Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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VOL. x V. ___MANINING, S. C. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 13, 1901 HELD IN SLAVERY. Result otths Irvestig !ion of the Anderson Grand Ju'y. A PLAIN RECITAL OF FACTS Direct Charges Preferred Ag bins' Those Gulity of False Impriscnme n - and of Barbarity. The special cmmittee o the Ander Fon County Grand Jury appointed by Judge Benet to investigate certain charges against large land owners in that coanty made its report last Thurs day to the court. The committee-says that in the case of Magistrate J. J. Gilmer we find that for some time past he has been in the habit of issuing warrants and causing arrests and frc quently commi'ting ao eused persons to jail without ever enter ing the case upon his d)nket. This is especially true where the eases have been compromised after the arrests were made. We find that frcm Sept 16, 1899, to Jan. 12, 1901, he made payment to the county treasurer of a number of fines and items of costs col lected by him, but that during that time he collected through the sheriff's offi e alone $34 80, which properly belongs to the county and failed to pay them over to the ocunty trt asurer as r qaired by law. He also colle:ted $18 80, which he failed to turn over. We find that Feb. 19,1901, after this investigation was begun, the said J. J. Gilmer paid to the county treasurer the sum of $53.20 to cover these amounts While we have not been permitted, for the lack of time, to mike a full inves tigation of all the irregularities of this office, we are convinced he has been guilty of the grossest irregularities, and we would suggest that a complete investigation of his books and accounts shoud be had and that he should be presented for misappropriation of the funds so collec'ed by him. THE FATE OF \ILL HULL Regarding the arrest of the Negro Will Hull, which you were dirt eted by the court to invstigate, we find that a warrant was issued by Magistrate Gilmer for the arrest of this Negro upon an affidavit of A. T. Newell, charging him for a violation of labor contract, and that W. S. Newell, a brother of the prosecutor, was depu tized by the Magistrate to serve said warrant; that the constable so depu tized requested the deputy sheriff, J. A. Dillingham, to go along with him and assist in making the said arrest and representing that said Hall would probably create trouble when arrested and that the assistanea of the deputy sheriff would be needed. The arrest was made on Friday night and the Negro was brought to Anderson on the same night. The deputy sheriff suggested that the prisoner be taken to jail, but the Negro said that he would prefer to go on with W. S. Newell, and that Mr. Newell informed the deputy that the magistrate had instructed him that he should carry the prisoner on home with him. Suibsequently the magist-ate was in formed by the prosecutor that the case had been compromised and that the Negro had agreed to stay with him and work out his c~ntract. The rest of the facts were brought out in open court. We exonerate the deputy sheriff from all blame in the matter. The principal work of this commit tee has been the investigation of the stockades of the county and the abuses of laborers under tyrannous contracts that has grown out of the farming cut of conviets and the working of free laborers with them. We have taken the testimony of more than 50 persons -that of the landlords, their overseers and guards, together with a large number of laborers and a few other eit'zens. In these investigation we have been treated with every courtesy and generally W3 have found no dispo sition to obstruet our work upon the part of those whose farms and stock ades we visited. A most careful inquiry failed to re veal that any general abuse of the Ia boring class exists in this county, so that our work soon narrowed down to those places where stockades existc d and free laborers were employed. We visited the farms of J. Bslton Watson, A. T. Newell, P. B. Allen, J1. R Miller, Elias MaGee, W. Q Hammond and J. S. Fowler. THESE EXONERATED. We were unable to find any abures at the farm of J. B. Watson. He has a stockade and works free laborers also, but we found no evidence that free la borers were put in the rtockales and worked in line with the convicts, or ubjected to any illegal restraint or abuse. The same thing was true at the farm of P. B. Allen. We found that he had taken two contracts in which the la borers agreed to work under guard and be locked up at night. but his own ev ider cs and that of all the laborers so far as we could ascertain, was that these provisions had never been en forced. A. T. Newell works State convicts and fras a stockade, but he has worked no free laborers along with the con victs recently, when he has taken two contracts of that sort. One of these was the case of the unfortunate Negro Will Hull, who was killed by W. S Newell a few weeks ago and whose case is referred to above. "FREE LABOR!' J. R. Miller formerly worked con victs, but they were taken away by the State, and he now employs only "free" labor, if indeed we may use the word free to describe those laborers who have signed his contracts and subj 2ted themselves to the conditions existing on his farm. He has a stockade whicb was originally built for his .State con victs and his contracts provide that the "free" laborers will work under guard and will allow themselves locked up at night. Our first investigations at this place were met by a statement from the ne groes that they'were satisfied with their treatment, but their manner indi' cated coercion and subsequently w< made further investigations wlbieh con vinced us that J. R. Miller, and hin overseer, J. A. Emerson, had beer uilt of whipping negroes, lookins them up at night, woiking t-em und r guard and putirg sheckles upon them. Among these unfortunates were John Harrison, Will Wright, Warren Sloan at d L'eze .Jones. We found several of ir Miller's contracts left blank as to the inie of service and amount to be pna, though the contracts were duly signdi and witnessed. In the case of Warren Sloan, he seed to have been arrested by J. R lk Pcr and another man, whose name we oci'd rot ascertain, near Central, in 1' eens c:unty. There is testimony that no arrar t-was exhibited, if any exi-ted, but he was handcuffed and taken to Mil ier's stockade and kept there until this investigation began. Since our first visit to this stochaie he was turned loose and allowed to go home In our judgement, the said J. R Miller and J A. Emerson should be presented by <he grand jury for the cfanses above mentioned, and we so recommend. ELIAS MCBEE S PLAN. In many respects the most remark able case coming under our notice is that of Eiias Mcgee, who has never em ployed S:ate convicts, but who built a stockade and prepare' to treat his Ja borers at convie's. His contracts pro vide that the laborers shall be worked under guard and looked up at night and there was abundant evidence to show that he had locked up in the stockade, worked under guard and whippped his laborers Among those who suffered a part or all of theseabusese were Wesley Nornan. Handy Earle, Yaoc Smith, George Tilly, John Clinksoales, Clar ence Gailliard, Evins Wood, Luis Alexander, Morris Jordan. Some of these negroes bad been arrested and signed contracts after being put under arrest. John Clink eales was accused by Eias McGee of stealiag e-ra, was brought to Anderson handcuff d and after he had s'gaed a contract, but without any trial, turned over to W. Q Hammond, who carried him to the lat ter's stockade. We think the grand jury should make presentment against Elias McGee, and we so recommend. W. Q Hammond runs a large farm in this county and employs a consiler able numoer both of State convicts and "free" laborers. His contracts provide that the "free" laborers shall be worked u}der gcard and locked up at night, and they. suffer th's illegal imprison ment and more, for the evidence shows that a num'-er of these unfortunates have been worked under gutrd and gin, have been looked up at night and on Sundays and have b.en shackled and whipped. Among those who suffered these thirgs at the hands of Mr. Ham mond at d his overseers, Wm. Bailey, James Martin and Day, are the following: Isham Abercromie, Pink Rogers. James Clintion, John Hewey, Tom Parks, Cbarley Johnson and John Chnksoales. Several of these were in jail at the time of our examination. n'ey hed been indicted last fall for gambling, had been taken out of jail on bond by Mr -Hammond and kept at his farm without trial until the investiga tion began, when he surrendered them back to the sheriff. The negro, Tom Parks, whose case was called to the attention of the grand jury by the pre-iditg judge, was re leased almost immediately-thereafter. Ho was taken forcibly and without trial under one of the labor contracts above referred to and confin d in the stockade worked with the convicts and suffered the other abuses above mentioned un til this investigation was begun. We learn that perhaps a score of other la borers held under similar c.'ntracts have left this farm during the y ast few weeks. One of them, Pink Regers, states that he was given a whipping of 50 lashes by Win. Bailey at the stock ade. We think that the facts disc'osed de mad that W. Q. Hammond, James Martin, Wmn. Bailey and--Day should be presented by the grand jury for the violation of law above mention ed and we so recommnend. J.- S. Fowler, who first ubed the con tract providing for free laborers to be treated as convicts, worked under guard, locked up, etc., employs a con siderable number of couvicts and also of the so-called "free" laborers. He has two stockades, one of which is un der the supervision of James (Jock and which was formerly managed by Willis McGee. The other is under the charge of Levi Thomas. At these farmsg the convicts and "free" laborers have been worked together under a guard who carries a gun, they have been locked up at night and some of them whipped. There was no evidence of any of them having been shackled. Some of them had been accused of trivial offenses and were put under contract to work out debts or to repay money advanced for them. James Evans, Baylis Arter, Alonso Lark, Frank Bowlan. John Bell, R abert Brown, Foster Butler, Dan Hill, Willis Barper, Joe Whitfield, Jim Rice, John Gilliam, Turner Walker, Andrew -Dobbs, D)eck Freeley and Drayton Wheeler are soms of the ne groes who have been confined in Mr. F-w'.er's stoakade. Willis McGee, James Zook, Levi Thomas, George Thomas and Mike Robbins should have presentments made against them by the grand jury for whipting different ones of .these ne groes. Willis McGee was especialy cruel. It was testified that he had given the nergo Baylis Arter 100 lashes on ore occasion and that he whipped Robeit Brown most severely and cruelly and on one occasion shot five times at Drayton Wheeler, one of the bullets passing through Wheeler's hat. The testimony goes to show that Qecrge'Thomas shot at Dock Freeley and that he was also ready at the whip pings. Andrew Dobbs was found to be suf fering from rheumatism which he says was brought on by being compelled to stand almost waist deep in mud and water in cold weather ditching. He was arrested by A M Bailey, who has been acting as a sort of constable for J. S. Fowler but was never tried. J. A. Rice is a negro of rather weak mind who was captured somewhere in Geor gia and charged with having escaped from J. S. Fowler's stockade in this county. Upon being brought here it was found that he was not the man he was suspected of being but neverthe less after being kept for several days in the stockade he entered into one of the labor contracts and has been in the stockade for several months, though unwillingly there. A number of "free" laborers have left Mr. Fowler's farm since these investigations were first begun but some unwilling ones were still in the stockades when we visited WP found no evidence to cor:neel Mr. Fowler in any way with the wbip pings of these laborers, but he was a party t) these cotracts which provided for the illegal impri. imeat and work ing under guard of the laborers and is responsible for these provisions beirs enforced and that presentment shoulj be n ade against him therefor. We submit herewith the memyiranda of testimony which we have taken which will show to the curt and sc-lie itor more fully the facts which we have reported and will enable them to get the names of the witnesses to prove such facts. It is proper that we shou'd add that much of the abuse has already been corrected as a result of this in vesiigation and that some of the par ties have been to us with the assurance that they world immediately correct the evils existing on their farms to which we have callcd attention. Owing to the widespread influence and eff at that follows any public dis cussion of the question of farm labor in this State and the result that many follow a presentment such as we pro pose it is proper that we should in clos. ing this report enter into a br'ef die cussion of the irtflnences that have brought about the evils reported and make suggestions as to the remedies therefor. We have heard rumors that this investigation has already created a widespread interest and that the con ditions have been disaussed with some feeling but we have as far as possible avoided reading anything published or said in this respect in order that we might pursue our investigations without any it fluerce or bias from any quarter. The question of farm labor in this State is a very eifficult one arti the present laws regulating the same are insufficient. The negroes whom we found con fined in the stockade were composed largely of a class of shiftless debtors who are subject tc indictment for petty offense, and who could not be success fully worked under ordinary contracts. They are men who have no property, and men who evade their debts unless compelled to pay them. Against them the process of a civil court is worth less; that of the criminal court under existing laws is inadtqaate. Some thing should be done by the legislature to grade the punislment of this class according to the offence. Bat the worst trcuble has not been in the defect of the provisions of the law so much as its enforcement. It has come to be a settled policy in this county that in dietment for violation of contract and for disposing of property under lien should be compromiseI, and not tried. We are convinced that this is wrong in principle and dangerous in practice. Whatever injustice may be done an individual by disposing of property on which he has lien, or by the violation of a contract by one of his employes, and whatever force might be given to the effect of penal statutes to induce payment of debts or fulfillment o' con tracts that never has been the true in tent and purpose of the penal statutes. They are enacted to prevent public wrong, and when a prosecutio:n has oce been instituted and the power of the criminal court invoked, the ques tion of private recompense shouid dis appear, and the public interest alone should be considered. While this may result in occasional hardships, is is the only safe policy. Abuses will other wise grow up until the criminal courts are degraded into machines for private gain, and often for extortion and op pression. In our judgment it should be a crime to compromise any case after indictment found with a view of pri ate gain. Nor can we condemn too severely that other fruitful source-in fact, the rigin of the abuses herein reported the leasing out of conviets to work on private farms. Evils already detailed are too eloquent to neCessitate a his usion to prove this. Such a syst m should not be tolerated after its results have been expsed as in this county. We have heard at intimated that our investigations and exposures would isturb the labor conditions to such an extent as to create trouble in this State. We do not believe that it is true, but if it were we would not hesi tate to declare the evils we floe and to emand that they should be ab~li~hed. The duty of this body is plain: We must stop the violations of law that now exist, and if others begin on the part of the laborers themselves, then we will unite with the law abiding itizens of the oountv in punishing and terminating these evils. The result of our investigations show that the system of working them in stockades does not exist in this rnunty further than we have reported. Prob ably not as many as twenty men, either as principal or agent, either directly ar indirectly, have been engaged in this abuise. On the other hand, the numbers of laborer3 and lienors who have violated the law will double that number many times. We therefore rei'erate that the in fluence of this grand jury, and we do not hesitate to say of the court also, will not be extended to enable any man to avcid a just contract, and that we have :found that most of the labor con tracts of the county are legal and just If violat'ons of just contracts begin as a result of the investigation we have made: we suggest that warrants be sworn out and prompt punishment given. We have not undertaken to as sume the responsibility of prosecuting the laborers who lhave violated their contracts, because the position and in fluence of the landlord makes them fully able to do that without ansistanse from us. This special report Las been brought about because of the oppres sion and abuse of men who were too poor, too friendless, too ignorant and often too degraded to act for them selves, but who are nevertheless en titled to the full protection of tshe law, and who because of their weakness have a peculiar claim to our pretection. All of which is respectfully sub mitted. Drunk at the Throttle. The M-sow cnrrespondent of the London Daily Mail says: "During the recent heavy snowstorms 50 men were sent to clear the snow out of a railway entting near Wolovo, on the Riasan Ural lire They were just leaving the cutting when the train came down at full speed and crushed about 30 men into shapeless masses, their clothing linging to the axles and stopping the train. Inquiry shows that tJhe engine drive and all te guards were drunk." A TRUE INDICTMENT , t Of the U;,i.ed States in Her Deal- I ing Wsah Cuba. t "LIARS AND HYPOCRiTES' E Is What France and Spain Truth- t g fully Say We Are. Our r Country Disgraced Bs- 1 r fore Nations 0 The dealing of the United States with-Cuba is infamous. If you don't C think so read what we print below from o a the Columbia State:a The Latin races are accustomed to I, sneer at the hypocrisy of the Anglo- tl Saxon. Frenchman, Spaniard and Ital- 5 ian regard cant as a characteristic of a British and American expression, and they marvel much at the curious bent f of mind which causes the men of these nations to cloak all their evil purposes c with the pretence of high and holy mo tives. Even more do they marvel at this becau -e the cloak is threadbare from overmuch use and utterly fails to l conceal that which it attempts to cover. - The solemnity of this moral pretence is male even more absurd by its utter M fatuity. Does the Anglo Saxon sue ceed in fooling himself? asks the Ls- 's tin; how can he? And ss he can neither delude himself nor the rest of 4 mankind by the assumption of holiness to in hs worst works, what is the use of i it all? The Latin is right. In this respect the Anglo Saxon is his inferior, for he t not only sins as freely as any other in dividual of the human family but he of aids to that sin the further vice of hy pocrisy-and all to no effect except the b creation of a universal disgust. The Latin does not trouble himself to be m hyporit'cal. He takes a pleasure W rather in being frank about the mo tives for his wickednesses. If he a wishes to conquer another he admits ti that he does so for the sake of glory; to if he wishes to seize upon the property w of another he acknowledges that he is a! actuated by. the desire for loot; if he to wishes to appropriate the rights of another he proclaims that he does it t for the sake of power. He is above the contemptible meanness of alleging that do he indulges these appetites simply for in the good of the victim. When the United States went to war n with Spain in orderto "liberate" Cuba, M Spaniards and Frenchmen, relying t up )n their generalization of the Anglo- P1 Saxon character, insisted that the Pt pledge contained in the Teller resolu- se tion would be violated and that a way h would be found to hold the Cubans in subj -ction to the conquerors. Time has w proven that they were right; time has t shown that the honor of the United fi States, pledged in this matter, is as little regarded as it was when the Uai * ted States administration in the spring I of 1361 pledg-d itself not to disturb the stattis quo regarding Fort Sumter and h telegraphed south, "Faith as to Sumter U fully kept," when an expedition was la actually in making to violate the hu agreement. Spanish official papers P which we read in the interior of Cuba f before the close of the war, appealing cI to the Cubans to make commaoa cause with Spain for the reason that they would be betrayed by the United States and placedt under alien control, 01 were prophetic in their warning. The Cubans refused to believe this, and we could not imagine such bad faith in view of the professions with which the war had been entered upon; but ha the event proved that they were right. For a concentrated exhibit of Anglo: Saxon hypocrisy in its most loathsome ti form we commend to the public th~e in augural address of President McKinley ai delivered recently. Nothing in D~ck- T ens is more illustrative of that con- F temptible vice than this deliverance of the chief magistrate of the United 0! States on his assumption of the powersb of government for a second term. The t whole address is permeated with cant and false pretence. It gives one the u; creeps to read it. The president is t( "glad to be advised by the recent actt of congress of the policy which the oc legislative bra-ach of the government P deems essential to the best interests of ~ Cuba and the Ucited SWates"-a policy ~ which the president himself formulated a and forced through c~ngress by maans which can be characteriz ed only as P bribery. The same nauseous pretence al of obeying the mandate o'f congress is t made in regard to the Philippines-- .' when congress in this matter, as in l the Cuban matter, acte d only upon the h combined influences of menace and se duction proceeding from the executive. li The address fitly concludes with the hi assertion that "the government's rep- gi resentatives, civil and military, are do- ti ing faithful and noble work in their E mission of EM ANCIPATIONand meritb the approval and support of their cous- it trymnen." Faugh! We conclude with an editorial from i8 th a Chicago Times-Herald, whose edi- u tor. Mr. Kohlsaat, is a personal friend Ci of President McKinley and a Republi- E can. Let the administration be judged byanhonest friend! But yesterday the word of this re- gi public might, like that of Caesar's. bk have stood against the world. Today ti who so weak or simple in all the courts fi of nations as to do it reverence? i The Times-Herald has a word of 2 comment to offer upon the Cuban anendment to the army bill as an orig. inal proposition. It may contain the i wisest provisions that could be devised li for establishing peace arid giving aa stable government to the island. n What we insist upon is that the Uni ted States was not free to adoot any q such conditions and hang them about ri the Deck of Cuba. It was pledged to a strike the Spanish fetters from an op pressed and shamefully abusued people, with a so'emn disavowal of any pur pose of substituting American rule, however beneficent, in its place.. s We wish The Times-Herald had the tI space to reproduce one tit'e of the le fervent utternees that accompanied fil the adoption of the now notorious rem- ti olutions of A pril 20, 1898. They fill si pages and pages of the Congressional el Record, and in the light of the action a of the senate this week they ring falser i than the kiss of Judas. di How the senators hoped and prayed be tha the sarved and scourged people te f Cula would not be betrayed wit be promise of freedom only to b aught to look with suspicion and h: red upon the Stars and Siripes as the gad looked on the hated yellow fhg c pain! The air of both houses of cngre ras surcharged with electric eloquen< hat contrasted American honor wit panish perfidy. Such a cool headed senator as Knut felson of Minnesota declared the here were "better and strange rounds for our reaognizing the Cuba rpublia than there was for recognis 2 the Uaited S:ates by France i 778. To ignore Gom- z and the Cuba .public," laid he, "teems to me to b old, icy heartlebsrees, unworthy reat na'ion and a great people." Intervention and independence ft uba wre on the lips and in the vote f a majyrity of the senate, and almo unanimous house during the nigh f April 18, 1898, when the famousrest itions went back and forth betwee ie two houses until they came to nil agreement which let slip the at lies of the Unitea States for th nanci pation of the Republic of Cub oom the thrall of Spain. Senator Stewart regarded "the re )gnition of the independence of Cub 3 a condition precedent to any intei rence whatever." He repudiated al iggestion of "hostile constraint e it riots who have strug~gled as th uban patriots have." It was "with much hesitation an' ugh sadness" Senator Hawley dis used the declaration of the independ ice of Cuba which he opposed. Our own Senator Cullom denounce ain-as a robber nation, and appealec every "lover of freedom and hu anity the world over" to further th cred cause of Cuban independence. In concluding hisespeech on the q ies on April 15, 1898, this what Sena r Teller said in repudiating the ide a war (.f aggrandizement: "Mr. President, I want the senate )fore we conclude this debate, to Ea; the world in the mot emphati anner that we do not in'end in an; ay or manner to derive benefit fron is intervent-on. Spain is too weal id too poor to pay indemnity. I wan te Senate to say that we do not in nd to take that isleand; that wbatevet e may do as to some other islands to this island, the great bone of con ntion, we do not intend to take i om the legally constituted authori as of the island as now established. "At the proper time, if no one els >es so, I propose to offer some amend ent to the jint resolution that shal ake it clear to the world that it shal >t be said by any European govern ent when we go out to make battle r the liberty and freedom of Cubai striots that we are doing it f 2r thi irpose of aggrandizement for our Ives or.increasing of our territoria >ldings." And Mr. Teller was as good as hi ard, as the concluding disavowal o ,e resolutions of April 20, 1898, testi s. Yet Senator Teller last Tuesday voted rivet American suzerainty on Cubs the place of Spanish shackles. By that vote he and his associates Lve strpped the intervention of the sited States on behalf of Cuba of thi it vestige of disinterestedness and ve written hypocrisy and shamelesi iridy like a blister across the hitherti ir and untarnished brow of Ameri ,n honor. WH&T Ii A GENTLEMAN? anner Morgan Has Proven Himself t ha Entitledto That Honor. What is a gentleman? 'ihe q'sestio1 L been variously answered. Admire impon's view is that it requires cer sin specific ndvantares of early educa on and training to make a gentlemsn that is so, then gentlemanliness i Sacquired art, not a natural gift his is not a great advance on the ci aglish social dctrine that gentlemne e born, not made. But in this dem ratic age and c unt-y neither hig rth nor liberal education is essentia ths making of a true gentleman. When Gunner Morgan, in spite of th ifavorable endorsement of his lette Admira! Sampson, cal'ei on the lat r and exjrressed his regret that th rrespondence should have been s iblished as to annoy the admiral, b ent so far to sb o y himself a gentlema: the true sense of the term. it wa gentle deed, justifying Steele's o'c rvtion in the Tatler that "the at ,llation of gentleman is never to b xd to a man's circumstances, bu his behavior in them." Old Chan trs curiously spell opinion. That h gentil that doth gentle dedis sti] >lds gooe in the high court of commo: se. We speak of men "behavin be gentlemen," but the phr ase is un appy. A man cannot behave like nteman unless he is one-for siflec ,tin or insincerity is itself bad man rs. "Nothing can constitute goce eeding that has not good nature fo s foundation," says Bulwer. Thackeray's definition of a gentlemna: one to which thousands of men meal o up who never saw the inside of ilege or even a high school and hay 3 distinction either of birth or wealth T be a gentleman," says the autho Vanity Fair, "is co be honest," to b ,tle, to be generous, to be brave, t 3 wise, and, possessing all these quali es, to exercise them in the most grace il outward manner." The great ies st Huxley puts it a little different an' skes a just distiretion when he says Thoughtfulness for others, generosity odesty, and self respect are the quali es which make a real gentleman c dy, as distinguiched from the veneere -ticle which commonly goes by tha ae." Jdged by these high standards iti iite probab e that there are as man, a gentlemen among the gunners a nong the commissioned officers c 'nele Sam's r avy. -New York World Five Killed. Five men were killed and two-other riously injured in a mine accident a e E-igleside zinc mine in Centre Val y, Mo. The five men killed were con ied in the drift and the others were i te main shaft. Early this morniog tw tots had been fired, but the whol isrge failed to explode. This afternoo whole box of powder was sent int te mine. One of the men ac cid entall Lscharges. an unexploded shot and tb y of -powder was set off, resulting i rribl desrcion TAX MACHINERY. I y .f The Changes in the Law as to s M. king Returns. e THE AC TS RECENTLY PASSED e t r What is Ncw Provided as to the n Regarem rnts for insu'ance n Companies Working in e a This State. r The following is the text of the act a passed at the recent session of the gen t eral assembly in regard to the making t of returns of property for taxation, a measure which is of concern to the peo ple of the entire Sate: An sot to amend section 4 of an act entitled "An act to further provide for the return of property for taxation," approved the 2nd day of March, A. D., 1897, Eo as to make township assessors, equalizers as well as assessors of prop erty. 1 Section 1. Be it enacted by the gen eral assembly of the State of South Carolina, that section 4 of an act en titled "An act to further provide for the return and assessment of property for taxation, approved the 2nd day of March, A. D., 1897, be amended by striking out in line 20 the words "but not" and inserting in lieu .thereof the word "or," and by inserting on line 40 between the words "greater' and "them" the words "by one hundred dol lars or more," and that said section be further amended by inserting the fol lowing words between the words "them" and "said" in line 27 of the 1 section, to wit: "but they shall not re duc3 the aggregate value of real -andi personal property below the aggregate value thereof as returned to the county ! auditor," so that said section 4, when so ascended shall read as follows: Scction 4 The township board of 4 commissiorers and special board of as- I sensors shall meet annually on the first t Tuesday in March, or as soon there after as practicable, at some convenient place for the purpose of performing the duties devolved upon them. It shall be their duty to carefully con sider the returns and lists laid before I them by the county auditor aLd if I necessary to compare the same, with the tax return and duplicate of the previous year or years. They shall < diligently seek for and discover all property, both real and personal, in their respective tax districts not pre- t vicusly returned by the owner or agents thereof or not listed for taxa tion by the county auaitor, and there upon it shall be their duty to list the same for taxation in the name of the r owner or person to whom it is taxable. t It shall thereupon be their further duty c to fairly and impartially assess the t value of all property both real and per sonal in their respective tax district,. e entering upon their returns and lists furnished them. And they shall have the right in performing their duties thereunder to increase or to lower the t valuation of any property real or per- c sonal as fixed by the county auditor, or i as returned by any person; and it shall -not be deemed material whether the re turns so increased was intentionally or e unintentionally false, or whether the 1 property whose value is so raised was< intentionally or unintentionally re turned at less than its fair cash value by the county auditor, and upon the lists made out by them, the valuation 4 fixed by them "but they shall not reduce the aggregate value of real and psr sonal property5 below the aggregate value thereof asreturned to the county auditor," said returns and li.sts, with said va!uation, to be by them laid be fore the county auditor on or before the 3rd Tuesday cf March of each year Sexcept that for the township of Fiorencei in the county of Florence for the year 11897, the same to be laid before the I county auditor on or before the 31st ofa Mlaroh. Provided, however, that real i estate shall be value.d and assessed by said boards only.in those years when real estate is by law required to be re r turned, except that said boards may in any year value and assess any real es tate and improvcements theieon which Sthey may ascertain or discover had not Spreviously been retured or assessed for taxation. Whenever the valuation s ad assessments of any property is -fixed by said boards, at a sum greater Sby one hundred dollars more than the amount returned by the owners or his t agents, or whenever any property is valusd and assessed to taxation which has not been previously returned, it shall be the duty of the county auditor on or before the fourth Monaay in SMarch of the year in which the valu -tion and assessment is made, to give to the owner or agent of such property written notice thereof, which notice may1 h e served upon such owner or his agent I rpersonally, or by mailing the same to rsuch person or his agent at his last known place of residence, and such owner or his agent, if he objects to sashI -valuation and assessment, shall have Sthe right to appeal to the county board of commissioners sitting as the county board of equalization, which appeal] shall be heard by said county board. T 'ho account of the county auditor for the necessary stationery and postage, -to enable him to give the notice herein -required, shall be a valid claim againsti the county, and shall be paid as other c ounty claims are paid. Nothing in this act contained shall be construed as in-< terfering with the duty of the county of1 radding 50 per cent. to the value of per-] sonal property as a penalty, as pro-< vided in sections 279, 295 and 297, of the Revised Statutes of 1993, nor with 1 the duties of the county auditor as pro- < scribed in secti n 290 of the Revised ~ Satutes of 1893. "Sec. 2. That all acts and parts of acts inconsistent with this act be, and -the sisme are hereby repealed." INSURANCE CoMPBANIEs. 4 And here is the act amending the 4 law in regard to insurance companies, 1 -throwing further protection around the 4 policy -holders:< An act to amend an act entitled "An act to amend sections 1 and 2 of an actj entitled 'An act to require any insur Sance company or association to be poa-1 ,sessed of one hundred thousand dollarsI y surplus or capital, or in lieu thereof to e have one hundred thousand dollars on m deposit with some State for the benefit1 a f all policy holders, or in lieu thereof to deposit with the treasurer of this State valid State securities aggregating ten thousand dollars, said securities to be subject to any judgment against said compsoies, and said iudgment shall operate as a loan on such secr and providing a penalty for the viola Lion of the provisions of this act.' " Section 1. Be it enacted by the gen eral assembly of the State of Soutq Oarolina, that section 1 of said act as amended, be further amended by add ing to section 1 the following proviso: Provided, however, that all five insur ance companies incorporated under the laws of this State, with a capital stock Df $25,000 or more shall not be com pelkd to deposit certain valid securities or bond as above required; provided, said company shall procure and file with the comptroller general a certi fleate of the county auditors in coun ties where stockholders reside; that the majority of the stockholders in the 3aspital of said corporation are free holders, and reside within the State, are worth the amount of their stock subscribed to the capital of said cor poration over all their debts and liabili ties, and exclusive of property exempt by law from cxecution; so that when imended said section will read as fol Lows: Sec. 1 Be it enacted by the general assembly of the 1State of South Caro fina, that it shall be uJawful hereafter for any insurance company or associa:, .ion to transact any business in this State unless possessed of at least one hundred thousand dollars or surplus or sapital, or in lieu thereof, shall file with he comptroller general the certificate :-f the official of some State of the United States, under his hand and offi ial seal, that he holds on deposits or is irust, for the benefit of all policy hold rs or members of such company or as sociation, securities worth at least one mnndred thousand dollars, or in the ibsence of such capital or deposit, then o deposit with the State Treasurer of South Carolina, valid securities aggre ating $10,000, or a bond for said imount made by a solvent security company, said treasurer to be the judge if the validity of such securities and onds, whici bond shall be conditioned o pay any judgment entered up in any Court of competent jurisdiction in this htate, upon a policy of insurance issued o any cit'sen of this State by any such iompany, and said judgment shall be lien-upon such securities: Provided, oweve r, that all fire insurance com >anies incorperated under the lass of his State, with a capital stock of $25, !00 or more, shall not be compelled to leposit said valid securities on bond as bove r qrired, provided said company hall procure and file with the eomp roller general the certificates of the ounty auditors annually in counties here stockholders reside, that the ma ority of the stockholders in capital of aid stockholders are free holders and eside within the State, and are worth he amount of their subscription to the apital of said corporation, over all heir debts and liabilities, and exclu ive of property exempt by law from xecution. A Warning. The secretary of state asks that at ention be called the fact that a law ra passed by the legislature prevent og any officer from discharging the uties of his position until he had iven bond and had been commission d. College trustees, members of State cards, constables,.eteo, are considered dicers under the law, so are other nembers of boards of various char eters who are provided for by the egilature. They get but little per iem or mileage, but they cannot 1e ally assume duty of act until they ave been duly commissioned by the ecretary of state, They do not have o0 pay any for this commission; it is a nere matter of form. A great many nembers of various kinds of boards iave neglected to carry out the pro risions of the law, and their attention s called ~to the fact. The new act in eed makes it unlawful to fail to file he oaths and get a commission before btempting to discharge the duties in icated.-rhe State. Decided Decrease. The clerk of the State board of pen ions stared Tuesday that the approved -olls of pensioners had been sent in by nest of the county boards. It is note orthy that these rolls show a decided Lerease in the number of pensioners as ompared with last year's list. This is >robably due to the operation of the rovisions of the new act now of force hrowing greater safeguards around the ibursement of the pension appropria ion. Despite the fact that many of he counties have sent in their lists, he lists will have to be returned for re risien, owing to defects. This of tourse, will of necessity delay the neeting of the State board, and con iequently checks will likely reach the sensioners later than usual.-The 3ate. Forest Fires.^ The winds of the past few days have yeen productive of very serious and xtensiva forest fires in various por ion of this and Lexington counties ud much loss of property has resulted. jews of the fires in this county reach d Columbia Weduday. They have been ery destructive in the turpentine and aw mill sections near Killian's on the ine of the Southern rialway and also spon the line of the Seaboard towards Jmden. After hard fighting the citi sens managed to check the onward rush f the flames, but not before much raluable timber had been lost. Over in Lexington considerable damage of this haracter has also bee n done- For sey ral nights the glare of forest fires has een visible from high points in this ity. Ina Bad Way. Minnesota has a noveliy in Beltranm ounty, which is bankrupt and in a ondition bordering on anarchy. A ourt decision which allows logging ompanies to avoid the payment of seck taxes has caused the trouble. The ounty has no money and no-fuel for its ~flices, and merchants have long since -ef used to accept warrants. The county iiege and jurors have gone out on strike md most of the offices have been closed >y their occupants. The sherifE, who ras been caring for his prisoners at his >wn expense, threatens to turn them oose so that he can hunt fot a job that will support his family. The legisla -ur isbing supplicated for aid. WHAT IT COSTS. Congress Expended Nearly a _vBtillion and Haif Dollars. IMPERiALISM COMES HIGH. Congressman Livingston Says That the Half That Is Can templated Has Not Been Put In Operation. Representative Cannon, chairman of the house committee on appropriations, and Representative Livingston, the senior Democratic member of the com mittee, have prepared statements of the appropriations of the 56th congress. Both place the total appropriations i for the congress at $1,440,062,545, plac ing those for the first session at $710, 150,862 and for the second a $729,911, 683. Mr. Cannon publishes a table showing the expenditures of the pre vious congress at $1,568,212,637 and Mr. Livingston makes a comparison with the 54th congress which appropri ated $1,044,580,273. In his statement Mr. Cannon says: "Of the total appropriations made at this session, at least $30,000,000 will not, in the light of past experienee, be expended. This considerable margin between actual expenditures and appro priations made by congress indicates a sum total of expenditures during the fiscal year 1902 of not exceeding *699, 911,683 07. This sumincludes$53,000, 000 on account of the sinking fund re quirements for the fiscal year 1902, which, of course, under she tershe of the law, will be met only to such extent as surplus revenues in the treasury may permit. After meeting the full est ordinary requirements of the public service under the appropriations which have been made, there will surely re main sufficient revenue for 1902 to meet not less than $30,000,000 of the require ments of the sinking fund. "The most marked increase indicated in the appropriations for ordinary ex penses of the government made for the two years 1901 and 1902 at the two sea sions of this congress over those of the k two preceding years 1899 and 1900, pro vided for by the 55th congress, is for the postal service. The necessity of these increased appropriations to meet large business 'demandsis referred to as a cause for congratulation. The ap propriations have been reduesd $128, 150,091 by this congress under those previded for by its predecessor and this has rendered possible a reduction of taxes in the sum of $41,000,000. "With a continuance of -the wise ad ministration enjoyed by the country, there is every reason to anticipate a further reduction of public expendi tures in the near future and a corre sponding further reduction of taxes." MR LIVINGSTON SAYS: "The 54th congress was the last one that made appropriations for the sup port of the government prior to the beginning of the Spanish-American war. "The 56th congress is the first on gress appropriating for the support of the gvernment since the close of the o-aldSpanish.A mariaan war. -The ifference between the appropriations made by the 56th congress and those made by the 54th congress are $395, 482,272. During the session just closed the de mands of the people, through their representatives, for the construction of the Nicaragua canal, have gone un heeded, and those for new public build ings have been persistently denied. The river and harbor bill has been permitted to fail. The payment of just laims of honest people against the government has not been provided for. "l'he most casual examination of the table makes comment practically un necessary. Is shois that the army for each of the two years prior to the Spanish-Amnerican war cost a little over $23 000,000, and but little more than $46,000,000 for the two years cov ered by the 54th congress, while for the two years since that war--1901 and 1902 -it cost $115,000,000, or $230,000,000 for the two years, exclusive of the de fiiencies that have been provided for in large sums out of appropriations made for expanses of the Spanish war during the 55th congress. The navy cost for the two years 1897 and 1898, $63,362,000, while for the years 1901 and 1902 the appropria tions reachel nearly $144,000,000. For the payment of pensions the ap propriations show an increase of nearly $8,000,000 for the two years. "In a word, this table shows that the prie to the people of the I;olicy of this administration that has been thrust upon them by thie Republican partyis, in round numbers, $400,000,000 within a period of two years, and the half that is contemplated has not yet been put in operation." Wagon Train Ambushed. A wagon train and a detachment of the signal corps, together with six Ma cbebe scouts were attacked by the in surgents about midway between the towns of Silang and Damasmarinas, in Cavite provine P. L. Three ~Ameri ans were killed and two of the Maca bebe scouts were wounded, while one man is missing. Four horses and one mule were killed. Capt. Mair, with do taohments of infantry and cavalry from Silang, arrived at the scene of the sur prise too late to intercept the enemy's retreat._____ ___ Chinese Cruelty. The empress of India, arriving from China, brings an account of the barbar ous murder of Capt Watts Jones. It is said that he was received with apparent. friendliness in the yamen of Sha 8i and was in the act of receiving his pass port when his hands were struck off, He was then taken outside the yamen, sliced in several pieces and his head ut ofE. His companion, a Roman Catholic bishop, was put to a lingering death, his tortures beins inflicted so gradually that it was four days before death relieved him. Convicts Mutinied. A dispatch from Florence to a news agency says a serious mutiny of con vits has occurred at Santa Caterina prison, resulting in the military being called out and 10 of the convicts being killed and 57 wounded. The mutiny is Mattribue toapor fand at the prison.