Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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VOL. XVI. MANNING, S. C., WEDNESDAY. FEBRUAR CAME TO BLOWS. Senators Tillman and McLaurin Has a Fist Fight ON THE FLOOR OF THE SENATE. Tillnan Charged MCLaurin With Seliing His Vote for Patron age Which McLaurin Said Was a Malicious Lie. The chamber of the United States Senate was the scene of a fist fight be tween Senators McLaurin and Tillman on last Saturday. In the course of a speech on the Philippine question Sen ator Tillman became involved in a lively colloquy with Senator Spooner. of Wisconsin. regarding the ratifi-a tion of the Paris treaty. Mr. Tillman referred to Mr. Spooner's comments in his speech yesterday upon t~he part taken by Wm. .1. Bryan in securing the ratitication of the treaty. lie agreed with the Wisconsin se:nator that the influence of Mr. Bryan was potent, but insisted that ev-en his in fluence was not suflicient t, induce the senate to ratify the treaty. After he had done all that it was possible fur him to do. 'Mr. Tillman asserted,. the Republicans yet lacked votes enough to secure ratifcation. "You know." he shouted. shaking his finger at the Republic:an side. -how those votes necessary were se cured." "How were they secured," de manded Mr. Spooner. "I know, if the senator does n't," replied Mr. -Tillman." "I have re ceived information in confidence from that side of the chamber. I know from that that improper influences were used in getting those votes." "Name the man." insisted Mr. Spooner, "upon whom those influences were brought to bear. It is due the senator and due the country that he name him. A man who impeaches another in confidence is a coward. If the senator knows of any man who has been improperly influenced he should name him." "I know," asserted Mr. Tillman. "that the patronage-the federal pat age-of a State has been parceled out to a senator since the ratification of that treaty." "What State?" demanded 31r. Spooner. "South Carolina." shouted Mr. Till man. . "Then." said Mr. Spooner. "I leave you to fight the matter out with your colleague. " "Well." retorted Mr. Tillman. "I never shirk the responsibility for a statement I make. I know that Mc Laurin voted for the treaty: I know that improper influences were brought to bear: I know what I believe." "You simply believe," retorted Mr. Spooner. "what you do not know." This ended the incident for the time, but the feeling engendered mani fested itself later in a thrilling and sensational scene. Soon after Mr. Tillman concluded his remarks. Mr. McLaurin, who had just entered the chamber. arose and addressed the Senate. "Mr. President,'' he began, "I rise to a question of personal privilege." He had voiced less than a dozen words, yet the excitement by this time had become intense. All seemed to realize that a portentous event was about to happen. -"During my absence," con-I tinued Mr. McLaurin, "a hfew moments ago from the senate cham ber, in attendance upon the committee on Indian affairs, the senator who has just taken his seat said that im proper influence had been used in changing the vote of somebody on that treaty, and then went on later and said that it applied to the senator1 from Soutn Carolina who had been given the patronage in that State. I think I got the sense of the contro versy. 1 desire to state. Mr. Presi dent-I would not use as strong lan guage as I intend had I not soon af ter the senate met replied to those in sinuations and sala that they, were un true. "I1 now' say.'' continued Mr. McLaurin. with distinct emphasis upon every word. and half turning to ward his colleague. Mr. Tillmnan, who sat in the same row only three seats away, "that the statement is a will ful, malicious and deliberate lie.' Mr. McLaurin got no further with his statement. Mr. Tillmnan. who was occupying his regular seat on the main aisle. sprang with tiger like ferocity at his colleague. Mr. Teller of Colorado. who was sitting at his desk between the two South Carolina senators, was swept aside without ceremony. In deed, the infrulated Tillmnan climbed over num in his effort to reach Mc Laurin. Without the slightest hesit a tion McLaurin sprang to meet the at tack half way. Trillman aimed a wild blow at his colleague with his right tist. It landed upon McLaurin's forehead. just above the left eye, al though its force was partially spent upon McLauriu's arm, which he raised in an effort to parry the blow. Instantly McLaurin's right arm shot out, the blow landing upon Till mans face..apparently upon the nose. Again Tillmnan struck out, this time with his left hand. The blow did not land upon McLaurin. Then followed a wild scrimmage, both senators clutching at each other madly. Mr. Foraker moved that the 8enate go into executive sessionI. Without comment. every senator laboring yet under the emotion which all endeav ored to conceal, the motion was agreed to and at 2.52 the doors were closed. The proceedings after the doors were closed covered almo.st two hours of time and resulted in the adoption of a resolution in the form of an ordor. as follows: ''Ordere-d. that the two seniators from the~ Stte of Mouth Carolina he declared in contemp~t of the senate on account of the altcreationl and person al encounter between them this day in open -that the matter be referred to t committee on privil eges and elections with instructions to report what action shall be taken by the senate. in regard thereto." The discsion which occurred im t''e secret ssi a ae a~l upon the above resolutil. ti- irst suggestion w which was' made by MTr. 1 raker. In presentingz the resolution imiendiately' after the doozrs of the chamber were cl"sI. Mr. IAoraker i -ook oKcasionto eak O ha1,1 thle - cturrence had been an ottrage upion the di'nity of tl senate of which the Senate should take Co igni/.ance. Mr. HIoar wanlte(I the two Sent!ators arrested. Mr. Blackburn stated that the t'wo South Carolina senators were i willing to apologize and thus purge tleisives of the contempt. ali in view of this statement Mr. ll-ar with drew the portion of his amend ment prviding for t heir commit ment. On the surg-estion af Mr. I aCon there was a division of the two branches of the tuestion. The first vote was taken on the declaration that. the two senators were in contempt. and it prevailed by a unanimoirus vote of 61 to Q on a roli call. The remain (er of I he reso ilut ion r Ir the mat ter to the committee (n privileges and election; was adopted without a roll call. Both the South Carolina senators remained in their seats during the en tire secret session. Th1ey conferred occasionally with their friends but neither made any atternpt to address the senate. On motion of Mr. Blackburn the floor was accorded the Sut h Carolina senaturs and each of them apologized to the senate. Senators W'arren and Seatt, btoh of whom are powerful men. rushed to wards the combatants to separate them. Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms Layton sprang over desks in his elfort to reach the belligerent senators. Just as he seized MCLaurin. Tiilman aimed a left haided blow at his col league which struct Mr. Layton in the face. Fort unately the blow was glanc ing ant did no special harm. Mr. Layton tore them apart. Btoh sena tors still were striking wildly at each other. some of the blows landing upon Mr. Layton. An instant later. the angry senators were pinioned in the arms of Senators Scott and Warren. They wers dragg ed further apart. although they still made ineffectual etforts to reach each other. Finally they were forced into their seats. Mr. M3eLaurin. although very pale. seemed to be the calmer of the two. Mir. Tillman was as white as a sheet. As he sat in his seat. he drew his handkerchief from his poc ket and wiped blood froom his face that seemingly was flowing slightly from his nose. Until that time it had not been supposed that blood had been drawn in the encounter. During the tight senators all over the chamber were on their feet. Not a word. however, was spoken. The senate never in its history had receiv ed such a shock. . The president protein, was the first to regain composure. In calm and unimpassioned tones. he directed that the senate be in order. He rapped sharply two or three times with his gavel and in a few minutes a sem blance of order was obtained. although senators, having by this time partially recovered from the shock moved hur riedly about the chamber. SEED COTTON. The Full Text of the Bill to Regulate the Tr-affic Therein. Following is the text of the bill-to regulate the traffic in seed cotton just passed by the Legislature. Sectio'n 1. That the traffic in seed cotton by purchase, barter or exchange without license is hereby prohibited. Sec. 2. That the supervisor in each county in this State shall annually is sue licenses to trattc in seed cotton by purchase. barter or exchange, withi the period beginning the 1st day of August and ending -the 20th day of December of each year, to such per son or persons as shall file with the re spective board of county commission ers a written application therefor, the g-anting of which shall be recommend ea by at least one hundred land own ers, resident within the township wherein said applicant intends to do business: such license shall specify the exact place whereat the said business shall be carried on and the period with in which such trattic is permitted, and shall continue in force between the 1st day of August and the 20th day of December of the year said license has been granted: and for such license if granted. a fee of not less than five hundred dollars shall be paid by the applicant to the county supervisor. who shall, after deducting a commis sion of 10 per cent..- pay over to the county treasurer, to be applied to the ordinary county expenses. all moneys collected by him from said licenses. Sec. 3. That any person who shall hereafter trailic in seed cotton by pur chase, barter or exchange, without first having obtained a license, as above provided, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction, shall be punished for each offense by a fine of not less than five hundred dollars. or by imprisonment for not more than 30 days on the chaingang. Sec. 4. That any person to whom: license to tratlic in seed cotton may be granted shall keep at said place of busness a book in which shall be en tered the date of every purchase. fr-om whom purchased and the quantity purchased, which book shall always be open to inspection of persons ap~plying therefor-: and any per-son to wham a license may be granted as herein pro vided failing to comply with the re quirements of this act,. or any per son or persons who shall, on convic tion, be liable to the penalties speci fied in section 3 of this act: Provided That the provisions of this act shall not apply to sea island ir long~t stapie cotton. Sec. 5. That it shall be the duty of the respective supervisors to farce tihe prov .'imns of this act. Afraid of Them. The lo-publicans in their. iast plat formnO delred that territories should ie adlmit ted as stats as soon as they came upi 1o a re.asoinable standard. Oklhoa. ';w Mexico and .Kr-zona art now pleu iing for statehod and have much b ett er zualitications nod prospects than sererail of the stat~ we h-ave already. IBut it is feared that they will go Demnocratic and this is enough to kill their chances with a Repulienan congr-ess. FINDS FOR NEITIER. President Roosevelt's Reply to Ad miral Schley's Appeal. HE AGREES WITH THE BOARD. Sampson's Charges Against Schley Refute Themselves: Schley Erred in the Loop. and Neither Won Glory. The fo0llowing. in part. is President IRoosevelts meimorandumi uipon t he ap peal of Admiral Schley: "It appears that the court of inquiry was unanimous in its finding of fact and unanimous in its expressions .of opinon on most of its findings in fact. No appeal is made to me from the ver dict of the court on these points where it was unanimous. I have, however. gone carefully over the evidence on these points also. I am satisfied that on the whole the court did substantial justice. It, should have specifically c''ndeined the failure to enforce an enlCient night M,1ockade r.t Santiago while Admiral Schley was in command. On the other hand. I feel that there is a rasnable doublit whether he did not move his s:uadron with sufficient exp2dition from port to port. CENSURE FOiR s.AMPsoN. The court, is; unit in condemning Admiral Schley's action on the point where it seems to me he mot gravely erred: (his retrograde mr)vement) when he abandoned the blockade. and his disobedience of orders and mis statement of facts in relation thereto. It should be. remembered. however. that the majority of these actions which the court censures occurred tive weeks or more before the tight itself: and it certainly seems that if Admi ral Schley's actions were censurable he should not have been left as second in command under AdmiralSampon. His offenses were in effect condoned when he was not called to account for them. Admiral Sampson. after the tight, in an official letter to the, department al luded fol the first time to Admiral Schley's 'reprehensible eonduct' six weeks previously. If Admiral Schley was guilty of reprehensible conduct of a kind which called for such notice from Admiral Sampson, then Admiral Sampson ought not to have left him as senior oflicer of the blockading squadron on the 3d of July, when he (Sampson) steamed away on his proper errand of communication with Gen. Shafter. IS SPECIAL CREDIT DUE ANYONE? "We can therefore for our purposes dismiss consideration of so much of the appeal as relate to anything ex cept the battle. As regards this, the point raised in the appeal is between Admiral Sampson and AdmiralSchley. as to which was in command, and as to which was entitled to the credit. if either of them was really entitled to any unusual preeminent credit by any speciai exhibition of genius, skill anct courage. "The appeal of Admral Schley to me is not, as to this, the chief point he raises, really an appeal from the decision of the court of inqjuiry. Five sixths of the appeal is devoted to this uestion of command and credit: that i. to matter wnich the court of in uiry did not consider. It is in effect n appeal from the action of President McKinley three years ago when he sent in the recommendations for pro motion for the various offcers con nected with the Santiago squadron, basing these recommendations upon his estimate of the credit to which the offcers were respectively entitled. What I have to decide therefore, is whether or not President McKinley did injustice in the matter. This necessarily involves a comparison of the actions of the ditf'ererent comman :ers engaged." The president quotes statements from Admirals Phlilip, Evans and Tay lor. Capt. Clark and Commander Wainwright as to Sampson's part in the battle and the extent of Schley's command. The president then refers to the hits inflicted by the American fleet upon the Spanish vessels, saying that out of 40. 11 were made by shells from the Iowa and 10 by shells from the Brooklyn. Hie briefly describes the battle and then goes on to say. "We have just cause to be proud of the vigilance and instant readiness ovr ship displayed, and the workman like elliciency with which they were handled. The most striking act was that of the 'Gloucester, a converted yacht, which her commander, Wain right, pushed into the tight through a hail of projectiles, any one of which would have sunk her, in order that he might do his part in destroying the two torpedo boats, each possessing some more than .:his own offensive power. QUEsTION OF COMMAND TECHNICAL. "The question of command is in this case nominal and technical. Ad miral Sampson's ship). New York, was seen at the outset of the fight from all the other ships except the Brook lyn. Four of these live ship captains lave testified that they regarded him as present and in command. lie sig naled 'close in' to the leet as soon as the iirst Spanish ship appeared. hut his signal wvas not seen by any A meri can vessel. H~e was actually undler fire f'rom the forts, and himself fired a couple of shots, at the close of the ac tion with the torpedo boats. in addi tion to signalling just at the close of the action. But during the action not a single order from him was received by any of the ships that were actively engaged. 'Admiral Schley" at the Outset of t he act ion hoisted ":he t wo signals of 'lear slip' and 'elose in.' which were simply carrying oat the standing or de:s of Admiral Samposon as to what should be donec if the enemy's ships at tempted to breal: (out of the harbor. Unt il after the close of the lirst por tion of the tight at the m outh of the harbor and until after he had made his loop anld the Spanish ships were iceing to the westward. not another A merican ship n'ot iced a signai from him. When thL' western pursuit had begun the )regon and the Oregon only noticecd and repeated one of' his signals of command. The captain of the Oregon then regarded him as in coin -ad but did not in nny shape or way exeeite a)y movement or any actior iof any kind whatsoever in accordanc with any order fromi him. EA i C T.U N FOR HIMSELF. "In short the question as to whiel of the tw) men. Admiral Sampson o1 Admiral Schley. was at the time ir command. ii of merely nominal char acter. Technically Sampson corn manded the fleet. and Schlev. as usual, the western division. The actual fact, the important fact. is that after th( bat tle was joined not a helm wa shifted. not a gun was tired, not a pound of steam was put on in the en gine room aboard of any ship actively engaged. in obedience to the order of either S:impson or Schley, save or 1heir own two vessels. It was a cap tain's tight. "Therefore the credit to which eacl of the tw> is entitled rests on matters apart from the claii of nominal com mand over the squadron: for so far as the actual fight was concerned neither one nor the other in fact exercised any command. Sampson was hardly more than technically in t Mhe ight. His real claim fo;r credit rests upon his work as commander-in-chief: upon the excel lence of the blockade: upon The preparedness of the squadron: upon the arm of the shi ps headon in a semi circle around the harbor; and the standing orders in accordance with which they instantly moved to the at tack of the Spaniards when the latter appeared. For all these things the credit is his. THE 'LoP' WAS AN ERROR. "Admiral Schley is rightly entitled -as is Capt. Cook-to the credit of what the Brooklyn did in the tight. On the whole she did well: but I agree with the unanimous finding of the three admirals who composed the court of inquiry as to the "loop." It, seri ously marred the Brooklyn's otherwise excellent 'record. being in fact the one grave mistake made by any American ship that day. Had the Brooklyn turned to the westward, that is, in the same directicn that the Spanish were going, instead of in the contrary direction, she would undoubtedly have been in more "dangerous proximity" to them. But it would have been more dangerous for them as well as for her! This kind of danger must not be too ni(-ely weighed by those whose trade it is to dare greatly for the honor of the flag. Moreover, the danger was not as great as that which. in the selfsame monient. menaced Wainwright's fragile craft as he drove forward against the foe. It was not in my judgment as great as the dan ger to whici the Texas was exposed by the turn as actually made. It cer tainly caused both the Brooklyn and the Texas materially to lose position compared to the fleeing Spanish ves sels. But after the loop had once been taken Admiral Schley handled the Brooklyn manfully as well. She and the Oregon were thenceforth the head most of the American vessels-though the Iowa certainly.~and seemingly the Texas also, did as much hammering to a standstill the Viscaya. Oquendo and the Teressa: while the Indiana did all her eastward position and crip pled machinery permitted. In the chase of the Colon the Brooklyn and Oregon share the credit between them. SU~SrAINs 31'KINLEY'S RIECO3DIENDA TIONS. "Under such circumstances it seems to me that the recommendations of President McKinley were eminently proper, and that so far as Admirals Sampson and Schley were concer-ned it would have been unjust for him to have made other recommendations. Personally I feel that in view of Capt. Clarks long voyage in the Oregon anrd the condition in which he brought her to the scene of service, as well as the way in which he actually managed her before and during the fight it would have been well to have give-1 him the same advancement that was given Wainwright. But waiving this;. it is evident that Wainwright wa s entitled to receive more than any o.f the other commanders; and that it was just to Admiral Sampson that he should receive a greater advance in numbers than Admiral Schley-there was nothing done in the battle that warranted any unusual reward for either. In short, as regards Admira s Sampson and Schley I find that Presi dent McKinley did substantial justice. and that there would - be- no warrant for reversing his action. "Both Admiral Sampson and Ad miral Schley are now on the retired lis;. in concluding their report the members of the court of inquiry, Admirals Dewey. Benham and Ramsay, unite in stating that they recommend that no further action be had in the mat ter. With this recommendation I most heartily concur. There is rno excuse whatever from either side for any further agitation of this unhappy cotroversy. To keep it alive wouid merely do damage to the navy and to the country. .Theodore Roosevelt." Shredding Corn. The mhodern method of harvesting corn has not been generally adopted yet in any portion of the South. Wasteful methods that have always prevailed. arnd are still practiced. The blades are sometimes stripped from the stalks by hand and (cured for fodder. but experience has . shown that this fodder does not pay for the labor of gathering and curing. The ears are snatched from the stalks, throwvn in small heaps, and afterwvards a wagon comes along and the ears picked up, thrown into the wagon and hauled away. The other half of the crop is left to brave the weather and be con sumed by wind and rain: and if any part of it remains when plowing time comes it is piled and buried to the deteiment of the soil. The modern way is to recap the corn, as well as the wheat, and in much the same manner the machine cutting the stalks and tying in bundles, ready to be set up in shocks. Trhe ears may be seperated Iat any time husked and shelled, or the husking and shelling can be done as needed. The stalks. entire, may be cured and stacked and makes ex cellent fodder. Or the whole hatch can be run through a shredder and made into hay, when it will be eaten up clean by the stock. One reason for not saving the stalks is there is not live stock enough on the farm to con sume it. This is another piece of bad management. There is where the famr's profit should come from. THE TRUTH HURTS. Mr. Wheeler's Speech Cuts the Re publicans Like a Lash. HIS STINGING -REBUKE OF THE Sycophancy of the Republican Ad ministration in Dealing With Crowned Heads Makes Repub lican Representatives in Congress Rage. The speech of 'Mr. Wheeler. of Kentucky. in the House when he bit terly assailed Secretary Hay and Lord P.auurefote and criticised the onlivial prepa rations for the recep tion of lPrin-e Henry. had a sequel in the Ious Wednesday during the do bale or the Indian appropriation bill. Mr. Gillet. of Massachusetts. brought the subject forward in a speech of half an hour. Ue declared 'hat the intem peran-e of Mr. Wheeler's language carried its own condemnation. Du ring the c(urse of his speech two Demoe rats-Robinson. of Indiana, and Thayer. of Massachusetts-disclaimed any sympathy with Mr. Wheeler's utterances. Mr. Wheeler himself sub sequently replied to Mr. Gillet, re atfirming what he said and declaring that, he would stand byhis own words, whether they were discreet or not. MR. GILLET'S BLUNDER. Mr. Gillet criticised Mr. Wheeler for making the charge that the Secretary of State was a ."pitable flunky, who should be booted out of the State de partim nt." for making fun of the Ger man nation and saying he did not care for the good wi 1 of t he German peo ple. The more disgraceful such utteran ces were the more notoriety they achieved, he said, and naturally made an impression abroad. People there knew idthing of the man who gave utterance to them. They only knew of his official position as a member of the American House of Representa tives. On that account, he said. the stigma of the gentleman's speech at tached to all of the members here. At this point two Democrats arose and disclai:ned sympathy with Mr. Wheeler's remarks. TWO TI31D DEMOCRATS. Mr. Robinson, Democrat, of Indiana. amid Republican applause, declared that the Democratic party should not be held responsible for Mr. Wheeler's statements. "1 tave made no such charge." ob served Mr. Gillet. "but if gentlemen on the other side do not agree with Mr. Wheeler they should say so." This brought Mr. Thayer, of Massa chusetts, to his - feet with another staterrent that Mr. Wheeler. spoke on lv for himself. It was unjust and un fair. he said, to charge the Democra cy with being in sympathy with his utterances. "Ore after another," observed Mr. Talber t, Democrat, of South Carolina, jumpei up. "I want to say," he cried, "that I desire to take my share of the re sponsionility for that speech, I endorse every word he said and am sorry he did no)t go farther. I think those who helieve as he does should say so and not be infernal cowards about it." CONFOUNDING '"BIRTH'' AND "RACE." Continuing Mr. Gillet said the good will o1 every nation was valuable to the United States, and that it was ex ceedir gly unwise to fling a taunt in the face of a great people. Personal ly, he said, he himself, was not in sympathy with the worship of royalty. There were, he said, only two classes in this country who regarded birth. One wvas the aristocratic class of the great cities, and the other the class which refused to recognize refine ment, culture or education if it was tainted with color. But he had be lieved that the occasion of the visit of Prince Henry was a proper time for a suitable demonstration of good will. Our rslations with Germany recently had b)een almost strained and here was an opportunity to display our friend ship. Beside it would be chur lish r nd inhospitable not to welcome properly the representative of the Germain people. Just at this time also lie believed that it was proper to send embassies to England and Spain to attend the coronations, although he was not in full sympathy, generally speaking, with sich displays. A ROLAND FOR AN OLIVER. Mr. Wheeler replied to Mr. Gillet. le disclaimed any idea that on Fri day last he had spoken for any one ex cept himself. but nevertheless, he said, he believed that many people be lieved1 as he did. He said he had in numerable letters and telegrams from different parts of the country contain ing unstinted praise of his speech. For himself, he said. he preferred to tell the truth, no matter how unpalat able it might be. lie said he never had objected to receiving a distin guished foreigner with proper consid eration. What he objected to was the spirit of truculency and sycophancy that had characterized this and the preceding Administration, especially in the conduct of the State depart ment. Referring to the conmmunica tions he had received he said that Inine- tenths of them were from North ern States and a great majority from Republicans. "Eefore the American people," he said, "*I say unhesitatingly that I have not a word to retract. I sincere lv believe we are drifting to a position ostile to Republicanism. I do not Ibelie ce to occupy a great position in te world that it is necessary for us to sacrifice our traditional principles. I am the son of a foreigner, and my love of the Republic was born and bred in me. I have been charged in the press w'th being an 'ignorant ag riuturist.' I am proud of being the son (*f a farmer and the son of a for eignr. but I am AsHAMED OF THlE ROOT-LIcKING that characterizes the official class in the Republic today." M-. Wheeler then began to read Isome of the communications he had In reply to a question from Mr. 1ioreing. Republican of Kentucky. he said that few of them were from Ken tucky. "Have you anything there from Edward Atkinson?" asked Mr. Siat tue. Republican, of Ohio. 'No. not yet," replied Mr. Wheel er. amid jeers on the Republican side. "Anything from Aguinaldo?" asked Mr. Mercer, Republican, of Nebraska. "To one who would be guilty of the discourtsey of that question," retorted Mr. Wheeler, "I will say I had rather number Aguinaldo among my friends than such as lie." In conclusion Mr. Wheeler stated that he had meant no disrespect to Prince Henry or the German people, as he did not see how what he said could be tortured into such an inter ruption. The incident closed with a few remarks from Mr. Boreing. Re publican, of Kentucky, who disavowed on behalf of the people of his State any sympathy with Mr. Wheeler's po sition. PASSES THE SENATE. The Anti-Trust B11, Afttr Long De bate, Gets Through. The State Senate spent the greater part of Thursday in considering the anti-trust bill, which had passed the House several days ago. The debate was long and tedious. Senator Ragsdale defended it. The Democratic party to which we belong, he said, has committed itself to legis lation of this kind, and if we go home without passing this law we will nat urally meet the approbrium of the people. No senator dan say that it is evil to undertake to control trusts and combinations. All that it is desired to do is to prevent the strangling of competitions. This is the only plan that has ever been proposed for deal ing successfully with the trust ques tion. This very law has been passed in Texas and has been proven satisfac tory and efflicacious In that State. Senator Manning said he could not support this bill as it is prestrted here. Like other Democrats on that flodr he was opposed to trusts and no one who is a careful observer of the times can fall to regard with alarm the tenden cy to dangerous aggregation of wealth Into combinations that tend to crush out legitimate competition-but he would address himself to one particu lar question in this bill, the affidavit clause. A Senator Aldrich then took the floor against the bill. He declared that he knew of no great demand for this leg islation. He knew of no corporation which has made itself obnoxious on the grounds usually urged against trusts. He said this is a peculiar bill. He can't understand it and be didn't believe anybody understands it. An other objection is that it brands a man who enters into a combination with fraud and conspiracy and his business reputation is blasted. An other objection is that this bill de clares certain things to be a crime, and every business man in the State, when he undertakes any enterprise, must pause and consider whether he may not be adjudged guilty of a crime. Senator Henderson said he would be in favor of some amendments 'that would be offered, but at any rate he would vote against the motion to kill the bill because he believed some legis lation on this subject is necessary. We cannot wait for action by the fed eral congress, because action on this bill will never be given so long as the Republicans are in power. Our Scate attorney general has told us that some legislation is necessary, and this is the best plan that has been offered. We are all Democrats, and all our plat forms have spoken against trusts, therefore we cannot vote against this bill. Senator Graydon spoke in favor of the bill. This Is almost an exact counterpart of the Texas law, which has been on the statute books of that State for several years, and yet no great harm has ever come to that State. One of the greatest evils to be feared in the United States today is the great combinations of capital. The trusts were the cause of the war with Spain, because they expected to make great profits out of this war. This bill will not hurt our cotton mills because they are not in any trust. We have had an antitrust law on our statute books for several years; and yet has that ever driven any capital out of our State? This bill will not injure any legitimate. business. The vote was then taken on the question of striking out the enacting words. senate refused to kill the bill as follows: Yeas-Aldrich, Appelt, Barnwell, Bowen, Brown, Caughman, Dennis, Manning. Moore, Sullivan, Walker Noes-Blakeney, Brice, Dean, Douglass, Gleen, Goodwin, Graydon, Henderson, Hough, Hlydrick, Ilderton, Mayfield, McDermott, Mower, Rags dale, Raysor, Sheppard, Stackhouse, Stanland, Talbird, Williams-21. After the senate refused to kill the bill the amendments began to pour in. as follws: Senator Hydrick offered and amend ment exempting insurance companies from the bill. His amendment was adopted. Senator Aldrich offered an amend ment to exempt farmers' organizations from the provisions of the bill. This was lost. Senator Aldrich then offered an amendment to exempt companies formed to develop timber lands. This too was lost. The bill was then ordered to its third reading. Winthrop College. The State Senate spent most of Wednesday in debating the Winthrop college appropriation. The bill as It came to the senate made the amount $50,000. The committee on finance amended to make it 855,000. and Sen ator Henderson offered a substitute making it $60,000. After a two hours debate pro and con the Hender son amendment was lost by a vote of 20 to 14. Senator Sharpe's amend ment to make the appropriation $43,000 was killed by a large majority, and'the committee amendment fixing the appropriation at $55,000 was adopntedi A SANITARY MESSITY. The Public Health snd Comfort De mands a Sewerage-System. The question of a sewerage system is now being discussed by Orangeburg, Sumter, Georgetown, Elorence, and other towns in this State. The city of Columbia, Greenwood, Anderson, Newberry and other progressive towns are now putting in sewerage systems, or are about to commence doing so, while Greenville, Spartanburg, INew berry, Aiken, Chester and other up-to date towns have already put in sys tems. It will thus be seen that any town of any size in this State, that ex pects to keep abreast of the times, will have to put in a good sewerage system, which is really a sanltary necessity, essential to the health and comfort of its citiiens. In a letter to the Florence Times on the subject of sewerage Engireer Minsba1, who is an expert, very truly says that "the fundamental idea and the principal which has characterized the develop ment of the removal of household and other wastes, has been that no living being can be healthy while the pro ducts of his vital action are permitted to accumulate around him. Even the lower organisms are injuriously affect ed by the continued presence of their own dejecta to such an extent that if they are kept in a confined space they gradually die of' "In the case of the higher animals the earliest remedy for such self poisoning has been migration, but with the increase of numbers the op portunity for this has become more and more limited and various pests and diseases have appeared as the natural consequence of overcrowding. With man there has been the additional burden of the refuse of his industrial occupations. The injunction of Moses that unclean matters were to be car ried without the camp and burned evidences the fact that for ages past man has recognized the necessity of the removal of such wastes from the immediate site of his habitation. But the cremation of liquid and solid ex creta and vegetable refuse requires much fuel and produces intolerable odors, hence the primitive method of the disposal of effete matters consist ed almost entirely in the very effective method which is still in use in dealing with the dead, namely a committal to earth. "Again and again has man been scourged for his uncleanliness and un godliness and the science of sanitation as it stands today, is the product of ages of study and experiment on the part of those very few who have re cognized that a nation's health, is its wealth and strenth. so that the removal of domestic or house hold wastes has been developed step by step up to the present time when the most modern method is that by the water carriage system under ground known as the seperate stystem of sewerage. The combined system of sewerage carries off both the surface drainage and the domestic and manu facturing wasty and requires very large brick, stone or concrete sewers and a subsequedit large expenditure of money. The separate system which is much cheaper than the combined system, provides for the household or domestic and manufacturing wastes only and the carriers are usually made of sewer pipes of such size as to carry off the wastes from the tributary po pulation along any line or lines of sewer. "The late Col. Geo. E. Waring was the first sanitary engineer to adopt the separate system of sewerage in this country, and the first system built by him on a large scale was that of the city of Memphis, Tenn. The terrible ravages of yellow fever previ ous to the construction of the Mem phis sewerage and the entire absence of that disease afterwards are matters of history known the world over and with numerous other cities similarly situated attest to the beneficient ef fects of a system of sewerage. Havana, Cuba, prior to its occupation by the American forces and the subsequefit costruction of sewers, was a veritable hot bed of yellow fever, while during the past year but eight cases of yellow fever have been recorded by the gov ernment officials in charge there. The city of Plymouth, Pa., had an annual epidemic of typhoid fever entailing a loss of thousands of lives prior to the construction of sewers a few years since: two years after the completion of the system but ten cases of typhoid fever were reported during the year." Thousands of other instances might be cited showing the benefits of sewer age on the health of town and cities. An Important Decision. The Augusta Chronicle says "it may be interesting for the lady school teachers to know how far they have a right to go in the miatters of society and beaux. A court ruling has recent ly been made in Martin, Tenn., which throws some light on the subject. The trustees of the Hall-Moody In stitute in the ,town named recently di:harged Miss Copass because she either entertained company or went out "fully three nights a week," hold ing this enormous amount of dis sipation necessarily prevented her from doing good work. But Miss Copass in dignantly denied the right of '"a passel of old fogies" to limit her social of it and brought suit to compel them either to reinstate her or pay her for the time covered by her contract. The judge sustained Miss Copass and confounded the "old fogie" trustees. "Three nights a week," he ruled, "is not too often, whether the lady's beau calls on all three evenings or whether she divides her time in various ways." There are those of the lady schools teachers before whose eyes this writ ing will fall who "'would like to see any school board attempt to regulate the engagements I am to make with my gentlemen friends." Collapse of a Church. The snow storm Friday night caused the St. .John A. M. E. church, Spar tanburg, to collapse. The new organ was ruined. The loss falls heavily on pastor and congregation, who have striven so hard to build this church. A appeal to all the people has been BRUTALLY WHIPPED. A White Yan Whipped Almost to Death by Another. WHILE HELD BY TWO NEGROES. Affair Took Place on the High-Way - in Greenwood County. One. Man Witnessed the' Brutal Assault. A dispatch from Greenwood to the Columbia State says as the result of a severe whipping administered to him by H. R. Williamson, J. H. Wertz is not expected to live. Both persons are white farmers living near Dysons in the lower part of this county. The story tells of one of the - most brutal affairs ever reported from this county. Many reports of the deed and the causes leading up to it have been circulated, and the facts are hard to ascertain. These things are certain: J. H. Wertz was whipped nearly to death by H. R. Williamson while two negroes held Wertz at the command of Williamson; the two negroes are in jail here; that William son is atriberty under a thousand dol lar bond. The preliminary hearing 7 was held it Ninety-Six Wednesday be fore Magistrate Rogers. The prison ers waived the preliminary,- and a bond of one thousand doliars each' was fixed by the magistiate for their release. Williamson was able to- give the bond, and the negroes in defaultof their bonds were remanded to'Jail. The whipping was given last Thursday. It appearsithat bad blood has existed for some time between Wertz and Williamson and on Thurs day morning Williamson determined to whip Wertz. With two negro men be waited on the side of the road along which he knew Wertz would soon pass. Wertz with a Mr. Speake had gone to, look at some timber which Speake wanted for a hardwood factory in Spartanburg. After looking at the timber they started back to Wertz's home. As they approached the place where Williamson and -the negroes were waiting, Williamson ordered them to halt. Speake was told to stand aside and the negroes were ordered to seize Wertz. This they did and Williamson then whipped Wertz with a buggy trace. The bru tality of the deed now appears. Hav Ing the unfortunate man entirely at his mercy hi was not satisfied with gnominy which would have come to the man held by negroes and even lightly whipped, but whipped him sd everly that his very life is in danger. Williamson is a very much large-and stronger man than Wertz and could have whipped him easily In a. fair fight, but chose the most brutal mode of procedure he could. Some persons from that section state that Wertz was a fellow of no value to the com nunity. etc., but there is no attempt lsewhere to excuse so brutal an act. WHAT WILLIA3XsON SAYS. The account of the whipping at Dyson's sent you is deniedby Wiliam on. He affrms that he whipped Wertz without aid; says the two egroes had nothing to do with the affair except as spectators. They were rrested on Wertz's statement. The egroes are still in jail here. Wiliam on was here this afternoon and miade he above statement. -Robbed His Own Car. The offcers along the border are watching for Frank McCarthy, a Wells-Fargo messenger, who is alleged o have robbed his car at San Luis Potosi, Mex. The story of the dis ppearance of McCarthy as told the offcers is that he . jumnped ~from his ar just as the train was leaving San uis Potosi, and it is claimed took with him between $35,000 and $40,000. e is thought to -have boarded a freight train moving just behind the ne he had lefst and to have come north. o Monterey.. McCarthy soon learned, it is said, that he was being watched ad before the offcers arrived he left for Sonora in which section he is now :elieved to be. Only Seven Left. The Columbia State says there are now surviving only seven of the mem ers of the original secession conven ion, which was perhaps the most ventful gathering of men ever held in South Carolina. On the occasion of he last.State veterans' reunion there were nine of the convention's surviv ng members. Since that time Dr. ampbell and Capt. Kinsler have rossed the river. The survivors are hief Justice Mclver, Col. Jos. Daniel Pope, Dr. James H. Carlisle, Dr. Stokes, Hon. R. A. Thompson, L. W. Spratt and R. C. Logan. The First Loss. The Columbia State says since the ystem of State insurance of public uildings was put in operation there ave been no losses. But one has cme at last. The burning of the oof from the court house at Newberry s the first losss sustained, and it is elieved that it will not exceed $300 r $400. The amount of premiums aid into the State insurance fund to ate is about $4,000. The Niewberry loss will be adjusted in a few days. Tea Culture. The production of several kinds of tea in the United States is an assured fact. Four thousand five hundred pounds of high grade tea was grown uring the year by Dr. Charles U. Shepard of Summerville, S. C. Ex perts pronounce it equal in flavor and roma to the best imported teas. The profit averages from $30 to $40 per acre net. Passed the Senate. - The State Senate committee Wed nesday wanted Confederate pensions put at 8150.000. The bill as it came from the house carried $200,000. After some discussion the committee amend ment was tabled and the pension fund wil be s20n,000.