Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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it out. From its ap..e:arance it looked to mte as if some one had used some kind of bar to prize it loose. The work. a had the appearance of being well done. I rem. Yours. very truly. Co-lnanhia Plumbing and Cornice'i Wor-ks. It. E. Chapman. Manager. Telegranm: Columbia, S. C.. Feb. 18.I94. A. C. Dover. Ocala. Fla. Id the State house roof show :lash ings were torn out wflen you examninec igne.d) Frank P'. M1ilburn.'egrm Te'legramn: Ocala, Fla.. Feb. 1S.1904. Frank P. Milburn. Architect. Yes, some half doz-/n places absolute ly pulled away fromt wall. c (Signed) A. C. Dover. Columbia. S. C.. Feb. 15, 1904. t Mr. Frank P. Milburn. Dear Sir: 1 am a native of Georgia. but now a resident of ('harlotte. N. C. I am a practical co:arce and metal and I sheet worker, with :,_ years actual ex- e per:en-: . t I id a great deal of work on the Stae capitol at Columbia: had charge s of the sheet metal work of the inner e dcm.ne and the outer dome, and also t tie guttering. and the same was put in iecot ding to the plans and details for r the sane. by experienced workmen. in r good. workmanlike manner. I have I read the published testimony of Mr. v Hunt relating to my work, and the t ste is in the main not true. ' 1 have this day been on the roof and examined the dome and gutters. The ? tioor of the iat:t ern of the dome has been badly ab'used~ s-ince the work was s completed and a'rcepted. There have a been holes made in the copper, which ( cause leaks in the inner dome.' There i is now a piece of timber there with s nails in it. which might cause some of a the holes noted. .c As to the guttering. the statement of a Mr. Hunt is generally not true. They c are made of Merchant's old method IX t tin, which is the standard of America. and proper material for that particular t work. It rests on a granite foundation c and has all the protection necessary. After three years use it is in perfect i condition. I have had large experience with n roofs, and have been familiar with tnis g roof, ofT and on, since I. was put on. a In this matter, again the testimony of M\r. Hunt is largely untrue.: It is as- t l'halt and gravel, and note tar and gravel. None of the stone used in its construction were one and a half or o w.vo inches, and the little slipping noted t is only some slight excess of material, e - as is cominon jo such roofs. s The cost of metal ceilings in 1901 and ]902 was very much less than it was in ,1SS9. because of progressive ideas t and methods in this kind of business i and 4rices of material. Al'hough I had. no interest in the ceiling of the main d lobby, or elsewhere, my work was neart it. and I had conversation with Mr. k Unkefer about same, and I know that the new ceiling cost more than it would i have cost to repair the old one, but to fix the old one would require the im portation of special expert metal work ers, and a great deal of time, which b w ~ ould have resulted in inconvenience to the legislature. Yours truly, (Signed) G. G. Ray.. o To Whom it May Concern: Gentlemen: I have read with sur price Capt. Hunt's testimony in re- s gard to the roofing applied to the State house, and have the following to sub The roofing on this building is what t1 is known as "Warren's Anchor Brand. c Natural Asphalt Roofing," and was ap plied by the "Charlotte Roof and Pav- t ing company" of Charlotte. N. C.. ac cording to the plans and specifications adopted by the Warren Chemical and f Manufacturing company of New York b city. This roof is what is known as our "Standard Anchor Brand -Asphalt C Roofing." and has been applied accord- t ing to our' plans and specifications. It 0o contains no coal tar', or coal tar prod- a * ucts. and is composed out of asphalt1 * throughout. In reference to Capt. jn Hunt's assertion that the roof is of lit-: tie or no value. I might state that P while there are some leaks in 'the roof, these leaks are occasioned, not through the :ault of the roofing, but for other't * reasons not in the roofing contract. Now, the pitch of this roof, as nearly ! as 1 can ascertain, is about four inches b to the- foot. and'the roofing is well U adapted to this class of construction: in fact we do not hesitate to advocate, and furthermore to apply this roof ing. on buildings whose roofs have a - pitch of (6) -six inches and upwards to 'the foot. The crushed quartz used for . b the graveling surface is such as will' pass through a mesh from 5-16 inch to i 1-2 inch in size, and 1. am at a loss toI understand how Capt. Hunt can say I that he was able to find stones as big V as pigeon's eggs, or the size of a man's| hand. I submit the above testimony in ;P defense of the Anchor Brand Roofing, P which has been attacked by Capt. a Hunt. and trust it will be accepted as a such. r (Signed) -Walter B. Harris. Representing Warren Chemical and Manufacturing company. 17 Battery Place. New York city. * I notified the Charlotte Roof and . Paving company repeatedly to send men to 'repair this roof. They sent men more than once, but finally Mr. Dover. the manager, told me that some t one wae tampering with the roof and t . that he th~ought that water was run-. - ning through the copper work and around the windows. It is a fact that some of the frames.. and sash were * blow.n in during a severe windstorm' last summner, and more than likely thise accounts for some of the leaking com olained of. Mr. Ray informed me that .c holes had been punched in the coppert dome. I cannot say as to this, buts .I do know that people were .permittedd to go and come at will. On t wo or more occasions I sent my * men to inspect the roof after it was b reported to me that it had leaked. .They reported that a scuttle. which is about three or four feet square, was left off; and one time both scuttles were off. I required that the roofing contract- . ors give a guarantee for 10 years, which fully protected the State's in terests. The committee Nay that a fine siate roof wvas torn off which cost the State -a great amount of money, and they further say that it afforded perfect pro tection. But they did not produce a single wvitnese to prov'e these assertions.~ *Who told them? The absurdity of the statement is proved by the fact that the principal argument used in get ting the appropriation for the imnnrove rrants was that "the roof was full of holes and leaksed like a seive." Beside. being old and worthless as a roof, there was a very small portion of the slate on the roof. only that a'rt that could be seen from tire ground-that is. thre steep mansard-the rest was of copper and was sold for iunk. Eighth. Numerous objections to the dome which are so disconnected as to' necesitate some'what of a general re It should be clearly understond that I o~riil pi:mned for the contstrue tior of this dome of cast steel. just :ike themaeri11used for the dome of the capio at Was~:hington. Col. Marshanl ob.:c-' to .this. andi the commission. as 1 bel'eve. lar'gely influenced by its - desire to an.tisfy him. directed the chang'e to 'granite. This change nc(es5 sitated a ""reatliy increased le.ad. and I no' only c:;r"efully considered the' strength of the main building to sup port i but t my own exn-ense. had the' bst' expert in this line to make an examPintion anad c'alculationl of the -ssron the masonry, of the pro posedi irn.crose~d load. The proposdca chne, a feasihle, but mnstead of'upor'ting the dome on two ste~' he::nm. ns first designed. I ~ad p; itn :'.ru large box s:"el giraec: . an. ir'reased the thick nrss of all that metal. The expert / eferred to said. "We c ,t satisfied that % here is no qurstion as to the strength 1 f this rev is.'c d--sin.' With this I hange it t.ec.ie necessary to give; reater pitch :. the . oof than .origi ally intended. and to make numerous 1 :odile:tiors and changes in the spec- 1 ieat:ons and detal drawings for the1 ok. or instance, the change in t ii of :he roof obviated the necessity or thi ventilators shown iii the orig a.l rlans. which would have been un.- t iahtly thereon. The modiflid atnd ' r i t Ta drawings for this portion of the crk are still on tiie in my o!:-, an ould have been seen by the ints ating committee and th:ir " .t' ad they so desired. = It is charged that the window frae" ' f the dome do nst fit. This ypieea- i nee is no doubt *.cou--' by the fact t gat some of them were biow in du- P 1g a severe storm last um1mer. Again. that thc'e :+r" kk'SF and rircps in the alvaniz.d ion Of the dner doe. itut thiaSe' art n o doub ) .e to Inatu.'a; expansil and cotiIr'- 1 ion. Again that some ston;e.s on the out- r ide of the dolmar too shrIt and the: ntra.to'r illed up the spaces. Now. n ft.t is. you .aninot keep the water c t .,z a close joint of stones: there I tst be space enough to calk and ce- c awut, and it is necessary at that point.~ [ mast be understood that the little s -ater oozing past the cement swells I 1o oakum and this makes the joint r ater proof. i But the great bulk of criticism 2 C the work on the dome is that ;s not according to plans and >ecifications. and that the nlais: 2 tually used are not what they; tould be. It is true that much of it, i not according to the drawings and 'i >ecifications seen by the committeri-1 nd their expert, but are a substantial )mplance with the modified drawings ad detailed working plans. As to the: iticism by Mr. Hunt and the commit e of the plans as changed and actu !ly carried out, I insist that neither xis contractor nor this committee are )mpetent judges. Surely the members ! the committee are no better able to I idge of the work, at this time, than c ere the members of the capitol corn-s ission, who saw the work as it pro- p ressed and when it was completed and q ^cepted. L Ninth. That the wood truss under o te portico roof, called for by the draw- e gs, is absent. deied t After the commission decided to 1 mit the two columns before referred . the wood truss was no longer prop- t the drawings were changed and b eel trussed pe.rlins substituted. span- d ing the portico the shortest way. e And here again the committee under- fl kes to criticise the use of built up o sactions. as called for by the drawings, ( istead of expensive solid stones. In- c ced they criticise everything except p: ]e contract price, which every body a nows was very low. 1 Tenth. That a sheet. of galvanized o on 1-32 of an inch thick is all there between the interior of the building ad the "wide. wide world." These gutters are not galvanized iron. it the best quality of IX tin, which is o te best gutter lining that can be used. 1 opper lasts longer, but the expansion too great. These gutters. which are a the usual thickness for this class of ork, are painted on the under side, ulked with lead in the stone and the A atter bed lays flat on the stone cor- o ice. t Eleventh. That one of the large !in- 1: i stones in the rear portico is cracked. s tis being the last of the specific c arges which is numbered. ' s This stone showed no defect when a e work was accepted. but has bro- i en since then. I do not believe it is ' kely to "give away." Apparently per- t :ct stones will sometimes crack in a uilding and cannot be guarded i: gaist. The committee could have d tsily found evidence of this fact, had f tey desired it, in several large stones, : a the east side of the building, which b re cracked and broken. as is .also a t ery large stone on the south side i: ar the wvest corner. Next: That the contractors did not i, rotect the interior of the building dur ig the work. It is almost impossible to fully pro ct a building during repairs and aanges and let the occupants remain side-it is not like an unoccupied ilding. I could not. and did not. ndertake to prescribe just how the tractors should protect the old j ork. and they claimed to the commis- y on that they had done all they could 1: a to that end.s In this connection it must be remem- i; ered that many of the stains from I aks in different parts of the building c ere there before the work under in ?stigaon begun. Next: As to the cement floors and ater leaking from above. t Only one day last month I was sur rised to see so much water in the assageway under the front portico. s it htad not rained for several days. ad I called the attention of Mr. Wil am Banks of The State to the condi ons. Careful examination showed d at the walls of the building were veating all around, but where the dirlt -as against the building it absorbed ( te water. while it was not so absorbed here the cement floors joined the -als. The walls swveat regularly. I his would not have been the case had' icy been built hollow in the Outset ey had enough thickness for air )ace in the centre. This is one of thei tost serious defects in any part of thec tate house. I had nothing to do with i Next: As to the defective water clos ts and plumbing. This work was all done before the 1. ty had plumbing rules, or an inspec-a >r of sewers and plumbing. or even a i werage system. These rules, vary in ifferent cities, and in the absence oft ny prescribed rules each ar'chitect ses such plans and methods as seem est, considering location and sur Jundings, general appearance and .nitary rules. In all these matters: ere is constant improvem'tent. just as -e have greatly improved on old clos-. :s in the basement. which were in :alled when Col. Marshall was. n the ammission in charge of the State ouse improvements. I twust that the - tate is able to get even more v'enti tionl by electric fans. as suggested, or i therwise, as the present location was ot built for, this purpose. or there' 'ould have been more ventilation. I t :ink the following letter wvill enable e pubiic to form a correct estimate f the inclination or this investigating ommittee to condemn everythimg mn I >ffice of A. WV. Edens. C. E.. Inspector t of Sewers and Plumbing, Room No. S. City Hall.r "olumbia. S. C.. Feb. 15 190f4. I Frank P. M~ilbur:n. Der Sir At your request I take 1easure i sta.ting that the plumbix. n:rthe two porticeos of the State 0ttse\ will compallre favorably with aiy lubn th.at has e'onte umder my ob-) 0r.to ina this city whic(h was in talled prior to the pssaxg0 of the res-ntcit pitbing i'ub's. The clos ts'an other t'.xtures'~ are of good qual y. T 'e'prncipr'e def.-t foun.'d was : Y oursi resectfully. 11 is 'har"'ed th'at the" "ntra'tors. -naex trespasts." .ariid away ad dIsp' e o. od n ""terial. which i1 as valbu"abl l-p"Orty'~ ofC the State: ndl the commin'ttee~ saysv they~. attempt jut'ify the ".'etv yr item of the px.in tin. w"'ich des" r.Ot sunrport fin 1- .noth' e icec that the. 0nmte did not enc.tsid'er the reporl!ts I f the capit'l comisin as the legis a~ture drected it to do; for it appears Sonre f th'-ose reprorts that undter the -*" the specifiie-t ionsr referrad to, ncorn.racto. '1 vnd ter bidder's. ,m ol bc..re- 'oidding that they vould get all the old material, excep~t he marble: that the conbtractors al owed for the value of this old material n their bid; that the connai:on tuii: nvestigated the mtm: tnat the at orney general gave his oflisia l opinion hat the general opinin hadW been that he contraco: w 1e*. mate la: a'd :ic 'i oi L nInii :. tu i not lai... it: h...i t. Opinn P f the aittor i-ty g-.:i \. e plo: v ed by the com uis only Mr. Marshall; 3.... ti:t ' om:,Sisin refeed Mr. Gar u'i'.. " .-.ition to it to guy the trf;,t from the contractors. I repeIL that I cannot believe that lip investigating committee consid red the report. or knew of these facts. f they iid. I think a discriminating ublic can see that they are determined u uphold Col. Marshall's minority re ort. even if a suppression of cold cts is necessary. Generally: As an evidence that I gave the State oud and honest service in tie expend :ure of its money on the State house. nd in refutation of na:y charges lade, but not sustained. iy the mi estigating committee, I desire to sub 'it the following statecnts of hun rable, widely known contra tors. no4)t *ithstanding the chai:rmta;: of that ommnittee, on the floor of the senate. here he was secure fron reply, de eended to the tactics of trying to be mirch and impugn any of and all wit esses who dared to speak the truth, not in support of his report: icholas Ittner. Contractor. P. 0. Box 56. Atlanta, Gat. Atlanta. Ga.. March 22,1941. Ir. Frank P. Milburn. Columbia. S. C. Dear Sitr: Your favor of the 20th to and. I examined the material and :orkmanship at capitol ..building. and nd it a first class job. I consider it a ood, substantial piece of work. Yours truly, (Signed) Nicholas Ittner, Contractor. Savannah, Ga.. Aug. 17. 1903. fr. Frank P. Milburn. Columbia, S. C. Dear Sir: In reply- to your inquiry fAugust 7th in regard to the work re rtly done on the State house, I will ay that I have had consierable ex erience in large work, and have had cite a number of contracts from the 'nited States government. 1 was one f the firm of the Stewart Contracting ampany, who bid for the contract in olunbia. I was in Columbia Aug. th, and while 'there inspected the tate nouse work. As a whole. I think le work very satisfactory. There may e some minor things that I would have one different if i had been award cd the contract. . Anyone looking to nd fault can always find it. There is ne thing certain, the State of South 'arolina, in my estimation, has re ived full value for the money ex ended, and now has a capitol that ny State might well be proud of. his is my honest and unprejudiced pinion. Yours truly, (Signed) J. E. Burgess, Manager, Savannah Contracting Company. Note. Mr. Burges remodeled interior f postoffice building in Columbia, in )03. Augusta, -Ga., Sept.2, 1903. r. Frank P. Milburn, Columbia, S. C. Dear Sir: In reply to your favor of .ug. 25th, wanting an opinion from' us n the new State capitol in your city, -e beg to say the writer has frequent gone over this building during con truction and since it was finished, and onsider it as good a job as it is pos ble to make out o a remodeling job, nd being fagiliar with the price paid yr the work. I consider the State se ured a regular excursion price on that uilding. We have had considerable experience remodeling work, and know how ifficult it is to make everything per ctly satisfactory, as there is some rng always in the way that cannot e moved. You would have no trouble prove up values if the matter was tvestigateu, as you know from ex erince that it is much easier to crit ise than it is to execute. Yours very truly. tSigned) J. H. McKenzie & Sons. General Contractors. By Charles F. McKenzie. Johnson City, Tenn., Sept. 26. 1903. [r. Frank P. Milburp. Columbia, S. Dear Sir: Replying to your inquiry ( Aug. 25th, asking my opinion of the ork recently done on the South Caro na State house. I will say that I con idered the same well executed and ful Sup to the standard for such work. I ave had experience in remo'deling old apitols, and have found it hard to lease every one, as they do not un erstand the many troubles that we ave to contend with. I am surprised at any objections are raised in re ard to tihe job, as I thought the qual :y of the work done, considering' the uantity, was well worth the price id for it. I should think it would be orth fully $200,000 to duplicate the ame work now under the present con itions of markets. etc. Yours truly. Signed) Jt. E. Parrish, ontractor and Builder, Lynchburg, Va. Columbia, S. C. Feb. 3, 1904. Er. Frank P. Milburn, Columbia, S. Dear Sir: Replying to your favor of cent date, in which you request us to 'spect the work done on the State apitol building at Columbia. 5. C., we eg to advise as follows: After a careful inspection of thme ork. we are prepared to say that in ur opinion, that the work seems to ave been performed in a substantial nd workmanlike manner. In our opin m. the appropriation was entirely too mall for the amount of work under ken. Very tr-uly yours. (Signed) W. T. Hadlow Co., By G. H. Hadlow. reneral Conmraetors. Jacksonville. Fla. Columbia, S. C.. Feb. '15, 1904. Ir. Frank P. ,Milburn. Dear ISir: I have this day been hrough the capitol building at Co lmbia. S. C., and after looking over he work. I am satisfied that the work one by the contractor is a faithful erormatnce of the spirit and intent f the plat's antd rpecifications, as the :'ork done is worth a great deal more han his contra:ct price. I also read Mr. Htunt's report as to te ceiling and fioor light and am :tisied that he is entirely too high in is v:aluation of th eciling. an'i tinat ho rioor light appears to have been .se'd or wt'lked upon before the cement et. in which case the damages would Lt appear for some time. And I would say further, that in re aring or addin.g to buildings t here .ea grea'. many things which no bility on the part oL the t rchite--t can orsee. and which have' to he takena up .s they develt.>p: so. after careful ly oking over the matter. 1 am satinsfied ha't th e ritiisms upon yourself and .ntrctorst are unenlied for andi 'n I find thatm the. "ran'te usedl is not u.s tar a's 1he original gr:anite: the extrc betig ceer.~ i'. would not. Ike the same~ finish. I rind that the pifc a tions prov"de that each cla:ss md't'eof wo' 'hal be ) so many - ts a n'h 'Mwr wouldl nor. be akenby he nn~~p or as his guitd r performn':.:: tis waork. w\hiA- the vn .'a's''- ndot,in"'s would he the I, - . ,..1. r ht the removal metioned in Mr. -.rovied f ' 'h-'chan-' was p rope'r. n h hickness of-" thre ceiling and rut:rs atre su''h as~ are" used on all od build"r"' t 'is my'*' t exei''.- a n ennrtor r 2' year's ihn :.i ntmi'-r of' roofs a..t for ....me time. aft.r thre hnudingr is completed. and to cover this a guarantee is given for one year. The copper and tile roof on the ov ernment building in Augusta ieaked from lime to time and gave the oficers considerable trouble. . Resrec tfully. (Signed) T. C. Brown & Son. Per T. C. Brown. General Contractors. Augusta. Ga. THE GOVERNMENT EXPERT. No doubt the public is curious to know something more of Mr. Hunt, upon whom the comittee seems con tent to rest for the support of its nu merous cri:t"ims of designs. plans and work. with tht- single exception of the plumbing. I had understood. until last week. that the name of this w:itness was H. H. Hunt. and that he was a govern ment architeet, as Committeeman Pat terson announced in the house, and I made diligent inquiry in Washington a's to identity and standing. In the limited time at my disposal since= Thursday. I have inquired as to the vcork. position. etc.. of Mr. S. S. Hunt. resultiing in, the following in formiation.: Before going to Washington. Mir. Hunt enjoy.-ed the reputation of being a good miehanie'. The Washingtorn city directory for 19-3 c'.ntains his name as a contractor. The congressional directory does not show any such office as "superintend ent of constructing of the United States capitol.' The last congressionai direc tory shows as connEc:ted with the office superintendent of the capitol: Superintendent. Elliott Woods. Con gressional hotel. Chief clerk. George H. Willians. 210 E. street. Chief electrical engineer. Christian P. Gilem, 642 East Capitol street. Clerk, John Welch, 310 North Caro lina avenue. S. E. W. B. Kilpatrick wires: "Architect says neither S. S. Hunt nor H. H. Hunt. superintendent of con struction capitol. Never heard of such Hunt." J. K. Taylor. the supervising archi tect of the United States government, wires: "Otlc'e has no knowledge of S. S. Hunt in connection with any of its work. Paul J. Pelz of Washington. one of the three architects (and the only sur vivor) who designed the famous con gressional library, says: that his name is not in the government Blue Book: that he neither knows' S. S. Hunt as a builder. contractor or architect. and that if he had been o'f prominence in either capacity. he would have known him. Will South Carolinians endorse- the libelous report of this investigating committee. confessedly based on the opinion of tiis witness, in the face of the opinions of Nicholas Ittner of At lanta. J. E. Burgess of Savannah, Charles F. McKenzie of Augusta, J. E. Parrish of Lynchburg. G. H. Hadlow of Jacksonville, and T. C. Brown of Augusta? The following extracts from the rec ords of the Capitol commission will no doubt prove interesting to the public: "Upon motion of Mr. Derham: "Resolved, That when the work on the State house is, finished, prior to accepting the same, the architect shall notify the governor, who shall call the commission together, who with the architect shall inspect the work, and if the same is satisfactory the cer tificate shall issue.". Columbia. S. C., May 22. 1902. Hon. M. B. McSweeney. Chairman State House Commission: Dear Sir-I wish to report that Mc Ilvain. Unkefer Co., contractors. have completed the work as outlined by me on the State house. That is. the spir it. intent and meaning of the plans. specifications and modifications of the same. and are entitled to the final pay Inent. Frank P. Milburn. P. S. This report to be filed when the commission are satisfied with the work as done. "Resolved, That it appears to the: commnission for the completion of the State house that the work is satisfac tory and that the contract has been suibstant ially performed. Whereupon Mr. Marshall made the following motion as :a substitute: Resolved. That in"'the opinion of this commission the work done under the~1 contract to complete the State house has not been performed by the con tractors according to the plans, speci fications and contract, and therefore the work done is not satisfactory to the commission." A roll call having been demanded up-: on the question of the adoption of Mr. Marshall's substitute, the substitute wvas rejected by a vote of 7 to 1, as fol lows: Voting yes-Marshall-1. Those voting no-McSweeney, Jen nings. Mower. Johnson. Wilson, Bel linger. Derham---7. CONCLUSION. I have tried to briefly and calmly show the public the plain facts connect ed with the State house work, with-. out resorting to rant and cheap clap trap about bamboozling. etc. I have no desire to conceal anything from the public and I court the fullest investigation, feeling sure of a com niete vindication from the cruel at tack which has been made upon my character for the first time. Very respectfully. Frank P. Milburn. A PREACHER WITH A RECORD. The Rev. John Ruppe of Gaffney Has Tied 438 Matrimonial Knoti. Special to The State& Gaffney, Feb. 15.-Rev. John Ruppe, who has possibly miaried more cou ples than any other man in this coun ty. married two more North Carolina couples last Sunday. Thes'e were Mr. A. Moore and Miss L. E. Settlemyer, of Henrietta. and Mr., C. A. Hawkins and Miss Hattie McSwain. of Boiling Springs. This makes a total of 438 knots tied by this aged divine. Many are the people who can date their greatest happiness to the time when they stood trembling .before him. Miss Blanche Wilson has gone on a trip north. Mr. H. KC. Osborne has announced himself a candidate for the office of alderman from Ward Six. Mr. T. Davenport has sold his gro cery business to Mrs. T. Davenport, who will conduct the business at the same place. Mr. Davenport will be come a knight of the grip. His line will be groceries. Help IN Appreciated. People's Recorder (colored). It is indeed gratifying to note the interest the Columbia Daily State. the white citizens of Columbia and else where. and Dr. Ray of lower Richland county are taking in raising and dis tributing cnntriboutions of money. food and clothing for and to the colored suf ferers of lower Richland. All reme~m ber ho'w their crops were all swept away. by hail, wind and rain last year. and hcw hundreds of the poorer class have onde rgone almost starv'ationi. Now thiese white friends, from their beate'ous storenouses. are most liber ally contributinlg to the needs of the Being a Columbian, we do all the mnore anreciate this manifest Chris tian be.ieticence. May the blessed Lord re tore to these bene.factors ten fold. We. th;'nk them. is about the only pay back that we can give. A Fa tal 16:I10%l0.. were. asphyxiates1. one burned to death and seeral were seriously injiused in an ex ploeion of~ blast furnaco gas at the p'lat of the Lackawanna Steel comparny today. The dead are: Geo. Reynolids, a mast~on: .Michael S. Smith. a maso'n. Frank Prenatt, employed in the powter house. GIRLS WHO LEAVE 1OME. *Cr Written for The State by W. D. The reade'rs of The State. or rather not that portion of them who have paid cha the write:r the compliment of reading ma his articles. which have appeared from sag time to time in its columns need ho hardly be reminded of his position on by the subject of education. There is. by however. one thing in connection with or the questiun to which he begs to enter! Fr a protest, although it is done with a b.i considerable degree of reluctance. me: it is possible. of course, that this wh evil. and the word is used advisedly, sPe may not owe its origin to our system dra oI edue:;tion. but to a change of pub lie sentim-nt. which has found de- the velopment outside of higher education. at Then. too., the fact must be recogniz- sto -d that hi all human affairs, it mat- oth ters nt how good the general ten- at dency is. there must be some evil: but eve whEi giving full acknowledgment to cha this truth, every effort should be made spo to kee, the evil incident thereto to of the lowest possible point. is The evil to which allusion is made is ves the craze that has found lodgment in low the mind of almost every girl that wit just as soon as she leaves the college elet or high school she must find some ligl kind of employment, despite the fact T that in the large majority of cases it a 1 involves leaving her home and being wh: thrown with strangers. Any system cas of education or of public sentiment me: that instills a feeling of this kind into pla the mind of a girl, that she must be in- sidi dependent and make her own way in stei the world, is radically and inexcusably mo: wrong. SW There are, of course, many cases tail where this seeking for employment is at painfully necessary, and where this is MO the case a girl should be encouraged sou and rendered every assistance; but by where this ccadition does not exist,. Na she is both unjust to herself and her cry parents when she voluntarily leaves abr them just at the time when they will bin derive so much pleasure from her tar presence in the house. She has been; coi sorely missed during the four years she exa has spent at college, but this separation do was cheerfully borne by her parents, wh for they could look forward to the time; but when she would finish her education con and once more be with them to bright- whi en their home. Independence and the| T desire to make one's own way in the ace world. is both natural and commend- a h able, but there is such a thing as car- 14.00 rying even a good impulse too far, and of there is something radically wrong in mo: any system of home or school train- the ing that implants the idea in the mind the of a girl that she 'should not be de- abt pendent on her father, even when he by is abundantly able to provide for her anc wants. the Even if it be granted that she can car have more social enjoyment in the Sal town or city than in the country home plo of her parents, this furnishes no suffi- off cient excuse for her to leave her par- clu, ents whei her presence and help af- ent fords them such unalloyed happiness. he It often happens that the mother, get- j Isn ting on in years, is worn out with toil oas and care. She has given all her and strength and time to the raising and sta training of her children, and to her wh, it is an inexpressible pleasure when Ion, her daughter insists on assuming some a N of her duties and responsibilities, and ear enables her to enjoy a well-earned poN rest. dui A number of years ago .it was the i T writer's good fortune to be a frequent fto visitor at a home where the condition pla above mentioned existed. The moth- tha er's health was not good and the oldest tw< daughter had simply relieved her of all tra household cares, not even allowing the; ma younger children to trouble her with lica any of their troubles. This daughter; wa was accomplished, well educated, a yea very fine musician and could easily chi have secured a position to teach. This dry she would have liked to do, but she cor felt that her first duty was at home, str< and the discharge of this sacred duty ma will ever be the sweetest and tender- the est recollection of her life, for when tras she was called on to see that mother ne' pass away she was sustained and sto soothed by the consciousness that she selj had done all that lay in her power -to 'Is make her mother's last years pass in pre peace and happiness. tur One of the greatest and noblest men- me Robert E. Lee-who has ever lived on C this earth. made duty the watchword wh of his whole life, and no sacrifiee or -a danger ever restrained him from do- see ing what he conceived to be right. The rar path of duty often calls us to walk wh~ in ways that humanly speaking are by the v'ery reverse of the ones we would oai choose. but then there should ever be des present the thought that after 'all the the strongest happiness comes from the for consciousness of having done our ut- bed most to promote the happiness of those bu1 who are dear to us. Fortunate, In- mo deed, Is the daughter who, when she da: looks for the last time on the face of fro her mother, with her tired hands fold- m ed across her bosom, can feel that she ' never brought tears to the now closed the eyes or pangs of sorrow to the un- wi selfish heart, which has forever ceas- an< ed to beat. !col If she can feel thus then she has a :we peace and joy that will be her greatest iag: solace as long as life endures, for what- 'dri ever, for weal or woe, the future has an< in store for her, this is something that he no earthly power can take away. we A girl when she first leaves colr- Eli lege and enters, as it were, upon the w threshold of her life, stands in great tre need of her mother's counsel and pro- wa tection. and it is a misfortune when th( stress of circumstances deprives her in of this safeguard. If there be one oul thing on earth that comes as a giftda from Heaven it is the love of a moth- th4 er for her child. No pen can portray is it; no plummet can .sound its depths, for for it is as deep and wide as a fath- ani omless sea, to which no measurement shi can be given.,. spi The writer trusts that he may be na: pardoned for giving one more illus- du: tration of the sacrifice of inclination pol to duty, the facts of which are just as 'ser related. .the A good many years ago there ex- ino isted an engagement between twd I young people, but there was. in the !ho estimation of tahe young lady at least, ab' an inseparable barrier in the way of ' 1oc its immediate consummation, that ob- iis stacle being an invalid mother. for: w whose care the daughter considered 'tri herself responsible. "After the lapse th of a good many years the mother pass- -a ed iway and a short time after her ibe deatth the daughter married the gen- Ei ieman to a'homn she had been so long p attached. The.y were both get- dit ting along in years then. hut can any- su one doubt that that loving daughter found gret happiness in the few yearsit of her married life? It is ver'y easy to a1 believe that in this short time there pe es me to her enough of earthly happi- A ne'ss to compensate for her long years it of sacrifice to a sncred duty.sd It ha al'tways been a source of won-A d er to the writer that some truly greatSi w riter has never made a special point an of trying at least to portra:. a moth- an er' lov~\e for a child, following out that T ove from its birth, and when it first po draws sustenance from her bosom. me through the years of its gradual mental ti an'd physi'cal developmenit. So far as a th wrte' knowlvedge extends this is dr for the novelist an unexplored mine.rb waitng. for the touch' of a mnaste'r ht h'and' t, br ing its jewels into the lig:ht Esltim'ore. Fob. 2l.-It was thought s. that no' a' lifo 'was i';t in the fire here f buti a ch "rred body supposed to be se tt of' a eoroOd man has b'on found: in th wat.rn P-.nley's wharf. Trhe m bod issobadly burnied as to be un- of re-ngni-zsahl $UEX A DREARY DITCH. mal Cleft Through Region Bare of All Save Biblical Richness. E. Curtis in Chicago Record-Her Id. .loat on the Red sea. Jan. IS. -ry vessel passing through the Suez tal is compelied to take a pilot, be ise skippers of ordinary vessels can be trusted to navigate the narrow ,nnel, for the slightest deviation y cause damage that will cost thou .ds of dollars to repair. Each year, ever, navigation is rendered easier the widening of the channel and the excavation of additional sidings basins where vessels can pass. I >m the moment the pilot goes on the ige he takes charge of the move ts of the ship and is responsible for atever may happen, regulating the ed according to tonnage and ught. essels cannot pass in motion. When y meet the one which arrives first the signal station is compelled to p and tie up in the basin until the er goes by. These basins are found intervals of a few miles, and at ry basin Is a "gare" or station in .rge of a signal officer, who corre nds to a train- dispatcher on one our railroads, 'and the block system used to regulate the movement of sels. Formerly no traffic was al ed at night, but now it is carried on hout interruption by the aid of tric lights on the shore and search its on the vessels. he canal looks exactly what it is aig ditch on a desert of sand on ich foxes. jackals, hyenas and oc ionally lions are seen by the watch a in the signal towers. At some ces the banks of earth on either are so high that passengers on the imer cannot see over them, but for it of the journey you have a wide >ep on both sides back to the moun 1s that rise from the desert, and a certain point for a mile or two unt Sinai is visible 37 miles to the theast, and is pointed out to you the captain or the deck steward. ked Arab boys run along the banks ing for baksheesh and easily keep 'east of the creeping vessel, grab g at pennies which passengers I ow them from the deck. Half the :s roll down in the water, which is l .sperating to the youngsters. They not like to stop and dive for them ile there is a chance of getting more, I imagine they mark the spots and ae back to recover lost backsheesh en they have left the vessel.. here are only two towns of any ount on the canal. One is Ismalia, .alf way point, with a population of 0. It is the only monument in honor the Khedive Ismail, who did the it and spent the most to carry out enterprise, and lost his throne reby. It is rather a pretty town, mndantly irrigated, and hence has ely gardens and groves of palms I other trees. Here reside most of engineers and other officers of the al, because it is preferable to Port d. There is a hospital for sick em yees, a club for the benefit of the cers, and several good - houses, in ding one erected especially for the ertainment of M. de Lesseps, when. should be pleased to use it. Beyond alia, as before, are occasional es in the desert'-groves of palms I luxuriant gardens surrounding the tions of the canal officials, for erever you can turn water on that ely desert everything will grow with wild luxuriance. It seems as if the th suddenly released germinating rer that had been accumulating -ing centuries of suppresion. 'he chief interest is found in the rn of Suez, because it is the crossing ce of the great caravans of camels .t furnish transportation betwen the > continents of Asia and Africa, and vel regularly between Cairo, Da scus and Bagdad; also because bib Ll historians believe that here the ters of the Red sea opened- 3,500 rs ago and allowed 3.000,000 of the Idren of Israel to cross over upon -bottom. It requires a considerable cession to the imagination and a ength of faith that a majority of nkind do not possess to' accept this1 ory, but no one knows to the con ry. and experience has taught me er to doubt the faith of interesting ries. If you do. you deprive your-, cand others of much pleasure. It like analyzing the attraction of a tty woman. or separating her fea es into lots, classifying them and: asuring them by the Venus de Milo. n the other side- of the Red sea, ich, by the way, is not red, but blue s blue as the sky in June-you can the purple peaks of the Sinaltic ige, and a few miles from the shore, ich you can reach in three hours donkey, one of these remarkable es that are frequently found in the: ;ert. This particular one Is called Wells of Moses. There is a comn tless hotel kept by an Arab, where Is and refreshment can ble obtained. it is bettfr to start early in the rning, so as to get back the same r, and take a luncheon in a basket m Suez. The trip can be easily de while the vessel is coaling. 'he children of Israel. according to Bible, wandered three days in the derness of Shur and found no water, when they camne to Marah they ild not drink the waters, for they re bitter, and the people murmured minst Moses. sayin: "What shall we nk?" and he cried unto the Lord i the Lord showed him a tree which cast into the waters and the waters re made sweet. And they came to m where there were 12 wells of ter, arid three score and ten palm es, and they encamped there by the ters. And Miriam, the prophetess, sister of Aaron, took a timubrel her hand, and all the women went after her with timbrels and with aces. That beautiful scene, one of most dramatic in the whole -Bible, believed to have taken place here, these wells are the wells of Elim, I three and ten palm trees still lter a collection of a dozen or more 'ings. The village is peopled by ked Arabs, sinewy, springy, ea ring fellows, whose flesh shines like ished mahogany, and who must re ble the young men of Israel when y started on the journey that was t finished for 40 years. t is difficult to understand why and w they happened to be wandering out so long down here. .If you will ik at the map you will see that Suez almost on a line with Cairo, and it .s the most natural rendezvous of the bes, who were 'scattered all along SNile from Memphis, which is just ov~e Cairo. to Thebes, which is just low Luxor. The account in .the ble is cndinsed, and we are comn led to take a good deal of these tra is onl faith, but, as I have already gested.. it is worth while to do so. Lhe RedI sea is L.400 miles long, and greaest width is 200 miles. It is uti the shape of a sausage, and ta rs at both ends. On one side is bia. the most mysterious and prim e of all countries, and on the other ee are Egypt, Nubia and the Soudan. the north end what is known as the aaitic peninsula projects southward d divides the sea into two arms, di near the point of the peninsula is rr. the landing place for Sinai. Op site Tor is Jebel Ez-Zeit, which anns "the mountain of oil,"' where pe ieum was discovered some years ago d created great excitement. Huu es of thousands of dollars have n expende'l in sinking wells and iir~ncidocs. warehouses and refin ebut hav.e all been abandoned, eus. fnr* som->~ reason, the manu eturers coull1 not compete with the anard Oil company or the Russian etories on the Black and Caspian Peorie think that there is a good deal are wealth in Arabia than we know Swas nce of remar impOrtanCe than now. and .in ancient days. pro duced considerable gold and other met als, but now it ships little but dates, wool and coffee, and even these' are gradually falling off. Mocha coffee Is produced at the extreme end of the Arabian peninsula, in a province called Yemen, and derives its name from the little port it is shipped from. But the people. have no enterprise, the coffee orchards have been injured by -insects and blight, and the trees have not been renewed. This Is acounted for by bad government. As everywhere else In the dominions of the sultan of Turkey, for Arabia is nominally' a- part of the Ottoman empire, the officials. receive no salaries, and live. - off- blackmail. Hence, whenever a citizen gets a little ahead, when he shows signs of pros perity, he immediately becomes an object of plunder and persecution, by the tax gatherer -and by every, other representative of the government. There is no incentive for the coffee. growers to extend their orchards or to increase their product. - One does not realize, until he comes face to face with the fact, that Arabia is nearly half as large as the United States. Its area is almost as great as, that of India, and is nearly equal to that of our States east of the Missis sippi river. The population is tn known, because there has never been a census, but it is suposed to be be tween seven and twelve millions. The distance from north to south is more than a thousand 'riiles, and from east to west it varies from 500 to 800. Yet in all this enormous territory there Is no centralized authority. The interior Is goverened by petty sheiks, each being absolute -over 'the members of his own tribe. Along a coast line- of nearly ~2,500 miles are only six ports. where the sultan of Turkey maintains pasha governors and garrisons to pro tect the collectors of customs, whoare required to pay him a certain 'amount of tribute -every year, and they wring it. out of the people anyway they can. The relationship-, between the .gov ernment at Constantinople and. the Bedouins-- of Arabia- is very- slender, and is due solely to the cohesive power of the Mohammedan religion. There is no law 'in Arabia, but the Koran;- there are no courts but the: priests; there are no mails, no postoffices.- no postage stamps. and a person who wants. to communicate with a distanit fried-must send his letter- by a messenger;,Which is expensive, or by a caravan whichis the common way. "There is no' tele graph line, no newspaper, no, railroad, and, strange to. say; -not a river In all that vast area except a few -shallow, rocky beds, which during the spring bring down water from. 'the melting snow on the mountain -tops to the sea, but for' nine months in the year -are as dry as a crematory. The captain tells me that they pro duce a curious phenomenon. The coast of the Red sea 'is lined with. ooraL banks, built by those mysterious and wonderful little masons who, like some men that I know of, hate fresh wate!r, and wherever the spring'loods fall. into the sea there is always a. wideobreik .in tlie' coral reef. - The mountains of -Arabia reach' an altitude of 10,000 feet, and In spots where borings have been made the sand is more than 600 'feet deep. -It 'is. the. prevailing impresion that Arabia' is,a vast expanse of desert, 'but that' Is a mistake. There are wide strips of bar ren sand, 'which are irreclaimable- tor cultivation only. because they..cannot be reached by water, biit-two-thirid of the country is capable of cultijafion. and. lying at an altitude of 3,000' feet. above. the sea, might .produce cotton. sugar and other semi-tropical'. staples in 'unlimited 'quantities. Although there a're' no streams. plenty 'of ,water can be had for irrigation purposes by digging 20 or 30 feet. and the. iatr6duc tion of windmills would: simplify. .the pumping problem.' . On the -coast it'.is intensely hot, amd the humidityof the atmosphere during the summer season makes jife almost unendurable. but in the interior, upon the' table lands along. the mountain' slopes and in the valleys, the mercury seldom rises, above. 85 de grees, even - In: mid-summer. 'While the direct rays of- the sun, are intense, it is cool'-in the shade, and at night the mercury often falls' below 50. Mora than two-thirds' of the popula tion Bedouin nomadis;.without per man -places of abode, who. 'live' in tent made of eamne's halir, just like the patriarchs~ of old. They have enor mnous flocks of sheep; and goats, and herds of ca-tle and camels. The foll'ow the grass and move from place to place with all their possessions. There are, however, several prosperous cities- of considerable population and conimerce. Trade is conducted by camel carava,ne, which' cross the desert regularly' 'and. transport enormous quantities of dates, wool and other merchandise. 'William .Cut. A School for Grirn-ULp. Gastonla (N. C.) Gazette.' .The Statesville Landmark 'refers to the pluck of a boy 17 years'old and of a man twice that age who recently' buckled down to books .at Bule's 'Creek academy without knowing how .to; ~read. The boy didn't know his 14tters,, the man began in the first: reader.' Yes. that is plucky in- a- sense. Not that the -task is so .great,' but that, the nerve to get one's consenit to und'ertake it at those ages is 'so rare.' But, It ought not to be rare. The task .is not great, not difficult of accomplishment. Little children who live with book' and' picture blocks learn to read 'be fore they are six years _of age, learn without special teaching: with some direct and regular instruction 'they would learn- sooner. We do' not believe that there is In the State an illiterate grown man of ordinary' intelligence and Industry that c~mid not learn ,to read In'six weeks, write In ten 'weeks, and get a good beginning- In' arithmetic in a few more weeks, if he would only give these things attention - and' reg ular study. Why hasn't somebody started a school .for grown men who cannot read and write?'- The gap be tween the man. who cannot read and the man who can-how great' and how wide it is! What storehouses of rich ness and vast and fertile fields are shut away from him who cannot read. Beyond the Alps lies -Italy-and the Alps in this case are not Impassable. The gap is wide but not'- difficult to him who tries, and the prize is' so worth the winning! The man whe cannot thinks the way Is hard; the man who carn knows it is not. The 'g-rown man who cannot read and write -somebody show him, somebody help him. Here's missionary 'work for one, and priceless happiness for two. SPECULATORS IN TROUBLE. Have Been Starting War Ramrer ini Italy for Mtoney Purpose. Rome, Feb. 21.-Rumors of warlike preparations by Italy having been cir culated a semi-official communication has emanated from the government which is In substance as follows: Stories of alleged armaments and of the movements of warships and troops for service abroad are entirely false. Indications exist that this false news is connected' with stock exchange speculations and those responsible., have been brought before the law courts to be punished according to law with imprisonment of from three to thirty months, The communication evidently alludes to the Insistence by a portion of the press that Italy will be antagonistic to Austria in the Balkans and to the predictions of international complica tions thus causing a fall in Italian bcnds and a rise In the exchange on gold. Dr. Jameson's Suecess. Cape Town, Feb. 21.-Dr. Jamneson a .,ceeded in comnleting a oahiaet.