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The Water?? Messenger Published Every Wednesday by CHAS. W. BIRCHMORE, Prop. ? ? i ii ? ? i ? ? Entered m Second Clue Matter el .. the Postoffice at Camden, S. C. Sabecriptlon $1.50 A Tear in Advance ' Wednesday, Marcb22, 1988 ? : r ? ^ : ? Horticultural note: A serious short age of political plums is threatened. This wrestle with present condi tions is a sort of cash-as-cash-can affair. Perhaps the "hew deal" may be de layed until somebody can rake up the jnrice of a deck of cards. It was inevitable that someone would suggest that future treasury issues will be Woodin money. "Sweet are the uses of adversity," perhaps, but one easily gets fed up on this particular brand of sweet ness. The President says folks must quit speculating with other people's mon ey ? and it looks as if they have. Anyway, the bank holidays didn't make much difference to those of uf who are accustomed to doing witkoul money. Jig-saw puzzles are funrnished jai1 inmates at Herkimer, N. Y. Which may cause transfers to the lunatir asylum. Creation of new countries and re naming old cities since the war have repealed about all the geograjfhy wr learned in school. One thing newsmen like about the | Roosevelt cabinet is that they havr short names which fit nicely into the headlines. Another eminent gentleman who If evidently looking for trouble ie Mr Morgenthau, who has accepted tbf Farm Board chairmanship. The heighth of something or other City of Milwaukee being enjoined from operating a new ten million dollar sewerage disposal plant be cause certain patents were infringed in its construction. WE HUMBLY APOLOGIZE (Rock Hill Herald) To think that" we would throw off on Camden's religion! Instead of not having a religious service with which to start the bi-centennial. Camden is having a monster meeting in the school auditorium as no church is large enough to take care of the big crowds. And on the program are listed four preachers and a preacher's sdn. Again, we apologize. And here's success to the Camden event from March 19-25. NEWS PROM THE STARS Investigations by Dr. Harlo Shap ley, noted Harvard astronomer, fol lowing the flare-up of a new star ir May, 1925,. led him to believe that the phenomenon waB caused by the collision of Jtwo stars, an extremely rare occurrence. But the collision which caused thr appearance of the new star to eartV dweller in 1925 really happened Ir the year 1890, according to Dr. Shap ley, whose measurement of the dis tance of the star from the earth in dicates that It is so far away tha* it would take a ray of light 535 year? to come to us, although its speed ir about 186,000 miles a second. Such things give food for reflec tion, although the figures involve*' can not be even faintly comprehend' by the human mind., But It is inter esting to contemplate that if it wer< possible for a being on that particu lar star to look through a telescope powerful enough to see the detail' of what Is going on on earth, hr would not see what Is taking plac today, but would witness the hap penings of 6$6 years ago? or rfbout 100 years before the discovery of A merfc^'V. By a Similar calculation, if a radir progratn Were broadcast tonight frorr the sta?} called Neva Plctorls, with sufficient power to reach the earth ourradio sets might pick It up In ttu year 8468, but not sooner. But Nova Plctorls Is a relatively near neighbor, as celestial dlstancer go. Our present telescope sbrlng intc VkiW objects from which It would take a fay of light millions of ylars tc reach the earth. And what Is beyond? It almosirinakee one's head swim *0 think about it Perhaps that is why the average person seldom thinks a bout such things. r ' M l" v*/ ? ! ro ' ' V w V iT' ' ' ' ' i' ' ''f'f'rt. ' < ? ' -i ' NO LACK OF WORDS How often do we find difficulty in thinking of just the right word tc express a certain idea? Even the greatest writers often stop to weigh their words in order to hit upon the most appropriajtfe one, while few speakers can observe all the niceties of expression without writing oul their speeches and memorizing their beforehand. - These dificulties are not due tp any lack of words in the English lan guage, however. Possibly it may be a result of having too many words to choose from. The latest unabridg ed dictionary contains more thar 400,000 words, and the list is increas ing constantly. - Noah Webster's first dictionary published in 1828, contained only a bout 70,000 words, the edition of 186^ included 114,000; that of 1890 about 175,000, as compared with the 400, 000 recognized today. A leading lexicographer estimater that the educated person of fair abil ity understands on an , average abou* 50,000 words, but uses only a smal' part of that number in either speak ing or writing. The mass of the peo pie know aftd use less than 8,000 ' words out of the 400,000 available. An interesting experiment is to in spect a few pages of an unabridged words out of a hundred you are real dictionary and count how manj ly familiar with, both as to spellinp and meaning. Try it. THE DESTRUCTIVE RAT Public health authorities estimate that the actual loss caused by ratr in the United States amounts tc $400,000,000. a year of which about one-half is in foodstuffs and the res* in the destruction of other property The number of rats engaged in these depredations is estimated at 120,000,000, or about equal vto the country's human population. Besides the destructiveness of the rat is its constant menace to health through the transmission of disease especially bubonic plague, which if spread entirely by fleas which infest infected rats. While the disease hap been held in check in countries em ploying preventive measures, bubonic plague killed more than 11,000,00C people in India during a twenty-year period. The public health service declaret that if the extraordinary prolific | breeding of rats were not partially | controlled by natural enemies, dis ease and the cannibalistic tendencle* of the animal itself, they would soon overrun tho world and exterminate man by depriving him of his source? of food. Like many other ever-present men aces to property and health, tHe rat appears to be taken for granted, ano seldom is any concerted effort made with a view to its extermination. OUR HIGHEST COURT It is interesting to note that while 31 citizens of the United States have been elevated to the presidency, only 11 have been appointed chief justice since the foundation of our govern ment ? Jay, Rutledge, Ellsworth, Mar shall, Taney, Chase, Waite, Fuller White, Taft and Hughes. One of these, John Rutledge, was never confirmed by the Senate, ar evidences of approaching insanity de veloped about the time of his appoint ment by President Washington ir 1795, and Ellsworth was named in hit stead a few months later. John Marshall served longer thar any other chief justice, 34 years, anc" died in office at the ago of 80. T^aney served 28 years until his death d' the age of 87. Jay, the first chief justice, was the youngest at the tim' of his appointment, being only 44 Marshall was appointed at the agr of 46. ' Among the former asooiate justice.' of the Supreme Court, Joseph Story appointed at the age of 32, was th' youngest, while William Johnson war 88 at the tima of his appointment Associate Justice Hrandeis, still ir active service at the age of 78, is thf oldest- member of the present court The high ability and undisputed integrity of our highest court havr always been a source of pride to every American citizen. The court ar at present constituted firmly main tains the best traditions of the dis tinguished jurists who served in thf earlier days of the Republic. it that is saving civilization it these dark hours? All honor, therefore, to the teacher of 19881 Your courage and your de votion stand out as the safeguard of our democracy and as the hope of th? nation t When Pierre Legniere boasted tc her that he had wives inr 80 townp Mme. Legniere of Paris secured evi denee that won her a divorce. Sidelights * Like many others, farmers of Goodhue county, Minnesota, are skep tical of so-called relief legislation and have petitioned President Roose velt and Congress to abolish the Farrr Board and cancel all activities beinf considered for farm relief. The pe tition closes with the admonition "Leave us alone." Howard Scott, who thrust technoc racy upon an unsuspecting world, i broke, and is quoted as saying that all he possesses is some wearing ap parel and bed clothing. Like man others who have been trying to tel us what is wrong with us, Mr. Sco* seems to have been unable to pu his theories to practical uses. Former Congressman Lewis W Douglass of Arizona, the new direc tor of the budget, is described as " lean, Wiry youngster with a quic' grin and a ready tongue." He wa cited by General Pershing for brav ery in France, has served in his stat legislature and was six years ir Congress. As pitcher for the Hous Democrats in their baseball tilt wit1 the Republicans last summer he wo1 his game. He is 38 years old. Hi new job is one of the most difficul' under the government. An interesting situation is seen i^ the fact that while Harold L. Icke is secretary of the interior in a Dem ocratic cabinet, his wife is a Repub lican member of the Illinois legisla ture, in which she is serving hei third term. Only 12 impeachments have beer ordered by the national House o<" Representatives in its history, the 12th being that of Federal Judge Harold Louderback of California, whe is charged with maladministration of the bankruptcy laws. In the past three federal judges have beer removed from office and one resigned under impeachment, while three havr been acquitted and in the case of onr the proceedings were abandoned be fore trial. Last year only eight lynchings oc curred in the United States, thr smallest number known since record; have been kept. The next lowest waf 10 in 1929. Of the eight lynched ir 1932, six were negroes and two were white men. In the year 1892 thr frightful total of 265 persons were put to death by mobs, 100 of their being white. So, in one respect, a* least, we appear to be becoming more civilized. Mrs. Ruth Burcham-Curtener of Monette, Ark., is suing two husbandr for divorce at the same time. One If Lon Curtener, from N whom she war recently separated, but while she ir about it she thought it best to Bur her first husband, Lee Burcham, also She thinks Burcham is divorced from her already, but wants to make sure MY TRIBUTE - TO THE TEACHER J. W. Crabtree, Secretary National Fducation Association There will be no moratorium on ed ucation. A moratorium on education would mean a moratorium on civilli zation. This is one of the reasons why teachers will continue the schools, pay or no pay. The nation, as it become aware of the services and sacrifices of teachers and of the great signifi cance of their courage and farsight edness, will show the appreciation that it has shown to its soldiers who sacrificed their lives for their coun try. In the crisis of the seventies, I was amazed, as a boy, at the sacrifices made by the pioneer teacher of ths^ day. Since then, T have observed t*at whether in time of famine or in time of plenty, the teacher has lived not for self, but for the children and the community. I have noticed that the selfish man or woman seldom re mains long in the profession. When the terrible days of the World War came upon us, who led in food conservation? Who led In the sale of liberty bonds ? Who led In col lecting food, clothing and funds for tho Rod Cross ? Who kept the school? going, whether funds were available or not ? And what of the teachers of today? Their responsibility is great er. Environment is more destructive in its effect on children. The teacher load is almost doubled. In spite of all this, the teacher is again leading in welfare activities. There may br a delay in pay ? a month or six months ? or the pay may be cut off for the year, yet the work of the school goes onl Who is it that removes gloom from the lives of children who come from homes filled with sorow and suffer ing because of the depression t Who is It tfiat inspires children with cour age and ambition ? Who teaches them to look forward to better days? Who NOW of Your and send us your order for the various articles you need to bring your requirements up to the standard WE SPECIALIZE IN OF EVERY DESCRIPTION! Our business has been built on printing of a quality that pleases and service of promptness. Prices in Accordance With Economic .Conditions t Ibr Mafem fttrsspugpv Camden, S. C. i '