The Manning times. (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, February 03, 1904, Image 4

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ARE THEY LOST i Valuable War Records Belonging to the State Missing. COLONEL JOHN P. THOMAS Furnishes Lists of Papers Turned Over to the Adjutant Gene rals Department When He Retired. To the Editor of The sews and Courier: This communication is sub mitted to the public under a sense of duty to the State in my relation there to as former State historian of Con federate records. The following is the "conclusion" in my report for the year 1899, upon the occasion of my retring; from my office, which was thereupon closed-all the records be ing turned over to the Adjutant and Inspector General's department by order of the General Assembly: The sum and substance of the work of this office is embodied in the valua ble collection of historic data referred to in m; reports for 1898 and 1899, and in the five volumes of rolls report ed to the General Assembly, and now on file in the historian's offce. Volume I contains: Staff of General Beauregard. Staff of Lieutenant General Ander son Staff of General Stephen D. Lee. Staff of General Wade Hampton. Staff of Major General D. R. Jones. Staff of Major General Kershaw. Staff of Brigadier General Bonham. Staff of Brigadier General Trapier. Staff of Brigadier General Gist. Staff of Brigadier General Hagood. Staff of Brigadier General Jenkins. Staff of Brigadier General McGowan. Staff of Brigadier General Mani gault. Staff of Brigadier General Perrin. Staff of Brigadier General Chestnut. Staff of Brigadier General Elliott. Staff of Brigadier General Duno-. vaGt. Staff of Brigadier General Wallace. Staff of Brigadier Genera, Ripley. Brigade organization: Hagood's Brigde. Engine s-tbepartment. Adiui ant General's Department. Qtdrtermaster and Commissary de 7,rtment. Medical Staff. Chaplains. Volnme II contains: The Rolls of the Infantry Regi ments from 1st to 16th Regiments, inclusive. Volume III contains: The Rolls of Infantry Regiments, from 17th to 27th, inclusive. 1st (Orr's) Rifles. 2d (Moore's) Rifles. Hampton Legion. Holcombe Legion. Palmetto Sharpshooters. 3d (James's) Battalion. 7th (Nelson's) Battalion. Manigualt's Battalion. Offcers of Brook's Regulars. The 4th volume contains: Rolls of all Cavalary and Artillery *organizations and unattached Bat teries. The 5th volume contains: Rolls of State Troops, embracing Reserves. Militia and Independent Companies. Also miscellaneous rolls of: Offcers of the Confederate Navy. Officers of the Signal Corps. Officers of the Ironclads. Blockade Runners and their Cap tains. Roster of General and Light Bat teries in South Carolina (from Confed erate Roster by Col. C. C. Jones.) General Omeiers. General Offcers of Artillery. Charleston Troops in the War. Field Officers (from list prepared by United States war department.) Regiments and Battalions (from list prepared by United States war depart ment.) -Individual Records. These five bound volumes of Confed erate rolls and River's Roll of Honor, also bound, have been kept in a special case in the Adjutant General's offce. These volumes, I take it for granted, are on hand in the place provided for them by myself when in office. But there were other valuable records turned over by me in 1899. There were many original Confederate rolls and duplicate printed rolls. And, above all, there were about one hun dred war papers, most of them put by my action in typewritten form, and it is these valuable papers which 1 have been informed by Col. Tribble, the present commissioner of Confederate rolls, were not turned over to him, and which I am further informaed by Col. Tribble have been misleald or lost. since a thorough search in the State House has failed to discover them. These war records were invaluable, since if lost they can, in mnany cases, never be restored. I collected them to use in my proposed sketches of each military organization had the General Assembly authorized the printing of the Confederate rolls under my editorship, as was proposed and sanctioned in the House of Represen tatives, but defeated in the Senate. The following is the list of the war papers I turned over,,in 1899 to the Adjutant, and which it is reported cannot be found in the State House: Rivers's account of raising troops for State and Confederate service. The Kershaw preface. List of field officers, regiments and battallions in C. S. A., 1861-85, pre pared by United States war depart ment. "Military in the (U. S.) War De partment Library: relating to the participation of individual States in the war for the Union," published 1897, by direction of the Secretary of War. Reports Confederate rolls 1882-83 84-85-86. 1896-97-98. "Confederate Defence-Morris Is land," Gilchrist. "Battle of Franklin.'' Burr & Wil liams. Autobiography of Col. .1. HI. Hud son. Walker's sketch of the Tenth and Nineteenth South Carolina regiments.I 1861-65. Short sketch of McGowan's brigade in the late war between the States. Gist's brigade, C. S. P. A., to the spring of 1864, by Gen. Ellison Capers. Communication of Prof. W. J Rivers. South Carolina dead buried in Thorn Rose Cemetery, Staunton, Va. Roll of Confederate dead in Lexing-I ton County, S. C. Confederate dead in Hollywood, Va. Roll of Laurens County soldiers killed in battle or died during the war, 1861-65. Roll of Confederate Veterans regis tered at reunion in Greenville, S. C. Rivers's organization and history of the Twenty-fourth S. C. V., amended by Col. Ellison Capers. Bowen's sketch of Second S. C. RI fles Rion's history of Sixth S. C. In antry. Charles' sketch of Ingle's Light Bat erv. Newton's sketch of Co. E. Fourth . C. Cavalry. Screven's sketch of Co. 1. Second S. Pettigrew's sketch of Pee-Dee Light .nfantry. James's history of Eighteenth S. . V. 'offord's sketch of Co. K, Third S. I. V. Salley's sketch of Twentieth S. C. V. Sketch of Co. H, Seventh S. C. avalry. Heyward's sketch of Tucker's regi nent, S. C. V. Sketch of Fifteenth regiment, S. Z. Gregg's sketch of Gregg's Battery. Wilson's sketch of Co. D, First S. . Cavalry. Lucas's sketch of Lucas's Battalion ,f Heavy Artillery. History of the Fith S. C. Cavalry. Stokes's sketch of Co. C, Fourth S. . Cavalry. Gilbert's sketch of "Brooks Guards." Fripp's sketch of Stono Scouts. White's sketch of "St. Helena Mounted Riflemen." Simon's sketch of twenty-seventh S. J" V . Albergotti's sketch of Co. F, Second attalion, S. C. State troops. Field's war papers. Sketches-Several of Co. B. Twen -seventh Virginia Cavalry. Memoranda in re Co. E, Sixteenth ;. C. Infantry: Co. C, Twelfth S. C. nfantry; Twenty-seventh S. C. In antry. Record of Gen. Villipigue. Glover's sketch of Gen. D. R. cones. Sketch of Col. C. M. McCreary. War record of Col. S. B. Pickens.. War record of Capt. R. S. Desportes. Rion's war memoranda. LaMotte's memoranda Battle of the 3rater. Ire 1 ones's war papers. -Evans's brigade at Boonsboro and sharpsburg, by Col. F. W. McMaster. Sketches of Twenty-third regiment, . C. V., Manning Times. Confederate war notes, Chester L antern. Roll of the Seventeenth regiment, 3. C. V.; roll of the Seventh battalion, s. . V.; roll of Secession Guards. tewspaper furnished by Gen. Kershaw In 1882. Sherfesse's sketch of Hart's Bat :ery. Riecke's sketch of Walter's Battery. Iredell Jones's sketch of college ca lets. Riecke's sketch of Charleston Zou tve Cadets. Melcher's sketch of Cos. A and B, erman artillery. The Unveiling of the Munroe Tab et, December 20, 1898. Brownsfield's sketch of Lieut. Gen. Anderson. McMaster's sketch of Elliott's Bri Tade at Crater. Hudson's sketch of the Twenty sixth regiment, S. C. V. Simons's sketch of the Twenty ainth regiment, S. C. V. Mattison's sketch of Orr's Rifles. Tributes to Col. G. McD. Muller. A. Baron Holme's sketch of Pal netto Gnard. Colcock's account of the Battle of Honey Hill. Well's paper on Causes of the War. Courtenay's fragments of war his ory. News and Courier's war papers Donfederat~e Reunion, May 1899. Unveiling shaft to unknown dead. "Our Dead at Point Lookout." IN FAMHLET FOEM. Hoyt's sketch of Palmetto Riflemen. Co. B, Fourth regiment, S. C. V.; Co. C, Palmetto Sharp Shooters. Roll of W. L. I. in Confederate Service. Rutledge's address before Co. B, Sixth S. C. Cavalry. Tompkins's sketch of Co. K, Four teenth S. C. V. Walker's sketch of Tenth regiment, Inglesby's historical sketch of First regiment, S. C. Artillery. Charleston, S. C., in the War Be tween the States. John P. Thomas, Charleston, S. C., Janiary 25, 1904. Roll of Co. G. Teenty-second S. C. V., 1862-65. Complete roll of Co. F. S. C. V., L82-65. "Hart's Battery," a poem by Lee .. Harby. Roll of Co. C, Second Battalion, S. C. Reserves. Courtenay's tribute to Col. Charles Tones Colcock. Brunson's sketch of Pee-Dee Light rtillery. Coker's history of Co E, Sixth S. C. .: Co. G, Ninth S. C. V. Infantry. Fell to Her'Death. At Madrid in the presence of 5,000 1ersons, Mina Alex, a - daring y oung erman automobilist, was dashed to :he ground from the top-of a "Hoop :he Haop" at Parish's circus Wednes3 lay and fatally injured. Amid the en ~husiastic cheers of the spectators the girl had made one circuit of the track. s she shot toward the bottom of the Hoop" on her first time around, the perator was unable to swerve the ~rack to allow the automobile to run the ground. The heavy car, with ts speed somewhat slacked, dashed p the incline the second time. It had iot maintained enough momentum to iarry it around the circle again, and, t it reached the apex, the car flew off to space with the girl inside. The roung woman gave a scream as she was urled to the ground. She lay un Lble to move. The automobile dropp d a few feet away from her, smashed o pieces. Women in the circus shriek d wIth horror, and many of them ~alnted. Hundreds of people rushed or the entrance intent on mobbing Le manager of the show. He saved as life by fleeing from the town. The spectators wrecked the interior of the uilding. This was the first perform ce on the "Hoop the Hoop." A Rough Ridle. "Block the limited; there's a man >n the cowcather," was the startling message flashed along the Pennsylva ciia line telling the story of a railroad ccident just outside of Chicago. hich trainmen say is unprecedented t their experience. While crossing he tracks in Park Manor John Han 3row was caught from his feet, hurled :n the air, re-caught In the cowcatcher, md while the train sped on nearly a nile a minute, he saved himself by wrapping his arms around the iron eams in front of the engine. Two >f his ribs and one of his legs were roken, yet In spite of a freezing tem erature be clang for four miles, una >1e to get a signal to the engineer and ireman who were only a few feet be aind him. Then a telephone operator aw the man, sent a message ahead nd the train was topped. Hancrow DEATH CHEATS JUSTICE. A Tragical End Closes a Tragical Trial'in London. A dispatch from London says Whittaker Wright, the company pro moter, and charged with fraud. Wed nesday died suddenly in this city, after receiving a sentence of seven years penal servitude. His death is attributed to heart disease. Wright bad been on trial in the King's Bench division of the high court of justice on a charge of fraud in the organization and promotion of certain fraudulent concerns, and had been declared guilty of fraud on all counts and re.eived his sentence to penal servitude. Shortly after leav ing the court room he complained of indisposition and was attended by two physicians. The attack of his heart came so suddenly that nothing could be done to save him. Justice Bightam in passing sentence on Wright in the court, said he could see nothing for which to excuse the crime, and could not conceive of a worse crime. He must therefore allot the most servere punishment the law allowed. Wright, who stood up tc receive the sentence, said in tirm voice: "All that I can say is that I am as innocent of the intention to deceive as anyone in the court." Wright's friends had said all along while he was hopeful of his acquittal, they were certain he would not sur vive the sentence and would commit suicide. This is apparently what hap pened. Wright was immediately re moved to the hospital as soon as he was taken ill. He expired almost im .ediately. In summing up Justice Bigham said he would ask the jury to find a ver dict of guilty or not guilty. It they were satisfied that Wright was guilty of one or more charges they must not be deterred from finding a verdict o guilty by suggestion that such a ver dict would cast a slur upon the mem. ories of Lord l'ufferin and Loch. Their conduct was consistent in thei having honestly made the mistakes. Dealing with the evidence, Judg Bigham described as a singular wad in which thousands of pounds ster ling had become millions on paper s( far as the Lakeview shares were con cerned. The jury returned a verdic1 of guilty and the court imposed a sen tence of seven years. The sentence was followed by commotion in the distant part of the room and a faint cry of a woman wa: heard as if in distress. Almost im mediately after Wright left the roon be was taken ill and collapsed in at ante-room. He grew rapidly worse and in less than an hour after his sen tence the great financier was dead. The tragic end created a great sen sation. Wright was speaking to the solicitor about his family affairs whet he suddenly stumbled and fell for wards. He was placed in a chair ant a doctor summoned. Wright became unconscious and never spoke again. WHIFF WOULD KILL RO0MPUL The Extraordinary Power Claimed f o Cyanide of Cacodyl. Prussic acid long has been supp'set to be the most deadly poison, but nov Lascelles Scott, of Little Ilford, Eng land, makes a startling statement. He says the substance known t< scientists as cyanide of cacodyl is hun dreds, even thousands, of times mor poisonous than pure prussic acid. A he put it, "a mere whiff of this deadl poison would kill a large roomful o eopie, and the vapor of three grain diffused into the air of Drury Laa Theatre would suttice to insure tha not one of the audience or artists ir the theatre would leave it alive." Fortunately for mankind this pois on is so deadly that it is accordingl: dangerous to handle, and the crimina who attempted to use it would In a: probability kill himself. It is a whiti powder which melts at 33 degrees anc boils at 140 degrees. When expose< to air It gives off a slight vapor, to in hale which is death. "I, knowing its properties, tool every precaution and made it in ope: air," said Mr. Scott, "yet in spite o my care, and I have been accustomet to dealing with such things all m: life, some of the fumes must have es caped, for I was ill for a week afte that experiment." A well known analytical chemis1 when questioned on the subject wa inclined to throw doubts on Mr Scott's statesnents. "We know this substance. WI know It is a powerful poison," he says "But I do not think there is an: known substance of which threi grains would kill 3,000 persons.'' Better Let It Alone. "Abolish the two-thirds rule" is thb slogan suddenly raised by Democrat who are opposed to Mr. A.yan and hi methods. In Democratic national con ventions candidates for President an< Vice President are nominated by two-thirds vote of all the delegates The men who want to change the rul< in the Democratic party that require a two-thirds vote to nominate call at tention to the fact that in the Repub lican conventions a majority vote i suilcient to nominate. Thbis is true but there is a vast difference betweet the Democratic and'the Republical parties. One is managed by the pec pe and the other by the bosses. Il makes very little difference who th' Republican bosses nominate, the rani and file of the party will vote for himx But it is quite different with th' Democratic party. If a candidati can't get two-thirds vote in the con vention he had better not be nomi nated, as we do not believe he wouli have any chance of an election. Ti shut off Bryan's influence in the con vention by the changing of this rul would make him stronger with thi masses, and ensure The defeat of an: candidate nominated if he was oppos ed by Bryan. The rule has been Ir force a long time and it had best bi let alone. Its repeal would do mori harm than good. They Looked Alike. Many curious blunders are constant ly occuring in Congress by reason o the strong resemblance, actual or fan cied, between well-known men. Majoi Lacey, of Iowa, continues to be mis taken for Senator Alger, of Michigan They are about the same height and wear beards of exactly the same shape and essentially the same color. Thei: resemblance has been noted for man, years. In fact, Speaker Reed at th< time of the investigation of Secretarj Alger's conduct at the war depart mnent pu; his arm around the neck 0: iowa's rember one day with the re mark: "Lacey. you look so much like Secretary Alger that I always think when I see you, that you ought to be BRYAN ON MORAL ISSUES. Will It Pay?" Has Been Substituted for "Is It Right?" A dispatch from New York says every seat in the Madison Square Con cert hall was taken Tuesday night when Wm. J. Bryan began his speech on "Moral Issues." In the audience there were many women; while the body of the hall was more than half tilled with clergy men. There was no presiding officer, Mr. Bryan being escorted to the plat form, where he was greeted with pro longed applause. He said in part: "Why have I flung away ambition? Why have I rejected this proffered greatness and been deaf to the en treaties of those who talk only of 'get ting together." I want to know what they are getting together for, whether to defend rights or to enter upon a course of pillage. "The trouble with our government today is that it is too much influenced in its operations by men whose-only loyalty is loyalty to the money bags. Will it pay?' has been substituted for Is it right,' and as a consequence our legislative assemblies, city, State and national, are becomming auction rooms in which governmental privi leges are knocked down to the highest bidder. "One evidence that our party was honestly seeking to secure justice to the masses in 1896 and 1900, is to be found in the fact that our campaign funds were insignificant in both cam paigns. In 1892 the Democratic par ty collected a large campaign fund from the corporations. It spent more than $1,000,000 in the two States of New York and Indiana alone, and what was the result? The most pluto cratic administration this country has ever known. We witnessed a sur render to organized and predatory wealth so abject and so complete that seven years of exile from power have not entirely removed the stain from the party. You ask why I am oppos ed to the reorganization of the Demo cratic party? Because I want my party to define the rights of the peo ple; I want it to be the tearless cham pion of their interests; I want it to present the moral issue involved in public questions and to appeal to the public conscience. "When the next Democratic con vention undertakes to write a new platform, it will find the last one a model of clearness and consciseness and of square dealing; and I hope that the delegates to the convention will be instructed by the various States tc endorse it. "And how about candidates? It 1 does not matter much what the name of the pres:dential candidate is, but it does matter what he stands for, and in what direction he is going to lead the party. Let the Republican party be challenged to meet the moral issue presented-this is Democratic, this is patriotic. Mr. Bryan departed frequently from the text of the address as previously given out. Speaking of the confer ring of government favors on greal corporatiot s, he said: "I want to call the attention of the clergy to this and I want to ask then: what they are doing to warn then congregations of the degredation 01 the moral senses which is now goini; on. "I don't want to seem to rebuki the ministers for their past lapses o: -conduct. Buit I want to have thel attention called to the corruption ex isting in high places. These debaseri -of the muoral sense have grown morn and more defiant of1 the people." FATE OF A '[RAEP. SCaught in a Box Car Loaded Witt Burning Cotton. SA special dispatch from Spartan burg to The State says the body of at unknown white man was found in box car. in the Southern yards Thurs day morning. Mr. E. B. Atkinson an employn at the Southern freigh1 depot, was engaged In checking ui the bales of cotton left in the box carn of second section of freight No. 74 -which was discovered on fire in th4 Southern yards, a few nights ago, and 52 bales of which were damaged. Thi remaining 44 bales were being taker from the smoked and scorched car and were being placed into anothei car, when Mr. Atkinson and his col ored assistant were startled by th4 appearance of a man's body in uprigh1 posture, falling forward, as they re ~moved a cotton bale from its position The coroner was notified and the in quest was held. Little testimon3 was adduced, and there was no clue at to the identity of the deceased. Thi general presumption is that he was Syrian or Italian of the laboring classes, and that he crept into the bo: car at Meridian, Miss., where th4 cotton was loaded and shipped foi Gastonia, N. C. In his pocket wai found 26 cents, in the very smalles1 denominations of currency. No let ters or papers were found on his per son, save a receipt from a local ex press office in New York city, and on this paper was the address, "Austell Ga." What purported to be thi name of the person to whom the re ceipt was issued was unintelligible t( all the spectators and to the coroner Had the characters been Chinese o: Sanskrit it would have been as easj Sto decipher. The man appeared t< be 35 years of age, he was comfortablj dressed, but not neatly; and was pow erfully built; his muscular develop ment was superb, and he had evi dently been used to bard manua work or training. His complexiot was somewhat olive or dark, as is thE case with Syrians. is hair was black and curly, his lips large and hii features irregular. His death was evidently due to strangulation. Whet the cotton began burning the close compact quarters were soon filled witi smoke, anc it was doubtless in a futile frantic effcrt to escape his fate that caused him to become wedged betweer two bales Lf cotton and suffocated and burned. -The verdict of the coroner's jurl was that deceased, an unknown man, came to his death from suffocation Sand burns. His body will be buriec by the Southern Railway company. Mis sing Thirty Years. After more than thirty years the mystery surruunding the sudden anc 'unexplained disappearance of George Geyer, a prosperous young man 01 Friendship, Me., has been partially -cleared by the receipt of a letter an nouncing his recent death in Cali fornia. Geyer disappeared from his Shome in 1871. A mutilated body, rfound several days later, was identitl ed as his. is groperty was sold and untl now no doubt existed as to his death. ________ The Other Side. A New York centenarian insist that he attained his great age by never falling in love. It is now ui: to him to- explain what use there mwas in his living' at all. SHOULD RAISE GRAIN. Our Southern Farmers Should Not Neglect Foodstua for Cotton. Reviewing the general cotton situa tion and its possible effect upon grain production in the south if speculation becomes too rampant, The Manu facturers' Record of this week says: "As recently pointed out in The Manufacturers' Record, the produc tion of grain in the south last year was 773,000,000 bushels, against 607, 000,000 bushels in 1902, a gain of 166, 000,000 bushels. Of this increase 138,000,000 bushels was corn. The increase in the value of the three cereals, corn, wheat and oats, in 1903 was nearly $95,000,000 over the pre ceding year. It is important to em phasize these facts just at present in view of the danger that the high price of cotton will so concentrate the attention of the farmers upon cotton growing as to cause them to give less attention to the importance of pro viding their foodstuffs first and mak ing cotton their surplus or money crop. The present price of cotton would in the long run prove a great injury, rather than a blessing, to the farmers if it should result in their giving less attention to the diversified agricultural development which fox several years has been one of the most striking signs of the material upbuild ing of the south. "Last year the south had about 28, 000,000 acres in' cotton, an ample area under ordinary conditions for the present. Had the weather been propitious and the yield per acre equal to the average of the two preceding years, the crop would have been about 11,000,000 bales. Had the yield per acre been equal to the average for the three years from 1898-99 to 1900-01 the crop would have been about 12, 500,000 bales, and had it been equal to the average of the three years from 1895 96 to 1897-98 it would have been 13,000,000 -bales. The shortage in last year's crop was due not to lack of acreage, but to the remarkable weather conditions, beginning in the spring when continued cold, wet weather delayed planting throughout the south for over a month. Witt 28,000,000 acres i. cotton this year 11 is p,ssibie with good weather condi tions to produce certainly as high a 12,000,000 to 12,500,000 bales, thougt there may be some question whethei that amount of cotton can be picked with the present labor supply. WE believe that the shortage of cottor throughout the world and the increas ed consumption make it exceedingly desirable from every point of vies that the coming crop should be 11, 500,000 to 12,000,000 bales, and tha even at that figure it should command somewhere in the neighborhood of 1( cents a pound, if not more; but if th season should open with a large in crease in acreage without regard tc whether it could be properly cultivat. ed and fully picked there might be such a combination of forces as tc beat prices down below a fair level. "The Manufactures' Record trust that the south may never again bavu to face such low prices for cotton a~ those which prevailed during the pe riod of extreme depression from 189 to 1898. We believe that we hay entered upon a pericd to run to: sevral years of as much higher rang of prices, but to make sure of thisi is essentially important that the souti should raise its own foodstuffs, tha instead of lessening Its attention t< diversified agriculture it should givi still greater attention to corn an< wheat and oats and other foodstuffs and that then, and then only, shoul< it make a gradual increase in cottor acreage sufticient to meet from year t year the rapidly-increasing consump tive wants of the world. "Every man interested in th' south's prosperity, its bankers, it merchants, its manufacturers and it leading farmers, should press the im portance of this subject upon the at tention of the entire agricultura community. Instead of being carrie< away by the speculation which is noi sweeping over the cotton world, ex ceeding conservatism Is demande< throughout tbe south. When price reach the present level the bulls ani bears may well be left to fight out at to whether prices will go higher o: lower. They may go higher, but the: may go lower, and If they ever com mence to drop it will likely be ver: rapi I. The people at large canno afford to become involved in a specula tive craze. No greater misfortuni could befall this section than a wil< speculation in cotton, with the inevit able collapse which would certainl: follow sooner or later. The injur: would not simply be the financia losses which might come to man: thousands, but such a speculativi craze, whether profitable or unprofita ble, would disorganize business and make for a lack of stability, turning the attention of everybody to 'get rich-quick' means rather than to thi legitimate business interests of thi country. The Manufacturers' Recor< does not undertake to say whethe: cotton will go higher as to the bul leaders claim, and claim, we believe with thorough sincerity, nor doel it undertake to venture a predictioi as to whether prices will go muct lower before the new crop,.but I1 would remind its readers t h a history repeats itself. Two o: three years ago during the wild spec ulation In N~ew York there seemed ti be no limit to the demana and to th4 advance in prices of stock and bonds Over and over again the statemen was made that the country has growi so rich that the supply of securitie was inadequate to the demand, bu there came a time when it was fount that the supply of securities was I1 excess of what the public wanted, anu then came the great crash and th wiping out of thousands of million of paper profits and the destruction o many reputations, which ought t have taught a lesson to the whol country. Even in the iron market, I was less than a year ago when fur naces were crowded to their utmos capacity and we were making at thi rate of 18.000,000 tons of iron and im porting at the rate of 1,000,000 tons year. There seemed to be no limit t< the consumptive demand of the coun try. Pig iron was selling in Birming ham at $18 to $20 a ton, and in some cases $22 to $23 a ton, and buyers were scrambling for it. It is sellin; today at about $9.50 to $10 a ton and though production throughou1 he country has been cut down almosi 40 per cent, the supply still seemi equal to present consumptive require ments. "Every boom in stocks, in iron, ir real estate, which has ever swept ove: the country, has been followed by thu natural swing of the pendulum to de pression and lower prices. The history of every boom should prove a warning to the south to beware of a wild spec ulative boom in cotton. it is muck better to have lost the chance of pos sibl profits in ott an snpecnlation an? to have attended to legitimate busi ness than. to have run the risk of be ing swamped with debts by losses in cotton or any other speculative opera tion. Upon the bankers of the south will test a great responsibility as to whether they encourage or discourage the present speculative operations, not 0 only of cotton people who are familiar a with the up and downs of the trade, f( but of the general public, which ac- U cording to reports, is being drawn into this maelstrom of speculation. A HIT IN THE HOUSE. o: e A Republican Member Make a Very o1 Witty Speech. A dispatch from Washington says a the house for an hour Thursday was a entertained by a speech by J. Adam Bede, a Republican member from o Minnesota, who made his maiden ef- t fort and won his spurs. His remarks n n were replete with wit and humor, as well as serious thought. Now and then for purposes of illustration he n would tell a story whose recital great- h ly amused his auditors. He received the closest attention of Republicans 0 and Democrats alike, and drew laugh- f: ter and applause first from one side d and then from the other side of the c r house. At other times both sides of the chamber joined in vigorous ap- I plause. r Mr. Bede began by saying that if the Democrats would agree to stop abusing Mr. Cleveland he would agree to have the Republicans stop abusing P Mr. Bryan, saying both are working e in the interest of the Republican par ty. He created a ripple of laughter 8 by inviting the Democratic party to disband. . Mr. Roosevelt, he declared, will be a triumphantly elected president and he asked the Democrats to make it unani mous. The only opposition to Mr. Roosevelt, he said, was a little bunch of Populists down in Wall street. The Democrats, he said, were without a leader. - Mr. Scudder of New York question ed Mr. Bede as to how he proposed to c unite the the two races. Mr. Bede replied that he had not c referred in the race question. He re alized that peculiar conditions had a brought about peculiar burdens for the south in this matter, and he would not by word or deed add one feather's 1 weight to this burden. This state ment was applauded on the Demo cratic side. Mr. Thayer of Massachusetts ex tended Mr. Bede a cordial invitation to join the "Progressive Democratic party.'" "Who are you going to nominate?" rejoined Mr. Bede, amid Republican laughter, "The Democratic party is not run by one man," replied Mr. Thayer. "Well," continued Mr. Bede, "I understand that in New York you send men to congress by appoint menit." Mr. Bede was questioned as to his own political record, and admitted that he had first been a Republican,1 then a Democrat and finally a Repuli -can. "You see," he continued, "I voted the Democratic ticket in the 'mean' time." (Laughter.) In conclusion Mr. Bede again ex tended an invitation to the Democrats. to join the Republicans and elect Roosevelt. "Why," he said, "the election returns from the west will simply be supplemental census fig ure." Bryan Receives Ovation. A dispatch from Hanover, N. H., says the largest crowd that ever as-1 sembled at a public meeting in this section of the State assembled in 0ol lege Hall Wednesday evening to hear William Jennings Bryan. The audi ence embraced many prominent New Hampshire politicians and delegations from all the schools and academies in this section. Every seat in the spacious ball was taken, and many1 were unable the gain admission.' The programme called for a banquet to the noted visitor preceding the lec ture, and covers were laid for prom Inient visitors and the administra tion officers of Dartmouth College, but Colonel Bryan was delayed by a railroad accident and failed to arrive in time for it. "Value of an Ideal" was the title of Bryan's lecture. Touching upon ideal policies, he feared the political idea of today was one of corruption. "In Delaware," he, said, "on Election Day in some pre cincts three-fourths of the voters are bought, and in one precinct votes were sold at auction to the highest bidder. These things must be checked by a higher Ideal, by an awakened conscience. We also have a commer clal ideal, estimating the nation by the amount of its exports. I belive the highest product of a nation is its manhood and womanhood. I want this Government to be tbe best in the world. It must do the greatest good in Its power before it reaches Its high est Ideal." A Porgiving spirit. In his reminiscences General Gor don tells a characteristic anecdote of( an eccentric southern divine, the Rev'. I Robert J. Breckinridge, who was one t of the most eloquent and fervid not - to say bitter advocates of the union I cause. His trenchant pen and lash- t ing tongue spared neither blood rela tives nor ministers nor members of I the church, niot even those of the3 same faith with himself, provided be I regarded them untrue to the union. On his deathbed his family and some of his church members were gathered t around him. They were most anxiou~s I that he should be reconciled to all I men and especially to a southern t sympathizer of his own church. Dr.( Stuart Robinson of Kentucky, befor e I he died, and they asked him, "Brother I Breckinridge, have you forgiven all I your enemies?" "Oh, yes; certainly I have," "Well, Brother Breckir.- t ridge, have you forgiven your brother, Dr. Stuart Robinson?" "Certainly I have. Didn't I just tell you that I had forgiven all my enemies?' "But, Brother Breckinridge, when you meetc Brother Stuart Robinson in heavenc do you feel that you can greet him as' 1 all the redeemed ought to greet one another." Don't bother me witaI such questions. Stuart Robhinsoa ' will never get there!"e s Postmasters to Meet. t Over three hundred postmasters in C South Carolina have been invited to i attend the meeting in Columbia on a February 9th for the purpose of form ing an organization, and practically I all of them have responded favorably [S to the call. Only postmasters having t] money order offices were invited, and d the attendcnce will be very large b DECEMBER WEATHE. xcessive Cold Injured Grain Crops. Wheat Poorest in Years. Mr. J. W. Bauer, section director e the weather bureau service has sub fitted his December report of the ef ct of weather conditions on farming perations as follows: "December was an unusually cold Lonth. At stations having a record less than 15 years, it was the cold. ;t December of record and since 1871 aly on two years was the average mperature lower in South Carolina )r the same month, namely In 1872 ad in 1876, while 1886 was equally s cold near the coast. "The mean temperature for the tate was only 41 degrees, which is ae degree below the active growing mperature, while the mean of the ilnimum temperatures was about two ad a half degrees below freezing, aving been 29.4 degrees. "There was a great deal of alter ate freezing and thrawing that was armful to grain sown on moist lands. 'hin ice was of frequent occurrence, nd the prevailing clear weather tav red heavy frost deposits, but the rosts of themselves did little or no amage as all vegetation was practi ally dead at the beginning of the ionth, except along the coast where rinter truck made precarious growth. ,ettuce and turnips were the only va leties of vegetables that did even iirly well. "The precipitation was generally de cient, with a few widely separated laces that bad normal, or slightly xcessive amounts. A small part of he precipitation was in the form of now that fell to a depth of about an rch at a few places, but was gener 1ly not more than a mere trace, and 11 of it melted rapidly and did not af ord any protection to winter grain. he small amount of precipitation, ollowing a deficiency in rainfall since Lugust, caused all streams to reach nusually low stages. "Wheat and oats seeding made ome progress during the month, but either grain germinated favorably wing to the cold and dryness. Much 'beat sown during the month did not ome up, as the tender sprouts were illed by freezing before showing bove ground. Oats that had come p from earlier sowings was winter :illed to a large extent and is in a oor condition. The -condition of 'heat is the poorest in appearance in aany years, while the unfavorable reather restricted the acreage plant d, as December is usually the most avorable month for sowing it. The ry soil rendered winter fallowing dif icult, and but little was done. The cold weather was favorable for :illing hogs." WAS IN THE REAR ,eneral Wilson Makes a Serious Charge Against General Wood. General Wilson seems to be very nuch opposed to General Wood's >romotion, and in his testimony be ore the senate committee, said that very officer in the army resented it. '1 suppose he was selected," continu d General Wilson, "because the resdent thought he was the best nan. Now I think it would be well ~or this committee to have a show lown as to merit at this time. If he s the best man, he should be promot ~d. If he is not the best man, then ollow the precedents and select the he best man." In his testimony be ore the senate committee, General Wilson told the committee that he 1ad had in interview with Mr. Roose relt at his home in Oyster Bay soop fter Mr. Roosevelt had been elected :o the office of vice. president, but be ore the death of Mr. McKinley. leneral Wilson said: "Mr. Roose elt began then in rather extravagant. rms to praise General Wood, where ipon I said to him: 'Governor Roose relt, I think you are perhaps mistaken bout that. If I am correctly inform d, General Wood was never under Ire in his life until the Spanish war )egan, either in the Geronimo cam aign or at any other time. In the spanish war, General Wood was never n but one battle, and that at Las uasimas -'where, but for his rescue nd support by the colored troops, he vould have been badly handled.' ccording to General Wilson, Mr. toosevelt replied: "Oh, yes, he was Lt San Juan." General Wllson retort id. "I beg your pardon, he was not. lou know that he was in the rear ooking for ammunition." General ilson says that Mr. Roosevelt oswered: "Yes, but do not tell any ody." In his testimony before the enate committee, Genefal Wilson, mmenting upon this statement, aid: "Now, why he did not want ne to tell anybody, I do not know. I lid not pursue the subject any 'urther and that is the last word that ias ever passed between us with ref ~rence to General Wood." Trust Fund for Democracy. Col. Mose 0. Wetmore of St. Louis as provided, in a codicil to his will, or a considerable sum, probably about i5,000 to be given to the Democratic arty in perpetuity. He admitted ~Vednesday having made the bequest. kl. Wetmore's idea is that the party s to be permanently the exponent of he principles announced by Thomas efferson and that it should not be de endent upon mere temporary con ributions. His desire, supposed to be corporated in the will, is that the ud shall be kept invested for 100 ears and then devoted to building a neorial to Jefferson, the Income to >e divided meanwhile into two parts very year, one for national commit ee and the other for the organization i the state of Missouri. The St. ous Union Trust Company is to be he custodian of the fund. For years k>. Wetmore has been a regular and iberal contri butor to democratic cam aign funds and has taken an active nterest in politics. He was a friend Richard P. Bland and Is now a par icular friend of Willian Jennings ryan. By Powder Blast. By premature explosion of a charge dynamite Thursday afternoon at 3 'clock at Shuman's camp on the Sea iard grade, near Powder Springs, a., an old negro known as "Uncle )ick," was blown to pieces, and :homas Shumani, contractor in barge, was seriously Injured as was even other laborers. It is not thought hat any of the Injured will die. Iharles Shumnan, a brother of the one 2jured, was Inssantly killed at the me spot two weeks ago. PREsIDENT Roosevelt declares that ecretary Root was the ablest man In e government service. Now where res the Hon'.rable Teddy and his umndne ofa come in? BILLED IN THE SENATE. The Bill to Regulate the Hours of Service About Depots. The bill to regulate the daily hours of service of railway employes met its death in the senate Thursday by a vote of 16 to 11. The bill was brought up for second reading and had been amended by the committee so as to included telegraph operators, passen ger or freight agents or any person employed in and about telegraph, offices, passenger or freight stations or depots. Although 12 hours was fixed as the time, a clause was in serted "except at the option of such employe and except in case of unavoid able emergencies, and then only so long as may be actually necessary. "Provided," continues the bill, "that upon its being made to appear to the satisfaction of the railroad commis sion that the duties of any such em ploye are not such as to require more - than 12 hours of actual labor or ser vice out of each day, though the nature of such duties be such that it is necessary for him to be in and - about said office, station or depot for a longer period; and, if it be made further to appear that such longer hours of labor or service will not be detrimental either to such employe, or to the interests of the public, they may pass an order, excepting such employe from the provisions of this act." - If complaint should be made to -the railroad commission it should investi gate and enforce the act. Senator Sheppard moved to strike out the enacting words, commenting upon the fact that the act would place the State in the position of making contracts for men over 21 years of age. The bill was unlike that applying to cotton mill employes for that regulated child labor. Sena tor Hydrick, the author of the bill, supported it, urging that the safety of the public demanded that the em ploye be not- overworked. One pro vision of the act was that the railroad commission should investigate com plaints that "such employe is required or permitted to labor or serve more than 12 hours a day." After the debate a vote was taken on Senator Sheppard's motien to strike out the enacting words, result-* ing as follows: Yea-Senators Aldrich, Brown, Forrest, Hardin, Herndon, Holliday, Manning, McCall, McIver, McLeod, Ragsdale, J. W.; Sharpe, Sheppard, Stanland, Walker, Wil liams-le. Nay-Senators Blake, Brice, But. ler, Carpenter, Douglass, Gaines, Goodwin, Hydrick, Johnson, Marshall, Raysor-11. Porto Ricans Not Aliens. Until a few days ago, and since the annexation in 1898, Porto Ricans who did not elect to remain Spanish sub jects were citizens of no country, says an exchange. They were merely "citi zens of Porto Rico"-a status which did not carry American citizenship with it. Our immigration authori ties treated them as alines; but as they had no foreign citizenship and owed allegiance to no foreign sovereignty, they were practically left without any citizenship at all-a populus colony of Philip Nolans. The United States Supreme Court4 now decides that they are not aliens, and cannot be treated as such. Its decision does not directly confer American citizenship upon them, but it does so by inference, and will go far toward doing so in fact. If -they cannot be treated as aliens, they are in effect treated as American citizens. This Is all well as to the Porto Ricans, who are attached to the principles of the Constitution of the United States and well disposed to the good order and happiness of the same, and who are, moreover, so few in number that their iminigration can give us no trouble. But what about the effect of this decision on the status of the Filipinos, concern ing whom the case is very different? The decision makes legislation on this head abs~lutely necessary. The power.of Congress over our dependen cies and all that concerns them has been fully established. It should be exercised to define the status of colonial citizens and regulate their Immigration. It Is not necessary that they should be aliens in order that we miay shut out paupe es, diseas ed persons and .other "undesirables" among them. Meantime, ae can re joice in the fact that the docile Porto. Ricans have taken another step to ward real American nationality. Two White Boughs. The Columbia Record says: "Two visiting young ladies had r-ather an unusual experience Thurday sevening when eturning from the presentation of "Little Lard Fauntleroy" at the theatre. As it appears, .they were visitors to the city, and had joined a~ large party to attened the perform ance, but at the last momellt others in the party decided not to go, and these, two thought, in Colx~nbia as elsewhere, ladies could go without an escort, as in this case. After enjoying the play, they were returning home, when they realized that two presump tious, impertinent white men were following them. This completely un nerved them, and the elder turned to the men and asked them to pass, which they refused to do, declaring their intention of escorting the two home. The ladies live some little dis tance from Main street, and they ap pealed to a couple who were passing at the time, who gladly walked home with them. This is an unusual affair in Columbia, and the ladies looked around for a police to report the mat ter to, but could find none." Tin Lined Dress Suit Case. The Columbia State says one of the negro porters of the Southern, who had been suspected of transporting contraband whiskey, was caught Wednesday night. His method, while not without precedent, is not exactly a common practice among offenders of this kind. The negro, Lee Boyd, was made to hand over his dress suit case to be examined. It was possss ed of a solid tin lining within which would hold two gollons. The case was nearly full of whiskey. The negro was arrested and Thursday morning he had the nerve to try to explain to the recorder. But circumstantial facts were too strong and the reo~rder fined the porter $20. A Tramp's Sad Fate. A dispatch from Tallapoosa, Ga., to the Augusta Chronicle says an un-. known white man, who was found drunk in the public road there Tues day night and placed in the barn of Alfred Willard, was burned to death with the barn. Only the ch'arred trunk remained after the fire. OF course war is "inevitable" In the far east, but somne ihow or other the blamed thing seems to be on a side.