Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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VOL. xv. MANNING, S. C., WEDNESDAY, MARCH 14, 1900. NO, 46. WAS 1)OISONF;D. Put Her Husband Ou: cf t-e Way With Asen c A COLUMBIA SENSATION. Bottle 0f Pis- n Was Found Cericeaed in the House. Where it Was Hid by the Wife. 'oiumibi Laz a seriational case for her next terni of court. About the middle of last January a man by the name of J. W. Graddick took sick and after a time died under very suspicious circumstances. lis wife, Mrs. Belle Graddiek, was arrested on the charge of poisoning her husband, but was soon released AMter the a-an was buried the case was reopened, the body ex humed and an investigation made by a chemist, which resulted in the finding of arsenic in his stomach, which the jury of inquest says was administered by his wife, who has been rearrested and lodged in jail to stand her trial for murdering her husband. Graddick was about 25 years old, the driver of a bread wagon. Ile married when quite young and his wife wasvery good looking, but they did nOt live happily. A young maa named Dawkins, who was put un der arrest, but released, was quite inti mate at the house, and at the coroner's inquest it was stated that he was like a brother to Gradaick. THE INQUEST IN DETAIL The coronor's inquest had been post pond from day to day, awaiting the re port of the chemist, and Wednesday night when the hearing started the Court House hell a large and anxious crowd waiting for the developments of the case. The first witness Wednesday night was the Graddicks' cook, a colored girl, named Mattie Fisher, who said that the last Sunday she worked for the Graddicks Graddick complained about the coffee. After he took some of the coffte in the morning he vomited, and at dinnsr Mrs. G raddiek put something ele in the coffee. She quit after that. Graddick had complained that he was sick all Saturday night and that his wife would not hold him up. She asked Mrs. Graddick what it was she put in the coffee and Mrs. Graddick told her it was something to stop Graddick from drinking. She knew there was poison or somethinm about the bottle because Mrs. GraddiCk told her not to wash Graddick's dizhes with the others. She told Mrs. Constantine, a neighbor, that Mrs. Graddick was putting something, in Graddick's coffee that made him romit. Mrs. Graddick threatened to tell Dswkins to kill her and she was afraid of him. She certainly told a lie at the last irquest, but she was afraid of Dawkirs, Lhe friend of Mrs. Grad dick. Witness did not eat atthe Grad dicks' on Surday. Mrs. Graddick made her wash Graddiek's coffee bowl in a large can, G raddick and his wife had a tight during Christmas. Grad dick and Dawk ins were friendly; same as two brothers. Some time before the fateful Sunday Nrs. Graddick bad her dig a hole to put somietihiog in the hole. Mrs-. Graddick told her she got the bot tle from Eila Tay lor and paid $l15 for it, and it was to keep Graddick from drinking. Mrs. Graddiek did not in tend her to see the bottle. .She called the stuff "ceffee essence." MRS. ANDREM' CONSTANTINE, testified that the Negro girl had told the story pretty straight. The girl told her she left thbere because she knew something was going to happen andi she would be accused. A bout a week before the Fair Mrs. Graddick said she wished she was a widow, and she told her she would regret it. She did not keepecompany with Mrs. Graddick. as she had heard reports of her. Grad dick rented from witness. She visited Graddick the day he died. The doc tor asked her out of, the room. Dr. Earle blammwed the door after her and the Negro girl told her there was no use to give Graddick so much morphine and whiskey. She told Mrs. Graddick it was too late to cry after he was dead, arnd seemd to be projvoked there was neither preacher inor p.riest present when he died. She had hecard pistol shots over there, but did not kuow who shot. ELLA TAYLOR COLORED, testified that she kne w nothing about the ease- She tought some medicine from Mr. Germany. The Graddicks had the same mt dicine for sale. She had never sold Mrs. Grddick any sort of medicine. She bought a good deal of root medicine and she let her board ers have some of it. She owed Mrs. Graddick for gro~ixries and never sold her a ccnt'i worth of anythirng. She was not a root doctor, she insisted. She has the reputation of being a regu lar root doctor, whatever that may be. JOHN SANDERS, A COLORED BOY, testified that he worked for the Grad dicks. lie was with Graddiek one night while he was siek. lie was in the store and did not know anything. Hie ate at the Giaddicks' with the cook Mrs G raddick gave 1.im what she said was the medicine during the night. EMMA 'THOMAs, a very antique colored woman, te stifled Mrs. Graddick can-e to see her anrd told he she was willing to pay $50 for some thing to put Mr. Graddick to sleep so ti would never wake. She refused to sell her anything and they parted. She lived a short distance from the Grad dicks. She bought occasionally from the store. Ste was no root doctor and knew rothing about such things. THOMAS MooRE, another colored boy, testified that he nursed Graddick several days. Grad dick heaved up a great deal. Graddiek smoked eigarettes until he died. Dr. Earle pumped morphine into him. Graddiek told him he had a pain in hi~ stomach and just before he died he saic he coiuld not catch his breath- Grad diek drank no coflee while he was there. Graddick was in bed four or five days. Dr:. Earle left some medicine, he said, to stop Graddiek from smoking cigar' ettes, but it never sitopped him frotr cigarettes. (Laughter.) Graddick ate not;ing whil sik e drank a vera little miik and water. Ile complained -a4good ea of a pain across the stomach. K, was present when Grsddick died. POLICEMAN BLACK who arrested Mrs. Graddick, testified that he had h~ard rumors of foul plav and he went to lok into the case. He had reasons to suspect foul play. Ile reported the cic to the sergeant and chief of police. Ile felt justified in going to the fullest extent. Tis sits pieious. were on what he heard. 3Mattie Fisher's story whe'n arrested was the same as Wednesday night. Ile heard that a bottle had been found. NR .7 M. MOORE. testified that on the night after the post mortem Mattie told him where the bottle of medicine could be found. lIle and Mr. Thornton went and found the bottle at the place Mattie indicated. It was from this bottle Mattie said Mrs. Graddiek got the drops she put in the coffee. The bottle was a small one and was marked "laudanum." The bottle was found between the board an.d bricks of fireolace where Mattie told him it could be found. Mattie, the cook. told him Mrs. Graddiek bid the bottle. The bottle exhibited is from Zemps, of Camden, and had a white looking liquid. DR ROBERT EARLE gave a detailed statement of his treat ment of the case, which he had care fully prepared. Graddick r-rffered a great deal from nausea He injected bu- very little morphine. He injected other stimulants. The symptoms puz zied him and they did not strike him as 93 uiptoms of grip. He died so rapidly nothing could be dene. ie had all the symptoms of arsenic poisoning, but symptoms were not proof. Nothing else he knew of would have produced all these symptoms. He gave him n, arsenic. le asked Mrs. Constantine out because she was not a fiend of the family and had no business there. DR. L. GUERRY testified that he did not see Graddick btfore his death. iHe was called upon by Dr. Earle and explained the case. He held the post-mortem. The body was dressea for burial. He stripped the body. which was pale, the under surface was blue. There was a cluster of blotches near the chin. He had over the body a peculiar eruption. On his elbow he had two skin surfaces. His heart was very good, the lining thin; his liver and lungs were all right. His kidney had puss. His spleen was nor mal. He took out the stomach in toto, and put it in a pitcher and turned the stomach over to the coroner. The room was badly lighted for an inspec tion. Ile bad never seen or heard of Graddick before. There was no infer ence from his inspection. The crup tion is more or less a se quence of arse nic poisoning. Arsenic poisoning fre quently is followed by purging and vomiting. The bottle that was found under the fireplace was shown Mattie and she said it was about the same size. Mrs. Graddick would shake it up and it would foam. She saw Mrs. Graddick take the bottle from under the fireplace, shake it up and drop some in the coffee. DR. 0. Y. OWINGS. to whom the stomach was turned over for anaissis, testified that Mr. Green asked him in to analy ze the stomach. He found arsenic in the stomach, and '.c he opened his instrumer~t ease and a plained by tubes ho w he distinguished the arsenic from other inorganic sub stances, lie made several series of tests. There was quite enough arsenic to piroduce death. The little bottle found under the fireplace contained arsenic. lHe preserved parts of all the tests. ie was absolutely positive there was enough arsenic in the body to cause ceathi CORONER GREEN annournced that he had presented all the evidience available at the moment, but if the jury wished further evidence he would adjiurn the inquest from day to day. le stated the fanztion of jury and gave out t be record, so that if the jury wished it could return the verdict Wednesday night on the evidence pre sented. The jury~ then rendered a verdict that J. W. Graddick came to his death by aresenic poisoning administered, in the opinion of the jury, by his wife, Mrs. Belle G raddick. A warrant was immediately sworn out and constables were sent after Mrs. Gradaiek to arrest her on the charge of killing her husband. Mrs. Graddiek has been out recently, wearing pro nounced widow's weeds. Mrs. Graddick submitted quietly to arrest. She went pleasantly; had noth ing to say about the ease and by mid night Wednesday was in jail. There was no cry in2; or protests.-News and Courier. Smallpox Raging. An offieial report made to the Mis sissippi board of supervisors reveals an appalling state or affiirs in the Jones yille neighborhood in the southern part of Ihinds county. The county is liter ally honeycombed with smallpox of the most virrulant and loathsomc form and, during the past six weeks, nearly one hundred deaths have occured. On some days the death rate has been so large that it was impossible to secure coffins and rude caskets were made from rails. Whole families have been wip~d out of existence and of several large families one or two chil dren are left. Many of the patients are now in a critical condition, are without medical attention, and dying at the rate of fromi three to five per day. The death rate exceeds 75 per cent and the entire lower portion of the county is demoralized. The board of Supervi sors will make an effort to check further spread and its morning session carte blanche was given to the physicians to purchase supplies and medicines. A bill for 43 coffins used within the past two weeks was allowed. Hard on Taylor. The Kentucky senate Thursday passed Senator Bell's bill making it a felony, punishable by confinement in the penitentiary from 10 to 20 years, for an occupant of a state office to forci bly maintain possession of the officee for more than five days after the legisla ture or other competent authority shall have decided some other person entitled to the office. This bill is to cover the ase of T.ylor, who claims to be the govenor of Kentucky. DEATH IN THE MIN One of the Worst Tragedies In West Virginia Records. HEAR TRENDING SCENES. One Hundred Men Probably Met their Death by the Explo sion of Coal Dust in Red Ash Mine. The greatest mining horror ever known in the New river region of West Virginia occured at Red Ash about 8 o'clock on Tuesday morning of last week by an explosion in the drift mine of the Red Ash Coal company. The mine was full of men and the explosion ec curred near the entrance which was closed by falling slate. A relief crew was quickly at work. The working capacity of the mine is 175 men and it was being worked to its full capacity to fill rush orders. It is believed over 100 men were at work. The explosion made bat little noise, and the accident was first discovercd by a laborer at the entrance. The injured are being cared f."r as well as possible under the circumstances and every nerve is being strained to rescue tiose still in the mine. The news of the disaster swept through the town like an electric shock and within a few minutes hun dreds of men, women and children, relatives of the unfortunate miners, were crowded upon the scene of the isaster. As the conviction that the rescue of the entombed men alive was hopeless forced itself on the grief stricken crowds they became frantic in their endeavors to reach their dead and dylng in the wrecked shaft, and the work of attempted rescue was organized with extreme difficulty. Of the first twelve men brought to the sursace five were dead or died within a few minutes ind several of the others were horribly urced or bruised. As the work pro eeded and the dead bodies were brought up one by one the scenes at he mouth of the shaft became distress ing to the extreme. Shireking, frantic women and children impeded the res uers and added to the horror of the reek. The mine officials had all the men tvailable at work in trying to clear way the debris and rescue the en :ombed men. The managers and bosses )f all the mines in this district came to he scene as soon as possible and joined n the work of rescue. It is imposbible o describe the amo int of work done by ,his concentrated ainy of men, but hey were greatly impeded because of he extent of the enormous blockade at he entrance to the drift. The large, leavy side tires of the entrance were >lown out to some distance, together with a lot of heavy timber. Even males were b:own out some distance. The Iorce of such an explosion caused an mmense falling of the slate and other ebris so that the entrance was filled ip for a great distance, and the diffi :uliesin digging through it caused de .ay in the work of rescue. As many nen as could work at one time were ligging away with all their might and were relieved in short relays by other nen so as to expedite the work of res uing as much as possible. The first successful strike of the ~esuers was about 10 o'clock a.. in., when ten bodies were recovered. Seven f them were alre.dy dead and the ther three were dying. As the miners were located at different places in the Irit and the explosion caused the fall ng slate to blockade the rooms in dif ferent paris of the mine, the work of rescue met with one greait obstruction ftet another at the mouth of the mine. rhe scene was beyond description, the wives and children and the neigh bors of thcse who were known- to be ntombed were there in full force, and their anxiety and distress were most intense. While they were all seeking to help those who were rescued and to get the mine reopened, yet these be reaved people were for the most part in the way of the rescuers and had to be held back from the entrance. The mine is one of the largest in WVest Virginia and was very heavily timbered in the different drif ts. It was for this reason feared that those who had not been killed by falling aebris at the time of the explosion, would be pinioned b~y those connected timbers and suffer death from suffocation. Air wasforced into the mine by en gines on the sumface, which were kept working after the explosion, but it was found that air could be pumped into the drift for only a bhort distance, as the coal, stone and earth shut off all pos sibility of rea~hing the interior. The pumps and all other machinery in tlie mine were demolished so that every thing had to be done through tempor ary arrangements on the surface. Tele grais were sent to Mlontgomery, Charlestown and other places for phi bicians, nurses anid caskets, but during the greater part of the day there was only use for caskets. All woik was stoped in the surrounding mines and the people within a radius of many miles assembled on the grounds of the Rd Ash company. Ilad the accident occurred an hour later many more would have been entombed in the mines. The estimates of the number in the mines when the explosion oc curred are bassed on the number who entered at 7 o'clock. The manager stated that by 8 o'clock or 8:30 a. im., there would have been twice as many men in the mines. The pop~ulatioJn of this mining village is only 500). All are miners and the calamity will reach almost every little house in the mining town. Food was liberally sur plid to the relays of workmen in the rescuing party but many of the women who could get rno word of comfort refused to eat or to go to their homes. At a late hour Tuesday night the most reliable estimate obtainable put the number of the victims at 125. So far as could be learned there were 37 dead bodies in the village tonight that have been taken out of the mine during the day, and there are alho parts of human bodies at different places, manglef' beyond recognition./ Most of the bodies that canabt be identified or recognized have' been placed in the large blacksmith shop, givinz the shop the appearance of a horrible morgue. The general belief is that the explosion occurred by contact with duct when they entered with their light and that it was not due to fire damp ai has been currently reported all day. Nearly all the men employed in the mine are white, only about one fifth being colored and most of the men were married and had families in the little cottages near the tipple of the great mine. A special train arrived tonight from Montgomery filled with reporters, physician,, nurses and others and one car contained 39 caskets. After the arrival of the train an order was sent back to Montgomcry for 50 more caskets. Another train arrived from Charleston with physicians, cas kets and relief supplies. Still another train came in from Hinton, but there is no need of physicians and nurses as the victims are dead. There is great need of undertakers and expert mine woikers. The work of rescue is being continued during the night and will be kept up until the mine is clear. THE SUNDAY-SCHOOLS. Annual Convention of the State Asso ciation at Laurens. The State (South Carolina) Sunday School Association will be convened in annual session in the city of Laurens on March 2'), continuing through the 22.1. The invitation comes from all the churches and is hearty. The good people of Laurens know how to enter tain, and they hope to have their homes filled on this occasion with the conse crated men and women who aro engaged in the noble work of educating the ebil ren and youth in the Sabbath-schools cf the State. It is earnestly desired that there shall be a large attendance of active Christian workers of the several Evan gelical faiths throughout the State, and we hope to enlist the hearty co-opera tion of all well-wishers of this cause frotu pulpits to pews. Superintendents will nlease elect delegates at once. Pas tors and superintendents are ex-officio nembers. We hazard nothing when we say that the time is ripe for .greater eal and activity among us all, to the d that there may be a more wide pread and better study of the Word of od; and to further such efforts is the )ne and great object of this Convention. 3rely this field of service for the Mas er offers magnificent opportunities for Fuller fellowship and cordiality between he several Christian denominations, nd of usefulness to the Master in reaking down the strongholds of Satan. et us therefore be aroused to this reat work and, by coming together, eel the elbow-touch of Christian com adeship, become stimulated to re ewed fervor, and be bound and knit ;ogether in the praiseworth.y effort and lesire for better and moze desirable nethods of teaching. We send forth a Clarion call to every astor, every teacher and every bu'oer .ntendent to get in line for this cause, o lay aside for a few brief days the isual avocations and set your faces in he direction of Laurens, S C., March t-22. Come with note-book and pen :il; come expecting a blessing, and let s pray that the God of our salvation ilI confer it. Mr. B. F. Jacobs, of Chicago, well nown throughout all Christian coun :ris as the chairman of the interna .ional executive committee for many 'ears, will be with us and will deliver teveral addresses on live Sunday-school Lopics. hlis presence alone should in rure a large assemblage, but we have promise likewise of the presence of tome distinguisbed educators within ur own State who will address the onveton. The full programme will be published hortly. Fraternally, Wtn. E. Pelham, Prcs. State S. S. Association Newberry, S. C., Feb. 19, 1900. THE GALLOWS CHEATED. Flanagan, a Notorious Criminal Dies In a .Tail. Edward C. Flanagan, the man who murdered Miss Ruth Slack and Mrs. artha Allen at Poplar Springs, Ga., n New Year's eve 1895, gave Dixon Allen the wound which subsequently caused his death and attempted the~ life of George WV. Allen, died in the ounty jail at Decatur Tuesday morn ing. A post mortem examination will be held and the brain that has puzzled so many .experts will reveal its true condition. Setting aside the crime for which the prisoner was p~ut in jatl, the case of F'lanagan is remarkable by reason of the many trials, convictions and death sentences which have fallen to him and the attendant train of fatilities which has seemingly followed those interested in the matter. Eight have died and two gone insane Judge Chandler has three times passed sentence of death on Flanagan. The case has been in all the courts of the State a ad a suspension of sentence was had in January, 1899. on account of the prisoner's weakened condition. Flanasan wade three attempts to es cape from the Decatur jail. On one of these attempts lhe secured the jail er's baby and held it up in front of him to prevent the father. from shooting him. Six weeks ago he made the last attempt to gain his liberty but was wounded by a guard. The prisoner trid to suicide by drinking kerosene. The belief is general that Flanagan has always been insane yet many believe that he escaped the gallo as by feigning that his mind was unbalanced. The Horrors of War. A dispatch f rom Ladysmith says the British garrison has begun to leave that place and is arriving at the Moci river camp. where the troops will remain sev eral days, after which they will go far ther south. They are emaciated and exhausted and say the roa-i to Colenso presents scenes that exceed in horror those depicted in Dante's "Inferno " Dead men and animals are lying, muti lated and putrified, in the trenches fornrly occupied by the Boers and fill -the air with a sickening stench. In cases where hurried burial had been at. tempted the rains have washed the earth away and out of the earth stick gatyegs and arms of burghers. A PAT11ETIC STORY. The Bodies of Two Little Boys Found in a Closet OF A VACANT HOUSE. The Cruel Monster Who Locked Them Up Was Arrested and Is Now Locked Up in Jail. Six months ago two little boys, each about eight or nine years old, went out of their homes one day to play in the streets of New York City. Their parents lived near each other and the boys were playmates and friends. It is presumed that they were prompt to return at the usual time after such seasons of play until the day here noted. That day they failed to return to their homes. Their parents setup a long anx ious search that continued until they were of the opinion that both were drowned. N, clue to their disappear ance was found. The two little boys simply dropped out of sight, and were gone-forever, as their parents beleived. A few days ago, the owner, or the renting agent of a vacant house in the neighborhood discovered the need of a plumber in the building. When the house was opened and the gas or water pipes were traced-along through the the building-into a locked closet where the bodies of the two missing children were discovered Wearing the clothes in which they were dressed when last seen by their respective families. Their small bodies had become like the ancient mummies in Eypt-dried up and withered. Somebody, for some season, had locked these little friends in a dark closet of the empty house. The care taker lodged in the basement. This janitor or caretaker has been arrested, and is now in prison as the suspected murderer of these dead children. Ile is reputed to be a cruel father to his own children. Complaints had been made against him on this line, before the closet was opened or any body was aware of the horrible fate of the two little boys so long missing from their homes. The plastering in the closet gave evi dence of their struggle in death. Lit tle finger prints became a witness of their torture and agony. They did their best for liberty, but died in this prison, not a block from their homes and their parents. The vicious creature, whoever-he may be, who deliberately destroyed these little boys, ought to die by slow tor ture. The electric chair, or the hang man's rope would not meet th condi ions of exact jistice-when the recol lection of what the innocent boys suf fered comes to one's mind. Letus hope their struggle was brief-and death easy-at the end! 'here is a lesson in this sad story for children and for parents. It may be a good deal of trouble to keep a watchful ye on children of such tender years, but it is nevertheless a business that pays, in various ways. It should be a warning to oter children, not to go nto forbidden places-and to keep heir parents informed as to their play roundA, etc. There are certainly vile people in the orld, who have no limit to their hate r revenge. Children are kidnaped sometimes from motives of greed as well as revenge. Very careful pareuto :ay sometimes be considered unneces sarily anxious about their children, when they are out of sight, but that extreme is far preferrable to don't care parents, who turn out their children to followv their own inclinations at such early ages. - When [ read this pathetic, true story, of real life, I could almost hear the ries of these frightened and imprisoned captives. I review the story for the sake of other children and their parents. __________ Talbert Was Firm. Attempts have been made by mem bers on both sides of the house to is duce Representative Talbert, of South Carolina, to withdraw from his decision to insist upon a quorum at the pension sessions on Friday night and thus avoid the necessity of bringing in the rule al ready framed by the committee on rules to devote two Fridays of each month to the consideration of private pension bills. The Democrats who are inter ested in private claims whceh are set for consideratibn on Fridsys, sought to prevent the appropriation of two Fri days for pension b 1s, and the Repub licans were equa;iy anxious to avoid day pension ses-: ns. Mr. Talbert, however, declined to yield, lHe said he believed that the position he had taken in denaanding the presence of a quorum for the passage of pension bills was correct, and that he would adhere to it. The rule that has bcen prepared will be brought iu as soon as the Al drih-Robbina c-ue i.s ont of the way. A Call from Japs. A party of dietinguished Japanese cotton dealers were in Columbia Wed nesday to inspect the Columbia cot ton mills. The follor ing were in the par ty; Mr. Takeo Ya :sanobe, president of the Cotton Spiners' Association o Japan. and pre:adent of the Osaka Cotton Mills of ()zaka, Japan; M. T: Saite, president of the Miye Cotton Spinning Company of Yokkaichi Japan; Mr S. Watanahe, represe.nting the banking firm of Mitsul & Co., London, San Francisco. New York and Japan, and B. Johnston, of Bston, represent ing E!Iglish firms. The party spent the day looking over the mills and were delighted with what they saw. They left on the afternoon train for WXash ington.__________ Killed Near Greenville. Another tragedy, making the third in the vicinity of Greenville in three weeks, occurred four miles east of that city Monday nightc. Again as in the former two cases the negro was the vie tim and a white man the slayer, and again whiskey was the rulling cause. Monday night about 10 o'clock Pliny Hll was killed near the McBee distil lery. There were no eye witnesses, and so far as can be learned the row that led to the tragedy was without adequate cause. No evidence has been brought to show what the trouble was about and the slayer says he does not STAR ROUTE BOX DELIVERY. An Important Order from the Post master-General About It. Notice is hereby given to the public that the contracts for carrying the mail on all of the Star Routes in the State of South Carolina, taking effect July 1, 1900, provide that those who so desire may have the mail that is addressed to them delivered by carriers into boxes along the lines of the several routes. Any person living on or near any Star Route in the State named who desires his mail deposited in a box on the line of the route by the carrier on said route may provide and erect a suitable box on the roadside, located in such man ner as to be reached as conveniently as practicable by the carrier, and such per son shall file with the postmaster at the postoffice to which his mail 4s ad dressed (which shall be one of the two post offices on the route on either side of and next to the box) a request in writ ing for the delivery of his mail to the carrier on the route for deposit in said mail box, at the risk of the addressee. It shall be the duty of the postmaster at every such post office, upon the writ ten order from any person living o'n or near the Star Route, to deliver to the proper mail carrier for that route any mail matter, except registered mail, with instructions as to the proper mail box into which said mail matter shall be deposited; bat no mail matter so de livered to a carrier for deposit shall be carried past another post office on the route before beirg deposited in a mail box. The carrier on the StarRoute will be required to receive from any postmas ter on the route any mail matter that may be intrusted to him, outside of the usual mail bag, and shall carry such mail matter to and deposit it in the proper boxes placed on the line of the route for this purpose; such service by the carrier to be without charge to the addressees. The mail carriers must be able to read and write the English language and to be of sufficient intelligence to properly handle and deposit the mail for boxes along the routes. The law provides that every carrier of the mail shall receive any mail mat ter prresented to him, if properly pre paid by stamps, and deliver the same for mailing at the next post office at which he arrives, but that no fees shall be allowed therefor. The cointract price covers all the ser vice required of the carrier that is indi cated herein. W. 8. Shallenberger, Second Assistant Postmaster General. THE .IM CROW CAR LAW. What the Railroads in this State Must Now Do. The following act was passed at the recent session of the Legislature: "Section 1. That all railroads and rilroad companies engaged in this State as common carriers of passengers for hire shall furnish separate coaches for the accommodation of white and olred passengers: Provided, Equal commodations shall be supplied to all ersons, without distinction of race, olor or previous condition, in such oaches. "Sec. 2. That the provisions of this at shall not apply to nurses on trains, or to narrow gauge roads or branch ines nor roads under40 miles in length, r to relief trains in case of accident, r to through vestibule trains not in ended or used for local travel, nor to egular freight trains with a passenger oach attached for local travel, nor to >fiers or guards transporting prison ers, or lunatics, nor to prisoners or unatics being so transported. "Sec. 3. That 60 days from and after hei approval of this act the rate of ransportation of passengers on all ailroads to which the provisions of his act shall apply shall not exceed hree cents per mile for every anile raeled; and such railroads shall not e required to have second class coaches r to sell second-class tickets. "Sec. 4. That it shah. be unlawful for he officers or the employes having carge of such railroad cars as are provided for by this act to allow or permit white and colored passengers to cupy the same car, except as herein permitted and allowed; and for a vio ation of this section any such officer r employe shall be guilty of a mis emeanor and, on conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not less than $25 nor more than $100. "Sec. 5. That any passenger remain ing in said car other than that provid d for him, after request by the officer er employe in charge of said car to re move into the car provided for him, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, n conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than $25 nor more than $100. Jurisdiction of such offenses shall be in the county in which the same oc urs. The conductor and any and all empoyes on such cars are hereby lothed with power to eject from the train or car any passenger who re fuses to remain in such car as may be assigned or provided for him, or to re moved from a car not so assigned and provided. "Sec. 6. That in case the coach for either white or colored passengers should be full of passengers and another oach cannot bie procured at the time, then the conductor in charge ot the train shall be, and he is hereby, autho rized to set apart so much of the other oach as may be necessary to accommo date the passengers on said train. "Sec. 7. Should any railroad or rail road company, its agent.. or employes, vilate the provisions of this act, such railroad or railroad company shall be liablo to a penalty of not more than $500 nor less than $300, for each vio lation, to be collected by suit of any citizen of the State, and the penalty recovered shall, after paying all proper fees and costs, go into the general fund of the State treasury. "Sec. 8. That all acts and parts of cts inconsistent with this act be, and the same are hereby, repealed." Rioting in Chicago. Labor troubles culminated in a riot at Chicago Thursday evening. One man was shot and probably fatally wounded and six others were injured, -n of tem severely. THE YEAR'S CAMPAIGN. Getting Ready for Reorganization. Condensed Information. Things are beginning to loom up for the coming Democratic party reorgan ization in the State preparatory to the holding of the State Democratic cOn vention to be held in May, and to the conduct of the campaign and primaries to be held throughout the State this summer. The first step toward reorganization for the work ahead this year, which is a presidential as well as a State campaign year, was taken Friday when Col. Wilie Jones, chairman of the State Democratic executive committee, issued a call for a meeting of that com mittee to be held in this city on Wed nesday, April 11. The committee will have various matters to attend to at this session. In order that those interested in all parts of-the State might have some thing foi their guidance in proceeding with the reorganization of the Demo cratic party, Col. U. X. Gunter, Jr., secretary of the State executive com mittee, has prepared the following, which gives all information necessary and which it will be well to clip and keep. "The township or ward clubs shali meet on the fourth Saturday in April. These local clubs elect a president, a recording and a corresponding seare tary and a treasurer, and shall have three working committees of not less than three members each: a committee on registration, an executive commit tee and su.h other committees as may be deemed expedient. "These clubs shall operate under the control of a county executive commit tee, which shall consist of one member from each club to be elected by the re spectiv-i clubs. The executive commit tee shall appoint its own officers except the chairman, who shall be elected by the county convention. The local clubs shall elect one delegate to the county convention for every 25 mem bers and one delegate for each major ity fraction of 25. "The county convention shall be called by the coanty executive commit tee to meet on the first Monday in May and when assembled shall be called to order by the chairman of the executive committee and the convention shall proceed to nominate and elect from among its members a president. one or more vice presidents, a secretary and a treasurer, a member of the State executive committee and delegates to the State convention, each county be ing entitled to double the number of delegates in the State convention as it has members in the generally assembly. "The State convention shall be called by the State executive committee to meet on the third Wednesday in May. The State convention elects delegates to the national Democratic convention and a member of the national Demo cratic committee." Already there is much discussion as to who will be this State's delegates to the national Democratic convention. It has been stated that Senator Till man would attempt to name them, but this has been denied. So far as the State campaign is concerned there is plenty of speculation as to who will be the candidates for the several State fices this year. All incumbents, it is understood, will stand for reelection, and opposition to only three has so far made itself manifest.-The State. STARVING PORTO RICANS. People Who Made aGood Living Under Spanish Rule. A dispatch from Washington says the acting Secretary of War has re ceived a communication from Gen. Davis on the subject of food distribu tion and the relief of the destitute in Porto Rico. Gen. Davis had intended to discontinue the free distribution of food about the first of this month, but the industrial condition existing in cer tain portions of the island rendered it absolutely necessary to continue to feed the starving inhabitants for some time longer. .In the centre of the island, or the coffee-growing district, there is nothing for the poor to eat. Any discon tinuance of the food distribution, therefore, under these conditions, would result in a large increase of sickness and of the death rate. The coffee planters are making strenuous efforts to clearup their fields, but, hav ing no money for their payment, the hands and laborers have necessarily been laid oif and are drifting into the towns, thereby becoming public charges. Unless fed at public expense starvauion will result and the Mlilitary ~Governor has, therefore, requested a shipment of five hundred tons of rice, cod fish and bacon, in addition to the five hundred tons asked for about three weeks ago. In connection with the existing in dustrial conditions Gen. Davis is of the opinion that the quickest and -nost ef fective way of securing relief would be through large expenditures upon pub lic works. Gen. Davis states that if he could put about 25,000 men at work for a period of three months on the roads, involving expenditures for labor, tools and supervision of some $223,000 month, the period of acute distress could be tided over. The acting com missary general of subsistence was to. day directed to secure the food asked for immediate shipment. The Way to Stop Them. When the police in Cleveland, Ohio, were instructed to inspect the perform ance of "Zaza" in that city, with a view to securing evidence as to its im morality, Mrs. Leslie Carter had a se vere sore throat and could not appear. A determination to prosecute on the part of the authorities is all that is necessary to put an end to indecent performances.-Augusta Chronicle. Bu~bonic Flagne A case of what is supposed to be bubonic plague, though the exact nature of the disease is vyet uncertain, has been discovered in Chinatown near San Francisco. The patient, who is a Chinaman, was immediately isolated, and the whole of Chinatown placed under strict osarantine regula in. SHOT TO DEATH. B. R. Carroll Killed by D. P. John son at Blackville. WAS SHOT SEVEN TIMES. A Gun With Buckshot Used at Close Range, Then His Brains Shot Out With Revolver. A dispatch from Blackville to the Columbia State Rays B. R. Carroll was fatally shot there at 2 o'clock Thursday by D. P. Johnson. It appears that Carroll was on his way or returning from a blacksmith shop when D. P. Johnson emerged from the store of Briggs, Buist & Co. and fired twice at Carroll with a shotgun loaded with buckshot at very close range, the gun wads entering Carroll's clothing. After Carroll was shot down Johnson emptied the contents of a revolver into Carroll's head and body, almost touch ing him with his pistol. Carroll can live but a short while; his brains are shot out. Carroll was to have been tried forhis life at the coming ses4ons of our court at Barnwell next week for the killing of James Bulin last Christmas It seems that some time ago Johnson had sued Carroll for a debt and after the suit Carroll made public threats to the effect that he would kill Johnson on sight. This is said to be the cause of the shooting. Carroll died at five o'clock, a few hours after being shot. Both men were white and of promi neat families, Carroll being a man of some means. He leaves a wife and two children. Johnson was a blacksmith and always had a good reputation. Fcem the talk after the shooting it seemed that the sentiment of the town was with Johnson. Carroll did not shoot or attempt to use a weapon if he had one.- The sur geon says the shotgun wounds were' not fatal and Carroll would have sarvived . if the pistol bad not been used. Car roll is son of Mrs. White, wife of Quar termaster White of the Citadel. John son surrendered to the sheriff and is now in jail. SOCIAL DEMOGRATS. Platform of Party as Adopted on Notion of Eugene Deb. At the Social Democratic National convention held at Indianapolis, Ind., Wedaosday the following platform was adopted on motion of Eugene V. Debs: 1. Revision of our antiquated federal constitution in order to remove the ob stacles to full and complete control of government by all the people, irrespec tive of.sex. 2. The public ownership of all indus tries controlled by monopolies, trusts and combines. 3. The public ownership of all rail roads, telegraph, telephone, all means of transportation, communication, wa terworks, gas and electric plants and other public utilities. 4. The public ownership of all gold, silver, copper, lead, iron, coal and all other mines; also all oil and gas wells. 5. Reduction of the hours of labor in proportion to the increasing facilities of production. 6. The inauguration of a system of public works and improvements for the employment of a large number of the unemployed; the* public credit to be utilized for that purpose. 7. All useful invention~s to be free to all, the inventor to be remunerated .by the public. 8. Labor legislation to be made, na tional instead of local, and internation al where possible. 9. National insurance of working people against accidents, lack of em ployment and want in old age. 10. Equal civil and political rights for men and women and the abolition of all laws discriminating against women. 11. The adoption of the initiative and referfenduci and the right to the recall of representatives by the voters. i2. Abolition of war as far as the Ucited States are concerned and the introduction' of international arbit~ra tion instead. The committee on resolutions repart ed approvdl of a risolution condeaouing' the establishment of militarism in Porto Rico and the combination of capitalists to deprive Porto Ricans of the -fran chise. An Atrocious Murder. A brutal murder was committed Tuesday afternoon of last week about three miles from Yorkville. A negro named Fred Stewart married about three months ago, and about a month since he quarreled with his wife and kicked her, she being in a delicate con dition. She left him and went to her father's house. Fred went there Tues day to try and get her to go- back with him. She told him she was not able to do so on account of the kick. She was sitting in a chair. Stewart then drew a pistol and shot her, the ball en tering the upper part of her breast, passing through the heart and hiver. The woman was singing at the time she was shot. Sheriff fLogan went out at once with a posse and his blood hounds, and it is hoped that he will succed in capturing the murderer. Will Oppose Dr. Timmerman, According to the Winnsboro News and Herald, Mr. R. H. Jennings, who is now serving his second term as coun ty clerk of court of Fairfield county, will be a candidate in the campaign this summer against Dr. . Timmermnan for the office of State treasurer. Mr. Jennings is an ex-Confederate soldier and is highly esteemed by all who know him.-The State. It Must Be Tough. "Sapho" has been suppressed in New York. If it was too bad for New York it will hardly attempt to go on the