraw from "Thme , ~arers' and Labors' Union of Amer-t a," we might never again have "The t ~atioal Farmers' Alliance" so) unii'cdl ) ad harmonious as it now is. W hile, i f we ow vote against it, they might possibly dmit us hereafter if we should apply for dissioni. On the other harnd, if there is no -easonable dIoubt about or ability to 9 ive in unity and in harmony with ie great consolidatedl body to be knownC "The Farnmers' anti Labors' Union of tmerica" we snouild v-ote ror the consol dation, because this great natioi'al ,ody could be so mnuch more iniluential a securing great nationmal reforms. COTrroN BAGGt~ING. - The action of the State Alliance at a ts meeting in December in reference to d he use of cotton bagging and the a Ldjustment of tare was timely, as it u eoved all doubt as to our position and il uty on this subject. So when we were u nvited to the meceting of the Southern d Jmanufacturers' Association at Augusta, a ia., on that 1st of April, your represen- xi atives felt justified in contracting for i e manufacture of one million yards or x. otton bagging. Under the call of President Macune 1 lelegated Bro. M. L. Doinaldsoin to thme 3irigham meetinig, who, wvit h Bro. ueas Mclntosh, ebairman of your ec- - live committee, represented us at that c necting. ri We are now fully committed to the e ise of cotton bagging to cover cotton, t ud the full force of the influence of our rganizationl in the cotton States should a brought to bear in favor of an eqjui- t able adjustment of tare. ilow we can I est aid our people in securing the nec- a ssary amount of cotton baging, will I laim your attention at this meeting, a n :his matter wec have the sympathy d co-operation of .non-alliance farm- C CONsTITUTIONAL AMEND)MENT. Several brethren have written mue in~ a Ldocc of amendments to our State I constitution, but pending the question of consolidation, and in view of the very great care necessary in such work, f think it best that no amendments be considered at this session. It may be well, however, to appoint a special com mittee to consider all propositions in reference to this subject, and to report to your next annual meeting. THE OUTLOOK. Our short experience in co-operation work Justifies the hope of largely in creased resnlts from our future efforts when our organization shall be more ex tended and perfect, and when we shall better understand our needs and the onditions upon which our success de pends. The field is so vast, covering as it does everything, from the smallest home im provement to the most important gov -rnment reforms, that the work must of ecessity be one of great difficulty; and vhile the results already obtained are >f the most gratifying character, we are nuouraged to look for greatly enlarged results from our future efforts. THE JUTE TRUST, )y its inordinate greed, and because of ts supposed impregnable position, com )els a test of our pluck and fidelity. ['he challenge has been accepted and is >eing responded to in a way that re noves all doubt as to the result. In his contest we make a present sacrifice o secure a future good. o In view of the fact that the duties al .eady imposed upon your executive com mittee will likely demand their whole ime and attention during this session, I tuggest that you appoint a special corn nit tee, to whom shall be referred all in ormation and resolutions in reference o this subject, that they may con ider the same and recommend such etion as shall best promote he change determined upon, and se :ure harmony of action among the seve al cotton States. The report of your executive commit e show's that the financial affairs of ,our State organization have been conomically managed and that your tate treasury now has ample funds for mmnediate wants. The importance of the matters that ill claim your consideration at this ession demands that you remain in ses ion long enough to consider each houghtfully and well. THEY DON'T WANT TO SELL. 'he Cherokee Indians Will Listen to No Proposition for the Purchase of Their Lands. CICAGO, July 26.-A dispatch from 'ort Gibson, I. T., says: The Cherokee 'ommission was met here yesterday by delegation of Creek Indians, headed y Indian Agent Bennett, who asked hat the Creeks be heard at once in re erence to a certain technical matter oncerning the sale of their remaining tnds. The request was granted and eneral Fairchild has arranged to meet de Creeks at Muscogee to-day. The hard feeling between Creeks and herokees grows more bitter as the ending negotiations come to a focus. he u herokees-upbraid the Creeks -f te umuathe'a ueal, am neic minugna ion increases as the Creeks make fur her preparations to sell. The Chero ees are almost a unit in their opposi ion to any and all transactions by which heir lands are to be marketed. Chief fayes demonstrated a firmness in re using to call the council that bids fair o han'dicap the labors of the commis Ion at the outset. He is reported to ave publicly state: to the commanding fficer at Fort Gibson that he would not all an extra session under any circum tances. General Fairchild expressed a esire to confer with the chief at Tah ~quah as soon as possible, ostensibly ith the object to induce him to call an n extra session at once. During the lay that must ensue before the dele ates assemble, the General says the mmission will go to the Cheyenne and Lrraphoe agencies to consider their Laims to the Cherokee strip. The most important fact that has oc urred to-the commission thus far is the mnth to which their negotiations must ecessarily be protracted, and with the resent hostility demonstrated by the Ilerokee authorities, it may be several ionths before preliminary negotiations an be opened. Ice Cream Not a Lnzury. CINCINNATI, July 23.-When George fth, confectioner, was brought before udge Ermsten of the Police Court to ay for selling ice cream on Sunday, he leaded guilty. The prosecutor sug ested that the Court regard the plea as demnurrer, and the Court accepted e suggestion. His Honor then went n to say that the use of ice cream had rown to such an extent that it was no mger to be classed as a luxury, and in e liberal view the Court was inclined take~ of the statute, its sale on Sunday uld easily be regarded as a necessity. Certamly," said his Honor, "no an was ever incited by ice cream to go owe and beat his wife and break up be furniture, and I have no sympathy ith the effort ot saloon men to make e law against them odious by pushing e enforcement of the common law." [r. Lath was dismissed. It True .That a Bob-tail Dog Can't Swim? The absorbing quest ion for dliscussion mong thme employees at the Short Line epot is, whether or not a bob-tail dog an swim. Monday night several of the mployees went in bathbing in the river,1 nd on coming our found a bob-tail dog itting on the bank watching their action vidently with great interest. The idea erred( to some of them to throw the nimal into the water and see him swim ut, as it is generally understood -that 1 y tiog c;on swim. But this particular1 og could not, for he sank like a stone4 s soon as he hit the water. Now, this nfortunate pup had only one eye, and is stilli mooted question among the men whether its inability to swim was ue to the want of aii eye or the want of tail. So great is the interest in the atter that a number of bets have been mde and some experiments with maimed dogs are to be made.- Courier- 1 Buried Alive Forty Years. NYAeIg, N. Y., -July 23.-Talk about Id toads, LUpper Nyack can beat the cord. While tearing down an old himney in that place to-day the work men were astonished to find inmbedded 1the iiortar a toad in a some what in etive condition, but still alive. It had ccin conitincd in that spot, hidlden from ght and air, for fully forty years. Half n hour after lie had beens brought out e hopped around in as lively a manner s if he had been born the present year. I otton Spinners Limiting Production. LoNaoN, July 26.-Two-thirds of the 1 >tal number of cotton spinners have greed to limit their production to one-4 ah usual aount for one month. NO MATTER WHO'S HURT. IRREGULARITIES IN THE PENSION OFFICE TO BE INVESTIGATED. By Order of the Secretary of the Interior The Civil Service Commission Complain About the Administration of the Law in the Pension Office. WASUINGTON, July 23.-Secretary No ble has issued an order directing Dr. George Ewing and H. L. Bruce of the Board of Pension Appeals, and Judge Fiank L. Campbell of the Assistant At torney General's office, Interior Depart ment, as a committee to forthwith enter upon the investigation of all reratings of pensions as made by the Pension Bu reau during the last twelve months, and especially those of pensioners in the gov ernment service, with a view to aseer taining whether any suchreratings have been made in violation of law. The members of the Commission have no idea when they will fin ish their work. They have instruc tions to make a thorough investi gation and report the Fasts to the Secre tary without regard to vhom is hurt. It is understood that the scope of their work will be enlarged so as to include the matter of making cases special. Commissioner Tanner has given instruc tions that a record of cases made special, with the names of the attorneys in the eases, be prepared. It will be sub mitted to the commission, and they can include that in their report, if desired. It is said that the Civil Service Commis ion is not satisfied with the present administration of the civil service law in the Pension Office. Commissioner Roosevelt, it is understood, will make a remonstrance against the course that has been pursued. VIRGINIA LAND SINKING. Four Acres Settle Forty Feet in Three Days. A Landmark representative called on Cr. George P. Gatling, the druggist, who owns a farm adjoining his father's, md who now uses his father's farm for ising stock, to ask him what he had weard of the wonderful depression in ;hings in Prince George. He showed us t letter from his father, dated July 1?, n which the following reference is made :o the phenomenon: "You have doubtless heard of the )henomenal occurrences here lately. You know the shape of the hillside from the big pine tree on the river around by he two oaks in front of the house, con inuing on to the point of the big oaks n Mount Alto, (Mr. Gilliam's place.) Chis line describes the shape of. a cres ent. Well, every particle of the- in ,lined hillside has settled perpendien arly forty feet all the way between the >oints named. It was not a landslide >ut a settling, the trees remaining up ight as before. There were wide -fs- A ures in the little field below, though nany small ones also, all running-North .4JU~Lh.v '~ 'J.Li ~ ;ome respects it may be an improve nent. It was settling down for three lays. Affectionately, your father, G. W. GAmING" Mr. Gatling says the area of the munken land cannot be over four'acres, md that the change is not regarded by the owners as a disadvantage. Bis Brother has already written to say that or a few hundred dollars the space be ween the house and the river can now >e graded and terraced so ato make the >lace more attractive than ever. There s not the slightest alarm felt by the oc ~upants of the homestead, and there is mperfectly natural reason for the appa ently mysterious sinking. From. what Kfr. Gatling says the river makes a sharp mgle at his farm, being deflected by the >bstruction offered by this very hillside. he recent floods have caused th6 river :o burrow under with more than ordi iary rapidity, seek-ing a straight course, mnd the consequence is that the hillside is mdermined, the dirt being thrown aside orming a shoal, which is referred to.as hc most extraordinary phase of tiie hing. The volcanic manmfestation wa's >robably the first breach made in-the ~arth by the influence of the mining urrent. Although 700 bushels of sweet >otatoes were raised last year on this iow descended ground, the value of thee. arm is not thought to be impaired,.as - ir. Gatling is engaged in the extensive ~ultivation of geese this year instead of >otatoes, and if necessary lie can corral is geese in this deep hole and make hem safe and comfortable. Later advices received through Mr. latling are to the effect that while the inking is unusualin extent it is not n recedented in that locality and along he river, and no importance is attached o it. -Norfolk Landnwirk. A Boy Who Resembles a Ground Hog. BmRMINGHAM, Ala., July 23.-DeKalb ounty has a genuine wonder in the hape of a ground hog boy, who lives vitti his parents on Sand Mountain, tout sixteen miles from here. The lad s 14 years of age, and those who have een him say he has head, hands and eet similar to a ground hog. He cannot. alk, but makes a noise like an animal.. I amuses himself almost constantly by >alancing a stick on one of his hands, nd is very active. Several gentlemen uave been talking of late of securing he consent of the parents to place the oy on exhibition in all of the principal ities of the country, and, on account >f their poverty, it is said it will not be hard matter to make a contract with hem. All who have seen the boy pro uonce him a genuine curiosity, and be eve a large fortune could be made out f him by placing him on exhibition. Women and Machinery. One of the most serious defects in :he feminine mind is the inability to [al with machinery. It is a rare thing o find a woman who really grasps the dea of a mechanical contrivance so as o set it t. rights if it goes wrong. A ad result of this defect was the dread ul death of Emma 'De Groat in an Al any shirt factory yesterday. She was aught in the machinery and whirled ound a line of shafting. None of the irls about her had instant brains nough to stop the machine. One fainted Ld the others shrieked and ramn down tairs for a man.-Rochester Union, rtly 1.9. Over Six Thousand Perished. JoHNsrowN, Pa., July 24.-The Burea u f Information to-day handed in its re ,ort, showing that 6,111 persons had erished by the flood in the Contemaugh alley. It is estimated that 4,000 bodies ave been recovered. General Manager Fulton says that the lautier Works will start in ten days, mloing 2,000 men.