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LEAP YEAR WEDDINGS FREE. Provided the Bride Made the Proposal, is a Kansas Offer. Hutchinson, Kan., Feb. 13.?This advertisement is published: Notice?In consideration of this being Leap Year, Judge G. V. Ricksecker will perform all marriages free of charge during the year 1912 ' * " - v in wmcn tne marriage proposal ua? been made by the bride. "I have a notion that a woman has just as much right to ask a man to become her husband as a man has to ask a woman to become his wife. I simply want to show my good will and liberality to the young women of Kansas who have the courage to ask for husbands. "This offer is bona fide and it stands good to any girl in Kansas who tells me she actually nopped the question. All I want to know from the groom is that the girl is telling the truth." Judge Ricksecker thus explained the advertisement. It may be mentioned that Judge Ricksecker can perform marriage ceremonies with neatness and dispatch. He had years of experience as Probate Judge and as Judge of the Peace. He holds the latter office at this time. Tho roonrds nf the divorce court show that practically every marriage performed by Judge Ricksecker has been a happy one. He announces that he guarantees happiness and joy to every couple he marries. "I do not mean to take business away from the Probate Judge or the preachers," he said. "But I believe some encouragement should be given to the girls to take advantage of Leap Year. It only comes once every four years, you know." Probate Judge J. M. Jourdan would like to meet this offer of Judge Ricksecker's by a cut in the price of marriage licenses, but the law prohibits him from doing so. Hie Warehouse Bill. With less turmoil and confusion than is usually involved in the con sideration of a bill to tax tbe yellow dog, or to establish a closed session for the hunting of opossum, the South Carolina general assembly has, in so far as it is able, enacted into law a measure, the importance of which is to be compared to no other legislation that has been accomplished in the history of the State or of the nation. The reference here is to the State warehouse bill. As we see it, the passage of this bill marks a new era, not only in State politics but in the science of government. On the theory that "the hair of the dog is good for the bite," this bill proposes, by the power of the government, to check monopolies by creating counter mononnlies. and throueh those counter monopolies force an equitable division of profits all along the line. To say that the theory of the bill is a new one would be incorrect, for it has been gathering force in this country for more than twenty-five years. It is the same principle that has been taught by the grange, alliance, Farmers' Union, labor unions and kindred organizations for all these years; but the bill is none the less important on that account, especially since this is the first practical embodiment of those theories into the law of a sovereign State. As we see it, the enactment of this law is only the first step in a new order of things. The experiment is well calculated to attract the attention of the civilized world, and its success will mean much, not only to the South, but to the whole United States. In view of this situation everything depends upon the administration of the law. To make the most of this undertaking calls for abilities such as are required for the management of a great railroad , system, or say, the steel trust, and the responsibility of the general assembly is now narrowed down to the one all-important matter of securing the very best brains of the State to take charge. Historically there is a fitness in the leadership of South Carolina, and this brings to mind the man whose constructive genius formulated this new movement of the masses, Hon. John L. McLaurin, of Bennettsville. Ever an interesting figure, whether as "Curly-headed Johnny," in the early days of the Tillman movement, or in maturer manhood going down in defeat, crushed and humiliated. If the ideas to which he has given expression do not make him a factor. XV. _ - A - T A : A "U ^ ^ ^ not only in tne oiaie uui m me nation, then we misread the signs of the times. Always a student, always far in advance of public thought; a dreamer, maybe, but nevertheless endowed with that practical Scotch strain that infallibly devises plans to make dreams realities, we are led to wonder if South Carolina is not again to contribute to the nation a constructive statesmanship that will atone for the petty politics and miserable squabbles which, during the past 15 years, have rendered her so ridiculous, not to say contemptible. Georgia's legislature meets in July, and since this potent principle "LIAR" STOPS TEXAS COURT. Judge Licks His Man. Fines Himself, Then Resnmes Business. Midland, Texas, Feb. 13.?Recalling the days of Roy Bean, the famous justice of the peace, who a number of years ago was known as "all the law west of the Pecos," Judge J. H. Knowles, of the commissioners' court, here to-day laid aside his official dignity long enough to engage in a fistic battle. During the session Judge Knowles, presiding, made an assertion regarding a previous ruling of the court. Inasmuch as the commissioners' court is a county tribunal of considerable importance in the county, comments on its rulings are not to be lightly made, even by the presiding justice. So thought Commissioner Jule Driver, who was present. No sooner had the offending remark been made when he rose and exclaimed: "You are a liar, judge." The court did not hesitate. "This court will stand adjourned," anounced Judge Knowles, "until I whip the man who just now called me a liar." Then it happened. Those who witnessed the fight say the judge scored the greatest number of pugilistic points. A few minutes later the judge reconvened court, fined himself for fighting, and paid the fine. The court then went back to work and its dignity was not further ruffled. Burned Her Baby. ? -EVvV 10 KAo Jtlttniax, i>. O., rcu< JLO. lUlO. aua McCarren put her five-weeks-old baby in the stove and burned it to death, according to a confession which the police say she made to-day when arrested on suspicion that she could account for the disappearance of her child, which had been missing for nine days. Small "bones found in an ash barrel in the house led to the arrest of the woman, who had previously explained the child's disappearance by saying that it had been kidnapped. The police believe she is mentally deranged. A Winter Plea. Backward, turn backward oh time jn your flight, give me July again Just for to-night; soften the ground where the frost king has lain, oh, let me hear one mosquito again. I am so weary of snowdrifts and ice; weary of paying the coal trust its price, weary, so weary, of frost bitten pie?give me a slice of the 4th of July. Backward, swine backward oh season of snow?mercury of fifteen a j ? mm 4-V? x\ A^ or twenty or so, mm uu mc ucai ui the tropical zone?roast me until I am cooked to the bone. I am so tired of freezing my nose, weary of putting hot bags to my toes, weary of trying to sleep with cold feet?turn on the heat, Mister, turn on the heat. Lyon's Statement Printed. Columbia, Feb. 12.?Dr. Olin Sawyer entered an objection to the printing of Attorney General Lyon's statement relative to the Black pardon and what he thought of the governor's assigned reasons for granting the pardon. Mr. Sawyer said that it appeared to him that every one who had a grievance or "kick" on Gov. Rlcoco -arantori it nrintpfl in thp .Tour f? WUbVV* * w ?. ... _ nal. It would not be long before magistrates and constables would be sending their grievances to the house, and ask that they, be printed in the Journal. Mr. Dobson moved that the motion of Dr. Sawyer not to print the attorney general's statement be tabled and the house by an overwhelming vote determined that the letter be printed in the permanent Journal. No division was called on the matter. has been as firmly rooted over there as here, we hope that Mr. McLaurin will be invited to address Jthe Georgia lawmakers. We believe that the effect of the "spell" will be the same as it has been in Columbia, and, if the opportunity presents in North Carolina next winter, the result will not be any different. By that time, if not before, the tide of the new idea will have gathered irresistible force, and the combined power of its enemies will not be able to stay it for a moment. In the meantime South Carolina is committed. In spite of the fact that there was no great row over the passage of such an important measure by such an overwhelming majority, no man need suggest that it was done without due consideration. Those members who voted for the bill did so because they knew the real sentiments of their constituents, and even if they had been opposed for other than well defined principles, they ? 1 J Vn,'/, rlo rnto f>tVioru'i<;p W UUIU UUl uavc uaivu ,r Therefore it is up to all patriotic people to stand together in the honest, earnest and intelligent administration of this new law. Gentlemen of the general assembly, South Carolina still has no dearth of high-minded, able men, and it is up to you to put them on guard.?Yorkville Enquirer. CRAZY NEGRO RUNS AMUCK. Boss Gavin Terrorized the Cattle Creek Section. The Branchville Journal says Boss Gavin, a young negro armed with an old Springfield rifle, created considerable excitement near Cattle Creek camp-ground Friday afternoon of last week. He was captured Saturday morning after an all night chase and was sent to Orangeburg where he will be examined by a lunacy commission. Before he was captured Gavin beat a small negro child almost to death, shot twice at parties pursuing him, and threatened to kill all who interfered with him. Gavin is about twenty-one years old ana worKea on tne iarm 01 ivir. Edmund G. Dukes. The negro has long been considered mentally weak and it is understood that the negro children of the neighborhood have made it a practice to tease him. Friday while picking cotton in Mr. Dukes's field several of the children began teasing him as usual. Suddenly he knocked one of the children down and beat him terribly about the head and face with a piece of lightwood. The child, a boy of eight years old, managed to escape from Gavin and started running toward Mr. Dukes's house. Gavin, wild-eyed and gnashing his teeth, chased the boy and overtook him a short distance from the house. Throwing the child to the ground he held him with one foot while he began beating him about the head with his heel. Mr. R. J. Berry, a young white man who was working nearby, heard the child's screams and ran to the negro and ordered him to let the child alone. Gavin released the child and ran off yelling to Berry that he would return and ki'l him. Later Gavin returned from the woods with the rifle. By this time a crowd of whites and blacks had collected and gave chase to the negro, who fired upon them once and ran for the woods. He came upon Joe Glover, a negro, and threatened him. Glover grasped the rifle, but not before Gavin fired, and the bullet tore through Glover's coat grazing the flesh of his right side! Glover held on to the rifle, however, and finally succeeded in disarming the madman. Gavin then disappeared in the woods where he was found and arrested the following riinrnine He had stolen a box Of rifle cartridges along with the rifle, which he took from his father Baptized in Icy Water. Pittsburg, Feb. 11.?'With the thermometer registering four degrees below zero,' 27 colored men and women, recent converts to the Mount Zion African Methodist Episcopal church of Brownsville, near Here, were immersea in ine icy water of the Monongahela river to-day. The immersions were witnessed by several thousand persons who shivered on the river banks and huddled close to fires built by small- boys. In order to get the ceremony undar way it was necessary to cut a hole in the ice. Carriages were in waiting and as fast as the converts came out of the water, they were wrapped in blankets and driven to their homes. WOULD RUN FOR GOVERNOR. Should Blease Veto Warehouse Bill, McLaurin Quoted. Columbia, Feb. 14.?The statement is made that Mr. J. L. McLaurin, wno is the particular champion , of the State cotton warehouse bill, by invitation appeared before the conference committee to give his views imrvn n^r+ain nf tho 71PT1 din f A TTIPD d uJ^VU turn VA VMV r W ? ?? ?? ? ments. After the conference, it is stated that a friend of Mr. McLaurin asked him what would happen if Governor Blease should veto the bill, whereupon Mr. McLaurin stated that he would anonunce his condidacy for governor, so that he might go into every county in the State and make the issue upon the 'said warehouse bill, which he has advocated for some time. WRECK RELEASED 700 HOGS. Residents Penned Them in Parlors and Fake Detectives Make Haul. Rochester, N. Y., Feb. 12.?A local comedy that beats "Pigs is Pigs" took another turn to add to its ludicrousness. Wednesday night a freight wreck in the Western end of the city released 700 hogs from the cars in which they were being transported and the porkers spread over a large section of the town. Residents saw a chance to lay in a winter supply of food and corraled the pigs, confining them in the cellars and even parlors. To-day two men visited the west side homes and claimed two large wagon loads of hogs, under the statement that they were railroad detectives. It has developed that the alleged detectives were not in the employ of the raiload. Police are now looking for the two wagon loads of pork. POLICE HELD FOR COURT. Four Men Charged With Murder of Doc Welborn. Anderson, Feb. 14.?H. W. Holcomb, ex-chief of police of Townville, and Justin Woolbright, I. B. Spears and Jim Baldwin, who are charged with the murder of a white man named Doc Welborn, were bound over to the higher court today by Magistrate Muldrow after a preliminary hearing. Judge Memminger granted bail in the sum of $2,000 for Holcomb and Woolbright, and $1,000 for Spears and Baldwin. Three well known citizens of Townville signed their bonds, and the men were released. Doc Welborn was arrested by these four men at Townville on the night of November 12, 1910, on the charge of drunkenness and disorderly conduct. After being locked in the Townville guardhouse by Chief Holcomb, assisted by the other three defendants in the case, the guardhouse was burned and the charred remains of Welborn were found in the ashes. The Four Men Arrested. M. C. Long, former court stenographer but now practicing law at Walhalla, was appealed to by members of Welborn's family and he started an investigation, which resulted in the arrest of these four. men. Mr. Long represented the State in the preliminary hearing to-day and he introduced testimony to show that Welborn's skull had been crushed before the body was burned, thus charging the murder of Welborn to the officers who arrested him, and who are alleged to have beaten him over the head while taking him to the guardhouse. It is charged that Welborn died ? i < * i? _ _isa from tne wounas innictea Dy me officers and that the officers set fire to the guardhouse to hide the crime. The coroner's jury inquiring into Welborn's death at the time, returned a verdict that Welborn set fire to the guardhouse in attempting to escape. A Statement from Long. After the four men were bound over to the higher court this afternoon, Mr. Long gave a statement to the press in which he charged that he had furnished Solicitor Bonham and Governor Blease with copies of the testimony of several witnesses when he started the investigation into the case Several months ago, and that he urged that an investigation be prosecuted. Mr. Long says in his statement that^he did not receive a reply from either of these men, and states further that certain men whose duties are to ferret out and uncover % crime blocked and hindered him in his investigations. Mr. Long was asked to work up the case by the grand jury and did so without fee and at his own expense. In his statement this afternoon he says he intends to have nothing further to do with the case, and that it is the duty of the officers of the law to carry the case to its completion. The case has attracted a great deal of attention and its outcome in the May session of. the court will be awaited with interest. The men charged with the murder are well known citizens of the county. Steal Small Fortune. New York, Feb. 15.?Twenty-five thousand dollars in currency was stolen from a taxicab in the heart of the down-town business district this morning by three progressive highwaymen, who sprang into the vehicle and overpowered W. F. Smith and Frank Wardell, messengers of the East River National bank, 680 Broadway. Both messengers were badly injured and the robbers escaped with the money?$15,000 in $5 bills and $10,000 in $100 bills. The currency was being transported from the Produce Exchange bank, in the lower part of the city. The taxicab had proceeded up Broadway without mishap when, for some unexplained reason, the chauffeur turned west on Rector street into Church street, skirting the side and rear of Trinity churchyard. About midway of the old cemetery three men sprang from the church. One jumped on the chauffeur's seat, the two others got into the vehicle. The man on the seat pressed a revolver, in his overcoat pocket, against *^~ ^~ rtVionffonr ("Jinn Afar tliC OiUC \JL 111^ VJUUUii.\yUt ) ti.no, and commanded him to drive swiftly on without making an outcry. Inside the vehicle the two robbers were belaboring the bank messengers over the head. Smith, one of the messengers, is 61 years old, and he was bleeding and almost unconscious when the taxicab reached Park place, a few blocks north. Wardell was badly beaten about the head, but not seriously hurt. At Park place, the highwaymen jumped from the taxicab, bearing a tin box, which they'had wrested from the messengers and which contained the currency. In a flash they had sprung into a big black automobile, which seemed to be awaiting their coming, and were quickly lost in the maze of traffic. 1 A Spending by Check To The Public: j A checking account in our hank ] presents no added expense to you ' and yet guarantees additional safety and an accurate system to use in J your business transactions. I Every person whether "business * man", housewife, employed person, A traveler, farmer .^mechanic, or pro- w fessional man, in fact every one 1 who earns money, must spend a portion of it. This spending should be done by check, whioh will keep an exact A ^ AVA aw A A 4 CImiwc a A IXOUUiU VI WHO HiUVlU9 GhUU. UXOUIUOO* A meats.^ I All eheok books sad tank books. I 1 are free. Checking presents no, I J added expense. IV yours very truly,. * a FARMERS & MERCHANTS BANK I 1 4 per ct. Paid Quarterly on Savings Accounts. Ehrhardt, 8. O. I ( if We received this 1 if week still another , J I if car load of Horses f V 1 | and Mules direct |f from St Louis and I I if you want an ani- B fjj mal it will be to II M P your interest to | j|j| 5CC una uu ivau* ? JONES BROS., ' 11 BAMBERG, SOUTH CAROLINA. 1 Two of our prominent citizens met in deadly combat on our 9 k ^ Ssjg streets this morning. Blood flowed and profane language was B! gg freely scattered around for the rising generation to absorb. This H| hm| disgraceful encounter would never have occurred but for a dis- jjg SB puted account. You don't have disputed accounts when yon pay HI by bank check. Deposit your money with us and pay all your j B agS accounts by check and you will keep all your business associates gfi 33 your friends. Deposit with us and save trouble. W We pay 4 per cent, interest, compounded quarterly, in our g | H PEOPLES BANE Bamberg, S. C. j ? | GERMOFERT 1 For continued big yields apply Germofert Fertilizers they do not make your land acid. M GERMOFERT FERTILIZERS are complete sources of Phosphoric Acid, Ammonia and Potash in varying grades. Yet, unlike most fertilizers they contain J no Sulphuric Acid. Thus they add to your land's yield with- M jAflP&V oot subtracting from its sweetness and fertility. V More than this, GERMOFERT FERTILIZERS contain valuable germicidal properties that tend < t0 Promote healthy plant life. Hundreds of fanners are raising bigger crops, building up their farms by their use. To supply the big demand for GERMOFERT FERTILIZERS we were compelled to build a new last year three times as large as original factory. f- Vv:'^ " There is a tested brand for every crop. You v ought to know about these fertilizers. Pick up a sheet of paper, NOW. Write and ask for our y v ':jp booklet telling what these fertilizers will do for Germofert Manufacturing ^r?W|lCHA?ITO SOUTH CAROLINA V* '-|l