FRIGHTFUL FLOODS.
Several Mississippi and Alabama
Towers Cut Entirely Off.
THE RIVERSRISE FAST.5
Three Fatalities are Reported, the
Victims Being Negroes Who
Lost Their Lives Trying
to Save Cattle
The rains that visited this State last
week seems to have been general over
the South and Southwest. A great
deal of damage was done. A dispatch
from Birmingham, Ala., says- 'North
ern Alabama has experienced a flood
exceeding any ever known before. Five
miles of the Southern's track near
York is under water, and two miles of
the Alabama Great Southern road in
the same vicinity is washed away. All
trains have been abandoned. 'The L.
& N. is under water near Bangor, north
of here. The K. C , M. & B. suffered
considerable damage. Nearly all trains
coming into Birmingham are delayed
and many trains have been annulled.
The mines are flooded and at some
work cannot be resumed for a week.
A number of industries will be crip
pled."
A dispateh from Meridian, Miss
says: The flood situation has reached
frightful proportions. This city is out
off from the outside world except by
three telegraph communications on the
Western Union wires. All trains are
marked annulled for an indefinite
penod. The Atlanta & Vicksburg pas
senger, due here at 12 o'clock Wednes
day has been water bound twelve miles
from the city twenty-four hours. The
passengers are without food, the trtn
being unable to come forward or go
back. The damage to the Atlanta and
Vicksburg, Alabama Great Southern,
Mobile and Ohio and New Orleans &
North Eastern railroads reach $50,000
in tracks and trestles swept away by
the flood. Twenty-five per cent of all
fertilizer on farming lands throughout
the State is a total loss and the truck
plantations in a radius of ten miles are
submerged. Three fatalities are re
prted, the victims being Negroes who
lost their lives trying to save cattle.
Their bodies have not been recovered.
The rain has ceased and the waters are
reeding."I
A dispatch from Memphis, Tenn.,
says: "Reports from Northern and
Central Mississippi are meagre. Tele
graphic and telephone communication
are seriously interrupted. The heaviest
rains those sections have known in
years fell on Monday and Tuesday of
last week. Travel and traffic are sus
pended. Reports from Jackson state
no trains have passed through there
since the southbound passenger train
on the Illinois Central Tuesday morn
ing of last week. Washouts are re
pored in all directions. The "Little
o and Illinois Central tracks are
under water at several points. Re
ports from Crystal Springs and Madi
son say the cranberry and strawberry
beds are under water and the early
crop entirely lost. Both cotton and
corn crops will have to be replanted in
many Diaces.
A dispatch from New Orleans, La.,
says: '-The rain storms here are al
most unprecedented and railroad traf
fle is seriously affected. Much damage
has been done to property. Eight
inches of rain fell at Amite City, Iowa,
in twenty four hours and over nine at
Vicksburg. The Illinois Central road
is unable to move along the me.in line.
Much damage has been done to the
crops. Heavy winds accompanied the
rain storm and telegraph and telephone
wires are down all over the State,
while bridges are washed out and
mails delayed. In New -Orleans the
streets in many phoces were flooded six
inches deep.
A dispatch from Mobile, Ala., says
all trains on the Mobile and Ohio rail
road between that~ place and Meridian,
Miss., are abandoned and no train
there for three days.
GROWS MORE sERIot~s.
A dispatch from Jackson, Miss.,
dated April 20, says the situation is
rapidly growing worse, and a good size
section of the southern portion of the
city is submerged with the backwater
from Pearl river. Surrounded on three
sides by water and with Lhe numerous
Small streams swollen beyond their
banks, the city is at the same time conu
fronted with the danger of a water fam
ine, as the overflow of the river has put
out the fires in the pump house of the
waterworks company and compelled the
plant to close down. No lives have
been lost. Many people have been
driven from their homes by the inun
dation and are searching for lodging.
It is reported that 27 miles of track of
the new Gulf and Ship Island road be.
tween Jackson and Hattiesburg has
been washed away, that Leaf river has
broken from its banks and is spreading
ouit over the surrounding country,
sweeping away fences and houses, in
undating crops and drowning much
live stock and poultry. Viewed from
the wagon bridge at this point, Pearl
river is now one vast lake stretching
six or eight miles to the east and south.
The Alabama and Vicksburg railroad
bridge is tottering en its foundations
and will doubtless be swept away be
fore morning.
TERRIBLE CONDITION.
A dispatch from New Orleans, dated
April20, says:
The flood which commenced the
early part of the week had already
caused, at a conservative estimate, fully
$2,000,000 loss in central and southern
Mississippi, to say nothing of the dam
ages by the railroads. The extent of
the losses have not yet been fully
realised and it may be some days yet
before an accurate total can be reached
for mail communication has been to
tally cut off between these localities
which have suffered most and the out
aide world and telegraph lines suffered
greatly so that the news is just now be
pinning to arrive by wire. In Louis
iana, too, the damage done by the un
precedented rains was general but in this
State they are more inferential than
po'tive. A special from Columbia,
Mis' which was received late tonight
fixed'the loss in that little town and its
immediate vicinity at $500,000.
BOUSES CARRIED AWAT.
Many farm houses were carried away
by the mad waters, the occupants bare
ly escaping with their lives and the
number of cattle drowned was great.
A great many gins and mill honses
wore wash ed away and many sawmills
saw their lumber piles melted away as
if by magic. Nearly every bridge
around Colmbia was swept down
stream. Pearl river is now higher than
it has been known for many years.
Miles and miles of the New Orleans
and Northeastern track are still under
water. Honey island, the rendezvous
under twenty feet of water and the isl
and, which has for years been one of
the natural game preserves of the
south is now devoid of wild animals.
Hundreds of deer were drowned and
the hills near the banks of the Pearl
river are now the temporary abiding
places of all manner of four footed
life.
LOSS OF LiFE REPvRTED.
Distressing news comes from Hick
ory, Miss., a small town vhich is now
completely surrounded by water and
inundated in many localities.. Hun
dreds of hogs and cattle near this point
were drowned and miles of fencing have
been washed away. The latest advices
from the town of Enterprise state that
the losses there have been great and
much destitution prevails. Half a
score of towns are completely cut off
from the outside world as they have
beent since the early part of the week.
I From Chunkey river swamps, near
Enterprise, comes the news of a heavy
loss of life.
GREAT DISTRESS.
A special from Enterprise, Miss.,
says: The total loss of the merchants
of this place by the recent overflow
amounted to about $40,000. Quite a
large number of suburban residences
with live stock are a total loss. No one
can conceive of the distress that hovers
over this section. Thousands of dol
lars' worth of fertilizers sold by the
merchants to the farmers of this coun
try have been swept away and in many
fields all the soil was washed off, leav
ing only the clay.
Twins Marry Twins
April 17th will hereafter be a nota
ble day under the roof of a little double
house in Westerville, Ohio. It was
the wedding anniversary of two couples
and tho birthday anniversary of all four
members of those couples. On that
day Guy Omer Crabbe and his twin
brother, Roy Homer Crabbe, are 27
years old. On the same day 18 years
ago Adrien E. Dotson and Edna A.
Dotson, twins, were born. The boys
were born in Westerville, 0., and the
girls in Harrisville, W. Va. A year
ago Guy Crabbe made a tour of the
West Virginia oilfields and met Edna
Dotson. He found her a pleasing girl
and she rather liked him. A friend
told him of the girl's twin sister, who
always wore identical clothes and whose
resemblance is remarkable, even for
twins. Crabbe was interested and wrote
a letter asking permission to visit Miss
Dotson and to bring his twin brother
along. The novelty of it all pleased
the elder Dotsons and the twin brothers
went to Harrisville. The visit was
pleasing to everyone interested, and the
double wedding is the outcome of a
double courtship started at that time.
Three months ago the Crabbes had a
double house built at Westerville, both
both sides exactly alike, where they
took their brides. The brides selected
their furniture and househeld effects
together and every article as mutually
agreed upon was ordered in duplicate,
so that there is a most delightful same
ness on the two sides of the double
home.
Gen. Gordon an Evangelist.
A special from Waco, Texas, says:
"General John B. Gordon, commander
in-chief of the United Confederate Vet
erans, who is on a lecture tour in
Texas, attended the revival meeting in
Gatesville, Coryell county, conducted
by Abe Mulkey, and at the conclusion
of the sermon the evangelist called on
him for remarks. General Gordon re
sponded from his place on the platform
near the preacher in one of the most
powerful extrorations, it is said, that
has ever been heard in this state. His
remarks were addressed principally to
the Confederate 'veterans present, In
most eloquent periods he depicted their
grand and glorious achievemsnts as
soldiers in the service of their country,
moving his hearers to the highest pitch
of patriotism; then in tenderest tones
he made an appeal to them to take up
the armor of Christ that was sublime
and absolutely resistless, At the close
of this appeal about forty Confederate
veterans came forward. No such scene
was ever enacted before. The old
gray-haired veterans crowded aroundj
their chieftain, one after another, emn
bracing him, and then they would fall
upon one another's necks shoutin&,
the tears streaming down their faces.
It was some time before the ebullition
of religious fervor became sufficiently
controlled for others to reach the plat
form, but about one hundred others
finally came forward for prayers."
Tillman's Ridicule.
Senator Tillmen in discussing a reso
lution providing for the temparary gov
ernment of Porto Rico said: "We are
to have a grand bageant on May 1 when
the new governor is to be inaugurated.
This inauguration is to to take place
with the greatest ceremony ever seen in
any part of the United States. I
imagine that the purpose of this display
is to impress the islanders with the
grandeur and greatness of the United
States as well as to impress the people
of the United States with the new pol
icy of imperialism by which an Ameri
can pro-consul is to take possession of
the island. After a while, of course,
we will have another governor sent to
the Philippines and he will be of so
much greater importance than the gov
ernor of the little island of Puerto Rico
that I suppose he must have the navy
escort him across the Pacific and must
have umbrellas held over him like the
Bey of Algiers and the Sultan of Mo
roco. We will have him attended by
our subject princes in the Sulu archi
pelago with Mohammedan bodyguards
and all that sort of thing. If that is
the purpose of keeping those army offi
cers in Puerto Rico I will interpose no
obstacle to the tht passageof the reolu
tion."
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One bottle will test it in an case. For
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A boat on board of which were 20
members of the Catholic Students' as
sociation, while crossing the river
Rhine Wednesday from Bingen to Rue
Desheim, was capsized and 13 of its
DISPENARY VS. PRORIBITION.
Col. A. Howard Patterson of Barn
well. Contrasts the Two.
Your issue of January 4th, last, con
tains a letter from the Hon. Joel E.
Brunson, criticising, from the staud
point of a Prohibitionist, an article of
mine upon the Dispensary, which first
appeared in The News and Courier, and
then in your issue of the 28th of Decem
ber.
As will be seen from a reference to
a1y said article, its purpose was not so
much to expose the weak points of
Prohibition, as to show the fallacy of
the argument then being used that the
dispensary law should be abolished on ac
count of the recent scandals in the State
Board of Control, and to present to the
public some strong reasons why the law
should not be repealed by the (then) ap
proaching Eession the Legislature and
the license system substituted in its
place. The only allusion to Prohibition
that said article contained was the fol
lowing: "While Prohibition may be de
sirable, and I for one would advocate
it if I deemed it practicable, yet ex
perience has taught us that it cannot
be enforced and that it virtually means
free liquor."
The above paragraph contains, in a
nut -shell, my views on Prohibition,
but as my position in regard to the Dis
pensary has been attacked by one of
the champions of Prohibition, I desire
to state, more fully, my reasons for
preferring the Dispensary to Prohibi
tion. I entertain the highest respect
for those who are Prohibitionists from
principle, and as will be seen from the
above quotation, and from this article,
I have always had a leaning towards
the theory of Prohibition myself, for
theoretically it looks well, but experi
ence and observation have taught me
that practically it is a failure.
In 188, when I was about twenty
three years old, we had an act passed
by the Legislature prohibiting the sale
of liquor in Barnwell county. We did
not leave the enforcement of the law
solely to the county officers, but organ
ized an exesutive committee, of which
I was chairman. We brought case after
case for the violation of the law, but
with the exception of two or three, the
indictments w-,-e thrown out by the
grand jury aE fast as they were presented.
The "blind tigers" became so numer
ous in my own town that I took it upon
myself, personaily, to enforce the law.
Upon one occasion, the sheriff of Barn
well county and myself caught a man
in the act of selling liquor, we saw both
money and whiskey pass, yet when this
case went before the grand jury upon
our evidence, the indictment was
thrown out. In our endeavor to enforce
the law -we found it utterly impossible
to induce the better class of citizens,
i. e., those who had advocated Prohibi
tion from a moral standpoint and who
were the most clamorous for it. to as
sist in enforcing the law, although they
knew that it was violated with impuni
ty. In nearly every instance the cases
which were brought before the courts
were worked up by detectives employed
for that purpose. We also found that
many of those who had voted for Pro
hibition patronized the "blind tigers,"
and woud denounce our executive
committee for trying to enforce the
law.
To this day I have the ill-will of the
old barkeepers of my county for the
realous manner in which I endeavored
to have the law enforced. The law was
violated in every section of the county
with impunity, and became sucha farce
that the people becoming utterly dis
gusted, petitioned the Legislature to re
peal it, which was done in 18.36, after a
trial of three years.
Although my faith, in the enforce
ment of a prohibitory law against the
sale of liquor, was shaken to its foun
dation by this personal experience, yet,
owing to my hatred of the old barroom
system, I voted, while a member of the
House of Representatives in 1890, for
what is known as the Child's Bill.
And when the question was submitted
to the Democratic voters of the State,
at the primary election in 1892, I voted
for Prohibition.
In 1894, .when the Dispensary law
was passed, I wais at first a little skep
tial as to its workings, yet I was sur
prised and pleased with the uniqueness
of the idea, and as it totally revolu
tionized the old barroom system, and
did away with many of its attendant
evils, I was willing to give it a fair trial.
And although it has never had a
fair trial, as every obstacle that the
ingenuity of man could invent has been
thrown in the way of its enforcement,
yet I am convinced, even with its im
perfections and short-comings, that it
comes nearer solving the liquor problem
than any law that I have ever heard of.
Epitomized, the Dispensary law
recognizes the personal right of maa to
drink, yet regulates and controls the sale
of liquor in such a manner as to act as a
check upon his appetite.
As I have already, in former articles,
shown the good features of the Dispen
sary, I will Dow show a few weak points
of Prohibition.
Since the whole tenor of Mr. Brun
son's argument is, that it is wrong to
drink or sell whiskey under any circum
stance or in any way, I wish to say,
that while I admit that it is best not
to drink intoxicating liquors as a bever
'age, and have since arriving at my ma
jority tried to live up to this belief and
to inculcate the same upon the minds
af others, and would be willing (if it
were possible) to have absolute Prohibi
tion, yet it is idle for one to assert dog
matically that it is sinful to take a
glass of beer, wine, or whiskey as a
beverage. It is the abuse of it, and
Dot the use of it, that is sinful. The
Bible teaches temperance, not Prohibi
tion. Christ himself recognized the
use of wine, which was intoxicating,
and it is folly for us to deny it. In all
ages of the world, among all nations,
there seems to have been, and is, a
craving for stimulants. The fact that
the last report of the State Board of
IControl showed that over a million and
a half dollars was spent in South Car
olina last year for lig nors, proves that
the vast m ajorntv of the people do not
Iregard it as sinful to drink, and that it
is utterly absured to think that you
could suddenly stop them from doing
so by law. You had aa well try to
make a river flow up stream~ asi to at
attempt to prevent the people of South
Carolina from drinking liquxor absolute.
ly. The following answer of a tramp
to a lady, is the standpoint from which
nine-tenths of the people look at this
question. She said "Don't you know
that rum is a destroyer?" Weary
Wll"Ys, lady; but Eo is trolley
cars and bicycles, and dum-dum
bullets, and corsets; but still folks will
use 'em."
Let us now look at this question from
a common-sense standpoint. In the
event that yeu succeeded in ha ring
a law passed prohibiting the sale of
liquor, the first question that would
arise would he. How are you going to
stabulary force? Surely not, for you
claim now that one of the worst fea
tures of the Dispensary law is its
"brutal constabulary," who invade the
sanctity of the citizen's home-which
in ninety-nine cases out of every hun
dred prove to be the lairs of "blind
tigers." But suppose you swallowed
your scruples and did have a constabu
lary, how would you pay them when
you derive no revenue from the sale of
liquor to pay them with? Although,
liquor can now be obtained lawfully in
South Carolina, yet it required last year
the sum of $42,862.76 with which to pay
the constables. Therefore, if you were
te prohibit the sale of liquor absolutely,
does it not follow as a natural conclu
sion that the temptations to violate the
law would be increased a hundred-fold,
and, consequently, a larger constabu
lary force and more money to pay them
with would be necessar3 ?
Only a few days ago the Legislature
refused to appropriate one hundred
thousand doliars for the common
schools, although they are sadly in
need of more money, therefore, you
could hardly expect it to raise by direct
taxation fifty or a hundred thousand
dollars with which to enforce a law
against the sale of an article that nine
tenths of the people now use. Don't
you know that it would not? But you
say that you would not have a con
stabulary force, that "Publio Senti
ment" would enforce the law.
As I stated before, I have had a little
experience with "Public Sentiment" en
forcing Prohibition. In the first place,
you will find that just as soon as you
attempt to prevent the "Public" from
getting liquor, the "Sentiment" will
be against the law and that "every
body's business will be nobody's busi
ness."
We now have a law against carrying
coDcealed weapons, which habit "-Pub
lie Sentiment," condemns but how many
cases have you ever seen brought into
court by citizens who were prompted by
"Public Sentiment" to prosecute the
offendei ? Ah, but you say, that it
will be the duty of the county officers
to enforce the law, just as they would
any other upon the statute books. I
agree with you fully that it would be
their duty to do so; but would they do
it? Experience has taught us that they
will not enforce a law against the sale
of liquor. Why? Because to enforce
it they would be preventing nine
tenths of the voters from drinking, and
the drinkers and the men who sell
liquor are generally very potent factors
iTn county politics.
Even now, under the Dispensary law,
y ou can count the indictments for the
violation of the same brought by county
officers, upon the fingers of your hands,
and it is found necessary to have a
separate and distinct constabulary to
enforce the law with.
The followin'g from Marlboro county,
one of the strongest and oldest Prohi
tion counties in the State, sustains the
above views: "Cliff Dorn, State Dis
pensary constable stationed here, cap
tured last night one dozen .bottles of
'Old Pepper' rye whiskey in the ex
press office. There are beyond doubt
three or four blind tiger establishments
in town running at full blast; everybody
knows t and many of the best citizens
are anxious to break them up, yet they
continue to do business in apparent de
fiance of law and public protest. Ben
nettaville is becoming notorious for
whiskey drinking and the majority of
it 'is blind tiger liquor,' and thii state
of affairs will be the meaus of estb -
lishing a Dispensary in th~e town.
This correspondent has al ways main
tained that Bennettsville was practi
cally a Prohibition town, which was
true, but within the last few months
the facts and preponderance of evidence
are in the other direction. it can be
broken up and the violators punished
if the officers do their duty.
The above is from the report of the
local correspondent of the News and
Courier February 27. Men do not look
upon the violation of a law against the
sale of liquor as they do upon one that
is against a crime malumn in se, for they
regard it as a personal right to drink,
and that the man who sells to them is
but catering to their appetites and that
they are (morally) particeps criminis.
Consequently it is a very difficult mat
ter to get evidence against those who
sell liquor illegally, as there is a cer
tain degree of odium attached to it that
men of character do not wish to volun
tarily assume. Would you play the
"role of informaer or attempt the duties
of the sleuth-hound?"
Another objection to Prohibition
would be that drug-stores would be al
lowed to bandle alcoholic liquors for
the purpose of compounding drugs.
This would be swapping "the devil for
the witch," for they would soon be
nothing more nor less than bar-rooms.
We all know how hard it is now, under
the Dispensary law, to prevent them
from selling "Soft Drinks" and "Malt
Extracts," that contain a greater per
cent. of alcohol than the law allows.
I can best illustrate the condition of
affairs that would prevail, -if we had
Prohibition, by the following anec
dote: Two wome~n were talking about
their husbands who were addicted to
the habit of drinking too much. Une
said to the other, "I am so glad to in
form you that my husband has sobered
up, and han itopped drinking whiskey."
Her companion exclaimed, "Pray tell
me, what did he taper off on?" To
which the ether replied, "'Spiritus fra
menti, which they sell at the drug
store."~
Having heard a great deal about
Prohibition in Maine, and being anx
ious to know from an official source if
the law was ever violated there, I
recently sent for, and now have before
me, a copy of the Attorney General's
report for the years 1897-8. How
many indictments do you think were
brought during the year 1897 for viola
tions of her Prohibition law? Over
sixteen hundred; and yet 8he has a
population of only about seven hun
dred thousand, and which is almost ex
lusivaiy white. Now, if there were
sixteen hun'dred indictments you can
imagine how many violations there
wee that never came to light.
South Carolina has nearly twice as
many inhabitants as Maine, and over
half of them are Negroes.
I think I have shown very plainly
why I do not believe thaL Prohibition
could be enforced. Let us now look at
the matter from another standpoint.
There are some so called Prohibition
ists who are advocating a coalition be
tween the Prohibitionists and those who
are in favor of the license system for
the purpose of downing the Dispensary,
and agreeing to divide the spoils in that
event, That is, that some counties
may have Prohibition and some the
license system. As I remarked upon a
frmer occassion, such, a combination
is calculated to make Neal Dow and
Gough turn over in their graves in dis
gust. It is the lion and the lamb over
again, except that in this case the lamb
is to get the offices and the lion the
liquor.
Every unbiased man in South Caro
lina knows that the Dispensary law with
all of the crimes, fraud, scandals, etc.,
laid at its door, is far superior to the
ment and control of the sale of liquor.
Once listen to the siren voice of the
advocates of license and destroy the
Dispensary, and as certain as the sun
shines today you will have the old bar
room system with all its attendant
evils fastened around your necks as
tight as the old man of the sea was
around that of Sinbad. Remember the
familiar fable of the dog that nad a bone
in his mouth, and while crossing a
stream looked down and saw his image
reflected in the water whiah he mistook
for another dog with a bone and made
a grab for it, and low and behold, he
lost his own bone.
Moral: Don't give up that which you
have by attempting to get all. As a
writer by the name of Finch stated in
The Baptist Courier some time back,
you now have, under the Dispensary
law, the right to vote out the Dispensa
ries-citing the case of York county.
While I do not believe that the' illicit
tariffic in liquor can be prevented in
counties that have Prohibition, yet the
bill introduced by Mr. Winkler in the
recent session of the Legislature in
which it was provided that upon the
petition of one-fourth of the citizens of
a county, the Governor should order an
election giving the people the right to
vote as to whether they should have, or
retain, dispensaries in their counties
was agreed upon in a caucus of which
Senator Tillman, myself and others
were members. This provision was
substituted as an amendment to the
"Archer Bill" and passed the House by
a large majority, but was killed in the
Senate. I urged the delegation from
my county to vote for this amendment,
believing that the people should have
this right, but was most assuredly op
posed to the question of license being
submitted.
I have always contended that the Dis
pensary was created, not for the pur
pose of making money, but to control
and regulate the sale of liquor and to
act as a check upon one's appetite, fur
nisbingit only to those who will have it,
and not encourage and induce men to
drink.
The following good points of the law
sustain this view: Selling only in the
day time; not selling to minors or
drunkards; or selling on election days or
on Sundays; not selling less than a half
pint; not allowing liquors to be drunk
on the premises; and selling for cash.
The social features of the old bar
room system is best described by the
following quotation from a letter which
I received a short time back from a
prominent gentleman in the upper part
of the State: "The writer has drank
whiskey excessively, but God forbid
that I ever take another drop as a
beverage. The whiskey habit of mine
was contracted in old-fashioned bar
rooms. The beautiful attractions and
social features of bar-rooms carried me
there; the cenvenience of getting mint
julips and cocktails carried me there;
the nice place to loaf at nights in the
billiard room carried me there. Now
there is nothing in a Dispensary to at
tract or entrice, and if the ordinary
person goes to a Dispensary and buys
whiskey, he commits a cold-blooded act
on his part and no one is to blame but
himself. The Dispensary has no street
strikers to drum up trade like the old
bar-room had." Prohibition will not
prohibit, and this is why those who are
in favor of the license system are advo
eating a coalition. Not because they
hbate prohibition less, but hate the Dis
pet:sary more. One of the strongest
argumecnts (while it does seem paradoxi
eal) in favor of the Dispensary being a
more potential factor in the advance
mient of temperance than prohibition,
is the fact that not only the advocates
of the license system, but the old bar
keepers and the keepers of "blind
tigers" always vote for the Prohibition
candidate in preference to the candidate
that is in favor of the Dispensary.
H ow do you account for this anomaly?
Because the liquor men know that Pro
hibition means free liquor for a short
while and ultimately a return to the
old bar-room system. The very in
fluence that is now advocating a coali
tion a few years back, before the Dis
pensary was heard of, was bitterly op
posed to prohibition. I say let us re
tain the Dispensary law. Lop ofE such
exeresences as hotel and beer privileges,
which I have always contended are con
trary to the letter and spirit of the law.
Throw as many safeguards around the
sale of liquor as possible. Appoint
good men as dispensers, who will not
encourage men to drink; do not treat
them as you would saloon keepers, but
as officials, and require them them .to
perform their duties properly and
punish those who do wrong. Enforce
the law in all parts of the State without
regard to the locality in which it is
violated. These good results can be
accomplished under the Dispensary
system, but it is utterly impossible to
do so with Prohibition. And common
sense tells us so.
A. Howard Patterson.
Barnwell, S. C., March 6, 190
W asting its Time.
*The Washington Post, though
nominally an independent news
paper, is generally in line with
the Republican party. It was an
ardent advocate of McKinley's
election in 18963 and will un
doubtedly support him against
Bryan tis year. As The Post
desires to aid the Republican
party in the coming campaign
it makes bold to counsel it as to
the course it should pursue. In
its earnest efiorts to save from
defeat the party which it pre
fers to any other now organized,
The Post says:
"When the elections of 1898
had assured Republican ascend
ancy in both houses of the fitty
sixth congress, The Post men
tioned as one of the important
duties that would devolve upon
that body the accomplishment
of some practical anti-trust
legislation. It was evident then,
and it has become more apparent
every day since that time, that
the trusts would be one of the
leading issues of the presidential
camnpaign. The Post auggested
then, has ever since persistently
urged the necessity of depriving
monopolistic combinations of
any chance for shelter behind
tariff schedules. As a consistent
advocate of the doctrine of pro
tection, The Post has protested
and will continue to protest
against its abuse. Attention has
been called in these columns to
trade"combinations in protected
industrties that were and are
stifling competition while pay
ing large dividends on enormous
over-capitalization. Testimony
given before the industrial com
mission by managers of such
combines convicts them of
exploiting almost fabulous
amounts of ficititious stocks.
such combines sel their pro
ducts all over Europe at lower
prices than are charged for them
to domestic consumers. These
facts have from time to time
pointed out, and in the interest
of the great principle of protec
tion to which our marvelous
development and splendid pros
perity are largely due, The Post
has advocated the reduction, not
in all cases the destruction. of
schedules thus outrageously
abused."
The Post then asks what con
gress is ' going to do in order to
put the Republican party in
good form for the campaign?"
It goes on to show that it is in
cumbent upon the Republican
majority in congress to make an
honest effort to restrain the
trusts, and adds:
"It is admitted by all fair
minded men that there are some
trade combines which have by
legitimate means reduced the
cost of production while increas
ing wages and not increasing
prices. No indiscriminate war
fare on trusts is called for. But
against the sort of combines that
are taking advantage of protec
tive duties to prey on the public
there is a remedy at hand, and
every congressman knows what
it it."
The remedy suggested by The
Post may be easily applied and
would undoubtedly prove effec
tive. John Sherman proposed
it in the senate nearly ten years
ago, but the friends and attor
neys of the trusts were strong
enough in that body to cause its
rejection. They did so because
they knew that it would bring
the trusts to time. For exactly
the same reason the present Re
publican congress will refuse to
adopt the method of dealing
with the trusts which The. Post
recommends.
There is a partnership between
the Republican party and the
trusts which the former has no
idea of breaking. The president
may inveigh in words of seem
ing indignation against the ag
gressions of trust poWer, and
Republicans in both houses of
congress will probably give
forth similar stage thunder be
fore the opening of the campaign
but there can be no safer predic
tion than that congress will take
no action that will be disagree
able to the truts. The Post is
wasting its time.
The Amended Loud Bill.
The Loud postal bill, though
it went to the house backed by
a unanimous report of the com
mittee on postoffices and post
roads, was defeated in that body
by a large majority. The main
objection urged against the bill
in the debate on it in the house
was that it was too sweeping,
that it excluded fromi second
class mail privileges much mat
ter which is fairly entitled to
the second-class rate. Though
the house voted the bill down,
it agreed to re-commit it. We
are glad that the committee has
reported it in an amended f rm,
which gives it much better pros
pects of passage. As it now
stands the bill contains no pro
vision that can be objected to by
the friends of country newspa
pers, college or fraternal publi
cations. It merely declares 'that
mailable matter of the second
class shall embrace all newspa
pers and other periodical publi
cations which are issued at
stated intervals and as frequent
ly as four times a year, provided
that nothing herein contained
shall be so construed as to ad
mit to the second-class rate pub
lications purporting to be issued
periodically and to subscribers
but which are merely books or
reprints of books, whether they
be issued complete or in parts,
whether they be bound or un
bound, whether they be sold by
subscription or otherwise, or
whether they purport to be pre
miums or supplements or parts
of regular newspapers or perio
dicals. That news agents shall
not be allowed to return to news
agents or publishers at the,
pound rate unsold periodical~
publication, but shall pay post
age on the same at the rate of 1
cent for four ounces." A perio
dical which is not included in
this classification cannot, by
the most liberal construction,
be considered as coming within
the intention of the second
class mail law. The mails are
now burdened with a vast mass
of trashy stuff, circulars, etc.,
which are carried at second
class rates at an immense loss to
the government. The postmas
ter general estimates that it
costs $20,000,000 a year more
than the revenue derived from
it to handle this bulk of mail
matter improperly included in
the second-class. If the Loud
bill in its amended form should
pass it will not only relieve the
postoffice department of its an
nual deficit but would insure a
surplus revenue, which would
very soon make one-cent letter
postage an accomplished fact.
And at the same time it would
do injustice to nobody.
CARE OFHNORSES.-Don't feed tiay in
the middle of the day. Give the
heaviest feed at night. Some horses
require more hay than cthers. Study
your horse, and never give him so much
hay that he looks stuffed. If your
has been standing in the stable fcr some
time, be very carefully when you take
him out, as a hard drive under these
circumstances is very apt to bring on
spinal menigitis, or some other serious
trouble. Rogular exercise is one of the
most important things in keeping a
horse in good condition.
KILLED BY A TRAIN.-A dispatch
from Swansea says Thursday night WV.
K. Bell, a flagman on the Florida Cen
tral and Peninsular Railroad, was
knocked down on the track and a car
passed- over both legs above the knees,
md right arm and shoulder, also crushed
the right hip bone. He lived two hours
mud fifty minutes; death resulhing from
internal hemorrhages and s.hoek. Mr.
Bll was 31 ea old.
Makes the food more del
""" BIRD FLIGHT "",=
The Stork as a Model for Aerial
Navigation.
The latest flying machine Is the In
vention of Herr Arthur Stensel, of
Hamburg, Germany. Like many of his
predecessors, especially Lilienthal, he
has made a special study of the fight
of birds to guide him in his construe
tion work. The grace and power of
the stork especially appealed to him,
and the resemblance which his ma
chine bears to that bird Is easily noted..
One of the chief problems In aerial
navigation has been that of alighting
gently and at will, and this he has
learned from the stork as it hovers
over his nest. It rises and moves for
ward by the action of the huge elastic
wings, which imitate faithfully the ac
tion of a tying bird.
LATEST FLYING MACHINE.
These wings are made of hollow ribs
of steel covered with very fine linen,
rendered air-tight by a bath in liquid
rubber. They spread nineteen feet on
each side and are five feet broad.
The motive power or force that waves
the wings up and down and forward
is a small, but very powerful, motor
driven by compressed, carbonic acid.
The machine is steered by the tail,
which consists of two Interacting
blades which can be turned to right
or left, up or down.
The motor, which generates three
horse power, weighs but eight pounds.
The carrying power of this machine is
most remarkable, for if the wings flap
but seven times in flye minutes it will
bear a man weighing 150 pounds up
into the air. It is easily guided and de
scends gently at the will of tBe oper
ator.
Hitherto experiments have been con
ducted merely to show the corectness
of the principles employed, but the In
ventor is now engaged in constructing
a still more perfect and lighter machine
with aluminum frame covered with
silk, by which he hopes to take longer
flights, remainIng in the air as long as
he pleases and going in any direction,
with or against the wind, just as the
stork does.
A Blessed Stamp.
"It used to make me mad," said a
lady teacher, "to find the backs of new
periodicals disfigured by the analine
stamp of the newsdedler. "What
right," I used to say, "have these fel
lows to print their advertisements on
things I paid for? Now I feel differ
ently. It came about through a visit
which I paid to another city last week.
As I passed through the depot I bought
a magazine at the newstanld, and later
on, when I was uptown, I had occasion
to step into a large department store.
As usual they had a book counter, and
while looking at a volume that caught
my eye I laid my magazine carelessly
on top of a pile of periodicals. When
I was walking away a strange man
walked up to me and said, 'Excuse me,
madam, but you have forgotton to pay
for that magazine.' 'Why, I did not get
it here,' I replied, greatly startled. 'I
had it with me and have been holding
It in my hands all the time.' As soon
as I spoke I realize51 that that wasn't
strictly true, and the girl clerk, who
had rushed around the counter, contra
dicted me at once. 'It ain't so!' she
said breathlessly. 'She wasn't holding
it in her hand! I saw her pick It up
myself, right off the top of the pile!"
'I witnessed that myself,' said the
loorwalker, 'madame has probably for
gotten.' he added, ironically.
"I thought I should faint. A thou
sand things rushed into my mind. Of
course I could prove my Innocence by
the man at the depot but that would
involve' the scandal of an inquiry
probably an arrest-and some people
would always have doubts. On the
other hand. payment would be a con
fession of guilt. The affair would cer
tainly cost me my position and blight
my character forever. I held out the
magazine mechanically, and there on
the cover was the big, hideous, blessed
stamp of the dealer. We all saw It at
once, and, oh, I wish you could have
witnessed the abasement of the floor
walker! He groveled. The very -curl
came out of his mustache. He told
me he had a wife and children, also
a mother, which I took the liberty to
doubt. His anguish was Ell tlhat
saved me from hysterics. The clerk
shed maudlin tears and 'oped the lady
wouldn't bear no malice. I treated
them both with scorn. I spurned
them. When I went home I- Tought
peanuts of the depot newsdealer."
New Orleans Times-Democrat
A Scalp Masseuse.
A young woman in Brooklyn has
made a place for herself as a scalp
masseuse. She goes from patIent to
patient, or sometimes sees several pa
tients at the house of one and receives
a few at her own -rooms. The object
of the L.-eatment is to arrest threatened
baldness, whether of men or women.
The masseues's business has so in
resed that for nine months of the
year she is occupied most of the day
and part of the night.
The work of massage is done chiefly
with the balls of the fingers. This
paart of the treatment lasts twenty min
utes. It is designed to increase the cir
culation of the blood in the scalp, so
that the hair may be nourished proper
ly. In addition to this the masseuse
shampoos the heads of some patients
and in the case of all she recommends
lotions, the prescriptions of regular
yractioers.
How He Eats.
"She says her husband Is awfully
bliging. He eats almost anything
that is set before him."
~Dear me. she couldn't expect him
to eat it if It was set behind him, could
ghe?"-Phildelolhia Bulletin.
THE cotton planters of the
South mnay again have to resort
to cotton sheeting as a covering
for their cotton, and to seek
ome substitute for ties to hold
the bales in shape. These need
ful supplies are now entirely
controlled by the trusts. Last
year there were half a dozen com
petitors in each line. This year
there are none. One concern
has absolute control of all the
otton bagging in the country,
and another has absolute con
FOWDER
URE
icious and wholesome
M Co., oW.OI
FEAR OF LIGHTNING
RISK GREATEft IN THE COUNTRY
THAN IN TOWN. "3
Advice to People Who Fear the Elee
tric Bolt-Danger k-rom Trees and
From Buildings-Where 1t is Not
Wise to Stand.
In the Century Alexander McCabe
gives encouragement and advice to peo
ple who have a fear of being struck by
lightning-or thunder, as some of them
think.
"The keen suffering which many un
dergo just in advance of or during a
thunder-storm Is of a dual nature. The
sense of impending danger alarms and
terrifies, but there is also a depression
of spirit which is physical and reel,
brought about by some as yet unknown
relation with the nervous system and
conditions of air pressure, humidity
and purity. The suffering due to de
pression and partial exhaustion re
quires. from those who are strong,
sympathy rather than ridicule. The
suffering due to alarm and fright, how
ever, is unnecessary. It is largely the
work of the imagination. To the ner
vous nature there is something appall
Ing In the wicked, spiteful gleam of the
lightning. and the crash and tumult of
the thunder. But such a one should
remembei that the flash Is almost al- -
ways far distant, and the thunder can
do no more damage than the low notes
of a church organ. Counting all the
deaths from all the storms during a
year, we find that the chance of being
killed by lightning Is less than one In a
hundred thousand.
The risk in the city may be said to
be five times less than in the-country.
Dwellers in city houses may ie star
tied by peals of thunder, but owing to
the great spread of.tin roofing and fair
ground connections,- If buildings are
adequately protected, and the momen
tum of the flash provided for, the oc
cupants many feel secure- A good
conducted, grounded rod is necessary
in all Isolated and exposed buildings
Barns, especially, when lined with
green crops, should have a. goa light
ning conductor.
"The question is often aslied, 'Do
trees protect?' The answer is that the
degree of protection will vary with the
character of the tree and its distance
from a water course. An oak is mere,
liable to lightning-stroke-than a. bea.'
The character of the wood, the area of
leafage, the extent and depth *of root,
will determine the liabliity to stroke
"Another question which Is often
asked is whether there Is danger
aboard a large steamship during a7
thunder storm. On the contrary there
are few safer places. Suficent metal
with proper superficial area is inter-:
posed in the path of the lightning, an&
its electric energy converted Into harmj
less heat and rapidly dissipated. Ace
dents occur chiefly because the victims
Ignorantly place themselves in the line
of greatest strain, and thus form part
of the path of discharge. For this rea
son It is not wise to stand under trees,
near flag poles or masts, in doorways
or porches, close to fireplaces, or nears
barns. Those who are not exposed In
any of these ways may feel reasonably
safe.
"It should be remembered. in the
event of accident, that lightning does
not always kill. It more often results
In suspended animation than In actual:
death. Therefore, In case of accident,
try to restore animation, keep the body
warm and send for a physician, with-.
out delay."
""A Novelty for Gentlemen.
Some men are as particular about
their clothing as the fussiest of women.
They object to anything being folded
or pressed down by the weligt of other
clothing. They do not like to have all
of their clothing hung in the closet by
wire hangers. Such a man recently
had a ciothes case made to order. His
tailor furnished the proper measure
ments of all his clothing to the cabinet
maker who constructed it.
This case had to be long enotugh to
contain his winter coat, If he should
take a notion to keep It in a sliding
section, and other compartments were
no deep drawer-everything was a slid- i
lg shelf. with just enough room fort
one article and partitioned off to fit
The shirt slide had three partitions, as
that they could not help lying in order.
This allowed of the shirts being drawn
out one at atime. The slidesewereall
shallow, about three inches deep.
There were special places for each
article of underwear, cuffs, collars,
neckties and hose and jewel boxes and
toilet articles compartments. Thr
was a big front board, which opened
down like the lid of a desk and formed
a shelf, on which things could be laid.
and sorted out preparatory to being
placed In their proper receptacle.
A Queer Lamp.
A rather remarkable spirit lamp has
been found in the workshop of a Hin
doo watchmaker. It is in the shape of
a boar and has the burner on ifs back.
The design Is not inartistic nor is it
badly executed, but the most striking
feature of it all Is that its owner re
gards it as a household god.
It Is sacred to the memory of the
watchmaker's father, by whom It wa'm
made, and some hold that there: a 1
A EEMAEEABLE TLAMP.
suggestion of the transmnigration of the
souls of men Into the animal in the
reverence with which this animal Is
regarded. It Is used. nevertheless. for
the purpose for which It was originally
designed-as a spirt lamp by which
the watchmaker heats metal or solder.
As an Instance of the combination of
busines and piety It is rather Interest
The extreme depth of misery Is a
small boy with a ne'w pair of boots and
no puddle.
THE NEW RAILROAD LAW--The
new railroad law went in to effect.
The act does away with the old rates of
travel and on and after teday no second
class tickets will be sold, the rate be
ig strictly three cents a mile for all
passenger service. The law also does
away with the "excess" charges which(
conductors have heretofore been al
lowed to collect on trains from those
faling to have tickets from one reason
or another. So far as known the rail
roads met the requirements of the new.
separate coach act promptly.
A kingdom for a cure.
You need not pay so much.
A twenty-five cens bottle of L. L. & K.
Will drive all ills away.