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$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
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- - 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 . . - .