The Manning times. (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, July 03, 1907, Image 6

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COWARD OR HERO What Caused Lieut Richardson to Desert His Fiance AT THE HOLY ALTAR? Was It Craven Hearted On His Par to Leave His Sweetheart So Thai She 31ight Be Free to Marry . BUtter M3an, Or Did It Take Tre mendous Courage to Do What Hi Did Do, Jilt Her And Kill Himself Is it possible fo rsuicide to be : deed of heroism? Is modern civiliz, ation justified in accepting "suicide' and "cowardice" as synonymou terms? Just now this much-argued theor gains a most interesting illustratio, ---one way or the other--in the cas of the late Lieut. Mack Richardson U. S. A., who killed himself afte: being forced out of the army becaus< he had deserted, almost at the altar the girl whom he was engaged t marry. Since his death some of his brothe: o-icers--the same ones who held hin in the greatest contempt for his con duct toward his betrothed bride have dcelared that he died a brav man, owing to conditions that no on but himself knew about until afte he was dead. - The whole story is told here, an< in connection with it are printed th crucial scenes in Guy de Maupa sant's tale entitled, "A Coward" Drobably the best psychological stud; of suicide ever written. Lieutenant Richardson was attack: ed to the Twenty-sixth Infantr whkh up to a few months ago wa stationed at Brownsville, Texas. H was captain of a Missouri regimer that served in the Spanish-America war, and gave so good an account c himself that, wien the war was ove, he was commissioned a first lieuter ant in the regular army. He was a widower, thirty-seve years old. His brothor officers like and esteemed him, and society s Brownsville found him a genuine a< quisition. In Brownsville the family of Cai tain William Kelley, president of tl, First National Bank of that cit were socially of much importanea and beautiful Anna Kelley was a r< cognized belle. Lieutenant Richar< -son paid her much attention. He wc her love. About eight months ag their engagement was announce The date for their wedding was s< for Tuesday evening, May 1.4. This was the date of the annive: sary of the marriage of Miss Kelley parents. It was planned that tl: combined wedding and anniversar should be a great social eventfor tt whole of Texas. Lieutenant Riel ardson's brother officers .ralhie 'round him, overwhelmed him wit congratulations and were eager i shed military glory upon the ma riage scene.. . Following the negro regiment diu turbance at Brownsville Lieutenat: Richardson's regiment was transfe2 red to Fort Sam Houston. That mad no differenice in the officer's enthus: asm over the forth-coming weddm2g it was known that there would b distinguished guests from all ove the State. Last November Lieutenant Riet ardson fell ill. He recovered, bu his convalescence progressed slowly He lacked his old carelessness. Ther were times when he did not appea himself at all. When asked about it he replied evasively, or said that h had not yet shaken off the effects o his illness. Lieutenant Richardson correspond ed regularly with his flancee. It wa arranged that he and his brother of ficers should arrive in Brownsville o> May 13, the day before that set fo: the wedding. Accompanied by several officers the lieutenant went to the station ta take the train to Brownsville. As th< train rolled in-he had appeared th< gayest member of the party-hi suddenly slapped his thigh and said "By Jove; I've forgotten the ring I'll follow on a later train." So the other officers boarded th< train, one of them checking Lieuten ant Richardson's trunk on his ticket Arriving in Brownsville, the of ficers explained the bridegroom couk( not arrive till the coming of the nex train. The hour for the ceremon: arrived. Still no bridegroom. Captain Kelley's residence wa: beautifully decorated. The brida supper was spread. The weddmng presents were displayed, the hous< was filled with -guests, mecludmns many of Lieutenant Richardson'; comrades. Then entered a messenge: with this telegram for the oride: "Am too sick to come." She bore up bravely. To the guest an annouueemenlt was made that th< wedding was postponed, and why With forced gayety Captain .Kelle: and his daughter and wife imvite< the guesss to remain to supper in celebration of his wedding anniver sarv. Lieutenant Richardson's broth er officers were the only guests wh< seemed especially disturbed. On the following day Captain Kel ley started a quiet investigation. HE learned that at the hour set for thi weding Lieutenant Richardson wa: driving about Ban Antonio in ax auomnobile. When the officers of the - wedding party r turned to their posts not ons would so-ak to, or recognize Lieu, tenant Rie a :-dson, except in connee tion with nee xsary orders. The re creant bridegomn found himiseli completely ostracised. He volunteer ed no explanation, but when pressure was brought a- bear to force him tc resign from the army, he exclaim "You'll know the truth some day, and you won't blame me." On May 21-a week too late-Lieu tenant Richardson went to Browns ville, and from his hotel tried to get into communication with Captain Kelley. The result was a message from the banker to this effect: Miss Kelley will not listen to any explanation Lieutenant Rlchardson *may have to offer. Mr. Kelley and Miss Kelley will leave for Washing ton to-morrow, and it will be well for Lieutenant Richardson not to at HOTELS BURNED. Pine Beach at the ExsositiOn Destroyed by Fire Buildings Inside the Grounds Were Threateed.-Shift of Winds Sav ed Some Structures. One whole block of the Pine Beach section immediatedly adjoining the Jamestown exposition grounds was .swept Wednesday by fire. The Ar cade Hotel, the Berkeley Hotel, the Outside Inn, the Powhattan Hotel. the Carolina Hotel and several other smaller hotels and a large part of the outside Warpath were destroy L ed. The loss may aggregate $300, 000. The Inside Inn and Kentucky State building on the Western side of the exposition grounds and the negro building were threatened but the fire reached nothing inside the I exposition grounds. The Arcade, Royal Pine, Hampton Roads, - Wash ington House. Outside Inn, Powhat tan, Carolina and Berkeley hoteh were among the largest buildings de stroyed. The Powhattan Guards, under Capt. Carpenter, and the expositior fire department, did valiant wor preventing the flames from spread ing further. The twenty-third infan try was orderedout and the entire di. trict west of the exposition ground. is now under martial law. Between forty and fifty structure. were entirely consumed. Ten wer( destroyed in Maryland avenue anc on 102d Street it is estimated thal about twenty structures were burn ed. Probably 1,000 people ar homeless. Capt. Carpenter with the Powhat tan his force are doing their utraosi to relieve distress. It was reporte that two lives were lost but this was not confirmed. The fire originated in the Berkely . Hotel. The cause is unknown. Th flames spread rapidly and in a shor r time the block in which the Berkele3 s was located was a mass of flames e All of the buildings there were o: t timber. The Arcade was the larges n Iand costliest representing an invest meut of $80,000. The Powhattan Guards were oi the ground early, Capt. Carpentei ~ having ordered out every man wh< could be spared. When it was seen that the entir< a block was to go the fireman divide< t forces and turned their attention t< - the exposition grounds. It looke at one time as though the building. immediately inside of the Marylan< e avenue fence would catch fire. 2,000,000,000 TREES. n Mighty Forests Will Be Planted t4 0 Check Spring Floods. L Two billion trees will be plante to relieve Western Pennsylvania o: theannual inundations which destro: smillions of dollars worth of propert: yin Pittsburg and other cities. Thi e plan to plant the trees is backed b: - the Pittsburg Chamiber of Commerce dwhich is soliciting aid from the stati hand national governments. The De opartment of Agriculture has alread: -secured an appropriation of $25,004 to begin the project. -The plan of the Chamber of Coin t merce is to plant trees on the watea -sheds at the headwaters of the Mon e ongahela and Allegheny rivers, whicl - will appropriate large quantities o: ;water and prevent sudden thaws o: i vast extents of snow. The combinedi basins of the two rivers comprehend 20,000 square miles in Western.Penn. - sylvania. West Virginia, Westert t New York and Maryland. Expert: .declare that little relief would be re e eived from the extensive forests be - fore 15 years. .Each year the damage to mnanufac turing plants and cities in Westerr Pennsylvania amounts to betweer $15,000,000 and $20,000,000. It is es timated that the forest would pay for itself within about ten years after it began to prevent floods. The loss to working people is not estimated ir the above amount. ton on the same train with them." Two days later the Lieutenant re turned to his post-where he knew he no longer had a friend. Captain Kelley had gone to Wash ingtor. to testify about the Browns ville raid. He made no complaint against Lieutenant Richardson; but the matter had been brought by oth ers to the attention of the War De partment, and Lieutenant Richard son shortly received a hint that it would be best for him to leave the service. Accordingly he placed his resignation in the hands of Colonel Brown, his superior officer, who for warded it to Washington, where it went straight to President Roose velt's hands, who promptly accepted On the day after he knew that he was out of the army and forever dis graced Lieutenant Richardson's body was found in a hotel in Fort Sam Houston. He had taken his own life with large doses of both prussic acid and morphine. He left a note which read: "To whom it may concern: This act has been inevitable sincelast No vember" What did he mean? Solely this. easily discoverable with the man dead; Lieutenant Richardson, follow ing his illness last Fail, he had be come a confirmed victim of the mnor phine habit. He had tried repeated ly to shake off the bonds of the drug and had failed. Knowing that he was doomed, he would not make miser able the life of another. He could not bring himself to the point of confess ing to his affianced bride, but he could -fail to appear at the wedding. "Richardson came very near being a hero," said one of the officers who had held him most in contempt. In the light of revelations made after his death one can imagine Lieutenant Richardson standing be fore a mirror-like de Maupassant's "Coward"-choosing between the poison draught in one hand and the wedding ring in the other. Did Lieutenant Richardson prove himself a coward, as de Maupassant's sorry hero did? Was it cowardice to refuse to live disgraced? Having vol untarilv disgraced himself in order not to involve another's happiness, would he not have been braver to have lived on in disgrace to fight and vanquish his secret enemy? But, outside of religion's p-omis es, is there any sufficient r'eward for TRAGIC CAREER Of a Rich Young Woman Whose Father Dropped Dead. KILLED HER MOTHER. Tried to Kill Herself, Her Brother Killed Himself, She Took Poison, Was Tried for Murder, Spent Six Yezars in a Mad House, Escaped, Fell in Love, Worked at a Servant and Died in a Hospital. The tortured brain and heart oJ Bertha Beilstein at last are at rest and her death in a hospital in Lo. Angeles Cal., has cleared up the trag ic mystery surrounding the last ter year of her life. She died a wanderer and in pover ty, yet her death percipitates a con test for property valued at more tha $100,000. says the New York Ameri can. Before her mind's eye durin all thos'e years was the picture of hei mother stricken dead by her hand of her frantic efforts with the same weapon to end her own life; of hei brother dying a suicide on his mur dered mother's gave. During the last two years of hei wanderings she also lived over agaii s;x years of close confinement in madhouse, which had ended with he escape through the connivance of th man who loved her and of friends sh had made. In spite of tragedies she ha wrough t. she had always been able t retain friends-and she held fast th love of a man to the hour of he death. But she never dared to marry and there seemed to be no one spo on the earth's surface where shi could rest while life remained in her Ten years ago Bertha Beilstein wa twenty and a really beautiful girl with a charming and intelligent fac crowned with heavy masses of ati burn hair, which, when unconfined swept to her knees. She lived wit] her parents and her elder brother Edward in a comfortable home r t Pittsburg, her father being a wealth - business man of that city. One evening Bertha's father sud denly straightened up in his chair a - the supper table, then fell to the floo dead. This was a terrible shock t all the family. Bertha in particula showed the strain. Sometimes sh spoke of seeing spirits. ) On October 2, 1898. a few month I after her husband's death. Mrs. Bei stein was awakened by the sound 0 some one moving about her room. "Who's there?" she called out. There was the sound of a mate struck. A gas jet blazed up and Mr Beilstein saw that the intruder wa her daughter. "Why, Bertha, what is the mai ter?" she asked, sitting up in bed. Her daughter was aiming a revo yen at her. E"Mother, I am going to kill you, said Beotha. Almost the next instant Mrs. Bei stein was dead. Bertha had fire twice, and either shot would hav been enough. Then she turned th weapon on herself, pouring four o the remaining bullets into own body - One of these bullets penetrate< the right temple crashing into he brain. Another entered her bod: .ust beneath the lungs. These the doc tons believed to he mortal wounds the two others being mere fles] wounds. She was taken to a hospital, an< although more than two ounces o brain matter had escaped from th wound in Bertha's head on the thir< day she regained consciousness. I1 two weeks she was able to go home where she was arrested and place under guard, charged with the mur der of her mother. Soon she learned that while she ia: at the hospital her brother Edwar< had been found dead on her mother' grave. He had shot himself. Hearinj this, Bertha made this enigmatica remark: "Then it is soon finished." When it was discovered that sh< had procured and swallowed nearl: an ounce of laudanum, the reman] was understood. But the doctors were able to save her, and in a few weeks she was placed on trial. In her testimony ii her own defense she told of he: mother's death as here related. "But why did you kill your moth er?" she was asked. "Spirits visited me and compellec me to do so," she answered. She wa quite calm and entirely rational ir manner and speech as she continued "I loved my mother. I did not want to do it. But ever since my father's death-I loved him dearly spirits had visited me at night, tellin2 me that father longed for his dear ones to join him. They urged me tc kill my mother and myself, so thai we would be united again. I fought against their influence, but they per sisted. "On the night that I killed my mother I strove with the spirits until 'nearly dawn. Then, in despair I tried to drink poison. But my arms stiff ened so that I could not reach my moth.Then I took the revolver and went into my mother's room and did as I have told you. "When I came out of the hospital and learned that my brother had joined father and mother, I was, of course, more anxious than ever to die." Bertha was heir to her mother's nroperty. The prosecution tried to show that to have been a sufficient motive for the girl's crime of matri cide, but failed. The determined ef forts to kill herself made such rea soning fallacious. The jury found that Bertha Beil ein, "being insane," was not guilty of murder. Accordingly she was sent t the Pennsylvania State asylum for the insane at Dixmont, near Pitts burg. There Bertha remained for six years and most of the time she wvas in good health, seemed quite ration al and by her beauty and engaging mannersgained gradually the friend ship and sympatny of the nurses. IA lock of her luxuriant hair' usual ly concealed the great scar on her right temple. But the nurses saw it often; also they knew of the scars o three other bullet wounds. Prior to the great tragedy in her .life Bertha Beilstein's most intimate girl chum had been a pretty girl of Allegheny City-Olga Miller. They were perfectly foils to each other in every respect, except the vivacity common to both. Olga Miller was slight and dark while Bertha was tall and stately and of the blonde type. Whe Berha was sent to the asy lumn Olgo was inconsolable. She wrote to her chum frequently, and her letters were answered. This cor respondence seemed to have the ef fect of making pretty Olga quite reckless. She plunged into pleasures and dissipations, and one day her body was found in her room where she had lived for some months after running away from home. She had drank carbolic acid. When Bertha had nearly complet ed her sixth year in the Dixmont asY lum-during which period she had repeatedly written coherent letters to the authorities declaring herself sane and asked to be discharged she effected her sensational escape. A key was mysteriously obtained and a man in an automobile had stopped near the institution and sounded his horn; then shortly, an automobile whirled swiftly away with a passen ger beside the driver--these were practically all the details of the es cape to become generally known. After that---until the first week in the present month-Bertha Beilstein seemed to have disappeared from the surface of this earth. One day in the last week in May the authorities of a hospital in Los Angeles, Cal., suddenly came to the conclusion that they had a case of murder on their hands. A young wo man patient who had entered the hos pital two weeks before, giving the name of Olga Miller, had died after drinking a glass of milk given to her by a man visitor who had been so per sistent in his efforts to see the pa tient that he had finally been admit ted. i This man, who was young and good looking, and well dressed, had giver the name of Richard Hardy. After talking with the patient for a few .minutes he asked the nurse for a glass of milk. The nurse brought thc I milk and gave it to the visitor, whc put it to the lips of the patient. ShE choked while drinking it. Nurse r came hurriedly from other parts o the ward, whereupon Hardy jumpec t up and ran away. The next morning Olga Miller wa dead. During the night Hardy hac called up the hospital anxiously ask ing after the patient. When th girl was dead the hospital authori - ties, believing that Olgar Miller' visitor had given her a dose of co i caine in the milk, had him arreste< , on the charge of murder. But whei the autopsy showed no trace of poi son, showing instead that death ha( been caused by a tumor on th brain, which had been graduall t developing for years, the prisone r was released. > This was after Olga Miller ha r been buried. The fact now came t e light that Olga Miller also had bee living at the Royal Hotel while work s ing as a waitress in Los Angeles fo - $35 a month. She was supposed t f be getting ready to marry Richar Hardy, who sold books oi a poetica nature. He seemed to be very muc h in love with the girl. . Presently there was a startling dc s velopmant. Frederick Beilstein, cousin of Bertha Beilstein, had tele graphed from Chicago that the dea "Olga Miller" had been none othe than Bertha Beilstein. He ordere her grave to be guarded until h 'could arrive and take charge of thi body. -How could Frederick Beilstein, i: 1 Chicago be so certain that Olga Miu le, dead in Los Angeles, was Berth a Beilstein. No one had reason t doubt that the hospital patient wa .other than the Olga Miller she clam i ed to be, and, therefore, no descril: tion of the dead woman had bee: r circulated. For answer to thi -question the scene changes to -Chi ,cago. i A few days prior to the death o: the Los Angeles hospital patient En l mund W. Wander, in Chicago, re fceived the following telegram fron Richard Hardy, in Los Angeles: I "Olga Miller is dying in hospital i Send $50 at Once." ,Mr. Wander lost no time in see ing his friend, Frederick Beilstein. . "Bertha is dying in a hospital it Los Angeles," he said, and showe< r the telegram containing the intelli I gence about Olga Miller." n There was no need of any descrip - tion of "Olga Miller." Both mer knew that Bertha Beilstein had as sumed the name of her dead gir chum, fearing recapture, durini her wanderings after escaping fron the asylum. HAD vISITED IN CHICAGO. When Mr. Wander was a boy, liv ing in Allegheny City, Pa., his peo ple had been intimate friends of the Beilsteins. He had gone to Chicagc and married. Frederick Beilstein, Bertha's cousin lived there. Dur ing the visit of Bertha and her moth to the Chicago world's fair they had stopped with both families.' The Wanders and the Chicagt Beilsteins heard of Bertha's escape from the Dixmont asylum, andanx iously awaited further news. In a few days it came, brought by Ber tha herself. She was exhausted and almost in rags. Having insufficient money for her journey, she had been forced to tramp the last stages. She was in great fear of recapture and anxious to get further West. So, after she was rested and pro vided her with proper clothing, the Wanders and Beilsteins provided her with money and a tioket to Los An. geles, giving the Pullman porter a generous fee to look after her on the journey. They had advised her to take another name, and she had chsnthat-of her dead chum, Olga, because of her blond hair and gen eral Twedish appearence. Her Chicago friends heard from her often. She wrote to them about Richard Hardy, whom she loved, and asked their advice about marrying. IThey advised her to wait a year---un til the sensation caused by her es cape from the asylum had been for Igotten. The news that Olga Millea was really Bertha Bielstein was easily tredited in the hospital when Ber ha's description was received. The nurses had noticed the great, deep scar on her right temple. Besides, Richard Hardy now admitted that he 'knew she was Bertha Beilstein. So, beyond much dloubt, the tragie Imystery is explained. IN his admirable speech before the State Press Associationat the Isle of Palms recently 3Mr. A. B3. Williams paid a glowing tribute to the young men of South Carolina for their fidel ity to principle in the dark days when the old State lay prostrate under the heel of the oppressor. They ref used 'to be corrupted by the allurement of high office and f-:.t emoluments, and stood true. The same ma~y be said of them today. Excepting .J G. Capers and a few otbers who have fallen, all of our young men have remined true to our grand old mother. The apos tates can be counted on thie fingers of n hand- All honor to our young COTTON PICKER. A Mississippi Machine That Real ly Picks the Cotton, At Least That Is What Its Inventors Claim For It.-Will Pick the Next Crop. Several capitalists of Greenville, Miss., are engaged in the manufac ture and, it is hoped, the sale of a machine that really picks cotton at the rate of about 5,000 pounds pei day, carrying five rows at a time and getting each and every boll tha is open. It is to be hoped that the Mississ ippi Cotton Harvester company wil prove a monster success. If onE thing is needed in the South mor< than another, it is a cotton picker The old-fashioned machine, the ne gro, is worn out, and he will be pick ed if he can. He must be supplanted on the cot ton platform, regardless of the cost He has become lazy, trifling and im pudent, and will not listen to the ad vice of his employer. He quits th field whenever he gets ready. H wants a dollar and a half a day fo four-bits worth of work, and th farmer cannot afford to pay il Thousands of dollars are lost annua ly to the farmers of the state becaus of inability to get their cotton picke at the proper time. The towns and the dice tables hav great attractions for the negro a cotton picking time. Especially i that the case when they have su< ceeded in getting in debt to the Ian owner or the store keeper, and real ize that they will not be able to gatl er enough cotton to pay out and haN a few dollars to splurge on durin Christmas. The Greenville machine has beE tested thoroughly and has been four to do the work its invento George H. Zempter, claims for i The manufacturers, therefore, ha' a bonanza-a veritable gold mine. The machine is composed of a lig] i platform 5x14 feet, made of 1-4x4-ii 1 ch channel ba- steel, and mounted < four broad tired steel agricultur wheels, which are fitted on arch( axels to enable the machine to I driven astride the cotton rows wit out injury to the unmatured part the crop. The machine is self-propelling, at o is guided by the operator with a stering device similar to that of automobile. On the platform r mounted to 25 horse power onpos o cylinder gasoline engine, which, b sides driving the machine, operat double exhaust of suction fan at high rate of speed, producing a ve: strong suction, which is applied the open cotton by means of four fle a ible double suction hose, two on ea al side of the machine. Each hose requires one man to o r erate the nozzle, which is held ne the open cotton boll. The sucti< e speedily removes the cotton from t Splant, drawing it through the ho ~fans, and a large discharge flue in Sscreen receptacle on the rear end . the machine, from which it can a readily removed by means of a doc 0 OLD MILE POSTS. SThose Around .uostonl Among Amt Sica's Interesting Relics. Among the most interesting reli of colonial days are the old sto fmile posts on the various highwa - leading into the city of Boston. Th - jwere placed in position at a peri 1 when the country surrounding Bc ton was a great wilderness, and we -a real and appreciated conveien to pedestrians as wtel as the traveli -on horseback and those who we: .about in the more stately style of tl 1 family coach. The Bostonians at the c5ountry people who visited t] -hub were enable to tell just how ne; they were to the end of their desi - nation. The markers sort of blaz4 the path along otherwise lonesorr -and unknown country roads. Jul inow the people of Boston are parti< Sularly interested in preserving the: 1 relics of an early period of the cit and vicinity. Many have already bee destroyed by thoughtless person -and of course some have been broke -down by the unavoidable acciden which are sure to occur on muc traveled highways. That those rn maining may have many years mox of existance if not usefulness the - ilb rotected both from th~ wethr nd possible accident b strongly built roofed shelters. Several of these ancient mile posi are shown in the accompaning pi< located at points which ax now part of the city, but a the time they were erected wer out in the wilderness. Three of ther are on the long thoroughfare lead ing to Milton. One bears the date c 1722, and says it. is "7 miles to B, which means Boston. Another, o: the opposite side of the road says i is "8 miles to B Townhouse the low~ er way." A third mile stone nea the Cedar Grove cemetary, is embed ed in a stone wail, which gives it th effect of being an entrance to tomb. The inscription says "7 mile 'to Boston Town house." The ston< also contains the initial "H." whic1 doubtless stands for the surname o: the man who caused it to be erected John McLean, born in Boston il 1761, also erected a number of mil< stones on the highways leading t< Boston. All now standing bear his name and the date of his death There is a post on the Roxbury high way, which bears the date of 1728. I was erected by Judge Paul Dudley adis one of many that were buil by Mr. Dudley. The word "Boston' is almost obliterated from the slal by the ravages of time. Another one on another Boston road bears this inscription, "1:3 miles to Boston 1786, John Spare." There must have been a large number of these guidE posts in the early days. Evidentl3 the public spirited Boston men were determined that the visitors should not lose their way to the city for the want of suitable marks. All of those who erected the posts were more or less prominently identified with the business interests of the city, and the mile post bearing the name of the man who erected it doubtless proved to be a good advertisement for him. Certainly they have proved to be en during monuments. There is an old law in Massachu setts which provides for the erection and maintenance of guide posts at suitable places along the public high ways, and the road commissioners are supposed to make an annual re port of all the places in which guide ABOUT THE SCHOOLS. A Thousand Schoolhouses Built Since C ampaign Started. An Educational Review and Outlook Stated in an Address Issued by the Campaign Committee. A very interesting address has been prepared by the educational campaign committee of South Caro lina, showing what has been accom plished in this State since the cam paign started and what is yet to be done. This committee consists of Gov. M. F. Ansel, chairman; Supt. 0. B. Mar tin, Pres. D. B. Johnson, LL. D.; Pres. H. N. Snyder, LL. D., and Prof. W. H. Hand. The field work has been done largely by Superintendent Martin, assisted by Mr. Hand, al though the other members are dilli gent, tireless and enthusiastic work ers for education. The address which they have is - sued is as follows: On April 11, 1903, a conference - was held in the senate chamber of South Carolina's capitol. This con ference was composed of 65 earnest men who have devoted much of thei r time and lives to educational endeav r . It was declared that better schoolh in the rural districts are of "supreme importance to the commonwealth." A committee was appointed to con e duct a campaign to arouse popula d interest in education, and certait lines of work were indicated. Thi! e conference has been enlarged, and il n 1ow asks the interest and co-opera tion of the people in order that th work already begun may be pushed with greater vigor, and also that ef d fective efforts may be made in nev fields. I- The objects ontlined in 1903 were: e more local taxation, better trainin g and payment of teachers, expert sup ervision, longer school terms, bette: courses of study, consolidation o n schools and the improvement. o d schoolhouses . and grounds. Whil r there is much to be done, yet we hav t. some cause for gratification becaus re of what has been aceomplished thu far. it At that time about 250 district .. levied local tax; now the number al n proaches 500, which is nearly one third of the districts In the State. The average annual salary of whit teachers has increased from $203 t e $253, a gain of $50. Our college, summer schools, reading circles an )f teachers' associations have don much to make our teachers more eff id cient. a The average salary of ounty sul m erintendents has increased fror is $574,40 to $684.40. Several count is superintendents had their salariE raised In recognition of their earnes e- ness and efficiency in their work. es The average length of the scho< a term has increased nearly a montl y Consolidation of schools has bee to tried with excellent results in man X. parts of the State. h Nearly one thousand schoolhous( have been built during the past foi years. Many of these houses ai very valuable. At least half a mi DX iion dollars have been spent in th )n way. This does not take into accou Ie the hundreds of improvements whic se have been made in repairs, equil to ment, Ibraries, pictures and other el of sentials of better school houses. bIt is worthy of note, also, the rment. Libaries, pictures and other e: 'tablished in rural schools during tI: past four years. This means at lea: 100,000 well selected books in place where few opportunities existed be r- fore. There has also been a librar movement in the cities and towns. One of the most helpful agenci4 fo r South Carolina's good is th s School improvement association. Thi e is an organization, mainly of wome1 s5 which has as its object the beautif: y ing of school houses and ground: >d This is a noble work, and it is bein ,swell done, There are more than oi thousand members and the associb re tion is growing. Many schools ar 3emore attractive because of the labor rof these devoted women, and y( ttheir work is but fairly begun. 1e This committee rejoices in the inr d provements which our people hav e made, and it also desires to make ~few suggestions in regard to the cor . tinuation and enlargement of this ex dtire work. There are yet more tha: ea thousand school districts where elocal tax would mean better schoc facilities and more interest on th part of the people. There are man: e districts in which it is impossible ti ~y maintain good schools with only th, n constitutional 3-mill tax. Such die ,tricts must be content with inade ~quate schools or supplement th< school fund with individual subscrip h tion-generally an unfair sharing c expense. SAgain, we ought to establish 501 -e libaries a year for the next few years YOne way to make people intelligenti e to train them to read; the surest wa: y to make a reading people is to trai1 them while young. Some entire coun ;s ties have done very little in votin: local taxes or establishing school Ii braries. Let us arouse these countief e for the sake of the children there. County High Schools. e ought to establish at least one good high school in each county it fthe State within the next twelv4 months, and before another font years shall have passed, there shoulc be a high school within reach oj every ambitious boy and girl in Souti -Carolina. Scores of townships in the r State are without a single high school - within reach of the pupils there, a Those who go to colleges sadly need better preperation than they are now 5 getting. It is poor economy to send Soff a boy to do on some college cam pus the work he ought to do at homE in the high school. It cost from four to six times as much to have this -work done away from home as to have it done at home. We have a great task also to adapt the courses of study in the high schools to thE economic needs of our people. Those who do not go to college stand even in greater need of high school advan tages. They are to go out directly into business life and to become cit 'izens of the State. If we expect them to compete successfully with their fortunate brothers, we must offer ).them hetter high school opportuni ties. Is it fair or reasonable to ask scores of young men and women to go out from the common schools to serve the State as successfully as the :ifew who can take the college and un iversity training: Better Salaries Needed. The time has come when we must make a supreme effort to provide better salaries for our teachers and Isuperintendents. Too many of our best teachers are leaving the school j.room to enter other lines of work. not because they do not wish to teach but because they cannot afford to teach for the salaries offered. There is such a demand in the business and professional world of today for tramn led men and women that we can not hope to keep efficient teachers in the schools- unless we pay better salaries. -It is folly to expect to secure tihe pick of a college graduating class to teach at $50 a month, when he can get $75 in almost any other kind of position. SLow salaries will secure to the schools only cheap teachers. It is a matter of business comupetitioni. . While there has bec, -T'N p.oment in the salaries of county STOLE LITTLE GIRL. Her Parents Suspects Tramps of Kidnapping Her. They Are almost Convinced That the Missing Child Is In the Hand ol Vagrants. A dispatch from West Chester, Pa., says the authorities are now convinced that Mary Newlin five: years old, who mysteriously disap peared on Sunday from her home, near Auburn, Franklin township, has been kidnapped by tramps. Searching parties composed of de tectives and many farmers of Ches ter county are now directing their investigations with this view. The missing child is a daughter by a former husband of Mrs. Erwin Lewis, and on the day of her disap pearance had been visiting the home of her grandfather, John Lewin, a prosperous farmer, about three quarters of a mlle distant. She was last seen by residents of the vicinity on her return journey to her moth er's home. In support of the theory that tramps have carried off the child is the fact that a gang of vagrants which had occupied for several days I a deserted cottage near the point where the little one was last seen suddenly disappeared on Sunday afternoon. On the night previous vagrants also robbed the Lewis home and carried away all of the eatables. The child had been sent to the grandfather's on the follow ing morning to notify them of the robbery and to obtain bread. r She was escorted partly on her re f f turn by her aunt, Nellie Newlin, thirteen years old. Near the homE of Miller Plumley thechildren part e ed and from this point all trace o: s the missing child is lost. When she did not return Mrs. s Lewis was not worried, taking it foi granted that her daughter woulc spend the night at her grandfather' e home. The next afternoon, howev 'er, she wondered at Mary's protrac , ted absence, and went to John New d lin's farm to fetch her. Arrive< e there, she learned of the departar< of the little one on Sunday after noon. ~ The county officials were notifie 2 at once, and George Tymannus, * constable from Avondale, began - search. There are no streams o sufficient size in the neighborhoo 1i to warrant his assumption that th . child had fallen into one and hs n been drowned. He thereupon noti - fled the county district attorney, N W. MacElree, who joined the cot s stables and has been on the seen e ever since. - It was at firs4 believed that Mr. is Lewis's former husband might hav it been concerned in the. abductior *h but this theory has been abandoned '-The police are also looking for - strange man of middle age, rathe Sheavily built, and having sins t. squint eyes and a red nose, who ha bbeen seen lingering about the neigi t borhood for two days looking fo' s work. He had seen the child - mother at her home and asked for: Y job, saying he would be willing t stay there and live and wohrk abou sthe lawn for $5 amonth. * e He had also been at Mrs. Lewis s fathers's and other places in th :neighborhood, being last seen at th ,home of .James Reburn on Frida: gmorning last, where he was give1 ehis breakfast. This man said he hai Lbeen in a hospital. He wore a littl e soft hat, a corducoy vest, light par . taloons and carried a suitcase. THE export edition recently pul lished by the Columbia State was th emost elaborate affair of the'kind eve . undertaken by a South Carolira pa -par and reflects credit on the State It contained much valuable informa t'on that the people in and out of the State should know. Such publication c dlls the attention of the world tV South Carolina and her resources anm c sanot fail to be of great benefit tV the whole State. Besides this, il aives Charleston the best ativertisinj - he old city has had for many a day. THE Rev. Len G. Broughton, of At lanta, in the course of one of h.i, preaching performances at Spartan burg recently made the conserva tive statetrrent that any man wh< smokes cigarettes ten years will lie o3 i eal. Wcnder if this is really so. Will some one who has had experi ence inform us. Bissor Ellison Oapers of the Epis cpal church, one of the best met South Carolina has ever known, a Confderate veteran in the Civil war, is criricalhy ill at his summisr home at Cedar mountain having been stricker with paralysis on Friday THz News and Courier says;: 'h thirty seven youn g ladies who gradu at the Memioger School were present ed with only 525 pounds of candy. provirg it is misfortune to be already sweeter than o'her girls" That is the way to taffy the girls: superintendents, these officers do not yet get enough to enable them to give their undivided time and thought to their work. The duties of a county superintendent are some thing more than signing pay war rants and appointing district trustees He is looked to as the energizing force in the schools of the whole county; to him the young struggling teacher turns for help; on his shoul ders the people place the responsi bility for the success or the failure of the schools of the county. Six hun dred and eighty-four dollars a year will not secure and hold suchsa man. It is strange that 'a town of 5,000 people finds it econonly to pay a town superintendent from $1,200 to $2,000 to supervise twvo or three schools with from 20 to 30 teachers, while the country, including the same town, offers b)ut $400 to $800 to the county superintendent to sup ervise 100 schools and more than 100 teachers. Our neighboring States in the South are waking .up in this matter. We must have better super vion if our schools are to he elii cient. Anyone with a genuine desire to Ido service to his State does not have to travel far to see a school houise which is a mute appeal for help, or to find conditions which cry out for remedy. There has never been a time in the history of our state when there was a greater need for the earnest zeal and faithful service of those who love her welfare. Every member of every community can find something useful to do. The future of South Carolina depends in a very arge measur e upon how we meet our MILLS FOUND GUILT Verdict in Gaffney Trial Quickly Rendered. A Recoinmendatiou to Mercy At tached to Jury's Finding-iny Surprised at Verdict. A special to The News and.Courier from Gaffney says the case against William H. Mills, for the killing of G. Frank Deal, went to the jury Sat urday afternoon after four o'clock and in about an hour a verdict of guilty of murder with recommenda tion to mercy was agreed upon. The verdict was a surprise to many. The charge of Judge Purdy prac tically removed the possibility of any other verdict. He stated that there was no such thing as the written law recognized by the Courts.of -thZ" State, and that the pardoning--we was in the hands of the Governor and not in the hands of the -Juy The jury was instructed not to con sider anything pertaining- to the-* written law. The arguments of- counsel weW%= able. They took about a day. The were begun Friday afternoon continued until dinner time Saturday' Mr. Wilson madea n admirable pleL, to the sympathy of the jury. H, referred to Mrs. Mills, who was sit ting by her husband, when .he point ed to her and said: "That woin was once -a beautt ful woman. I knew her whensh was a student at Converse College -and she was considered one of -the most beautiful women at that insti tution. * Look at her now. She is 2 years old and looks every day of 30. Solicitor Sease made a very strong argument and one 'that told on te jury. A motion has been made for a new trial and- will' be argued. on Monday morning. Should the judge 'not set the verdict aside the case. will be fought out in the Supreme Court. Sentiment is very much divided as to the verdict. Many thought that the prisoner would be turned -loose, while some thought he would get some punishment and a few years sentence as he did. - A petition for a pardon would get many signatures at this time. WAITING FOR HUSBAND. Although She Paid Palmist to Find. S OneFor Her. t Mary O'Connor, comely and twenty-two, appeared in the lem court as compainant agas at. ElizabethAubersixtyye of age of 160.East Eighty-* street, Nw York, who aditted that ie.wiasa fg professional "Pmit in New Yorks for eighteen,-y-ears. e Mary had consulted herinvie# t obtining-a husband. Mary sister Bridget bad.a-similarNmbitien1an - so admitted to Mgistrafe'in Why she 'should have employ e e servicsof a'fortand teller was apparent for she isasg bright eed - her sister. Mar' is pmaidby e ork and hersit s New YorlifamilyatAiverne t -Attracted byfan advertisemhent-ir i Sunday newspapei- the'O'Coinoi r.girlvisited the homeof- rs. Au 1. er n My21toinvoke her aid' iri "getting- a fellow;" .is Mary de scribed it. ,She was informed that r the preliminai-y fee would be 10 s and she paid willingly. a"Then, -your honor," explaiuned. Sthe complaiant, '-i was tolde three days after by~Mrs. Aaber that I% ,must pay $15 more if I wanted miy heart's desire. and lIgave her mon ey. 'Where's the fellow?' says! to Mrs. Auber. 'He''s not here yet,' says she. 'Well I'm wantininhim oon, sais Is But -never a fel S"Ijiad$170 inabank and ldrew $100 of it to hand over to this' wo man. She said she would held it for nine days and then give it back into .my hand, and at the same time., rshow methee fellowlIwas toimarry. that was on Junme3." On Jun'e 13, rigged outin her best Mary returned to Mrs. Auber's - house expecting, she said, to redeive a back her deposit of $100 andsto b presented her future' husbandsi wasn't there: neither was her non iey. Mas. Auber told her,-she said2 That the "fellow'' was wandering. aboutinuch a zigzag fashion- thst he conidu'tbe found-by the spirits "She gave me a little bottle of stuff," said Mary, "which she told> me to surinkle in a circle around the fellow when I found- hima and then three three drops behind him and say a prryer. But, your honor, how. was Ito sprinkle the wateriniaring around a mnai I never saw?" Mrs. Auber was held in- $1,000 on the charge of grand larceny and will appear forafurteer examnination ATXEN MIAN LODGED IN JAIL. 'W. Alva Jackson Charged With Steal ing 'From City. Charged with the theft of valua ble brass and metal fixtures from the water works department of the city of Aiken, . W. 'Alva Jackson one of the most prominent- young busines men of our city, has been placed under arrest and lodged in jail. His arrest is the result of an investigation made a few days ago: Mr. Jackson has for.several years been superintendent of the sewer age department of Aiken and in that capacity has so far as known given entire satisfaction. Being conneet-. Ied with the city.in this way he had access to the rooms containig these fixtures, of which several,hundred' dollars worth are kept on hand for' repairs, etc. Recently it has been discovered that the fixtures Twere re-~. moved pretty fast and this led to an investigation, resulting in Mr. Jack son's arrest. While it is not known yet to what extent the theft will reach, it is es timated that the amoiunt stolen will go p in the hundreds of dollars worth. A member. of the police force recently went to Augusta and there found a quanity of brass al leged to have been sold by Mr. Jackson. The affair is greatly deplored, as Mr. Jacksco is a young man who has always stood well. He comes from an excellent family and has had many friends here. Two negro men are also implicated in the theft with Mr. Jackson, No one, until recently, ever suspiciined that. Mr.: Jackson was guilty of such ani ,-s though it has been thougue tar son~e time that t ie theft was going on. CA al N L Gibbous has contributed to the la.st number of The -Delineotor a strong appeal for a change in our di vorce laws, in which he says the evil 1s scarely less deplorable than Mor monis. And in this he speaks the t h abhuely.