The Manning times. (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, March 24, 1897, Image 4
THE FLAGS H1STER
REV. DR. TALMAGE PREACHES A Vi':
AND APPROPRMATE SERMON.
He Says He Hatea War-at He Admires
the Right Kind of Martial Spirit-Wfods
of Glowing and Ficture!cquie Exhorta
tion.
WASmNGTON, Marci 14.-At this
time, when our national canital has
for ten days been ablaze with oLr na
tional lag, the imageryv o f s serms11
of Dr. Talmage sees very vmid anu
appropriate. The te x i .ms xx,
5, "In the name of G- wc wi! st
up our bia-r'
I hate war. Ia my boy'ecod wemay
have read thebiograohy of Alexn.er
or of some Revoluticnarv hero until
our young heart lbahi. 11 d w1
wished we had been born ove r one
hundred years ago. j'st for iory
of striking down a iessian F.r rus
ty swords hung up on the rafters and
bullets cut out of log houss iu whic:
they were lodged during the great
strife we had unboun de1d ad-nirion,
or on some public day, clothed in cur
grandfather's soldierly acentr emnts.
we feltas brave as Garibaldi or
des. We are wiser now, fcr we mak
vast distinction between the pwet-y
and the prose of war. The roll of
drums and the cll of bugles and the
champing of steeds foaming and paw
ing for the battle. 100,u00 muskets
glittering among the dancing plumes,
"God Save the King, waving up from
clarinets and trampets and rung back
from deep defiles or the arches of a
prostrate city, distant capitals of king
doms illuminated at the tidings, gen
erals returning home under flaming
arches and showering amaranths and
the shout of empires-that is poetry.
Chilled and half blanketed, lying on
the wet earth; feet sore with the
march and bleedne at the slightest
touch; hunger pulling on every fiber
of flesh or attempting to satisfy itself
with a scanty and spoiled ration; thirst
licking up the dew or drinking out of
filthy and and trampled pool; thoughts
of home and kindred far away while
just on the eve of a deadly strife.
where death may leap on him from
any one of hundred bayonets; the
closing in of two armies, now changed
to 100,000 maniacs; the ground siip
pery with blood and shattered 1lesh:
fallen ones writhing under the hoofs
of unbridled chargers maidened with
pain; the dreadfulness of night, that
cmes down when the strife is over;
the struggle of the wounded ones
crawling out over the corpses: the
long, feverish agony of the crowded
barrack and hosoital, froan whose mat
tresses the fragment of men send up
their groans, the only music of car
nage and butchery; desolate homes,
from which fathers and husbands and
brothers and sons went off; without
giving any dying message or sending
a kiss to the dear ones at homes, tuim
bled into tne soldiers' grave trench,
and houses in which a few weeks be
fore unbrcken family circles rejoiced,
now plunged in the great sorrows of
widowhood and orphanage. That is
prose.
But there is now on the earth a king
dom which has set itself up for con
flicts without number. In its march
it tramples no grainfields, it sacks no
cities, it impoverishes no treasuies, it
fills no hospitals, it bereaves no fami
lies. The courage and victory of Sol
ferino and Magenta without carnage.
SThe kingdom of Christ agaims the
kingdom of satan. That is the strife
now raging. We will offer no amtis
tices. We will make no treaty. Un
til all the revolted nations of the earth
shall submit again to King Emmanuel
"in the name of God we will set up
our banners."
Every army has its ensigns. Long
before the time when David wrote the
text they were in use. The hosts of
Israel displayed them, the tribe of
-Benjamin carried a flag with the in -
scription of a wolf, the tribe of Dan a
representation of cherubim, Judah a
lion wrought into the ground work of
white, purple, crimson and blue.
Such flags from their folds shook fire
into the hearts of such numbers as
were in the field when Abijah fought
against Jehoram. and there werel,200,
000 soldiers, and mora than 500,000
were left dead an the field. These en
signs gave heroism to such numbers
as were assembled when - Asa fought
against Zerahi, and there werel1,5S0,000
troope in the battle. The Athenians
carried an inscription of the owl,
which was thair emblem of wisdom.
The flags of modern nations are fa
miiar to you all, and many of them
so inappropiate for the character of the
natioins they represent it would be im
politic to enumerate them. These en
signs are streamers borne on the point
of a lance and on the top of wooden
shafts. They are carried in the front
and rear of armies. They unroll from
the main top gallant masthead of an
admirals flagship to distinguish it
among other ships of the same squad
ron. They are the objects of national
pride. The loss of them on the field
is ignominous.I
The three banners of the Lord's
hosts are the banner of proclamatior.,
the banner of recruit and the banner
of victory. When a nation feels its
rights infringed or its honor insulted,
when its citizens have in foreign climes
been oppressed and no indemnity has
been offered to the inhabitant of the
republic or kingdom, a prcclamation
of war is uttered. On the top of bat
teries and arsenals and custom houses
and revenue offices flags are immedi
ately swung out. All who look on
them realize the fact that une ompro
mising war is declared. Thus it is that
the church of Jesus Christ, jealous for
the honor of its sovereign and deter
mined to get back those who have been
carried off captive into the bondage of
satan and intent upon the destruction
of those mighty wrongs which have
so long cursed the earth and bent upon
the extension of the Saviour's reign of
mercy, in the name of God sets up its
banners of proclamation.
The church makes no assault upon
the world. I do not believe that GodI
ever made a better world than this.
It is magnificent in its ruins. It is
magnificent in its ruins. Let us stop
talking so much against the world.
God pronounced it very gcod at tho
begin ning. Though a wandering ehild
of God, I see in it the great Father's lin
eaments. Though tossed and driven by
the storms of 6,000 years, she sails
b-aveiy yet, and as at her launching
in the be nning the morning stars
sang toge erand all the sons of God
shouted for joy, so at last, when com
ing into the calm harbor of God's
mercy, she shall be greeted by the
huzzas of glorified kingdoms. It is
not the world against which contend,
but its transgressions. Whatever is
obstinate in the will, degrading in
passion, harmful in custom, false in
friendship, hynocritical in profession
-against all this Christ makes onset.'
From false profession ne would tear
the mass. From oppressim he would
snatch the rod. From pride he would
rend of the plumes. Frcm res enge
he would exercise the devil. While
Christ toved the world so :nuichh
d ed to save it, he hates sin so well
that to eradicate the last trace of its
pollution he will utterly consume the
continents and the oceans. It the
gate of Eden the declaration of per
petual enimity was made against the
Moun. t as y :- roar uu(I
ahof Gi*- ar~i ion ot~ wah
aiest sin an an irews only
noacig hoilit .t"hiee and
Toe n .es iIle 17en aful ruin
Iar h ck of Jeborah's advance
met. ey sh o w that God was teri
b n elrLnest When hieanocd
hiSeC. a,, 1orent o f al1 iniutY. T i ey
rnake usI ie0ve that thouh . ma-)ias
'bl'ierent a'nd reveng-ful may
si -3rice of peace and come!
to an am Dic blC a ldjastmt,tr
thae r,! sh all b e n> ces::,at i
of hostilities btween1 th' ft)res
of, ligh an 1the fo rces o F dr k o zss ua -
Lil tie klagaoms o this world
become thae king -dins of our L.
Atfrighte-d no oppostio', dIsc-ar
aged by no temporary defeas,
in- fromn no expsure -?very man t
his pesiion w11, r rom t top o f car
so-Ols and c"rches andl s:uries
and asylumi ''in the'ur of G* we I
will set up our bImner."
was the custom iII an1cient
1ics for I the parpose of ::aturl
armiies '-o lift an eusign on the tp of
some high hill, so that all who s v I
would feet imp?!!ed to rally around
it. In mv-)iera time -.he same pIan
has b:e emr loyed for the gathering
of an army. T:us it s Lai'Lhe church
of Christa;''ts i's :i for recits.
The cross of Jesus is our standsrd,
planted on hil of C alarL. Oher
armies deaiand hat. persons desiring
to enter the lists of wAr shall b.c be
tween such, and sue'1 an age, lest the
folly of extreen youtha or the infirmi
ty of advanced age be a clog rather
man an advn-a.e Bat none is too
voung for Christ's regiment; none e n
be too old. The hand that is strong
enough to bauand a ball or trandle a
hoop is skilled enough to fight for
Christ, while many a hand trembling
with old age has grasped tme arrow of
truth, and. with a dim eye close to it,
taking aim, has sent its sharp point
right through the heart of the King's
enemies. Many of you have long ago
had your names written on the roll of
celestial troops. and you like the ser
vice well, although you now bear the
scars of multitudinous conflicts and
can recouat many a long march and
tell of siege guns opened on you that
you tho: -ht never would be spiked.
But there -iv be some who have not
yet enlistet Your being heie implies
that you are riously thinking about
it, and your attention makes me hope
you are only looking for the standard
to be hoisted. Will you not, 100 of
you, with all the aroused enthusiasm
of your nature, come bounding into
the ranks, while "in the name of God
we set up our banners?"
Throug' natural modesty do you
hold back and sav: *I will be of no
advantage to Christ. I am too awk
ward to learn the step of the host, or
to be of any servc,, in the shock of
battle?" To you I make the reply.
Try it. One hourunder Christ's drill,I
and you would so well understand
his rules that the first step of your
march heavenward would make the
gates of hell tremble on their hinges.
We may not be as polished and trim
as many Christians we have known,
and we may not as well understand
sharpshooting, but there is rough
work which we can all acomplish.
We may be axmen and hew a path
way through the forests. We may be
spadesmen and dig the tienches or
throw up the fortiacations. We do
not care where, we do not care what
if we can only help in the cause of
our king and shout as loudly as any
of them at the completion of the con
quest.
There are nonnrofessors who have a
very correct idea of what Christians
ought to be. Tou have seen memnbers
of the church who were as proud as
Ahab and lied as badly as Ananias,
and who were as foul hypocrites as
Judas. You abhor all that. You say
followers of Christ ought to be honor
able, humble and self denying and
charitable and patient and forgiving.
Amen! So they ought. Come into
the kingdom of Christ, my hearer,
and be jus' that glorious Christian
that you have described. Every
church has enough stingy men in it
to arrest its charities, and enough
proud men in it to grieve away the
Holy Ghost, and enough lazy men in
it to hang on behind till its wheels,
like Pharaoh's chariots, drag heavily,
and enough worldly men to exhaust
the patience of the very elect, and
enough snarly men to make appropri
ate the Bible warning, "Beware of
dogs !" If any of you men on the out
side of the kingdom expect to make
such Carisians as that, we do not
want you to come, for the chur,:h has
already a million members too many
of just that kind. We do not want
our ranks crowded with serfs when
we can have them filled with zouaves.
There are men now, as in Christ's
time, possessed of seven devils. In
some instances it seems as though at
conversion only six of those evil spirits
were cast cut while there remains still
one in the heart, the devil of avarice,
the devil of lust or the devil of pride.
Men of the world, if you would be
transformned and elevated by the
power of the gospel, now is the time
to come. It is no mean ensign I lift
this hour. It is a time honored flag.
It has been in terrific battle. Drag
gled in the dust of aSaviour's humilia
tion from Bethlehem to Calvary. Rent
by hell's on set the spears of a mad
dened soldiery, and the hands of the
men who said. "Let him be crucified."
With this ensign in his bleediing hand
the Saviour scaled the heigihts of our
sin. With this he mount~ed the wall
of perdition, and amid its very smoke
and flame and blasphemy he waved
his triumph, while demons howled
with defeat and heaven
Thnro'nged his chariot wheels
And bcoe him to hits throne,
Then swept their golden harpe an.d 'ang,
The diorious work i done..
it by liag floating from public
building and from trees, and from
the masts of ships. Tney a-e the sig
nal for eulogy and rejoicing and fes
tivitv. So the ensign which the church
hoiss is a banner of victory. There
was a time when the religion of Christ
was not considered respectable. Men
of learning and position frowned upon
it. Governments anathematized its
suppoters. To be a Christian was to
be an underling. But mark the diifer
ence. Religion has compelled the
world's respect. Infidelty in the tre
mendous effort it has made to crush it
has complimented its power. And
there is not a single civilized nation
but in its constitution or laws or proc
lamations pays homage to the religion
of the aross. In the war in India,
when Sir Archibald Campbell found
in an hour of danger that the men he
ordered to the field were intoxicated
and asked f or the pious men whom
Christian Havelock bad under bis
mnagement, he said: --Call out Ihrj
elock's saints. They are never drunk
and Havelock is always ready." Thatj
Christianity which gathered.its firstj
trophies from the fishermen's huts cna
the shoreo of C :lilee now has Samsoni
an strength thrown upon its shoulders
and has carried off the gates of science
nit worldly power. We point not to
frresses and standing armies and
navesias the ev-idence o~f the church's
progress. We point to theC men whomn
Chrst has redeemead by his blood.
What if arsenals and navy yards do
not belong to the church: We do not
fare are not c.ra!. bat spiriu and
down of s -r ri . P1 or and
satan haven ida a of C.- s' and
herois-n whiichi G4.l witLl re: jet o-t
the hae hd oly neroa 1( fro.,n
the dirst r imient. TeL r of Hs
will soon appear lao tihe t at
head of his troops. Dpad upona it..
Iha When Giod inspreste soal wi'h;
of --nv ve up ." In al: a-es o the
chrc er ha be n those whio
hae h, id " at hat was at.noszt equzal
to sight, lookig trough persecultion
and re -erses w7ithi as muchi expectation
as through palpable:achi ments. There
have beten ien for Christ wt" ave
cas did the 0a .op -Jof11r"
t0. attackedtby Kn:sri-t k - of Oor.
Tim woude o tie tao th
-'roa.kd and sa ia eh of us, tied tr
to asie i- ti- ranks by tesd of a
soaadmn." i if saG d thz! 7l or em
moen, pier and :eated fro s foriner
wou nd"Ls, anid thus spredby. thle
stakes, strgted bho t het omGba'.
Tous has it b ren tha m to ie
children of Godthough- eln them
sel ves weak and woandidz, poe, rhas in31
body, perhaps in estate, perhaps in
soul, supposed by the staff of GaA's
pro:ntse, have wvarre.1it up to tehilt
in the subj ga'ioa of a world of wlck
edness.
Ve are mighty in tais clus3, for we
have te help o. the nious dead. M s
sengers o sAlvation from high heav
en, they vizi: t tield. They stand
behied usy keep us from ig-aoninious
retreat. They go before us to encour
age u; in the strife. Tae Mcnevnes,
and thePaysons. and the Martyns.and
the Beainerds, an uacounted multi
tuie of the gloridad, are our coadja
tors. H ve you heard the Swiss tra
ditiou. Tae herdimn say that tnree
great lea-ltrs of the Ielvetia nation
tuiogh se:unnly deal, are only ly
iaz do.va urilh the ground in their
old time dress. refreshing thenselres
with sleep. and that il at any time the
liberties of their country are in danger
they wil im-nediately spring t their
feet and drive back the ene:ny. May
I not have the thought tha. if ever the
churcl of the blessed Carist shall te
threatened with destru::tion by foes
which seem too great for her strength,
the Lord himaelf will not onli come
to the deliverance, but those great
ancients who have seemed to be sleep
ing among the dead shall immnediately
hear the trumpet blast of the church
militant and full are.1 spring back
to their old positions in the ranks of
God with the battlecry, "More than
conquerors throazh him that loved
us.* Although we have already much
o encourage us in the work of the
world's evangelization, yet we must
Cnfess that mach of our time has
bea consamed in planting oar bat
teries and getting ready for the ca
lict. We havo not yet begun to
preach. We have not yet begun to
pray. We have not yet begua to
work. Oa the coasts of heathendom
are misionary sta:ions. Taney have
scarcely yet begun to accomplish
what they propose. It takes some time
o dig the trenc'ies and elevate the
standard and direct the great guns.
From what I hear I think they are
about ready no v. Let but the great
Captain wave the sigaal and the ring
ng of celestial weaponry shall quake
very dangeon of hell and sound up
among the thrones of heaven. Pago
as and temples shall tumble under
he shock, and besotted nations flying
from their idols and superstitions,
houting like the confounded worship
ers of Baal: "Te Lrd, he is the
od: Tne Lord, he is the God !"
We go not alone to the field. We
ave invincible allies in the dumb ele
eats of nature. As Job said, we are
in league with the very stones of the
feld. The sun by day and the moon
by night, directly or indirectly, shall
favor Christianity. Tae stars in their
ourses are marshalled I ar us. as they
fought against Sisera. 3ie winds of
eaven are now as certaint; acting in
favor of Christ as in reformation tiraes
he inv:ncible armada in its pride ap
roached the coast of England. As
hat proud navy directed their guns
against the friends of Christ and reli
ious liberty God said unto his winds,
Seize told of them." and to the sea,
Siallow them." The Lord, with his
empests, dashed their hulks together
nd splintered them on the rocks un
til the flower of Spanish pride and va
or lay crushed among the waves of
he soabeach. AMl are ours. Aye. God
he Father, God the Son and God the
oly Ghost are our allies:
The Mohammedans. in their strug
les to subjugate the world, had pas
ages frcm the Koran inscribed on the
bades of their saimiters, and we have
othing to fear if, approaching the in
idelity and malice that oppose the
kngdom of Christ,we shall have glit
ering on our swords the words of
David to the giant, "I come to thee in
he name of the Lord of H~osts, the
od of the armies of Israel, who thou
hast defied."
Now the charch goes forth bearing
precious seed, but after awhile it will
be the sheaf binding, and reaper an
els shall shout the harvest homne.
Now it is tents and marching and ex
posure, but then in the ranks of pros
tate iniquity and on the very walls
f heaven, "in the name of God we
will set up our banners."
The earth sends up its long, deep
groan ot pain and clanks the great
:hains of its bondage and cries by the
voice of sea and land and sky, "How
long, 0 Lord, how longE There was
tradition on the other side of the
water that the daughter of Lie was
ransformed into a bird of the air, and
hat she wandered for hundreds of
ears over river and lake until the ar
ial of Christianity, and that at the
troke of the first cathedral l'ell her
pirit w.as freed. Uncounted millions
f our race, by the power of sin and
atan, have been transformed into a
tate of wretchedness, and they wan
er like the poor daughter of Lir-, but
hey shall after awhile be released.
hen the great church of Christ shall
n those darkened lands from its tow
r ring out the glad tidings of the gos
e, then millions of wandering souls
hall find rest in a Saviour's pity and
Saviour's love, transported from the
ingdom of satan into the kingdom of
od's dear Son.
By and by you would har~lly know
the earth if you saw it. The world as
a whole shall be as greatly improved
s the individual heart by conversion.
raud, leaving its trickery, will go to
-rk for aa honest li-;ing. Knavery
Sall begin to make xighteous bar
ains -Passion shall answer to the
ontrol of reason. Scoilers shall be
hanged into worshipers and skeptics
into Bible lovers. Christ shall begin
his reign on earth. Whether he shall
escend on to the earth in person and
establish a government at Jerusale- m,
cannot say. 13aLt it will be an era of
more than Augustan splendor. That
s enough. Knowing this we can
ever des:)air. But as we se the
hur-h of Christ putting on he oea
i l garments and arising to shine we
wvill sa-., with the ennthusiasm of Ohi
ver Cromwell, who. standing before
is sick and famiine striden soldiers
t Danbar, saw the sua risiug ou't o
the morning mist, and, po-iting to it
with his sword, uttered a prayer hch
hurled his men upon the crushed foe
o G It thine enemies be scatter
ed.l Witn the- er of faith I catch
the soaod o' the latter day glory.
Church of Chr-ist. unsheath tavr-ord
and ahw mommiti into the bmatle: I
the name o' Chris., march ca! Upon
every school and hospital, upon every
bankr's desk -and mierhants counter,
utn es-ery ci-,ast's laboratory and
a-!ronomer's tower, upon shepherd's
hat and woodnn's cabin, upon ship's
d ec k an sailIor's h inmock, far out oi
the sna an-' high up in the mountain,
before the gaze of nations, under the
applaudits of h"v. "in the name
01 God w st up our banners."
My sb.j-:ctas taugh t you that in
this contst we are not without ensigns
and e-o A11 we want no.v is men
to carr te. z 'Ore I sit down I
mu's props' to eAch of you this great
hoor -ciming a Caristiaa is not
s.) ignoble a hing as many have
thour, it "It makes a man stoop,"
you say. I kno -, it,but it is only tbe
stoop of an h r of royalty. who on his
kn-es is to receive a cro.vn of dm-nin
ion. We want standard bearers in all
puipis, in all places of business
evrywher2. I do not ask you how
old you are, nor how young, how
weak or strong,how dull or how sharp,
nor what your home, nor who your
ancestors. Without any condition,
without any reserve, in the name of
the God of Israel. I offer you the hon
or of carrying the church's ensigns.
Do not b- afraid of the assaults of. a
world whose ranks - 9. desert, nor of
devils who will oppose you with infer
nal might. It were more blessed to
fall here th-an stand anywhere else.
It were more of an honor, engaged
with Christ, to be trampled under
foot with this arny of banners, than,
opposmng Christ, to be buried, like E I
ward I, in Egyptian porphyry.
You know in ancient times that ele
phants were trained to fight and that
on one occasion. instead of attacking
the enemy, they turne: upon their
owners, and thoasands were crashed
under tUe stroke of their trunks and
the mountain weight of their step.
Tnese mighty opportunities of work
for Chris; may acmplish great
things in o!erthrowing the sin of the
world and beting to pieces its errors,
bai. if we do not wield them aright
these very advantages will in unguard
ed moments turn terribly upon us
and under their heels of vengeance
grind us to oder. Rejectel bless
ings are sevenfold curses. We can
not compro-nise this matter. We
cannot stand aside an. look on.
Christ has declared it. "All who are
not with me ara against me." L ord
Jesus. we surrender.
Tne prophecies intimate that there
shall before the destructioa of the
world be one great battle between
truth and unrighteousness. We shall
not probably see it on earth, God
grant that we may see it, leaning from
the battlements of heaven. Oa the
side of sin shall be arrayed all forms
of opp:ession and cruelty, led on by
infamous kings and generals; the
votaries of paganisM, led on by their
priests; the subjects of Mohammedan
ism, following the command of their
shieks. And gluttony and intemper
ance ani iniquity of every phase shall
be largely represented on -the field.
All the wealth and splendor and pow
er and glory of wickedness shall be
concentrated on that one decisive spot,
and, maddened by 10,000 previous de
feats, shall gather themselves up for
one last terrible assault. With hatred
to God for their cause ani blasphemy
for the battle-cry, they spread out
over the earth in square behind
square and legion ,beyond legion,
while in some overhanging cloud of
blackness foul spirits of hell watch
this last struggle of sin and darkness
for dominion.
Scattered by the blasts of Jehovah's
nostrils, plunder and sin and satanic
force shall quit the field. As the roar
of the conilhetsounds through the uni
verse all worlds shall listen. The air
shall be full of wings of heavenly co
horts. The work is done, and in the
prescnce of a world reclaimed for the
crown of Jesus, and amid the crumb
ling of tyrannies and the defeat of sa
tanic force, and amid the sound of
heavenly acclamations, the church
shall rise up) in the image of our L ord,
and with the crown of victory on her
head and the scepter of dominion in
her hand in the name of God shall set
up he~r banners- Then Himalaya
shall become Mount Zion, and the
Pyrenees Moriah, and the oceans
the walking place of him who
trod the wave crests of Galilee, and
the great heavens become a sounding
board which shall strike back~ the
sound of exultntion to the earth till it
'rebound again to the throne o f the
Almighty. Angel of the A pocalypse,
fly, fly! For who will stand in the
way of thy might or resist the sweep
of thy wing i
Cotton Meal seized.
CoLzanu March 1f0.-Fertilizer In
spector Croswell has seized at Ben
nettsville eighty tons of cotton
seed meal shippedl to a merchant in
that town, which did not have the
required tags on it showing that the
privilege tax of twenty-five cents per
ton had been paid. The strange part
of it is that the meal is said to have
come from New York, while there
are oil mills all over the State which
could have furnished it. An oil mill
man said yesterday that the meal was
really bought in the West through
New York orokers, and that as a mat
ter of fact this particular brand was
worth very little. Governor E'llerbe
instructed Assistant Attorney General
Townsend to proceed against the firm
for violating the fertilizer law. It is
provided that the State may sue to re
cover the value of all fertilizers with
out the ta2-s and as cotton seed meal
sells for SiS.50,the amount in this case
foots up St,480, quite a sung sum for
the State if she gets it. It is not often
that dealers are caught napping in re
gard to paying the tax and such seiz
ures are few and far between.
Less Exclue1e Than Grover.
WasmIN rox, March 1.-President
McKinley has issued an-order that un
doubtedly will increase his popu
lari!.7 among a large portion of the
chilzens of the District. It is that the
road biack of the While House and
rnng through the White House
grounds b e restored to its former func
tion as a public thoroughfare. lt is
part of the P'resident's grounds and is
subject to his orders. Uo to within
the last four years it has always been
opento the use of the public. Dur
ing theexcepted period the grounds
were given over to the -use of the
Cleveland children and the gates were
closed to thie general public. During
the past aamiuistration the only times
th e grounds were open to the public
were on F aster Monday for egg roll
ing and on Saturdays when the Ma
rine Ih~nd gave its concerts.
A Bug;: Defalca'ion.
dretrsoD March 17.-The board of
drcosof the old Mutual Assurance
s ociety of Virginia made public this
afternoon a defalcation of some $35,
00 as the resuit of the examination
of the books of the association by au
e'-oert bookkezoer. Mr. .D tgr
the-n asstheceay in whose ac
count thedefalcation occurs, was
sent for to explain the matter. but did
not appear and is said to have lef t the
ci. Alhe securitie: of the eorpo
rtion which is one of the oldest and
strongest in the State are intact, the
LOANS TO COUNTIES.
AFTE - FUNDS OF THE S ATE
S!NKING FUND.
New Act; (nstrnl-Several Cv>unitem Ap
pv 1-Fr Variout s Sums-The T.-xt of the
Ae-A cominflz eeting.
Co~MunI March 20.-Tnwre were
but few measures introduced at the
last session of the general assembly
which caused more thoughtful discus
sion than that intended to allow
the funds of the sinking fund corn
mission to be loaned to the several
cunties of the S:ate. Miny possibi e
dangers were p-irted out at the timLe.
but the bill was passed and became an
act, being approved on Feb. 25. It
ba2cmEs elfactive on the 20th day
thIereafter. And now the subsequent
proceedings are interesting the State
and cunty oflicials. Already several
cunties have made applications to
the sinking fund commission for loans
under th9 act.
Tie act reads as follows:
An act requiring the sinking fund
commissioners to lend funds to the
seve'ral county board of commis
sioners of the State for the use of
their counties, in pre ference to lend
ing same to other applicants for
same funds.
Section 1. Be it enacted by the gen
e-al assembly of the State of Suth
Carolina, that the sinking fund com
mission is hereby authorized and re
quired, when in the judgment of the
said commissioners of the sinking
fund valid bonds of the State are not
offered or otainabie at a reasonable
price, to lend the money of the sink
ing fund commission both "cumula
tive and ordinary" for a period of one
year, at a rate of interest of 5 per cent.
per annum.
Sec. 2. That said loan shall be made
by siid commission upon the valid
securities of the several States of the
United States, giving preference there
to, or upon the note of the county
treasurer and county supervisar of
any of the counties of this Sate who
shall make application for a loan;
provided, the said loan be not more
than one-third of the tax levy for said
county, and the whole of the taxes of
said county shall be pledged for the
repayment of the money so borrove.
of said sinking fund commission.
Sec. 3. That the county treasurers of
the respective counties borrowing
funds of the sinking fund commission
shall pay the note so given out of the
first taxes collected for the fiscal year
in which said money is borrowed.
Sec. 4. That the sinking fund com
mission shall receive appl:cations for
the various counties and file the same
until the first day of March of every
subsequent year hereafter; and if the
applications aggregate more than the
entire fund in the hands of the sink
ing fund commission, said commis
sion shall prorate the loan to be made
to the several counties in proportion
tothe taxes paid by the respective
c:unties; provided, that no loan shall
be made to any county in excess of
one-third of the amount of tax levy
for such county for county purposes;
provided, further, that for this year
the applications shall continue to be
made until May the first.
Sec. 5. That the sinking fund com
mission shall forthwith call in all
temporary loans heretofore made by
it, and loan said fund under the pro
visions ot this act.
Sec. 6. That any county treasurer
who shall violate the provisions of
this act shall be fined, on conviction
thereof, a sum not exceeding $1,000,
and his bond shall be liable to said
sinking fund commission for the
amount of the loss sustained by said
commission, together with all costs
and expenses thereof.
Sec. 7. That all acts and parts of
acts inconsistent with this act be and
the same are hereby repealed.
There being some question as to the
construction of the provisions of the
act, the attorney general was asked to
construe it for the commission. This
he has done and the following issued
by the State treasurer has been printed
along with the act and is being sent
to the several counties, so that their
officials may inform themselves:
Office of State Treasurer,
Department of Sinking Fund,
Columbia, S. C,, March 17, 1897.
The foregoing copy of an act is tranm
mitted for the information of those
concerned:
The attorney general has construAed
the act as follows: The sinking fund
commission is authorized and required
to lend money at 5 per cent. interest
per annum. when State of South Car
olina bonds cannot be ob-ained at a
reasonable price. The money cannot
be loaned for a longer nor shorter
neriod than one year. The money
must be loaned: first, upon the valid
securities of the several States of the
United States, giving preference there
to; secondly, what money remains
after making loans upon such securi
ties offered as above stated is to be, on
the first day of May, 1S97, and on the
first day of March of each year thereaf
ter, loaned to the several counties ap
plying for loans and complying with
terms of act; said balance loaned to
counties being prorated among the
several counties in proportion to the
taxes paid, and no loan to any county
shall be in excess of one third of the
tax levy for such county for county
purposes-the "ordinary county tax."
Applications for loans are to be f or
warded to tie undersigne:1, to whom
also apply for further information.
WV. H. TIouRMAN,
State Treasurer and ex-oilicio Treas
urer and Secretary of the Sinking
Fund Commission.
The commission had about j$173,000
loaned out in iia days time on Febru
arv 1. These loans, it is said, will be
at once called in. As will be seen the
holders of State bonds will still have
the preference on~loans and the coun
ties can borro w whatever is left.
Barnwell has asked for a loan of
$,00; Williamsburg for $3,000;
Georgetown for $3,500, and Oconee
Ior $2,500. York and Richland wish
toorrow some, but have not yet stat
ed how much. Aiken wants to bzr
row $3,000 for ordinary county pur
poses and hans writfen asking if she
will be allowed to borro w SG,0u :nore,
pledging the special tax of 1-tn of a
mill levied for six years for the pur
pose of er-ecting a new court house.
Inasmuch as no loan can be made for
longer than one year it is sa fe to say
that Aiken cannot get this $,000.
A meeting of the commission has
been called for March 3J to consider
all these matters. It will no doubt be
attended by all the members.-State.
Talk cf Lynching.
NeEnny, March 18 .-Tony Lyles,
colored, is in jail here charged with
cmmiting a criminal assault on a
Miss Willard near Whitmire's this
county, Monday evening. Lyles
waylaid the lady on the public high
way and committed his foul deed.
SheritV Buford will protect his -prison
er, as there is some talk of a lynching
bee.--State. [ixtnli
WA-iSGTON, March 16.-General
Wade Hfamoton is zeriously ill at
his aoartmcents at the Metropolitan
Hotel. Ife is sucifering from heart
trouble and as he is now nearly 80
years of age, it is feared he has not
sulicient recuperative power to with
The cabam acie.
Ian l, Marci 17 v!a Key West,
_March 17.-From Sagu . La Grande
Cemes the news that on the 133 inst..
the parties of Anito ilercad- z, R&
bau and Julio Domineu z surpried
section oL voinnteers belongiug to th.e
Sixth company of that city. the ma
jority of them beinz negree who
were protectiuz the c.ine cutters o,
the estate Salv1dor at a mile distance
frrm the place. Seven were killed on
the spot and two have disappeared.
Many large care fires are reported all
over Matanzis province, the rebels ap
plying the torch to the fields in order
to prevent grinding. They also set
fire to a great sccticn of the Matanzis
railroad, burning the crossties for a
long distance. The rebels fired on
Guanabacoa on the nights of Sanday
and Monday. The city was much
alarmed and the garrison under arms
during the two nights. No losses re
ported. Another attack is expected
tonight and the government is send
ing troops. Several Caban leaders in
Matanzas provine2 have received
orders from G mez to march to vard
Las Villas or Santa Clara province.
The last information locates Gomez at
Dagamal, rear Arroyo Blanco on the
borders of Paerto Principe.
It is reported at the last moment
that the rebels have blo xn up a train
near Union, Matanzis province, but
details are lacking. Advices received
from Sancti Spiritus detail the atta::k
made by the rebels on the zown of
Paredes on the railroad line from Tu
nas to Sancti Spiritus. On the night
of the 9th inst., about 10 p. m. the
rebels, after taking possession of the
town attacked the railroad station
which had been converted into a fort
and protected by a detachment com
manded by Capt. Huertas, two ser
geants. a corporal, 100 soldiers and
about 50 volunteers. The insurgents
fired on the fort frorn all sides, thrust
ing their guns into the very loopholes
of the same. The firing then became
intense and the defenders, despite their
stout resistance, were forced to aban
don the fort, leaving their dead and
wounded with their arms and ammu
nitions which were all taken away.
Only a few volunteers managed to es
cipe. A sergeant and 23 soldiers were
killed. The captain and 15 soldiers
were seriously wounded. The tele
graph operator was also wounded in
the act of wiring for assistance, but
this did not come as the wires had
been previously cut. While this was
taking place at the station fort, another
party of rebels attacked another fort
named Fiel, at the extremity of the
town. The garrison, composed of a
sergeant and 35 soldiers was soon over
powered. All perished except one,
who was carried away as prisoner.
All the arms and ammunition were
captured and the fort destroyed. The
Cubans were commanded by Jose
Miguel Gomez, a brave leader in com
mand of that district, but their num
bers are not stated. It is said three
were killed in the attack, a private
named Enrique Canizares; a Spanish
deserter and the other one unknown.
Near the town of Paredes ccecurred
the explosion lately reported.
Tax Dodgers.
The following has found its way
into our office and we publish it for
the benefit of all concerned:
I would like to draw your attention,
and with your assistance, to the fol
lowing, and ask that you publish this
in your local paper, and thereby cause
the officer in your community to
awake to a sense of his duty: A can
yasser of a Chicago Portrait Co.,
boasted to me that last winter his
Company took $15,000 out of this State
without paying a cent of license
They claim to work under the "Inter
State Commerce Act,' which allows
them to take orders and deliver the
work later; but in reality they are lia
ble :or county and city peddler's li
cense, which in many counties are
$100.00 per year. This is the scheme
that this C mpany has worked foy
two years in South Carolina. Thek
have twenty-five canvassers that wory
the entire State, every town of an -
size is worked by one or two. In larg
er to wns they go in groupes of four to
six men. An agent of this company
will agree to make an enlarged cray
on picture for $1.9S to $3.60 without
any frame or glass, to be delivered in
30 days; in the mean time you receiv~e
a postal card saying that your portrait
will be brought in a frame which you
can buy. Soon after, another man
comes Iback with the pcture in a big,
cheap, showy frame, that he tries to
sell you with the picture that you or
dered, generally askinin from $2.00 to
$3.00: but will take, before leavigg
the house, "from 75 to 90 cents for it,
and often will take $1.50 for picture,
frame and all. before taking it back.
Now, this is nothing more than taking
orders for portraits, and peddling
frames without the required license,
in opposition to all photographers
and frame dealers all over the State,
who have to pay the required city
license and County tax; while the
people from the North beat the State
cut of the required license. I think
the resoected officer and every phoi
tographer in the State should vigilant
IV watch that this Company pay the
peddler's license. For the last two
years they have worked the State
and t'he man who does the peddling
part is hard to catch, as he only stays
but a day or two in one place. Pho
tographers and frame dealers, and
otieers of the law would do well to
watch for the picture frames at tha
depot.--LI "rrTO."
The Constitutional Tax.
CoXMmTa. March 18.-It looks now
as if the supplementary school tax
provided for in the State Constitution
to make up an amount suiticient to
give the enrolled pupils in the public
schools of the State 93 per capita is go
ing to be levied by the comptroller
eneral. It will be remembered that
SMr. cGage of Chester introduced a res
olution at the recent session of the
general assembly to compel the comp
troller to levy this tax.- He took the
osition that this amount must be
provided in each individual county
and not for the State at large and that
it would take $$1.Q00 to do it. The
comtroller says he is looking into the
matter carefully and proposes to have
a test case made in order to have the
constitutional provision construed.
State.____ __
Released froma Prison.
W\ASIING;ToN, March 17.-Secretary
Sherman has received a cablegram
from Consul General Lee dated late
yesterday. saying: "Oseir Cespedes,
a native of Key West. is released from
Cabanas on c'ondition he leaves the
iland." Oscar Cespedes is No. 40 on
the State list of Americans in prison
and the following information regard
ing him is in that Jst: "T senty
years. native of Key .Vest; captured
without arms in iusurgent hospital
near Zapafa, about September 5. 18%f;
imprisoned at San Severino Fort:
Matanzas; *question of competency
between minitary and civil jarisdie
tion decided mn favor of military: case
pending _____
Lynched ax Preancher.
SCOrTSBotto, Ala., March1 i-John
D. Smith, a negro precachecr. was snot
to death by a mob, whichi broke into
the jil here. Smith 'was arrested
yesterday charged with outraging tihe
'.ife of a white farmer living near
here. This muorninig a mob broke into
the jail and despite the pleadings of
the prachm. tanid him full of bullets
REDUCE THE ACREAGE.
ADVICE TO FARMERS OF A COTTON
P;.ANTERS CONGREES.
Speeches Made by Hon. Heeror D Lane
and Other Leaders of the Agitation for
Decreased Acreage-An Address Issaed.
AuUcSm. Ga., March 15 -Tne
American Cotton Growers' Associa
tion met here today to discuss the ad
visability of reducing the production
of that staple. Several prominent
planters and co.ton factors made ad
dresses urging upon the farmers the
necessity of a reduction of the acreage
and advising the raising of supplies
for home consumption. The most
prominent of the speakers were Hon.
Hector D. Lane of Alabama, president
of the association: Mayor W. D.
Young, Thomas Barrett, president of
the Augusta Cotton Exchange, and
Hon. Patrick Walsh. As a result of
the the convention the folloning ad
dress was issued:
To the Cotton Growers of America:
The Cotton Growers' Pr'otective As;o
ciation of America, in convention as
I sembled, at Augusta, Ga., on this,
March 15, 1897, again come to you
with an urgent appeal for co opera
tire action in planting the crop for
1897. It is a matter of extreme con
gratulation that the appeal mide to
you for 1895 and 1S96 was so generous
ly responded to, and that the crop of
those years made upon the diminished
acreage, did have the effect of increas
ing the price of cotton.
The crop of 1895, though estimated
to be a",400,000 bales short of the crop
of 1894, was in the markets of the
world worth more by nearly $30,000,
000. In the face of this result to aban
don the idea of diminished acreage
would be to sound the retreat in the
face of victory.
It is the consensus of opinion among
the best thinkers that if by any means
the cotton crop of America could be
held within the limits of S,000,000 or
9,000,000 bales per annum for five
years, the people of these Southern
States would be the richest and m.st
prosperous in the world.
How can this be brought about?
The answer is with you. We appeal
to your self-interest and your patriot
ism to do all in your power to keep
down the production of the staple -
Do not abandon the ground you
have won. Fight upon the grounas
laid down; make the cotton States self
supporting; put more land in Clover
and grasses for your hogs to run on;
diversify your crops and when you
have done all this the area devoted to
cotton will yield more returns than if
you sought to increase the number of
your bales.
There has never been a time in the
history of our section of the country
that a movement looking to the in
creased production of corn, hay, oats
and other food crops was so important
and necessary as now.
It is felt by the most thoughtful
men that we are entering upon a
period of great uncertainties and that
even a small cotton crop may fail to
give adequate returns for its produc
tion.
The mutterings of a storm are dis
turbing values and unsettling alt busi
ness calculations. The paudent man
will trim his sails to meet it. With
the commerce of the country inter
rupted by war, and war may come,
cotton would be unsalable except at
nominal prices.
We desire to say to every cotton
grower, whether his crop is ten bales
or one thousand bales, see to it that
your place is self-sustaining. We
mean by this to advise you to grow on
your far-ms an abundance of corn,
meat, hay, oats, peas, potatoes for all
the people on the place. If your tenant
will not raise these things sell them to
him and put the money in your pock
ets instead of sending it out of the coun
try. When you have done this, grow
all the c tton you can.
If every farmer or planter in the
cftton growing district will make this
his rule of action and live up to it
conscientiously, it will accomplish the
result we so much desire. It will be
the means of making all pros perous
and happy and cotton will sell for a
higher price.
We would urge you to make sure
first of a cheap home grown living for
all the people and all the animals on
the plac3, and then make what cotton
you can. We address our argument
to each individual farmer. Every
farner may measurably cntrol the
cost of producing cotton.
Let each individual farmer resolve
in his own mind and without regard
to what others may do, to cut down
the cost of producing his c >tton. By
confining his area to the best part of
his fields, Dy concentrating his skill,
industry and fertilizer on a smaller
area, he will make cotton cheaper.
Every farmer knows that the better
the land, the better preparation and
cultivation, the more liberal the
amount of well balanced fertilizers he
applies per acre, the less will be the
cost per pound of cotton.
Plant only the best land in cotton
and the poor land in rye, peas, etc.
This will certainly reduce your crop
product in the aggregate, but will
greatly reduce the cost, so that in any
ev'ent whatever others may do, you
will be all right.
Floughing Land When Too Wet.
The Southern Cultivator says: No
matter how much a farmer has been
delayed by the heavy rains of Febra
ary, or how much hurried he may
feel in consequet c aof these delays, he
should beware of putting the plow in
his land before it is sulieiently dry.
We know the temnptaui..? .hen work
is pressing and the sun is shining, to
go on with the plowing, but we also
know, from experience, that thiere is
no injary to land or to ecops which
is more disastrous or more las i in
its efforts thaa plowing too sooi. .dfter
heavy rains. Tne injury, to stiff clays
more especially, wnen plowed too wet,
is not contfined to one crop or Gau' sea
son, bit extcads to fo!!aslug year4
and future crops, casing cul
tivation to be attended to many neces
sarily ditlic 2ities. Unfortunately such
an error cannot be remedied at least
during the same year. The mistake
of preparing land when too wet, will
invariably cause loss in the cultivated
crops and much vexau ... of spirit in
our vain efforts to escape the :e-sults of
our lack of ,judgment. Let us keep in
mind thiat on this work of c ir 'al and
jadicious preparation hinges - eom
prative suce ss or failure -of om. , rps
and let us therefore abstain froa? pg
ting the plows in the land untul it ismi
proper condition for the work. .hPar
ouga prep aranonis m'w- i amue nor
tant than early planting. and even if
we have to red uc-e the intended areast
of our ditternt cr.ops. the saccidce is
well made, if by it we ar-e ealed to
put the remainaier of our laud in first
class condition for the reception of the
seed.
A ppointments Conirmed. .
WASmIo-ros, Marcih 17.-The sen -
ate committee on foreign relations
today ordered a favorble report to b~e
made on the nominations of John
ilay to be ambassador to Great Brit
ams. IHorace Porter to be am'Jassador
to France and Mr. White, present
secretary at London. to be secretary
f the emnhassy at Landaon.
bLID
OPw"OWDER
Absolutely Pure.
Celebrated for Its great :eavening
strength and healthfulness. Assurei the
food against alum and all forms o! adal
teratioa common to the cheap brands.
nOYAL BA KING POWDEr Co , NEW YORK.
Where the Money Goes.
It looks as if, as the nation increases
in population, the cost of government
per capita would grow less. We have
no more Presidents now than we had
at the beginning, though we have
very properly doubled the salary of
the one we have. We have only
about one fifth as many Cangressmen
as we had at first in proportion to
population. In proportion to popula
tion our army is much smaller than it
was at the beginning of the century.
We have only eight members of the
cabinet, where we had six in the time
of John Adams, in spite of the fact
that the country is now fourteen
times as populous as then. We have
added little to our diplomatic service,
and one .foreign minister nov repre
sents, 71,500,000 people, instead of
5,400,000, and yet our annual ordinary
expenditures have increased tif tyfold,
and our expenditures per c ,pits, in
stead of diminishing, have increased
from $1.39 in 1800 to $4.93 in 1896. It
looks as if either our ancestors were
very stingy, or we are very extrav
agent. As a matter of fact, however,
the greater part of our increased ex
penditures is due to gratitude, and
gratitude is a thing to be proud of
not ashamed of. We pay $140,000,000
annually to the men wno saved the
Union, most of them for getting hurt
in saving it. There are about 903,000
of them thirty-two years after the war
closed, which shows that the 600,000
Confederate soldiers were dangerous
lot of fellows, and that wounds Te
ceived in defending the Union were
conductive to longevity. Deducting
the amount made for pensions and
the interest on the public debt, the
per capita of expenditure is $2 48.
For our war department we pay
about $2,000 for every soldier in the
field. This ought to make enhstments
popular. In Earope, as a rule, they
pay only about $100. If Russia paid
as much for her army in proportion
to its numbers as we pay to our war
department, it would cost her about
$1,300,000,000 a year, in time of peace,
and in about two years Russia would
have to quit preparing to fight. As a
matter of fact, however, she pays lit
tle more than dimes for our dollars,.
and can continue to threaten the peace
>f Europe. One at our queerest
in increases expenditure, is in
appropriations for the Indians.
We paid in Indian appropria
tions something over $12,000,000
last year. As there are only about
a quarter of a million Indians in the
:ountry, wild and tame, this amiounts
o $4S per capita, or $240 for a family
f five. It pays to De an Indian al
ost as well as to be a pensioner. In
864 the Indians, as numerous as now,
ost only about one-sixth as much,
which shows that they are appreciat
ng in value. At present rates of in
rease they would cost $270 per capita
hirty-three years from now, and
ould be the aristocrats of the land.
erhaps by that time Congress will
ecide that it is better to bay them
ll and present them to our worst ene
y. It would certainly be economy
to buy them off now. We can bar
ow 'money at 2:1 per cent. and $48
per annum per capita would amount
o nearly $1,800 per Indian, or $9,000
per family. This is fully 900 times as
uch as the indians are worth to them
selves, and 9,000.00O0 times as much as
they are worth to any body else.
Very Bad Advice.
Both in the North and in the South
onsiderable comment has been pro
oked by the recent address of Bishop
enry M. Turner, of the African
ethodist cniurch in which he advises
the negroes to arm themselves and be
ready for lynching parties, The bish
op, af ter referring to a lynching which
curred recently in Louisiana while
the bisniops of his church were in ses
sion in New Orleans, says.
"Let every negro in this c~untry
ho has a spark of manhood in him
supply his house with ane, tao, or
three guns, or with a sev~n or six
shooter, and I advise him to keep them
loaded and ready for imme~diate use,
and when his domicile is invaded by
bloody lynchers or any mob, day or
night, Sabbath or week day, turn
oose your missiles of death and blow
the fiendish invaders into a thousad
iblets. We have had it in our mind
a say this for over seven years, but
n account of Episcopal status we
esitated to express ourselves, thi i
rearing it might meet with the disap
proal of the house of bish yps, but
heir approval or disapproval has done
othing to stay the fiendish marderers
ho stalk abroad and are exteriaiat
ag my race. So we have sail it, and
aereaf ter we shall preach it, speak it,
ak it, and write it. Again we say,
;et guns, negroes: Get guns, and
nry God give you goo.i aun when
ou shoot."
The Atlanta Journal ve.ry truly says
Bishop Turner e irries out the pro
ram outlined in the words we have
1uoted from him, if he preaches and
lL-s and writes that the negroes
hould 'nake arsenals of their homes
e will onlv succeed in stir':iag up
trife bet ween the races in the South,
bl a will result in great mischief to
s own people. Bishop Turler is an
ble man and has been of much ser
rice to his people. He has helped to
rinlg about a better understanding
d more friendly relations between
he whites and the blacks in the south.
Ve regret that one who has done so
nch goad and who is capable of do
n nuch more should through a mis
ake of judgment fan the embers of
ace antagonism, bat we do not be
ieve that many negroes will folio .
s counsel in this matter. As a
nethod of preventing outrages, the
ishop's plan will not only prove a
ailure, but it' any general attempt
iuld be made to carry it out the re
.t would be far- worse than tne pres
-at condition.
A Drop Too Much.
3A(SoNV:LLE, Fia., Atarc'1 17.
3odie Williams, the hign diver,
mped last night in a ball of fire
o a 75 foot tower into Lake Worth
.t Palm Beach, struck the bottom,
make his neck and died within a few