I . ^
* IMPORTANT NEWS
THE WORLD OVER
IMPORTANT HAPPENINGS OP THIS
AND OTHER NATIONS POR
SEVEN DAYS GIVEN
THE NEWS jFfflE SOUTH
What |? Taking Pise# In Ths South,
land Will S? Pound In
Brl#f Paragraphs
Foreign?
Beneath the flagstones of St. Peter's,
iv here thousands of pilgrims come
each year, lies the mortal remains of
Benedict a v., wnose Denignant errorts,
through all the years of war were directed
toward poace and after the
pacification of Europe and the world.
The body of Viscount Bryce was
cremated recently at London, after
simple but impressive services. No
eulogy was offered but the officiating
minister in his prayer paid a tribute
to the late political historian in calling
him a "blessed and powerful
peacemaker throughout the whole
world, and especially between the nations
of Great Britain and America."
It is stated In Rome that the vitality
that enabled Pope Benedict XV to
resist death so long was the product
of rigorous activity and plain living.
The Bavarian government has forbidden
the Communist prisoners of
the Niederschoenfed Jail to hold a carnival
which had been planned with
the aid of tlielr comrades who are at
liberty. The latter had donated one
hundred thousand marks' worth of tobacco
and candies and food.
Elsa Anderson, the only Swedish
*oman holding an aviator's license,
was instanly killed recently when she
attempted to descend to tho earth by
means of a parachute. She fell, like
a plummet, 2,000 feet, to the earth.
The Cuban minister 1n Washington.
, Carlos Manuel De Cespedes, has initiated
diplomatic negotiation for the
with drawal of American marines
from Camaguey, according to a statement
Issued at the national palace,
giving the }ext of a message from the
minister to President Zayas.
BrJuuan Guiteras, secretary of
publTcnehlth, heads the commission
on arrangements for the sixth LatinAmerican
congress, to be held in Havana
November 20-96, it was announced
rnmntlv flthor - ? *-?
utVltlUCI O ai^L/I.
Francisco Cabrera Saavedra, eminent
Cuban surgeon, vice president, Dr. F.
Maria- Fernandez, secretary. Dr.
Emilio Martinez and Dr. Jose A. lx>pez
del Valle, superintendent o of the Havana
Board of Health.
The meeting of the foreign ministers
of France, Great Britain and Italy
in Paris February 1, the calling of
which was announced recently will be
\ preceded by full exchanges of views
between Paris, I^ondon and Ron^e with
| regard to Asia Minor, the subject of
the conference. In these exchanges
an effort will be made to reach an
agreement as to the main points affecting
the near eastern question so
that the Paris conference will be able
to proceed on a definitely outlined pro
gram.
Washington?
Acceptance by the government ot
the offer of Henry Ford for the Muscle
Shoals (Ala.) power and nitrate plants
was urged before the national agricultural
conference by James W. Morton,^
of Athens, Ga., in an address in
which he detailed the conditions existing
among the farthers of the South.
A combination of French. Japanese,
and, finally, British opposition to aritcle
four of the Hughes "open-door"
doctrine for China, has resulted In the
quiet death of that article.
Swinging into high speed, the arms
conference has made quick work of
the Siberian question, virtually agreement
having heen marto nn ??.? ? '
. ^ vm kUO OUiC I C* I
maintng issue of the naval reduction
plan.
Treasury opposition to a soldiers'
bonus remains unchanged, but if there
is tp be a bonus it must be provldod
through taxation, in addition to taxes
imposed by existing law. Secretary
Mellon declares in a letter to Chairman
Pordney of the house way* and
means committee. Any attempt to provide
for the bonus through the use
of the principal and Interest of the
foreign debt to thta country, he says,
"would be futile as well as unwise."
Investigation by the house agricultural
committee of the crop reporting
I bureau of the department of agriculture,
with a view to "discovering the
cause and instituting remedies for the
inaccuracies shown In the reports of
. ' the 19SI cotton crop," as published
by thte department, is called for in a
resolution introduced in the house by
Representative Overstrect (Dem.) of
Georgia.~.
The program of addresses at the national
agricultural conference, which
covered marketing problems in many
phases, was interupted long enough
to permit Chairman Anderson to deny
the charge voiced in some quarters
that the delegates to the conference
were hand-picked.
Secretary Weeks informed delegates
to the National Agricultural conference.
in session In Washington, that
"If there was no Ford offer" he would
"recommpnd to congress the completion
of the Wilson jtlam at Muscle
Shoals, Ala. * . . ? .
wiUkw ]
' ' ? ~~?
i
The house declared Itself fa favor
of the government exerting Its authority
fa an effort to stamp out lynching
passing by a vote of 280 to 110 the
Dyer anti-lynchfajr bill. Seventeen Republicans
joined 102 Democrats In voting
in the opposition while eight
Democrats and one Socialist, London,
of New York, voted with 221 Republicans
In favor of the measure.
Investigation by the senate of the
activities of "Persons, association, corporation
and combinations, commonly
known as the fertiliser and waterpower
trusts,*' alleged to be attempting
to prevent lease by the government
of the Muscle Shoals project, is
provided in a resolution Introduced in
the senate recently by Senator Harris,
of Georgia. Mr. Harris said he would
ask for consideration of the resolution
probably very soon.
The machinery of the Washington
conference virtually came to ^standStill
while the delegates awarafcd results
from President Harding's mb^e
for a settlement of the Shantung controversy.
The Southern Express company
must pay taxes assigned upon it by
the state of South Carolina for the
year 1918, the supreme court dismissing
recently, upon motion of counsel,
an appeal which the company had
brought jto have reviewed decisions by
the courts of that state. The company
contended that it had been deprived
of taxable property in the Btate
wnen the railroads were placed under
federal control In December. 1917.
Reduction In the wage scales of officers
and men on shipping board vessels
amounting t?) more than fifteen
per cent and effective February 6, Is
announced by the shipping board.
Secretary of the Treasury Mellon
announces the offer of an issue of 4 3/4
per cent three-year short-term notes
to the amount of approximately $400.000,000.
The issue Is to provide for
current expenses, the retirement of
treasury certificates of indebtedness
maturing February 16, 1922, and as a
part of the treasury's program for retiring
notes maturing May 20, 1923.
The demand for onrlv nntinn on <?
migration legislation that would further
restrict entrance of aliens into
the United States, was made recently
in the senate by Senator Harris, senior
senator from Georgia.
Completion of the Musole Shoals,
Ala., project has been recommended
to the national agricultural conference
by the committee on water transportation.
No mention was made regarding
the offer of any parties to the
government to lease the plants there.
Domestic?
Colonel Paul B. Malone, now assistant
commandant of the infantry school
at Camp Bennlng. Columbus, Ga., and
who served with great gallantry with
the American expeditionary forces in
Prance, first as colonel and afterwards
as brigadier general, seemed
overcome with astonishment when informed
of press dispatches from
Washington in which Ivy Henderson,
of Chester, S. C., wds quoted as saying
that he saw Colonel Malone shoot |
n nuiuier uecause ne could not keep
up with his command.
Judge J. L. Kent recently denied
the motion for a new trial of George
Walker, 16 years of age, under life
sentence for the murder of George
Avery, 17, recently at Dublin. Ga.
Thirty patients were removed to
safety when the Lincoln hospital, a
negro Institution, of Durham, N. C.,
was destroyed by fire recently. The
loss was estimated at between $10,000
and $15,000. The origin of the blaze
has not been determined.
Complete confidence in the business
outlook with regard to building in tbe
southeastern section of the United
States was generally expressed by
speakers at the annual convention of
the Southeastern Builders' Supply association,
at Miami, Pla.
The meeting of the fetockholdera of
tne Mouineastern Express company at
Birmingham. Ala., after electing directors.
declared a 4.67% dtvtdend,
which is at the rate of 7% per annum.
The company was organized about
eight months ago.
The American Museu mof National
History (New York City) reports that
the tomb of a pre historic warrior, who
apparently fell in combat, has been
discovered in the ruins of a large
Pueblo community dwelling near Aztec,
New Mexico.
It Is estimated that more than a
hundred Chattanooga, Tenn., families
have been driven from their homes by
flood waters of the Tennessee river,
all the motor vehicles of the city government
being called into play to
move the victims to higher ground. j
The schooner yacht iris, owned by
J. H. Jobson of Manula, Ala., was destroyed
by fire while at anchor off
Pinellas Point. Pla. Loss $35,000; insurance
$10,000. Only the owner was
on board during the fire.
The opening session of the annual
meeting of the Lee Highway association
at Chattanooga.' Tenn., was featured
by an address by former Governor
Brough of Arkansas, who paid
a glowing tribute to Gen. Robert Edmund
Lee, for whom the highway is
named.
The contract covering the proposed |
lease and purchase of the government's
nitrate and water-power projects
at Muscle Shoals, Ala., has been
signed'by Henry Ford and returned to
the war department by one of the Ford
engineers. j
At the request of the city council
of Chicago, Mayor James L. Key of
Atlantn, Ga., has submitted the proposition
for the governmeht to legalize
tho sale of "light wtnos and beer," to
Atlanta's city council. The mayor
puts it up to*coiytcil Just as the proposition
came to him.
rORT HILL, S.
107 LIVES LOST
IN WASHINGTON
134 OTHERS ARE INJURED WHEN
MOVIE THEATER ROOF
COLLAP8E8.
SOME SERIOUSLY INJURED
Volunteers* Work in 8now and Cold
for 24 Hours Taking Dead From'
Heip of Debris.
Washington.?Official police records
placed the known dead in the Knickerbocker
theater disaster at 107. Blimi*
nation of duplicated names brought
the final total down from the unofficial
peak at 112 at which the toll of
the catastrophe was placed.
The list of injured stood at 134 with
14 listed as "seriously Injured."
The official list, according to the>
authorities, contained the names of
all those whose bodies had been recovered
up to midnight from the ruins.
The volunteer workers, including
police, firemen, marines and cavalry
from Fort Myer, had practically concluded
their search of the wreckage
at midnight.
The exact number in the theatei
when the steel and concrete span of
the roof buckled nnd fell under its
three-foot load of snow probably will
never be known. The stories of perhaps
a hundred who got out uninjured
have been reported. These account
tor n few more than 300 in the audience
that was roaring in laughter at a
filmed comedy when the roof fell on
them like a blanket carrying down
. the front of the wide balcony in its
[ crash.
Normally, the theater has had every
neiu mieu hi inai nour, ana nearly
2,000 persons was its capacity. The
same unprecedented snowfall which
brought death to the venturesome few,
kept the many at home. Street car
traffic had been abandoned and
streets and sidewalks were all but
Impassable with drifts.
There has been no time as yet fo.
official inquiry as to the cause of the
disaster. The ruins themselves disclose,
however, that the entire mass
of ateel-held concrete that formed the
roof had come down. The crash swept
the supports out from under the balcony,
apparently, and this hinged
down at an angle of 45 degrees, adding
to the tangled mass of wreckage
on the floor below.
The building stands in an acute angled
corner at the 18th street and Columbia
Roads, northwest, the heart
of the most favored residence section
of tme city. The narrow niche
of the stage on which the screen
was hung was backed into the corner
angle while to the left from the
stage the line of the auditorium runs
in a straight line for some 200 feet
down 18th street.
This whole space stood roofless to
the sky a moment after the first hissing
sound of the breaking roof gave
warning above the music of the orchestra.
There is only one survivor
thus far who has told of having heard
that warning and seen the first powdery
handful of snow sift down over
the head of the orchestra leader in
time to make his escape. From his
seat well forward on the main floor, he
raced for the do^s at the back. A
great blast of air, expelled as the roof
came down, hurled him out through
the doorway to safety.
Washington. ? The only known
North Carolinian killed in the Knickerbocker
theater disaster was Miss
Nannie Lee Lambert, a native of Asheboro,
who was a government employe
working in the war department.
Virginia Citizens Victims.
Richmond, Va. ? William Lovick
Schoolfleld, of Danville. Va.. who was
killed in the collapse of the roof of
the Knickerbocker theater In Washington.
was the son of Mrs. James E.
Shoolfleld. of Danville. Samuel Schoolfield.
a brother, wired to relatives In
Danville Informing them of the positive
identification of the body. The
mother, brother and two sistera of
young Schoolfleld at present are in
Washington, according to teleghaphic
advices from Danville.
Fully a dozen citizens of this state
are dead with many injured. It Is
known that a Norfolk girl had her
arms torn from her body when the
roof caved in. One Richmond man
wws killed. His body has been recovered.
Miss Elizabeth Jeffries, formerly of
this city, who was injured internally,
was taken to a hospital where she lat
er died. Her brother, J. M. JefTries.
also was killed. Their father was L.
E. Jeffries, vice president of the
Southern railway.
Explorer Die3 on Ship.
Montevideo, Uruguay. ? Sir Ernest
Shackleton. the British explorer, died
January & on board the steamship
Quest, on which he was making another
expedition into the Antartic regions.
Death was due to angina pectoris
and occurred when the Quest
was off the (Jritvicken station. The
body was brought to Montevideo on
board a Norwegian steamer an?l wiii
he taken by another steamer to Eu
rope. Capt. L. L. Hussey, of the Quest
will accompany the body home.
^ ^ " I ' ^
0, TUSSDA7, JANTJAXY 31,
STATE FAIR TO BE
HELD WEEK LATER
OCTOBER 23 TO 27 IS SET AS
DATE8 FOR BIG EXHIBIT
THI8 YEAR.
COMMITTEE TO MEET LATER
Spring Gathering of Fair 8oeiety to
Meet in Columbia February
Fifteenth.
Columbia.?Dates for the next South
Carolina Btate fair have been definitely
set for October 23-27, according to
D. F. Efird, secretary. Mr. Efird said
that an effort was made to change the
time this year so that the fair would
be held one week later than usual,
but as it is on a circuit and Atlanta
and Birmingham were not willing to
change their dates, it was necessary
to keep the same week.
The annual spring meeting of the
fair society will be held February 15
in Columbia, probably at night as is
the custom. At this time the new president,
Robert M. Cooper, of Wlsacky,
who was elected last fall, will take
charge, and the vice-president, John D.
W. Watts, and the new executive committee
will go into office. The secretary
and treasurer will be elected at
a meeting of the executive committee
immediately after the society's session.
Members of the executive committee
elected last fall are: W. M.
Frampton; Charleston. First district:
R. B. Cunningham, Ulmers. Second district:
J. G. Gambrell, Ware Shoals,
Third district: (V P Mills Ornonvlllo
Fourth district, L. I. Gulon, LugofT,
Fifth district; J. L. Mcintosh. Dovesville,
Sixth district; D. O. Ellison. Columbia.
Seventh district. Mr. Frampton,
Mr. Guion and Mr. Mcintosh were
on the committee last year.
The executive committee of the fair
will meet in Columbia for probably
thre^ days at which time departmental
heads will be heard and conferences
will be held with the representatives
of various civic organizations of Columbia.
The society last fall adopted the
report of the special committee that
was appointed in 1920 to look Into
the advisability of forming a stock
company to take over the fair, this
committee recommending at October
meeting thtft a campaign to raise
$100,000 be begun to put the fair association
on its feet. This committee
also recommended that Section 2 j>f
the constitution be changed so as to
rotate the members of the executive
committee. Under this plan two
members would serve for one year,
two for two years, two for three years
and one for four years. It was also
recommended that the commissioner
of -agriculture be ndded as an executive
committee member. The report
made by J. L. Mcintosh of Dovesville.
was adopted, but other than
that no action was taken, leaving the
recommendations to be decided upon
later. Members of this committee
were: R. M. Cooper. Jr., of Wisacky,
W. M. Frampton of Charleston, J. L.
Mcintosh of Dovesville and W. A.
Clark of Columbia.
Will Reopen Bank. ' *
Anderson.?The plan of James
Craig, state bank examiner, to. reopen
the People's bank was that all depositors
sign and return a card stating
that they will allow their deposits to
a ? ? u m 4i?
iciuhiu iu ui6 uiiak lur uu-3 yvnv, ine
bank to pay 5 per cent. Cards to this
effect were sent to all depofeitos, and
they are being returned. The first aay
there were amounts to $477,000, and
today Mr. Craig says the card? have
been returned in excess of $700,000.
The bank has a deposit of $1,000,000
but it is believed that almost to a man
the cards will be returned with the
full promise, and Mr. Craig cays that
he hopes to reopen the bank in .less
than 15 days after It closed.
Physicians Meet at Edgefield.
Edgefield.?The convention of the
Second district of the South Carolina
Medical association was held in the
court house here. There were about
#0 physicians in attendance from Saluda.
Richland. Tjcxlneton, Aiken and
Edgefield counties.
* Negries Rob Merchant.
York.?J. B. McCar'er, merchant
and farmer, was held up and robbed of
$35 by two unidentified negroes at Ms
store about six miles west of York.
Mr. McCarter went to his store at the
request of the neR-oes. who claimed
they wanted to make some purchases.
While he had his h?ad turned one of
them covered him with n rev ilver
and ne ether went httitr'i his pockets
and secured the ;nonov Mr MrCarte/
did not know either of the robbers
and there are no lues as to theli
identify'.
Accidental Shot Fataf In Oconee.
Sen?ca?Otis Grant, lit years old,
was accidentally shot a few days ago
while on a hunting trip and died the
ollowing day from the abounds.
Young Grant and Grady Ellis, a
brother-in-law, were |n nn automobile
p'nnninR?for a hunt. While attempting
to get out of the car. Grant let
the gun come in contact with the
running board of the machine, causing
the 'gun to he discharged. The fond
massed through tho muscle of Che right
iTm and entered Ornnt'a side, causing
a fearful wound.
<f :
, 1922.
LAWMAKERS ARE
MAKING PROGRESS
4
AFTER A HARD FIGHT 8ENATE
FINALLY PASSES INHERITANCE
TAX LAW.
TAX PROBLEMS ARE DEBATED
Revenue Measure Is Being Worked
Out Slowly, But is Nearly Completed?Many
Amendments.
Columbia.
The senate passed the inheritance
tax bill and sent it back to the house
of representatives as amended in the
senate, this being the first of the new
revenue bills to get by the upper
house in two years. The vote came
after what may be termed a "wild
night/' as opponents of the measure
started off the night with an evident
determination to prevent a vote.
A (filibuster >as started and It looked
as if it would be impossible to overcome
the opposition but the proponents
of the measure wore down the
opponents and the amendments began
to be adopted and the entire bill was
given final reading. The passage of
the measure ends a hard fight on the
part of a number of senators to stave
ofT the bill.
Three important amendments were
adopted by the senate. One was to
strike out the retroactive .features so
as to make the law take effect when
signed by the governor instead of
reaching back to 1921. With this
amendment strlr-ken out Senator
Christensen said it would be 1923 befor
anything was realized to any extent.
Another amendment to include
gifts to colleges, Bchools and churches
and such institutions for the tux was
tabled and gifts to these institutions
are exempt from the tax.
Still another amendment was to
make a gift or deed within two years
of a person's death taxable. This was
originally ten years as proposed, but
was changed to two years. Another
amendment offered by Senator Hart
cut the fees of probate judges in half.'
Several other minor amendments were
adopted.
Senator Moore's bill to amend the
highway law so as to allow Abbeville
county to use the automobile license
fund and the two mill tax money for
ordinary county purposes was referred
to the judiciary committee upon
motion of the senutor from Abbeville.
Senator Miller's bill to require the
venders of cotton, corn, tobacco or
other commodity to disclose the name
of the true owner thereof was passed
and sent to the house as amended. The
committee on agriculture amended the
measure so as to make it read "upon
request"' and Senator Harrelson offered
an amendment to exempt tobacco
warehouses from the terms of the
measure. Both amendments were accepted.
Representative Bryson's btlb to
amend the present law so as to require
the state flag to be displayed on
the "inside" Instead of the "outside"'
of schools and other state buildings
was advanced to a third reading without
objection.
Senator Miller's telephone measure,
a companion bill to the railroad commission
bill, was also advanced to a
third reading with notices of generaT
amendments. This measure would put
the telephone companies on the same
basis as they existed prior to the
order of the railroad commission in
1921, refusing to allow the companies
to furnish interurba ntelephone service
without additional cost to a regular
subscriber.
J. K. Humblln's bill to require telegraph
and telephone companies to
transmit intrastate messages over the
shortest routes was sent to third reading
without opposition as was Eugene
S. Blease's measure to prohibit
the exhibition of certain traveling
shows and carnivals in the state. The
bill would exclude all tented shows
except circuses and carnivals showing
at state and county fairs.
The most extensive debate came on
the bill to require the agreement of
only three-fourth of grand and petit
jurors in the trial of civil cases in the
state, the bill being defeated by a
vote of 48 to 33.
Of special interest among the large
number of new bills introduced were:
A bill, fathered by Representatives
Hughes, Edgar A. Brown, Ellerbe and
Bukcingham, to abolish the present
highway commission and create a
highway department to be headed by
a highway commissioner and a measure,
of which Jesse S. Leopard is the
author to ..create a state board
of chiropractic examiners. The highway
commission bill was referred
to the ways and means committee,
while the Leopard bill was sent to the
committee on medical affairs.
The bill Introduced last session by
E. O. Harris of Spartanburg to define
and prohibit the operation of pool
halls was committed to the. ways and
menns committee where amendments
will be proposed to make it a revenue
producing measure, carrying a tax on
pool rooms.
Representative Claud N. Sapp's hill
to conform the prohibition laws of the
state with reference to dispensing alcoholic
beverages for medical purposes
to the laws of the United
States was tabled upon the motion of
the author.
[MES
\
The Richland delegation bill, pra
anting public service corporation*
fr*m denying service to "a patron In
case of dispute over charges demanded
and providing tor the Investigation
of the true charges, was also among
the number of measures agreed to on
third reading without debate and sent
to the senate. This bill, which Was
thoroughly discussed in the house on
second reading provides that in the
event any dispute should arise be
tween an individual consumer and any
public service corporation or company
over the amount of a bill for gas, water1
or electricity, the consbmer may
appeal to the courts. The measure
would also require the public service
company to continue its service uninterrupted
to the consumer during the
investigation of the charge.
The abolition of the present state
highway commission and the substitution
therefor of a highway commissioner
with limited authority is the
purpose of a bill Introduced in the
house by Representatives E. T. Hughes
of Marion. E. R. Ellerbe of Latta and
E. R. Buckingham of Ellenton, The
bill was referred to the ways and
IIIVOUO VUUIIU1IIOO UU IIIO UIUIIUU U1 KIT.
Hughes, chairman of the committee.
The measure la expected to encounter
determined opposition once it
reaches the floor of the house since
plans are now being made to introduce
a bill to eninrge the present
highway commission.
Considerable argument was also occasioned
over the bill to require all
persons, firms or corporations engaged
in the business of canning, packing,
pickling, preserving, boxing or in any
way preparing any food for sale and
shipment to stamp, brand and label
the package "South Carolina Product."
The bill, of which Representative n.
P. Carey of Charleston is the author,
would order the food inspector to regulnrly
inspect these foodstuffs to guar
oiiico me cuiui tuiiiuiii ui nit; uieas*
ure.
The bill to require all railroads entering
the city of Columbia to erect
an "adequate" passenger station hero
was recommitted to the committee on
railroads. The bill Is fostered by the
Richland delegation.
The Barnwell delegation measure to
take the supervision of the expenditure
of the moneys collected under
the two mill road levy from the hands
of the state highway commission and
to devolve this power upon tie various
county authorities, was f.xed as
a special order.
The measure Is one of the numerous
bills aimed at the state highway
system carried over from last year nnd
it is expected to come up for debate
after the discussion of a general bill
to abollBh the present state highway
commission, which will soon be introduced
by Representatives Edgar A.
Brown of Barnwell and E. T. Hughes
of Marion.
The killing of the hill introduced
at the last sesion by Representative
O'Rourke of Charleston, to repeal the
act allowing appeals from the decisions
of city democratic executive
committees; the passage to third reading
of the Richland delegation bill to
prevent the use of milk bottles owned
and marked by one company or person
by any oth?r person or company;
the rejection of the measure to allow
members of the national guard compensation
of $3 per month after six
months' service and tho introduction
of a bill to permit persons unavoidably
out of the state on the day of
any primary election to cast their ballot
by mail were the features?If anv
features there were?of the otherwise
unproductive session.
Frequent requests from divers members
fon- the passing over of various
bills, so delaying the action of the
house, excited some criticism during
the session. Speaker Atkinson of
Spartanburg pointing out to the members
that the house's only hope of
avoiding an extension of the session
lay in the taking up and disposing of
bills as they were reached on the calendar.
Representatives R. B. Belser
of Sumter and J. W. Hanahan of
Winnsboro also voiced thair opposition
of the evident program of procrastination.
"The members of the house." Speaker
Atkinson said, "should reflect that
it costs the state something to meet
here every day and should not delay
the session by continually passing
over measures that might as well be
disposed of when they are reached on
the calendar." "The house," Mr. Belser
thought, "is not making progress."
while Mr. Hanahan In agreeing with
Mr. Reiser also took various members
of the house to task for their too
frequent absence from the sessions
After a long delay Mr. Wightman
moved to strike out the enacting
words and hy a vote of 19 to the
bill was killed only to be revived
again on motion of Senator Pearca
that the senate reconsider its vote
and refer the measure to the Julicinry
committee. This motion passed and
the bill was sent back to the judiciary
committee. Many of the senators said
the bill was along the right line, but
too full, of detail and cumbersome.
They favored amendments, which are
to be proposed.
Three New Charters.
The Farmers Fertilizer company of
Sumter was chartered by the secretary
of state with a capital stork of
$10,000. Officers are II J. Hirby, president
and treasurer; II. W. Harby vicepresident.
The Ross & Daniel Insurance agency,
incorporated, of Gaffney was chartered
with a capital stock of 35.000.
Officers are D. C. Ross, president; T.
D. Daniel, vice-president.
A charter was issued to the Sumter
Rrokerage company of Sumtor
with a capital stock of $500
$1.00 Per Tear. f'
STREAM OF BODIES
MEN FROM RUINS
LITTLE CHURCH THROWN OPEN
AND USED AS FIRST AID
8TATION.
i
Graphic Description of the Pitiful
8cene of Mangled Dead and Living
Is Given by Eye Witness.
Washington.?Recovered from the
wreck and horror of the ruined Knickerbocker
theater, a pitiful stream of
mangled bodies, dead and living, flowed-all
Saturday night and Sunday into
the lower rooms of a Christian Science
church a few hundred yards
away. At the first word of the disaster,
the place was thrown open to
these stricken folk and the hundreds
of others who came to search for their
dead or injured.
And as the full weight of the losses
'became known, the dead monopolized
the space, crowding the injured in the
all-too-small rooms.
It was merely a first aid station for
those taken crushed, but alive from
the wreckage. They were carried on
stretchers over the slippery pavement
with lines of soldiers keeping the
crowd far back.
Doctors and nurses and women
eager to bring their sympathy and
cheer to the suffering or bereaved
waited in the church. They tenderly
washed away tho gray dust of the
^rumpled concrete, the grime and
raked blood, blackened sometimes by
hours of waiting pinned under the debris
until the rescuers cut the victim
loose. Bandages were applied and
the injured were whisked away to
hospital or home.
But the dead lay long in double
rows in which they stretched across
the floor, lay until a tearful relative or
friend, a husband or wife or father or
mother, recognized the crushed form
at last. Up and down these aisles of
the dead walked those whose fears
had drawn them here because of some
one missing in the family circle.
Women already weeping In cer
imuiy 01 wnai uiey must nnn sooner
or later beneath the kindly blankets
that shielded the sleepers made the
Journey of sorrow many times before
they found what they sought.
Men with working faces leahed to
draw back the coverings and then
gasped with short lived relief as they
moved on to the next huddled form.
Some of these seekers came with
the dirt and grime of the wreckage
upon them still. Some had passed
through the crash of roof and balcony
only to leave a dear one dead In the
tangled mass.
They had worked hours with the
rescuers to find that one. only to return
now and then for a hurried trip
to the chamber of death.
Eleven Husbands and Wives.
Eleven times death struck down
husband and wife, side by side. They
died as they had sat to see the swift
picturing of the film.
But many other times it was only
the wife or husband who perished
and the survivor muBt make the terrible
pilgrimage of recognition in the
grim chamber of the dead. w
The times when children were taken
\5tere sparingly few.
Usually the big theater has been in
its earlier hours of a Saturday night
the gathering place of a host of youngsters
who come with their parents for
the week's amusement. But the
storm that wrecked the Knickerbocker
kept most of the little folk at home
that night.
Up the long path, trodden through
heavy snow, that ran from th? impromptu
morgue to the Knickerbocker,
struggled the stretcher squads, army
and navy men chiefly. Commissioned
officers of the military services held
the doors of the church entrance, and
with exquisite gentleness and sympathey
sifted out those who sought their
dead from others drawn by morbid
curiosity.
Above all there was quietness at the
church in spite of the urgent and
never ceasing Activity. Of the losers
in the Knickerbocker disaster, neither
the physically hurt nor the bereaved
gave voice to their suffering, and it
was the testimony of the first who
reached the theater that the outcry
there in the ruins was little and soon
stilled.
Died In Ruins.
Some of the victims were alivo
when the rescue work begun, but died
before the saving hands could reach
them.- One girl child pinned under
a beam died with both hands in
those of an arm'y officer who was
those of an army officer who was directin
her releagse. One man, pinned
beside his dead wife whs freed
from pain with hypodermic needles
and survived the long night to a safe
removal.
A moment aft^r the crash. Father
John Floerch, priest of a nearby
church, entered the ruined theater.
Knee deep in the snow that covered
all for the benefit of the dying
around him. he gave general absolution
and the final rites of the
church to the dying. Then he helped
in the rescue work. ,
Notable was the speed of the Red
Cross organization, whose local chaptors
forced their way to the theater
site across the city whose transportation
lines had been paralyzed by the
snow, and set up canteens for the
workers, hospital facilities for the i
wounded, nmbulances for the dead J
and and the Injured who had to reach
I