University of South Carolina Libraries
VOL. XXV MANNING, S. C., WEDNESDAY. JULY 19 WHAT HE SAYS Swearinger Does Not Meet Comparisors Made by the Board PEOPLE MUST DECIDE Claims That he Was Ignored by Oth er Members of the Board, by Not Having Chance to Express His Opinion When Adoption of the Books Were Made. State Superintendent of Education Swearingen returned to Columbia Tuesday night from Rock Hill, where he had gone Friday to attend the Conference of County Superinten of Education. He declared that he had no intention or desire to prolonh the controversey regarding the text book adoptions made by the State board of educatio*n. "If the people of south Carolina are willing to believe," h- said, "that they can now exchange old text books for new ones at an additional cost of only 2-3 cents per child each year, they will be -undeceived when the time comes to buy new .books. "I have not counted The words in the primer or in any other book, but the new basal reader contaan 159 pages and sells for 35 cents. The new basal fifth reader contains 368 pages and sells for 35 cents. The diffrence is interesting. "Of the old basal first reader, 131, 000 copies were sold from 1906 to 1911-, and this book has been dis placed. Twelve thousand copies of the physical geographies were sold, and this book has been retained. As far as the titles on the list are con cerned these two books are equal, but as as far as the pupils and pa trons ot the State are concerned, there is a difference of nearly 11 to 1, or more than 1,000 per cent. Il lustrations might be multiplied in definitely. for readers, arithmetics, and geographies form the most id portant part of a text book edoption, and these three series show that 76 per cent of the mere titles even were thrown out. "If the members had made up their minds as to the best and most desirable books, I am at a loss to un derstand why they were unwilling to point out the poor books now in use. It is claimed that ample preliminary discussion of text books was had in pie books -had been made. This ad mission is, highly gratifying to me, because the absence of such discus sion and coniparison at the board meetings led me to suppose and hope -for this condition- - They, therefore seem to admit the fact that the real discussion of text-books was had ine Jerome Hotel. I do not presume to set my opinion amninst the opinion of seven - distinguished educators, but being the secretary of the board and member directly responsible to the people, I thought there should be a frank, full and open discussion mn the meetings of the board itself. This admission proves that the adoption wtas decided on before the State Superintendent of Educationl was given a chance to express an opinion. It must not be forgotten,, also, that my request for a record of' these changes was promptly refused. I was prepinred to recommend sever al chaarres and to support these rec ommendationls with argument. The board made sweeping changes, but declined to indicate the necessity for these chanes, by pointing out the in ferior and undesirable books now In use. The lassertion that better books have been adopted does not suffice. but should be supported by evidence. Every change of text books is unnec essary unless a logical reason can be assigned therefor. "I have not questioned the intege rity or impugned the motives of a majority of the board, because posi tive proof of improper influence can not be adduced. The private charac ter of every man belongs to himself. alone, but his public acts belong tc his constituents. The new policies of the board were expensive, unexplain ed, and without record, land against these three charaiteristics I protest ed. "There are other points inviting interesting comment, but I leave this to be made by others. The determi nation of the issue rests with the peo ple." POISONED BY INSECTS? Probable Cause of Death in Newberry County. The sudden death of four negroes, three of them in one family and ir one house near Shelton, in Fairfielc' County, is supposed to have been caused by poisonous insects on black berries. which the negroes had pick ed and eaten a short time before their deaths. It is said that the ne groes were about grown and two oth ers were smaller. The four had been bl'ackberry picking in the aifter noon and that night, or early the next morninlI, according to the infor mation, they died. It is not known what else could have caused their death and the cause stated is gen eraly accepted by the community and is supported by medical opinion. Convict Was Killed. While trying to escape from the State prison at Milledgeville, Ga., W. H. O'Neal, a white-convict, who had served one year of a three-year sen tence, was shot to death by guards ONeal was sentenced for stabbing als wife. The Mob Got Him. Will McGriff, the negro who shot and killed Will Washington, a white man, and wounded two colored men, was arrested ut Bocontont Wednesday afternoon and later killed by a mob e+sated at more than five 'iundred VOTE BAILEY DOWN THE SENATE KILLS HIS FREE LIST AMENDMIENT. Heyburn Says the Republican Party Is on Its Death Bed Because of its Divided Ranks. Senator Bailey's free list amend ment to the Canadian recirocity bilt was defeated in the Senate late Wed day by a large majority. So evident was the margin against it that Mr. Bailey did not ask for a roll call. Pursuing the policy of forcing the opponents of reciprocity to proceed without delay, Senator Penrose urg, ed Senator Bailey to introduce his wool tarig amendment a tonce. The latter did so. "Semi-Democrats" "borrowed Democrats" and like terms were ap plied to the Republican Senators sup porting the bill, by Senator Hey burn, of Idaho, in a speech against the measure. He declared that when a. vote on the bill is taken, alk roma Republicans in the Senate will be op posed to it, when the "Semi-Demo rats" will vote for it, along with the "fee-simple Democrats." "How can we educate the leader of the party back to Repubican princi ples," asked Senato rNeison, .of Min mesota. "Who is the leader of the Repot ican party?" asked Heyburn. Senator Bailey declared that the Republicans were in a state of muti ay and did not know their leader. Mr. Heyburn declared that the ree procity bill came to Congress wrap ped in the flag of a pirate. "Here's the bill; now you pass it without any change," said Mr. Hey burn. ' He declared that he opposed all amendments to the bill as well as the bill -itself, because "every amend nent is ta splinter off the Repu.blican lag staff of protective policy." "That can't be," interjected Senm tor Clapp; "the flag staff has been broken and the flag pulled down." "I'll bet you 7,000,000 Republican votes that is not true," said Hey burn. ie added that he believed that the Republicans would ultimate ly come together again on protective principles. Asked by Senator Bailey how he would classify the insurgents, Mr. Eeyburn said they were "1navericks" waiting to be branded. "If they can be rounded up in the White House lot, I know they will be branded," said Mr. Bailey. Senator Heyburn characterized some of the progressives as "pro gressing as a crab; you can't tell that they're going." "This is the deathbed of the Re publican party," said Senator Hey burn, referring to the split in the Republica ranks, "but it will be the leath.bed of may of the men who are ;mpporting this reciprocity bill, when :he people realize that it means put ting down of the protective system." CHARGE LEWIS WITH FRAUD. Charged With Using the Mails to ...D~efraud People. A dispatch from St. Louis says E~. G. Lewis, until recently publish er of ia number of magazines and oromoter of enterprises, was indict d by a special grand jury in the Un ted States district court on charges f fraudulent use of the mails. The indictment, containing twelve courts, covers four points in which Lewis is alleged to have obtained several million by misleading statements cir ulated through the mails. It is charged he sold unsecured otes on the Woman's Mlagazmnt. Building and the Woman's Daily building in the University City, o1 which Lewis is Mayor, unsecureos otes of the University Heights Real ty Development Company, operated i "debenture scheme," and that he Tiisrepresented the condition of the (ewis Publishing Company in selling i~ock in the concern. Lewis recently put his corporations nto the hands of trustees with sole nowr to handle them for five years. Creditors have asked that a receiver e appointed. Lewis was indicted n 1905 on charges of conducting a ~cheme to defraud through his oper -tion of the People's United States Bank, one of his corporations. Oth r indictments charged him with de 'rauding the government of postal ~unds. He was acquitted on several i these charges and all were dis -nissed later by the government. It is charged in the indictment -hat. by the deabenture plan, Lewis endeavored to recover securities in is different companies and obliga tion, most of which were due at early dates, amouting to~ $7,160,000. THE GRAY AND BLUE. President Taft Will Follow Bull Run Retreat. When President Taft goes to Ma iassas, Va., 25 miles southwest of Wushington on July 21 to speak at the joint reunion of the blue and gray 'rmies on the .battlefield of Bull Run, he will travel over the same old turn nike th?.t thousands of Union sol liers used 50 years ago. The Presi lent will motor down from the capi tal with Secretiary Hlilles and Maj. A. W. Eutt. Much of the ride will be over the road used by Gem. McDow all's soldiers when the tide of battle turned against them and they fled back toward Washington. Two Hundred May Perish. A dispatch from Surf, Col., states that of the two hundered passen ers and eighty-five sailors on the wrecked Santa Rosa, only 85 had es caped to shore. It added that little hope was held out for those who re mained on the vessel. Eleven pas sengers and five of the crew were lost by th casiing of the life boat. * RAGIG FLAMES Hundreds of People Burned to Death in the Porcupine District. THREE TOWNS BURNED Entrapped Miners, Seeking Safety in Shafts Perish in Flames. Streets Strewn With Charred Human Bod ies and Dead Carcasses of Animal that Perished. A Toronto Canada, dispatch says the loss of life in Porcupine district, from Wednesday's fire is known to be several hundred and the property loss will reach several millions of dollars. Only three of the eighty four empoyees of the West Dome Mine have been accounted for and 200 miners, muckers, etc., in the var ious other mines are missing. Among the dead are Robert Weiss, manager of the. West Dome, and his wife and child. The West Dome Mine Company, of Philadelphia, sustained a loss of about $50,000. Reports from Porcupine give vague state statements of the loss of life and preperty. The property loss will probably total millions. Some loss of life is also reported from South Porcupine and Eldorado. At West Dome and Big Dome, the en trapped miners, cut off from escape, were forced to take to the shafts for safety, and penned in by flames, per ished. This was notably -true at Dome and west Dome mines. The streets of Sonth Porcupine are strewn with dead persons, horses, doigs, and cattle. Along the mine roads are the charred bodies of those overcome trying to escape . Of the staff of three hundred at the Dome but a few were saved, and at the West Dome but three out of 84 em ployees are known to be alive. Early Wednesday the miners saw dense clouds of smoke to the south west, where the fires were raging. They gave small heed. It was not until noon that the smoke clouds be gan to roll over the Porcupine dis trict. Then the miners became alarmed. - Messengers were sent out and soon returned with the word that the fire was travelling throutgh the forest rapidly and was licking up many towns. Shortly after noon the fire had cov ered tan area of twenty-five miles in length and two miles in width, and was lickinig -up the base line of Tis dale sweeping over the Standard and Imperial mines at Dolore, the Phila delphia, Inshaw, Tldorado and Unity mines. When the seriousness of the situa tion was apparent the fire call was sounded with the Dome Mine whis tle. In half hoar the flames were raging on the spot. They swept over the Foley O'Brien mine, then jump ed to the Preston East Dome and fol lowed over the Dome and West Dome. Hundreds fled from the flames, but the smoke :hung low over the land and made progress difficult. Many fell exhausted. The frame buildings of -South Porcupine burned fiercely. TI'enty minutes after the flames struck the outskirts the town was in ashes. All who escaped the flames made for the water, where all sorts of water craft, launches, canoes and skiffs were pressed into service. Women and children were first hudled into the small boats and started og for Pottsville and Golden City, where they were temporarily safe from the fames. Many miners lost their lives in efforts to save oth ers and some were drowned. Fifteen men were drowned at South Porcupine, when they were driven into the hake by the dense clouds of smoke and rolling wave of flame. At El Dorado two men were burned to death, and another met a similar fate at the United Porcupine Mines. Three towns have been wiped off the map and hundreds or refugees are facing starvation. A train contain ing six hundred women and children was rushed out of Cochrane for the south, Las the wall of flames advanc ed toward the village. The town of 2,500 inhabitants was soon a mass of fire and is entirely destroys. South Porcupine and Pittsva. are charred ruins. Golden City was surrounded by flames for hours, and is still in dang er, although only the suburbs have been burned. Part of Tisdale has been wiped out, the fire being con trolled only by dynamiting a dozen houses in the middle of the town. Two special trains have been sent to bring the 4.000 persons who are facing starvation or death by fire in the Tisdale district. Communica tion with stricken districts IS exceed ingly difficult. The flames swept down on South Porcupine and Pittsville ialmots wlInh out warningh The alarm came just in time for the people to rush foi the lake, but they were forced tt abandon all of their belongings. Gasoline boats, rowboats and ever hastily improvised rafts were utilized to get the refugees, many of whoms were women and children, across the lake to Golden City. There all 'are attempting to beat back the flames which have consumer the outskirth of that place. There lare only a fe~ days' provisions left in Golden City The laborers employed ron the On tario Government's new railroad line Ireached the city after a desperat4 fight with the fames, In which many were badly injured. They lost every thing but the clothes they wore. Lots of Cotton Burn. A dispatch from St. Peatersburg Russia, says the fire that broke ou among the cott-on bales in~ the por setion of the city was extinguishe( after damage taggregating~ $50 0,00( bad never been to town, although liv ed in the loss. GOAT HELD BY ORNS IN A FENCE BEFORE HE WAS RE LEASED FROM IT. Train Crew on the Augusta Southern Railroad Stopped the Train and Loosed Him. The Augusta Herald says the trav eiers on the Augusta Southern road are telling quite a funny but pathet ic little story about a goat who butted into a fence and stayed until the crew of No. 44 came to his assistance. Col. Henry S. Jones, of Hephiz ,bah, while returning home from his office in Augusta Thursday afternoon, noticed a goat patiently standing by a wire fence on Mr. W. W. Hack's -place at DeBruce, a small station just beyond the old Richmond Factory pond, and remembered that he had seen it there for the third day stand ing sentinel-like with its eyes stead fastly fixed upon the Augusta South ern tracks which are only a few feet away. He looked carefully and saw that the goat had fastened himself in the wire fence and had seemed to aDam don all efforts to gain his freedom. The poor goat stood in the one spot for three days and nights, lonely and cared for by no one. He was almost dead of starvation. Col. Jones, taking pity on the goat, asked Mr. Mf. S. Bridgers, chief train dispatcher of the Augusta Southern, who was on the train Thursday af ternoon with him, to have the next train stopped and some of the train men get off and relieve the animal from its serious iand uncomfortable condition. This Mr. Bridgers did. He noti fied pasenger train No. 14 coming to Augusta Thursday night to stop near the Richmond Factory pond where the un-fortunate goat was being held and to have some of the crew get off and let the poor animial loose. The billy goat's life was saved by the crew of No. 14. SCAMP WAS CAUGHT. Negro Wrote Obscene Letters to La dies and is Tripped. Ned McGehee, a negro, was ar rested several miles from Nashville, Tenn., this week, on the Murfrees boro turnpike, and is being held be fore being turnd over to the Federal officers on the charge of sending ob scene matter through the mails. It is charged that McGehee has re cently, on several occasions, sent the most obscene letters imaginable to two of the most piominent ladies liv ing on the Murfreesboro road. In these letters the negro is said to have asked the ladies to meet him at a given place at a set time. In order to accomplish the arrest of the man, decoy letters were used with good results, these being writ ten by some of the male relatives of the ladies who had been so grossly insulted. In those decoy letters an appointment was made to meet the negro at the place indicated by him. The time for the meeting was this week. The astonishment of the fiend when he went to fill the appointment can be imagined upon coming face to face with the detectives and a number of eprominent citizens of the neighborhood. DIED FAR FROM HOE. Workman from Germany Accidental ly Killed at Great Falls. A special to the Charlotte Obser ver says Dr. W. W. Feunell, of Rock Hill, received a telephone message to come to Great Falls at once, that a party there was seriously hurt. He rushed down in an automobile and found that Lawrance Miller. one of the Germans that the Southern Power company has Tistallin~g its fertilizer plant at that place, had fallen 45 feet tinto a tank or vat, and his skull was crushed and neck bro ken and that nothing could be done for him. Later the unfortunate man died. His body will be shipped to his home. A young German of the party that is at Great Falls, who could scarcely speak any English at all, accompa nied the body to Rock Hill, stated that Miller was 34 years of age and had a wife and four children in Ger many and that he carried $S,000 in surance. MADE HIS LAST LEAP. A Real Tragedy Caught on Film of Moving Pictures. A real tragedy was recdrded on the film of a moving picture machine at New York late Wednesday. As Albert Breyton, actor and expert swimmer and diver, leaped from a boat in ,a Staten Isiland pond, the machine was set in motion, its lens focused on the bubbling surface of the pond where he had disappeared. to picture his aquatic feats as he same to surface. The moments pass ed and the widening circles from the impact of his dive touched the shores. The diver's feat had been caught on the film. He did not appear and is suposed to have been held fast by te soft mud 'at the bottom. The body was igrappled for and recovered. Clemson's Big Income. Clemson College will this year re ceive about $260,000 from the sale of the fertilizer tags. Since the first of the year the sum of $242,633 has been received, as compared with $216,703 on the same date of last year. The total 'amount received by the school last year was 1248,09S. Fatal Boiler Explosion. At Sulina, Roumania, as an at tempt was being made to re-float the stranded river steamer Queensbor ugh Monday, the boiler exploded, killing twelve persons and wound REAL STORY TOLD CONNECTED ACCOUNT OF FIRE SWEPT DISTRICT. Two Cities Were Wiped Out by the Flames and Many Were Drowned to Avoid Awful Death. Eugene A. Thomson, business man and fire chief, who Wednesday night brought a -party of refugees to De troit from the burned towns of Au Sable and Oscoda furnished the first connected story which has come from the fire swept district. "The first serious fire on the out skirts of the town was discovered Sunday and a crew fought it until it was under control," he said. Monday x nothing was done and on Tuesday, i aided by high winds, it burst out h again with great fury. t "The first alarm in Osceoda came t in at 3 o'clork from a private house. I President Gowley and myself .pro cured pails from the Loud Company's t office to fight the fames that had 2 spread to the Catholic cemetery. The t next alarm came in from Au Sable C township slab piles. Just about the. t time the host was working well we got an alarm from tne village of Os- r coda. The first to go was the Oscoda E and Au Sable canning factory and in a a few minutes 'the fire was general, breaking out north, east, south and N west all at once. "Our equipment of three hose carts C and thirty-six volunteers fought for t an hour and a half with a good su-p ply of water. "T-hen the flames reached the pumping station and it went out of C commission. A few inhabitants among them myself and my father 9 and mother, went to the steamer NI- S ko, Captain Meyers, which was lying at my own door. "When we left the doc between t 200 and 300 people were on It, 30 of . them were nursing children, cut off. from shore, with the tramway over head afire. There was no escape for them unless they jumped Into the wa ter. I saw Peter Duval struggle down the tramway with his aged father in-law on his back, but the flames forced him back 'ind I cannot tell I whether he was saved. "I saw a woman with two children in her arms rush out on the dock. One of the children fell into the wa ter and a young man leaped in after it and saved it. "When -the fire started the wind t was blowing about 50 miles an hour from the southeast. Then It shifted Co the westward and the flames com pletely swept the towns. Two hours afterward it shifted to the northeast and swegt the blaze back over the grouna it already had-trayelled, lick ing up .the whole of Oscoda and Au Sable city and township for a radius cf three miles. t WOMAN AND MAN DROWN. Giant Lake Wave Sweeps Them from Rescuing Arms.4 At Auburni, N. Y., a gigantic-wave on Owasco Lake swept Miss Adelaide McCarthy, 18 years old, tand her cous in, Edward George Burke, 22 years old, of Philadelphia;'from the grasp of rescuers, to death in the lane on Wednesday night. Burke, a good swimmer, had bat ted for the life of his companion for half an hour and .was preparing to, assist -her to the hands of four men in a motorboat when a wave swept them away, half filled the boiat, si lenced the engine and set the craft adrift. "Save the girl, fellows, don't try to take me in," shouted Burke. who was treading water with the girl in his arms. A moment later the wtave blotted them both from view. Their .odies still lie at the bo"'-i of the lake. C- )WD) MENACED FIEND. 1 Ohio Mob Threaten Negro Who Is 1 Saved By the Police. With cries of "Hang him; lynch the brute," a mob of several hundred persons gathered in the northern part of the city Monday and threat ened to wreak summary vengeance upon Havey Muckes, a negro, who is accused of having 'attacked a 1 6-year old white girl. The negro bad been captured by a posse that chased him for several miles upon a hand-car. 2 A crowd surro-unded the jail and made a demonstration of violence, but was quickly repelled by the po lice and deputies. News of the at tempted assault had gained wide cur-i recy, and intense excftement pre- I vailed as the members of the posse( with their prisoner in custody arriv ed in the police station.1 This county and city authorities, Ianticipating an outbreak has ordered< the entire police force to the city( prison and supplementing this force with a large number of special depu-] ties. Later Mickens was spirited to I the county jail at Canton for safei keeping. Refused Tainted Money. 1 By a six to three vote the city council of Jacksonville Florida, re fused to appropriate money for the maintenance of a Carnegie public Ii brary. The philanthropist had of fered $25,000 if Pensacola would1 raise one-tenth of that amount. The people turned down the proposition several weeks agro on a referendum vote. The argument was advanced1 that Carnegie's money was "tainted." Killed by Caisson. Elbert J. Baum of battery A. Third U. S. field 'artIllery, was killed dur ing target practice Thursday near San Antonio, Tex. Baum was drived of a caisson. His horses took fright 3t the firing and in endeavoring to keep them from running away Baum START TO FIGIT 'hirty-Three Killed in Pitched Battle in Streets of Pathla. TTACK ON THE TROOPS ome of the Iate Rebels In Mexico Force Some Federal Soldiers to Their Quarters Until They 'Were Believed. A dispatch from Puebla, Mexico, ays fighting between federals and aderistas which began Thursday ight and lasted until daylight was esumed Friday afternoon at Cerro an Juan, close to Puebla. The bat ie raged for three hours and is said o have claimed more than forty in :illed and wounded. . - A party of Maderists who fled from he bull ring Wednesday night after , stiff fight with the federals; out he interoceanic railroad at Fabrica le Matienzo, .took possession of a rain and proceeded to San Marlin, 5 miles to the north, to procure ifies and ammunition with the avow d intention to return and renew the ttack. The fight, taccording to witnesses, ras provoked by three men, one of hom was said to be a son of Former overnor Edcio Martinez, who passed he bull ring where the Maderistas ere quartered and fired into the lace and Into the barracks of the ;aragosa battalion of State troops ,pposite. The fight was taken up by both Ides, each thinking the other had tarted the trouble. The fight was 1oody and.among the 40 dead were everal women -and a federal lieu enant colonel, Moises Bretcn. The ffair is laid by the revolutionosts t the door of the Cientificos, who are aid to have arranged the details in dvance and calculated -upon the ef ct. of the preliminary shooting. By others the- clash was said to ave been provoked by an attack by , drunken revolutionists upon the enitentiary with the intention to [berate the prisoners. At the first volley .the State troops ame out of their quarters but were riven back- ,by the revolutionists. 'he latter kept up a spasmodic fire attalion of federals was ordered to heir relief. The fighting ceased only rhen Gov. - Canete appeared with a rhitePflag and pleaded for peace.. A special train with Francisco L. (adero on board arrived in the city oon after the battle began. It is leged drunken Maderistas made an ttack upon the penitentiary with ynamite bombs in an effort to re ease the prisoners. The Saragossa rooys stationed close by opening fire. Maderistas from the bull ring at acked the federals and forced them ack into their quarters. A scatter ng fire was'kept up all night. At aybreak the Twenty-ninth battalion lame to-the rescue of the other fed rals and used a machine igun to clear he streets. At this attack the Mad ristas fled, leaving a large number f dead and wounded in the streets. TWO TERY FOOLISH MEN. lew Themselves up by Carelessly Handling Powder. In their efforts to divide a keg of owder in a fair and square manner, Tendring Goolish was blown to 'at ns and John Memenich is dyig of errible burns in a Pittsburg, Pa., ospital. The men were friends and orked together as -miners near freenburg, Pa. One day they were dividing a keg If powder. They knew but one way vay to make a fair measurement. lacing the keg on the tiable the men tood before it. Goolish took out a landful and placed it on the table eside him. Semenich did the same. ['his tedious process was continued, ntil one handful remained. At a oss how to divide it, it was 'finally ecided to set it off. Unthinking loolsh touched a match to it. There was a puff and two piles of pow Ler also exploded. Goolish was sent rough the rooft and was killed. ~emenich was probably fatally burn SENATOR TILLMAN TO SPEAK Lnnual Picnic of Old Soldiers at Olanto Saturday. A dispatch from Florence to The ows and Courier says the annual icn-ic for the old soldiers will be ield at -their spicnic grounds, at )lanta, in lower Florence County. on aturday, July 22, at which time nited States Senator Benjamin R. 'illman and others will make ad resses. The old soldiers' picnic at )lanta is always one of the great vents of the year in lower Florence. ast year there were more than 8, 00 people present, and from~ present ndications there will be not less than [0,000 people there this year. Ex rybody is invited to these events, >ut the old soldiers come first. Chiaired Bodies Found. ' he charred bodies of Arthur Per eval, p. prominent farmer, and his VJe weie found in the ruins of their :-ared farm house usar Princeton, i. C., Wednesday The discovery as made .by neiglbbors. An investi ation is in progress to determine inder what circumstances the couple net death. Caught on Fire. A Washington dispatch says the louse had an exciting scene when R~epresentative Willis of Ohio, rushed rom his desk, his clothing afire. several members came to his aId and xtinguished the flames. He was un nju red. A box of matches in his coat ?ocket caught fire. WENT DOWN BANK LADIW GUEST AND OWNEBR ARE INSTANTLY KILED. The Big Touring Car Turned Over When the Road Bank Crumbled Under It. A special dispatch from Henderson ville, N. C., to the Collm.bia Record says: In an automobile accident Wednes day night about two o'clock, two peo ple were killed when the powerful Rambler machine of Mr. B. W. Bet tis went over an embankment on the Asheville road, arout two miles from Hendersonville. The dead are: Miss Lemie 'Bow man, of Sumter, S. C., daughter of Mr. P. G. Bowman and Mr. B. W. Bettis of Trenton, S. C., who wab driving the car. There were eight people in the car, taking a ride while returning from Lake View Hotel after a dance, Miss Mabel Bowman and Miss Lemle Bow man with Mr. B. W. Bettis occupied, the front seat. Those in the back seat were: Mrs . P. G. Bowman, Miss Mary Pitts, Mr W. Hammond, Newman, Miss Jennette Henry, of Sumter, Miss Rosa Sharfson of Al lenale. Coming tola steep fill on the newly built Asheville-Hendersonville high way, the driver saw a vehicle In front and gave room, going to the right The loose dirt caved with -the heavy machine and before he could turn, the miachine turtled, catching -the oc cupants under the car. Miss Mabel Bowman, who receiv ed serious bruises will recover. Mr. Bettis' body was shipped home Thurs day on the "Carolina Special" of the Southern railway. Miss Sharfson Is a graduate of the College for Women at Columbia. Miss Bowman and Mr. Bettis were to have been married in ia few weeks. DISAGREE WITH THE GOVERNOR. Demand Tiat Hosiery Mill Be Abol ishe# Refused Disregarding the demands of the governor, the board of directors of the State penitentiary Thursday- re fused to abolish the hosiery mill, and the entire controversyT will be left with the general assembly for (a de cision. ~ The contract is for- five years and provides for the emloyment of from 200 to 350 prisoners. J. M. Graham holds the contract with the State. A letter embracing the posi tion of the board was addressed to the governor. The governor- has on several occasions stated- -that if the hosiery mill was not-abolished that he would pardon all of the 300 meu -and women employed in the mill. The board finds that J. M. Graham has observed every provision of the contract. That failure on the part of the State through its officers to perform its duties toward the con victs, should not be allowe'd to work a hardship on J. M. Graham nor jus tify the State in breaking the agree rent with hilm. That the hosiery mill is in a thor. oughly sanitary condition and the converts therein work under more favorable circumstances than em ployes in similar industries conduct ed by parties or corporations. Thbat deaths from tubercrlosis In the whole penitentiary, including the hosiery mill, has decreased from 58 duringI the years between 1900 and 1905 tot 22 durIng the years between 1906 and 1916. That a greater number of convicts are brought to the ,penitentiary al ready afficted with tuberculosis than those contracting the disease within the prison walls. That as soon as a convict shows ab ' 61chdeT bmorniartlfihSo any symptoms of tuberculosis he or she Is placed in one of the finest tu,berculosis hospitals In this see tion of the country. - That the boai-d stands ready to make any cblanges in the buil'dings that may be necessary to further safeuard the health of the convicts, whenever they ascertain thrdugh the board of health and their own in vestigations the same is desirable. That the board invites inspection by private citizens of the State at any time, of all the buildings within the walls of the State penitentiary. THEY WANT RAIN. Indian Tribal Customs to Obtain It Are Being Used. The Creek Indians in the vicinity of Wetumka, Owla., are resortIng m iancient tribal customs in an attempt to obtain a rainfall. One of their customs which has been widely followed in the last week is to stake mud turtles on the edge or a stream just flar enough away from the water so that it cannot reach It. It Is the Indians belief that the tur tle despairing of their attempts to reach the water invoke the aid of the "Great Spirit' to send rain so that the stream will be raised (and brought to them. Since the turtles were first staked out several rains have fallen. The Indians believe their prayers are be ing answered and they are fastening up more turtles to pray for a still greater mtinfall. Never Been to Town. Mrs. Polly Monk, 94 years of age is dead In North Christian county. Ten. She had lived all her life on a farm, outlived two husbands and had never seen a train and had an Ig within two miles of Crofton. She had never seen a train, and had on antipathy for "new fangled things." Killed by Lightning. While working In a field near Ar thur, Tenn. ,two little boys, Will Piercand Link Eads, suffered severe shocks, and the latter is not expected THEY TRAP TAFT Balinger Seems to Have Played MC Scheme en the President. WILL BE LOOKED INTO Alleged that Taft on Advice of His Brether, Bainaer and Ryan Be. stored Alaskan Lands to -Domain So Guggenheim Interest Might Grab Them. Published charges that the presi dent had been induced by three .per sons-his .brother, the then Secretary of the Interior Ballinger and Rcbard" S; Ryan of New York, a representa tive of the Guggenheim intere restore to the domain lands sur rounding Controller bay, in southern Alaska, met with quick action In Con gress. The house committee on expend tures headed ,by Representative Gra ham, of Illinois, immediatply eum moned Cmissioner Dennett. of the general laid office, to apjsar before the committee, -to explain what he knows about the -matter, and Repre sentative Cox,.of Indiana, one of the democratic leaders of the house I troduced a resolution alitgon Pros ident Taft for. all the informatIon he can fumish on the subject.;' The Cor resolution requestsPres-.'. j Ident Taft to submit all papers and information In his posession relating X to. his executive order of July 28 1910, restorngto public lands surrounding' Controller Bar., It sets forth published charges I.- - timating that Ryan, throughSecre reary Ballinger and Charles P. Taft induced the president. of the Uiited States to sign the order. It points out-that throush .this:or der the Gugenheim syndicate "has now or will get control of Con troller Bay or'harbor,"- nd requests the president to advisethe bouse whether Messrs. Ryan and Ballmn.. ger and C. 1P. Taft induced hiim to sign the order restoring- Controller -Bay land to qpublic 'domain, 1hih previoisly had been set aside 'as"a nationIlI forest reserve whetherthe president had information that Ryan was working In the interest f the Guggenheim syndicate. "I am going to push this resoln tion," said Representative Cor.*'"If the rules committee falls to actI will bring -it -up on the floor of the house. There is something radical ly wrong about this whole transac tion. Balked by -the refusal of the government to allow the Cunnin ham coal land: claimMs,thg8a M Wall street evidently is determined to secure control of this coal land. They filed on the Controller bay land, - the only avallable harbor through 7 which the Alaskan coal can be ship ped before the government could ev en have it surveyed after the presi dent's order withdr~wing It frbm the Chugash reserve. "Falling to secure the land, they have now gone after the only means of transporting coal and with a ral r road from the coal lands to sCon troller bay they could 'absolutely-dic tate to the owners of the coal land."' Representative Graham, chairman of the Interior department, exmpenditures. committee, also has been looking in to the matter. Acording td the be lef here and In Alaska, Ryan, in. his efforts to obtain railroad term!-i nals at Controller bay, has been working in the Interest of an Eng lish syndicate. WANTED ]UIM REMOVED. Congregation Prays That Death Will Take an Enemy. 'We have heard of prayers for all sorts of things, but the "sanctified" negro church at- Quitman, 'Ga., has a new one on us. The "sanctified" negro congregation over there Is praying for the death of Oscar Davis, and the members announce that he will die within three -months as the answer to their petitions. Oscar is to 'be removed from the earthly scene of activity because he has been too active in persecuting the church; the other day he entered a complaint to the police that the sanctified ones were a public nuisance. They have been holding a "pro tracted meeting" in a negro school house near Oscar Davis' home for the past three months, and Oscar said they cavorted and shouted so much he could not sleep and was so unfitted for his duties as driver of a delivery wagon. The-leaders of the sect were summoned to appear in mayor's court, and when the horur for the hearing arrived the court was packed with negroes and there were several hundred in the street in front. A demonstration of "faith" had been planned and the leaders start ed a peculiar humming a.nd sway ing, which was part of the cavortig Oscar Davis complained of. The po lice scattered among them and stop ped the performance. The case 'was dismissed oin the plea that the nui sance had been abated, and now the sanctified brethren want Davis to furnish a funeral for the town and they are praying to that end. Oldest Engineer Dead. Benjamin E. Roboisnn, the oldest locomotive engineer on the Southern Railway, and 'according to his broth ers, t'ne oldest in point of service of any locomotive engineer in the Unit ed States, died in Charleston after an illness lasting about two weeks. At the time of his death Robinson was 72 years of age. He entered the em ploy of the old South Garolina Rail road in 1852, and has run on It ev 'er since. Mr. Robinson was known to many people between Columbia and Charlsten and Augusta.