Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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lOKKAV HTISIT. to find ir CHAPTER XL BAUOCRT mM ▲ ouw. To My that Herbert Darreat food night jronld have been to stretched veracity to breaklqg point It free cold in that email bedroom in the village hotel, and the discordant clanging of the cracked bell at the ehorch clock from quarter to quarter and from honr t6 boor irritated him la his restlessness. His mind was far too active to allow his eyes to be wooed by dumber, and through the long watches of the bitter winter’s night the few threads of information that he had fathered tangled themselves into twists and knots in his brain, and the very fret that prims facie the solution at, C abT The him. erect ae s e hsd seen tht previous night “Good morning. I an you are panoWK. ** - i "Good morning, dr. ” “Any mesmge from Mr. “He hoped yon would call u] again this morning." “Bight Have you the keys T M “Tea dr,” answered the unlocking the gate as he t “1 suppose you didn’t- aoe the ghost who committed the murder T” Darrent hasarded, with a smile. “dhoetl' r laughed the young officer. “Not much. There’s no ghosts in Nor- lined the ahelvcef Darrent walked round minutely examined the | the bookcases No; the dust proved that they had not been opened for weeks Had Maraden been seated thereat the table with the cbewmen and board in front of him; working out some prob lem. when the assassin had crept hoiae- kssty in. sMyn behind him and stabbed him to death T ae be npoa combe. I’ve heard the fairy stories about ghosts and The Grange being haunted, but I don’t believe any such nonsense, sir.” - - ^ “Indeedi” “No. sir, not * Mt of 11 There was flesh and blood on this job. sir, and it looks like a case of revenge ” “What makes yon think that?” ". . “Well, sir, as far as we can make out, nothing in the house has been die- waaenn aaum amvau WUO BU1UWUU UA I UUL, AM UUUCK1 AAOR UWI the mystery seemed to be so simple only turbed and no robbery committed. served to worry and Irritate him more. Detectives, after all, are only human 1 beings, not mechanical contrivances, and their intellects, trained though they be to keener and clearer intuition than those poeseased by ordinary men, do not render them frte from the worries in separable from complicated problems of which the solution is obecora Darrent lay awake for hoars wonder- . log and speculating. Thom clews which, seemed to point at once to the culprit often, he knew, failed utterly upon closer investigation, broke off sudden and short, and, ohoe the thread snap ped. one was left absolutely without the possibility of following the trail for another inch and had to hark back to the very commencement again, only ' perhaps to have the same experience and the same result One never hears of a detective’s failurea It is only his victories that are noised abroad. One does not learn of all the byways and crossroads, all the narrow lanes and 4 blind alleys, that his search leads him into. It is only when success has crowned his patient task that one hears of him at all Once when be had dosed off for a lit tle while the dreary, monotonous recital of the untimely death of the wretched SO cows disturbed bis brain, and he awoke with a shiver to realise that whatever the winter of 1881 in Nor combe was like to have killed the score of cows in one night the winter of 1806 was quite as severe a one as he ever desired to experienoa Thinking at the cows recalled the bHrf conversation he had with the driver of the dogcart Evidently that Individnal did not think very much of Joeiah liarsden and. moreover, had admitted to having a grad**' against the murdered man be cause hie rent had been raised. Was it possible that that man who told ao glib ly the story of a ghost wa- plicated in the murder T Perhaps. C never knew Dnt against that su,,position there was the paper that had been writ ten by the dying man. the finished accusation that be had t» . murdered by Astray What a ooloaml idiot Dob son wee to have shown that paper to Astray 1 Amt directly Astray had seen it he fled That certainly looked like guilt ami yet might only be a sudden spesui of fear—fear that a train of cir cumstantial evidence might be gathered together that would inevitably put the rope around hie neck, be he innocent or be he guilty There were indeed many black factors in the case that pointed to Astray Let him recapitulate them (1) Astray was not Mardsen s own son. but had been adopted by him. and who could tell what Astray’s anteced ents were or why Maraden had kept him? (8) Astray and old Maraden had quarreled and separated some two years back Why T (!) Astray had returned, after an ab sence of two years, on the very night of the murder Why T (4) The unfinished note written by the dying man seemed to accuse Astray of the murder (8) Astray had' fled. Yes; all these facts certainly did point to Astray Maraden as the murderer. All through ther long winter's night the dis jointed fragments of tbe puzzle jum bled themselves about in tbe perplexed mind of Herbert Darrent until the dawn broke gray and cheerleea. He gazed out of the window acroas the waste of snow to where In the dis tance the trees that fronted The met his eye. Should he, he wondl fathom the mystery of the mil murder within that dwelling, whose smokeless chimneys stood out black against the wintry sky T Breakfast, with its steaming coffee, its crisp toast, savory bacon and new laid eggs, over, and Darrent felt anoth er man, ready to commence his Investi gations, to piece together every tiny ■crap, every minute fragment, until the whole puzzle was complete, the mystery solved, Josiah Maraden avenged and justicoeatisfied. Mine host, who waited upon the stranger from Chicago himself, was of a communicative turn of mind. Oh, yes, he knqw the Mandens, father and son—at least they called him son—well enough. Josiah Maraden was a strange sort of fellow; seemed to have no friends and no enemies Visijjprs toThe Grange were very rare indeed. Maraden kept himself to himself and never asso ciated with the inhabitants of Nor combe; went over to Barnstaple onoe or twice a year. He rarely had any let- ten. Now and again one with a foreign rk, so the village postman told would come, or maybe he would have a French newspaper or a chess magazine Young Maraden—ah, he was always a nice, affable yonng gent, he was l Many’s the bottle he’d had in the room where they were now, and many tnore bottles he hoped to open tot him Yea, Astray Maraden staid there at the Palace on the night of the murder, and in the morning, after Dobson had called and ssen him. ho left for Barnstaple. “Blees your heart, sir," said mine host as Darrent buttoned up his coat and pfupand to start for The Grille, ’Thera are some people who ■"■pr* Astray of the murder, but they might Juet ee well erapiot me. “Well, let’s get Inside." Tbe policeman unlocked the heavy door and poshed it open. ’ “Now, go slowly,” said Darrent as they entered, “and tell me all yon know abont the building. ” The door banged after them, and the dull echo of the sound reverberated through the house. The entrance hall gave accea to rooms on either hand, and the police man. unlocking and opening a door on the right, stood on one side for Darrent to enter. The room, which was at the back of the house and evidently the library, was a.large and lofty apartment paneled In dark oak, and the old fashioned fur niture matched the decoration—solid armchairs with deep seats and sank backs and a massive oblong table The walla were lined with bookcases, but they were evidently very rarely opened, for Darrent noticed how thickly the dost lay in all the crevices where the glass doors ahnt He walked slowly round the room Two sides were en tirely taken np by the bookshelves, while at the two othera were tbe fire place and a broad window. The chim ney piece, with its high mantel In carved oak. had a couple of cosy corner •eats, one on each side The window, which was opposite tbe fireplace, com manded a magnificent view of the dis tent snow covered country for miles and the windings of a river, its frosen surface glistening in the sunlight Some doaea skaters were gliding over the splendid ice. and Darrent after watch ing them for e moment, turned with a sigh from the arena He could not yet afford time for Indulging in an exhila- tne cus- > Grange '-mi aidn^nt postmark £im, woi • as “Now, ffo slowly,” taid DarrtnL rating pastime In which he delighted, and. although a clear, unbroken stretch of a mile or so of black ice temptingly invited him. dnty called him. and duty must be dona “Now, then— By the way. what's your name?” “Thompson. ” “Right Idaroaay you know mine already—Darrent ” “Yea sir. ” “Is this the room where the murder wae committed T” “Yes; this is where we found him, sir.” replied Thompson, Indicating a spot on the floor between the table and the fireplace where an ominous dark stain showed. “Do you know the boose at all?” asked Darrent his eye upon the floor. “No, sir; 4tever entered it till the day after the murder. We searched the rooms, but as you know, discovered nothing. ” ' . r* • “Ah I Who went over the house f” “Chief Dobson.” “Ah, we'll go over together present ly, Thompson. Now, tell me, la the room exactly as it was when the crime was discovered, eh T Nothing has been disturbed, nothing removed T” "Exactly the sama Nothing has been taken away except a box of oheesmen. I suppose Mr. Dobson has mentioned that to yon already, sirf” “Ah, yeet They were called for yes terday morning, I understand, by a man who said he was s detective from Chicago. ” “Yes; that’s what he said, sir.” “Did you see him T” “No. sir Mr. Dobson raw him. I was on my round ” ■ > “I suppose you have never seen the particular set of chessmen ?” “No, sir. ” “And have no idea what they were UkeT” ' “Well sir, I heard Mr. Dobeon ray that they were Indian work in ivory, very finely carved with figures, ele phant*, men on horseback, and the liku” All the time that Darrent had been questioning Thompson his eye had never oeased to wander over the room, from the window to thtttyp&kcases. from the bookcassatothe Ifinychimney piece and back to the window again. Thorn found panes in the doom of the dark oak bookcases seemed to Darrent to glare down at him like wide open eyes —wide open, staring eyes that new closed night or day, eyes that had gaaed down on Joeiah Maraden soars upon •core of times, eyes that had witaasrad the murder What wae Josiah Maraden doing that night T Was he sitting, solitsry find alone, by the In. the gray a*ea of Which still filled Was there nothing in all that room to afford one tiny clew to the murderer f Had there been a struggle between the murderer and victim, and in it had there possibly been a tiny thread of material torn, or a button wrenched off, or an ornament broken, that could af ford something of a clew t With eyes fixed on the floor, Darrent stood think ing, while Thompson waited respect fully on one side. Darrent paced the length of the room from the window'to the fireplace several times and pon dered. At last he paused in one of his journeys and gazed out over tbe whiten ed country From the house to the riy- er not f footmark marred tbe surface The anew that had drifted on to the broad window sill was undisturbed There had been no escape that way. He faced round (and stood with his back to the light The wintry sun was •hining full into the library and throw ing a ribbon of color across the floor, and in its track-upon the polished wood something white glittered. It was only a tiny speck, but it caught Darrent’s eye He stooped, picked it up and ex amined it cloeely. It seemed to be a broken piece of ivory, a little mite of laoelike filigree He looked at it in the fall light of theVindow, apd suddenly it dawned upon him that here was his clew, here in this tiny scrap, for Dar rent felt confident that it had formed part'of the ornamental carving of a chessman, and it was a'set of chessmen that some one had been at great pains to secure from that very room. Yea, here was the clew! Once let him trace the set of chesamen that had been obtained from Tbe Grange, once let him find that one was damaged and satisfy himself that this fragment fitted, and the first step In the discovery of the murderer of Josiah Maraden would be accomplished. He carefully wrapped the piece of Ivory In a cigarette paper and placed it In his pocketbook “Nqjr. Thompson, ” he raid to the officer, who had been interestedly watching his proceedingi. “J think I’ve seen enough of this room, for the pres ent at any rate. Let ns torn our atten tion to a thorough search of the rest of the building. The murderer seems to have entered in the ordinary way, but he did not depart the Mine way as he entered Therefore. Thompson, he knew at enme other means of exit, and what we have got to do is to find it ” Darrent had already arrived at the cooctnslon that the murder had been committed by some one who poseeased an intimate knowledge of the structure at The Grange 1 tee If and of some secret means at escape. There mnat be a secret means at exit from the building—of that he waa confident—bat’ whereT That waa tbe trouble, knd that they would have to discover That the en trance had beqn Hn the ntual and ordi nary way and the exit In some unusual and extraordinary way was certain, and that gave rise to two possible the ories One was that the murderer was merely an ordinary visitor, with origi nally no ill intent Something which might never be eolved had led to a quarrel with old Maraden. and that had ended in a struggle and his death, whereupon the murderer, acquainted with the structure of the building, had eeraped by the secret way. Or, on the other hand, the assassin had entered, with malice aforethought, determined, for some reason of revenge, upon the dMth of Josiah Maraden. intending aft er the committal of the deed to make use of the secret route and leave no trace of his escape In either case it proved a thorough knowledge of the house and the existence of some private means of exit, and that was what they must discover Together they left' the library and began their search. From garret to basement they ransacked every room, but could discover nothing. Dust reign ed supreme everywhere, and tbe moet careful investigation revealed no possi ble hiding place or means of escape- After several hoars’ thorough search Darrent and his assistant conclusively satisfied themselves that the murderer was not concealed upon the premises. How, then, had be escaped? He had not gone out by tbe front door. Then he must have escaped from the back of Tbe Grange, and yet from tbe house to tbe river the snow lay in one smooth, undisturbed mantle of white. Not a telltale mark betrayed the way of the murderer's' flight On the left of the entrance hall, op posite the library, was the only other room that seemed to have been in con stant use. and at the far end, in the same place as the window was situated in the library, a fernery had been built but it was bare of foliage now and boAsted only a collection of dry and withered shrubs This was the last room Darrent entered. He stood in the conservatory and opened the door lead ing to tbe grounds. A flight of steps,'pro tected by an ornamental iron awning, over w^ich ivy and creeping plants had grown, led down to a covered trellised walk, where the thick intwining foliage had kept the snow from penetrating.> Tbe walk extended from the bottom of the ztepe to an open rockery some 50 feet away, bpilt in the dip of the ground Large musses of rugged stone had been piled, together, and rongh hewn stepe led down to a deep pool filled with brushes and aqnatic plants The pool, which was frozen and black, was overhang by drooping trees, whose pendent branches almost- touched its surface—a charming spot in summer, with its moss grown stones, its white and yellow water lilies, its pool and ty oftbe mired tbs with their whits, feathery powder his keen eye was attracted by the slender trunk of a silver birch which some four feet from the ground showed a space a -few inches wide absent of the snewy covering which decked the remainder of the tree. He carefully examined the spot It looked as though a hand had gripped it. Then he bent down anil scrutinized tbe e^rth at the foot df the birch. Yea, there was the mark as of a footstep. Any one coming from the covered walk that led from the con servatory to the rockery wonld have been able without treading on any of the enow covered ground to have seized the trank of that tree, and so swung himself down toward the bottom of the pool Stepping carefully over the slip pery stones, Darrent and Thompson reached the bottom and stood side by aide upon the frozen surface. Evidently some one had been there before them, for the impression of foot prints was visible, leading to the very back of the grotto. Following tbe track, they pushed aside the long streamers of creeping plants coated with ice, that jingled musically as they moved them, and found the grotto extended some feet beyond, and then it seemed to cease, shut in by heavy masses of rock,, button closer approach a narrow open ing at right angles became visible, and into this the footprints fed. With an effort they forced themselves through the entrance and into a kind of tunnel at the far end of which a ray of light shone like a star. The floor of the tur nel was coated with ice, and evidently they were walking along the bed of a channel by which tbe overflow from the grotto found its way out into the river. Slowly and painfully they - groped along in the darkness, stumbling and slipping, upon the smooth surface of tbe ice and braising their hands against the sides of the tunnel. Half way through, the pathway grew narrower and lower, and it was only by creeping in a painfully stooping attitude that they could get along at all The light grew nearer. They struggled on for a dozen oi* so yards more and at length, through a tangled mass of shrubs and brushes, saw stretching before them tbe broad expanse of the river, while the ring of the skates sounded merrily in the distance • ^ . The skaters passed, flying like the wind, along the stretch of perfect ioe No one was in sight, either to the right or theleft, as. poshing aside the bushes, Herbert Danvut and his companion crept on-their hands and knees from tbe narrow causeway out on to the frozen river, and tbe way of tbe escape of the mnrdererof Josiah Maraden was aolved. [to sx oojrrnvuxD.] LONE CALF THA OUT A DEBT, the interesting A cormpondepl of Journal gives the story: Dr True, director of the experiment station of the national department of S riculture, who has just made a tour inspection through most of the States of the Union, makes an observation which is highly significant, although not in the least pleasant to the ears of tbe people of fhe South. In speaking of his observations to a representative of the Associated Press Dr. True says that he found the farmer much more prosperous And hopeful than in former years. “Their financial con dition has greatly improved, aud the prospect for still greater improvement is good. The most important exception to this stale of affairs,” says Dr. True, “is to be found in the ootlon growing States of the South.” Tbe reason assigned by this official for the condition of tilings in the South is the same that has for years been appar ent to all observing people in this sec tion and which has been discussed and rediscussed until the public has become fliroughly tired of it—too much cotton. The cry for less cotton and more food crops haft gone out for years from press and platform, and, viewing the cotton belt as a whole, it would seem that the cry has been unheeded. But in some lo calities the long sought for change ift* taking place. It may not be appreci able at first glance and the points where the new system invades the old may be so widely scattered as not to attract any considerable attention, but it is never theless a fact that diversification is gaining a stronghold in many sections and this is especially true of upper Georgia. . Tbe coming in of the new order of things is shown by individual examples all through the Piedmont region. A young fanner of Gordon county tells a story that it full of interest and valuable suggestions. He says; “Six years ago 1 was making all the cotton I could with a little corn thrown in. I did not olteu make corn enough to do me aud frequently had to buy when spring came and pay a big price. 1 c mid not for the life of me, sec where all my money went. I wm always hard up. 1 could uot buy the things my wife and cbildien actually needed, and every WkKKl.Y CHOP BULIaKTlN. and yellow water line?, its creeping plants and miniature waterfall plashing gently down, but now. in the grip*of the ice king, its sylvan beauty was transformed as by a magic wand ft seemed a very fairy grotto The over hanging trees gleamed white wi|h frosted snow, glistening like diamonds, and from every rock hung fantastic dci else In all the beauty of an Aladdin's cave Darrent descended the steps and trav- the covered walhr-wbich wae en tirely free from snow, until be reached CobUWBIA, S. C.. Sept. *26, 18M1. The following la the weather crop NiUetin for the week, and with tbi* nu a’ er coocludra the issue ef bulletins for tbe >ea»oa of 1HWU Correspondent* are r»quested to discontinue their weekly reports : Tbe week cnoing Monday, Septe her 25, 189V, averaged about three trees per day qpo er thap usual, with minimum temperature low enouch for light frost In *pol« over the eztremi- western cogoties. and in ezposed lo calities In a few central counties. The frosts were not heavy enough to do any damage. There *a* a maximum tem perature of 86 decrees at Blackviii'- and Yemass o. and a minimum of 43 degrees at GreenvIliS, for tbe week. There were fnqient light to heavy ■bowt-re over the entire State on the 18lb, IV.h and 20th, but tbe rainfall was In exses* of one inch at a few point* only. Locally there were heavy winds which blew out *ome cot ton, which lo turn was muddled an stained by the heavy rains ; otherwise tbe rains were not damaging, and they were gejcrally beneficial, supplying enough moisture for growing crop* and fitting the soil for ploughing for small grain. Some oats, rye and barley have al ready'been sown, but this worz ha* only begun. Tbe contemplated acreage of wLeat is larger than usual. Cotton - continues to open freely and picking made favorable progress Nearly all the bottom and middle crop boll* are already open, and picking will be finished earlier than usuil. There i* a heavily fruited second growth reported from many locaiitiea, but the unaolmou* opinion la that ttoae bolL cannot mature. Sea islftnd cotton ha* improrad slightly since last week and picking has become active. Some corn was boused during the week and late fodder gathered. There 1* yet much corn that will require two weeks longer absence of frost to mature. Peas bavo improved generally in vine growth, but^in places are not fruiting well. < Much hay of various kinds was cut and nicely cured during the week. Minor crops over the entire State are now .very promising, and with the absence ol frost to tbe usual date there will bean abundance of food and forage crops made, and it is not improbable that the staple crops will also show better results than hereto fore anticipated. —Michael Draper, who has just re turned from Europe to his home in Perth Amboy, brought 1 with him an Irish bat bought in Ireland for pre sentation to .n Irishman who is a friend and neighbor. After the pre sentation the recipient turned down the swea band and found that the hat bad been manufactured in Newark, N. J. —A woman of perfect figure should weigh 138 pounds and be 5 feet 5 inches tall. Sne should measure 5 feet 5 Inches from the tip of one middle fin ger to the tip of the other when the arms are extended. The length of the band ought to be just one-tenth of this and one-seventh sh6uld be the length of the foot. —Peter Steins, a Russian scientist, Is reported to have discovered a method whereby, through the use of light produced by means of electri city, artificial sight may be given to the blind. Tfie rays of light are focussed, as in a camera, from tbe ob ject to the brain and sight is thus ob tained. —Rear Admiral Farqubar who will succeed Sampson as commander of tbe North Atlantic squadron on October 10 next, got his first experience of the in 1861 ' ' >9 along the coast of Africa, where a portion of our nation wae en gaged In suppressing the slave trade. —Rear Admiral Schley has accepted aa lavltatloe to vi*lt|Atiaata during the coming fall. year I got deeper aud deeper in debt. We all worked hard and did not 8|>eDd anything foolishly^)ut somehow or oth er we never could get out of debt much ees get aoy money ahead. ‘•My Itltie farm of eighty acres was very hilly aud poor. It cost me four dollars au acre when 1 bought it and 1 still owed $175 ou the land' besides store debts aud other obligations lo the amount of $125 more, making a total indebtedness of $.*100. The thing trou bled me a whole lot and 1 had about tnade up my miud to quit farming and go to railroading when my way of dotug was changed by accident. “A few years befoie I had turned out 10 acres on a steep hillside, l>entuse it hail become so washed tiiat I could not cultivate it. It soon grew up io grass aud weeds, aud'some stray sprigi of bennuda got A start at the upper side of the field. Ijwid no attention to the abandoned field for two or three years, ami in the meantime the bennuda bad worked down the hill and covered sev eral acres. “One hot summer day when 1 was plowing over my cotton for the last time, and wouodering how much deep er iu debt 1 would be a year from that date, a neighbor came along and said to me; “ ‘Bill, I’ve got a little old muley calf over yonder my wife wants to gel rid ef. The thing is s.ck, and she is afraid it will die at home, and she don’t want that to happen. If you'll go after the thing you may have it.’ “1 told him I had tio place to put it, didn’t feel much inclined to fool with ■ick yearlings, Anyhow. “ ‘Put it over there in that old sedge field,’ he said, pointing to my aband oned hillside, which now appeared a wilderness of weeds and briars, with big patches of bennuda here and there. 1 told him that 1 didn’t feel like fooling with it, but if he would bring the calf down aud put it into my sedge field I would give him half the money I got for it if I sold it, or half of the beef if I slaughtered it myself. He. brought it and put it iu the field. A creek ran across one coner, which furnished wat er, and I paid no attention to the calf, fully expecting it to die. It didn’t die, howe/er, but the way it grew and fat tened was a8toni8hing v By the time cold weather killed the grass he was a fine animal, and when a Colorado drov er came along in December be paid me $10 for the animal without a word. Of course I had to plank over $5 to my neighbor according to my promise, but I thought what a fool I *^as for not goin^ after the calf and making the $5 myself. “Well, I did a whole lot of thinking about that time. I had $5 which it seemed had been given to me. I could count the hard licks and the bitter toil which every cent of cotton money cpst me and my children, but here were five good sound dollars which had not cost any digging, and plowing, and sweating iu the sun—had not cost anything —and somehow they didn’t seem to be long to me. I sat down and figured the thing over. I asked myself why I could not have something else making money for me while I was making what I could with the plow and the hoe. “That winter I bought about a dozen calves from my neighbors from prices ranging from $1.50 to $3 y and used money I ought to have paid on my land. I cleared the weeds and brushed off the pasture'and enlarged it. The bennuda sod was carried to other spots and when summer came I had. a good pasture. That fail! sold out my calves fora hundred and fifteen dollars, and this, with my crops, paid all my debts blit $50, which I paid the next year. Since then I have tried to do more thinking and figuring, and less work. I give more attention to cuttle, hogs and poultry, than I do to cotton. I have bought more land and paid for it, and when I get it well set iu lienonda 1 expect to ride in a carnage and have easy time as any man iu the state.” fhe experience of this young farmer in the hill country of North Georgia THE TRUST CONFERENCE. f* ^ 1 * ^ • The outcome of the recent Trust Conference in Chicago will be disap pointing to many by reason of the fact that no plan waa proposed by which trusts conid be regulated, or, if neces 1 lArtlAlA LW I vtlOiAHA} VA j AA AAUtoUM • waratefrw sary, abolished; the convention taking the gtound that it ha4,no right to take a stand upon the subject. While, of course, it is understood tiiat the con vention could do nothing that would have any binding effect upon parties or people,it would not have been unexpect ed, or,beyond the scope of the purpose tiled together, after for which it was callei fourdsysof talk and debate, for.jJtto have foimulated some plan or madu some suggestions on the question which is of such absorbing interest to the people of the United States. We suspect that the disappointing outcome was the result more of politics (ban any doubt on the part of the conven tion of its power to advise. With one Presidential possibility actively engag ed in Its proceedings, and representa tives of the two great political parties sparring for points, and to prevent one parly from getting advantage of the other, perhaps no other result could have been looked for. We believe, however, that good has been accom plished iu the line of agitation, and lurther in the amplification of the fact that tbe political parties will only take action on the subject as they are com pelled to by the people. We have do doubt that i>oth parties will vigorously denounce trusts in their platform. Talk is cheap. But no decided, effect ive action wul be taken by eilher of tbe parties, except as crystalized pub lic sentiment compels them to. Tbe main speeches in the conven tion were made by W. J. Bryan and Burke Cochran, and it is interesting to note that while these leading represen tatives of two diverse wings in one of the great pbhtical parties, disagreed as to methods, they agreed as to the right of the people lo regulate tbe trust; and regulation means much, when properly interpreted and applied. Mr. Cochran would look to the State Legislatures for the power of regulation, while Mr. Bryao would appeal to both tbe Nation and the States. Thu latter’s plan in substance is as follows: First—That the State should have the right to create whatever private corporations the people of the State think, beet, • Second—Tbat the State has, or should have, the right to impose such lunitalionn upon an outside coiqtoralion a* the people of the State may think necessary for their protection. That protect* the right* of the people of the State lo say, first, what they shall or ganize in their State aa a corporation, and, second, what they shall |iermil a* a corporation to come from other Stale* who do busioea* in thsir Slate. Third -That tbe Federal govern- itent ha* or should have the right to impole such res.fiction* a* Congress may think neieaaary upon aoy corpor ation which does business outside of the State io which it is organizsd. lo other words, 1 would preserve to the people of tlm State all the rights they now have, and at the tame lime have Congress exercise a concurrent remedy to supplement tbe State remedy. When the Federal government li censes a corporation to do business outside of the Stale in which it waa or ganized, it merely permits it to do bus iness io any State, under the conditions itn|>osed by the original charter. Without indoreiog these propositions ws submit there are several good points in them that are worthy of qmaidera- riou. They involve and concede the tight of the government, State or Na tional, to sxercise such a supervision over trusts as would eliminate all dan gerous or offensive features from them, such as waleridg of stock, secrecy of operations, crushing or buying up op posttiou, and other methods by which the trusts have attained their present enormous powers. There is another means of reaching at least a portion of the trusts, those wboee products come in compciion with the products of other countnes. That is by repealing or Buspeudiu? the Unff on all foreign articles which come iu competition with articles produced by the trusts. We are nware that in making such a suggestion we are tread ing cm dangerous grond. Without en et the ghost Many are afraid of a fancy and the germ is a tact. If the germ could be magnified to a size equal to its terrors it would appear more ter rible than any fire- u. Germs can’t be avoided. They are in the air we breathe, the water we drink. The. germ can only pros per when the condition £ the ( system gives it free scope to establish itself and develop. When there is a deficiency of vital force, languor, restlessness, a sal low cheek, a hollow eye, when the appetite is poor and the sleep is broken, it is time to guard against the germ. - You can fortify the body against all germs by the use of Dr. Pierce’s Golden Medical Discovery. It increases the vital power, cleanses the system of dogginj? impurities, enriches the blood, puts the stomach and organs of digestion and nutrition in working condition, ao that the germ finds no weak or tainted spot in which to breed. “ Golden Medi cal Discovery” contains no alcohol, whisky or other intoxicant “Your kindness to me I can never forget,” writes Mrs. Josie M. Clsrk. of Enterprise, Shelby Oo., Mo. ” I had despaired of ever get ting well. 1 had been in bad health for twelve years. Had aches all through me nnmb hands, cold feet, and ever^hing f ate distressed me: bowels constipated, was very nervous, deprewed and despondent. When I first wrote to yon 1 thought I could never be cured. I have taken six bottles of Dr. Fierce's Golden Medical Dis covery, and my health is now good. Yon have my honest recommendation to sU sufferers." If the bowels are irregular they can be regulated perfectly by Dr. Pierce’s Floss- that it places la - eminent a formidable weapon which to fight the tmais or a of them. And without compi it* position on the tariff question aa a political principle, there is do reason why, it the intereet of the people, tbe In power should not enact such legislation as should withdraw from all trusts tbe incidental protection which the present customs laws grant to them * ' * * competition. This is a easy of application effective In its results.— Practical Farmer. WILL FARMERS GET THE IN CREASE T There seems to be a regular program for every cotton crop, but somehow' the farmers do not prosper often by the lessons of previaus years. At the beginning of every cotton yenr there is the publication of somebody's pre diction of a mammoth crop like that of Neill a few weeks ago, which depresfed the market despite its manifest bum- buggery. Formers are forced to rush their cottou lo market and by the ap parent glut to depress the market far ther. When the first rush tft over it is usually seen that the early predictions weie exaggerated and prices begin to mend. By the time the cot. on has passed out of the bands of the fanners into the possession of the traders and speculators it has reached much better figures than the fanners received. Are our cottou planters going to be the victims of this rontine again this year? On every hand are the evidences that Neill's estimate was farcical, and from all over the cotton belt come re ports of a much shorter crop than was anticipated. The Associated Press' tells of the short crop in Mississippi, and the Columbia (S. C.) State says: “A friend of the State who travels extensively in tbe South write# us from Van Buren, Ark.: *1 have covered a very wide sco|ie of territory recently, through Georgia, Alabama, upper Miss issippi and Arkansas. Within three weeks, if the weather slays fair, all upland cotton will be harvested, prac tically. You cannot do our people a greater service than to constantly ad vize them to hold every available bale of cotton they can. It is just as sure to bring much butter prices as the sun is to rise. After the bulk is out of the hands of the planters it will boom.’ This is the judgment and advice of a Southern man who has a deep interest in tbe prosperity of South Carolina, and who, having been on the road for man) years, covering the South, knows bow to make compel isoos. We have urged our farmers to hold their cotton lyberever possible, and ws urge them again. By doing so tbfty can make this short crop bring them more than the biggest crop of recent years.” It is an ohl expression with the old cotton men that “cotton is a fool,” and the fellow (hat claims to be cocksure altoul what the cotton market ta going lo do at aoy time la not wiae, but we do hope tbat out fanners who have the miatyrtune of a poor crop in thia terri tory will at least have the satisfaction of receiving the advanced price for their product, and not let it ail p.taa Into the handa of others before remun erative figures are reached.—August* Chronicle. The one tiling that brings comfort to a man's heart is to know that he ia on the path of duty where God put him, and that if danger, and peril, and scorn, meet him there, God, who sent him, must take the responsibility. When God sends his servants upon hift errands he takes all risks; and when you are doing God’s work, when yon are on God’s track, and know that you are pursuing God’s plan, his couree across the ocean—then let the storm come; G(<d is reaponaii-le for cairyiug yon there, and you may sleep in the midst of it.—F. B. Meyer. •“It’s remarkable,” said Senator Sorghum, “how differently people are affected by the same thing.” “Have you beea reading medicine?” “No, I waa thinking ol my speech. It kept me awake four nights, aud put every- body who heard it lo aleep.”* “I suppose you are a socialist or an archist, or something ?” asked the lady ol vague ideas. “Madam,” replied Mr. Brokedown Baldwin, “I sm a passive altruist.” “What in the name of com mon sense is that ?” “I believe in be ing helped all I can.” PITTS’ FOR The Stomach, The Liver, The Bowels, The Kidneys, The Blood, Tbe Nerves, Contagious Diseasis. 'Antiseptic Invigorator is a germ-killer, a diuretic, a blood purifier, a stomach and nerve tonic, a stimulant for the liver and bowel* Manufactured by Pitts’ Antiseptic Invigorator Co. THOMSON, GA. ggr* For sale by druggists everywhere. Hold by CARPENTER BROS., Greenville, 8. C. ' AmmvtomcrMt ooaoRRMtA and ol«t <**nMiTssams.aslearpsuc**’*. akkuw I.Hf Teat no ortita thy it * r ’•rffiaaatanaMf ss. Charleston. 8. a OSBORNE'S