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THE FORT MILL TIMES. VOLUME 18?NO. 44. FORT MILL, S. C., THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 1910. $1.25 FER YEAR. WILL ASK CANDIDATES * TO DEFINE POSITION Movement For "Catawba County" Deferred Till the August Primary Opens. The leading business men of Rock Hill seem to have waked up during the last week to the fact that if the agitation for a new county in this section is to be successful it will be necessary for them to push the proposal earnestly and enthusiastically. Up to a few days ago the agitation for the new county had been confined principally to Fort Mill township, but the YYI pf f Vioe r\Atir Koaa fnbnn 1 AituuwL iiao uvn uttn taivcii nuiu of in Rock Hill by men who can be depended upon to give the undertaking the thought and work necessary to bring success?if success be possible, for, be it understood, the question of territory bobs up always and hedges "Catawba county" round about with a great deal more doubt than is comfortable. But now it is certain that if the new county movement fails, it will not be due to a lack of determination to push the matter by the Rock Hill men who do things^ Saturday afternoon a conference of the officials of the -Commercial Club of Rock Hill and other leading citizens of that city was held to consider the best plan of putting the movement on foot and it was decided to s?.nd a delegation to Columbia Monday with the view of enlisting the support of the York delegation in the General Assembly in behalf of a constitutional amendment making it possible to organize the county with less than the 400 square miles of territory now necessary. A communication was sent to Fort Mill as a result of the conference requesting that this section also toe represented at the hearing before the legislative delegation and several leading citizens here arranged to go to Columbia. But ( the hearing was abandoned at the suggestion of Representative W. B. Wilson, Jr., who expressed the opinion that the undertaking had been delayed too long to be successful at the present session of the Legislature. Mr. Wilson also stated that there was a moral obligation resting upon the York members of the General Assembly not to advocate the dismembering of the old county now, as nothing had been said during the campaign in which they were elected about the formation of a new county. This position of the members was accepted as reasonable and if uroc U nn i A oU r?/-kf frv a 30 fnc IV UVVIV1V/VA uvt vv pi VOO 1VI a constitutional amendment at present. It now seems probable that little more will be done in behalf of the new county until the campaign opens next August, when each candidate for the Legislature probably will be asked tc declare himself for or against "Catawba county," w'th the view of electing a delegation in sympathy with the constitutional amendment. Ira G. Smythe's Uncle Dead. Ira G. Smythe, of this city, received word a few days ago of the death in Alexandria, Va., last Tuesday, of his uncle, Capt. Kosciusco Kemper, a distinguished citizen of that State. Capt. Kemper was 74 years old at the time of his death. He was three times mayor of Alexandria, was past grand master of the Masonic fraternity of his State and was one of the most prominent members ot tne Virginia bar. He wa3 a graduate of the University of Virginia. In early life he conducted a seminary for young women in Alexandria. At the beginning of the Civil war he was teaching in Beaufort, S. C., where he enlisted in the Confederate service, becoming in time the captain of a battery of artillery. After the war Capt. Kemper returned to ^ Alexandria, where, besides en^ gaging in the practice of law, he was elected mayor of the city, was subsequently corporation \ attorney, and for a number of j years superintendent of the public schools. L E. W. Kimbrell is confined to f his home with la grippe. | STATE'S LAW-MAKERS GET DOWN TO WORK | Junketing Trips Ended, the Legislature Will Now Consider Important Matters. Correspondence Fort Mill Times. Columbia, Feb. 1.?There have , been no particularly interesting * developments in legislative circles since the communication of j last week. The most of last week was taken up in "junketing," a term commonly applied to legislative journeys away from the I ? i : ? cctpitu!, wnetner uii uusmess or pleasure bent. Just here it might be well to remark that 1 there has been considerable ad- 1 verse criticism of this body on account of these trips. There will, however, come no harm of the trips of this session to W inthrop, Clemson and the Citadel, as they will enable the members of the general assembly to more i1 I intelligently pass upon the needs of these institutions as they 1 come up in the several measures to be introduced affecting the 1 institutions. Then, too, the per diem argument against the expense of these excursions can i not be used any longer, as the senators and representatives are ' now paid an annual salary of 1 I $200 each, and whether they, ! remain in session 40 days or 40 weeks the cost to the State, ! with the exception of some 1 additional items of printing, etc., I will not be increased. Just who is footing the bill for these special trains is another question. ! I It may be that the several colj leges visited are putting up the dough. If this is the case, why the people are paying for the j trains. If the railroads are ; furnishing them gratis?well, j "hat" ia a rh'fTui-onl moft-ni- Ac I I VXV4W ?.? UlllVl Villi IIIUllCI . no ; was intimated in the beginning, ! there can come no special harm i of these things. Several bills relative to the I asylum have been introduced in both houses. One of the most important of these is by Senator Hardin, of Chester, providing for the purchase of lands not more than ten miles from the j city of Columbia and upon ' some railroad, the cost of which | shall not exceed $250,000, and ! finally constructing thereon new buildings for the State Hospital for the Insane. These bills also look to the separation of the j races, and it is generally thought that this plan will be carried out. Debate upon the prohibition j bills has been postponed until i Thursday, February 3rd, when it is thought the matter will be taken up and finally settled for j this session at least. The house j of representatives is overwhelj mingly for State-wide prohibi tion, but the senate is, where you nearly always find it with reference to a matter of this sort, on the fence, and only a vote will determine what is doing. Senator W. H. Stewart is outspoken in his views upon the question. He is of the opinion that such legislation is i unwise just at this time, and j | that to pass a State-wide law just | now would be breaking faith' with the local optionists and a : breach of the understanding between the factions at the last session. Representative Richards' bill; to amend the crop-mortgage law, j j making it illegal to mortgage! crops before the first day of j ; April in each year, was killed1 after a long discussion. Mr. i Richards is generally considered an aspirant for gubernatorial honors, and during the debate ! L~: 11 ii. * ujjun mis uiu tne pontics therein was referred to more than J once by the opposition. Mr. Richards was instrumental, more than any other man, in repealing the lien law. There appears upon the senate calendar a bill introduced by i Senator Graydon, of Abbeville, j making it unlawful for any I teacher in the schools of this ' State to inflict physical punish1 ment upon pupils. A good many of the old-timers, who were reared upon birch and lived in the time when the old-field school, the blue-back speller and G ^ i rod flourished in the land, are' j of the opinion that the measure I is a bad one. But the measure appears to have some merit. It I will be productive of good "in i / * BOVS CORN PATCH FARMING TRIUMPH Marlboro Lad's Success Should Make Every Carolina Youth Proud. There probably is nothing more prosaic to the superficial observer than a one-acre cornfield, unless it is another just like it, or possibly a little more so. It is merely a patch of growing crop, where the combined C ? 1 A 1 n lurces in man ana me iavormg sunshine are coaxing nature more or less effectively to smile with a harvest. From the hour of planting, down through successive hoeings to the final processes of cutting and husking, the field is nothing more to the unthinking than a commonplace scene of human activity in which the work is hard and the returns uncertain. But Bascom Usher's one-acre cornfield was distinctly different. It was the theatre not only of an exploit which charms one's imagination, but of an agricultural triumph that should make every South Carolina boy proud. Bascom Usher is 17 years old, and lives in Marlboro county. Now, every year the government organizes a national corn contest for boys in which $10,000 in prizes is awarded for various achievements, including one for the largest yield from a single acre. Bascom Usher entered ; last year's contest. He plowed his acre, planted it, cultivated it as he believed it should be, and watched and tended it as if it were some delicate flower bed. The work was hard?everybody that ever hoed corn knows that ? but Bascom Usher forgot his fatigue in the sheer joy of watching that corn grow. In aue season it was cut and shocked, and a little later it was husked. Then the official committee came around, looked over results, and decided that Bascom Usher's acre had won first prize. Please consider what this victory meant to Bascom Usher in a practical way, and quite apart from the exaltation of pride which it must have brought him. His one-acre field produced 1521-2 bushels of corn, which sold as prize seed at $2 a bushel, making $305, and the fodder for $30, or a total of $335. Allowing $135 for labor, the one-acre cornfield returned a net profit of $200?a yield rich enough to make the average grown-up crop grower gasp. Keep Coins Ont of Mail Boxes. The postoffice department has just issued a notice to rural letter carriers tnat they will not be required to collect coin with which to stamp letters when the coin or coins are left loose in the mail boxes. Heretofore the patrons along the route were allowed to drop their letters in with a sufficient amount of money to buy the stamps and the-carriers would see that the stamps were put on. The carrier is greatly inconvenienced by this and often cannot pick up the coin when he passes along with his gloves on and his hands cold. The patrons will hereafter wrap the stamp money in a paper or seal it in an envelope so the carrier can pick it up easily. This will work no hardship on the patrons and at the same time be a great convenience to the carriers. Yesterday, February 2, was Ground Hog day. that it will reouire uarents to pay more attention to their duty in rearing and training their children, and not shift this responsibility to the shoulders of the school teachers. After all, the home is the place to teach courtesy and decorum and if these are not taught there it is of little avail to try to instill these virtues in the school room or elsewhere. If children who are inclined to be disobedient and not observant of the rules of the school are denied its privileges on that account the parent would be compelled to take action. This would result in greatly improved demeanor on the part of the children, both at school and elsewhere. Besides it would relieve the teacher of a very disagreeable duty. McK. NO DECISION YET IN TILLMAN CASE Supreme Court Still Deliberating on Proper Custodian of Little Girls. ? IS ~^i 99 <? M II M II ^ sij "The father of any child un- | i der the age of 21 and not married 1 * may by his deed executed ' i and recorded according to law, or j by his last will and testament, I made and probated according to 1 law, dispose of the custody and t i' tuition of such child or children i for and during such time as he, i I i she or they respectively remain j ] under the age of 21 .years, to anv 1 f person or persons, in possession or { J remainder." j Basing claim to the two children of his son, B. R. Tillman, Jr., on the deed made to hirr under the statute quoted above, Senator B. R. Tillman appeared before the supreme court ir Columbia Monday in answer tc the rule of the court to show cause why Mrs. B. R. Tillman, Jr., should not be awarded the custody of the children. Never before in the history ol the courts of South Carolina has there been unfolded a story sc filled with marital unhappiness: never before has there been seer in this State a more determined effort to secure, on the one hand, and to retain, on the other, possession of children thar marked the struggle for the custody of the two little Tillmar girls Monday. Numerous charges and counter charges were pre| sented in affidavits of the mothei against her husband and father| in-law and of the father and gradfather of the little ones against their mother. Able counsel appeared in beI half of both the petitioner and 1 respondent. The court room was j filled at the hearing, man) prominent men and women being in attendance to listen to the pitiful story of the wrecked home and the recital of the unsuccessful efforts of interested relatives and friends to bring | about a reconciliation of theii : differences. But the efforts j went for nought ?hence the suit ! for the custody of the little girls, I one two years old, the othei five. It was thought that a decisior in the case would he handec down by the court Monday nigh after the reading of the affidavit: and arguments were finished but no conclusion was reached nor was a decision renderec Tuesday, much to the disap pointment of thousands through out the State. Mrs. Dora M. Grier Dead. Mrs. Dora McDowell Grier wife of Mr. James M. Grier, diet at her home in this city Saturday morning at 9 o'clock, after i serious illness of several weeks The funeral services were con ducted from the home Sunday morning by Itev. YV. A. Hafner of the Presbyterian church, ant the remains were interred in tin r'hnrr hvmvt r?f" fV??I w..j v,. w*. uivvi vi wr church Sunday afternoon. The announcement of th< death of Mrs. Grier arousec deep sorrow throughout this section, for she was widely known and admired both in tin town and county. She was i woman of the highest type oi Christian character, pure ir heart, bright in intelligence amiable, gentle and kind. Mrs. Grier was a daughter oi the late Robt. W. McDowell, 01 Steel Creek. Her mother wa; Miss Elvird Neai, a daughter ol General W. H. Neal, one oi Mecklenburg's n t distinguish ed men. She was born am reared in Steel Creek, anc educated at Salem Academy, o; which she was a graduate After her marriage she madt her home in Charlotte for < number of ye u*s. From then she came to F- rt Mill after Mr drier engaged in business here Mrs. drier was a life-long Pres byterian, having come from ; long line of distinguished Presby terian ancestry. She took ai active part, in church work. Mrs drier was 47 years of age. Shi leaves besides a husband, oni daughter, Miss Dora Grier. York County Girls at Winthrop. : In compliance with an act of the Legislature, passed some years ago. President D. B. John5 son has just submitted to that body the names of all students enrolled at Winthrop college for the present session. York county is far in the lead of any other j* county in the State in the num1 ber of students attending the j college, with a total enrollment of 79. The following is j a list of the York county girls attending the college: i Fort Mill?Lucile Barber, May , Coltharp, Annie Crook, Mildred ( Hall, Inez Smith, Lula Therrell. Rock Hill?Bennie Lee Adams, 1 Carrie Anderson, Harriet Anderj son, Mary Anderson, Mattie Lou Barnette, Annis Barron, Genej vieve Beckham, Louise Black, Sarah Lee Black, Annie Brown, ' Annie Lynn Carothers, Lillian Caveney, Lillian Cook, Julia R. ' | Cork, Martha Creighton, Anna j Kate Fewell, Cecil Fewell, Eva 1 i Fewell, Isabelle Fewell, Louise . j Fewell, Catherine Frew, Evelyn 1 Frew, Lucile Frew, Margaret 1 Frew, Bessie Garrison, Carrie ' Garrison, JosieRuth Greer, Josie ' i Hall. RphpPPIl Hall Monm- T Heath. Mary Huey, Anne Claire * Hutchinson, Emma F. London, . Jessie Marshall, Annie Miller, Julia Plexieo, Essie May Poag, ; Susie Belle Rabb, Florence M. | Reid, Margaret Bobbins, iJllie Roddey, Maggie Lou Roddey, 11 Margaret Ruff, Carrie Sadler, 1 Tattie Sandifer, Fannie Lee Setzer, Sadelle Stewart, Rosa B. Strait, Virginia Taylor, Emma 1 Thomson, Elizabeth Waters, 5 Mary Kate Williams, Jessie WinI gate, Maud F. Chaplin, Emily 5 Elms. Yorkville?M. Elizabeth Fin'; ley, Anna R. Lewis, Fredrica :' Lindsay, Helen Lowry, Dorothy II Montgomery, Mamie E. Rose, 5 Nellie Russell, Janie E. VVray. | Leslie?Lily J. Martin. : Roddey's?Camie L. Roddey, | Carrie Caldwell Roddey. M Old Point-Juanita Neely, ' Leona Thomasson. 'l Bowling Green?Georgia Belle | Dulin. j I FERTIl im I FARM GARDE GARDE ONIOf I MILLS & ( . jCATAWBAS' STATUS MAY BE CHANGED Resolution in General Assembly Proposing Citizenship for York's Indians. Senator Stewart has introduced in the State senate and Mr. Glascock will introduce in the house of representatives an important concurrent resolution which, if adopted, may have an important ucaiiiix upuii me iuture oi tne Catawba Indians, whose reservation of 600 acres is 15 miles below Fort Mill on the Catawba river. The resolution is in response to a petition signed by 51 of the Indians requesting that they be made citizens of the State. "Our present condition," says the petition, "is deplorable, it being impossible for us to make a support on our present reservation. We believe if made citizens and additional lands furnished us by' the State upon which we can settle our condition will be greatly improved and we can take care of ourselves in the future." The concurrent resolution authorizes the governor to appoint three commissioners, neither of whom shall be a member of the General Assembly, to investigate the condition of the Indians, with the view of purchasing additional lands contiguous to their reservation to assist them to become self-supporting and useful citizens, if the plan is considered feasible. Should such action be taken it will mean that the Catawba Indians will no longer be wards of the State but will be thrown upon their own resources to earn a livelihood. It is estimated that it would require an I appropriation of between $15,000 and $20,000 to purchase the lands which the Catawbas think necessary to relieve their present condition. The State now appropriates annually to these Indians $3,200, $3,000 of which is divided uro rata amontr thorn tho ro_ 1 maining $200 being used for j school purposes. LIZERS1 tools] " ,N WIRE | ,N SEED ' . u 1 JL 1 J I ix YOUNG. | i1' ' ,