Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

Ae Mabug times. IOUIS APPELT. Editor MANNING, S. C., OCT. 4, 1914. PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY EXTRA SESSION. Capitol Correspondence;-. It has been my purpose, and I so endeavored in my letters from Columbia to keep the readers of The Times informed of the "doings" of the legislature. and, it is gratifying to me to know these letters have been enter taining and instructive, to some At least. The readers of The Times well remember I had doubts of the wisdom of calling together the general assembly /in extraordinary session. I did not think anything would be accomplished, which could not beaccomplisbed as well at the reg ular session,but I recognized the insistent demand upon the Gov ermr from a large proportion of theelectorate, and I could not see.how he could avoid comply - igwith this demand upon him. GbvernorBlease cannot be crit cised for convening the legisla ture, but he can be and is criti cised for the part he has taken o thwart the efforts of a major Aty of general assembly. Never before in the history 'of the State has South Carolina. been confronted with such a con dition. The people' are dis ressed, and have called upon tefr lawmakers to devise a means togive them relief from hepresent and future depres s on; they are facing a calamity, A if there is anypower in the law to give relief, they appealed e legislature to put it~ into -. How has the appeal e treated? the' moment -remedial wasintroduced strong I* onmanifested itself from .afected, or 1I - to bkiafeterd The curtailment of ctton-production-wEs fought to te xent, the pnly measure tQ :get through is, to ind, of doubtfm effective bhe warehoube legislation uitsway to fnal pas ,.ueafter being so amended as ~,. satisfy the opposition of Rep ~ana and Charleston,an1 eal of exut! ni h rgStsessionofhleiltri i~gouthe osrcieaed andemplacendin theAc j :authority adforce. The - r position to giepracticalre1 ,Ie tythe masees by loaning the ' cdt of the State to fmance the 6otton crop, and save it from] uig sacrificed, was fought bit Ir1yfrom start to finish; the 4 'ost remarkable methods were and certain interests ~ ame out from hiding and openlyi Y idertook to prevent the State e rom permitting its credit to be aedto help the people. The i ewppers in -Columbia and 1 hraondid all in their power 1 tomisrepresent and mislead the reading public, they daily car- 1 rued in their. editorial columns plaiouas argumenii; they would]1 ~Mbish any and everything ini opposition to the bond issue, i but when given a statement by I ~.Senator Lide of Orangeburg, -ene of the committee that was sent to Washington to confer] with the Secretary of the Treas- ] ury, and the members of the 14eral Reserve Board, they< refused to-p'abhsh it. Why? Be cause, Senator Lide's article] would have proven to the gen oral public that the corporate controlled newspapers of this< State areounfair, if not dishonest.] Notwithstanding this opposi- 1 stion-corporate controlled news-, -papers, certain National banks,)] and the cotton mills, besides the 1 personal appeals made to mem-]i b ers by men suspected as having1 -been sent for to use their in- 1 kence-1 will not say they were'a paid, because I have not the< -proof, butlIwill say there were1 -men from se zeral portions of< the State in Columbia for anum ber of days and these men were -actively engaged in urging mem- 1 bers to vote against the Bond Bill; some of them had not been properly coached, or were too< :fat-headed to memorize the ar gument furnished, and when pressed, could not give a reason1 tr their opposition without first re-reading the editorials in The. State, or The Columbia Record, or type-written stuff they called statistics, I say notwithstanding this unprecedented opposition,i the legislature passed the Bond 1 Act and sent it to the Gvro for his approval. Governor Rlase called this 1 [.egislature together upon the irgent appeals of a distressed :eople. and this body after nature deliberation enacted a aw authorizing the insurance of !24,000.000 bonds to be approv Ad by tie people at the ballot )ox. The governor received ,his Act Friday n .rning and up o adjournment Saturday night at LO o'clock he had not returned it with a veto, nor had the Act been signed by him; it is his con stitutional prerogative to hold the Act three days but, if at the end of- that time he has not affixed his signature of approval, it becomes the law. I am very much disappointed in the con duct of Gov. Blease in this mat ter, especially under the circum stances for him to withhold ac tion and thereby keep the peo ple from giving expression to their wishes, is, to my mind, the unpardonable mistake of his po litical career, and be will never be able to justify his conduct. The governor ias the legal right to take all the time the constitution allows him for the consideration of an Act, but this is an emergency matter with time limited, it is well known Gov. Blease keeps up . ith every move of the Legislature, that he is a close observer, noth ing the legislature might do can escape his vigilant eye, and too, when he went to Memphis, he, with his companions from Sen ate and House,carried to the Gov ernor's confarence, South Car lina's intention to give relief to her people by the issuance of bonds, either by purchase of cot ton at a fixed price, or a loan at a fixed sum, or both, purchase and loan. Gov. Blease also knew that the purchasing fea ture was later eliminated from the Bill, only because it was - impos sible to pass it, and to now hold the Act without signing it or vetoing it is beyond my compre ension. I said on the floor of the Senate it "was arrant cow ,d . d it is. If be vetoed the measure accompanied by reasons, other than his reported suggestions that "he would not approve of a measure led by enator Allan Johnston, of New berry, and Representative Stev 3nson, of Chesterfield," his ac ion would have been credited with 'sincerity of purpose, but with the election at hand for the people to give or- refuse .author ty for the i s s ua nce o f bonds, is - an outrage under h ese circumstances, it isi 1ot only "arrant cowardice" but solitical suicide for him to re ~rain from immediately approv ug or disapproving the Act so he people might have a reason ble opportunity to know wheth r or not they are to be permit ed to havea voice in this grave inestion. I am sincerely sorry Goev. lese has not appreciated the pportunity afforded him to dem mstrate to the masses his states nanship. His recent defeat for or the United Ssates Senate night have been temporary,-and xossibly caused largely by the tear of taking the risk of mak - g a change at Washington at a ie when the country is uncer ain of tomorrow, defeat under ;uch circumstances and condi - ions need not necessarily mean -epudiation-his time might yet ave come, but, when he man - fests a disposition to gratify the ihe interests of the element he ias always charged are his ene nies-the big corporations, in luding the Columbia State, the Kews and Courier, and the Co umbia Record, the latter news aper he has haled before the ourts on the charge of libel, Ld, last but not least, Lewis Parker with his cotton mill mner er, and gives it out that he will iot approve the bond bill be ~ause of the prominence of essrs Johnston and Stevenson. here is nothing left to those vho hiad con fi de n ce i n iis professions of solicitude for 1he masses, butto conclude that ie has wilfully deserted them~or hat he lacks the moral courage o stand by his professions ben these professions come in ~onfhet with the interests of hose whom he, more than any ther man in the State, has de iounced because of their oppres ;ion, greed, and disregard of the people's rights. Governor Blease. in this, the nost trying hour for the people f this State, when every inter st depends solely upon the farm r, and when everything points o disaster, for him to give a leaf ear to their appeals to aid Dhem to-tide over their affairs, >r at least to allow them to say hether or not they will author ze an issuance of bonds that Dbey may prop up the tottering gricultural interests in order: and ruin, is to my mind heart less and ungrateful. I have been a political friend of the governor, and it is with a bleeding heart that I pen these lines; I have not always agreed with some of his political acts or speeches, but whenever I dis agreed with him I frankly said so and gave my reasons, my differences of opinion did not go to the extent of "a parting of the ways," and I clung to him, but since he has been put to the test, and has failed to measure up to the standard of his pro fessions I can no longer accept his leadership, because, he has demonstrated to me, that regard less of his professions, when the crucial timecomes he cannot be relied upon- I am sorry, sorry, sorry, to make this acknowledge ment, but truth demands it. So far as I am concerned, even though he finally decides to ap prove the Act, his dilly-dallying course has robbed him of any credit for it. His delay has pre vented the advocates of the measure from going to their peo ple to disabuse their minds of the prejudice that may have been created by the fallacious arguments put forth by the an tagorlistic press, it has prevent ed full arrangements being made to get the necessary election machinery to work in the farm ing sections, and too, some of his closest friends from the up country, evidently with his ap proval, joined with the represen tatives of the Big Interests, to delay the passage of the Act as long as possible by bringing on the most disgraceful scenes that has ever been witnessed in a parlimentary body-not even in the days when the Radicals had power, when the member ship was composed of negroes. under the control of unscrupal ons aliens on pilfering bent. They called it a filibuster, but it was more like a drunken brawl, accompanied with fights and bed lam. A parlimentary filibuster is necessary at times, but it must be conducted with reasonable, logical and germane debate, but when it is conducted as it was in the House by all manner of dila tory motions and roll calls, and incoherent and irrevelant mouth ings, often bordering upon riot and violence, then it is not a filabuster, but an insult to an in telligent electorate, which I have no doubt will be 'rebuked by the people regardless of wheth er they favor the bond issue or not. The bond Act does not meet with my full approval. 'I wanted the purchasing feature to remain in it, and I believe had it re mained, and had the legislature eliminated the' planting of cot ton for the year 1915, immediate results would have been obtained terefrom, but it was impossible to get this, and the legislature cid the best it could. Hon. John L. McLaurin was elected state warehouse eommis ioner, his election came to him unsolicited and a surprise. He was endeavoring to have elected another. but,the general assem bly forced it upon him. Mr. Mc Laurin will assume charge of bhis work and endeavor to get it established in spite of the ob stacles, relying upon the reg ular session remedying the de fects. I believe if he can secure the necessary anthority the warehouse proposition will be a boon to the cotton growers. Thbrough an oversight the time or the oppropriation Act to go nto effect was omitted, but later remedied by a subsequent Act, and up to Saturday night the overnor had not approved it, bhereby preventing the members romn getting their pay immedia tely which was embarrassing to .any. The withholding of the gover ror's approval from the bond Act and the appropriation Act, as caused the legislature to prolong the session, and it will o over next week until Monday >r Tuesday night in order that ~hese matters can be acted upon s5 the constitution requires, This has been a most unsatis actory session; it was convened o give relief, and the Senate lid everything in its power to ~ive relief,the full responsibility, f relief is not obtained, rests with the House and the gover aor. 1 am sure that if this extra ~ession had been convened prior o the primary, many who are ow members would have been eft at home, as they should have een, and will be if they offer hemselves in the future. The people. will, when they have the opportunity, resent being ,rifed with. This extraordinary session is the foundation for a political revoluton in South Carolina, inles tiu reular session in January does something to pac ify the wrath of the masses who asked for bread and were given a stone, they asked for something effective to be done to save the interests upon which the pros perity of the State depends from disaster, and were heeded not by the lower house of represen tatives and the governor. In deed, every movement of rem edial effect that which adopted by a large majority of the Senate, was frustrated by the appeals o* the mill men and a few banking interests. The people will nc'. forget it, they will preserve the names of every one who had a part and parcel in this dis regard of the interests and dire necessity of the- farmers and merchants of this State. I am glad to report that Rep resentativepWhite stood square to the bond bill from start to finish, but Representative Bur gess on the final passage of the bond bill, voted against it; this was his right if the arguments of the opposition convinced him, and I have no doubt it did, even though he voted for the bill on on the other ballots which were many. I am writing this letter after adjournment. Saturday night, I cannot spend Sunday at home as is my custom, but I shall stick to my post to the final adjournment which I hope will be after midnight Monday night to return home. to attend to my private affairs until I am called back here again for the regular -ession. The Senate adopted a resolu tion to have printed the neces sary tickets for the bond issue at its own expense, and had them sent out, in the event the Act becomes the law with or without the governor's signa ture, these tickets were express ed to the commissioner's of elec tion in the respective counties in care of the clerk of court, and I sipcerely hope these officials will see to it they get to the several precincts, otherwise the votes in the mill centers and the cities will in all probability de feat the proposition. . A. Columbia, S. C., Oct. 31, 1914. Later:-I reached home yes terday morning after being up practically all night at the ses sion which adjourned sine die at 2 o'clock in the morning. Gov. Blease held the Bond Act in his possession for the three days al - lowed by the constitution with oh. approving or disapproving the Act; late Monday night he sent a message to the assembly, which in effect, said, "that he could not approve the Bond Act neither could be disapprove it, because, he would not prevent the people from the privilege of voting apon the question," and, according to some of the best legal minds in the Senate the Act became a law without the Governor's signature, and would be effective providing the people by a two thirds majority endorse it; others however, among them the Governor himself, contend that the Act did not become ef fective until Tuesday night after the polls closed and therefore the vote would be a nullity; they regard the three days referred to in the constitution as meaning :alendar days, *not legislative days,and they back up their con tention by the discovery of an old decision of the supreme ourt. It matters not how one looks t it,- there is one thing which annot be overlooked, and that is the flagrant trickery to pre ent the people from having a voice in a matter which con erned them so much, and, when the governor held on to it until Monday night he loaned himself o be a party to the trick, His :essage informing the general ssembly he would not veto or approve Act was a bold-face piece of cowardly hypocrisy. If e and the other opponents of the measure are'correct that the :onstitu ional three days do not ontemplate legislative days but mean calendar days, the holding f the Act to a time when any ction on the part of the people s useless and time thrown away hen, in such a situation there is no other conclusion to reach ther than Governor Blease with scheming deliberateness and reachery, turned against the peo ple whose advocate he professed o be, and allied himself with hose who from the first worked ad planned to prevent any reme ial legislation-cotton mills and ational banks. It. is insulting o the intelligence of the masses for the governor to pretend he would not prevent a referendum, when any school boy can see it w'as he alone who did prevent a egal referendum, if the Act did no becme valid on Monday night. Then too, to further show that Governor Blease purposely held this Act to prevent it reach ing the people legally, he said publicly, "the Act was as dead as a door nail as the three days would not expire until tomor row night," (after the ballots were cast). The bond Act was the only hope of relief in the present emergency, but through the machinations of the mill in terests and the miserable treach ery of the professed friend of the masses, the relief promised was frustrated, and Governor Blease merits the execrations of a suffering and outraged people. CLARENDON'S SCHOOL SYSTEM COM MENDED. Columbia, S. C., Oct. 26, 1914. Supt. E. J. Browne, Manning, S. C. Dear Sir: It was a genuine pleasure to me to spend last week with you in visiting some of the schools of your couny. There are many matters that point to careful thought and persistent activity on your part for the past several years in Clarendon county. In some of these it appears to me you have succeeded most admir ably. In the first place, I was im pressed with the distribution of your schools over the county. You have a large county and one that. is not thickly populated but you Irave succeeded in sep arating your schools one from anotber by a greater distance than has been possible in many counties. The great benefit the people of Clarendon derive from this arrangement ot their schools is found in providing a larger school and more teachers in the school. If your schools were closer together there would be fewer pupils to. the school and very few schools with more than one teacher. This would result in less interest on the part of the pupils and less individual atten tion from the teacher. This wider distribution of schools such as you have in your county gives a longer school term. You have succeeded id mirably in arousing the people in the several districts to the necessity of voting special taxes with which to lengthen these school ti-ms. Those taxes ac complish a great deal more for the pupils in schools with two and three teachers than they would distributed to smaller schools with one teacher each. In the matter of consolidating schools and districts Clarendon has not as conspicious a record as some other counties. But, your districts have been so marked and your schools so located that further consolidation is not gen erally practicable or desirable In a county with a large erea you had last year only thirty-nine white schools. Further general consolidation would likely work a greait hardship upon some of the patrons of your schools. A onsolidation of the New Zion and the Salem schools, both in the same district, is already un der way. This is a consolidation that is altogether practicable and highly desirable. Of all the schools visited by us these are the only two that seem to me possible of immediate combina ion. I wish to commend especially the willingness of the people of larendon county to transport their pupils -to school at their own expense. As I recall there was not a single school visited by us that I did not observe about it several vehicles for the transportation of pupils. Trans portation of pupils to school is a much talked of term in our m1odern public education but sually this means tr-ansporta ion at public expense, that is, ~t the expense of the public of the public school funds. The readiness, therefore, of your people to haul their children to school at their own personal cx ense thereby saving the funds f the school district fur the irect instruction of the pupils s extremely praiseworthy. It was a great satisfaction to e to see how well some of the school districts of Clarendon ounty have provided school uildings and equipment. All of his work is of a substantial kind md is the result of such plan ing that the future develop ent of Clarendon county will 2ot necessitate any removals or aterations. The buildings, their quipment and location is anoth-I er evidence of your thoughtful are and attention. In the matter of consolidation f schools, therefore, it occurs o me that you have accomplish d nearly as much as is practic able for your county. In provid ng buildings and equipment you ave succeeded admirably arid his good work will continue. In he matter of special tax elec ions, Clarendon county has nade rapid progress arid with he return of prosperous times his progress will continue It eems to me that your policy of roviding funds for the individ al schools alr-eady established md of providing buildings md equipment for those that! re now in need of such are your resent chief concerns. In addition to this your pres et policy of securing, improv ng and holding prepared teach ers is an urgent need. The trus ees and patrons of tbo school eed to give you their heartiest upport in handling this situ a tion. In a large agricultural ~ounty with few manufacturing: mterprises and comparatively ittle railroad mileage school nds for good salaries for teach era are not reanily available. Good teachers cannot be as a rule, secured and kept without commensurate pay. I baVe no doubt but that the people of Clarendon county will stand by you with their moral support and to the extent of their finan cial ability in your efforts to im prove the teaching facilities of the county. It will be a great pleasure to me at a later date to visit with you some of the other schools of your county that we could not reach the past week. Respectfully. L. GUNTER. 3A E AN D HENRY I By LOUISE OLNEY. Constance slid behind the trunk of a big tree and put her fingers to he ears. Her heart beat to suffoca tion with misery and suspense. She did not dare t( stay lest she might hear Henry Pay ton make love to Mamie, an old love of his.. She - A could not have borne that. Neith er did she dare move l.est they hear her - they were not ten feet distant. Constance won dered why Henry had brought hex to . this picnic and then let Ma mie Travis absorb his attention with her Irish wit and fascination. Con stance went through an eternity of torture before she plucked up courage to take down- her hands, remove her pumps and slide away. Soon she was safe out of sight. She stopped near a swift little brook where the sunset was mirrored rosily in the clear water. The stillness of the woods soothed her a little, and she bega'n to plan how she could find the others and get home without ao cepting Henry's escort. They were all in pairs, and some one would in sist on going with her. Jaek Mannine had brought Mamie. - Her shoes still in her hand, she sat down, curling her feet under her, the thought striking her with shame that she loved Henry Peyton before he had spoken of love to her! As she sat there she heard a crash in the bushes and In a moment Jack Manning, whom she hated, came swaggering up to her. "Hello! Guess you and I'll have to console each other. We seem to be deserted." He seated himself beside her, seaning her admiringly with his bold, dark eyes. She flushed in distress. "Say, little one, I'l take off my shoes, too, and we'll go wading. Is that what you came for?" She shook her head. "I don't like. you. Go away! Please -I'm tired and want to think." "You can think when you're older and not so pretty. Thinking's no job for a beauty-come, console me for Mamie. She wouldn't mind consoling a fellow." Constance jumped up, snatching her sho~es, and ran away from him As fast as she could. It was growing dusk ar~d she was timid-indeed deathly afraid, but of him more than of a whole lcnoly forest. He looked after her a moment, bit off the end of a fresh cigar and muttered to himself: "T urr..: d down, eh? Went too fast with her. Is Peyton crazy to forget a pec ch like that for-Mamne?" He lit his ciger. a:nd sauntered off. Finally he found the others grouped under the trees preparing to go home. Presently Henry brought Mamle back, :he girl sober-faced, her eyes a little red. but the man was very quiet "Where's Constance?" he demanded. Mrs. Turner, the chaperon, did not know. "'I think you're the one to know," she remarked, significantly, "and it's getting dark. Better lock for her i satw her go off by herself." Henry strode off. A h~aif hour later in the deep dusk, t:orou;;hly alarmed, he was still serching. Hie called her name aloud, but she did not answer. Whiaf had ixccome of her? His heart failed him. Why h- 4 he left her even a moment? Why had he bothered to save a girl ::ke Mame from her own undoing. If she wanted to play with Manning till a good chap like Thorne was sick of er-it was her business. "Constance," he called. "Connie!" rhen going around a big tree, he came upon her white little figure huddled gainst the trunk. Hcr hands in her absurd fashion were over her ears. She was erying softly. He rushed up to her, taking down her hands and shaking her a bit from sheer relief to find fler safe. "'Conn ie-darling! you fri'ghtened me to death! What made you hide?" He drew her toward him, but she freed herself firmly, shaking her head. "'Constance! You-know I love ou. I didn't Intend to tell you yet but it's out now. Don't you-care for inc at all?" "You were-making-love to her nder a tree-I saw-but I didn't isten." 'The man laughed and again drew er to him despite herself. "Making love to Mamnie Travis? I'm ot a focI. I was lecturing her within n inch of her life about that scamp Mlanning! Perhaps she was not worth t-but I've known her a long time." ontance clung close to him. "He came down to the brook and othered me-I ran away." "I'll settle with him, Connie. But do you love me, dear'?" She leaned willingly against him. "You-know I do," she said. "You mow. Will you take me home now?" i-Ic had just tucked her hand under his rm when the others came looking for hem both. Together they walked to wrd the trolley line, and the night as av eet to them. Copyig.ht. 1914. by the McC ure Newspa CASTOR IA For Infants and Childrea In Use For Over 30 Years uways bears mui uI the /,4 ,#~ =3t CASTORIA III For Infauts and Chldren. The Kind You Have ALCOHOL 3 PER CENT. ANegetable or nfrs: ig a-Bears tle PromotesDiges lsand[Lestcontanoem Opium.MorphiMe Mr? a i! NOT NARcOTIC. use SApaWRfe emedyforsia E tlonSourStxmadLD ressandLOSSOFSI. FacSThrty Years NEW YORK KEENCASTORIA Ezac Copy of Wrapper. T1Cejru CENTAUR * MPAN ORT.TV FULL LINE OF Purf, Georgia Cane Syrup, 1-2 Gal. Can, 35c, 1 Gallon Can-:------------------- 65c. Pure Louisanna Cane SyrupK Velvo in Green Label. 1-2 Gallon Can ------- 40c, I Gallon Can--------------------- 75c. Red Label Velvo Syrup, Cane and Corn 1-2 Gallon Can-------------------3c I Gallon Can -------------------- 65c. Quartrsans. "Eveythig God toEat. s s Dim'sForthve O Tefort moer n-cp ' TwnyOneCnof Wropper FULyIE. O PurgGeorgiaOCa e rp ca-2 giaeyo Canlyc PueouisannaT Caner Syrup waned fun Gre Labeeg-2 nalo Cdean-..-... noc IG llo filer----....-- --------- ----a75c RedLabe V Lyeyrup every used Toren 1-2 G lljo ~ Cans..fo...--- quarte ...-. c Ii Gallon San .... tee.n- ouce of--- --. 6 . PureapeS deSred Lye for Gadieontad LESTEOICALR pohnd ofgrea igtestadrsftoaan thatim's moeta n te eetcnwlld.eryh cangivs ulldirctOnseo soa urkig th measure A-EDE0' togConcentrated Lye isoeofh adcs rilsi h orl or n he ar. us fr T enydy Ct sin Mendlestonseri scrubin lors;for si xtnkucs fo rin.Uedi rig ogs die cain forpoltr.for every use.yugtbtrsls .os Teomc canlly afrorer MENDLESONV'S LE PURE ECNTOMICA Aienlesen's Twenty-Ounce Carn wil sapLFony LEh aondsyi of theae moamwig heafesthrn:sotsa-n Ght' Hoetnry ther..ten..cent.cawill d. Ever methow o to boeld.......unet.S.0 C. on t he ar i......Auefri vr a. SCheapetoan, bs Cl.ne and disine ta; or.ashig.wod. ok,.leainge itche S urnture Jain for poulto ....DFraveyvseyo ge tbe tireult, mst eC.nmc A.l Srmih...... TueilS.C IAdi \Investd ia.Twenty-O.ncerCaniND ESON' LYE G1 . JHny Crti...... .......Paxoieso. S. C. 13. G3. tack,............ . . Pineod, S. C. A.u Smaith.... C...... ........ STville S. C.