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T ullje lillnn fcrato. ! '' - - ? ^ESTABLISHED IN 1895. DILLON, SOUTH CAROLINA, TIJURSDAY- AUG- 18? 191?- VOL. 16 _28. j ^WHO HAS LIED? -? WHO IS LYING? ? ! Hi Asks Senator Rogers of Marlboro in the Ellerbe-HodgesRogers Controversy Over the Publication of A Letter Reflecting on Hodges. The , Facts * as Presented by 1 Senator Rogers. The Pub- t lie can Read and reach its 1 *9 Own, Verdict. t -a To The Public: ^ _ Two months ago when 1 retired from the race for Congress, 1 had ntadc up my mind to retire from ^ politics, and take no active part in the race for Congress. On July ?2nd ult., C. P. Hodgeg, brother of P. A. Hodges, candidate ; for Congress, came to my office, informed me that J. E. Ellerbe had two years ago at Hartsville, denied all knowledge of the circular letter which 1 bad signed, and was going over the District repeating 1 that statement in this campaign to j* numerous parties, and requested !' me to give him a statement us to 8 the facts of the matter. 1 told * him that if his brother's purpose * was to raise any issue with me as jc to the truth of that circular letter, )11 I would give him no statement at c all. He thereupon assured me 0 ^ .that his brother did not intend,.e and would not make an 'ssue with ' * me in regard to the matter. With ' this assurance I wrote the follow-iC wF ing statement, making half a doz- 1 en copies thereof. 1 gave one ^ copy to C. P. Hodges, and sent one 1 to J. E. Ellerbe, one to George W. ,8 Brown, one to' Ben Sellers, and re- y & tained in my possession the other ^ two. 1 W Roger's Statement Giveu C. I'. '' a Hodges. . ? 'Bennettsviille, S. C., July 22nd, :? A 1910. Two years ago, in reply to * a circular letter issued in the inter- . * ^ est of P. A. Hodges, I wrote a cir- I cular controverting the statement 9 therein that u number of judg^ ments had been entered against r him, he paid every dollar he owed, t 1 signed my name to the reply, v and thereby assumed responsibility 11, therefor. I wrote the reply In r the Interest of J. E. Ellerbe, whom t I was then supporting for re-elec- ! t tioh. The same was submitted to p Ellerbe and approved by him be- h fore it was given publicity. n "1 have been informed that El- B lerbe has since stated that 1 wrote a and issued said reply without his e knowledge or approval. if he has jj made such a statement, he lied. y "He not only knew of them, but helped to direct and mail the j, envelopes enclosing them. In making this statement 1 am in no wise attempting to shirk the responsibility I assumed in signing 1 the reply. I still assert its con- f tents were true, and the records a will show it. I am now writing 1 ^ as I did thein to set the record n ^ straight. I would never have is- M W sued a paper in the int rest of Mr. 11 % Ellerbe or anyone else without his c approval. 11 ) "T. I. ROGERS." Judf(r Townsend'H Statement. J***. "I know the above statement is r ^ correct. I and J. E. Ellerbe toW* gether directed the envelopes in feV- which Mr. Rogers' reply was mailed 8 !JW"~ and Ellerbe carried them to the c post office. Eflerbe selected the list of persons to whom they were c . sent. * "C. P. TOWNSEND." 1 It will be noted that I made the ' . Issue clear and sharp as between j * me and Ellerbe, if he had been I,, making the statement chharged to V ' him by Hodges. I did this pur- 1 posely In order to avoid evasion. k I heard nothing more of the mat- ^ Nf* ter until I saw the newspapers giving an account of the campaign 1 ^ 1 meeting at Dillon" and at Marion ' the naxt day. Mr. Ellerbe's I * statement at Marlon eliminates d ^ all Issue between him and me. He * there admitted my statement of'1 \0>m- fact, as I am informed. He Is 1 correct In saying that I assumed 1 truth of the contents of the circu- * Ur which I signed. It is quite different as to P. A. Hodges, c i He not only breaks faith with the t assurance given me by his brother 1 H but he deliberately, both at Dll- 1 ^ Ion and Marlon, mlstated the t Jk Issue raised by the circulars of 1 ?> l two years ago, brands the same as 11 i C J 'alse and malicious; raises an enirely different issue, and then < jroceeds to disprove what my cir- i :ular letter never charged. He ead a certificate from J. A. Drake, t rierk of Court, showing that no i ludgements were open against him 1 n the year 1908, as 1 had charged < such to be the fact in my circuar letter. He knew as well as he 1 mew anything that I had made no s (linh ohorea ?? * U A 4 v.nif.v, jui uu i ue contrary, i itated in that circular letter that i ill the judgments against him had )een previously compromised. The eal issue raised by my circular etter, which was in direct reply .0 a circular issued in his behalf < vas, did he or did he not pay his I ireditors every dollar he owed < hem under those judgments? He 1 laving used as campaign literature t he circular containing the statenent that he had paid every dolar he owed his creditors, and a hereby prevented them from los- , ng. While I, on the other hand, t lad replied thereto and denied , hat he*had done any such thing, t tnd alleged that he had compro- f nised with his creditors at less r han thirty per cent of what he j wed. A Now in order that the public f nay see for themselves what the rue issue was. and whether lies rere circulated by me on Hodges, 1 B ubmit, both a copy of the para- , ;raph of the circular issued in 1 lodges' interest, to which my j ircular was a reply, and a copy of t ny circular letter, and a second ertlfcate from J. A. Drake, Clerk a if the Ciourt, and then leave It to t ach man to decide for himself j whether or not 1 have circulated t les on Hodges, or he has lied in so 8 harging. 1 leave It to the public j o decide further, whether or not ie is now acting in good faith with he public by meeting the issue j quare and fair, which, after two ears he sees fit to revive, or if f ie is not raising a false issue, and t hus doubly lying. The following r 9 the paragraph in Hodges' circular t o which 1 replied, taking from an riginal now in my possession, and ^ fhlch any man can see by coming , o my office. ^ 'aragraph Front Hmlges' Circular a in Full. t "Mr. Hodges is a man of recogilzed business ability and lntegri- a y. Several years ago, when he c ras Just beginning what promised h o be a successful mercantile ca- * eer, there came a panic anu two v ad crop years, and the failure of 8 hose whom he had furnished suplies to pay their acccounts caused im seriouus financial embarrass- > aent for a while; but lie was not ^ atisfied for his creditors to lose, nd he went to work, and settled v very dollar of indebtedness againsi 1 ini, although it took him several 8 ears to do it." h Following is my circular letter 8 a reply in full: lKtigers Circular Letter in Full. C . a 'Bennettsville, S. C., August 8, 1908. Mr.? Dear Sir: a. a ^ riend of Congressman Ellerbe, f nd without intending to do injus- d ice to any one, but desiring v that o competitor shall be given credit c fhich is not deserved, I beg to sub- jy ait a few comments upon a certain t ircular issued in Mr. P. A. Hodges' merest, and signed by certain cit- g tens of this community. .. "These friends have a perfect lght to praise Mr. Hodges as ^ oudly as they please, but no right e o make incorrect or misleading t| tatements of fact. We find in said >0 ircular the following: ^ "But he was not satisfied for his 8 reditors to lose, so he went toj* irork and settled every dollar of j ndebtedness against him, although g t took him several years to do it." 0 "Any one reading the above is sd to understand that Mr. Hodges g laid every dollar he owed and c hat his creditors lost nothing on h ilm: and if such were true it would ( le areatlv to hli credit. Rut ?ueh . not the fact. The reoords show a hat a score or more of judgments j rere entered against him. After t ie failed twice, (not onee) he con- , lucted business in his wife's name | or several yea re and afterwards j inder a corporate name?until he j rent out of business last year with , arge accounts outstanding and c inpaid. t "The records show that while i loing business in his wife's name, hose old Judgments were compro- < nlsed at a small per cent of their < ace. Some of them I know at less I ban 30 per cent, and I have never I leard of more than thirty per cent 11 >elng paid on any of them. 1 i "Should a man hoist himself by Maiming credit for a virtue he has I .ever exercised? ? "The circctilar has not been (lis- I iributed in Marlboro, and it was s \ot until today that 1 saw one t which had been sent to another i ounty. i "A number of our best citizens t liave told me that they declined to ! ngn said circular when requested o do so while a few who signed ,t. tell me they did so without t "cading. lours ror a square ileal, ( "T. I. Rogers." 1 On the afternoon of the same i lay these letters were mailed by ] VIr. Ellerbe and myself. I mailed a i ropy of the simie to Mr. Hodges, * vith the following note at the bot- t om: t Copy of Note. I "1 have today Aug. 21st, mailed t l number of copies of the above to t various gentleniolf in the 6th con- t sessional district. It took me a ? veek to get hold of a copy of your i lircular. If I have mistated any < act in the above I will gladly cor- v ect it, as soon as the mistake is i minted out to me, and 1 am con- i r'inced it is a mistatement of a i act. 1 "T. I. Rogers. t Mr. Hodges in trying to arouse 1 lympathy for himself says that lies vere circulated upon him in the 1 ast campaign, and makes no spec- J fication other than to single out ny circular letter. Now I invite the public to each ind every statement contained in i ny circular letter, and defy Mr. i lodges to show by any compe- i ent and trustworthy proof that i iny one of them is incorrect, much i ess false. i My circular stated: i 1. That the records showed that ( i score or more of judgments were uitered against him after he had t ailed twice, and that those judg- t nents were compromised at a small ? ter cent of their face. Can he deny 1 he truth thereof? r II. My circular stated that he i lid business for u while in his r vife's name. Can he deny i'u?t he c lid business here for several years lb agent, and if his wife was not a he principal, who was? v III. My circular stated that he r fterwards did business under a r orporate name. Can he deny that f le conducted the Bennettsville e lardware company for a number v ' yeurs, or can he deny that after i, fcjjing out the hardware company, ie then operated the P. A. Hodges i] lanufacturing Company, until the g ear 1907, when he went out of 0 usiness? r IV. My circular stated that s Mien he went out of uusiness in n 907 he left large accounts out- j landing and unpaid in 1908. Can h e deny that in 1908 the P. A. Hod- ij es Manufacturing Company owed h .. C. Chase & Company an account E onsiderably more than one thous- E nd dollars, or that said account ras reduced to judgment in 1909, r that Chase fc Company was oito accept fifty cents on the ollar therefor? * V. My article stated that his ircular had not been distributed in e larlboro county. Can he show t hat it was? c VI. My circular stated that t emiemen nau tola me tnat mey j eclined to sign his circular?while t few who signed it, told me they i id so without reading. Can he get i ither T. E. McCall or T. S. Evans 1 d deny that they told me as much; i r can he get Mr. J. K. Owens, who 1 as been his attorney, and who S igned his circular letter, to state f hat my circular letter, or J. A. t >rake's second certificate herewith < ubmitted, misrepresents the rec- i rds in the court house? ) VII. Hodges may equivocate by < aying that he did not make the I laim that he had paid every dollar i ie owed, as published in his orlgnal circular, that it was not signed >y him. Can he deny that he Is- ' ued those clrcculars as campaign kterature, or that he or some riend requested those to sign it rho did? Por him to equivocate n this way, would be as foolish as t would be for Mr. Ellerbe or udge Townsend to say that they rere in nowise responsible for the drculation of my circular, when hey assisted in the very act of nailing. Lastly, can he get any number >( the twenty-five gentlemen who carelessly signed his circular of :wo years ago, since the record has t>een called to their attention, to lay that I mistated the facts In my circular? has published a ce Mr. Hodges A Drake, Clerk < lificate from JR OJ, the false issu Court, bearingvted to 'aise. 1 no tie has attempi public, a second cei submit to the | r j \ Drake, beai lificate from M, pOI, th< true issu ng directly u /circular aliove met raised by the .ioned. >ut,. From Clerk ?i Second Cerfifiig Court. 4'ina. Marlboro Coun South Caroa y. drake, Clerk ot" Cour "1, J. A. D^for Marlboro, S. C. d 2. I'. 4: G. S. W that while, as statei lercby certify .atc given to P. A n my eertifh davs airo ther<. -lodges a fewopen amj 0f fore 10 judgments ,, yoar 190X, a igaiust him i^.. the records do shov he same timt 're quite a numbe hat there wt| time ut least, twent; irior to that represented quite ai hree which 10ney running up int* imount of np,8 Tjie records furth he thousand | au cf these judgment *r show that niall one were settle* xcept one "^promise or acceptance tlther by cor" of assignment. Tin inder deed Jjier show the exac ecords f?it2twiihiCh some of then >er cent at " anti jt does not ap were settled d,0rd that more thai >ear on recijper cent of its fac wenty-five a?y one of them, was paid or. qer niy hand and offi Given un,r Bennettsville, S. C ;ial seal ai ,10t \ug. 3rd, li*' ..j \ Drake. (Seal) J C. C. P. & G. S." es, in his Dillon speech Mr. Hodg quoted by the news f correctly andiloquently inquire japers, grt e(j> etc. 1 now ask thi who has li< *udge for themselves jublic to igng the record, wh* ifter readi' g? jR it p. A. Hodges 8 now lyint records in the Clerk'i ?r is it tbc<ennett8vllle? jffice at E^ rbled manner In whicl The g&t.nent given C. P. Hodgei he state: aB published by th< >y mysell'*,jgpaper> and copied bj state newplfort to raise a false issut lodges' efv Df how he l'es aboui -egardless ciat j have said, makes it ne and w^*for me to write thh lecesBary ^tion. lommunlctri it is true, is not reHodges.?he garbling of m> ponsible for i '\v That perfidy vrltten statemen. t*?. Banks, whe eats with William 'i !;ru?ement in efused to publish my sta'Jy- d an ull after h"1"" ""fcI,*k"11 , ? Huuiiouc . r*oil xtract therefrom in connect..;'., /Ith Hodges' statement of falsessue. In conclusion, I have no interest n the present campaign for Confess. I am writing in the interest f no cundidate. I, and I alone am esponsible herein, both for its sub ? - nnhl(M?tnn I A , ot endorse Ellcrbe so long as he efends rather than apoligizes for is vote for protection on lumber, iut 1 would vote for Joe Cannon limself before 1 would vote for a nan who whines, and howls, uisrepresents and dodges as Hodge b doing. T. I. ROGERS. Iteseiged with liir?ls. An army of birds, numbering several thousand, collected in trees at he home of Mrs. .1. E. Sprunt one lay last week and for a while gave .he tainily considerable annoyance. l"he birds came down in clouds lit;rally obscuring the sun and swarmng in the tree tops like bees. They e8embled martains and kept up a oud chattering until they were fiiiillv HiuitoriutH o/ith fvnn shntK Messrs. J. J. McKenzie and Jus. Jprunt fired 66 shots into the drove ind killed 500 birds. At each shho Jie birds would come down like rain lrops and the ground was covered with dead birds when the drove was finally dispersed. The birds were jf a peculiar dark green color and It is the first time they have been seen in this country. I-#** ********************** MAPLE DOTS. N. C. Dove of Rockflsh, N. C. ha been spending time in this section. *. a result of the protracted meeting held at Pleasant Grove church last week twelve were received to the fellowship of the church and will be baptized at the surles lauding next Sunday morning. Dossie Jackson of Clio, spent last week In this section. Rev W. C. Wallace baptized twenty seven people at Surles landing last Sunday morning and they were received Into the fellowship of Sardis church. "WHITE MAN I ASSAULTS GIRL? r ,e Sprunt Ellis, Well-known -] Young White Man of Fork, Charged with Assault Upon Fourteeu-Year-Old Girl. t Father Says it is a Case of ? Blackmail. Ellis Has Fled and Governor Offers a I Reward. t Sprunt Ellis, a son of Mr. Benj. v Ellis of Zion is charged with asr sault upon a 14 year old girl. Young a| y Ellis until recentlv waa ??> >*? ? ? '"c 1" (" ii cantile business at Fork. He is w l> about 20 years ??f age and is well known in his section. The father h, s says it is a ease of blackmail. Ellis t<] 1 ; has fled and the governor has offer- je e ed a reward. It is impossible to ol?- j? e tain any facts in the ease. No one j,] t seems to know anything about it a and those who know hesitate to talk - The following is taken from The j-., a News and Courier: tt e Columbia, August 13.?Special: p. There may be sensational develop meats following the offering of a oi '. reward ol $7 5. by Governor Ansel this morning for the arrest of Sprunt Ellis, a young white man p from Mullins, section jf Marion j, County, who is charged with tnal- a !. treating a young white girl. There ;j s is the possibility that Governor An- ^ e sel may recall the offer of reward, n it although nothing was done this j, 0 | evening until the matter can be c; it placed before the Governor in toto. <j( 8 The matter came up when a peti- j tion signed by a number of promi1 nent citizens and forwarded here pj 5 with a letter from E. D. Smith, of Cli > Mullins, explaining the circuinf stances as alleged in the petition 5, > that the Governor offer a reward l to have Ellis apprehended. *-? IM I Bate this afternoon the Govern- gc , or's office received a letter from j^j B. S. Ellis, who is presumably re- ja1 . lated to the young man charged tj, r with the alleged crime. This letter ar r says that the charges against young tj1( , Ellis are untrue, that the girl was co i not under fourteen, but is sixteen 8e. i according to her own statement, at, i that the young man offered to mar- p.e , ry the girl, but that her folks asked sel $2,000, leaving off the rnarrf- ted "? ? contract. Believing that thf^e-anc age' ,r. } something behind the w*ole may be ],0^e Governor's office will jn matter, th';^^ further inveetiva- sjlt. probably mainly*. Rethea reported eilg tion. Secretary'^.^Non to the tetter \ received this aftern(|,on to governor <#|,f Ansel, at Greenville. iTiV.'. Governor jej has the authority to hold ur? l'K* ro* tail ward, although the proclamatt*?11 ws,s er; I forwarded this morning to the s.'ier~ the iff of Marion. This matter Is gi>^~ pro en to the public as it was receive'*1 aftt here officially at the Governor's of- ly fiee. There is the strong intima- e tion. if the letter received here this w.lt afternoon be correct, that there may jiCJ. be a "hold ud" nronoaition involve! ^ cup If it is found that there is founda- ^en tion for the charge against young exc< Ellis, the reward will stand If not |111T. it may be recalled. ElliH is said in the last letter to be very young. It is stated here that the family involved is prominent in Marion Coun- (J ty< Lun It was stated in the first letter jiaj, that young Ellis had left the com- posl munity. Katl thin Our Tailor will be with us the 29l (jjsa and 30, call in and see his line. The or t St abbs Co. ? ??ii? the Mr. E. B. McEachern, of Hanier, l:>r sold his entire 1909 cotton crop Pi,a Monday for $18,000. Mr. McEach- 1"ie crn did not sell a bale of cotton last *Ne year, although the price at timeB was very tempting. At the sale ^ Monday he realized quite a fancy price. The cotton was stored with ae Rogers, McCabe & Co., of Norfolk. V ' Mr. McEachern is thinking of build- irti ing a warehouse at Hamer and if : vill he does he says he will take all the ilea cotton that nobody else wants. icani m of AAni Our Tailor will be with us the pjy 29th and 30th call in and see his ed line. The Stubbs Co. offl, Any one wishing a good plant* llne tion near Ju^son will do well t? 1)011 see S. T. Moore. Salable lands U vot< Dillon county aire scarce and now s your opportunity. 1 )LD PEE DEE WARSHIP RAISED. he Historic Old Vessel Built at Pee Dee Bridge Just Before the Close of the War is Raised from its Grave in the River Near Georgetown. Many of the Older Residents Remember When Vessel was Built. The old Fee Dee man-of-war built the Fee Dee bridge where the A. . L. erosses the river nt Fee Dee as raised from its watery grave -ar Georgetown recently where it lid lain since the war. W. F Clayin, Ksq., of Florence, was a lieu'liant on the Fee Dee and assisted i its construction. The oldtr reslents of this section remember dis- w nctly when the vessel was built, ut only a few were aware of its ife. The old Fee Dee was expected ? accomplish wonders on the sea ut she was sunk by her officers to eep her from falling into the hand* f the enemy. The following is froi ic News and Courier: After lying at the bottom of the oe Dee river, near Georgteown, and roving proving an obstruction and menace to navigation for 4 5 years ic Confederate steamer Pee Dee has een raised, some of her boilers and lacli iii-iv removed and the hull Icwn to pieces with dynamite to ear the channel. The work was one under the supervision of Capt. C. Tamplet, in command of the redge Cheraw, of United States eniiieering department. A number of innon balls were found in the earner's hold, but no guns were a>ard. The I'w l?ee was built near Pee se bridge for the purpose of deending the river and breaking the ockade in NVinyah bay. She was unched just too late to accomplish is object, however, for Sherman's my had formed a junction with e Federal squadron, and the whole uutry was infested by land and j in such force as to make the | empt impossible of success. The amer was a powerfully built ves. of war, her hull being construe- ' of seasoned oak 18 inches thick, 1 her frame of exceptionally { vv timbers. Pne was 150 feet * length with a 25-foot beam, and was fitted out with powerful 1 ;ines 5 fery little information can be ..ined as to :l e exact causes which 1,1 to her destruction, but it is cer that she was sunk by the confed I tes to keep her from tailing into I hands -of the enemy, and it is rj liable that this took place snortly f r she was put iu commission. On a few miles intervened between * tridge, where she was put in tht c.r h'iui me place where she found ? voting piVtCe *or these years. J t. Tamplet st "tes that i.er tim- ? ,| j \ere perfectly sound, with the ^ jpton of the boards which forme " dek. ' * - - * ru "Old I thick Joe." f IdBlack Joe and the man from = a be river seem tc have set the o the "New County Man." Bibv the political grapes he ? icnl in the last county campaigi , histeeth on edge. Surely someig ut of the common must have ; rriged hiB mighty intellect, ?ls?he never would have conde- M leito accuse Old Black Joe and S o'er fellow of personating . .kel and Mr. Hyde," of lying tics so elevated as that of the ? usish gum for the dough. As w ounty Man" when extinguish ge rally carry a train of vinivBs along with it. But like ly'icomet no poisonous vapors lelbehind. "Lumber River " * * /Itthe publication of the above clehe columns of The Herald txlosed to all further commu- V .tiu in reference to any of the lides now in the field or to any thmresent officers of Dillon aty Each side has had its re- a thcandidates should be Judgby elr fitness for the several j| ces? which they aspire and. fuier controversy along thin $ 8 wed tend only to muddy the tlcavaters and to confuse the rs^ditor. * "'? 1 -.v t $ he Ion Htrald 91.50 a year. jlL