Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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RADICAL REVE\UE BIL. WHICH HAS BEEN INTRODJCED |N THE HOUSE. It Provides that Every Busine! or Fro feqsional Man in the State Must zay n License Except the Farmer. CoLxIBIA, Feb. 26.-The following are the provisions of the bill to pro vide for a graduated license on cc::u pations and businesses, which has been introduced in the House of Rep resentatives. It is not likely to pass at this session, but will be taken up at the next session: Sec. 1. Every person, firmcompany or corporation, engaged or intending to engage in business in this State. shall obtain on or before May 1, 1, 7, a license. Every person, firm, com pany or corporation commencing business after May 1 shall obtain a li cense, Sec. 2. Every person, firm, compa ny or corporation for which a license is required, shall at the time of apply ing for the license make a statemJent and file the same with the .unty au ditor setting forth: First, his or her or its name and style, aud in case of a firm or company the names of the several persons constitutizg said irm, company or corporation; second, the trade or business; third, the place in which such trade or business is to be conducted. Nothing contained herein shall in any manner aff et any other requirement of law elsewhere enacted in regard to any trade,business or pro fession. Sec. 3. If any person, firm, compa vy or corporation shall exercise or carry on any trade, business or pro-! fession, for the exercising,carryin on or doing of which a license is required by this act, without taking out a li cense as in that behalf required, the said person, firm, company or corpo ration shall be liable for the payment of the license tax required by this Act and in addition thereto for each and every offence shall be subject to a penalty of 50 per cent. of the amount of such license tax, which tax and penalty shall be recovered as herein below provided; and if any person, fi-m, company or corporation shall refuse or neglect to make out and de liver to the assessor on or before the day last named a statement as requir ed by the second section of this Act, or shall make a false statement, or shall refuse or neglect to take and subscribe on oath as to the truth of such statement, or shall fail to take out such license as may be required, the auditor shall Droceed to ascertain. as near as possible, the business of such person, firm, company or corpo ration; and for the purpose of said in. vestigation the auditor shall noify the person, firm, company or corpo ration in aefault to appear before him in his office, and also such other per sons as the auditor may desire to ex amine, and the party sought to be charged with license tax, if he shall attend, together with any witnesses called as aforesaid, shall be examined by such auditor under oath (which said auditor is authorized to adminis ter) touching the nature of the busi ness of such party, and from the in-1 formation thus acquired by him, or from general representation, or from his own knowledge of the facts, the auditor shall assess againsi, such person, firm, company or cor poration, whether they shall have attended such investigation or not, asetan b~Ta~ad udr e~ provisions of this Act, such person, firm, company or corporation is or are required to obtain, adding thereto a penalty of 50 per cent, and shall turn over such asesnent to the county treasurer to be collected oy him, and if the amount of such license tax and penalty shall not be paid within ten days thereafter the county treasurer shall issue his execution therefor to the county sheriff, certifying therein the said amount, and the said sheriff shall proceed to collect the said li cense tax and penalty by distress and sale, or by levy and sale, in the same manner as is now provided by law for the collection of other taxes, together with an additional penalty of 5 per cent, on which whole amount so certi fied to him, which said 5 per cent to gether with such costs as are now al lowedhby law for such collections shall be for the county sheriff as a compen sation for making such collection. Section 4. The license granted un der tnis Act shall niot authorize the person, firm, company or corporatiou mentioned to exercise or carry on the trade, business or profession specified in such license in any other place than that mentioned therein, except law yers. physicians, dentists and auction eers and every person, firm, company or corporation exercising or carrying on any trade, business or profession or doing any act for which a license is required shall keep said license at all time of business in a conspicuous part of his business place, and on demand of any authorized official of the coun ty government shall produce such li cense, or shall be deemed to have no license. Provision is made for report ing those who have no licenses and for removals on proper endorsement. Section 6. Provides that licenses shall continue until December 31, un less otherwise provided. The Comnp troller General is to provide the forms. Section 7. All applications for li censes sall1 be made to the county au ditor. Provision is made for the transfer of licenses. The following are sums provided to be paid to the country treasurer for some of the licenses. Academy of Music, theatres or Op. era Houses, $5 in cities of 2,000 and $1 for each additional 1,000 inhabitants. Bagging manufacturing companies, each $5. Banks, incorporated, $1 for each $10,000 capital stock, incl-ding sur plus and undivided profits. Banks, unincorporated, $10, Brewers, $15. Bottlers of beer, $10. Building and loan associations, each 50 cents per $ l0,000 of paid up capital. Cotton manufacturing companies, 50 cents per $1,000 capital. Dredging companies, *5. Express companies, $500. Electric light companies, 20 cents for each $10,000 capital. Oil refineries, each 50 cents for each' $10,000 capital. Cotton seed oil mill, 50 cents for each $10,000 capital. Ferries, each $1. Forwarding agencies, *5. Gold or stock telegraph companies,1 $25. .I Gas companies, cents for each' $10,000 capital. Solicitors of life and accedent ir.sur ance companies, agents, adijusters of fire and other insurance, unconnected with regular local agents, $25. Canals, $10. Dun's or Bradstreet's or other agen cies, $25. Collecting agencies, $10. Phosphate companies, 50 cents for each $10,000 capital. Railroad companies, each 50 cents for each $10,000 value assessed. Pal in a r, o tar- run. R e1 ai reaI estate ageI's and e.-) tiozons. .cents ta.:h for each 1,00o i it city or lown in ;li s:en ag :s ocated. Steamshiip agjencies or cotnpae, iregular 1lies) $25 each and $1 for ach additional 1,000 inhabitants of the city or t an where located. Steam ferrv boat agencies or com panies, each $10. Steam or other cotton compresses, each $1 for each $,0'0 of -fpital. Steamboat conpanies or agencies, $10 for each steambat. Steam or oth'er li ng co-npa nies 3r agencies, each S. Steamboat compani(s, c-nI'nSor agencies. (reg-ular lio-es.) eachf ilP and K1 for eac 1, ihbtt of tle Citv or tona. where locatEd Stzeamshio cmpaies oth-r t'hanr regu.ar lines and s ooat and sati ;ng Vesst (Th1panies. eacn $10, and 1I for each 1 iuhabitant of thne ciy or town where Iocated. Sailinc, vessel companieo aenes each $5 and -1 for each 1,00 inhab and for each 1 inhbtas Teliphone companies or ag'ceces., each I, and -'o: each 1, inhabi tants. Teerap h c 'm paies. t' for each si'' ~ value assessed. Terminal ware aouse companies or agencies, each $10. Water works compnoies, each $10. Ol-, creosote, or fernaline compa nies, each 50 ceats on each $10,000 Cap;ital stoc'k. Kerosene or coal Oil companies, each $100. Ag'ncies of steam bakeries or cracker factories, each $5. Lead conpanies-those rolling lead or erecting lead acid chambers-cach 'i510. Auctioneers, real estate and stock and bond brckers, each Si& Artists. ambrotypists, photograph ers, etc, 25 cents for each 1.0(0 inhabi tants. Architects or civil cngiaeers, eac' $10 Land sirveyors, each . Pawn brokers, each $2. Street brokers, $2. Brokers dealing in chemicals and fertilizer materials. $5. Rice and cotton brokers, $ Bankers, $25 each. Billiard and pool tables, each $2 50. Bowling alleys, $2.50: bagatelle ta bles $2 50. Hotels, each 1 for each 1,000 inha bitants; private boarding houses. each Steam bakeries, -5: others bakeries, $. Barbers. each chair 5) cents. Bill posters and distributors, $5 each. Butchers, S1. Builders and master mechanies, $5: carpenters, $1: engravers. 5: gun or locksmiths, ,I :-tinners or painters, $1; shoemakers, $!. Cotton ginners, (as occupation,i each $2 per gin. Circuses, each $500, exclusive of county or city licenses. Coox shops, $1. Ship yards, $5: dry docks, $2. Owners of steam tugs, $10 for each tug. Dye houses, $2. Dealers in any article of merchan dise, each $1 for the first $10,000 or less of goods, etc, sold, and 25 cents for each additional $1,000 sold. Cotton, rice and naval stores, mer chants $20. Se wing machine agents, $25: deal ers in iron safes, $25; agents and deal ersin bicycles, $25; agents or peddlers in stoves or ranges, $20; agents for trees or flowers, $3; canvassing book agents, $23; liightning rod agents, $1,00 canvassing agents for patent machines, $100; canvassing clock agants, $100; any show other than circus, $5. Livery stables, $10; horse, mule and catle dealers, $20 a year or part there of; same transient, $20: stock yards for feeding cattle; brokers in cattle, sheep and togs, $5. Fruit and peanut dealers, with stand on street, $1: dealers in ice oil, coal: wood, etc. $5; ice cream saloons, $2, junk, *10; soda founts and milk shak ers, $2; poultry, fish, vegetables or fruit on street, $1; in market, $1L Coal yard license, to which all deal ers and importers are subject, $5. Dealers, merchanise brokers, other than in cotton, rice or fertilizers, sell ing only on brokerage, in firms or singly, $5: for each member of firm over t wo, $2 each. Dealers in any other and every other article of trade or merchandise, not specially named elsewhere, each $2. Founderies or machine shops, 50 cents per $10,000 capital or fraction thereof; basket, willow and broom factories, same; bag facteries and pa per bag factories, and barrel factories, same on capital stock ; cigar an d smok ing tobacco factories, *5 per $10,000, capital; concrete piping factories, 50 cents per $10,Ut u. Candy, clothing, harness, mattress, shirts, underwear, steam sausage. sash and blind, soap and candle and soda water factories and bottlers of soda, 50t cents per $ 10,000 or fraction on capi tal; furniture, vegetable, fruit, fish or oyster canning, ice, paper box or en velope and vinegar factories, same; gas fitters and plumbers, intelligence office, information or employment bureaus, steam laundries, $1; hand laundries, 50 cents. Lumber yards and ponds, other than with mills, $3. Lawyers, physicians, dentists, chern ists, $5 each; veterinary surgeons, marble yards, $5. Planing mills, saw mills, rice mills, spice, coffee, sea foam, flour mills. 50 cents per $10,000 capital. Daily, morning, afternoon and weekly newspapers. $1 on each 1,000 circulation or faction: newspapers worked by hand, same: publishers, other than napers, $1: j ob printers $1. Restaurants, saloons and cafes, $2. shooting galleries, rinks, stevedoores, $5; undertakers, $5: tailors of all kind and wood sawyers by machinery, $1. Warehousemen and Wharf men, $10. Wheelwright and blacksmith, 50 cents per forge and 25 cents additional forge: shop with one forge, same and carriage and makers and repairs, $2. Grain distilleries, $100: fruit distil eries, $25. Tobacco warehouse, 54iper 810,000 capital or fraction. - Professors not mentioned to be graduated by the auditor"--minimumi, 25 cents; maximum, $5. The bill nrovides that a dealer who ays a license shall include clerks and emlovees in the business; that in all mining and manufacturing companies wich mine outside of the State, and which trade in this State the provi sions of the Act shall relate entirely to the business done in this State. Provision is made that licenses must be procured before trades or busi ness are undertaken, and if not paid penalties are to be attached by the auditor, who is to tarn over thle papers to the treasurer, and in event of non amrneat to the treasurer an execution is to be isued by the sheriff, includ ig license aed penahites, the "-same to be coilectedi by distress and sale, in the same ma::ner as is now provided' by law for the collection of other txes, rocether with an additional pen alty of 5 per cent. which per cent is to THE LESSON OF TH E TURK, HE Si7LL PR0ITS SY THE BLUNDER OF HIS FOES. But G -oc- II is FLir,'d a TraI:r Which May E:xpllotde and seiztter unas;tation and 1. id:-U the Fair Lind H0: Pollut%. We now pse to lance briey at the broad outlines of Turkish his E irope has experienced it. LUnOr-aIatelv it is njecessary to pre. :p Cts taiin acquaintarce and s\:npathy wi!t the subject befcre the best resaits e, in b had fromt tuv- teach inz of istoy: a - 2 ter is n sy. - umhz.y and bus meag-re acquamiltanceL ih "'& them' in th nud 0 the A he' Tark is rear A edrre : Aai n a dtilro mn as a cn-rro the round, w-hose veryv ex:stenzce is looked up~n Sitha1 d isgu a. V ii; . his not so) bad .1s U is1 y e- bu 3 ths oa cerns n ot car enqi r. F:-3 a col lecti li of naid ti s dwelling in centri Asia tuis ra overran the ;airest :art o E rou. oecim efntru Ched ia it,and all efforts to drive them out have to this day bLeu utter fail ares. As the Turk appears when his grow ing power tirst menaced the city of Constantine. he is a far bettee man than a? present. Tae soft air of the Mediterranean has weakened his frame an indolent lie, with its lascivious concomitants, has sapped the vigor of his mniud and birne do vn MIs once staltart virtue. Less coald not have been expcted from a barbarous race that had fallen heir to so rich a prizc, when religion, instead of checking, ministered to unholy desire. The day the Turk entered Constan tinopl :s a red letter day in ihe his tory of nations. To conceive it prop erly one must behold the conquered race ia its every day life, the most aris'ocratic, tae most learned, the most charming of the peoples of E 2 rope. Take old Greek life with its saitmmering glory, the beauty of its womeu, the keen intellects and gold en tongues of its orators, the astute ness cf its statesnen-alas: we cannot add incorruptibility and purity-all this under the high pressure of a modernised society; take this into ac count and you have a faint concep tion of the pristine charm that invest ed Constantinople-that lay over it liKe a dream and boand it in an en chanted sleep. The Moslem respected neither age nor youth, beauty nor til ent. A sack and pillage, at which the mind sickens with horror. diszraced his entry into the fated city. Royal princesses that would have scorned the hand of a European king became the prey of the barbarian whose ha rems wrre stocked with the dower of Bvzintine maidens. St. Sophia where in the incomparable Chrystom (liter ally golden tongued) once pointed men to a pure and stainless life-St. Sophia, the synagogue of Christ, be came a Mohammedan mosque, and from it even yet the muezzin calls aloud that God is great and Moham med is his prophet. 0 shame on man hood that it is still a monument to the abomination and deceit of Islam! It adds to the pathos to think that the city could never have been taken had it not been adequately defended. But tue army which defended it was flled with mercenaries only: and on the very day of the city's capture the citizens were not under arms. If be hind the veil of passing events one looks for the realities, if back of the action he looks at the puroose, this dogged stay o f the Turk in a hostile land must prove of infinite interest. It verily seems that he has been sent from his desolate home in Asia as a scourge upon a people given over to weainess, vice and folly, In that event, tee people along the Bosphorus have drained the bitter cup to its dregs-their social fabric dissolved, their good name soiled, their holy re ligion trampled under foot. But ever since that fatal day when Constantinople fell, the Ottaman pow er has loomed over Europe as a dark and sinister shadow. It was a favor ite threat of the Grand Monarch to turn loose the Turk upon his defence less neighbors. The greed of the great powers, since tihe waning of Turkish prestige, has prevented Russia from conquering the Ottoman empire. The Greek church of course is the national nurch of Russia and it is that church whose sa nctuaries the infidel has de fled and whose chief synagogue he now holds. Therefore Russia is the hereditary foe of Turkey. It will be remembered that the Crimean war was underta.ken to check Russia and that the chief motive in the present alliance of po wers is to prevent Russia from getting a safe port, which once done ~the sea would soon be dotted with Russian ships and all presant al liances upset. Now personally the Turk is brave to the verge of fanaticism. There have never~ been liner fighters nor troops that bore discipline with more forti tude and resignation. In belief he is a fatalist; and perhaps the idea cur rent as to his social life is near enough true to need no restatement. Ho has suatted upon the fairest country on the globe-a vast extent of fertile lands that grow all manner of fruit or whatever else man's needs require; a climate whose soft and vomnptuous charm poets and painters have immor talized in the balmy breath of its zeph rs. in the glory of its setting suns, in the tideless ripple of its seas and the starry splendor of its.nights. To all this, and to the human loveliness that moves amid its blooming bowers like hou-is fabled to exist in the eivsium of the blessed-the Turk has becomne lord and master. Atid the great Christian nations whose fleets fill every sea, whose ar mies are a multitude and who control the dinancies of the world, what say ther Do they not muster their ar mies and assemble their fleets to crush this awful power-this moral leprosy at their veryv doors: It seems an in suit to as-k the o-uestioin:vet instead of cruhing the Turk what is done? Hang your head in shame, Chrisian man. Theyhave aided him with men and money: The pious England. the philosophic Germany, the liberty shutn Fance, the proud and im perial line that governs at V ienna: O ourse no one takes account of Sig nor Garlik who hops about among te statutes at Rome-relics of a pa::t splendor in lurid contrast with the squalor of present Italian life. Signor Garlik, the cicerone of Eurol.e, can but follow his masters, and accept whaz they fling him with profound obeisance. But God help the masters: And what has caused all this? The greed of nations How forcefully the thought c-nes fro-m that ever blessed Beok: "The love o. rnoney is the root of all evil." Ho piiul is the plight of these hauenty nations-each one of which would go to war if a pistol were ired at thnat old rag they call their :iag, and yet see almoust without emso tionu thouasands of their fellow Chris tians slaughtered by the remorseless lea then: WVe ap:roach the end of a log story. The Turk stili protits by the blunder of his 'oes. B~ut Greece has fir-ed a train which may explode andt scatter devastation. Force wvill no longer serve the powers. The best diplomacy alone can for a time avert general disaster: froma the smoke and (lst a din of whih a new nation may emere into existence along the sun-issed B:sphora- -a nation which wIll a l34t turn the riches of these ad in'. o the treasury of the great Ki.*gand supplart the accursed har em with the happy home -Columbia COTTON GilOWERS' CONVENTION. "resident Ifector D. Lane ksug a Strong A ppeai. Mr. Hectr D. Line, President of the Association of Cotton Growers, has issued the fillowing call: ATHENS, Ala., Feb. 17, 1897. To the Cotton Gro-wers of America: Tne time has arri-veJ when the farm ers shoud t tiinp tie prespec ts of the comiiz cr.) m)ist sericus consid erastion: That the en vironm-nts of the cotton g-rower are beco:ning more inimical to 1heir int-rests each succeding season, is dicouragingly apparent; that the encroachment; upon our commercitl rights are beconiog more piratical in their character, is a fact that is not only appr ciated but condemned by al riht minded men who recognize the ri-ht and privilege of legitimate commercial methods, and the obtuse ness of the S athern planter in failing to o'bsrve, and his subserviency in submitin- to these ills that are being intlicted upon h:i by this scourge in the hands of this reckless class of spec ulative gaaiblers, Is encouraging them in their pernicious methods, is render ng him pitiable n Ihe eyes of t ie world and subjecting him to the oblo quy of being both stupidly ignorant of his interests and ignominiously servfle in his forbarance. As is usual at this season the cotton 'bear" is again in evidence, Lewing down prices to the very lowest notch, using all tha sophistry that his cun ning can devise and all the artifices that he can so ingeniously invent to hammer values dosva t, less than liv inz prices. They are thoroughly in different to normal conditions and. reck little of the common weal. They are sowing the seed of incipient cow - munism in fields in which it is an un k aown and an unnatural growth. They should exult over four cent cot ton and would contribute their active aid in pressing it down to the lowest point regardless of the sorrow and des titution that would prevail through out the South under such conditions. At this time last year they were an ticipating matters by industriously cir culating reports that it was the inten tion o'' the Southern cotton grower to enormously increase the acreage which they gleefully stated would result in the production of fr>:m eleven to t-eive million bales. Like fabrica tions are again being circulated by with the hope of affecting future values The Sauthera planter has the power to checkmate these reckless despoilers of our prosperity by manly and intel ligent action. The only remedy is to '-tight the devil with fire," meet organ ization with organization. Do not be led into error that you can combat this power without sys'e matic organization. You cannot de ceive the great firms that buy your prodact. They have their emissaries in every town and village; they are ever scrutinizing your actions and know more in regard to the general conditions than you can possibly find out. Destroy the annual surplus of cotton that is the active coadjutor of the cot ton "bear." This can be accomplished by increasing the acreage of food crops and consequently the judicious dimin ishing of cotton acreage. You will be better off with a seven million bale crop selling at ten cents, supplement ed by ample food crops, than with a ten million bale crop selling at frye cents. The world spends about three hun dred and thirty-five million dollars annually for American cotton. If we make a seven million bale crop they run after us for our product. If we make a ten million crop we fall over ourselves to sell it to them. The ten million bale crop of '94 and '95 brought the South in round num bers two hundred and eighty-nine million. The seven and a half miu lion bale crop of '93 and '94 brought in round numbers two hundred and ninety-three million dellars. The seven million bale crop of '95 and '96 brought two hundred and ninety-two and one quarter million dollars, demonstrating the fact that a small crop brings more money irre spective of acreage used for food crops and the labor and money expended on a larger areage. Our only hope of protection lies in intelligent concert of action. We should keep ourselves informed of cron condition, amount of production, etc., throughout the cotton area. Then by systematic and judicious market ing of our crops we can realize inesti mable benefits that never can be se cured permanently otherwise. It is not my desire to incite preju dice, and I deprecate the arraignment of one class against another, nor would I. wish to "fire the Southern hear" to any action beyond a legiti mate resistance of commercial vandal ism, but I would that I could inspire the snirit of the Southern cotton rrorcr without reference to class or color, to a proper appreciation of the unfair attitude that we are forced to occupy in the commercial world, and I wish devoutly that I could arouse von from this lethar-gy which has grown upon you so insidiously that it can be likened to that of the freezing man who lies down and becomes actu ally comfortable through dormant sensibilities, though even in the ioy grasp of death. Believing this to be of paramount importance to our material interest and that these questions in their most comprehensive torms should be grave ly considered, I deem it advisable that the cotton gro wers meet in conventicn tnat we may adopt some rule of action by whicht we may be enabled to comn b~at these agencies that are daily grow ine more destructive to our interests. Pursuant to the advice of my asso ciates and with the view of meeting the greatest number of farmers, three conventions will be held, and in ac coroance. I respectfully request the fa;'mers of Texas to meet in conven tion in thle city of Waco, Monday, March Sthi. The cotton growers of the Mississippi Valey will meet at Mem phis, Wednesday, March 10th. Those east of Mississippi will meet at Augus ta, Monday. March 15th. I respectfully request the co opera tionof the commissioners of agricul ture of the -respective states, all agri cultural societies, and those interested directly or- indirectly in the growingI of the South's main staple. I remin respectfully yours, limoi D. LAx-e, P reside nt. SExys Creelmas . of the battleship Maine, was nres2Inted last week by Secretary I~erbert with a beautiful gold medal for great heroism in jump i ug over ooard during- a storm and saving the life of a fellow seaman. the medal is about the size of a silver, dollar, and bears on the reverse in high relief a picture of the Maine, while on the obverse the inscription: "Wil liam J. Creelman, U nited States navy, for extraordinary heroism, February t. 187. Presented by the secretary ANOTHER NEW PARTY. TELLER AND HIS ASSOCIATES TAK~ A DECISIVE STEP. Slther Rlnpub'Jcvis Will Separate From Their G.>Idlug Bro3trou and Form a P'.,r:y of rheir Owa-National Convention Will be Held. Wasmsoos, Feb. 23 -The follow ing address was issued to day by the silver Senators and Repsesentatives as a result of a meeting held at Senator Teller's house last night for the or ganization of the silver Republican party: To the Silver Republicins of the U nit ed States: There could not be a better illustra tion of the great law by which in tree governments the rise, progress and decline of parties are determined than that afforded by rccent and present political development in the United States. Political part-es are practical instruments for executing the will of the people in respect to principles and politics of government. They there fore, should represent and respond to public ooinion in its attitude toward tne problems which the experience of the nation from time to time brings forward for solution. It is not par ties that make issues. but it is issues that make parties. For years events have been forcing upon the country, with ever increas ing definiteness and emphasis. the ne cessity of reform in our monetary sys tem as respects both the coinge of metallic money and the regulation and control of credit currency. Un der stress of experience and conse quent invesi.igation, opinions have been giadually crystalizing. In this process, the line of cleavage has paid little regard to previously existing party demarcations; and to day the mosi careless observer cannot iail to see that the genius of the nation is ap proaching a settlement of this momen tous controversy through the agency of political instruments now being fashioned to its hand. In the history of these fjrmative events the so called silver Republicans have taken an important part and dis charged a necessary function. In doing so they have not surrendered their convictions on certain other reat principles of political economy and government; but they realize that those principles are not capable of suc cessful application under present mon etary conditions. They believe, therefore, that the ad equate treatment of all other issues must await the ccrrect decision of the dominant one thus presented. In this spirit they co operated with the organized forces of bimetallism in the last campaign. Every consideration of patriotism and expediency seems to counsel a continuation of that policy. Silver Repuplicans believe them selves to be in harmony with the orig inal spirit of the old Republican party and they claim a property in its great name and glorious traditions justifed by the splendid services and sanctitied by the saered memories of the time when that party embodied the aspira tions and spoke the purpose of the great masses of the American people. That party was born in answer to the cry for a champion of liberty. Its early, words were words of comfort and assurance to the oppressed. Its deeds by which it will hereafter live in history were deeas of patriotism. Its policics pt-ofessed above all things to hold dear the safety and welfare of the American people as against the rest of the world. The silver Republeans cannot for get that history. They cannot to-day. follow those who have usurped the dominion of that party into a shame less abandonment of American inter ests and the tyrany of an alien money sytem. They believe that the duty of our hour demands that they maintain their identity and perfect their organ ization. Circumstances have sometimes in the past thrust upon the undersigned responsibilities on behalf of silver Republicans, which in the absence of formal organization we have felt war ranted in assuming. Recently, more over, we have been receiving a vast number of anxious inquiries from various parts of the country upon the question~ of party policy and requet ing us to. give some definite direction thereto. These communications ex hibit a surprising and gratifying unan imity in sentiment and plans. Responding to these earnest sugges tions and at the same time expressing our own deliberate opinion, we urge upon the silver Republicans of the United States and upon all citizens of whichsoever previous party associa ion who are willing to co-operate with us in political action until tne great monetary issue is settled and settled right, that immediate steps be taken to perfect organizations in the various States and territories to the end thereaf ter a national cornvention may be held for the purpose of ma ing an authoritative pronouncement to the country and effecting anational organization. As soon as pcssible eachn of the States and territories should designate a member of the pro visional national committee of the of the Silver Republican party, whichj committe will have charge of the na-I tional convention and of all matterst preliminary thereto. Meantime, we have taken the liberty of naming Hon. Charles A. Townes of Minneso ta as chairman of the said provisional national committee, whose of~cial ad - dress for the presen. will be the city of Washington and to whom all com munications should be sent. The previsional national committee is hereby called to meet in executive session at the city of Cnicago, ata place to be seasonably annaounced by' the chairman, on Taesday, the 8th day of June, 1897. Sinzned at the city of Wash ingtor. this 22nd day of February. 1897, the anniversary of the birth of the "-First American." whose life was a sublime example o f patriotism, and whose pre cept, placing duty to country above and beyond all party oblhgation. is a deathless watchword of politicall lib ert v. (Signed) H. M. Teller, Fr-ed T. la bois, F'rank ,J. Cann~on, R(. F. INetti gre~v, Lee Mantie, John P. Jones, Charles A. Towne, Charles S. Iar t-I man, John F.- Shafroth, C. E Alien Wild for lBryan. - n W\ASmsa-ros, D. C., Feb. 24.-Win. J. Bryan received an ovation fromn the house today. Business was practical ly suspendied. While the speaker1 rapped for order the apulause rang through the hall and echoed from tile galleries as Bryan appeared in view. The Democratic memboers crowded' around him~ and create~d such a comn motion that Speaker l-Zeed kept rap ping loudly for order. Finally Bryan retired to the cloak room on the armI of Bailey and held a reception to tue democratic mcmbers. Whaen he re entered the chamber, interest in the late candidate had not abated. Bryan took his old sett and was soon the center of so much interest and com-. motion that he r-emoved again to the loak room tc cease obstructing the house. The sneak-er sinally sent a page to Bryan reouesting him to come forward, and the house cheered wild - ly as -eand rya n clasped handst. A RA!LR'AD MASSACRE. NiO ( of a Fmnily of Twelve Kited by a Train Near Chsattcoga. CxITTTANoOOA. Ten a., F.u 4. - About 4 o'clock this afternoon on the Southern Railway. four miles from this city, ircoinjz pasenr qrin No. 7, travelliig at a hign speed, sruck a covered country wagon, w hich was trying to clear the tracks ahead of the ,rA.in atA vond ale crossing. The wagon was hit squarely in the cen tre and with its ten occcupants hurled high into the air. The occupants were; Mrs. W. J. Woodward, her eight children and one grandchild, and all but one were killed. The dead are: Mrs. William J. Wood ward, Mrs. Lizzie Woodward Mont gomery, a married daughter, aged 20: her two months infant daughter; George T. Woodaward, aged 23; Delia Woodwvard, age'd 18; Mary Wood ward. aged 15: Daisy Wood ward, 10. The last two named lingered several hours after the accident. A striking feature of the catastrophe is that no limbs were broken, but in nearly e very case the skulls of the victims were crushed to fragments, each body seeming to describe an ellipse througa the air and falling upon its head, several fifty to one huandred feet from the scene. Lizzie Montgomery, a comely young matron, descended on the pilot of the locomotive and still held her two-year-old sister, who escaped with a few scratches, and was the only one saved in her lifeless arms. The unfortunates were the family of a well-known farmer living near King's Point, Tenn. They were returning home from this city in a wagon of the "prarie schooaer" type and George Woodward, the oldest son, was driving. Nearing the cross inz the young man heard the danger signal and tried to check his team, which however, becanie uamanagea ble and dashed on the track. This crossing is particularly dangerous, as trees fringe the railroad almost to the crossing, which is' also partly hidden behind a curve. Fifty yards from the place the engineer, Abraham Laird, reversed his lever, having given the usual danger signal, but too late to do any good. The ground far some dis tance presented a cory sight. The bodies were gathered up after much searching and taken to the morgue, where the nine members of the same family made a gruesome spectacle. The infant, which was undoubtedly shocked to death, lay like a wax fig ure in its mother's arms. Every window in the passenger coaches was broken and the engine's pilot was de molished. The eagineer is absolved from blame for the accident. The fa ther and one child remain of a family of twelve. Threatens to Attack Lee. NEW YoRk, Feb. 24-.A dispatch to the Sun from Havana says: "Ha vana is alarmed. The Spaniards are wildly excited against Consul Gen eral Lee and the Americans. The re port was circulated yesterday morn ing that American warships were coming to Havana by request of Con sul General Lee, and the indignation of the volunteers was so intense over that report, that fearing a demonstra tion against the United States, the marquis of Ahumada privately called to his office the colonels of the battal lions of volunteers in the city and assured them that the renort was ab solutely false, and that General. Lee, in investigating the death of Dr. Ruiz, only obeyed instructions from the state department ot W ashington given in a friendly, peaceful spirit. The Spanish volunteers and merchants openly say that if any American war ship enters the bay ~of Havana they will attack the American consulate." If no appeal for warships has been made the fact remains none the less, that they are needed, and that the American government could not send its naval vessels any where to protect the lives and interests of its citizens with better reasons. A Generous Foe. Maj or General Alfred Pleasanton, who died in Washington Wednesday, was a brave cavalry leader in the Union army, and like all truly brave soldiers who wore the blue he had re spect for the courage and patriotism of the men who wore the giray, and always defended them when sneering or derogatory remarks were made about them. The Pailadelphia Times tells an incident which illustrates Pleasanton's fri~endly .regard for the South. On one occasion, mnan "all night" house, a stranger came upon the scene and began the utterance of much abusive language concerning the Southern soldiers, saying that they were braggarts and cowards. General Pleasanton was there, and asked the stranger if he recognized him. The stranger said no, and the old soldier said: "Well, I remember you very well. I am Alfred Pleasanton. I had you drummed out of my camp for cowardice before Antietam. Get out of the place." And the fellow disap eared. WVants to Fight. WASIsmsONo. Feb. 25 ---The hottest phase of the Cuban question develop ed in Congress today and was found in Congressman Gibson's resolutions. Gibson represents one of the East Tennessee districts, and although a little fellow in stature, has the repu tation of being a fighter. His resolu tions recite the many outrages com mitted upon Americans in Cuba, and then go on to instruct the President to demand the immediate restitution to liberty of every American citizen, native or naturalized. The President is authorized to send warships to Cu ban waters to back up his demand, and if in twenty-four hours this de mand is not heeded, Havana is to be bombarded. The resolutions have not been acted on. - Another Killing. CoLt'ma, S. C., Feb. 21.-In a personal didiculty, the outcome of a trouble of long standing, between 7 nd S o'clock this morning, J. WV. Powell, a well known wood dealer, shot and killed Charles W. Sloan, 24 years of age, near the Chairlotte, Co lumbia & Augusta depot. Tie latter ran a launber yard adjoining Powell's wood yard. Powell, after tue killing, .mei 'to the sheritf's otfice and sur rndered himself. Hie shot Sloan twice and either bullet would have aused death. Sloan iis J1 about a half our. Powell's life was saved by a package of law papers in his breast pocket- Sloan fired upon him. The~ ulet pioughned its way through the aers and merelr bruised the 11esh near the right nipile. BETTERt Tais POTAToEs.-We are o have, it seems, a substitute for po a'. in the Chinese -o'iehoke recently ntrodJuc:d from .apan. Acco-ding o the Failade! ohia Record. it is "fuil yv equal to the potato as food and ielus twice as many bushels peracre. t groo's to the height of about twelve nches, the tubers being formed like~ four or five round radishes growingj cgether. The tubers are more nitro encuts than the potato; they require o peeling, as the skin is very thin ma they also keep well in winter. It s said that a single plant has been! nown to produce 200 lubera and the rop yields 500) bushels pu atr2." dd to this that the tubers can oe ooked in as many way ways as the BETRAYED BY A WINK. IIrw the Goi Brick Men Falled to Work a New Yuk Drummer. The zang of confidecce men wh> a short time ago swindled a citizen of this p'ace out cf three thousand dol lars on the pretense of selling him an inttrst in a gold mine by working the gold brick trick on him, came very near doing a Nev York drum mer in Savannah just before they put up the job on our friend here. Accarding to the Savannah News the drummer stopped at the DaSoto. He not only wore nice clothes, but lie sported several very handsome dia monds, as settings to rings and shirt studs. The swindlers probably mis took nim for a man of wealth who was touring the South for pleas:ire, as they seldom run any risk to secure small anounts. The drummer was carrying a pret tv gooroldl at the time, however, and would have been a neat pick-up for the confidence men had their game succeeded. He had finished his busi ness in Savannah and had everything ready to take the night train for New York. He had jast finished lunch at the DeSoto and strolled out on the veranda to enj y a smoke. He was also wondering what he would do with himself during the afternoon, when a well dressed man, whom he remembered to have seen around the hotel, also strolled out. The stranger pulled a cigar out of his pocket, and appeared not to have a match, asking the drummer for a light. The request was promptly granted, and the two struck up a conversation, the drum mer supposing that the other man, was, like himself, a guest of the hotel. The stranger introduced himself un derthe name of Jackson, stating his business, from Boston. and at once turned tne conversation on the subur ban resorts around Savannah. "By the way," he inquired of the drummer, "have you ever visited the hermitage?" The drummer said he had not, in fact he did not know anything about it. Mr. Jackson at once entered upon an enthusiastic description of the Hermitaga, the old mansion, the gi ant oak, the slave cabins and the other features of the place. "Why, there is no place like it in the country; you should not fail to see it before you return North," he declared. The drummer expressed a desire to visit the Hermitage, but said he was afraid he would not be able to make the trip and get back to the city in time to catch the train. "You can do it easy enouzh," his new acquaintance assured him. "We simply walk down this street a piece, take a street car at the Cen tral depot, ride out a couple of miles, walk about half a mile from the end of the street car track and there we are. We can make the trip and get back to town before sundown." The enthusiasm of his acquaintance over the beauties of the Hermitage won Mr. Smith which was not the drummer's name, but will do just as well, completely over, and they agreed to make the trip. They had just reached the bottom steps when they met another well dressed man, who shook Mr. Jackson warmly by the hand, and greeted him in the most cordial manner. After their greetings nere over Mr, Jackson introduced the ne wcom~er as "My -friend, Mr. Rogers, from Philadelphia." He then explain ed to Mr. Rogers that he and .Mr. Smith were just leaving for a trip to the Hermitage, and invited him to ac company them. Mr. Rogers replied that he had heard a great deal of the Hermitage, but he had never had an opportunity to visit the place. .If they would wait until he could go in side and register he would accompany them. They waited while he went in to the hotel, and presently came out again. The three then took a Liberty street car to the Central depot, where they boarded a West End car. They rode out to Jasper springs, where they left the car and walked some distance through the woods. The drummer was beginning to think that it was rather a longer walk than he had bar gained for when they met an old man who entered into conversation with thern. He told tnemn a story about having come back from the West to look for some relatives, whom he had been unable to fiud. One of the men suggested tc the old man that he ac company them to the Hermitage, to which he agreed. The drummer would never have sus ected anything if he had not seen a very plain wink pass between Jack son and the old manl. He had not been raised in Ne w York for nothing, and the wink was information enough for him. It occurred to him all of a sudden that that was a very lonely piece of woods, and that with his money, watch and diamonds he was a prize worth at least $l,000. He was unarmed. He made up his mind that he was in for it, and began to lay about for some means to get away from the crowd. Presently he saw a neg ro cabin in a field some distance from the path they were pursuing. When the party got opposite to the house he suddenly turned off towards it with the remark that he wanted to get a drink of water. Luckily the three men did not follow him. On reaching the house he walked around it so as to place the house between himself and the party, and then ran as hard as he could for the Augusta road, which he could see in the dis tance. Reaching the road, he walked back to town as rapidly as possible, and after reaching the city went to the police barracks where he narrated his adventure to Chif ' EcDermot. The chief agreed with Li~n that he had done wisely in shaking the party so unceremoniously. The chier's idea was th at after reaching the H -rmit age a card game would have bw: sug gested, which, if the drummer had one into it, he would have b-en tceced out of his money and probably his diamonds also. The men were too shretvd to perpetr&-'e hig ; s.y robbery. he thought, and b.:tide ii. was not their line of business. The chief offered to arrest the three men, but as the drummer wanted to leave for New York. and besides had no charges which he could prefer against them, no ar - 's were made. The three men were . tted by the detectives and proved to be the same men who palmed off the gold b)rick on the South Carolinian. In i~ ' , they acknowedged to a man wh~ - 'yss in league with the detectives the this was their business. Finding ih a they were known here the swindlers did not at~em pt to get in tht.-ie work -Orageburi- Times au-d Dzaserat. A Foolish Young Man. BoSTON, Feb. 20.--Jo'1 Lvevis Roche, a son of James Jetfry Roche, editor of the Boston Pilot, shot him self in the right lung, while standing in the door way of the Castle Sqntare Hotel. His wound is dangerous. A love affair is thought to be the cause of Roche's act Found Dead. PHILAE LJUam, Feb. 26- -John Cro ker supposed to have been a man oi considerable wealth, was found dead in his room at the corner of Croker and Norris street this city. Croker AKil POWDER Absolutely Pure. Celebrated for Its great -eavenlng strength and healthfulness. Assurei the food against alum and all forms of adal. teratioa common to the cheap brands ROYAL BAKING POWDEr co., NEw YORK. PUBLIC PRINTING BILL, CONTINUED FROM PAGE ONE.j The previous question was then or dered and the house refused to strike out the enacting wards by the follow ing vote - Yeas-Andersmn, Ashley, Austell, Bacot. Biak's Birkley. Burns. Col cock, deLoacht Elwards. Gadsden, Gage, Gasque, Kibbler, Ldton. Mehr tens, McCullough, McDaniel, Nettles, Patton, Perritt, Pyatt,Rynolds, R inson, Sanders, Seabrook, Sinkler, Simkins, Smith, W. S.; Smith, E D Stevenson, Sullivan, Thomas, John P.; Townsend, Verner, Vincent, Wil son, Williams, Wyche-39. Nays-Speaker Gary, All, Arm strong, Bailey, Badon, Bethune, Bree land, Carray, Carson, Caughman, Crum, Cushman, Davis, a. M.; Dukes, Efird, Epps, Fairey, Garrris, Goodwin, H. P.; Graham, J. S ; Graham, Thos. A.; Hamilton, Hazel den, Henderson, Hiott, Hollis, Hum phrey. Ilderton, Johnson, Kennedy, Kinard, Henry J.; Kinard, J. D.; Lancaster, Liyton, Lester, Lemmon, Limehouse, Livingston, Magill, Maul din, Meares, Miller, J. E ; Miller, Joel H.; Mishoe, Moors, McKeown, McWhite, 0 ven, Phillips, Plyer, Pol lock, Price, Prince, Rainsford, Rogers, Rassell, Skinner, Speer, Sturkie, Timmerman, Toole, Wolling. Welch, Westmoreland, Whisonant, Wingo, Winkler, Witnerspoon, Yeldell-70. Mr. Ashley then offered the follow ing amendment. Add at the end of the amendment line 54, page 3, and also at the end of section 1 as amended the following: "Provided that nothing herein con tained shall prevent any resident of the State from purchasing liquors out side of this State in quantities not ex ceeding one gallon at a time and hav ing the same shipped to said purchaser in this State for personal use only, said purchaser making affidavit that it was for personal use and having said affi davit attached to the package while in transportation." Mr. Dukes moved to table this amendment. This was done on a roll call vote. The vote was 71 to 32. The bill was then ordered to a third reading without further debate and the vote was clhnched. Ingthe House on Wednesday the bill to prevent travelling medicine vendars from plying their vocation was taken up and passed. Mr. Gage's important joint resolu tion directing the comptroller gener al to levy and collect a supplementa ry tax for the public schools was call ed up and passed. Under this joint resolution the comptroller general is directed to forthwith levy a tax on the property of the State sufficient to realize an amount equal to $3 per cap ita of the number ot children enroll ed in the public schools of each coun ty for the scholastic year ending the 31st day of October in the year 1895, which sum shall be apportioned by him among the counties of the State in proportion to the respective ded ciences therein. A motion to contin ue this measure to the next session was defeated by the following vote:. Ayes-Speaker Gary, Banks, Bedon, Burns, Caughmadi, Colcockr, Crum, Cushman, Dukes, Edrd, Fairey, Fox, Gadsden, Garris, Gasque, Goodwin, O. P.; Graham, J. S.; Graham, T. A.; Hiatt, Kennedy, Kibler, Kinard, . J.; Lester, Limehouse, Mehrtens, Mil ler, J. E.; Mi-shoe, Moore, McDaniel, McLaurin, Phillips, Pyler, Prince, Pyatt, Russell, Seabrook, Sirinner, Smkins, Sturkie, Stevenson, Tuomn as, J. P., Jr.; Timmerman, Toole, Vin cent, Welsh, Witherspoon-46. Nays-All, Anderson, Armstrong, Ashley, Austell, Bailey, Bethune, Carraway, Carson, Davis, C. M ; deLoach, Edwards, Epps, Gage, Good win, H. P.; Hamilton, Haxzeldsn, Henderson, Hollis, Humphrey, Ilder ton, Kinard, J. D.; Lancaster, L ty - ton, Livingston, Mauldin, Mesres,. Miller, J. I. ; Mitchell, Mc~Xullough,' McKeown, Mc White, 0Owen, Patton, Perritt, Pollock, Price, Rainsford, Reynolds, Robinson, Rogers. Sanders, Sinkler, Smith, E. D.; Thomas, W. H.; Verner, Westmoreland, Wnison ant, Wilson, Wingo, Winkler, Wyche-53. The following special report of the joint committee appointed to investi gate the public printing was received: Your joint committee appointed so investigate the public printing beg leave to report that the provisions or "An act to further regulate public printing reports of officials and com pensation for the same," passed the general assmbly of 1896, nave been complied with and that under said act the cost of printing is less than last year. But your committee would recommend that the la w be so amend ed as to require the heads of depart ments approve all bills for printing for their respective departments be fore acted on by the attorney general. We further recommend that the law be so amended as to leave out of the comptroller general's report the ioll of pensioners and list of insurance agents. We think more economy might be praciiced in the matter of unfilled pages and blank space in some of the reports. W. A. BROWN, On part of the Senate. T. A. GAHam, J. M. SULuvAN, C. T. WYCHE, On part of the House. The House Wednesday concurred in the senate amendment to the con :urrent resolution fixing the day of adjornment. The senate changed the date, making it read next Wed esday, leaving the hour open. The vote whereby the house agreed to the amendment was clinched. The Ciemion Openin~g. CLE3soN, Feb. 19.-The fifth annt al session of Clemson College opened yesterday with 2S0 boys present. Qf these 13t are ne w ones, and the rest are cadets who were here last year. A fe v more boys arrived on the after noon trains to-day, and it is thought that the total number will reach 350) when all have arrived. Some will