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4 ? One Dollar and a Half a Year. BAMBERG, S. C., THURSDAY, JANUARY 24, 1918. Established 1891. k COUNTRY NEWS LETTERS SOME INTERESTING HAPPENINGS IN VARIOUS SECTIONS. News Items Gathered All Around the . County and Elsewhere. ! Ehrhardt Etchings. Ehrhardt, Jan. 22.?The cold, disagreeable weather still ^continues? rain, ice and a cloudy sky, very little sunshine now. Last Saturday, being a holiday, the banks were closed. All other business houses were open as . usual and very few people knew of it as being a holiday unless they happened to have business at the banks. The farmers are blue aDout tneir oat crop. They report that the continued freezes that we have had have about killed the entire crop, and it is now too late to plant over, as the spring sowing very seldom ever sfmounts to anything. This is the second season in succession that the crop has been killed or badly damaged from severe cold weather. Despite the cold weather the work men are at work putting the finishing touches on Mr. D. C. Gopeland's store and will soon have it ready to be occupied. The show windows are being fitted with mirrors, which will give the window decorations the appearance of being double, and will afford a good place for the fair sex to get a peep at themselves while on the street. Messrs. Copeland & Ehrhardt will move their stock of groceries and market as soon as the building is completed. Messrs. J. M. Dannelly & Co,'s stahl<?c and strtre arp also beine finish ed, which will add toward making the town look more city like. Who is next to tear away an old frame building and erect a handsome brick one in its place? Plenty of \ room and need for more. J The Royal Theatre started with 't its shows last week and so~ far has been giving some fine pictures. Seems as if it is going to make good, providing the government with its fuel rer strictions does not shut it down. Mr. Lester E. Ashe, of Orangeburg, arrived in town a few days ago and is now rendering service as operator at the Royal Theatre. The preachers, lawyers and doctors * have been heavily taxed for the past few weeks rendering patriotic service to Uncle Sam by writing out the questionnaires for the boys. Seems as though they must be over the rush now. Wedding bells would ring, but papa says "no, daughter, not now, you ? must wait. He may have to leave ' soon for the army," and they console their heartaches by hoping that peace will soon be negotiated, so your "darling boy" will be free. Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Ritter', of the Hitter section, have purchased the home of Mr. B. C. Hiers and have * moved to town. Mr. Ritter will live here and Gonduct his farm, it being only a few miles away. Miss Genie Ramsey and Mr. J. W. Roberson motored to Bamberg last Sunday afternoon and were married "hy Mr. J. J. Brabham, Jr., the probate Judge of Bamberg county. Miss Ramsey is the charming young daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J. B. Ramsey. Mr. L Roberson is a young man of sterling I qualities and holds an important position with the Ehrhardt Heading Mill company. Mr. and Mrs. Roberson are now at home to their numerous friends at the Charles Ehrhardt hoteb^ JEFF. i Colston Clippings. Colston, Jan. 22.?There will be preaching at Colston Branch Saturday afternoon at 3:30 and Sunday morning at 11 o'clock. Sundayaohrtrti onhnlnrc ?rp psneciallv ureed OVUUVI UVUV'M* W WV- w - - -? y w k to be present promptly at 10 o'clock. 1 Miss Pearle Hutson spent last - week-end at her home in Springfield, L accompanied by little Hermine Beard. ' Miss Mamie McMillan, of Bamberg, spent Saturday night and Sunday with Misses Minnie and Evelyn Kirkland. Miss Aileen Beard was the Saturday night guest of Miss Octavie McMillan. Mr. J. F. Kearse is spending several days with his son, Mr. Reuben ^ Kearse, at Camp Sevier, who is ill with pleurisy. Miss Nettie Clayton spent Saturday and Sunday with Misses Natalie and Queenie Kearse. Miss Octavie McMillan was the Sunday and Sunday night guest of Miss Aileen Beard. Mrg. M. S. Wooley spent several C i JURY SAYS MANSLAUGHTER. Two Columbians Get Sentences For Killing Boy. Columbia, Jan. 20.?The jury in the case of the State against J. L. Hanalian and K. C. Hardin brought in a verdict of guilty of manslaughter last night after a deliberation lasting: over an hour. Judge Memminger delivered an | impressive lecture in imposing the j sentence. Hanahan was sentenced to serve five years at hard labor on J the chain gang or in the penitentiary J and Hardin was given a sentence to j serve two years. Attorneys A. F. Spigner and R. Hi. uarwne, rtjyseutmg uic ucicuuants, immediately made a motion for a new trial. Judge Memminger reviewed the case and refused the motion. The attorneys then gave notice of an appeal to the supreme1 court and asked that the amount of bail be fixed. Bail for Dr. Hanahan was fixed at $5,000 and $2,000 was named as the amount of the bail for Mr. Hardin. The bondsmen for Hanahan were .Mrs. J. L. Hanahan and Paul H. Glenn.' John G. Ehflich and E. C. McGregor were the bondsmen for Hardin. Four arguments were made to the jury yesterday afternoon. E?. J. Best made the opening argument for the State, and was followed by A. F. Spigner for the defense. R. E. Carwile made the closing argument for the defense and Solicitor W. H. Cobb closed for the State. Solicitor Cobb made a powerful description of the details for the collision ana its resuus coupiea wiui his eloquence attracted the closest attention of everyone present. The trial began Friday morning and the jury took the case at 6:30 p. n*. There was nothing sensational about the case. "The attorneys in the case exercised a due sense of feeling toward all parties concerned, and the various details of the unfortunate affair brought a certain degree of sympathy for everyone connected with the case. Little Lenwood Shaw lost his life near his home on Saturday night, October 7, while standing by a wagon which was struck by an automobile being driven by Dr. Hanahan. K. C. Hardin ran his car into the wreck and he was indicted along with Dr. Hanahan. The Hanahan-Hardin case attracted a number of spectators to the court house. yesterday morning. The morning hours were consumed by the defense, nine witnesses were examined, including the two defendants and one was recalled to the stand. NOT HIS SON'S BODY. . Claimed That Mistake Was ^lade in Shipment of Dead Soldier, j Columbia, Jan. 18?James Riding, a young North Carolinian, died at Camp Jackson several days ago and the body was ordered shipped to a point near Spartanburg. The funeral was held, according to information furnished by the young soldier's father, and the casket was opened. The father discovered that the body was not that of his son, and he is coming to Columbia to have the matter investigated. Last night the local undertaker in charge of funeral arrangements for Camp Jackson said he could not give any information until he consulted his records. They were at his place of business on South Main street, and he would make an investigation this morning. He did not see how such a mistake could occur, as the greatest care was used. James Riding was drafted from Tryon, N. C., and pneumonia was the cause of his death. From the best information obtainable it seems that boxes containing the remains of deceased soldiers were misdirected. The matter will Drobablv be cleared up today after the arrival of the dead soldier's father. days last week with her son, Mr. L. A. Wooley. We are very sorry to know that Mr. G. W. Beard" is still very ill. Mr. Grady McMillan was a Saturdiy night visitor of Mr. Sammie Clayton. Mrs. Sudie Brown, of Olar, is spending some time with her sister, Mrs. J. B. All. The many friends of Mrs. Molly Kearse are glad to know that she is improving. Mr. Talbert Padgett, of Bamberg, spent Sunday at home. | NO WAR LEGISLATION YET I SOUTH CAROLINA LAWMAKERS PATRIOAIC, HOWEVER. > Few Things Are Achieved.?Col Kohn Reviews the Session of the Legislature So Far. Columbia, Jan. 20.?Although America is in the midst of war, that fact is hardly recognizable in legislation for the current year. Things are jogging along very much as heretofore; up to the present practically no legislation involving the war has been enacted. Governor Manning in his address to the General Assembly, stressed the necessity of war legislation and invoked the General Assembly to consider such matters largely in the present emergency. About the only bills along this line are those providing for machinery for the National Council of Defense, and a fund of $50,000, with which to operate, and incidentally a bill by Mr. Rector, providing a home for young women who have been banished from their former immoral lives. The more important legislation that was suggested has not yet been framed. The promise is that it will be presented during the coming week and the focus seems to beyOn the proposed authority to suspend labor laws j T*he Columbia labor unions have ! risen in arms, protesting against any authority being lodged with any one in this State to suspend labor laws. Of course, the idea is, that because of the drafting of many men to the army and navy activities?that those men who are left in the manufacturing or industrial plants be allowed to work over time for pay, if State authority can be secured. There are now laws to restrict labor to a certain number of hours per week, and one of the! intended authorizations is to suspend this law in certain cases and emergencies, during the progress of the war. This is one of the contested Doints. The bill has not yet been introduced and the promise is that when it does show itself, that there will be considerable fight on it. Governor Manning has made it perfectly plain that the inspiration for this suggestion comes from the ' federal authorities, who feel that such legislation may be necessary during the war. On all occasions there has been manifest,the most ardent patriotism; : and only on Saturday the General Assembly showed this spirit by refusing to make any comment, except patriotic, on the recent Garfield fiveday closing down order, and for fear of possibly being misunderstood,. a resolution suggesting a suspension of this order was defeated. Taxes and Prohibition. Thus far things have been very much the same as they have been for the last twenty years. Taxes and prohibition; and prohibition and taxes, with a little interlarding of personal questions. This time it has not been Tillmanism and Bleaseisq?, or any of the other isms; but the personal ^ equation has revolved j aroiind the position of game warden, and this may be because the legislators want something with a little snap to it. The tax commission, from a legislative standpoint, made a "break" when it suggested that property be assessed upon a 50 per cent, basis of its valuation, particularly so as this is the year for the reassessment of lands. Both branches of the General Assembly have objected to this 5 ) per cent, basis, and the protest has gone on file, so to speak. There are perhaps half a dozen bills proposed looking to the abolishing of the tax commission; and this has been largely due to the psycholog-1 ical affect of the 50 per cent, resolution. The house seems to have had I "it in for the tax commission, more so than the senate, and now that the first impulse of crushing it is over witn, me cnances are mat me senate will do nothing with reference to the tax commission. This means that the senate will not pass a bill to abolish the tax commission, and it also means that the series of bills introduced last year voting larger and certain additional authority in the tax commission, will be defeated. The whole matter of taxation will eventually get back into the hands of the tax commission, for it is to do the best that it can; and there seems to be a general desire to reduce the basis below what is now in vogue, on the part of the tax commission. It was admitted on all sides that gross inequalities exist between different classes # of property and the only hope is fo: the tax commission to try an( straighten out this admitted injus tice. Nothing is going to be done ii a legislative way, one way or another ^ The liquor problem is being settled as is the vice question, largely by na tional legislation. Prohibition is be ing largely influenced by conviction in the federal courts, and the sami thing is applying to the vice situation Only the other day a Columbia whiti man was convicted and sentenced t< thd penitentiary in Atlanta for con ducting a rendezvous in Columbia under the statute which prevent: sucn places witnin tne nve-mne zom of any army cantonment. The fed eral courts are getting quick actioi in both the prosecution of those wh< bring liquor into the State and thosi who "monkey with" the soldiers. This condition is, perhaps, some what responsible for the absence of; straight prohibition bill at this ses sion. For years and years bills havi been introduced looking toward absolute prohibition in South Caro lina. The Reed statute is doing thi "trick" now and the burden of thi suggestionst a this time are toward tightening up the quart-a-month lav/ For instance, Senator DuRant want: to restrict the permit on which thi quart-a-month is obtained to a phy sician's prescription. Senator Johns tone, of Newberry, wants to mafci the judges of probate more directl; responsible for the issuance of thesi permits. Then, on the other hand there are several propositions to in elude the various concoctions that re suit in intoxication. Dr. Neuffe wants to stop the promiscuous sale o paregoric; Senator DuRant is "gun ning" for Jamaica ginger that bring! the jags. Senators Friday and Sher ard and Representatives Langfon and Norton have a bill by which the; would prohibit the sale of all pro prietary medicines, as well as cor dials and tonics, that bring abou drunks. This is the trend^of thi legislation rather than involving thi principle in the quart-a-month law Ultimately, of course, it is expecte< that there will be "bone-dry" condi tions as a result of the passage of thi amendment to the federal constitu tion, providing for nation-wide pro hibition. Combination Disposition. There does not seem to be a de cided disposition towards the consol idation of offices suggested. Ther< was one proposition to combine thi office of the State bank examiner wit) tKo. /\f inoupan/>Q onmrniasinnpr TPIli idea seems to have been practicall; abandoned. The committee on bank ing and insurance on the house sid< considered the proposition and de termined that it would not recom mend a bill along these lines, there by leaving independent and as a present, the offices of State bank ex aminer and insurance commissioner Then there was a suggestion o combining certain activities of th commissioner of agriculture, com merce and industries with Clemsoi dollege and of dividing other of thes responsibilities. The talk now seems to* be to "le well enough alone" and not to d anvt.hinsr jwith reference to the divorc ing of any of these duties. The indi cations are that the department wi] be left alone, except that it is poss: ble that something along the line of the Toole bill providing for managing commission, and may b provided, although the idea of com missions is not in high favor jus at the moment. Perhaps the most importan measure passed by the House is th Cothran Australian ballot system The House has passed this bill an sent it over to the Senate, where th chances are that a bill along thes lines will be adopted. The centra idea of the Australian ballot syster of secrecy and non-partisan manage ment is provided for, and thus fa fhoro hppn nn susrerestion o partisan temper in the discussion o the proposed Australian ballo system. The legislative session thus far ha been particularly and pleasantly de void of partisan feeling. There, ha been talk in the interest of some o the candidates for various offices j but nothing has been injected to ma i the discussion or the desire to get th 1 best results. It has been suggested that an im ! portant and definite announcemen in connection with the Senatoria rarp will he made during the ores ent session, and that thereby number of possible booms will b punctured. The members of the Assembly ar earnestly and sincerely working t get through with their business, am t ; BIG BATTLE IS IMMINENT 1 MUCH AERIAL ACTIVITY ON THE WESTERN FRONT. _ All indications Point to Preparations s for Mammoth Offensive 3 Operation. e On the western front in France and 3 Belgium the military operations apparently are increasing all along the line, as compared witn tnose 01 tne a past few weeks, when little or no fighting except artillery duels and minor raids were carried out. i Entent allied warships have bom3 barded Germany's submarine base at Ostend, on the Northern Belgian coast, while around Ypres, between Lens and St. Quentin on the CheminDes-Dames, on the St Miheil sector and north of the Rhine-Marne canal, 0 there has been a notable increase in s the operations of the infantry. May Indicate Big Battle. ,An indication of the probable early commencement of heavy fighting is the resumption of aerial activity on a large scale, especially on the French front. Saturday the French airmen e had a good day operating against the Teutons, sending down eight enemy machines. 0 On the Italian front the fighting again has returned to the artillery wings of the opposing sides, the intantry Keeping to tneir trencnes except for small patrol engagements. All along the northern front the artillery duels are of violent character. Russian Situation. 9 The Russian Constituent Assembly was short lived. Convening Friday in the Tauride Palace in Petrograd ^ during street fighting, it was dissolved early Saturday morning by the Bolsheviki after a vote had shown conclusively that the government, headed by Lenine and Trotzky, was g greatly in the minority. Thus, for the moment at least has i ' passed away at its inception the legislative body through which it Viq/i hopn honpd nrdpr would be brought out of the anomalous situation that has existed in Russia since the revolution. Peace Conference. Likewise, the delegates to the ~ peace conference at Brest-Litovsk e again are at sixes and sevens and | B the pourparlers have ended. As on j J the occasions when they ceased, the e stumbling block is the German de* mands and their refusal to withdraw their troops from the occupied e portions of Russia. After an adventurous career bf nearly three and a half years in fighting and raiding operations in t the Black sea, the Goeben and Breslau, have met their fate at the hands ' of British warships in a fight at the f I entrance to the Dardanelles. e Evidently the German censors are keeping a strict watch over the GerII man newspapers in their expressions e of opinion on the serious internal political situation for even the most t meagre reports concerning the doings o of the militaristic and anti-militaristic parties wer missing Sunday. i ij To Distribute Nitrate. LS Clemson College, Jan. 20.?The a organization in the several counties e of the State will be perfected in the i_ next two or three days by the it demonstration agents and others for making arrangements to distribute t the nitrate of soda supplied by the e government, the rules and regui. lations for the distribution were pred pared by officials of Agriculture in e the United States Department of e Agriculture. They will.be published tl in the county papers and by posters, Q demonstration agents simply carrying out specific instructions from Washr ington in counties without demf onstration agents. A representative f from Clemson College extension divit sion will visit each county on Tuesday, Fe ruary 22, to make necess sary ar -angements. I_ Election at Cope, s f Cope, Jan. 17.?At the annual '' election for intendant and wardens r ... _ . ? ,, held here Tuesday tne iouowing g gentlemen were elected to. look after the interests of the town of Cope: Intendant, G. E. Griffith; wardens, * Messrs. J. C. Gray, W. J. Waite, Jr., D. D. Stack, and Joe H. Clark. a if the appropriation bill is available e within a certain period the leaders feel that they can leave Columbia by e the 2d of February, as contemplated b in the Wharton resolution.?August d Kohn. ^ I \ TILLMAN WILL NOT RETIRE. I Assumption Based on Events in Washington.?Has New Offices. Washington, Jan. 19.?Benjamin Ryan Tillman, the "pitchforfc" senator from South Carolina, is not to retire from the senate. He has been here for more than 20 years and is likely to be here for many more years, from present indications, despite that the woods of the PalI metto State are full of candidates i | chewing on their political bits. T? 4- Vi hoc n ottoi* in many i conuo uw va been a more unique member in either house of congress than the aforesaid Benjmain Ryan Tillman of Trenton, S. C., and last year when it became noised around and about the halls of the capitol in Washington that, having already served his State both as governor and as senator, in the latter place for almost a quarter of a century, he might quit the hurly burly of politics and , retire to his big acres of cotton and his asparagus fields at home, there were many who were speculating wl would succeed him. They reckoned that this South Carolina senator would leave a big hole tb fill and that it would take a mighty big man to do it. But they believed he had seen enough of public life and would be satisfied with what he had already done since taking up the governorship of South Carolina many years ago. From present indications the senior senator from South Carolina is not going to retire any time soon. The best indication that there will be none of this retirement business v fz. with Senator Tillman during the present year, at which time he must come again before the people of r South Carolina for reelection, is that no'man with such ideas in his head would be enlarging his political workmanship as senator Tillman is now doing in Washington. For the last two or three years, y or since he became chairman of the senate committee on naval affairs* Senator Tillman has occupied two rather small rooms at one cor ner of the senate end of the i capitol. Nqw, hiwever, he has secured, in addition to these, two rooms, one large size which , would easily swallow three or four of the others, this new one being handsomely equipped with bevel edge mirrors, chandeliers th?t fairly sparkle with brilliance, and furniture, the equal of which no onmrnfttoo mnm in cnneress can Vl/UllUAWWW i vv*^ v - boast. In a word, the new addition to the senator's quarters is most magnificent in appointment. i ** Proud as he is, however, of the bevel edge mirrors, the, sparkling chandeliers or the magnificent furniture that go to make up the esuipment of this new committee room, Senator Tillman's real newpleasure comes when he makes his ~ visitors acquainted with two young ladies from South Carolina Miss Rembert and Miss Weikert. These / I - ) young ladies, the senator explained today, will not supplant the man power force already in his office, but they will fill a much needed want in helping to work off the daily mail that accumulates on the senator's desk. > \^M "Yes, sir," Senator Tillman said today with all of his old time fire, these young ladies just insisted that the had to have all the new things if-they were to work for me, knowing they would get them in the end v. I set about to have more room, and now you see all these fine new things, the girls will have put in. I reckon it will be a small sized palace when they get done fixing up, and the it would be none too good for them. They are fine girls and need fine things." All of these evidences of renewed activity on senator Tillman's part leaves no room to doubt that in his own mind he has settled the question as to whether or not he will retire from the political arena of South Carolina. tie wno ruua may icau. ' m Menocal Signs Sugar Contracts. Havana, Jan. 18.?President Menocal today placed his signature to / contracts providing for the sale of Cuban sugar crop to the United States. The contract binds Cuba to send 2,500,000 tons of sugar to the - 1-*- 1 united states lor pruyuruuuai U1Btribution among the allied nations. A presidential decree signed today fixed the price of the sugar at 4.98 1-2 delivered in the ports of New York and Philadelphia. Higher prices are to rule if it is disembarked at other American ports. i ' '$ ^ ' /