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.

r JP THE FARNUM TRIAL ' > _? . A Vigorously Fought Contest Last Week. # ENDS IN VERDICT "NOT GUILTY" J. B. Wylie Makes Confession That He Gathered $28,000 in Graft? How Much on Each Grade. Columbia, Special.?Deck ;ng that ont of idle curiosity lie had marked one of the hundred dollar bills tendered Henry Samuels, in payment of a draft September 15, 190(5, ami thai this bill was returned for deposit by J. B. Wylie, along with bills to the amount of $1,120, Robert Gage, cashier of the Commercial Bank, of Chester, witness for the State in the Farnum case, sprung the first sensation of the alleged graft trials in the Court of Sessions Tuesday afternoon. The State announced before calling Mr. Gage to tIk? stand that it would connect this testimony with the accused. This transaction is in line with the charge in the indictment that the defendant sent Samuels the draft for $1,125 to be paid to J. B. Wylie, who was then a member of the State board of control. The testimony of Mr. Giyre was the most important of the opening day's happenings in the case of the State against James S. Farnum, which was being tried. The selection of the jury, contrary to expectations was quickly accomplished. The defendant, James S. Farnum. was in the Court room seated near his attorney, just back of Messrs. Nelson. Cochran and Hammond, who y are conducting for him the active defense. Mr. Farnum appeared to be in the best of spirits during the progress of the preliminary work of the trial, and in the afternoon exhibited much interest when the jurors wore being selected, and later when the tirst witnesses for the State were put on tho stand. Mr. Robert Gage testified again as * to the payment of the draft for $1,125, and the State sought to trace this ' instrument from the time it was presented at the Chester bank to the offive of the accused at the Consumers' Beer Buttling Establishment. Witnesses wore placed on the stand, who testified that they had searched the files of this company upon which the draft is alleged to have been drawn, but that the alleged draft could not be found tip to Wednesday. The defence used arguments of weight and < ante very near halting k the State upon some of the quostions involved a- to the procedure and introduction of evidence. This fight was ^ waged hard and slowly, and was very technical at times. The separate points were ruled upon by Judge Memminger with precision, and owing , to the interposition of numerous objections the case did not proceed very ,, rapidly during the morning hours. A number of witnesses were exit amined on minor connecting links in tne chain of evidence. Mr. Wylie was made a star witness. The witness stated in reply to Mr. s Abney that he was forty-one years of age, and was a member of the State board of control in lflOti. being eiectod 1 in February and commissioned in 1 March. The list of awards made in the various meetings of the board were next introduced, Mr. Wylie stat ?a uiai no as a member of the board, H had dealings with the defendant as to bids and awards. Also that the de * fendant at the time represented the Arheus?r-Busch Browing Company, i Mr. Wylie named other concerns whom hr said defendant represented. "* These included Gallaghor & Burton, I Richland Distilling Company, William I Lanahan & Sons, John F. Backem & Co., Big Four Distilling Company, I and awards were found in the Marclt I 22 minutes for the Anheuser Comnnnv Oflior aL-am eluding April 12, May 15, June 15, etc., and the awards were read. The concerns nlleged to have been repres1 ented by the defendant received awards according to the record, and the amounts were read to the jury by Mr. Wylie. When this was concluded, the same tedious process was gone through as to the bids, after Mr. Abney had explained to the jury the status under which the board acted. The bids were found for the various v* times and awards made. The defendant was in the Court s* room during the entire day. He again manifested much interest in every ** Stage of the procedures. The hoard of directors referred to by Mr. Wylie is the last State dispensary board, J compered of Jodie M. Rawlinson, J chairman; John Black and J. B. V Wylie. w On Thursday admitting upon the witness stand that he himself had accepted various amounts of money to influence his vote as member of the ^ State dispensary board of control. _ Joseph B. Wylie directly connected j the 91,125 draft previously referred ^ to in the trial with the defendant, James Farnum, stating that Henry p, Samuels had cashed the draft for hirti and turned the cash over. Put Ihrough ? a grilling cross-examination by the defense, the witness gave as his reai., son for going on the stand the assurance of his attorney that if he told F the whole truth he would not be prosecuted. 4'I want to set myself right .. before the people of the State," declared Mr. Wylie, "and I am going to tell the truth." Mr. Wylie's testimony was the sig- mi niflcant of the trial for the day. This, j however, was got "unexpected," as Mr. Wylie was known to have appeared i before the p*and jury when the dis- j pensary indictments were handed out i about two weeks ago. Mr. Wylie's testimony wag ip line with the charges made in the indictment. The defence'3 WY] shoeing was an attempt to impeach the character of the witness by having Adm him admit that he received gifts of money from agents of whiskey houses. Co This the defense succeeded in bring- lie h ing out forcibly. pens; Henry Samuels was another witness from for the State whose testimony was in P?'d keeping with the charges alleged, and Ches as to the cashing of the draft alleged T'lur to have been sent by the defendant to givin Mr. Wylie. trans The State closed its case at this conin stage. the The defense gave Wvlie a severe whicl cross examination upon which a re- paid direct examination brought out start- Mi ling figures. exam The alleged arrangement as set out H. N bv Mr. Wylie was: out < That on ease goods bought from story Farnum's firms "Wvlie wn? to romivo decla $1 per case, and upon bulk poods as the ' follows: proa* Upon liquor costing $1 47 per gal- make Ion, $1.50 per barrel On $1.50 whis- ?d. a key, $"2 per barrel. On $1.00 whiskey, $3 per barrel. On $1.75 whiskey, $0 decla pc rbarrel. On $1.85 whiskey, $8 per urran barrel. On $2 whiskey, $13 per barrel hinis* On $2.15 whiskey, $15 per barrel. On made $2.25 whiskey, $17.50 per barrel. On Henr $2.50 whiskey, $20 per barrel. On $3 ' (>r, * whiskey. $25 per barrel. t be j These were the rebates that witness mere stated that were agreed upon as ;o f?r h whiskeys purchased and ordered out. Saim On beer the alleged rebate wos $1 self per barrel, and on champaign $2 per wa.v rase and other wines 50 cents per case. Mi dim Farnum is "not guilty." So mont said the "jury of his peers," Satur- made day that tried the "beer king" of he w South Carolina, the (lashing figure of from the old dispensary days, the man ac- sa.v cased of bribing former oflicers of had i mat nappily dead institution, the made Stale dispensary, the man who was As shown to have received in six months $8>vJ 000 worth of business from a fhesl concern that did a business of about w?itl< $.''.000,000 annually. prose The jury was in consultation almost prom six hours. It retired just after Judge recov Memminger made bis charge. which consumed about 2,") minutes. This was Intcr about 10:J0 o'clock Saturday morn- ( ing, and just after court convened at rrs 4 o'clock for the afternoon session, an<! 1 the verdict was rendered. amin; It could not be said that the verdict interi was absolutely unexpected, that is, be- n,nt?t yond a doubt, bui it was extremely l<)0k surprising that it should have been white brought in such a comparatively short 'irst time. Ihit as will be seen from the ana statement of one of the jurors the *"s' i minds of the men w._*re practically 1,U'M 1 made up when they went into the jury a room. Kly v In consideration of lack t?f time at Wl*re this session to try the other case against Farnutn a**d a number of otii- trr? 1 cr cases on tlv* docket the further J he e procedure against F'arnum was laid How the Jury Stood. tifieni Tt was learned from one of the jury- s?'con men Saturday niylit that thore was a,,d ' only one ballot taken, and that on this the result was 11 to 1 for acquittal, the vote hein<r taken immediately ^'a after jroinjr into conference. He purcl stated that the man who did not join '"-Ini his vote was not absolutely for eon- *? " vietion, but undecided as to certain a'u'a< evidence and that the reason that the una',l jury remained for any length of time ,s "" was because this man had to be talk- 0,1 ?d to. The juror who f*ave this infor- rPa,'v mation also stated that the chief ?n 1' grounds the jury had for acquittal ,s. a were because it believed that actual ' PInin bribery had not been proved, holding nickh I hat while money had passed it had ?* lot heen shown to be corruptly unsed, ?* but miurht have been nassed in the count actual course of business. $7,501 The other eases in the dispensary scandal are as follows: Col Case No. 50 charges J. W. Rawlin- nounc son, J. B. Wylie, John Black, James effect A.. Farnum, John T. Early, Morton A. State Joodmau and H. Lee Solomons with crops [ opspiracy to defraud. q Case No. 51 arraigns M. A. Good- nf pj. man, L. W. Boykin, ,T. B. Towill, W. the \ D. Tatum and Dennis YVeiskopf for sonal ponspiracy to defraud the State out oi.lce >f $22,500 in the laVI deal. formj No. 52 chariot .'obr B'ack with acpepting a bribs. In case No. 55, Jaotes S. Fartium's ^ harped with bribery. No. 54 on the calendar is the case 1a,'or against J. S. Farnum, J. M. Rawlin- Thuri son, J. B. Wylie and John Black, con- presei spiracy to defraud the State out of cashit *4,800. breac No. 55 is the case against Dennis tent, Weiskopf, perjury. No attorneys are oflfieia named as yet. prove Of these, only the case against It h.i i e? ....?? - i??:?i i__ f ? - iiiuiiv iui nrrc)iiiiiK it uriUL' Will Ull 1 v" > tried nt this term, it being set for busin Wednesday. c't sli of thi ed as Laurens Men Pledge Money For Trolley. I.anrens, Speeial.?At a citizens' \n meeting here stock subscription for was the proposed interurhan trolley line POurt between Clinton and Laurens was be- yj ffun a few days ago, something over wJtne ?10,000 being pT-*dged. Committees rant were appointed to make a close can- jnj; (j lass of this city for further sub- gage, icriptions. A resolution was passed wife declaring it the sense of the meeting ^ethe that efforts would be made to raise Qf ^ 160.000 in Laurens and Clinton. Mi I verdi 1LMETT0 HAPPENINGS ns Noted of General Interest From All Parts of the State. [jIE'8 CONFESSION OF GUI! its That He Received $28,000 Dispenrury Graft. luinbia, Special.?Testifying tli ad as member of tlie State tli ary board voted for pureba tliose houses which offered ai rebates, Joseph B. Wylie, i ter. former member of the boa sday made a clean-cut con fossil ? not only the details of tl tactions in which be reeeiv< missions from Farnutu. but al whole scheme of eommissio b bad been asrreed on should I on purchase by the board. \ Wylie stood a (rruclling eros lination at the bauds of Col. elson without flinching and wit leviatinir in any way from tl told in bis direct testimony. I red that before bis election ward in ISHKi, Farnum had a rhed him and said \Vylit> con 1 a fiood deal on the side if elec nd that Farnum bad contribute to his campaign expenses. I red that there was later made i igement between Farnum an ?lf by which payments we > through drafts payable y Samuels, now mayor of Che vlio cashed tlie drafts and turtu troeeeds over to Wylie. He won ly tell Samuels to get the tnont im 011 an order and he knew th tels would get it. Samuels hit represented liquor houses in 01 or another. \ Wylie said that in clevi hs' service on the board he In t over $28,000 in this way. Win ent on the hoard he was worl $15,000 to $20,000. but could n low much he is worth now, as 1 spent a good deal of th*? mom through the dispensary, to the motive for his eonfessio ittornev, Mr. Paul Hemphill. 1 er. had assured him that if I I tell the truth he would not 1 cuted, but he had not h?i ised immunity from civil suit er the money for the State. esticg Figures on Examination lunihin. Special.?lingular tenc examinations occur every M: October. The results of the e ation held May 14th show son ?sting facts. Seven hundred ai y-four whites and f>52 negro the examination. Fifty-seve ' men and 142 white women fai grade certificate. Forty-six whi !.'{() white women were granted grade cerificate. Forty-six whi and 15G white women were gran second grade certificate. Thirt vhite men and 74 white wonn granted third grade certificate e hundred and forty-seven n urn and 40r> negro women to* xaminntion. Senety-five men ai women failed. Four men ai n women secured first grade cc les. 22 men and 48 women to< <1 grade certificates and 22 m< 122 women took third grade. Buys Powerful Automobile. fTney. Special.?Mr. II. 1). Who lased last May a Fierce-Arm irsepower automobile, hut owii le orders which were hookc 1 of his, the company has bet e to fill the order. The faetoi w putting the finishing touch e machine, and hopes to have ' for the exhibition in Atlan ip vi 11 c?t No "mber. The cs seven passeng vehicle. Tli lings and finishings will be < ?, and the machine will be 01 e most luxurious as well as 01 e most expensive ears in tl ry, as it will cost fullv equippe 9. Planting Cover Crops. umbia, Special.?Since the ai ement several days ago to tl that over 200 farmers .of tl were planting winter covi under the direction of Prof, j nith of the United State buret mt industry, who has charge < vork in this State, many pel enquiries have been made at tl of Mr. Smith for additional ii ition. Anderson Men Presented. ierson. Special.? In its presei i handed to Judge Aldrit iday afternoon the grand jui nted J. T. llolleman, fornn ir of the Panic of Anderson, ft h of trust with fradulent ii and furnished the names of tl lis of the bank as witnesses 1 the charge, also presented E. B. Rice, Ji iolating the act prohibiting tl ess commonly known as a hue op. The names of the office b Bank of Anderson arc furnis ; witnesses to prove tlie eharj! Witness Held on Warrant, derson, Special.?A sensati caused in the general scssio Wednesday afternoon when ) assey, stepping down from t ss stand, was arrested on a wt issued in Elberton, Ga.f char isposing of property tinder mei Massey was prosecuting 1 and Drew Ilayes for living I r unlawfully. At the suggesti is solicitor the jury returned ct of not guilty. ' ' ' . ' i? n' CORN OunTEST FOR BOYS !j Prises td Be Offered For the Best t ' Corn Raised on Acre of Ground. Columbia, Special.?Boys* agrioul tural corn clubs have been organized . ,p in several counties of ilie State. The work will be watched with interest in as it is the initiation ot' the work of touching; agricultural pursuits in tile schools Down ill \ iL-n,, the club will be organized during the ,,j fall; ull boys under 18 years of age, of students in any of the schools, will rd he eligible to membership. Tile first in tiling to be accomplished by the club lie will be the inauguration of a corn *d contest. This will be ready for operaso tiou in the spring. .Mr. Seigler, tho us county superintendent of education, be hopes to raise at least tour substantial prizes to be awarded for the best ;s- corn raised on one acr.? of ground. 1\ These four prizes will be classified h- us follows: no 1. The largest yield of corn on 0110 Ie acre. to 2. For the best 10 ears of corn, in p- t lie yield from one acre. id .'1. For the largest yield for the least t- rr.oney, on one acre. ?d 4. For the best report made, the reIe port to be fully itemized, in Next fall an exhibit will be held in id Aiken and judges will be named to re pass upon the exhibits and award the to prizes to the successful contestants, s- The contest is but the beginning. i'd Later on. after the club yets into good Id working order, contests of various ?v kinds will be held for stimulating inat terest in agriculture and the work is n- calculated to keep many boys on the ne fauns who sometimes get dissatisfied and seek work in the cities. ?n The contests are to be conducted id strictly along industrial lines. Govern n nient bulletins and matter relating to th corn production will be distributed ot among the club members. None but le club members will be qualified to only ter any contest. The success of this venture will be n. awaited bv all sections of the State of and may be the means for many other ii! clubs to be organized. ie "i To Hold Another Election. to Newberry, F-tvcial.? It seems that in the election on tr.c question of issuing $4(1.1)00 worth >f bonds for th-' is. purpose of extending tlie water and h- sewer systems of the city of Newly berry, held several weeks ago. that x- tin- same error was committed that no happened in the election on a similar ul question in the city of GatTney. Judge cs Woods of Chicago has advised the ii purchasers of the bonds voted by il- Newberry that because of some tcchte ideality they are not valid and the a purchasers decline to take the bonds, te The error seems to have been that the it- question was submitted to the voters y- to vote on water and sewer bonds to II pettier, when the vote should have >?.. been taken separately. The error, of e- course, is a very slight one. but will >k necessitate another election on the id C|iiestion. which will be ordered at id once. As soon as this is done the r- bonds will be all right and 110 further >k questions raised, but work will pro?u c?ed 011 the installation of tin- extensions to the water and sewer plants, tlie contracts having already been awarded. at w. Eurr.ett Incarcerated in the Jail at ig Aiken. >d Aiken, Special.?\Y. Mason Itnrnett l'ii arrived in Aiken late Tuesday afterry noon in charge of Constable I'ieree es Howard of (jraniteville. Young Bur-' it net! was eonimereial bookkeeper tor la tlit* Bank of Granitcville. ami when ir the accounts of that institution wore ie found short he was charged with inisif appropriating about $7,800 of the i.; hank's funds. Ho was arrested in ie Chattanooga Monday, ie Ho was lodged in the A ikon jail, d, The young man is only 18 years of age. Clemson's Fertilizer Tag Income. ,e Columbia. Special.?From June 20, ie 194)8, to July 1, 1900 Clcmson collogo derived .$190,178.09 from the sale of fertilizer tax tags, according to a j. statement prepared by Commissionei r. Watson. Twenty-five cents is realize ,,, ed from each ton. The total value of the fertilizer sold last years was $15,715,041. Snake Eats From Boy's Hand. Chester, Special.?Mr. J. Martin Grant, of R. F. 1). No. 2. who wat I in the city some days ago, told of a ry | thrilling adventure at Ml. A. Ross ?r Durham's, in which Mr. Durham's >r little son, Charlie, was subjected to i- great peril from the presence of a ie deadly snake. The little fellow hail to gone asleep on the porch after supper, with a biscuit in his hand, when Mrs. r., Durham was horrified to see a tremenlie dons highland moccasin nibbling at k- the biscuit and endeavoring to wrench rs it away. She jerked the boy back It- and a colored domestic dispatched the :e. snake with a hoe. Georgetown to Have Wireless Station. 0,1 Georgetown, Special.?It is current''r ly rumored here that Georgetown will 1^, soon have a wireless telegraph station, ir- A representative of the United Wire g less Telegraph company was in the rf" city Saturday, looking over the situa11S tion with a view of establishing a staon tion here. It is understood that he a 1 was very favorably impressed with 'the prospects, J t ' GOV. JOHNSON DEAD His End Comes Peacefully? Greets Mrs. Johnson. | BODY IN STATE AT ST. PAUL J ? , | Minnesota's People Manifest Their < I Deep Grief in Throngs of Bowed 1 Heads and Lowered Flags. ( Rochester, Minn., Special.?Gover- f nor John A. Johnson died at 3:24 a. 1 m. Tuesday. Sympathy more than ^ State-wide goes out to a small group j of mourners in this litto Minnesota s town. After battling against death with determined resistance for almost a v week. Governor Johnson's life had a ^ peaceful ending. I The last thing Governor Johnson 1 did before lapsing into unconscious- J ness one and a half hours before his death, was to take his wife affection- ii aieiy i?y the liaml and weakly wliis- I per: ''Well. Nora, 1 made a -rood j fight. l)ut I guess I've pot to po." Tlu-n as tli/> last ploam of intelli- ( pence began to flicker lie pressed her t hand gently to his cheek in a parting r caress as he prepared to obey the di- 0 vine will. One of the most remakable tributes ever paid to the memory of a public ^ ^ _______ a Governor John A. Johnson. man in Minnesota was accorded tho \ late Governor. t From 1 lie hour tlint tho Governor's loath was lirst publicly announced by tolling hells in Rochester, till usual 'j public activity was abandoned. All s banks, stores and ofliees were closed and buildings were draped in black g and purple crepe. * Governor Johnson's bodv was es n eorted to a special train for St. Paul by a throng of citiens from evey j walk of life. On the train were Mrs. Johnson, a few of her personal p friends. State ollh-ers nn.l ivi.ni.i. " I c tlw lalc Gtivi'iicr. Aj? tin* cortege j p passed down the street loading to the railway station, the eseort lined up on either side with hared heads and f the hundreds of people around the j] depot showed a like respcrt. Mayor ], Thompson had proclaimd it a day of t^ puhlie mourning. The mayor and eouneilmen aelod as pall-boarors. All the way along the route to St. Paul Hairs were at half mast and a buildings draped with erepe. At Zomhrotn the entire population of the a' town seemed to he at the station. A toueliinir feature was the appearance of a large numher of school chihlreu lined up alonir tIn* platform, each pro- ! vided with the national colors pointed downward. Similar receptions were accorded the special trair. at other points along the route. At St. Paul the train was met by detachments of all the local com- si panics of the national guard and an k escort of poli<-/>. In spite of a heavy j, downpour of rain the procession to ]j the State Capitol with the militia act- f ing as escort was witnessed by thous- k ands of people. ]( At the Capitol tlie body was placed n, in the rotunda, whc.r-* it remained in js state until Wednesday afternoon, guarded by four sergeants, four corporals and four privates. The funeral services were conducted in the Presbyterian church at St. Paul's Thursday. 1* Gov. Johnson was in iiis 48th year. The death of his father left him a J' hoy in poverty with little education ' and a mother to care for. lie strugpled heroically against the odds and ^ bv reading and later, heing ititerested in the St. Peter's Herald, he pain- I" ed a liberal education and developed ^ into an orator soupht for on many oc- 'j1 casions. n; His first political venture was a de- 8I. feat but in the Stato Senate he made such a record that he was elected Governor as a Democrat, thonph the State was Republican by 80.000 majority, lie was serving his third term when cut down by death though he protest- fI ed against a third nomination. He was elected by an overwhelming vote. His name was opposed to W. J. Bry- 81 an for President in the last IVemo- m cratic convention and he was looked Ci forward to as being the logical Democratic nominee for 1912. Tha national mourna hia untimely e' death. x l i WASHINGTON NOTES -j! I'ostoffice Inspectors Tuesday raided the offices of the National Trust Company, of this city, procured a large amount of evidence pertaining to the operations of the concern and irrested Henry M. Lewis, manager ?nd secretary-treasurer. I>ewis was harged with using the mails in the mrt Iterance of a scheme' to defraud. Consul General llanna. of Monterey. has been authorized to draw on he Department of State for $1,000 or the relief of the Hood sufferers n Mexico. The money has been pro ured by the American Nutional Red -ross. This is the third remittance o Mr. llanna and makes the total I.M? J?* n/in UUI ?JV,UVU. Whitelaw Reid, Ameriean Ambasador to Great Hritian. railed at the date Department Monday and paid lis respects to Aetimr Secretary lunlington Wilson. Mr. Reid said bat be bad no particular business ritb the department, but tnaile the ustomary eall preparatory to returnap to London bv the steamer sailap Saturday from New York. A telepram to tbe State Department front tbe Failed States F.mbasy in Home states that the Italian overnnvent is sendinp Admiral of be Fleet Alfonso di Mrocehetti to epresent Italy ut the Iiudson-Fulton elebration. The Admiral is a baron nd an ex-Senator. A cablegram of Tuesilav savs tin tlier massacre of Jews has occurred t Kieff. Russia. It bo?ran on the ewish ney year day and lasted for hreo days. Eighteen Jews wore killd while they killed several Russians, t is estimated that there were 1,000 asualtics. Rids for more than $1,000,000 forth of bio trims. most of which fill fro to make up the armament ot he new 20.000-ton battleships, the Vyominir and Arkansas, were opeued Tuesday at the Bureau of Ordinance if tho New Department. The speiieations called for 10 12-inch iruns, 2 0-ineh and 20 5-inch. All are to >e linisiied weapons. The I'resident has den ied a pardon o John B. Powers, former supcrinendent of constriction of the South 5: Western railroad, who was con.'iotod at Statesville. N. of peonifre and charired in the otlieial paper? vit It intliet iiifr almost inconceivably irutal punishment on a ueirro em)loye. Powers was sen toned April l.'l last to fifteen months' imprisonnent. Lee MeCbing, treasurer of Vale iniversity, has been selected as Treasurer of the I'nited States to ..........A /'I 1 II T uvm u v. uarirh 11. irt'ill. Representatives of the Xicaraguan overtunenl and the George K. K.nery 'otnpany. of Most on. whose* <*laim, rowing out of the temporary annulment of the company's timber ennossion, has been pending for some ime, have reached an agreement, tlie licarngunn government agreeing to ay the company $'.>00,000 for the purliase of the concession and th<* cornany waiving all claims against Xicragun. The issue ha- been a notable lie and the delay of Nicaragua in ailing to come to some basis of set?ment came ivnr resulting in the rcaking off of friendh relations l?eivei'n the Cniteu States and that [Mintrv. A startling situation has developed s the result <>f a taking of stock of v* forestry resources of this country wording to Tread well Cleveland, r.. expert in the bureau of forestry. I has been shown, Mr. Cleveland delares, that we are taking front the orest every year three and a half imes as much wood as is added by lie new growth. Unless there is a modification of te new antirooster ordinance, which :ipulates that poultry must not be ept within GO feet of any dwelling t tlue District of Columbia, there is kelv to be a test case in the courts, he new ordinance also forbids the eeping of roosters in the District untss the consent of a majority of the cighbors of the owner of the rooster i obtained. Protesting against the treatment ley are receiving at the hands of le Sta'.e and county alfieials of Okla>ma, 10,000 Oklahoma Indians, com- , rising the Creeks, Cherokees, Chicl&tiws and Choctaws, have caused a petion to he sent here seeking relief, he petition was discussed by the u?t?i -? ' Miiiiu i nucnivi: iva^ue in mis city. was decided to present the petition > congress at the next session. The tition declares that the county and late officials are arresting the Inans of the four nations and are takg their stock and movable possesons under the pretext thnt the Inans are violating the State laws. That he last fiscal year was the inner voar in the hi*ory of the patit office will be shown by the forthmiing annual report of the commison of patents. During the twelve enths there were issued 34,332 patits or 229 more than the previous ear and far in excess of the business trer done by that branch of the publia srvice within a single year.