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WHEN UNCLE S; P Deals in Which More TI , Miles Were Involve of the Mom Since the American colonies threw off the galling yoke of English rule and became an independent nation, "Uncle Sam" has been the largest real estate dealer the world has ever ' produced. Instead of trading in a few town lots or an occasional thousand acre farm, the government has transacted a wholesale business, dealing in thousands of square miles and on three separate occasions the transfers have involved more than half a \ t million square miles each. Commencing with the purchase from Napoleon in 1803 of what is i ? known as the "Louisiana Purchase," r a tract of 875,025 square miles, extending from the Gulf of Mexico to the Canadian border and from the ? ? *? ? * ? -1- ? T~)n /M*ArtAon MISSISSIPPI river iu tue ratmu vtcau, for which $15,000,000 were paid, the United States has bought land whenever opportunity presented itself, un> til no European power owns a square foot of territory on this continent with the single exception of England, who still retains her Canadian possessions. Originally the English colonies were supposed to extend from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast, but in reality no effort was made by them * or the mother country to occupy any part of the unknown country west of the Mississippi river. Even their attempts to expand beyond the Alleghany mountains were strenuously and successfully opposed by the French for many years. f By virtue of owning land on both sides of the mouth of the Mississippi river, Spain claimed control of that river, thus shutting in without an outlet all the country west of the i then impassable mountains. Later Spain was forced to cede the Louisiana Territory to France,- but her sovereignty lasted a comparatively short time. When Napoleon had become so involved in wars that he stood alone against the whole of Europe he saw the utter impossibility of protecting his American possessions against the superior navy of England, and gladly seized upon the opportunity to rid himself of something he could not hold and at the same time put 15,000,000 gold dollars into his coffers in Paris. Mr. j Jefferson, president of the United States, no less gladly accepted the chance of acquiring the territory at an almost nominal cost, and at the same time taking the first step toward what afterward became known as the Monroe Doctrine, "America for Americans." This territory of 875,025 square miles, nearly eighteen times as large as the State of New York, contains the great gold, silver and copper v mines of the Black Hills and the won\ * derful prairie lands which have become the granary of the world. For this rich country the United States paid 2 2-2 cents per acre. Think of buying eighteen States the size of New York for $15,000,000, the cost of one bridge across the East river. ^ 1 trrxe T?ar_ v ' uur nexi ruyai uusiumw w?o j. dinand VII. of Spain. Having squandered his ready cash in vain attempts to regain his South American possessions, he was sadly in need of money to keep up his dissipated court and licentious indulgences, which had cost his country ? so dearly in men, morals and money. Ferdinand's minister of finance, having exhausted every source from which funds could be procured, suggested the sale of the "Land of Flowers," Florida, as a last resort. Negotiations were immediatley entered into with the United States, which * ' resulted in the transfer of the jewel from the Spanish crown to the starry field of the Union flag. Thus, for $5,500,000, sufficient to enable Ferdinand to continue his extravagant pleasures for a brief period, Uncle Sam became the possessor of 70,107 square miles of territory, and one more European Jhorn was drawn from North America. While the cost, 12% cents an acre, was considerably higher than the Louisiana Purchase, it must be remembered that in those days Florida was much more accessible than the territory west of the Mississippi. In 1S48, after the close of the war with Mexico, that country ceded to the United States 523,802 square miles of land for the sum of $13,250,000, $3,250,000 of which was to be ? paid to the citizens of the United i States who held war claims against Mexico. This magnificent property included the present States of California, Arizona and New Mexico, containing some of the richest mineral and agricultural land in the world. The cost was a little less than 4% cents y iM URCHASES LAND ian Half Million Square ;d.?The First Steps roe Doctrine. ' an acre. These purchases from France, ; Spain and Mexico, for which Uncle Sam paid $38,749,769, represent an area of 1,463,934 square miles. A : little more than two-fifths of the j United States in North America was : acquired for the cost of the Queens| boro and Manhattan bridges across i the East river. In 1853 Uncle Sam became liberal i and made his second deal with Mexico, the Gadsden Purchase, buying a I narrow strip along the southern ! boundary of Arizona and New Mexico, 36,211 square miles, for $10,000,j 000, or 43.15 cents per acre, the top | price paid for an addition to our teriritory. For fourteen years after the Gadsden Purchase, Uncle Sam retired ; from the real estate market. Then ' another royal custome" presented In 1867, the czar of all the Rus! sias, in consideration of $7,200,000 ' of good and lawful coin of the realm, ! set over, assigned, bargained and sold I to the United States of America all of ; his right, title and interest in and to the 599,446 square miles of territory, i more or less, known as Alaska, and j further covenanted to relinquish all 1 claims to the tract of land then jointly occupied by Russia and the United States, and now embraced in the States of Washington and Montana. The low price, one and nine-tenths per acre, was doubtless due to the ; inaccessibility of the property, as at j that time nothing was known of the i gold deposits which were later discovered in the Klondike and other (sections. Having thus retired every Euroi pean nation except England from the | continent of North America, Uncle | Sam lay 0*1 his oars until the war j with Spain had been fought and won. j Then, with his characteristic gene! rosity he again relieved the stress of i the Spanish crown by paying into its I treasury 20,100,000 bright new dollars, in consideration of which the I rebellious Philippine Islands were | ceded to the United States and we ! became a factor in affairs in the Ori' ent. For these 43,063 square miles I we paid a fraction less than 20 cents ! an acre, next to the highest price ' ever paid by the government. From the above figures it will be seen that a total of 2,247,659 square miles of land has been purchased at a cost of $76,048,768, or an average i of five and twenty-eight hundredths cents per acre. While $76,049,768 is not an ap1 nailing cum nf monm in these davs of tremendous fiscal transactions, the total area of land acquisitions to our government by these "deals" is so ! vast that mere figures do not set the | meaning of it all clearly before the reader's eye. The amount of terri | i tory acquired is practically as large as all that portion of the United States west of the Mississippi river, | or seven times as large as the origI inal thirteen States. For this territory we paid about one-half of what the government pays ; every year in pensions. The four bridges across the East river cost more than the whole amount. Less | than one-third of the annual budget of the city of New York would have ; bought it all.?St. Louis Republic. ? ^ ? Richland Instilling Company Settles. Columbia, March 27.?The Stack! house winding-up commission, comi posed of Messrs. Wade Stackhouse, chairman; J. V. Wallace, T. F. Brantley, F. H. Dominick and E. M. Thompson, "will file its final repor: with Gov. Blease this week, in aci cordance with the Crosson bill and will go out of office. The report is | now ready. One matter which this report will show is that the balance of the overcharges due the State by the Richland Distilling Company has been j settled through Col. B. L. Abney, I who was employed by this commis; sion for this work. The Richland Distilling Company settled for $25,000 in cash and 396 shares of capital stock in the Richland Distilling Comi pany at the par value of $100 each, which gives the State the Richland Distilling Company's property here, valued at about $30,000, besides the ! $25,000 in cash, $12,500 of which has already been paid, and the other Si2.500 will be paid in when the at ! torney general enters a noli prosse | against the Blocks at the spring term of court in Chester, an indictment being now pending in that court ! against them. This settlement was j made by Col. Abney at the request | of the commission, and with the api proval of the attorney general. i See the new novels at The Herald I Book Store. NEWFOUNDLAND KILLS CHILD. Little Girl Meddles With Dog While jg Animal is Eating. V Chicago, March 29.?Anna de Cal- ij vo, three years old, of West 11th street, was killed by a large New- V foundland dog to-day while visiting Jg the home of a neighbor. -I? The child attempted to play with the animal while it was eating a bone. Suddenly the dog made a vicious plunge. It tore open the child's throat and the victim bled to death. *g The girl and'the dog had been left ?jf alone in the kitchen for a few min- S|f utes and when members of the family returned they found the dead body of the child on the flqor. The dog Tig was killed by the police. 10-inch Double Disc jg Graphophone Records | 60c EACH AT | Beard's 5c and 10c Store I ax Bamberg, S. C. Have you any wearing apparel that you would like Dry Cleaned or Dyed? j| Our equipment guaran- ?2? tees results equal to jji that of any establishmont in fho roilTltrV I and our reputation insures satisfaction for any work intrusted to our care. If you can not reach any of our agents con- V veniently, write for our V free booklet giving in- ? formation as to prices I if* and as to how to send your work to us. V * =============== 3? IDEAL LAUNDRY ? DYERS-CLEANERS p King St. & Burns Lane. Charleston, S. C. ?f? S Agents Wanted. Good Commissions * 4f Ml ??? I ^relieving g 1 b; Don't take our word for it ? inspect the new "Shield Brand" models 3? for yourself and draw your own conclusions. ^ "Shield Brand" clothes ijj for Spring are full of the snap and vim you want, A and they'll fit you, for they're made to fit. T|T We want you to look them over. Your suit is here ready to wear. Just T? come and we'll show you. V $ e J.M.Daimelly&Co. ? EHISHAItDT. S. C. jg $ "UvcClotRcaYbu^^^^ j? WanlToBuy Ibbsbb) J Al TG^\& PriceYou^Ecijot^ng^ jl j Want To Pay" \^/J ?. c 4?! ^XAftZAAXA ^XAAZaaXA AZA AZAAZA feZAAZtf^Zfl AZAAZA AZA Q.knJ Hoirc jl umiuui i/ayo| g T^/\/\o YrAiiv /*Uilrl aniAir rrA_ I t/UCO y UUl 1/1111U V/IIJV/jr gv/~ I ing to school? Or do you I have to coax him to get him I to go? If you have to coax 1 them, what is the trouble? I j - ? A ? la W There is, no doubt, a cause tor this dis- | like which can be easily remedied. Per- | haps your child's school material is not of jj' the same quality as his desk-mate. If this j| -i .1 *i i t i*i j._ i_;_ $ is tne case your cnua aismtes 10 compiaui $ of the poor material, as it might vex you, ? as you or your friend handles this shoddy g stuff, and the child realizes the uselessness | ~ - - ? - ? * 7 of kicking, and makes up its mmd to miss jg , school on every opportunity that presents | itself. I ;;:M Don't yoi tthink it poor economy to force your j| j child to use this cheap material, causing it to hate the j| school room, when for practically the same money you ?[ can give it just as good material as its neighbor has. The t f next time your child asks for a tablet, pencil, pen, ink, jj1 > composition book, examination pad, compasses, eraser, school bag or strap, or anything else needed in a school | room, give it the money and let it come to us, we have |f the best at the price to be found in the city. Let your :: < 'ii 1 1 1: 1 -'i- ?1 1 ...ill A CMia US6 Olir scnooi supplies Clliu its duiuui uayo wm ^ A Joy Forever j We have everything needed in the school room as well as ifc all kinds of Office Supplies, such as Ledgers, Day Books, Journals, jg Cash Books, Invoice Books, Copying Books, Memorandums, Box & Files, Shannon Files, Wire Files, Stamp Pads, Daters, Bill Holders, iji ? " ^ ? ! n ?1C* 1 n_ J. D! Arm Rests, Waste Baskets, renciis, rens, ink, ocraicn raas, runs, x . Pencil Sharpners, Ink Wells, Pen Racks, Desk Trays, Rulers, Paper ig Fateners, Erasers, Pen Staffs, Tin Boxes for Bills, Lock Boxes, Tin *fr Files for Mail, and in fact anything necessary to furnish your office, jr Remember our prices are just as cheap as the city prices, and by jg buying of us you save the freight and keep the money at home, tji If we haven't in stock what you want we will get it for you. ...THE... I 3 ww 11 n in. I s BAMBERG, SOUTH CAROLINA ^ MAIL ORDERS FILLED SAME DAY RECEIVED, f mm* Remember we have in stock at all times all kinds igi of Legal Blanks, anything from a Mortgage of ijj Real Estate to a Plain Note, and our prices are more reasonable than city prices. We also have 3? a swell line of Marriage Certificates. See them. 3? 4774? * * --- --- ? --- - - -