Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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SE THE OPENING DAY. The Work of Legislation Has Been Started in Good Form. TE SENA"E AND THE HOUSE. The Wheeb. of Legislatiin Were Given a Start on Tuesday or Last *'e k. What Was Done by Th. m. The general assembly of South Caro lina was called to order at. high noon Tuesday, Jan. 12. in accordance with the terms of the constitution. As this is the middle of a term, the work of organization required little time, and before adjournment the wheels of legislation had been set in motion to the extent that in each branch of the law-making body new measures had been introduced. The State of Wednesday gives the following account of the opening ses sion of the two houses: Early inthe day it developed that an effort would be made to pull off the elections at the earliest possible date, and in each house resolutions looking to that end were presented. In the senate side the tenor of the resolutions was to have the joint committees on privileges and elections report what vacancies are to be filled. In the house the resolution called for the ap pointment of a specific date-Friday of this week-but as the resolution was obviously defective in that it failed to fix a time for the election of certain college trustees, the resolution was referred to the house committee on privileges and elections. There were two-score candidates in the lobbies and around the outer rail,, and the life of the average legislator will be devoted to listening to "hard luck stories" for the time interven ing between this and the day of elec tion. The most importunate are the candidates for places on the board of directors of the State penitentiary and on the directorate of the State dispen sary. Each of these places pays $4 a day for the time. actually spent in the service of the State, and in the case of the dispensary board the per diem is limited to 100 days. But while the candidates for the several places at the dispensary and the penitentiary are vigorously pressing their several eampaignlets, the applicants for the position of State librarian are no less insistent. By placing this matter in the hands of the legislature and mak ing it an elective ofice, the way is ' thrown open for the fairer sex to ex hibit what of politics they know, and the campaign for this position is an evidence of the fact that the men do not know it all. There has been only one death in either branch of the assembly, and only one resignation. Few were de tained by sickness or on account of business and the attendance yesterday was very full. The feature of the day in the house was Speaker Smith's remarks upon declaring the house ready for business. His was not an address in the usual acceptation of the term, but remarks made extempora-' neously, impressing upon the mem bers the fact that they were elected to perform a high and honorable duty and urging theni to keep that purpose ever before them. His remarks were brief and made a deep impression. In the senate the matter which was most impressive was the fact that the splendid portrait of the gallant GordonI of Georgia was shrouded in crepe and from its elevated position the likeness of the chivalrous southerner looked down in benediction upon the delibera tive body of a State he loved as dearly as his own. Gordon, Hampton, Ker shaw, all these are represented in that galaxy of portraiture, and all are gone. Butler, the intrepid, alone remains of~ the quartet of Confederate chieftains' whose portraits adorn the senate chamber of South Carolina.. IN THE SENATE. The senate passed an uneventful session on its opening day. The roll call showed -that 34 members were present, as follows: Lieut. Gov. Sloan, Senators Aldrich, Blake, Brown, Day is, Dean, Douglass, Forrest, Gaines, Goodwin, Hardwin, Hay, Herndon, Holiday, Hough, Hydrick, Johnson, Manning, Marshall, Mayfield, McLeod, Mower, Peurifoy, Ragsdale, G. W., Ragsdale, J. W., Raysor, Sharpe, Sheppard, Stackhouse, Stanland, Tal - bird, Von Kolnitz, Walker, Warren, Williams. Messrs. Brice, Butler, Carpenter, Dennis, Hood, McCall and Mclver did not respond to their names. Senator J. A. McDermott of Horry having re signed to accept the otfice of county treasurer, his successor, Mr. G. J. Hol liday was sworn in and on motion was -appointed to places held on various committees by his predecsssor. A fter an opening prayer by Rev. W. I. Her bert, of Lieut. Gov. Sloan addressed the senate. It-was moved that a committee of three be appointed to inform the gov ernor that the senate was ready focr business- On this committee were Messrs. Sharpe, Stackhouse and Wil ]iams. On motion of Mr. Dean the house was notitied that the senate having been duly organized was ready for business. Senator IDean introduced a concur rent resolution directing the commit tees on privileges and elections of both houses to inquire into what vacancies existed in the otlices to be tilled by the legislature. The governor's message having been presented by his private secretary. was read in the usual manner. Just after the reading of the message was completed Mr. Mayfield introduced an omnibus resolution dividing the sever al subjects of the message into the hands of the appropriate committees. .Several appointmenlts were announc ed by the speaker. J. E. Watson hav ing resigned as doorkeeper J. J. Wat son of Greenwood was given the posi tion. Bill Clerk Butler is unable on account of illness to attend this ses session of the general assembly and Mr. A. D. McFaddin of this city was appointed in his stead. There were several minor appointments. Mr. Maytield introduced a concur res,-lition providing that all county supervisors be directed to at tend the good roads convention in this city on the 19th inst., their mileage to be paid by the legislature. This bill was placed on the calendar. The large oil portrait of the late Gen. -John B. Gordon which hangs on the north wall of the senate was drappedlin'crepe in honor to the distin guished dead. After the reading of the governor's special message on the death of Gen. Gordon, Senator Aldrich introduced a concurrent resolution as follows: "Whereas it has pleased the Al mighty to end the brilliant earthly career of that brilliant soldier and statesman, Gen. John B. Gordon of Georgia, and "Whereas at a trying and critical period of this State he came to our aid and rendered voluntary services of such value and devotion as entitles him forever to be known as a friend of the people of South Carolina; now, therefore be it "Resolved by the senate and house of representatives of South Carolina that a committee be raised to attend the funeral of Gen. Gordon and to pay the State's tribute of respect to his memory. "Said committee to -be composed of his exceellency the governor or such member of the executive department as he may designate, the chief justice of the supreme court or such member of the judicial department as he may designate, three senators to be ap pointed by the president of the senate and five members of the house of rep resentatives to be appointed by the speaker of the house. "Resolved that the sergeants at arms of the two houses take the neces sary steps to carry these resolutions into effect." This was sent to the house of repre sentatives and the senate adjourned at 1.30 p. m. to meet again Wednes day at noon. IN THE HOUSE. As the hands of the clock on the gallery pointed the hour of 12, the sergeant at arms swung the mall of State into place, Col. Tom C. Hamer, the clerk of the house, raised the speaker's gavel and rapped the noisy members into silence. "Pursuant to the provisions of the constitution the house will now come to order," he de clared and thereupon began the call of the roll by counties. When it was as certained officially that a quorum of the house were present, Speaker Smith ascended the dais on which is the speaker's chair and annouced: "The deliberations of the day will be opened with prayer by the chaplain." The prayer was given close attention by the members, for the last year's ses sion taught them that in his morning invocation the Rev. R. N. Pratt seeks to throw into the deliberation of the day some uplifting thought. Speaker Smith's remarks upon open ing the session to business were well put and the tenor of the whole was "work.'' He referred with feeling to the fact that there is one vacant chair -that of the brilliant John McMaster -and declared that it is a matter of thankfulness that there is but one. At the conclusion of his address Mr. W. T. Aycock of Columbia was es corted to the bar of the house by Hon. Messrs. Jno. P. Thomas: Jr., and. Lewis W. Haskell and upon his cre dentials being shown he was sworn in to succeed the late Hon. John McMas ter of Richland. Mr. Moses moved that a committee of three be appointed to wait upon the governor and inform him that the house was ready for business. This was done accordingly. On Mr. Tatumn's motion the clerk of the house was sent to the senate to inform that body that the house had organized and was ready for business. At almost the same mo ment Gen. R. R. Hemphill, clerk of~ the senate, appeared with a similar announcement from the "upper house.''" Organization having been perfected, the :irst thing in the way of new busi-~ ness was the presentation by Mr. Aull of a resolution fixing Friday as the time for the holding of the election of an associate justice to succeed Mr. Justice Woods; for a State librarian, for two directors of the State peniten tiary, to succeed Messrs. Love and Mann; for a chairman of the board and two directors of the State dispen sary and for a liquor commissioner. Mr. Magill moved to refer t.his to the committee on privileges and elec tions. This was voted down by those1 who wanted the elections held speedi ly and the resolution was adopted. Subsequently Mr. Beamguard moved to strike out the words "liquor com-j missioner" wherever they occurred and insert in lieu thereof the words "dispensary commissioner." The vote by which the resolution had been adopted was reconsidered in order to admit of this correction, and when the resolution again came before the house Messrs. Williams, Rainsford and Magill succeeded in getting the house to reconsider the vote by which it had declined to commit the resolu tion, and by a considerable majority it was decided to send the resolution to the committee on privileges and elections in order that the matter might be whipped into proper shape. The senate concurrent resolution along the same line came over and was referred to the same committee. The governor's message was re ceived and read. As it is quite a lengthy document the members had hardly had time in which to read it carefully Wednesday and no expres sion as to its recommendations were gathered. The several parts of the message were referred to the proper committees. The senate resolutions in regard to Gen. .J. B. Gordon were adopted unani mously and the speaker appointed as members of the delegation five gal lant ex-Confederates who are members of the house, Hion. Messrs. M. P. Tribble of Anderson, W. E. James of Darlington, .J. H1. Brooks of Green wood, Jeremiah Smith of Hiorry, anid J. W. King of Florence. A fter the introduction of new bills the house adjourned. There were only three new bills, one by Mr. Cooper and one by Mr. Magill relating to mat ters in their respective counties, and one by Mr. W. P. Johnson relating to a new tax on incorporations, requir ing them to make annual statements IN THE HOUSE. What Has Been Done in that B< the Past Week. REGULATING THE RAIL0A] Several Bills of Importance A Passed Without Much Discus sion and Goes to the Senate. The first bill taken up in the bot was that of Mr. Coggeshall as to p venting delays in the transportati of freight. This is the bill that v favored by the Charleston Freig Bureau last year. The bill had a vorable report with a minority posed to it, but when it was called this morning there was not a wc said one way or another. The requ ed formal announcements were ma( The bi.ll went on through, ordered its third reading without a word discussion, inquiry or anything el As ordered to its third reading t bill, which was asked for last ye, was passed as follows: A bill to prevent delays in the tra portation of freight by railroad co! panies in this State. Be it enacted by the Gerreral Asse. bly of the State of South Carolina: Section 1. That from and after t 1st day of May, 1904, all railroad coi panies in this State shall transp( to their destination all freight recei ed for transportation between poir in the State of South Carolina with the following times after same sh have been received, to wit: With forty-eight hours, between points n more than one hundred miles distar within seventy-two hours, betwe points exceeding one hundred and n more than two hundred miles distar within ninety-sir hours, betwe points exceeding two hundred ml] distant. Section 2. That any railroad coi pany failint to comply with the pt visions of Section 1 of this Act f any cause, except the Act of God public enemy, shall forfeit the freig chargeable upon such goods as it sh, fail to transport within the tir hereinbefore r quired; and in additi shall pay to tiat consignee 1 per ce of the market value of such goods f each and every day's detention os and above the time herein before pi scribed, to be recovered by the co signee in any Court of competent jurj diction, together with the freight forfeited, if the same shall have be' prepaid. Section 3. That nothing in this A contained shall be construed to-lie or affect any other right or remet now or hereafter existing against sui railroad company for or on account such delay in transportation. Section 4. That all Acts and par of Acts inconsistent with this Act a aereby repealed. Later on Mr. Beamguard's bill provide a penalty for the unreasonat delay in the shipment and delivery any goods, wares and merchandise I any railroad or other common carri for hire came up, and after some di cussion was passed as followe: Be it enacted b'y the General Asser bly of the State of South Carolina: Section 1. That any railroad cor pany or other common carrier for hi in this State, wno shall delay for unreasonable time the shipment at delivery Lof any goods, wares and me chandise delivered them for transpc ation, shall, in addition to any dar ages they may now be liable for, fc feit and pay to ,the party or parti whose goods, wares or merchandi are received, shi pped and delayed, ti dollars for every day the same is delayed, to be recovered in any Cou of competent ja risdiction. Speaker Smith made the followir appointment for the present session House: Laborers, Robert Caldwe: Robert Cnisolm, L. Smith: page Henry Smith, W. A. Mattison, J. 2 Banks, Malcolm Johnson, J. A. Cl burn; Speaker's clerk, J. M. Sniarp doorkeepers, J. M. Gasque; G. R. C] ments, W. A. Roof; postmaster, 1 . Anderson. Governor Heyward submitted tI report of the special tax commissio Mr. Moses, of the commission, movi that the report be printed in ti Journal and referre-1 to the ways at means committee. This was dol without the reading of the report. In support of his bill against sl machines Mr. Wade said that the were 1,300 slot machines in use in tt] State, and he thought that- it w high time for them to be remove His bill was passed to its third rea ing without further argument. provides: Section 1. That from and after ti passage and approval of this Act shall be unlawful for any person operate within this State any slot m chine of whatever name or kind. Section 2. Any person whomsoev who shall violate the first section this Act shall be subject to a fine not more than one hundred dollars, imprisonment upon the public wor of the county wherein the offence committed for a period of not mc than thirty days. The third bill relative to railroac which was ordered to its third rea ing, was that of Mr. Dorroh, Greenville, which proposes to aboli the bob-tail or single truck cabs this State. THURSDAY's PROCEEDINGS. The house on Thursday passed bill which provides, that it shall unlawful hereafter for any person sell, barter or give away or tre another to any malt or intoxicatii liquor within three miles of any vt ing precinct during any primary other election day, under a penal upon conviction therefor of not mc than $100 nor less than $50 or :30 da imprisonment with or without lab< This is a good law. IThere were four third readi bills, and each was passed and se to the senate, including Mr. Wad bill to outlaw slot machines. T four third reading bills were: A Beamguards to provide for t immediate delivery of freight: Coggesall's to provide b r I immediate shipment and delivery fright, and Mr. Dorroh's to reguli the size ofcabs used by railroads. Aftear the onclioin of the workr ,he "morning bour" debte was ie sumed on Mr. Haskell's bill to requirt the recording of deaths, births an( d marriares. After some discussior the bill was killed. Mr. Donnald's bill tdreduce the rat( of tag tax on fertillizers was ther taken up. He declared that Clemson% 'revenue is $85.000 this year and the cost of inspection is but $10,000. H( .re argued that the burden of this rev enue is on thel farmer, not on the manufabturer. Mr. 1). 0. Herbert argued that the I cost of fertilizer would not be reducet if the privilege tax should be taker ise otf. re- Mr. Donnald suggested that if suc on is the case why not double the amouni of the tax. Mr. Stackhouse declared that the ht privilege tax does make a differeuc ra- in cost as farmers on the State lint p. can testify, for they are made to pay up more than the farmers in North Caro rd lina. ir- Mr. Herbert maintained his posi le. tion and declared bis opposition to tbc to bill, as he wants Clemson to have the of means to give scholarships to pooi ;e. boys, and he bad introduced a bill tc be tnat effect. Lr, Debate was adjourned until next Wednesday on motion of Mr. Killer, is- who suggested that it would be wise n- to wait until the report of Clemson college is received. ON'E DAY IN JAIL be n- And Promptly Paid a Fine of Ten rt Thousand Dollars. ts Ex-Cou.grssman Edmund Driggs, of n Brooklyn, last Tuesday was sentenced 5 to imprisonment of one day in Ray ot mond street jail and to a fine of $10, 1t 000. Driggs was convicted of accept M ing money, while a congressman-elect, ot for securing a government contract t; f-r' the purchase of automatic cashiers n from the Brandt-Dent company for es the post-oiice department. There will be no appeal. 1- Driggs' fine was immediately paid 0- after sen l;ence was pronounced. Mr. or Driggs and his attoneys saying that or they endorsed the statement by the It court that an honorable man would LIl have no desire to retain moneys secur 3e ed under such cirqumstances. Driggs >n was not taken to the jail directly. He It does not lose his citizenship by the or conviction, but cannot hold office er again in the Federal government. e- In pronouncing sentence Judge n- Thomas said: "A man of honorable s- feeling, although he has erred, would so abhor the retention of what came to m him illegally and I believe that such will be your attitude. it "You will find that to make sure of it rectitude in your past life, your friends will join it with the private b and civic virtues that you may achieve of and maintain in the future, and that in the end you will be judged by your t whole career and not alone by this re intervening fault and failure." Driggs later was taken to the Ray l mond street jail and placed in a cell. le Sheriff Hesterberg, after consultation f with counsel, decided that the terms of the sentence would be complied with by detaining the prisoner only - until midnight. a.They Will Bite. An old negro woman has created ex 0- citement in Syracuse, N. Y., by ap re pearing there claiming to have walked t all the way from a plantation in Geor igia, where she was held as a slave. r- She reported leaving 200 slaves on the r- same plantation. The people of Syra a- cuse harbor very great Indignation rl, against the south and the old woman es is living on the fat of the land. Which e all goes to show that even an old iwo n man can gold-brick the shrewd Yan so k-ees. They all will bite; it just de rt pends on the bait, says the Columbia State. g afAnother Wreck. I, One man was killed two locomo stives demolished, and five freight cars LI smashed to splinters as thge result of a 7collision between freights No. 72 e; and 63 near Gaffney Tuesday night. eThe crews of the two trains saved .their lives by jumping, through En gineer Martin and his fireman, of No. l63, were painfully injured. The wreck 2was caused by the confusion of the dtwo sections of No. 72, the through lfreight which was running North in dtwo sections. leClaimed to Be a Witch. t The most eccentric woman in North re Carolina, Mrs. M. E. Edwards, was is. fund dead by the roadside in Catagba a county Wednesday. For forty years 3 he had lived alone, her house being 'far from any other. She always car Lried a revolver and endeavored to make peoole think she was a witch. On her body were found money and notes and ie also rabbit feet, and the walls of her ihouse were decorated with pictures of rvarious persons, each with a nail driven through the heart. rBry an Expr esses Sorrow. UfThe following message was received f Thursday at Atlanta by Hon. Clark or fHowell, from William J. Bryan. at kIndianapolis, expressing his symathy is at the death of General Gordon: re "Please convey my sympathy to General Gordon's family. I mourn :s, with them, the South and the nation d- the death of one whose loving heart of and great mind combined to distin sguish him as a soldier, orator and in patriot."_________ Three Sales Blown. a Safe-crackers early Friday morning be blew open three safes in the heart of to the business section of Charlotte, N. at C., and within half a block of the po 2 lice station. When offcers Interrupted >their |work one of the bu' glars shot or Policeman Shields in the breast at ty close range. The ball struck a button re and the offcer escaped injury. The ys burglars secured about $25 and escap r. ed. The board of aldermen offer $400 reward for the guilty'parties. g Killed With Umbrella. e's At Bloonville, lInd., Charles Kohler, he a coal miner, was stabbed to death by r. Louis Roth, a country boy, Thursday he night. The weapon used wa a steel r. umbrella. Kohler and his friends he were guying Roth, when the latter of turned and stabbed Kohler behind the ~te ear. The latter died in a few minutes as the point of the umbrella penetrat. of j d the brain. BOY'S BODY FOUND - Where He Was Murdered Weeks Ago by Strange Negro. heTILL NO TRACE OF THE NEGRO. Two Hunters Discover Badly De composed Remains as One of Them, by Chance, Jumps a Ditch. The Columl.ia State of Wednesday says the body of 16-year-old Stephen Howell who so mysteriously disappear ed after a trip into the country in company with a strange negro after Christmas holly and who was believed to have been murdered by this negro. was found Tuesday Jan. 12, by two hunters. The corpse was lying face down in a ditca near a stream in a thick, and dark and dismal piece of wood far from any public highway on the Suber place, three miles southeast of the city. It was in this direction the boy was last seen in company with the negro in a wagon belongirg to Philip Epstin, who had Aired the two to go out on this erran, , which proved the last for the boy and the beginning of a tragic and grief-laden chapter which is burned into the mind )f his poor old mother. The body lies in Van Metre's mo: gue awaiting an inquest wich will be held by the coroner Wednesday. It will be carried to his former hore at Killians TI ursday for burial. DISCOVERY BY MEREST CHANCE The case would still be as deep and perplexing a mystery today but for fhance which Induced one cf the hun ters to jump across the little ditch where the b'ody was lying, this act re. sulting in the discovery. The body lay face downward, head up stream and was in a badly decomposed state. The face was lying in about two inci es of water, the overflow from a nea:' by small bra och, and a clot of leaves had been washed up against the side of the face. The axe, wbich the ni gro failed tc return with the wagon on the ,aftern on of the disappearance when he reported to Mrs. Epstin that Stephen hac jumped off the wagon to go home (-n Assembly street, was found leanirng against a tree about ive steps off. There was not a trace of blood on either the blade or the handle; the blade was rusty and the print left in the earth when it was lifted showed that it had passed through several rains as it sto)d there these three weeks, a mute witness un able to lie in its terrible evidence of one of the most brutal, cruel and horri ble murders this county has yet wit nessed. Its silent testimony is corrob orated by a brutal indentation in the left side of the victim's head. Blood was even Tuesday oozing out of the nose. STILL NO TRACE OF NEGRO. Not a trace has been found by either the county or city officers of either the person or the name of the mysterious negro, whose cool villainy allowed him not only to return almost through the quarters of the police within perhaps an hour after he bad slain young Howell and turn in the team and go back to his employer twice that same af ternoon after a fe N cents due him, but to return again two days later, on Wedesday, and seek to collect fro-n jpstin at the latter's store in the ~me street and almost within hailing distance of police head quarters. And there is precious small cnance of any valuable light being shed on this end of the mystery at the in inquest Wednesday. RAIN HAD OBLITERATED TRACKS. The find was promptly reported in person by the hunters to the sheriff's ottice. and the sheriif led by the bunt ers and accompanied by Coroner Green and his deputy, Bob Baugbman, hur ried to the scene. The sheriif was the first otlicer to i-each the scene a~d he was soon afterward followed by the boy's father, -John Howell, who was accompanied by b-is eldest son, Charlie. The relatives tad been informed from police headquearters, which received the news from Policeman Jones, who was informed of the find while on duty at the union station. They found con ditions as described above. The rains had unfortunately obliterated all tell tale tracks, and it may never be known whether the raurder was committed on the spot where the body v~as found or whether the death-blow --as deat in the open and the murder. r carried his victim's body at the risk of being seen at any moment until ie found this lonely spat. However, all tisi, important as it, ought to be.- may te of little c:>n equence after al. as there is slim chance of the murde rer being run to justice. MOTHER'S HEART PICTURED MURDER. Mrs. Howell saw a repori~er at htr h'me in Assembly street last nigh a, but was unable t~o talk only in a dii connected way, a sob intervening al most between every word as she s t in a roc:king chair in a culd and dimly lighted root2 with some ten men atrd women sy trpathizers gathered arour d trying to c:omfort her, the rythm c mut~ons of the chair punctu:.ting tt e expressions of her mother's grief. "People tept coming to me eveiy day," s he sobbed, "to tell me th: t Stephen must be well and all rlgl t and that t e negro could not have murdered tim in the circumstance;, but my mother's heart could not li s ten to them in belief. I knew that Ir y poor boy ha-i been cruelly murdereal. I knew tha ,there is no accounting for what kind of an awful crime a neg -o will commit. And now it has all come true as I have been seeing it all along." The police have of course interested themselves in the case and have faith fully gone through the routine pro cedure they adopt in an instance of it-s general character, but they have never been able to ge-nerate anything| like enthusiasm, h,:ieving as they have all along tihat there was no rea son to fear that violence had been done. Even yesterday they discredit ed the tirst reports that came in of the find in the same manner they have Idi:;credited the many rumors that gained circulation from time to time heretofore. soME STRANGE FEATUREs. The e-.se has been characterized by many wierdly strange features, which have been fully po:trayed in sevexal articles published in The State frcm time to time since the disappearance. Following are extracts from The State's first report of the disappear ance: "A queer and perplexing mystery enshrouds tb disappearance last Mon day afterno n out on the Garner's Ferry road of young Stephen Howell. His relatives have been conducting a most dilligent. thorough and painstak ing as well as vainful and anxious search for the boy since early Tues day mornig. They have worked out every plausible theory or suggestion to its logical conclusior, and the police have be!en at work on the case, but the oly tangible reward for these efforts is that Howell was last seen on Monday afternooh about 12 30 or I o'clock by a relative who recognized him and saluted him. This was on the GarThr's Ferry road near the Hardin street crossing. "The team started out into the country about noon Monday. Mrs. Epstin says that the negro returned with the wagon at about 3.30 and came back about 6 o'clock to collect for his services. When she asked after Howell the negro told her that the white boy had jumped off at Assembly street, saying he was going home and asking him (the negro) to drive the team to Mr. Epstin's. No further trace can be found of the negro, who seems to be a stranger in Columbia. He was piched up Monday morning loafing about the Southern's freight station by Mr. Epstin, who employed him to assist in hauling some whiskey to the dispensary for the contables. Mr. Epstine did not ask the negro's name. "The negro did not return the axe with the wagon and no load was brought back from the country. He bad Lo reason to think that Howell had any money or other valuables about his person, and- so far as is known the two had never exchanged a cross word. "The negro is described as being about 5 feet 6 inches tall; weighs about 150 pounds; copper colored complexion, short, thin moustache; teeth set somewhat apart; wore a brown over-coat and a felt bat. "Howell is rather spare built, has fair complexion and blue eyes, about the same height as thE negro. He was a bright, intelligent, healthful looking boy." ATTEMPTED ASSASSINATION. A Negro Fires Upon a Rock Hill Man from Ambush. A dispatch from Rock Hill to The Stati says the community was shock .d over the dastardly attempted )f a negro named Will Walker to lake the life of Mr. W. J. Ingram. Nir. Ingram lives In Rock Hill, but recently purchased a place about six miles away on the Chester and Rock Hill road. Tuesday' morning while Mr. Ingram was working in his field it this place Will Walker came along he road near by, hallowing and yell ing In a disgraceful manner. Mr. In zram went to where he was passing ind asked what he meant by such con luct, whereupon the negro became ingry, and reached in the direction of ais hip pocket as if to draw a pistol. &ntlcipating his action Mr. Ingram Irew his pistol, and covered the negro, who theretlpcn disavowed any inten lion of being disrepspectful. This happened abo.it 8 or 9 o'clock in the morning, and was thought to be the and of the matter; but about 2 in the titornoon, as Mr. Ingram was driving iowards Rock Hill in a buggy, at a point near where the first ditficulty >ccurred, without the slightest warn ing, some one fired upon him. The shot came from a thick woods on. the side of the road, and the aim was so iccurate that part of the load took effect in the brim of Mr. Ingram's bat. As sooc as the shot was fired Mfr. Ingram looked back and saw Will Walker coming out into the road with i gun in his hands, and apparently irying to relo:id. In order to avoid further danger Mr. Ingram then then drove on at a fast speed. He af terwards went to the otfice of Magis Irate Beckham, and had a warrant is ;ued and after a short preliminary ex Imination this morning Will Walker was committed for assault with intent to kill. Rise of a Country Boy. A letter to The State from Green wood says Lieut. James Walker of the United States navy, a nephew of W. A. Lomax of this county, has been promoted to a captaincy and placed in :ommaand of the famous battleship, Jregon. The news of this promotion s tef special interest here for two rea ;ons, tirst, because of the fact that Dapt. Walker is quite well known aere and at Verdery, where about ten years ago he paced behind the counter >f a small general merchandise store. b~ow he paces the deck of one of the largest battleships of the United States navy. The second point of in :erest is the fact that Greenwood's well known hotel is namned for this mattleship and it seems to be a splen lid example of the "eternal fitness of :hings" that Capt. Walkzer, almost a! 7ative of Greenwood ct unty, should ye in command. Spain a Back Number. The first Spanish gene t-al that shall .and "in United States territory with in army sutticiently stro ig to avenge the defeats of Cuba and the ePhilip pines" will be entitled to a reward of 810,000 left in trust with the Bank of Spain by Cardinal Hlerrera y Espinosa. The cardinal's will serves to illuminate the Spanish charcters and to empha size the colossal ignorance of the world by the great mass of the Spanish peo ple. If Cardinal Gibbons were to leave a will with such an absurd pro vision, it would be considered conclu sive evidence that when he drew the will he was insane, but from a Spanish tardinal it merely emphasizes the inability of the Spanish to realize: that the glory of Spain has departed and that its greatness is embalmed in history. A Noteworthy Tribute. Col. Butler D. Price of the Six teenth U. S. infantry, stationed at Fort McPherson, had a place in the1 funeral procession of Gen. Gordon, attended by his entire staff, the band and a battalion of the regiment. The 0. M. Mitchell Post No. 1. G. A. R., with its entire membership, was also asnedr a plae in the proession. HUNG BY A NOB. The Horribly Mutilated Body Found Lashed to a Tree. At a late hour Friday night The State's correspc ndent at Georges tele phoned an accoint of a lynching near Reevesville in Dorchester county. The name of the victim is General Lee, a negro of bad reputation, who had a foot of the same measurement of a track found in the yard of Mrs. A. P. Wimberly. Mrs. Wimberly is a widow living alone with sevt:ral small children in a little house w!th a store in the front at Reevesville. Between 7 and 8 o'clock Tuesday night in response to. repeated loud knocking and other noises she opened the side door and saw some one running away, apparent ly a negro. A pair of brass knucks was found on the porch. Wednesday a delegation from Reevesville went to Georges, five miles away, and swore out a warrant before Magistrate T. H. Abbott for General Lee, a negro about 30 years old, who had been living several years at Reevesville. The magistrate's constable, R. E. Mims, who is also chief of police of Georges, left for Reevesville at 6 o'clock Wednesday night and put Lee under arrest. Constab.le Mims started with his prisoner for Georges at midnight. He says that when he had gone about a mile from Reevesville a mob of fully 50 men surroanced his buggy and over powered him and took the prisoner. The last he saw of the mob it had left the road and was making for some woods nearby. Thursday a search was made in the woods by citizens of both Georges and Reevesville, but no 'trace of the negro could be found. Friday Lee's . uti lated body was found lashed to a tree about 100 yards from the point in the road where Constable Mime says he was overpowered. It was repo-ted to the correspon dent that the condition of the body indicated that the mob, after tying the victim, rereated some distance before firing, thtus sprinkling the body with small sho;; the mob, it appears, then advanced to within a few feet and discharged their shotguns into the dying man's face and body. The usual inquest was held last night, and the usual verdict rendered -that General Lee came to his death from gunshot wounds inflicted by per sons unknown. Mrs. Wimberly not only did not see the man who was ar rested, but never intimated that she thought the man she saw runniag out of her yard was Lee. She knew Lee. An Elevator Accident. At St. Louis, Mo., on Wednesday a crowd of employes pressing against the elevator gate on the sixth floor of the Brown Shoe Company building at Seventh street and Wash ington avenue, caused the gate to give way and ten persons were plunged down the shaft. Six were taken out dead and the other four, seriously in jured. Two of the injured died soon after reaching the hospital and with out regaining consciousness. The employes had aisembled at the close of the work in the corridors on the different floors waiting for the eleva tor to take them down. The elevator was at the seventh floor receiving pas sengers when those on the sixth floor, eagerlto get near the door and be first into the cage began to push toward the gate. Suddenly the gate gave way, just as ahe elevator started to descend and ten of the employes plunged head-first down the shaft. James Johnson, the elevator operator, was taken into custody by the police pending an investigation. Johnson said the erevator gate did not break, but that it had been raised by em ployes. while wa ting for the car to de scend to the floor and suddenly the em ployes in the rear of the crowd began pushing, precipitating them down the shaft. Factory Superintendent Fray, corroborated Joanson's story. Slot Machines Must Go. The house of representatives Wed nesday passed to third reading a bill which prohibits the operation of slot machines within the State. The bill makes no discrimination, but makes all machines unlawful. The bill declares "that it shall b~e unlawful for any person to operate within this State any slot machine of whate rer name or kind. ."Sec. 2. Any person whomsoever who shall violate the first section of this act shall be subject to a fine of not more than $100, or im prisonment upon the public works of the county wherein the offense is com mitted, for a period of not more than 30 days." A Pocr Specimen. The Augusta Chronicle says a physi cian of a city not many miles from Augusta, was found asleep Tuesday night by the police on Jackson street. It was a case of too much iquor. The physician deliberately arranged his overdoat as a pillow and laid down to sleep in the open air. When disturbed by the police, he be ame quite disagreeable and four offi :ers had to carry him to the barracks by force. Schooner Wrecked. A letter -fro~n Havana tells of the wreck on January 5 of the schooner Governor Blake, Scott, master, and a cr aw of seven men, that went on a-reef six miles from Cay Jutias, Florida coast. The crew escaped in small boats saving nothing but their cloth ing. The Blake sailed December 31 for Cienfuegos, from Mobile, with argo of pith pine, valued at $1,822. Killed by a Fall. A special dispatch to The State from Lancaster says Mr. Samuel F. Folsom, an aged citizen of Kershaw, was instantly killed Friday by being thrown from his buggy. His horse took fright at the southbound pas senger train on the Southern railway and dashed away, throwing Mr. Fol som out of the buggy. Crimmrinal Carelesfness. At Savannah. Ga., Daniel A. Dean, a Central railway engineer, died 'from injuries received while cleaning out the fire box of his engine at an early hour Tuesday morning. While under his engine a push engine ran against it. Both his legs were cut off. Dean lave a widow, a son and a daughter. ENFORCE THE ,LAW. I t Is What the Temperance Law and Order league Demands. REGARDING DISPENSAIY LAW. The Memorial That *as Presented to the General Assembly on Wednesday by the League. The Temperance Law and Order League will present a memorial to the General Assembly Wednesday. The 'text, as prepared by the executire committee, is as follows: Memorial-To the General Assem bly of South Carolina: The Temper ance Law and Order League of South Carolina respectfully represents to your honorable body that it is an or ganization of citizens, representing the sentiments of a large plass of the voters of the State, ng for Its object: 1. To render all moral encourage ment and support to the constituted anthorities in the enforcement of existing laws, both State and munici pal, relating to the peace and good order of the community. 2. To render such individual service as may be practicable and lawful in securing and furnishing to the proper law officers facts and information of violations of law to enable them to - proceed against the violator. 3. By all lawful means to hold the sworn officers of the law to the prompt and faithful discharge of their official'. obligations to the public, and by pro ceeding against them for wilful neglect - or failure on their part. 4. Especially to secure a full and satisfactory enforcement of the dis pensary law, both against those en gaged in prohibited traffic in intoxi cants and those wh6 violate the pro- Z vision of law while acting as sworn officers of the dispensary. -5. By endeavoring to secure legis lation in the future as wilkultimately* prohibit the traffic in intoxicants. for beverage purposes in South Carolin . In pursuance of these objects it would respectfully urge upon the General Assembly to make such an - amendment to the law commonly known as "the dispensary law" as will afford the citizens of any com munity in which a dispensary may be established 'under the provisions of the law the opportunity to express by ballot their wishes for its removal. We make this appeal for the rea sons following: 1. Because as the dispensary -law makes every citizen a stockholder, sharing the profits-and liabilities re sulting from the business,'as an. act of simple justice they should be ac corded the right to end their connee tion with it if they so desire. 2. Because there- are many com munities in the State, we believe the larger proportion, where dispensaries - - have been established in opposition to the known and exp;essed wish of these communities, or where, though orig inally approved, the experience of the evils resulting from the operation of dispensaries in their midst has chang ed to one of disapproval, and who gladly avail tnemnselves of the means of removing what they realize to be an agency which is only evil and a prolific source of disorder, lawlessness and general-demoralization. 3. Because the purpose of legisla tion should be the repression of law lessness and crime, the improvement of the moral condition and the promo tion of the happiness of the people, and these purposes would be greatly promoted by the removal of dispen saries from these communities. 4. Because the recorded facts as to the conduct of the dispensary system shows a large and-constant increase in the sale by the dispensary and con sumption of liquors by the people of the State, and a consequent appalling increase of crimes of violence and immorality traceablfe directly to this cause. 5. Because the proposed amendment, if made, would largely decrease the area in which liquors could be legally sold, render the detection of violation easier and enable the constituted legal administrators of the law to con duct the more limited- business in a manner more consonanant with the purpose and intent of the law. 6. Because the demand for this change in the law is made by the Christian Church of the -State, which cannot be silent under the existing conditions without sin, and which, in the name of her communicants, ap peals to Christian legislators for the means of deliverance from the unholy alliance in which, as a part of the State citizenship, they have been - forced to participate, Respectfully. J. W. Hamil, chairman; Howell Morell, secretary; executive commit tee, State Temperance Law and Or der League. Columbia, S. C., Jan. 12, 1904. Officers Like Gamblers. The Columbia State says: "We are curious to know the reasons influenc ing 35 members of the house to vote against declaring the operation of "slot machines" illegal! They are not only gambling devices that \are outlawed in many of the "big &Dd bad" cities but they are devices that first entice boys to gamble. They are enormously profitable to their owners or lessees and only for them should their merits be appreciated. It is easier, however, to outlaw the ma chines than to prevent their opera tion. Officers of the law appear to have a very kindly feeling for all classes of gamblers except the little darkey who shoots craps in a back alley with a banking capital of two cents. These get "pulled" and there is righteous indignation." Dr. Scherer Elected. Dr. J. A. B. Scherer, pastor of St. Andrew's Lutheran Church of Charleston, was elected president of Newberry college by the board of trustees at a meeting held in Colum bia last week. He will succeed Dr. Cromer, recently resigned, and he will become the executive head of the Lutheran College as soon as the necessary change can be made. He is a young man of great mental depth and learning, and it is believed that he will add new life and energy to the institution.