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( j ? lambrrg feralfr $2.00 Per Year in Advance BAMBERG, S. C., THURSDAY, JULY 10,1919. Established in 1891 COMPLAINTS AS TO AMERICAN POTASH USE OX DARLINGTON COTTON AND TOBACCO ALARMING. State Chemist's Report Samples of American Product Now Being Examined in the ' State Laboratory. y Columbia, July 5.?"I found a calamitous condition in a large portion of Darlington countyvwhich I visited," said Dr. A. C. Summers, State chemist, on his return to Columbia today from an inspection tour of the s Pee Dee section, where he was sent by B. Harris, commissioner of agriculture, commerce and industries. The investigation conducted by the State chemist was the result of a letter received by Commissioner Harri^ from Bright Williamson, a banker of 1 Darlington, in which complaint was made that applications of American potash to the soil in his section had ruined growing crops of tobacco and cotton. :>? Mr. Williamson, who is a farmer himself, had made a preliminary examination to ascertain the cause of % large tracts of tobacco and cotton ? plants dying. "The result of the use v of domestic potash on tobacco and \ cotton showing up now is Aost alarm\ ing," said Mr. Williamson's letter. "Where 75 pounds per acre of K20 y . . . , - . x ttne cnemicai iormuia ror potasnj was used on tobacco there is practically none, and the effect is serious on cotton. Where forty to fifty pounds of K20 was used, there *3 generally about one-half stand of to. bacco. Where smaller quantities of K20 was used, the effect is not so noticeable." According to the statement of Dr. Summers, Mr. Williamson put the matter conservatively. He said fhat the loss in Darlington county alone will run into thousands of dollars, .^<1 and while other counties of tha State have not reported, the chemist is of the opinion that the loss in them is \ proportionate. Through the efforts T of J. M. Napier, county demonstration agent, and Mr. Williamson, there has Jbeen an effort to report all the damaged fields. In other counties, said n - tlOTO *0' - Ur. DULLlIIIwrs, 11IU.1Vluuai laocs umc p'.;" been brought to the attention of tuc department of agriculture. American potash, said Dr. Summers, has been sold throughout the , South, but reports of damage don9 to the growing crops so far has been confined to South Carolina. Howevy er, the. departments of agriculture is in possession of information tb the effect; that tobacco in North Carolina ! . counties has been damaged to some extent. In the absence of a chemical analysis of the samples of American potash secured by t>T. Summers, it is believed that there is an overplus of ? borax in the fertilizer. The samples i: v are now at the State laboratory and . the components of the potash will be known the first of next week. Dr. Summers said that the majority of the shipments of the alleged . defective fertilizer has been traced to a Charleston firm of jobbers.. "I endorse the statement of Mr. TiTiiHnmonTi " eoid Ur finmmprs. "that H illiaillOUU) CMtU ~ J the evidence of the poisonous and disastrous results of the used potash is positive, overwhelming and spectacular. It cannot be alleged that the widespread destruction of plant life is due to too much moisture, for by a process of elimination, it was shown that one part of a field where potash had been spread had suffered greatly, while in another part where German kainit or other forms of potash were used the plant life was healthy and the am mnt of moisture over the entire territory was the same. 9 "I never witnessed such ruin in the fields from causes other than the most distructive hail storms/' continued Dr. Summers. One farmer had lost all of his tobacco planted on one piece of land and he then plowed it and planted cotton. The cotton germinated and grew very well until the roots came in contact with the pot** ash in the soil and then the plants died. This farmer is now sowing cowpeas to see if that crop will produce. "I think that' the poison will be eradicated from the soil in the course of a year. I observed that where there had been heavy rains since the putting down of the potash the poison seemed to have leeched out to some extent. We are making experi4 ments in our laboratories and will m sgF-v Mgr. m * jfe,' - - v. - . . ... .... WRECK AT ST. MATTHEWS. Engineer Shows Presence of Mind as Passenger Crashes Into Siding. St. Matthews, July 5.?Driving into an open switch at good speed, passenger train No. 27, better known as the "Carolina Special." north, bound, was wrecked ' here today about noon and a number of persons injured. The train was in charge of Conductor Keckley with Engineer H. G. Senseny at the throttle and but for the wonderful presence of mind and quick work of Mr. Senseny a number of dead would surely have been the toll. Tne train was coming into the 1 - J J - i luv?ii liiuiLo diiu. tut? engineer uau just sounded the station signal he states, when within about 100 yards of the switch he noticed that the red side was out. He signalled to a railway hand standing nearby to clo|e it and at the same time cut the steam off his engine and applied the emergency brake. Seeing that the engine was going to strike some box cars standing near a deep embankment, Mr. Senseny jumped and was followed by his fireman. The train crashed into the boxes, demolishing a number of them and completely wrecking the engine. A train hand with the work train on the siding was seriously injured, being severely cut about the head. A number of passengers were slightly bruised and badly shaken up. Engineer Senseny and the firemen were severely bruised in their jump. Scores of people were immediately on the scene and the injured were rushed into town to a local infirmary and placed in charge of the local railway surgeon. It is pretty clearly established that the train hand who threw the switch open did it under the stress of excitement. He is said to have stated that upon seeing the approaching train he looked up and saw the. red signal facing him, he immediately threw it and opened the switch thinking he was closing it. The material damage to rolling stock is heavy. Mow Warehouses Needed. Some people learned years ago that generally a heavy loss is sustained by keeping cotton all winter and spring out in the weather, but others did not learn the expensive lesson until the past season. Probably never before has there been such a widespread damage to cotton from exposure to weather as there was to the crop of 1918. This is due to two causes: First, there was a larger quantity of cotton held than usual and, seqond, to the excessive rain. \ Many who sustained loss from damaged cotton will soon bCgin to provide storage rooms on tneir tarms or they will, if they hold cotton again, place it in warehouses in towns and cities. Some idea of the heavy loss sustained can be gained from the following sent out by the State warehouse commissioner: "A farmer recently sold 16 bales of cotton which were left in the weather after ginning. The rotten weather damaged cotton in this lot amounted to 2,300 pounds, or ov?r four b^les. The loss in money amounted to $690 at 30 cents a pound. Thi^ farmer could have warehoused his 16 bales in almost any warehouse in the State system, had there been room for it, for six years for $690 and at the same time it would have been insured against fire. "A second farmer disposed of 60 bales of cotton a week or so ago on which the 'country damage' amounted to $2,250. He might have put cn Kolflu in o Ctoto TP9TPhnnsP 1113 UV uaico iu a UI.UVV f.w. thus protecting it from the weather and against fire, kept it there for six months it lay rotting in his yard and saved at least $1,818 of the $2,250 lost."?Edgefield Advertiser. Read The Herald, $2.00 per year. know by Monday more of the chemical nature of this American potash. "At a meeting of the cotton farmers in New Orleans about two months ago, an effort was made to get the government not to put a heavy tariff on German potasn. unis enorc was killed by the agency of the men interested in American potash. A meeting of Southern commissioners of agriculture will be held at Washington at an early date to protest against the proposed heavy duty on German potash. Our farmers must have potash, and if the domestic product is poisonous to the soil we must find a corrective or buy imported potash which we cannot do at the prohibitive prices proposed." MAN SLAYS GIRL IN CALIFORNIA CLAIMS TO BE SOX OF INDIANA SENATOR. Shot After a Quarrel | Young Woman Said to Have Refused to Marry Companion On Motor Ride. Los Angeles, Cal., July 5.?Harry S. New, of Glendale, Cal., walked into ucauquai ici& can) luuay, informed detectives that there was a dead woman in his automobile and he desired to give himself up as* a murdered. He then led the officers to a car outside the station, where the body of Frieda J. Lesser, 21 years old, was found. New, according to a statement of the police, said he had quarreled with the young woman at Topanga Canyon, several miles from the city, when she refused to marry him and had shot her. She had a bullet hole through the head. New was charged with murder and held without bond. "We did not understand each other," said N?w, according to Detective Sergt. D. A. Davidson, "and so I shot her, and here I am. There she is too," he added, as he gazed at the dead girl. New 30 years of age, told the officers, according to their statement, of his story, that he was engaged to Miss Lesser. He said he urged her to marry him and when she refused he shot her. He said he had borrowed the automobile from his mother, Mrs. Lulu M. Berger, of Glendale, and had driven with the girl to Venice, then through Hollywood, and finally up the Topango Canyon road, where their quarrel culminated in the shooting. He told the officers, they said, that for three hours afterward he drove around town, trying to make up his mind to surrender. New is of slight build. He showed no evidence of excitement and officers said he had not been drinking. New told the police, they said, that he was the son of United States Senator Harry S. New, of Indiana, and his claim was corroborated by relatives of the dead girl, who said they had known New and his family in Indiana. 1 Indianapolis, July 5.?Mrs. Lula Burger, mother of Harrry S. Now, who today surrendered to the Los Angeles police saying he had killed Miss Frieda Lessing, left Indianapolis early this evening for her home in Glendale, pal. Mrs. Burger stated that New is the son of Senator Harry S. New, of Indiana and that she was divorced from Senator New about 18 years ago. Mrs. Burger also said she expected to wire Senator New and solicit his aid in behalf of he^ son. SENATOR NEW TALKS. Tells of Former Relations With Motlu er of Man Claiming to Be His Son. Washington, July 7.?Senator New, of Indiana, tonight issued the following statement regarding the arrest in Los Angeles on a charge of murder of Harry S. New, who claims he is a son of the senator. "I have just this to say about this whole deplorable matter. More than 30 years ago, when I was in my twenties and unmarried, I knew Mrs. Burger. There was never at any time a question of marriage between us.. Conditions arose which I did not care to dispute which resulted in my doing everything in pay power to make amends then and later. Whatever I did in that direction was of my own accord and no one else had anything whatever to do with it. The affair was ended 30 years ago. Since that time the people of my home city are the best judges of what my life has been. I never bave shirked any responsibility that has come to me and I never shall." ^ >o> ^ Pay Dirt. "One moment, please," exclaimed the patient in the oculist's chair. "Well," queried the oculist as he dropped the eyelid. "I just wanted to have an understanding," said the patient. "I want it thoroughly agreed before you remove that foreign substance from my eye, that if it turns out to be coal dust it belongs to me."?Boston Transcript. COPE OFFICERS SEIZE BOOZE. Conductor Had Bout With Transporters, but Town Officials Get it. The following story is clipped from the Timmonsville Enterprise of July 3, and shows what straits folks who are inclined to tipple will go to get the booze: Regular wild west scenes were enacted at a point a few miles beyond Ebenezer on the Atlantic Coast Line railroad yesterday morning, when a party of white men, about seven in number, pulled the emergency brake cord on train 35, and after bringing the last passenger train to a standstill, dumped several heavy suitcases through the Pullman car windows, and then, with drawn pistol, dared anyone in the crowd to touch the booty. The conductor on the train was Captain Leslie McLaurin and though unarmed he stood.his ground, with the final result that all of the suitcases and one or two other packages which had been removed from the car were thrown back int.o the baggage car and taken on as far as Cope. S. C. Here the suitcases were placed in care of the agent to await the return trip of Capt. McLaifrin, but last night wfien he stopped there to take on the baggage it was found that it had been seized by the authorities of that town and they would not release it. Of course the baggage contained whiskey. It is stated that there must have been at least one hundred quarts of it. How much more was on the train will never be known. It is not i_ 2. ii i x 1 uiougui mat more tuau uue suit ease was taken from the train at Ebenezer and spirited away by the men who made themselves very scarce after the men had displayed such a determined spirit. The story of the affair as gathered from passengers was about as follows: v When train 35 had passed Ebenezer there were three pulls on the bell cord. Conductor McLaurin decided at once that some -one was merely tampering with the cord, and pulled the engineer ahead. This performance was repeated at least three times. Finally, the brakes wer^ applied by the pulling of the emergency cord. Captain McLaurin immediately started back through the train and when he reached the Pullman car saw a man passing suitcases . es out of the window to other men standing on the ground. All of the men were white. It was then about i 6 o'clock in* the morning and he obtained a full view of the men who were ;n the party, but was unable to identify any of them, all evidentIt being strangers. One of the men was a big husky fellow and seemed to be the leader. When Captain McLaurin remonstrated with him for stopping the train and for making a traveling barroom, the man became angry. Mr. McLaurin told him that he would have to put the suitcases back on the train at once, and the reply of the bootlegger was that he dared anyone to touch them. With this remark the man pulled his pistol and kept it in his hand. By this time a number of passengers had alighted from the train and had gathered around. The other members of the liquor bunch scented trouble and mixed in with the crowd and Captain McLaurin saw no more of them. The big fellow, however, was loath to give up his liquor, especially when he apparently enjoyed the advantage of having an arsenal in his hand Vith which to carry out his point and threatened trouble again when Captain McLaurin signed the train back and Baggage Master Jackson started to heave the suitcases into the car. He leveled his pistint ATridontlv thrmeht better of IU1 uut \j v-w-o turning loose on the trainmen, and started to walk away to the edge of a corn field, where he witnessed the loading of the stuff. In the meantime Captain C. M. Gregg, who happened to be on the train and had been awakened by a messenger from Captain McLaurin, reached the baggage car and stood in the doorway with a pistol in his hand guarding the baggage master as he picked up the suitcases and placed them in the car. The bootlegger after this made no move and disappeared into the corn , field. Just about this time an interesting thing happened, and from it may result information leading to arrests in the case. A Florence negro hack driver known here as "Goat" Brown drove up in his touring car. Some of the passengers declare that they saw a gun in his hand. Brown's con YOUNG MAN'S LIFE COST Of BLUNDER N * KRISTER HAIR FATALLY WOUNDED AT PROSPERITY. Was Shot For Burglar G. W. Kinard, in Effort to Capture Men Breaking into Store, Makes Serious Mistake. Prosperity, July 7.?Keister Hair, son of B. B. Hair, was shot and fatally wounded here last/night by G. W. Kinard, who mistakenly took him for a burglar a party of which Kinard was a member was trying to capture. Hair and several young people were at the home of a friend opposite the store of Mr. Kinard when they noticed three men go behind MrrKinard's establishment and later heard them break in the store. Several men, including Mr. Kinard, who had been notified, surrounded the building to capture the burglarsvand when Mr. Hair came around the corner Mr. Kinard shot him with a shotgun, thinking him one of the burglars. The load took effect in the abdomen, puncturing the intestines over 100 times. Young hair was givap first aid by local physicians and later rushed to a Columbia hospital for an operation. After stitching 93 punctures in the abdomen doctors at the Columbia hospital saw there was no chance for the wounded man and gave up hope. He died about 10 o'clock this morning, a message to relatives stated. All efforts to save his life were made but the intestines and stomach were literally torn to pieces, making it impossible to save him. Mr. Hair was one of the most popular young men of the community and had many friends who are grieved at the accident. He was a member of the Eighty-first Division and served in France. He only returned f^om foreign soil last week and had b?en at home just a few days. Mr. Kinard is a well known merchant here and is grief stricken over the accident. Young Hair is survived by his father and mother, Mr. and Mrs. B. B. Hair, and a brother, at the University of Chicago. The remains were brought here this afternoon from Columbia and will be interred at Prosperity cemetery tomorrow. Two of the robbers, who were the cause of the shooting, escaped, but the third was captured after a scuffle. Sheriff Blease arrived on the scene shortly after the fatal affair and is searching fqr the other two men. Oldest Diplomatist 100 Years Old. Senator Count Guiseppe Grippi; who has passed the century mark, is the oldest diplomatist in the world He has lived in close touch with all the great events of the last 80 years, and has known personally mosl of the chief figures of the world ol politics and society durikg this period. As a young man he kne~w Marie-Louise at Parma, and he was already a mature diplomatist in th( second stage of his career when h met the great Duke of Wellington. Born in Milan, Count Grippi entered the Austrian diplomatic service 77 years ago under Metternich, anc his first appointment was to Rome Three years earlier he had witnessed the "coronation" of Ferdinand I. , and three years later he visited Vi enna, where he stayed a short timt before being transferred first to Mu. nich and then to Stockholm. He wa: at Stockholm in 1848, when Milar rose against the Austrians. He re signed from Austrian service and be came a citizen of the Kingdom or Sar dinia. After a short interval he en tered the diplomatic service at riea ( mont, and his career ended 31 year: , ago, when he left the post of Ambas sador in St. Petersburg on Signo) Crispi's accension to the premiershii j of Italy. In the interval he had beer in posts in London, Berlin, Athens Constantinople, Stuttgart, Munich anc Madrid, where he went as minister ii 15 7" This is the season when the ownei of a garden becomes diffusively gen erous with lettuce to his friends anc acquaintances and to anybody wh( , will take it. . nection with the case has not been de i termined. It is understood that h< said he happened to pass by anc stopped to see what the trouble was i Brown is well known to the author! ties here, and has figured in severa . liquor cases. j WON' THE CROIX DE GUERRE. Sister of Edgefield Negro, Killed in France. Jj Edgefield, July 7.?Amada Key, a colored woman, appeared on the streets today wearing a Croix de Guerre, having just received it from France. It was sent as a testimonial of bravery displayed by her brother, Corporal John W. Abney, during the Champagne attack September 28, 1918. Accompanying the honor badge was the following citation: "Corporal John W. Abney, 371st regiment infantry, during the attack of Champagne, September 28, 1918, \ displayed remarkable bravery under violent artillery and rqachine gun. fire. Being caught in a shell hole by cross fire he helped to annihilate the crew of a nest of machine suns until he was wounded. PETAIN." "War Marshal, Commanding French. Armies of the East." Abney, who was a native of this county and was "inducted early into the service was an industrious and respected negro youth of the town. The wound he received in the Champagne attack was fatal, the information being that he was instantly killed. *ml m GREENVILLE SHERIFF KILLED. I , Revenue Officer Gosnell Slays County Peace Officer. v Greenville, July 4.?Hendrix Rector, sheriff of Greenville county, was ! shot and killed shortly after neon to1 day in Briscoe's garage on West ! Court street by Jake Gosnell, deputy collector of internal revenue. Gos1 nell fired four shots at the sheriff, three of which took effect, one in the head, one in the side and one in the 1 shoulder. Sheriff Rector died ten minutes afterward in an ambulance bound for the city hospital. Florida Sheriff Killed. ! rp r>i- t..,_ ' ? ? I lampn, r ia., juiy 4.?ueputy Sher1 iff B. C. Wilcox, of Sorrento, one of L the best known officers in that sec! tion, was shot and killed early this 1 morning near Clermont, seventy-five miles north of here by Luther Wilson, 1 a white man, when the latter was overtaken in the woods by Wilcox and Sheriff Smyth, of Lake county. 1 Sheriff Wilcox returned the fire but ' Wilson escaped and Smyth brought " the body of Wilcox back to Clermont. Tonight a posse of several hundred ' is searching the woods for him. / Wilson was arrested several weeks ago at his home in Lacooche, charged 1 with attempted criminal assault on a 5 relative by marriage while the latter was on her way to school. Wilson, it / ' " was charged, blacked his face in order to look like a negro, but was recognized by the girrl, who caused his ar' rest. After being taken to the county ' jail at Dade City just in time to avert mob violence, Wilson escaped and ? 1 has been at large ever since. Governor Catts recently offered a reward , of $150 for his apprehension. It Turned on Him. The British front' had its northern extremity a short distance north of Ypres. A bumptious high-ranker, fond of being paternal and impressive before his men, had just taken 3 command of the troops in the seci >. tor and was making a tour of his part of the line. The sentry on duty * at the extreme left proved to be a ' newly arrived cockney private. "Do you realize, my man," the gen- . 3 eral beamed, "that you are today the " pivot man of the British army?" 3 The private saluted. 1 "Great honor, my man," the general continued. "You are the first outpost of the British Empire. I, your general, shake hands with you." . \ The private saluted, had his hand shaken, saluted dazedly again, and* 3 watched the general until he was out V\P oorchrtt wi. tuicuvt, "S'y sergeant," the cockney then } asked, "what did the old 'un mean 1 about me bein' the pivot-o' the Brit' ish army and all that, anyway?" * "What he meant, my boy," the ser1 geant explained, "was that if the British army was to do a left turn, you'd mark time for two hundred years."? New York Times. ' ? ? ? ? "I met our new minister on my } way to Sunday school mamma," said . Willie, "and he asked me if I ever - played marbles on Sunday." i "What did you answer?" asked I mother. "I simply said, 'Get thee behind - me, Satan,' and walked off and left I him," was the triumphant answer.? Utica Observer. i . . - .