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THE VOLUME XVI. CAMDK.N, S. < Mil DAY -ini.y 190.1 AO. 27 IIMM GIVES VI1WS ON THE DISPUV The Senator Answers Some Questions Propounded to Him MUSI BE A GENERAL OVERHAULING j ? Father of Law 8hows His Position and Tell# of Sins Which Make People Oppose and Fight It. In an open letter to Francis W. lUg gins, of Newberry, Senator Tillman comes out squarely against the move ment against the dispensary ami de clares that the several counties ?lu?ui<i nut accept prohibition until the Legis lature has been given a chance to re form the institution. It Is as follows: Trenton, S. C., July 1, 1905. Mr. Francis W. Higgins, Newberry, 8. C. Dear Sir; 1 have your letter of June 27, propounding certain inquiries In re gard to the anti-dispensary movement m Newberry, a -?| to the dispensary and liquor question in general, and to my own attitude towards it. The Question you ask relate to the most important subject now agitating the minds of the people of the State, and in order to cover the ground at all satisfactorily "it will require me to an swer at some length and to discuss the subject in its various phases, and this becomes the more necessary as you no tify me in advance that you desire my answer for publication. 1 shall preface what I write by lay ing down certain general principles which will be disputed only by those who are fanatical and unwilling to consider any subject from Kny other standpoint than that of bigotry and prejudice. Most men will agree to the following: 1. All men love stimulants and are usually slaves to some one kind, as witness the strong appetite which pre vails for coffee, tea, tobacco, brer, wine, brandy, whiskey, morphine, qui nine. cocaine, etc. With, the exception of some of the drugs mentioned there are no injurious effect* immediately perceptible and none Of them intoxi cate except those containing alcohol. Alcoholic beverages in moderation are no more harmful than tea or coffee, probably less so. 2. tfie abuse of liquor by men drink ing to excess has caused as much or more crime and misery than any other one thing. 3. The proper policing and control of the liquor traffic ho ns (o minimize its abuses is one of the most perplex ing and troublesome questions with <s* which any government lias to deal. Men have never agreed as to any one method being best and never will, and there is a constant agitation of the subject in some form going on all the while in almost every State in the Union. 4. Kxperience shows that some men will have liquor as a beverage and that no law has ever, yet been devised which will prevent them obtaining it. Wise men are therefore content to re duce the evils of liquor soiling and liquor drinking to tho minimum, and the question at issue in South Caro lina now as it has been these fifteen or twenty years past, is how to do this. There is no need for any heat or pas sion in discussing the subject and we should divest ourselves of all preju dices in its consideration. Three poli cies have at one time or another been adopted in dealing with the question. License, high or low, prohibition and the dispensary system. Since 1 893 the last named hns been the method fol lowed In this State, but all along there have been staunch advocates of the other iwp systems' embracing within their ranks many of the most intelli-" gent and best people we have. It. is. therefore, eminently proper that we recognize these earnest, -honest advo cates as having just what we claim for ourselves, no other purpose than that of the public welfare. And those of us who have been the supporters of the jlispensary system must meet them in argument and show from the experi ence through which the people of the State have passed ns well as with force and logic that the advocates of both prohibition and high license are in er ror. You ask, "Have you lost faith. in the dispensary system and do you consider it so inherently defective that It cannot be purged of corruption and made to serve its original purpose?" I answer most emphatically, no. I believe the principle of the State control and the sale of liquor through bonded officers to be the best that was ever devise I ; that it comes nearer to the ideal idea of teaching me to use liquor instead of abusing it. and throwing around it safeguards which will be the best for the cause of temperance. There is no inherent defect in the scheme, and if there he corruption and mal-adminis tration in the enforcing of the dispen sary law it is directly traceable to the Legislature and to those who have been placed in charge of itn execution. In the absence of any positive proof of corrup tion we must await with deep interest tho investigation which is now under way and urge those in charge of that Important work to earnest, thorough and speedy action. The yeople believe there Is corruption aqd a great dofrl .of It. Very many things go to jrti'ow that this belief Jiac ?oo<WotfndStion In fact. We oughLto know ns soon as possible just whJR and how f^r men have been gVtlltyof unlawful behavior. The suspicion which now hangs over the dispensary like a pall -will cause many to hastily vote for Itse destruc tion, who are still or have been strong "beTlevers In the dispensary system as a means of controlling the sale of whis key. So f would say to the gentlemen who are In charge of tho Invest Igatlon that they can do the people of the State a great serrlce by le ttlng In the light and probing to tho bottom. We want lo know what Is wrong and we can Ihen determine how to provldo a rem cdj, while the criminal courts will, or oafht to prosrlde punishment for the dSpeasfcry law has been under fit* is the courts and on the hustings ; <#Nrstooa the system was Inaugurated. There lias been only one general < tlou in the r>4 i? i ??. tlu* liihl in which it j was 1 1 < > t an issue. II won victory aftei \ ictoi y for it was the main Issue in the Hocl Ion of lM'l. in the election for the ' constitutional convention in I S 8 , and ! in the Slate elections of l^tfi, islis, 15?V; j and Ui02. Ihosc candidates for public | i office who can led its banners were al- : ways Victorious. i What then l.as caused tK? proven: . upheaval? Why are petitions circul.it- j ing in a do/en or more counties ask- j ing for an election to vote it out under i the Hrhe br.v.'and that too in conn ties which, in tin* past its known ad j voeatos have always had larcc major , itles? Have the people any greater ! faith in prohibition than they have had all these past yoars? I do not think so. Are the advocates of high lieenso 1 any stronger than they have been? 1 , do ttot hink so. I am bouhd to believe ! that tho existing dissatisfaction and j desire to destroy the dispensary conies j from the well-night universal belief ; of tho people that there is corruption j In its administration and because the ! last Legislature failed to take any ac- j tion other than that to appoint ft com- ! mittee to investigate. There were j charges, with how much truth they were made I dont know, that the dirt- , pensary influence in the Legislature ! wan paramount'. Anyhow, the friends Of tho dispensary and its enemies j joined lorces at the last session to pre- j vent any action, and nothing was done, j and unless public opinion shall drive the Legislature at its next session to j some reform action which will purify j the atmosphere there is no possible dojibl that all elements of opposition to tho dispensary, aided by many <)f Its old friends, will combine in the J next election and kill the system. 1 j do not hesitate to tell you frankly that i If it has become, and Is to remain a | corrupt political machine as is charged, 1 cannot defend it juid will not do so. but will join the rafiks of those who j seek to kill it. I believe it can lie- re organised and purged of corruption, i with safegurads thrown around it to j prevent the recurrence of the present unfortunate and disgraceful condition of affairs. 1 cannot now go at length . into the details and give reasons, but i 1 will state briefly the causes as 1 see them which have produced the present ! situa' ion. The purchase of liquor by any hoard j Gk-officlO or otherwise, should be stop ped. The original scheme which was hastily gotten up made the Governor, I attorney general and th<? comptroller ? general cx-ofTieio the Stale Hoard of j Control. This was changed very : after I left the Governor's office and j the Legislature assumed control by the : election of the board; a lid in no in- j stance since has my advice and opinion j had any weight in shaping its manage- i mont though 1 have tried to prevent i some things being done ami have urged j Others without success. It stands to reason that men who have to depend . upon the suffrage of the whole people to get high office are or ought to be of a higher typo with better characters and in every way better fitted for reaipon sible positions involving the handling of public money than those who with petty salaries are elected by the Legis lature. Politics always enters into a legislative election. People who vote for Governor vote for him because of other qualifications than that be would make a good dispensary direc tor. and for this very reason the Gov ernor Is the best possible man to place in such a responsible, position. Hut the law is fatally defective in regard to the purchase of whiskey in not specifically defining in the most minute and binding manner just what kinds of liquor shall be bought and how it shall be bought without leaving it to the discretion of any board. Every detail should be worked out and then the law would execute itself as far as that feature is concerned. The hoard would then need only to supervise tho conduct of State and county dispen saries, the same as the asylum and penitentiary are run. Now as regards the proposed elec tion to vote out" the dispensary. If tho dispensary is to he voted out it should and must he voted out of tho State, not out by individual counties. Of course | recognize tlu> deep seated love or our people for local self government and I would not compel any county to retain the dispensary or have one established therein if a majority of the citizens want prohibition with its acknowlcged failure to prohibit. But judging simply by the facta, in the numerous elections that h a nee n held on the subject 1 believe that a large majority of the people of the State nh? as strong be lievers in tho dispensary system as 1 am; pud that they are only casting about now for a method of relieving themselves of the corrupt machine which is saiij to bo in charge in Colum bia. Many States in the Union have had corruption in their State govern ments and their Stale treasurers have defaulted ? have sometimes stolen hun dreds of thousands of dollars ? hut no man has ever thought of abolishing the machinery of taxation because of this. We have got to deal with liquor in some form and provide for its le gitimate sale or we know It will find illegitimate sal*\ Shall- we have high license? I say No. That gives the monopoly to the wealthy man as against the poor man and we know from experience with bar-rooms that it will be Impossible to give any man the right to fill his store with liquor to sell apd then have him comply with the constitutional require ments and not sell it at night and not have it drunk 'on the premises. If the dispensary Is* abolished I will stump tho State for prohibition rather than see high license. I have said this and it is the reason probably that the ptory Is going the rounds about my stumping far-.m-ohibitlon. Rut before we have prohtllHion or high license cither 1 ex pect if day health continues good, to give a vety earnest discussion to the subject of toow to reform the dispen sary Instead of destroying it and to showing the true inwardness of the present movement. .. I?t us suppose that the present cam paign against the dispensary by county elections. Rhall progress victoriously as It has thus far and that the majority of the counties In tho State vote It out., Will the question be settled? By no means. The alllanee of prohibitionists, high license people and blind tigers which Is now waging successful war ' will have to cohtlnue the war bet-wren themselves after the dispensary is de funct* Sensible men will not lend their aid to snycrusade which only gives us "eonfufiton worse confounded" and pro duces a chaotic condition with no com pen sail on. * 1'nder the decision of the I'ni<> 1 States Supreme Court. prohibition and no other Slate regulation ^.an prevent liquor from being shipped in l ?> e\ i press for personal iim1 of Individual and the jug country traffic fiom Wil tnlnp.ton to Charlotte, Atlanta. Angus to and Savannah will he Immense en dor piohihition, an.i th^money which now goes into the dispensary f ? >?? th< use of the t?>wti* and counties of the State and the school fund will he sent out of Ih*1 State Id enrich tho dealers and distillers of other States. Stills will he run in every swamp and wag ons will peddle liquor all over the country. The only light worth enlis' ing in South Carolina is between pro hibjt ion as rigidly enforced as ii can he and the dispensary as honestly en forced as it ought >o he. High license is not to he thought of for a moment. Vet the prohibitionists say they | r the dispensary !'> licence and t ?? < ' license people hi y they prefer prohi bition to tho dispensary while the blind tigers want prohibition beca;.s?' they know it means free liquor. The elections now being held in the counties tn vote the dispensary mil are very different to ihe Democrat i< primary election;* which will sett!" the question finally. In the (1..-I plai e the vote in these counties wl ere < t i. >,i r have 1j<j0u iiel.i against the disprns ir> has been very small as compared v. HI the regular vote. It requires a rertlfi cat? of registration to vote at such an election while in the primary the club rolls of tho Democratic dubs govern. Then men are indifferent as they were in tho prohibition election in IX!>2 when only sixty thousand out of ninety-two thousand voted in that l>ox. There are probably thirty thousand or more good Democrats in the State who from one cause or another are not able to vote in the elections held under the fir ice net. That law was shrewdly drawn and for the express purpose of killing the dispensary 1 have been told. These thirty thousand will determine the question In the future as they have in the past because they will elect the Legislature and the State officers in the State Democratic primary in spite (?f any combination such as is now giv ing us prohibition by a negative pro cess. Voting out tin? dispensary not because the people want prohibition but giving us prohibition because Home people want free liquor, some j?eople prefer to buy illicit liquor and a return to the old barroom system, whil? many people will do anything to kill the dis pensary with the hopr of profiting by its destruction. 1 would advice every advocate ~ of tho dispensary who is in doubt to vote against putting the dispensary out of his county until we see what the report of the investigating committee is and then whether or not tho Legislature at its next session will purge the corrup tion out of the dispense!. v system, and put tafegtfards around ii for the future. 1 say unhesitatingly it can be done successfully. The dispensary system has shown its strength in past elections localise people thought it was honestly administered. All that is necessary is to have them understand as they will un derstand by 1900 that they must kill the law in order to get rid of the cor ruption and they will make short work of it. It must be made clean or it must go. At present the,veampaign to vote it out county by county only brings about confusion, encourages blind ti gers and causes the counties and State to lose money, and settles nothing, and it is impossible to settle the question in this way. I repeat it can only be settled at the general Democratic pri mary when all the people have hoard all sides and have made up their minds intelligently. I desire to add in conclusion that practically I am a prohibitionist no eause I very rarely drink any liquor of any kind. If I believed that prohibit tion couljl be enforced, understanding as I do most thoroughly the great evil attending the abuse of liquor I would be a prohibitionist but knowing from the most searching investigation and from the official record of the United States government that in Maine and Kansas where prohibition prevails that there has been a most dismal failure to enforce the la r I prefer to the dispen sary as the lesser evil, and as r have often said in the past 1 believe that State control comes nearer to the ideal management of this troublesome ques t ion than any other. I have no personal interest in view and am only actuated by a son?o of public duly In taking the position 1 have occupWI in the past and which I shall continue to occupy. I have always believed in the rule of the majority. Hut I want it to bo tho majority of all the Democrats in the State. , IV K. TILLMAN. Insurance Co.'8 Complain. Odessa, Hy Cable. ? Tho authorities hero ha vo boon informed that tho I'o tomkino has sailed from Kustenji, Iton mania, for Sevastopol. Tho question of insurance on proper ly lost hy lire in the harbor during tho recent disturbances is occasioning sp rious disputos between the Russian and tho foreign insurance companies. Tlio foreign corporation:; declare they will make claims against the ilussi.in gov ernment. The. i hiimnanlu number ai^uit ?100 and the totnl losses are now e.s' i mate.l at $20,001)000. A Child Burned to Death. Klloreo Special ? I^ast Monday night about 11 o'clock ono of the tenant houses on Mr. P. L. Cannon's plaee near Vance was destroyed hy fire. The occupants. Jennie Owens and her two children were asleep when tho fire was discovered. The mother escaped and one of the children perished in the flames while tho other was badly burned. The origin of the fire and full particulars connot bo learned. Coroner fttckenbaker of Orangeburg has been notified and Is on l?fs way to the s< ene of the accident. Pigeon Returns After Tnree Years. After flyinf, about tho country for nearly three jtar.; a blue checked pig- I con which (nJune, 1902, was shipped to (]ortI6nvilil? S. C., to be entered ! in a T?on mile contrst for young birds. I returned to the loft of its owner, John DrthofT, this city, to-day. The small rlrjg of idontlflcaMon re trains Iruct on lis leg. ? Reading cor ?TKpcndcnco Philadelphia nolletln. Peace Envoys Will Hold i licJr Ses sions at Portsmouth, N. H. IS AN IDEAL PLACE FOR MEETING j Adjournment From Washington Will i Be Taken to the Navy Yard at the Mouth of the Piscatawa Rive*". Washington, KjScclal ? Assistant Bee- i rotary Worn? announced that the plenipotentiaries of Russia aiul Japan had agreed upon Port stnout h, Now ! Hampshire, as tho meeting place for j the sessions of the peaeo < onfcren.o to t he held outside of Washington. The sessions will be hold In the govern ment navy yard at Portsmouth, in tho new building just completed there. Tho selection of Portsmouth was mu tually accept able to the peace envoys . of the belligerents, us, besides being j a cool and comfortable place for this i season of the year, it has tho ad van- t tage offering a building on govern- I mcnt. soil, whicti is regarded as an I important consideration. This will in sure seclusion, as no one can gain ad mission to the navy yard without per mission. While the sessions will be hold In j the navy yard, tho plenipotentiaries | and their staffs will live in nearby hotels. Poi tsi?r"'4> *' v,"v>Jal.? new general store hnilding, just com pleted, is Uio largest and most im posing of any in the navy yard, being j four stories in height and of ample dimensions. It is of brick and brown stone and at, ? present unoccupied. Rear Admiral Mead, the commandant, j said that it. could he readily furnished j for the needs of the conferees. The location of the navy yard is One offering all the advantages of a North ern summer resort. It occupies an inland in the Piscataqua river, almost I in tho ocean. Its view commands tho wide mouth of tho river, which is the boundary between Maine and Now Hampshire and forms the Portsmouth harbor. The shores are picturesque, dotted hero and there with cottages and farm houses, while a number "of hotels on either the Maine or the New Hampshire shore are easily ac cessible. May Prosecute Holmes. Oyster Hay, L. I., Special. ? It is re garded here as not unlikely that crim inal prosecution may result from the Investigation of the cotton report leak in the Department of Agricuturo. The subject has not yet been presented to the President in a formal way, al though he is familiar with most of the details of the r" Inquiry. United States District AUow^k^Beach, of Washington, was of thewijinjon, after a cursory examination of a part of tho evidence- adduced in tho investigation, that a criminal proceeding would not lie against Assistant Statistician Holmes, who is alleged to have profited by giving advanced in^rnyi tion of the condition of the cotton crop to certain brokers. Tho Depart ment. of Justice is not inclined to ac cept this view of the case. While no decision to institute criminal proceed ings has been reached, the subject is being considered by Attorney (?eneral Moody, who later will take the matter up with the President. In view of the opinion by tln> United States dis trict attorney that a criminal prose cution against Holmes would not He. Secretary Wilson has intimated that he would suggest to President Ttoose volt a recommendation to\Congress that legislation lie enacted to cover cases nf similar character involving a breach of trust. Convicted Officers' Case Up. Washington. Special.? The papers in the rase of Major Frank Do I j. Car rington. United States army, tried by court martial and civil courts in the Philippines for misappropriating the funds of the Filipino Scouts w hr> went to the St. Louis Exposition, hnd sen tenced to dismissal frtutfi the army by the court and to imprisonment for a term approximating sixty years by the civil courts, were sent to President Roosevelt fur review. The papers con tain the approval of the Secretary of War and judge advocate general of tho | army. News of Mutiny From Japs. Slplnghai, Manchuria, By Cable ? The news of the mutiny in the Black Sea reached the Russian army through tho Japanese, who fired night shell* charg ed with proclamations conveying the Information into the Russian advanced posts, ncattering tho proclamations broadcast. Rain is falling in torrents, and all activity at the front has ceased. Wants Mutineer* Given Up. i St. Petersburg. Special ? Negotiations between Russia and Roumania on the question of tho surrender of tho crew of the Kniaz Potemklne are -in prog ress. Foreign Minister Ijamsdorft and M. Roesetl-Solesco, the Roumanian minister here, held a conference Mon day on the subject, but no decision was .-^rrlved at. Russia Is disposed to In Snst on the surrender of thft men, not as political prisoners, t? which Rouma nia would object, but as criminals guilty of murder and theft. a * PALMETTO CROP CONDITIONS Weather Conditions Given Out by the Department Obseiver. Tin* week Muling K it. ill. of the 10th, ha<l a mean temperature rtlightl.\ In ex cess of t li?* normal, although there was some complaint of too cool nights near l In' close of the week, from (In- wcsfru portions of the State. Tlu? extremes for tin* week were a maximum of 100 de grees at Columbia on the :tnl. ami a minimum of t>2 degices at Greenville on t It e Mh. There wore destructive high winds in the western ami central loun tics accompanying thunderstorms Inn the damage was i onlim d to small areas. Tlu're was more than the usiioi amount of cloudiness, especially during tin' al tcrnoons, with morning# and nights generally dear. The average precipitation was some what in excess of the u^i't^al. with, however, many plates in the east een- 1 trnl ami noitliern counties that had lit'' tie or no rain and wiie.re the drought was ilUensilled and is now very deltl mentnl to all growing crops. In Oidiic*', Amleison, and pints of I'lckens ami the central Savannah valley .ount!e.\ there were very heavy rains that washed lands, Hooded bottom lands and le tarded cultivation, over the greater portion of the State tl-.e rainfall was wholly benelicial. though scarcely sui ficient for the ncedw of < rops. There whs a general Improvement in t he condition of cotton, confined largely lo clayed soils, while on sandy lands 111 ore was improvement in spots only The plants have grown too last in the western counties, and generally under sized elsewhere, though healthy. Hum has appeared in \nde:son county, and "black root" in clarendon. Sharp shooters have done considerable dam age in Anderson anil Dickens counties. In sections where the rainfall has been deficient, and the plants are in conse quence small, they are blooming 10 the tops. In most places tin- plants are fruiting normally. The rains came too late to benelil old corn, which is poor in every part of the State, while young corn Jjas become very promising, except en bottom lands, in a few counties, where what is left after the floods has become very grassy. Tobacco curing has made fair prog ress. but the crop is a light one, Hire is doing fairly well. A large acreage of cow-peas has been planted on wheat and oats stubble lands, and they have come u n^ to good stands. Gardens are poor, . ill places ruined bv the droug-ht, Dastfires have improved recently. Mel ons are plentiful. I'eaches scarce ex cept where raided on a commercial scale. ? J. W. Bauer, Section Director. Ben Bennet at Liberty, Hampton, Special. ? News came here early Monday morning announcing the fact that Hen Dennett, a white man convicted of wife murder and sentenced to live years in the penitentiary or on the chaingang. and Sam Jenkins, a ne gro serving on the chaingang for kill ing another negro, whose sentence was four years in the penitentiary or on the public works of t/io count*, have es caped. The escape was made by tiling a large ring. They left, with their shackles on them. There were nine convicts at work near Hickory Hill. Webb Thomas was the only guard in charge on this gang at the time. Homy Dowers, tho other guard having gone to his home on Saturday. Nothing was known of the escape until daylight this morning. Supervisor Snider will do his best, to have the convicts raptured. It is thought that Dennett has gone to Savannah or Charleston. The State House Case. Columbia. Special.- Col. Robert Alil rich of Barnwell and Mr. II. A. M. Smith of Charleston are here to repre sent (he Slate of South Can/Una in I ho prosecution of the case against the State house contractor and architect who are responsible for the dome on the capltol. The complaint charges con spiracy to defraud the State and the suit Is for $150,0011 damages, it is prob able that the trial of the case will be very interesting. Then; Is some feeling on both sides, as was evidenced on the floor Of the general assembly on more than one occasion, and the attorneys on bith sides are ve. y determined men. Mr. T. Yancey Williams of Lancaster was also delegated to assist Col. Aid rich in prosecuting the case. Serious Shooting Affair. Union, Special, ? Word has just reach ed here of a very serious shooting af fair in this county, near Jonesville, at a negro church, in which one Jim (ilenn is fatally wounded and three other ne groes are seriously, but not necessarily fatally shot. The name of the negro who did the shooting could not be learned. He Is still at large. . A Large Deal. Conway, Special. ? Few larger deals have been made in Horry county than the transfer of the stock of the Conway ('oast and Western railroad. As an nounced previously, the road has changed hands, Messrs. James 11. Chad bourn. Eugene 1'. Schulken and C. P. Holies of Wilmington. N. C.. h;eing the purchasers of a majority of the stock. The directors is composed of Messrs. Chadbourn. F. A. Burroughs, C. P. Bolles, B. C. Collins and K. P. Schul keh, with H. H. Chadbourne as presi dent and E. P. Schulken secretary and treasurer. Ship Lies in Harbor Bottom. Kustcnjt, Roumanla, By Cable. ? The announcement tha? the battleship Knlar Potemklne sailed with Hear Ad miral Kruger's squadron Monday even ing turns out to b? incorrect. Before leaving the Kniak Potemklno the mu tineers opened the seacocks and flood ed her bold. She Is now lying at the bottom, but, It Is expected, will be re floated in time to lee re for gtvefltfpo] July 11 ? ? * STAIF HOUSE SCANDAL / IKED j Suit of State of 5outh Carolina Against ' Architects For Faulty Construction | of RepAirs on State Capitol Cornea j Up For Trial at Columbia. Columbia Special to Chariot tr Oleerv cr. 'Ill" I - 1 V 1 1 (illlf which Will lu> begun l>v the State in (lie Cir< nil Court 1; lor $lM)(i,(iuo damages against tin* trneiing li'iu of M< llvane. i nkei'ei Company ami A r?-liit< .-i Frank l' Mil l"i in, f<?r faulty const 1*11 ? t i?>t i in remod eling I lie Slate 1'iipitol. will n!tra?i much attention throughout the Stale. Governor llcy ward ami a number of other prominent men have lieu sum moiled an witnesses and it is expected thai some .sensational evid? nee will be brought out. Ill the opinion of experts twice as mm li money as was necessary to com plete the building and put it ill pe:feet condition has already been expended, although the work Is not yet compu te, The scandals. following nil exposure of the affair, Involving certain prominent politli lans belonging to the State house commission, whhli accepted the work mmI re'i 'sed those lesponslhle from their bonds, caused the matter to he the subject of a iiumher of heated o?* hates in (he |as| several I .eg islql it I 0. So heated, In fact did the d<d)/ites he eome, that, ai times, ii looked as if personal violence would result. The n W State house commission's urehilesl., Mr. C. C. Wilson, declared that the new dome was faulty in comunit tiun and liable to fall in with disastrous re suits its supports being insuff icieni. Governor Hey ward employed the gov ernnient's l<*a?' 1 n expert. Mr. Kert liorle, who came here and passed upon the dome. For the most part lie sided with Mr. Milhiirn. (hough the commis sion loyally Iidhered to lite contentions of its own expert. After the architect an?{ were paid for tlielr work to complete the building, a Kiihse')ueni I ,e?|. datum found II necessahy to appropriate ?ltr<, (?nt) more to complete the repairs. A large amount of this has s^iready been expended, iu a new heatinfr-'plant ami in permanent work. The principal point of difference now, and the one whi< h will receive tite most attention in the trial, is as to vvhet tier n new roof should be added to l ake I ho plaia>-f>r fhe one the ennt raetors put on under Architect MilbuVu. 'tin; new commission lias the plan*; and .q -.rvif ra tions for a new roof till ready for awarding the contracts, and will let those contracts, au fttmn us the result of the trial is known. The new roof will be of terra cot fa. The failure of Ihe million-dollar In dependent Cotton Oil Company and Ihe resultant failure of the $,jno,i.)<H> Darl ington Trust Company, will cause uiuch suffering iu and near Darlington, where a large amount of the stock was held. It is understood that a controlling in terest In both concerns were held in Darlington and neighboring counties. In u number of cases the holding' amounted to as little as $."?(> to $3,000, but these represented the savings ;tf years, it is stated that a number of the larger stockholders are endorsers on the company's notes to a large ex tent. However, the statement Is confl-' dently made that no other business un terprises of that section are involve.!, and there are those who believe that both concerns will get on -their feet again. About $100, opo worth of the stock was held iu Charleston. At onn; time the concern's headquarters were In Charleston, with Morris Israel, of that city, as its president. The ^Mjml quarters were moved to Darlington, but again transferred to Charleston, but finally went back to Darlington on in ' tercets there acquiring control. The affairs of the two concerns will be thoroughly investigated by the re ceivers. which Judge Watts appointed Saturday. Messrs. L. IS. Williamson and E. C. Llde have been appointed re ceivers for the trust company, and Mr. Bright Williamson for t tie oil com pany. The complaint in the oil company cases alleges indebtedness aggregating $r.20,000. The complaint urging the ap point inent of a receiver says: "The Independent Cotton Oil Com pany owns eight oil mills, with ware bouses and other appurtenances, num erous ginneries, tank cars, live stock and applicance, has valuable contracts outstanding, is employing a large num ber of hands, and has on hand large, valuable stocks of raw material and manufactured product, and il would be disastrous to Hie business of the said company and to its stockholders and creditors for its operations to be sus ptnded." I Americans in Mexico Celebrate. Mexico City. Special. ? The Fourth c> f July was celebrated by tho Ameri can colony. Robert llarret read the Declaration of Independence and Am hassador Conger delivered, a patriotic, address. President Diaz wan enter tained by the Society of the AjnerieJin Colony at lunch and mado brief ad dress, paying a tribute to thcuUnitod i States. lin was cheered lustily. New Enterprises. The socretary of state last week is sued a charter to the Dynch-Letlon company of this city, which lias bought the drayage business conduct ed for many years by Mr. 'I'. S. Har per. The capital stock is $10,000. The Kvening Post. Publishing com pany of Charleston has increased its capitalization from $10,000 to $15,000. A commission was issued the Benov olent and Kndownient association of Columbia, a concern for the Insurance of negroes. Tho M. Iv. Sullivan company of An derson was given a charter to conduct a mercantile business, capital stock $5,000. South Carolina Itsma. A farmer's institute, under the di rection of Clems'on college, will be held at Moore Spring, near Duncans, Friday, July 21. The following pro fessors will make nddresses on prac tical subjects: Prof. Klein of the veterinary department of Clemson, Prof. D. W. Daniel of the Industrial department. Prof. C. C. Chambllsa of tho entomology department, and Prof. C. L. <Xewman of Clem son will dlsfcuss agriculture from the scientific aland Ills Of PlUUin NEWS Occurrence^ of Interest In Varlou? Parts of the State. \ Geneal Cotton Market. Middling Cat voston, 11 >'in 10 7 8 Now Orleans, firm 10 3-4 Savannah, quiet 10 1-2 Norfolk, steady 10 3-4 Baltimore, nominal 11.00 Now York. <i ?? i<i t 11.10 Hofiton, fjulot 1 1 .1(1 Philadelphia, Mtoady 11.35 Houston, steady 10 3-4 Angus! a, firm 10 5-K Memphis, firm 10 11-10 Si. Louis, llrm 10 3-4 Louisville, linn 10 3-4 Charlotte Cotton Market. These figures represent prices paid to wagons: Ktiiei good middling 1<( 5-10 (!ood middling 10 1-4 Hiriti i n ) < I < 1 1 i ii k Id 1-4 Middling 10 1-H Tinges X 1-2 to 9 3-4 Stains 7 12 to 9.00 Died After a Quarrel. *' i Ian know. Sporial. -Mr. W. J. Rollins , died instantly Thursday at 12 o'clock, death resulting from heart failure, ft seems thai i ho cause was from a dis pulo between ho and Dr. L. If. Peebles, magistrate, while working on a ditch In iho street. Some of (ho citizens agreed to ( lean Iho dlfch and Rollins was overseeing Iho work. Peebles de eldod ho would hnlp and secured a hoo and worked with tho rest of the crowd. Somo I lino, about an hour before they <iu!(, Peebles made a suggestion aa to how ho thought 'the ditch Afcouhl bo dug and uakod Rol M iih to Wand the shovel. which Rollins did, PeflttM? showing Rollins his Idea of how the ditch should be dug. Ilollina said that he would not have it that way, and that It should ho finished aa started. Peebles got offended at Rollins for tllO manner in which he spoke and left without further words. About 12:00 o'clock Rollins started for a bucket of waler at a well at which ho and all use out. of, and was obliged to pass Pee bles house. Peebles was on his porch and Rollins stopped and told Peebles he had coma lo jell him about tho ditch and commenced to exulain himself, la Iho way he spoke to Peebles, Peebles, being mad already, ordered him to get away from his place. Rollins was standing on the sidewalk, talking to Peebles. Then Rollins went to the . well talking back to Peebles, but. did not curse, while Peebles used strong language to him. When at the -tvell I>ii t a few minutes Rollins fell and dle4 instantly. Rollins leaves a wife aud many friends to survive him. ? Palmetto Items. Columbia, Special.? Dispensary In- - spoctor C. I j. Rrown Is looking for 1 1,600 ho lost, or was robbed of be tween hero and Charleston, where he went, recently to look afCer Dispenser - S. W. -Mat thews, wljo was behind in accounts to this amount and who squared himself with tho State dis pensary people by turning over this sum In cash to Mr. Brown, who gtfvej. his receipt. Mr. IJrown did not dis cover Iiis loss till ho reached Colum bia. Ho reported to Commissioner,. Tatum that he had lost/ tho money, but just how, he was at. a loss to dis cover. Tho law as to suing on an In spector's bond seems to bo defective and there was some rub here, but ' Commissioner Tatum insisted that the Hi ale sfaould not be made tojQIfl and Mr. Ilrown saw tho force of tho V gument and made up the amount and ? paid it over to tho State dispensary, lirown has been suspended. Ho says ho did not drink on his -way here and does not see* how any on? could have taken the money from his per son. Columbia, Special. ? Long-distance 'phono messages from Florence and Darlington contkm the rumors current here of the falluro of two big concerns at the latter place. The one Is tho Inde pendent Cotton Oil tympany, capital ized at $ 1. 000,000, and operating half a dozen branch plants in Hartsville, Tim monsvlllo, In Williamsburg county, and ' elsewhere, and the other Is the Darling ton Trust Company, which has author ized capital of $200,000, of which fl20,- " I 000 has been paid in. The trust concern , conducted a bank in Darllngtou, whose ' doors were closed. Negro Kilted at Celebration. Florence, Special.? At a big negro Fourth of July picnic at Mars Bluff, about sijc nillca, from here, a difficulty arose Uptjveen two imgroes.' Sam Wind ham ami Crockett TmvIh, and aa a re sult. Sam Wlndfiam' Is' (lead and Crock ett. Davis is shot through the thigh. The trouble aroso.over a negro woman. Hoth negrnca were drinking. Several nogro ni.cn were mixed up In the af fair, but none got Into trouble except tho two mentioned. Negro Found Dead. Florence, Special.? About 8 o'clock Thurpday'' morning a negro man was found dead on the railroad near the old tobacco factory here. How "he came ? to hia death is a mystery. It waa thought at first that he came to hla death by being run over by a train, but the bruise* on his body are notr sufficient to show that. Stilt some think he did. He was Identified aa Frank Henderson, and his home la said to be at Hendersonvllle, N. C., he has been here and In this sect'? of the State for several months, the past few days he has been, w at the poor farm*ts a paJnWr. Bucket. Shop For Unlwv Union 8peclal.? It Is underwtoe< that In all probability anotker Tiaekafc shop will be opened In Ifatoa. Last week the Western graph company had a Ml look Into conditions. "" probable that there t kat wire established bttaiaeaa, U4 ^to