Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

AT THE END OF ITS M."' THE STATE BOARD OF CONTROl. ABANDONS THE JOB. It Ha no rovor to Go Further With the DispnsarY nvestigatiou and Say w.( - What Was Gleaned in Cincinnati. CoLupi. S. C., Oct. 8. The State board of control is still peginz away at its regular monthly routine busi ness. Yesterday morning, however, it found time to receive the report of Messrs. Williams and Weston, who were sent on during the recess to Cim cinnati to look into matters bearing on the rebate business. This report was received and received some dis cussion. The board practically de cided at the morning session what it would do so far as any further investi gation is concerned, but took no oli cial action, preferring, it is understood, to await the arrival of Mr. Alien. During the morning, however, the board decided to make public the re port presented by these gentlt-re and it was turned over to tne repre-ei - tatives of the press. In the afternoon the board brought up thematter of the investigaion again and took tinal action in regard thereto in the [shape of the following resolu tion, which was adopted and at once made publir: "This board of control, on account of the many rumors affecting the in tegrity of the management of the tusi ness of the State dispensary before the presen'; board took charge of its affairs, deemed it proper to enter upon an in vestigation of the truth of such ru mors so far as they atect employes of the institution. This investigation has been made as thorough and as searching as possible in view of the limited extent of the power aid at thority of this board. "During the investigation the board has received statements, under oath, of all persons and all officials who ap peared before it. A joint committee, composed of one member of the board and one member of the legislative ex amining committee, was sent to the city of Atlanta and city of Cincinnati to mvestiate the business transactions between rs who have sold liquors to the State and the offlicials of the State dispensary under the former act of the legislature. The report of this jointcommittee bas been made. The hearing before this borad was held with open doors, and the testimony has been published in the daily newspa pers for the information of the public. Iis the sense of this board that at the proper time the geral assembly shall e fully appri of the disadvantages under which this investigation was made, that they may take such steps as may be deemed advisable. "The evidence that has been taken is, in the opinion of this board, insutli cient to show that any officer or em ploye of the State dispensary has re ceived rebates or commissions on sales to the dispensary, or to trace any money so received to the personal possession of any such officer or em ploye, or to prove that any such offi cer or employe has participated in such rebates or commissions." THE COMMITTEE'S REPORT. Here is the report of the official com mittee sent to Cincinnati: Columbia, S. C., Oct. 7, 1S96: To the State Board of Control: We, you~r committee appointed at your last meeting to go to Atlanta and Cincinnati to collect evidence against -dispensary officials, if any there is, tending to show that rebates were im propely received, report: Tht we went to Atlanta, Ga., and there found that it was impossible to recover a damaging telegram said .to ybeen sent trom there to Commis - - ' is son in July. 95, - mpany, s1x ur cers and employes of those companies refused to discuss any of these matters with us except througti their attorney; refused to allow a stenographic report of our interview with them, and refused to be bound by any verbal statement they might mae. Their written statement amounts to little else than an advertisement for themselves, and without charging any body with wrong-doing, we respectful ly suggest that the legislature is the only power in this State with suflicient authority to grapple with this matter and expose damaging facts if any exist. While in Cincinnati we approached other parties who had had dealings with the dispensary, but with unsatis factory results. (Signed) L J. Williams, Of the Board of Control. (Sigrned) Francis H. Weston, O~f the Legislative Committee. "T1H5E WHISKEY MF3'S LETTE R. The following letter is the principal one of those referred to in the report: ~Dc)Cincinnati, Sept. 25th, 1896. -Messrs. Williams and Weston, Com mittee of Investigation, Columbia, S. C.: Gentlemen-As we have made you assurance that we would investigate all the matters you have made a trip to Cincinnati to look into, we now propose to put in writing the result of our investigations, concerning the af fairs of the two undersigned companies with the State of South Carolina. We are prompted to do this with a full ap preciation of the importance of your visit, and with full knowledge that the people of South Carolina, through their properly constituted officials, are now investigating the conduct of some of the State officials, with a view of getting at exact justice, and right and truth. We write this statemant with the hope that you will fully understand the position of our two companies for fair dealing and honesty. The Joseph R, Peebles Sons Co. (undersigned), has been in business for 56 years. It has grown to be a large private corporation with a capital stock as lar ge as most of the large banks, and its affairs are mnanaged by a board of directors. 'The Live Oak Distillery Co. is a similar private corporation, operated under the management of a board of directors, all of whom are gentlemen of integrity and high business reputa tion in this community. Both of these concerns have an aggregate capital of four hundred thousand dollars ($400, 000) paid in, and have in their emplof' over -125 people. Of this number more than one half are sales people. Our business relations 'with the State dispensary of South Carolina has edthrough the hands of a numa ofthese people. Now, gentlemen, we propose to say to you, and through you to the people of South Carolina, that if anything that is even slightly dishonest or taint ed with corruption has b~een indulged in by any connivance of any employee and any :official of the State of Sou th Carolina, we only wish to know~ who it is, as we cannot tolerate a~i -y en conduct on the part of any om' con nected with our business, whetr'r in your State or any other $'ate. We are aware ofth etthat the ousiv d vrmed br a uno of commer cialtravet -rs. sonie or whom areirre sponsibl. We are fully convinced of this fact; that no responsible estab lishment can do a large business through traveling salesmen wifhout having imitators, and without having tiecii reputation assailed at somo-timie or othe. The undersigned two conpanlies have both been successful and have sold to the State of South Carolina large quantities of high grade geoods: uniformly at the lowest prices con-ISt ent ithi quality. We claim. without exception, that we have sold the State of South Carolina at the very lowest margin at which we could a Jord to sell. If, in connecti withis busi ness and the desire to retain it, any one of the se n or enployes or commission agerts or brokers of the undersi-ned companmes have miade any m istakes we! wish you gentlenen to consider that we have to be a ittle .-haritable with our eniployes. anc that we do not charge our enployes w io are pushing the sale of om- goods, rith as bigha deg'ree of responsibility~pr)vided they act .onorably iii all their deal ings with our customers, and d1, not misrepresent the quality of our goods. A committee of our board has nc w advised that one of the members of the company, who is also a lawyer, give a thorough investigation to a great many of the matters we have from time to time learned from the South Carolina newspapers. We have ascertained the fact that Mr. Yost, who is one of the southern managers of the Live Oak Distillery company, did have personal intter views on one or two occasions with James W. .Nixson. at Cincinnati, Ohio. You have asked is pers-)nally to procure any letters Mr. Yost is able to furnish. We now fu-nish, attached hereto. the t.vo letters that Mr. Yost has been able to End, one dated April Sh 1895, from James W. Mixson to our Mr. Yost, and the other dated May 10th, 1895, to Mr. Yost and signed by J. W. Mixson. Mr. Yost has also furnished us a letter from W. T. Mix son, dated Dec. 10th, 1895. Both of our two companies wish to have it dis tinctly understood that these letters were not known of by the - ther agents of the business, and that Mr. Yost di tinctly states that it never occurred to him that any friendly relations that might be established with J. W. Mix son and V. T. Mixson might possibly be construed unfavorably by anybody in the State of South Carolina. You two gentlemen, as a committee, have requested us personally to ask Mr Yost about any interviews he ever had with either of the sons of F. M. Mixson. We have the statement from Mr. Yost and now give it to you-that he saw one of these gentlemen on two or three occasions at Cincinnati, and the other one possibly as many times at Cincinnati, Ohio. That without any thought as to any possible con struction that might be placed upon it, and in entire innocence as to any im nroper suggestions he did consent to give a small brokerage commission to said two gentlemen. That each of said gentlemen approached him. We have the assurance of Mr. Yost that in neither of the interviews with either of the sons of F. M. Mixson did they promise or assure him that they would solicit business from their father. Mr. Yost also states that he was led to believe from conversations with others whose names he cannot recall that the business as conducted in the State of South Carolina enabled the different dispensers to call for the par ticular brands of goods they wanted or that there was a demand for; that these demands of the various county dispensaries controlled the orders giv en by the main dispensary. There fore, as the Live Oak stl , and the Joseph R. eebles Sons' Co. had already est fished the scale of prices at which.; they were wiingi t sell the goods, ?and as the suggestion qMixson and James WV. nothing to do with a ese prices Mr. Yost by having-bokers in the in creating a demand for or popularizing certain Lere would be no injustice to te State of South Carolina, even if said brokers were related to the comn mssioner. Up'on the above theory the under signed company feel very well assured that we are right in exonerating Mr. Yost, one of our representatives from any wrong intention or disposition to ward the State of South Carolina or from any attempted corruption or bribery. We now state to you gentlemen the fact and assure you of its accuracy that the prices at which our goods were sold to the State of South Caro lina were from 5 to 20 per cent. less for the same grades as sold by us to other large buyers throughout the United States. Your comimittee has asked these companies thle questions in categorical form as to whether either of the under signed companies have directly or in directly made to any officer of the South Carolina dispensary, any rebates premiums, commissions, draw backs, or other valuable considerations, since these companies have dealt with the State of South Carolina up to the pres ent time. Now, with the exception of pock-t knives and other little advertising de vices, which we send freely to any customer anywhere in the country - we answer NO. We regret the absence from Cincin nati on account of iners of our Mr. Jos. F". Peebles. We cannot disturb Mr. Peebles during his illness. But if there are any other points which you desire to have covered in correspon dence if you wvill address the letter to either of the undersigned companies at Cincinnati you will receive frank, full and compleie answers. Before closing this letter we wish to say to you, and through you to the gentlemen in South Carolina whom you represent, that we app~reciate the force of the request that you made viz.: that you will be furnished with a stenographer and be allowed to ques tion and take down in shorthand the conversation, questions and answers made on your present visit and inves tigation at Cincinnati, Ohio. Various members of the undersigned compa nies, and in fact all the gentlemen you have personally met, were quite will ing to do this But we have an attor ney who is associated with the basi ness of both companies and it is upon his advice that we prefer to answer these questions in the form we have. As the reputation of both companies is high and we desire to keep it so, we do not desire to have our two compa nies made responsible for r oy mistakes in language or accidental blunders of the stenographers on matters that are of the greatest imporance to us. Be sides an investigation that would be iiquisitorial in its nature and touch. ing upon points entirely dif ferent f rom the matter under discussion would run on to great length and would be tedi ous and involve the time of some of In truth we feel a great sympathy for the people of South Carolina if they have really b'-'n injured by any dishonest o!!icers and we feel willing and free to help ferret itout to thiebot Now" we2 sincerciy ho.pe that justice wil ne docne to all. We't can n~ot help We hopp that our io!lter, written jointly by both coaipanes, will be re ceived in' the fair spirit in which it is of Iered. Repctfully submitted, The Live Oak Distillery Co., Thos. L. Lisnoden, Se. The .1 os. R. Peebles Sou' Co , H. . eebles., Sec.:mnd Te Another of the letteis refr-rred [o reads as follows: Columnbia, -. (I., A pril 2. 5. Mr. Johi ( Yot, 1'). 1 )X :"0I, (in ciunati, 0io. Dear Sir: Your favor of the 22 inst has been received. ReferrinL to the injunction of J udge GotI restraining the Sttate board or cont-ol and the State commissioner fron interfering with ligior in transit, I beg to say that it does not affect tle law at all. Tne return will be made on the :':I prox. Should anything "turn up" I will take pleasure in advising you as I shall be there ftr the next 10 days or thereabouts. I mean of course in the inatter of effecting the law, that it does not effect the law itsel f. lie may make the injunction permanent, but that will not effect theoperation of the law in the remotest dezree. I am indeed very glad that you are enioying your visit- to Central City and hope to see you over again when you can can find it convenient to come. I am also glad that your busi nes relations will be what you desire. I think my father regards your Jirm as one of the best, and for that reason he will do what he can for Vou. If at any time I ein be of any serv ice to vou address ie, care of F. M. Mixson, Columbia. ie will for vard to me should 1 not be in the city. Al low ine to thank you for the token mentioned in the first paragraph of your letter, I appreciate any favor, but reilly I never had an it ba that you would do anything of the kind, nor did I expect it. Again I hanking you, I am, Very truly yours. .J. 'W. Ix sx. AND ANOTHEIR. Another of them reads thus: Columbia, S. C., May 10, 1895. Mr. J. W. Yost., P. 0. Bx 301, Cin cininati. Dear Sir: Your favor of the :01hi of Aril, also package containing the "small token" has been received. Please accept many thanks for the same. It is higly appreciated by me. I would have acknowledged receipt earlier but waited until the de cision in the dispensary case was rendered. I knew that you were in terested in the matter. The injunction referred to in my letter to you was made permanent, th'ugh as stated in that letter it does not effect the question of the law in the remotest manner. OL course it may in a certain extent effect the sales of tne dispensers, though I have no idea that it is as bad as some of the citizens of the State are inclined (and who would do anything to injure the law, no matter what) to believe. It is probable that a case will be made out and taken to the United States supreme court on habeas corpus proceedings, and have that section of the law finally decided and disposed of. Will let you hear from me in case anything new arises. Againg thanking you and hoing that I may reciprocate your kindness, I am, Very truly yours, J. W. MixsoN. THE LAsT OF TIIE.M. The other letter referred to reads thus: Columbia, S. C., Sept. 10, 1895. Mr. John C. Yost. Louisville, Ky. Dear Sir: My father, Col. F. M. Mixson, received a lot of those "Live Oak" pocket knives and distributed them among the members of the Con stitutional Converition, but I not be ~a member, failed to get one, and wl o ask if you will send me about ha r& I will keep 0one myselIf and <ribut& he balance judiciousl, er4ruly voo rs T A T TELEG RAM. Chairman Jones, acting upon au thority of the board, made every ef sort to get the telegram referred to in the recent testimony. Tnis telegram from the superintendent to the mana ger of the Columbia of fice shows with what success his etfforts were crowned: Richmond, Va , Sept. T7. Gray, Columbia, S. C.: There is no possible chance to get the message vou refer to. All of our business for 'uup to and including first seven months of this year is destroyed in accordance with the telegraph comn pany's rules. .J. D. TIIEE, Superintendent. A Yaluiable Eiperhinent. The Jiranchville cor-respondent of the News and Courier says Mr. J. (1. Smoak, a wideawake farmer, living some six miles from Branchville, nas brought into town a novelty, which well illustrates the alimost boundless possibilities of this soil and climate when it conies to raising varietles of food products. He has a line article of light-colored syrup, of good body and Ilavor, and a sample of flour, in appearance something between wheat and rye flour, and both are made froni the same plant. The writer can testify that exeeilent battercakes are made from this flour and that the syrup goes well with the same, as should natural ly be the cast- when both come from the same stalk. Mr. Smoak bought a pound of seed called "O)range mdllet" last spring and sowed it in drills on April 2i1. The land (thiree-fourths of an acre) was of ordinary quality and the crop received very little work in the way of cultivation. The result is a heavy yield of syrup from the stalks, at the ratQ of 1501 to 200 gallons per acre. The seed was threshed out, and looked sc) bright and clean that a sack of it was carried to the wvheat mill and made into lour. The nuller's opinion is that the seed was dried too much, it having been spread in the sun several days. which caused the hulls to grind up with the white part of the grain, whereas if the seed had not been so dry ~he could have turned out a fine sam pe of white flour. There can be no doubt as to the rich nutritious quality of this new ilour. Southerners need not envy their northern friends their crops of buckwheat when South Caro lina can show battercakes and syrup growing in the same row. Mr. Smoak has also some modern and advanced ideas concerning other food products. He does not believe in bolting wheat tour until the most valuable part of grain is taken away, leaving little else but the startch, which forms, to a great extent, the central part of the grain, and which results in prod uciner that marvelously white flour which delights the housekeepers of tc day. lHe carries his wheat to his own grist mill and grinds it for his family use, re moving nothing but the bran. All th'e blood and bone anti nerve sus taning parts of the wheat are thus re tained, and the prlodutct is a trute "health food," equal to or superior to n-any patented or ecopyrighted articles such as arc sold so largely all over this coantry. Recaders who are famil iar with the~ r'eca t m~ovemient in favor of improved art:(ch:s of diet and who have an idea of ? he inmeiuse sales of such preparations' wil see the point. If they could examin' this flonr or rist, and eat a plate of mush, or a ample of the cakes and waltes made from it, they would valute mot(re highly !RY"AN OFF WEST. GREETED BY THE LARGEST CROWDS EVER SEEN IN THIS COUNTRY. Farmer Re~pub lictus* . n the .Thuusanils Wc in t Cante JIarrislis andi N1. i.n's F~dnorsnmients of Siber ().zote'i by lbryan. m, -'. 1, 4t. 7. -Mr.Brvan crossed the i idiana line into Illinois at ) o'clock this evening. I fe entered the Hoosier State at 7 o'clock yesterday morning. In thirty-eilit hours he stood face to face with :17-.0h persons, of whom :0,0l 0 were voters. Count ed with those whom ip addressed in. his short tour through the State earlier in the campaign, and the large audi ences which heard him on Saturday when lie was on his way to St. I ou1is, and itjs clear that a rnajority of the voters ini Indiana have seen and heard the )eimocratic candidate. The won dei ful Vest Virginia campaign is eclipsed. Tnat the visit has had a marked eirect is evident. Throughout the State a net Deimocratic gain from the Republican farmers in the silver issue can be shown of 15:J to a county. These are open and avowed. They are the forerunners of a mighty stream which will widen and deepen until election day. In some counties, especially in the southern sections, the change is as marked and signifi cant as in Southern Illinois, where the Republican party is dismembered and the Ilanna-Tanner inachine a skeleton without flesh or blood. Indianapolis, the hotbed and birthplace of the so calrd National Democratic party, gave Mr. Bryan the largest attendance of any city in the country save Chicago on Labor Day. South of the old National road the Democracy is gaining by bounds. If the Republicans are to save the State it will haveto bein the gas belt, where the protection sentiment is strong. But striking the gas belt to-day gives the Democrats good reason for believ ing that serious inroads may be made into the Republican strongholds. Leaving Indianapolis at 8 o'clock this morning Mr. Bryan found six thous and persons awaiting him at Nobles ville, and every man on the platform was a former Republican. Many had voted for Lincoln. They were headed by former Congressman Evans. who as a Republican had voted for the Bland bill. At Tipton the gathering ran up to 12,000. Kokoma had barely 2,000, and Logansport a goodly 2.,000. In each instance the crowds were the largest ever gathered at the places. Farm wagons by the acre could be seen in the outskirts, and farmers were the most enthusiastic and earnest of the auditors. The largest meeting of all was at Hammond, just across the State line from Chicago. Here the large stock yards and manufacturing plants employ thousands of working men. The meeting was delayed until after 7 p. m. to give the workingmen a chance to get to the place. Tremen dous delegations came in from Pull man and from the neighboring towns. There wer6 not less than :35,000 persons to greet the candidate. It was diffi cult to make an accurate estimate on account of the darkness. Some judges placed the figures at 50,000. A STRIKING COMPARISON. BURLIGTON, Ia., Oct. 8.-Win. . Uran arrived in Burlington at 5:55 this morning. A local reception com mittee of 200 escorted Mr. Bry an to the residence of John J. S'eerley, a col league of Mr. Bry-:a in Congress, where he breakfasted. At 10.o'clock the procession started for Crapo Park, where ~e Coliseum, in whicht Mr. Bryan ske is located. The .parade w e n imposing one. It was headed a platoona of mounted police, and ten came the Citizens Band, followed by the carriage in which the nominee was seated. Behind, in regular order, f ollowed an escort c f women on horse back, a :cavalcade of i~orsemen and eleven more bands. including the Iowa State Band, san dwiched bet ween various silver marching clubs. At 11 o'clock the first speech of the day was in the Coliseum building, a gigantic atfair erected for the semi centennial of Iowa's admission to the Union of States. The crowd was lim ited to one side of the building and was enthusiastic to a great degree. There were several minutes of cheer ing and applause on Mr. Bryan's ar rival' and when he started to speak another great ovation was given him. In the course of his speech Mr. Bry n was interrupted by a man calling for cheers for McKinley. It wa-s met with hisses, and Mr. Bryan said: "My friends, I beg you to restramn from'any manifestations of displeas ure. I am glad to have that man here who is in favor of my opponent. I only hope that there are many such, because it is to such persons that I de sire to express my remarks. (Cheering and applause) My friend has declar d his preference for McKinley. I want to ask him which man lhe is for -the McKinley of 1s00 or the McK in 1ev of 182 (Long cheering.) Le~t me read you what Mr. Mckin ley said in 1S90, when lie was adlvocat ing the Sherman law, wvhich added to the volume of the nation's money. i~e said in that speech: 'But all agree that we must have a larger volume of money, and that the added volume shall be silver or its equivalent based onsilver.' At thattjime we were put ting into circulation about $24,000,000 a year under the Bland Act, and Mr. McKinley advocated the Sherman Act on the ground that it would increase the amount of money to be put in cir culation among the people. Let me read you what he said then: 'We pro pose to give to the country what gen tlemen upon the other side of the house could not do, and what they did not dlare to do for four years. We propose to give to the country a silver ill that will take all of the silver, practically, of the United States and make it available for the use of the peope.' "Again he said: 'So, Mr. Speaker, this bill is just to the silver producers of the United States, for it dces what the present haw, as demonstated by every administration for ten yerrs, has not done. It takes every dollar of silver bullion that is purchased in the United States and places it at the disposal of the people as money.' "And again he said: 'I will not vote against this bill and thus deprive my people and my country and the laborers and producers and the indus tries of my countay of thirty million annually of additional circulating me dium. In 1890I. Mr. Mckinley declared that in the interests of his country, in the interest of producers, in the inter ests of the industries of his country, in the interest of labor, he would vote to add to the increase o1 $M1.00, 00), an additional increase of 80,000,n00. That was the McKinleyv of I890. Let me read you the Mckin ley of 18%:I: 'it is not more money we want. What we want is to put aL4 the money we have already at work.' -l in 1, when lhe advocated more money. we already added $2 j-000JUU to the circulation each year. . TIj year we have no such provission. \Ve have repealed the Sherman- law and Bland Act, and made no provi sion to utilize silver, no provision to ad to the currency by the increase in is decresasing and we have decreased the money in circu ation in the last two years by 8150,000.000; and yet, when money is a creasing instead of imcreasino the same Mr. McKinley who wanted more money in 1890 tells you now that it is not more money we need, but to put the money we already have at work. Which does myfin favor-the McKnley of 1890, who wanted more money, or the McKinley of IS9%! (Great applause and cries of .More than that; lie said in 1S91. inI a speech made at Toledo, 0., that Mr. Cleveland had been discriminating against silver, had been trying to de grade it, had been trying to contract the currency, and that by lessening the currency he made money dearer by making it searcer, and money the master and all things else the servants. It it was wrong for Mr. Cieveland to make money dear by making it scarce and ncney the master and all things else the servant, is it right for Mcl'Cin ley to try to make money the mas.er and all things else the servant'? Ap plause and cries of "No.'') My friends, we can support our cause bp appeal ing to Republican testimony. We can support every contention we make by quoting Republican authorities, and therefore Republicans who come to us in this campaign do not change their convictions; they simply change their party name when their party has abandoned the position they used to occupy and now demands that you shall surrender the convictions of a lifetime. "Somebody may feel like cheering for ex-President Harrison. If so I wiil read what he said. Ex-President Harrison sent a message to Congress on the first of December, in 1890. You will remember that in 1S)O they passed what was known as the Sherman law, which provided for the purchase of four million ounces of silver each year. After the passage of that bill the price of silver went up, and as the price of silver went up prices general ly began to rise, and on the 1st of December Mr. Harrison, then Presi dent, sent to Congress a message from which I read the following extract: 'The enlargement of our currency by the silver bullion undoubtedly gave an upward tendency to trade and had a marked effect on prices, but this natural and decided effect of the sil ver legislation was by many errone ously attri ated to the tariff Act." -Mr. Terrison said that the passiage of that silver bill 'undoubtedly gave an upv'ard tendency to.trade and had a marked effect on prices.' You tell us that we cannot raise the value of silver by law. I point you to that law which was not as broad as the one which we propose I point you to a limited use of silver, not an unlimited one like we propose, and, according to the President, it gave an upward ten dency t t ne market and had a marked effect on prices. And then he turned and rebuked those who had attributed this to the tariff Act, and told them it was due, not to tariff legislation, but to silver legislation. (Applause.) Here, my friends, isauthority that sil ver legislation will do just what we claim it will do. More than this: Mr. Harrison says that that was not only the natural effect but the desired effect of such legislation. Now they tell us that they do not want prices to rise, for fear the laboring man's wages would not go so far, and then they said it was a desired effect. "Sir.c when, my friends, has this effect became undesirable? Since the money changers wrote a RIepublican platfrom that compels every Republi can to silene the voice of his consci ence. (Apolause.) The arguments which you hear today are arguments manufactured to support a platform that in your hearts you Republicans of IowA~ are ashamed to own." (Np plause.) Later on, a voice asked, "Hlow about Grover?" and Mr. Dryan said: "We are not talking about him now. Since our Republican friends came to the support of the administration we have not found it necessary to say any thing about it." After the Coliseum speech Mr. Bry an spoke twice from the carriage, ask ing the people to study the ques tion of finance and to make their sil ver speech on election day. There were but few people at the depot at Burlington to see the nominee ofl, and those who were there were not demon strative. Between Burlington and Cedar Rapids three short stops were made, they being at Columbus Junc tion, Nichols and West Liberty, where the candidate gave short speeches on the the same lines followed by him in his former platform speeches. Cedar Rapids was r-eached shortly af ter-i o'clock, and the local committee escorted Mr. Bryan and his party in carriages to the baseball park, near- the outskirts of the city, where he address ed a large crowd. A t Bellefontaine some cheers for McKinley were given by a few of the large crowd of f::rmers gathered about the train, wheni that station was reached. The en thusiasm however. was on his side and the cheers for McKinley served as a stimu lus to the admirers of the D~emocratic noniinee for further effort in the cheer ing line. Marshalltown was reached at 7:20, and Mr. Bryan made two speeches here, the first in a lage tent erected in a public square in the center of the city and the see )nd in the 03 - ean Theatre. Big crowds greeted him at both meetings and the enthuiasm was the most marked of the day. Governor Matthiews Confidenit. RuIIuloN, Va., Oct. 7.- -Governor Matthews of Indiana has written the Richmond State as follows regarding the political situation in this State: "In reply to yours of :?uth ultimo, which I have just received, I am glad to say that after quite an extended canvass of the St ate, I have no doubt of the result. Bryan will carry Indi ana by a tremendous majority. Our people, especially in the country dis tricts, are thoroughly aroused to the importance of the issue. My ad vices lead me to believe that Illinois will be for Bryan, and Ohio may be put in the doubtful list. Well informed gentlemen from Kentucky feel satis ted that Kentucky will return to the ohl faith and be in the Democratic column again." MI LWKU1EE, Wis., Oct.'G.-T wenty - five cases of poisoning from eating smoked whitefish have been reportea from Merrill, where two deaths have cccurred. In this city four more cas es are reported to-day. Something of a panic has been produced by those re ports, following so closely upon the wholesale poisoning at Concordia col lege in this city and of 50 people at 0.shkosh. The health commissioner has caused an analysis to be made of some f ish eaten at the college. On the east shore of Like WVinneba go 2c additional cases are rep~orted. - BENT N llu~l~ml, Mich., Oct. 7. R. I. .Jarvis, Democratic postmaster here for the past three years. received notice of dismissal fromi that position last night for allege d oflensive parti saship. E.X R. Nichols a gold Demo crat, will suceed him. Mr. Jarvis is a candidate for congiCZS in this dis trict ou the silver ticket and has bee'n open and vigorous in his denoumnco ment of the gold .standard andi its ad SOME FAULTY UTSES, REPUBLICANS TRIED TO GET THEM OFF BUT COULDN'T. The Twin 3tIIet-tin;Z. of the Committee I.:att All May an Night 1t Nothing Cuon-s of the ErY.>rt4 sTade. CoXMitr 1. Oct. S. - TIe Republican Stale executive e >tm ittees of both the Melton and Webster factions met in Columbia yesterday at noon and had long and lively sessions. The twin meetings were held for the purpose of trying to arrive at some scheme to prevent a division of the G. 0. P. vote in the coming general election; there was a strong desire on the part of some to bury the hatchet far down out of the sight of the national Ilepub lican party. By afternoon encugh talk had been done in the 'Sm com mittees to warrant some kir.d of action being taken, and the first step towards a reconciliation was taken when con ference committees were appointed by each organization. I y S o'clock things had reached that stage where it appeared that there would be a c m solidation so far as the electoral ticket alone is concerned. At 8 o'clock the following ollicial report of the first jint session of the conference committees was made pub lic: "The joint committee of conference from the two wings of the Republican party met in J int session. Dr. Cram of Charleston was elected chairman of the joint committee and L. 1). Melton was elected secretary. "The first proposition submitted was the unilication of ths two executive comrnittees into one committee. It was moved and seconded that the two committees be united by being merged into one; the two chairmen retiring and a new chairman elected by such new committee. The committee from the Union Republican party rfused to acept this proposition. "Dr. Crum made the proposition that one-half of the executive commit tee of the reorganized Union Republi can party be added to the executive committee of the Union Reublican party. Mr. Cochran offered as a sub stit':te for this motion that such mem bers of the executive committee of the Recrganized Republican party as may be designated by said last mentioned committee be elected as members of the executive committee of the Uniol Republican party in the place of such members o' the said executive :om mittee of the Union Republican -arty as may resign the interest of harmony. The substitute was accepted and v ted in the affirmative by the membere of the committee representing the Union Republican party. The members i1 the conference committee representing the reorganized party refused this proposition. "Dr. Clayton made the proposition that one-half of each committee resign and that the vacancies on the commit tee of the Union Republican party be filled by the remaining members of the executive committee of the Reor ganized Republican party; thus merg ing the organization in its entirety in to the Union Republican party. Mr. Clayton, Mr. Littlejohn and Mr. Mel ton voted in the allirmative. Mr. Hart and Capt. Whipple voted in the negative. Tie proposition was then presented to the committee from the Union Republican party. Messrs. Dickerson and Crum voted in the af firmative; Messrs. Daas, Cochran and Pride voted in the negative. ,Thae pro position was thereby rejected. "No other proposition on this sub ject was presented. The discussion was closed. "The committee then took up prop osition No. 2, to wit: the consideration of the State electoral ticket. The pro position was male by the members of the committee representing the Union Republican party to allow the reor ganized Republican party four elect ors on the electoral ticket -one at large and three from the districts. This pro position was unanimously agreed to by the members of the committee rep resenting the two organiztations, with the exception of Mr. Deas, who voted in the negative. "The committee then went into the discussion of the third proposition to wit: the State ticket. Thre committee from the Union Republican narty made the proposition that the Union Republican party have the governor and lieutenant goverrGoc, and the re organized party have the balance of the ticket. This proposition was re jected by the committee rt prest n'.in the Reorganrized Republican party on the gr-ound' that if the t wo organiza tions did not merge into on a no comi promise could be entered into en the State ticket. "The confere nee agreed not to dis cuss the question of congressional candidates, because such a question is beyond the jurisdiction of the State committee and must be left to the de cision of the committees of each con gression al district. The conference adjourned to meet at 8 o'clock to fin ish the business before it." Late last night the wvhole arnrange ment as to fusion of the electoral tick et was killed, after the Webster fac tion's whole committee had acted upcn the matter iavorably. Below is a statement of the allfair given to tihe press at 1 ::N o'clock this morning by thie Melton faction's com mittee: " The executive committees of the two Rtepublicani faction~s of the State met here today with a view to har monizing the difference between the t wo factions. The Reorganized Rle publican committee appointed a con erence committee of five to meet a like committee of the other faction in structed to submit the following prop osi tions. "1. Fusion on State electoral tick~et. "2. Unifying the State executive committee. .State ticket. "41. Congressional nominations. "The Webster faction rejected all overtures except as to the electoral ticket. They proposed a division of the electors which was accepted and afterwards ratified by the full execa tive commit tee of the Reorganized fac tion. '"The conference committee came to gether later for the purpose of carry ing into eif'ect this agreement. "Af ter several hours of 'dilly dally ing' it was discovered that the Web ster executive committee, instead of accepting the agreement entered into by the conference committee, had tied the hands of its conferees by the following resolution : "Resolved, That the committee of the Reorganized Republican par ty be allowed four representatives on the electoral. ticket and the lieutenant governor, provided tirey disband their organization. "The imposition of such a condition changed the entire aspect of the nego tiation and ur'oved tire utter want cf good faith on' the part of the' Webster faction. Thus for time second time has been defeated the erforts of the Reor ganized faction for harmony." Ex Sh ua: Davis, of W\est Virgin Ja, whom Bryan praised for refusing to interfere with the political freedom of Lis railway emnployes, was once a brakeman on the Btaltimore and Unio Rilroad. Hfe is now a multi million aire and a Biryan Democrat. althocughr his son-in-law. Senator Elk inis, is a TWO DARIN's BANK ROSEI:lS. Thev ',urder T%. Men and Then Rob a Iank. i"1A12MoNT, Minn , Oct. 7.-T vo masked and bicycle-mounted robbers svept into the little town of Shee burneo, fourteen miles from here to day. dashed into the bank of Sher burne, murdered the cashier and a traveling man, and, srcuring SIUooo from the cash tray, mounted their waeels and escaped before the eyes of the startled villagers. The affair was conducted with all the bravado of the border drama, and the killinz of the two men, one of whom died instantly, was purely wan ton, as neither made any resistance. The dead are: J. A. Oestern, traveling agent of the Walter A. Wood Harvester Company, shot through the heart. Cashier Thorburn of theihuk of Sherburne, shot in the head. The crime is paralleled only by the raid of .Jesse .fames and the Younger boys, when they swoopcd down upon the little town of Northfield, a few miles North. of the scene of to day's crime, shot the cashier of the Bank of Northfield down and de camped with a. large amount of money. In that instance the robbers denarted on horses, whereas to-day the criminals, in keeping with the times, used bicycles in escaping from the enraged citizens of Sherburne. At about 1::30 o'clock, two masked men walked through the front en trance of the bank cashier's box, and without a word whipped out their re volvers and levelled at Cashier Thor burn. The latter did not move but the next minute the report of tsvore volversrang out and Cashier Thoburn fell at his desk. At another desk in the bank stood O.stern, a traveling man. He was the only immediate bar to the ends the robbers sought to gain, and as Thorbura fell t> the Iloor they turned and shot him dead. As rapidly as possible they leaped over the railing which seperated them from the cashier's desk and secured St,000 in cash. They then ran for the back door of the bank, where they had taken the precaution to leave their bicycles, mounted them and rode away. It all happened inside of two minutes, and tie oni witness to the deed was a woman who stood across the street from the front en trance of the bank, and who was at tracted by the report of the revolvers. She saw them turn on Oestern, secure the money aad disappear. As soon as possible she gave the alarm, and in five minutes after the deed had been committed the little town of Sherburne was in a state of excitement such as has never befcre been seen. Thorburn, it was found, was not dead. Oestern, however, had been shot through the heart and was apar ently instantly killed. Thorburn lived two hours, having received bullets in several different parts of his body. The town of Sheiburne contains scarcely a score more than 300 inhabi tants, but inside of ten minutes sever al p~sses had been forme:, including nearly every male citizen of the town, and a search was at once instituted. Every town and village where there is the slightest possibility of the roi bers visiting in their efforts to escape has been warned, and their capture is expected at any moment. Nearly Unanimous. The Spartanburg Herald says Philip Armour, the great pork packer, erect edl an Australian ballot booth in his stock yards last week in ord er to test the sentiment of his employees. He had boasted that 90 per cent. of the men in his employ were for McKinley, and he made a bet that it would be so proven on election day In order to decide the bet he erected the booth that it might be proved that no effort would be made to coerce his men. When the day was over 800 ballots had been put in the box of which 675 were for Bryan aii 125 for McKinley. This was a cormplete knock-out for Armour. He paid the bet and has given up the fight. He told Hanna that it was no use, things were all one way. And he now declaresthat if the Crane Elevator Works and other big concerns that have taken ballots from their men would give them the privi lege of the Australian booth 'they would find a similar state of atl'airs existing among their employees. If the working men of the country are allowed to express their honest con victions on election day, we believe that at least three iourthsof them will vote for Bryan, but the corporations that employ these men threaten to discharge them if they do not vote for McKinley. This is what these hypo critical manufacturers call a free vote and a fair count. Baroken llarnesst Costs~ a Lire. BENNErrSVILL:, October 3.-Mr. Younger Adams, a highly respected citizen of this county, met with an accident today which .- st him his life. He and his nephe e'. sere coming to town in a bugzy ; his nephew doing the driving. When they reached the edge of town and were driving down a small hill, the breeching of the har ness broke and the buggy ran on the horse, causing it to run. Mr. Adams attempted to jump out, and in julmp ing his foot caught in the wheel, which turned his body and threw him on his head and shoulders, the back of his head striking the hard clay grou~nd. Medical aid was immediately sum moned but the case was hopeless. The accident occurred about 12 o'clock and an& hour afterwards Mr. Adams died. Death was caused by internal fracture of the skull and cerebral hemorage. - State. Another I. t e""- 'eetic sweep. ATusnT, Oct. s. C'he following is from A. S. Clay, chairman Democrat i executive committee: Georgia has gone Democratie by 4t0,0 ' majority. Governor Atkinson i.3 reelected by at least 40,000 majority over .ii- combin ed opposition. The rest of the State ticket is elected by over 45,000) moj ri ty. The General Assembly is com posed of 175 members of the Louse and 4t Senators. The Poputists have elected 22 members of the House and four Senators and the Republicans have elected t wo members of the House and one Senator. The Democrats have elected :l Senators and 151 Rep resentatives. Trr~ie is approximately correct. Georg i 1 give Bry an and Sewall a majorat, wer the combined opposition and will eleet all the Ddm ocratic nominees for C n ;ress. Gov'ERNoRi Altgeld re:*-'-d, in a re cent speech, to T. V. P. wlerly "as one who fhad once preached the doc trine of free silver, but who ima ined he had ric otly ste t te lhit of heaveni, whereas that lightt camie from Hanna's back room and struck him . the palmi of the hard insteaid of in the head." _________ Removes a Bryanl Manl. W.asIixo~o, Oct. 7.-The Pr-esi dent has appointed Wmn. Ht. White United States district attorney for he eastern d istric t of 'irginia ini place of Mr. Jnssiter, whose resignation was recently reqjuested because of his po iit'nh aety on behalf of Mr. I;ry TImu is not much encouragement in the retur ns of elections in I itorgia and Florida for the gold bugs. Botht States went Democratic hy largely in. POWDER Absolutely Pure. A cream of tartar baking powder. IIighest of all in leaveninz strength. -Latt I United States Gocernment Fod Re)ort. Ro.u. BAKiNO POWDER Co., New York City. Electing McKinley on Paper. The Republicans are far from being confident of their ability to elect Han na's man McKinley to the Presidency. The situation in the doubtful States has alarmed them, and they are now claiming States that have heretofore been corceded by them to Bryan in order that tiey might pull their can didate through by the skin of his teeth. To show our readers to what desperate straits the Rtepublicans are reduced to make any show whatever for their side we publish the following McKinley estimate, which is taken from the New York Herald: Illinois .......................... 24 Indiana....... ............15 Iowa............................. 13 Kentucky ............. .......... 13 Connecticu t..................... 6 Delaware................... 3 Maine............. ....... 6 Maryland........................ 8 Massachusetts.................... 75 Minnesota...................9 New Hampshire.............. 4 New Jersey ................10 New York....................... 36 Ohio................. ........... 23 Pennsylvania..-................. 32 Rhode Island................. 4 Vermont......................... 4 Wisconsin ..................12 Total....... ............237 The idea of McKinley carrying all the above named States is simply ab surd, and the fact that they are claim ed by the Republicaas provas that they are merely whistling to keep uu their courage. It will be noticed that the list includes the States of Kentucky........................ 13 Maryland........................ 8 Delaware......... . ... 3 Indiana.......,................. 15 Illinois.............. ............ 24 The loss of either Illinois or Indiana would defeat McKinley. The loss of Kentucky and Delaware would defeat him. The loss of Kentucky and Mary land would defeat him. And it is a significant fact that in these five States, especially in Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and Maryland, the Repub licans are spending time, effort and money with a species of desperation t iac argues anything but confidence on their part. The Herald airily - signs all five to McKin ~. oesJ' Mr. Hanna feel sure about it? Is he willing to accept The Herald's "can vass" and turn his energies elsewhere? We think not. It is impossible to im aging at this dist mee, says the Wash ington Post, a McKinley organ, from the scene of the real struggle, the ex citement, the ceaseless endeavor, the overwhelming interest that prevail in tne middle western States. Taose who read the local newspapers, the county organs, throughout Uhio, Indiana and Illinois, realize that the people are aroused to an extent unparalled in the history of the country since 1801I. They know that men meet and discuss the issue in every town, hamlet and rural neighborhood ; that the streets of the smaller cities are crowded frorn sunrise to sunset with speakers and their listeners; that the silver men have hired halls which are kept open continuously, and in which argument and controversy never cease; that the farmers pay for their own music and demonstrations and find their enthu - siasm only spurred by the poverty of the Democratic committees and the display of wealth made by Mr-. Han na. We do not understan I these things here at the east. They are out side of our experience. We sit calm ly in our homes and do not even dist antly imagine the fervor, the earnest nestness, the furious uproar of the ag itation bey ond the Alleghenies. 'khe situation e xists, ho wever, as we have described it. The battle rages with gigantic tumult.Patgime-o ken down. Prenden~s go for noth ing. We hav'e no past upon which to base an argument for today. What we know is that the McKinley mana - gers are not struggling like men who feel con ildent of the result, but rather like warriors who know that. the issue hangs upon the merest chance. How, then, and upon what grounds does The Heral.i base its complacet appro priation of Indiana, Illinois and Ken tucky ? Upon the observations of its "bright young men" sent out from the metropolis? Great Scott! It seems to us that the tone of our- eastern con temporaries has unidergono a curious change within the past t wo months Then it was a tone of ridicule Then we heard of "Little Willie," and the "Boy Orator" and so on. Now we hear '-liar," -"thief," "conspirator," "incendiary'' and such things. Hard ly a day passes but soriue "great me tropolitan daily" teils us of a western State which "six weess ago seemed. doubtful, but is now quite safe." There has been a "revulsion of feeling," etc. Yet, when we look bazk over the tiles of those gr-eat metropolitan dailies we find that six we k-s ago they c-laimed the States in question and uooh-bcoh ed the bare idea of their being doubt ful. Finally, to comre back to The Herald, we see this foaming champion of McKinley, which:- at the outset of the cam paign pred ic'ed an over whelm ing cefeat for the "P'opocrats"-an uprising of the common people against their would-be betrayers we see The Iherald electing McKinley on an esti mate, electing him by a bare scratch and depending upon laiiamna. illinois, Maryland, Kentucky and iX'laware to